◇Houghtow City—Flio's House◇
Behind the three-story building that comprised the main house stood
another two-story building made of similar wood construction that served
as a workshop. It was there that Flio devised new products to be sold at the
Fli-o'-Rys General Store, and also where the products were mass-produced
by Hiya, Damalynas, and Maglion—the threesome of training partners—
alongside Minilio. Today, Flio was on the second floor of the workshop,
having finished his business outside the house for the day.
"Thank you for waiting, Miss Zofina. Here's the Calamity Healing
Potion I synthesized from our catch the other day." Flio handed Zofina a
bag stuffed full of bottles containing a liquid that shone with the colors of
the rainbow, a smile on his face.
"Oh!" Zofina said, sitting up in her chair and happily accepting the bag.
"Thank you so much, Mister Flio!"
After their overnight stay in Dogorogma, Flio had told Zofina, "I believe
I will have more Calamity Healing Potion ready for you in a month." It had
been a month to the day now, and Zofina had paid a visit to see how the
potion was progressing.
"You truly are incredible, Mister Flio," Zofina said, bowing over and
over again. "I can scarcely believe you performed such a difficult synthesis
in only a month, let alone in such vast quantities..."
Flio replied with his usual easygoing smile. "I have to admit, it was
pretty tough the first few times. But I've managed the synthesis several
times already. Now it's no trouble at all."
"Would you care for some refreshments?" Rys stepped up, offering
Zofina a cup of black tea and a plate on which rested a slice of cake.
"Oh?" said Zofina. "This cake has such a pleasant aroma!"
"It's my specialty," said Rys. "Lembon cake. We sell a limited quantity
at the Fli-o'-Rys General Store. They seem to be rather popular."
As Rys was still speaking, Zofina wasted no time and dug into the soft
cake with her fork before quickly bringing it to her mouth. "I can see why!
This is delicious! I'm rather partial to sweets, you know, but the subtle
sourness really does add something!"
"I'm very glad it pleases you!" said Rys, smiling as Zofina tore into her
cake with terrific force.
◇ ◇ ◇
"Now, I should be off." As Zofina's scythe appeared in her hand, her
human form shifted back to the half-skeleton, half-maiden form of a
disciple of the Celestial Plane. She swung the weapon in a wide arc and a
magic circle appeared in front of her. A great door appeared. "Mister Flio, I
will see you again in a month."
"Of course!" Flio said. "I'll have plenty of the Calamity Healing Potion
ready for you by then!"
Zofina nodded, smiling. "Speaking of, please don't hesitate to contact us
the next time you need to pay a visit to Dogorogma to secure more magic
beasts for ingredients. We will be happy to take you there as often as you
like."
"Actually," Flio said, "there shouldn't be a need to bother with that any
longer."
"What do you mean? Your stockpile is bound to run dry someday..."
"No need to worry about that! I have things well in hand."
"Y-You do?"
"I do." Flio smiled his usual easygoing smile.
Zofina cocked her head curiously as she regarded Flio. He has things
"well in hand"? What does he mean by that? Are there Calamity Wyrms
somewhere in the world of Klyrode? But I haven't detected anything of the
sort... She was puzzling over it even as she made her way through the
interdimensional portal back to the Celestial Plane. When she was on the
other side, the door closed and vanished along with the magic circle.
"Oh, Rys!" said Flio. "That reminds me! There's something I want to
show you."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah! Hiya and the rest are still helping me with the finishing touches,
but I want you to see it as soon as it's done."
"I see!" Rys nodded happily. "Then, please, do let me know when it's
ready."
◇ ◇ ◇
That night, Flio took Rys to the mountain behind the house. They called
it a mountain, at least, but it was really more of a tallish hill. Flio had
hollowed out a wide space underneath it. Hiya, Damalynas, and Maglion
had accompanied them as well.
"The other day, when we were walking around Klyrode Castle Town, I
got a message saying I had mastered all the 'Carriage Djinn' skills."
"Carriage Djinn?" Rys repeated, a puzzled look on her face. She was
certain she must have misheard.
Hiya rested their chin in their hand as they mused. "I have heard that
name mentioned as one of the types of djinn created by the magi of another
world, known as the Magic Realm, but I had not thought there were any in
the world of Klyrode..."
"So..." Rys asked. "What can Carriage Djinn do, anyway?"
"I looked into it a bit," Flio said. "It looks like they can turn into any
vehicle they've had a chance to touch before. But..."
"But what?"
"I tried turning myself into a number of the vehicles listed in the skill
menu, but I just can't seem to get it to work."
"That makes sense," said Damalynas. "Without the physiology of an
artificial djinn, I can't imagine you could transform into a vehicle with or
without the skill."
Flio nodded. "That seems to be the case. However..." He opened up one
of his windows, setting it to display to everyone.
"Is that...a carriage?" Rys, Hiya, Damalynas, and Maglion crowded
around to see a very precise blueprint for a carriage projected in Flio's
window.
"I can't seem to turn my body into a vehicle," Flio said, "but I can call
up precise schematics for all of these." He slid a finger across the window,
changing the screen.
After the ordinary carriage that had first appeared came an enormous
wagon capable of seating nearly a dozen, then a cart specialized for
transporting goods, then a cart with its luggage compartment replaced with
a festival float. They continued past the data on horse-drawn carriages and
found all kinds of boats, automatic vehicles, humanoid armored battle suits,
and anything else you could imagine.
"This must be data on any vehicle any Carriage Djinn has ever touched,"
Flio mused. "There's lots of vehicles in here that I've never even seen
before."
Hiya nodded. "I agree. Some of those vehicles are difficult to imagine
existing in the world of Klyrode." Hiya, as well as Damalynas and Maglion,
had their attention fixated on the data showing in Flio's window. Even Rys
was watching with keen interest.
"Anyway," Flio said, his hand coming to a stop on a particular item. "I
found something interesting while I was looking through the data."
"Does that say...'Enchanted Frigate'?" Rys's eyes went wide. The
window was displaying data for a vessel that resembled a sailing ship with
three masts.
"At first, I assumed it was a ship for traveling on the surface of the
water," Flio said, calling up more detailed data for the Enchanted Frigate.
"But on closer inspection, I realized it can fly." Hiya leaned in, reading
through the data like they were trying to devour it with their eyes. "So I got
to thinking..." Flio went on. "If I know what materials it would take and
how to build it, why not try making an Enchanted Frigate myself? It took a
lot of trial and error and hard work, though, in the end."
"I-In the end?" Rys repeated breathlessly, her eyes going even wider.
"M-Meaning, you already built it?"
Maglion smirked wryly at Rys's response. "I thought it would be
impossible as well, at first," they said. "But the Exalted One simply began
building the ship before my eyes..." They turned to face past the window
Flio was projecting. Flio pointed his finger in the same direction, and the
magic lamps lit up, illuminating the darkness and revealing an enormous
ship, hovering in midair. It was a precise recreation of the Magic Frigate
from the Carriage Djinn data, in minutest detail.
Rys's eyes went wide. For a second, she simply stared in shock.
"M-My lord husband," said Rys. "This ship is massive..."
Flio smiled as usual. "I wasn't able to complete it using ingredients from
the world of Klyrode," he said. "I gave up at the time, but after we went to
Dogorogma, I was able to make substitutions with the bones and hide of the
magic beasts we captured, as well as the magic gems inside their bodies.
But I didn't do it on my own—I had help from these three. Really, thank
you so much."
Hiya keeled down in reverence. "Exalted One," they said. "You need
hardly thank such lowly beings as we..." But Flio grabbed Hiya by the
shoulders and pulled them to their feet.
"Hiya... You, Damalynas, and Maglion are all part of the family. You
don't need to stand on ceremony with me."
Hiya shook with emotion at Flio's words. "E-Exalted One..." Behind
them, Damalynas and Maglion were likewise weeping tears of joy.
"A-A dark wizard like me, the Grand Magus of Midnight..." Damalynas
sobbed. "To be treated as part of the family..."
"The Mistress of Evil created me only for slaughter..." Maglion sniffled,
wiping the tears from their eyes. "And yet, you would welcome me into
your family!"
Rys stepped in front of the tearful group, a bright smile on her face.
"O wife of the Exalted One..." Hiya began. "I, Hiya, and my beloved
training partners vow to you our loyalty everlasting. I swear that we shall
never again spy on you and the Exalted One in the bedroom, no matter how
useful it may be for our training..."
"What?" Hiya's words make Rys's eyes glint with a deadly light. Her
eyebrows furrowed dangerously as she advanced towards the djinn,
cracking her knuckles. "Hiya... I've told you time and time again not to
peep. Are you still at it?"
"N-No!" Hiya protested. "We have never done such a thing, o wife of
the Exalted One!"
"Yes, never!" confirmed Damalynas. "We may have tried to look, but
thanks to that barrier Lord Flio set up, we weren't able to get a single peek
of the deed!"
"Indeed," said Maglion. "The three of us have been training night and
day to try to figure out how to overcome that barrier..."
"Well, you had better cut that training out!!!" snapped Rys.
Flio just watched the scene play out with a rather strained smile on his
face.
◇Days Later...◇
The enormous Enchanted Frigate sailed along through the clear blue sky.
Flio's family was gathered in the stern of the ship, in a room big enough for
all of them.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Garyl as he looked out the window. "What a view!"
Folmina ran up to take a look next to him and gasped with delight at the
sight. "Wow! It really is amazing!" Ghoro tottered along after her, clinging
to her sleeve and cheerfully looking out the window himself.
"Ah ha ha ha ha!" Wyne laughed as she flew along outside the window.
Her dragon wings were fully materialized as she playfully flew around the
Enchanted Frigate. "This is great-great!"
"Young Mistress Wyne, how many times do I have to tell you?!"
shouted Tanya, her angel wings flapping as she chased after her, a pair of
Wyne's panties clutched in her outstretched hands. "At the very least, put
on underwear when you go outside the house!"
"Honestly, Wyne..." Elinàsze sighed, frowning. "You left without your
underwear again? Everyone's been looking forward to this trip on the
Enchanted Frigate. What if you ruin papa's travel itinerary?"
Flio smirked. "Now, now," he said. "Your sister is just excited for the
trip. Let's be understanding."
"I know..." Elinàsze said. "But..."
Flio smiled gently and patted his daughter on the head.
A few days ago, when Flio had unveiled the Enchanted Frigate to
Elinàsze, Garyl, and Wyne, the three had been absolutely agape with awe.
"Holy crap! This is amazing!" said Garyl.
"Papa's amazing-mazing!" agreed Wyne.
"A ship?! And such a large one!" added Elinàsze.
Flio smiled at his three children. "I was thinking of taking this thing for
a flight somewhere to test it out. Do you want to come?"
"Yeah!" said Garyl.
"Of course!" said Elinàsze.
"I wanna come! I wanna come!" sang Wyne.
Rys smiled brightly. "In that case, I'll have to make plenty of boxed
lunches!"
"Yay!" cheered Wyne, jumping in delight all around the room as Flio
watched with a smile on his face. "I love-love mama's lunches!"
"Hey, dad?" Garyl said, walking up to Flio. Garyl had grown up much
faster than his twin sister Elinàsze. While she still had the body of a young
girl, Garyl was already nearly as tall as Flio himself.
"Yes? What is it, Garyl?"
"Um... Is it okay if we bring our friends on the trip?"
"Those friends of yours who're always visiting?" Flio said. "They're
welcome to come!"
Garyl beamed. "Thanks, dad! This is awesome! They're gonna love it!"
Flio smiled back, and got to thinking. "Although, in that case, I wonder
where would be a good destination for the trip? If Garyl and Elinàsze's
school friends are coming along, maybe we should take them somewhere
that's good for kids..."
"I know just the place, my lord husband!" Rys volunteered.
"Oh! You do?" Flio asked.
Rys nodded her head for a moment before cocking it in thought. "I think
so..." she said. "Although, I wonder if they're still in business..."
"Huh?" Flio gave Rys a puzzled expression. He had no idea whatsoever
where Rys was referring to.
And now, they were flying along in the Enchanted Frigate, Garyl and the
rest of the household's faces glued to the windows as they passed the land
by. Salina was standing right next to Garyl, wearing a dress with a frilly
miniskirt. "I'm so excited to go on an adventure through the sky with my
Lord Garyl!" she cooed, wiggling her hips.
Irystiel, dressed in her black gothic lolita outfit, could not possibly have
looked more unlike Salina, but like her classmate, she seemed to be dressed
much more nicely than usual. "Irystiel says she's very happy to have been
invited as well," she said through the medium of the stuffed cat toy she
carried with her, making the cat's mouth move and speak using
ventriloquism.
Salina and Irystiel were in the same primary school classes as Garyl and
Elinàsze at the Houghtow College of Magic. Behind them stood three more
students from their year—Leina Raina, Reptor, and Sadjitta.
"H-Hey, Salina..." Sadjitta said, working up the nerve to tap Salina on
the shoulder. "Are you having fun in the sky? It's kinda like we're on a
date, isn't it...?"
Salina brushed his hand off her shoulder without even turning her head.
"Now, Lord Garyl..."
"H-Hey, come on, Salina!" Sadjitta said, venturing another touch. "I'm
your fiancé!"
Salina brushed his hand away again. "Oh, Lord Garyl, look! A
waterfall!"
"S-Salina! Pay attention to me!"
Salina brushed Sadjitta's hand away a third time. "Can you see those
carriages traveling along the road? They look like tiny little specks!"
"Salinaaa!" Sadjitta begged, only to be brushed away yet again.
Sadjitta and Salina's parents had arranged for the two to be married
when they came of age. Sadjitta adored Salina despite her frequent coldness
towards him and kept trying desperately to start a conversation, but Salina
simply continued to abjure his hand as she continued her conversation with
Garyl.
"Hey, Salina," Garyl said. "Sadjitta's been trying to talk to you for a
while. Why not at least say a few words?"
Salina slowly turned to face Sadjitta. "Oh?" she said, leaning in close
with icy venom in her voice. "And what do you want? I suppose I will say a
few words to you, if it is my lord's will, but please don't get between me
and my lovey-dovey date time with Lord Garyl."
Sadjitta's mouth flapped open and closed like a fish, wordless before
Salina's verbal assault.
"Sadjitta and Salina must be really good friends if they can argue so
much," said Reptor as he watched the exchange.
"I was just thinking the same thing," agreed Leina Raina.
No sooner had the words left their mouths than Salina whipped around
to face them. "Not at all!" she protested. "I have love in my heart only for
Lord Garyl—and none other!" And with that, she turned resolutely away
from the rest of the room and towards Garyl. The fearsome scowl she had
worn to face Leina Raina and Reptor was gone, replaced by a look of pure
bliss.
"I know girls like big brother Garyl, but that seems a bit extreme..."
Rislei remarked with a grimace to her father Sleip, standing beside her.
"Gwah ha ha!" laughed Sleip, slapping his daughter on the shoulder.
"Garyl's a kindhearted and strong young lad, you know! You don't find
many young men of his stature. Why, I'd have no compunctions whatsoever
about letting my precious Rislei marry such a fine young man!"
Rislei's cheeks flushed red. "Wh-What was that?! I mean, big brother
Garyl is very dashing, but he's nothing more to me than a big brother!
We're family, nothing more and nothing less!"
"I see," said Sleip. "Well, that's a pity. Just take care not to be lured
away by some good-for-nothing boy now that you're enrolled in school!"
"Why are you so worried about that, papa?" Rislei shot back. "I don't
intend to focus on anything but my studies."
Indeed, Rislei had been enrolled in the same classes as Garyl and
Elinàsze only the other day, and was the newest member of the friend group
that had formed around Garyl.
Reptor and Leina Raina watched Sleip and Rislei's conversation from a
short distance away. "I feel sorry for whoever Rislei ends up dating..." said
Reptor.
"Ohhh?" sang Leina Raina, smirking up at him. "But just the other day,
weren't you saying how cute little Rislei is and how you'd love to go on a
date with—"
Reptor quickly clapped his hand over Leina Raina's mouth, silencing
her. "B-Be careful! Rislei's papa is right over there! What if he hears?!"
Reptor glanced nervously around the room, his eyes settling on Sleip.
Sleip gave him a grin and a thumbs-up, but the smile didn't seem to
reach his eyes.
◇ ◇ ◇
The assembled group enjoyed themselves watching the land go by
beneath them in the large room on the Enchanted Frigate while Flio stood a
level above, steering the ship at the helm. There was a window displayed
showing the surrounding terrain. Every now and then, it would catch sight
of Tanya or Wyne flying alongside the ship. Flio grinned at the pair's antics.
Rys stepped up to her husband, carrying a cup. "My lord husband,
would you care for a cup of tea?"
"Gladly, thank you!" said Flio, accepting the cup and taking a sip. "But
Rys... Is that really the spot?" He pressed his finger against one of the
windows, zooming in. All sorts of high-tech-looking lights and indicators
blinked and lit up as the frame of vision sped along, stopping on a spot
marked with a large floating X.
"Yes, that should be it..." said Rys. "Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding
Park..."
Flio cocked his head curiously. "But...the Frigate's display gives the
name as Mount Nankholi. I don't see anywhere labeled Dark Mountain
Pudding Pudding Park..."
"What? Really?" Rys said, blinking in surprise as she looked at the map
on display.
A while later, the Enchanted Frigate came to a large open place. "Looks
like that's where we're supposed to land our ship," Flio said, steering in its
direction. The ship slowly descended and came to a stop in the sky above.
◇ ◇ ◇
"What's this?" Flio's eyes blinked open. Before him stood a gate labeled
with a sign that read, "Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding Park Skull Dragon
Boarding Point." But the gate's entrance had a handwritten note posted to
the shut doors reading, "Skull dragons on break today."
"It looks like you're supposed to get in the gondolas here, and the skull
dragons come and take you up to the park entrance on the mountain peak,"
Flio observed, cocking his head. "But the skull dragons are on break today.
How are we supposed to get to the park?"
Elinàsze took her father by the arm. "Papa, there's some kind of arrow
pointing that way!" Just as she said, they saw another paper note pasted to a
wall with an arrow pointing towards a narrow path. It looked like barely
more than an animal trail.
"E-Excuse me?!" Salina balked. "A-Are we meant to go that way?!"
She was far from without reason. Just a short ways ahead, they could see a
rickety rope bridge that looked like it could crumble any minute, and past
that the path continued up a steep cliff.
"Sounds good to me!" said Garyl, already doing his warm-up stretches.
"Some light exercise on the way to the park entrance? What could be
better!"
Irystiel blanched. She held out her stuffed cat, using ventriloquism to
make it say, "I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't! Lord Garyl's the only
one who could possibly be eager to tackle such a miserable trail! Irystiel
says so too."
As for Sadjitta, Reptor, and Leina Raina, their faces had gone
completely pale. They shook their heads from side to side as hard as they
could.
"Hey, papa!" said Wyne, who was busy inspecting the gondola with a
smile on her face while everyone else had gone looking for the path. "Can I
carry the gondola? Can I? Can I?"
"Oh!" said Flio. "All right, then, Wyne. Can we count on you to take us
there?"
"Of course, of course!" Wyne said, thumping her chest with a grin.
"Leave it to me!" She gleefully tossed off her clothing and transformed her
naked body into the form of an enormous dragon.
"Whoa!" said Sadjitta, his eyes zeroing in on Wyne's full chest for a
split second before she turned into a dragon. His eyes opened wide in
shock. "Wait... Whaaa?!"
Next to him, Reptor had quickly hidden his eyes behind his hands. "I-I
like Rislei!" he declared, muttering quickly under his breath. "I-I would
never look at another girl!"
"R-Reptor?!" said Rislei, who had been standing right next to him. Her
face flushed bright red. "What are you saying?!"
"That's quite a thing you let slip there, boy," said Sleip, Rislei's father
who adored her to an excessive degree. His arms folded in front of his
chest, he regarded Reptor with a very big, very forced smile.
◇ ◇ ◇
There were fourteen in total who boarded the gondola to the park: Flio,
Rys, Elinàsze, Garyl, Tanya, Sleip, Rislei, Folmina, Ghoro, Salina, Irystiel,
Sadjitta, Reptor, and Leina Raina. Hiya had come along too, but they had
stayed behind to perform an inspection of the Enchanted Frigate, now that it
had completed its first test run. When everyone was safely on board, Wyne,
in her dragon form, grabbed the gondola tight with her talons and flew up
into the sky. "Let's go go go!"
"Wow!" The children in the gondola let out a cry of delight.
"Seeing the land from a gondola is every bit as splendid as watching it
go by from the Enchanted Frigate!" rhapsodized Elinàsze. The other
children all nodded in emphatic agreement.
"I'm glad-glad you're having fun, Eli-Eli!" said Wyne. She faced
upwards and let out a roar. Her red scales glittered in the sun. It was a sight
to behold. And then...
Bang! As Wyne drew closer to the peak of Dark Mountain, the sound of
an explosion rang out.
"What?!" Everyone looked forward and peered out the gondola to see
some projectile that had been fired from near the peak.
"What's that?" Flio said. "It doesn't seem to be heading in our direction,
so I don't think we're in any danger..." In fact, whatever it was that had
been launched from the mountain seemed to be heading straight up. Then,
after a moment, there was another explosion, and a miasma of Malicium
began spilling forth.
"Goodness..." Rys said, narrowing her eyes as she peered at the smoky
cloud of malicium. "If I'm not mistaken, I think there are letters written in
the smoke!"
She was right. Letters appeared from within the cloud reading:
"WELCOME TO DARK PUDDING."
"Is that supposed to be a welcome for us?" Sleip said, smirking at the
words in the malicium.
"Perhaps," Rys said, crossing her arms and frowning. "But I must say, it
looks rather shabby, doesn't it...?"
Wyne, meanwhile, brought the gondola to a stop atop the mountain peak
and landed, changing back to her human form. "Is this Dark Mountain
Pudding Pudding Park-Park?" she asked, looking all around with a wide
grin on her face.
Tanya darted from her seat, holding the outfit Wyne had discarded
earlier, quickly pulling the dress over a kicking and screaming, naked
Wyne.
"Nooooo!" Wyne wailed. "I hate clothes! I hate 'em!"
"You must, young mistress!" said Tanya. "I am always telling you that a
proper lady must not..."
As the two carried on, Flio and the rest made their way off the gondola.
Before them was a stone wall with a castle-like gate.
"It looks like that's the entrance to the park," Flio said, pointing up at
the sign atop the gate. It read, "Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding Park."
"But it's weird..." Garyl frowned, cocking his head to the side. "It
doesn't seem like anyone's here at all..."
"I agree," said Elinàsze, following suit. "Perhaps the park isn't open
yet?"
The rest of the party nodded and started looking around, when suddenly,
a woman stepped up in front of the group. She was wearing a jacket that
looked like part of a uniform, a tight skirt, and knee-high socks, all black.
Her hair, in stark contrast, was a bluish-white, and her pale skin was almost
translucent. Altogether, she looked like a very composed and serious
woman.
"Welcome to Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding Park," she said, bowing
politely. "My name is Peguilla. I am the head of operations for this park."
"Wow..." Sadjitta said, a perverted expression on his face as he ogled the
gorgeous newcomer. "What a pretty lady..."
"Hmph," said Salina. "So that's the kind of woman you prefer. I suppose
the engagement's off, then? I'll tell papa when we return."
"What?!" Sadjitta shot back. "Hold on a minute, Salina! This is one
thing, but that's another!"
Peguilla glanced at the pair from the corner of her eye but gave no
further reaction.
Flio smiled dryly. "Excuse me, Miss Peguilla..." he said. "Is this park
open for business? I don't see any people here. I don't suppose this is your
day off?"
Peguilla smiled softly. "Not at all," she said. "This park operates every
day, year-round, without fail. Even if it has been a long time since we've
had a single guest..."
Flio smirked despite himself. I can't suppose a lot of customers would
come, with things in this state...
Peguilla bowed again. "I must apologize for the absence of the skull
dragons after you came all this way to visit our park, and for using
malicium instead of fire in our welcoming fireworks display. I'm...rather
bad at fire magic, I'm afraid..."
"So that was your spell?" Flio asked. "The 'WELCOME TO DARK
PUDDING'?"
"Yes, so it was."
"Well, thank you very much for coming out to meet us personally, Miss
Park Manager."
"Oh, not at all..." A strange expression clouded Peguilla's face. "There
is no need to thank me for such a thing..." Flio puzzled over Peguilla's
behavior as she turned to address the rest of the group. "Well, everyone,"
she continued. "Thank you so much for visiting Dark Mountain Pudding
Pudding Park! I hope you'll enjoy your visit to the fullest. I'll do my best to
have the skull dragons and fire magic ready next time you visit. I do hope
you come again."
"I hope you come again," she says... Flio mused, unable to quiet his
anxiety. But we just got here...
◇Meanwhile, With Hero Gold-Hair...◇
As Flio and the rest were arriving at Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding
Park, Hero Gold-Hair was struggling for breath as he made his way along
the narrow path up the cliff. "Hey, Keats!" he called as he stepped from one
narrow plank to another, no handrail in sight. "Why are we doing this,
anyway?!"
"I must admit, it's strange..." said Aryun Keats as she inched along
behind, taking great care not to fall. "Last time I came, there was a skull
dragon gondola that took you straight to the park entrance..."
"W-Well then!" said Valentine, who was walking along in the middle of
the group. "In that case, why don't I reinforce the path?" She released dark
threads from her fingertips, forming a bridge for Hero Gold-Hair and the
rest of the party to walk on.
"Valentine!" Gold-Hair snapped. "If you could do that this whole time,
why didn't you do it sooner?!" Despite his words, he patted Valentine
gently on the head.
"Your praise honors me," Valentine said. "But I'm afraid there are a
number of problems with this approach."
"Problems?" asked Hero Gold-Hair. "What do you mean by that?" But
before Valentine could answer, a tremendous gurgling sound issued forth
from her stomach.
"Aaahhh!" she cried, pressing her hands to her cheeks as her face turned
bright red. "I'm so embarrassed!"
"I see..." said Hero Gold-Hair, deducing everything from the sound
Valentine's stomach had made. "Food, is it..."
Valentine was a djinn from the Realm of Evil. It took large amounts of
energy to sustain her body in the world of Klyrode. To that end, she could
absorb power from magic gems, suck the magic out of a living person, or
else eat vast quantities of food to convert into energy to fuel her daily
activities.
"Let's get moving!" Hero Gold-Hair declared. "The sooner we reach this
Dark Mountain Whatever-It-Was, the sooner we can get food!"
"Yes sir!" replied the rest of the party.
Jeeeeez... Tsuya thought, shedding a tear of worry for their declining
stockpile of money. Everyone eats sooo much... And now it's not just Lady
Valentine—but Lady Keats too! Oooh, my poor wallet...
◇Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding Park—Flio's Party◇
Flio paid the admissions fee to Peguilla, and the party proceeded into the
park itself.
"I know it's a bit early," said Rys, carrying a large bag towards the
grassy field right past the park gates. "But shall we have a bit of lunch
before we play?" She had already made sure with Peguilla that it was okay
to bring their own food into the park.
"I'll help you, mama," volunteered Elinàsze.
"Mistress Rys, Young Mistress Elinàsze, please allow me to assist you,"
said Tanya.
Garyl looked around the area as Elinàsze and Tanya followed after Rys.
"Oh!" he said. "There are food stalls over by the field!" Indeed, on one
corner of the round grassy area stood a number of stalls. "I'm gonna go take
a look!"
"I'll come too, big brother Garyl!" said Folmina.
"I-If big sis Folmina's going, I will too..." said Ghoro.
Garyl headed off towards one of the stalls with Folmina and Ghoro, only
to come to a sudden stop when he got close. "H-Huh?"
The vending area of the stall was posted over with a large paper sign. It
read, "If you wish to make a purchase, please contact Peguilla, head of
operations."
"Wha...?" Garyl frowned. "Are they closed?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth, though, than Peguilla came
running as fast as she could. Her shirt sleeves were rolled up and she had a
bright smile on her face. "I'm terribly sorry, sir!" she said. "Unfortunately,
the people responsible for staffing the food stalls are unavailable today.
However, you can rest assured that I, Peguilla, will do my best to meet your
every request!"
"O-Oh..." responded Garyl. "I think I'll see about the food mom made
first." He and the other two bowed apologetically and hurried back to where
Rys and the others were setting up for lunch.
"Oh?" said Rys when she saw him return. "What's wrong, Garyl? I gave
you some spending money, didn't I? Wasn't there anything you wanted?"
"Well..." Garyl said. "I dunno. Things seemed a little off over there. It
doesn't look like there's anyone manning the stalls."
"Really? You don't say..." Rys frowned and tilted her head, puzzled.
Flio, who had been listening, took a quick glance around the park. WhWhat's with this place? he thought, feeling a bit faint as he watched Peguilla
scurry around. I have a bad feeling about this...
It didn't take long for Rys to notice that her husband was acting
strangely. "Is something the matter, my lord husband?"
"N-No," Flio replied, uncertain. "Everything's fine..." He sat down on
the cloth Rys had laid out for the picnic. "By the way, Rys, I wanted to
ask... How do you know about this place?"
Rys's cheeks turned faintly pink at Flio's question. She leaned in to
whisper her response in his ear. "Well..." she began. "Would you promise to
keep this a secret from Ghozal and Uliminas?"
"O-Okay..." said Flio.
"You see..." whispered Rys, clearly embarrassed. "As a lupine, my
childhood was spent focused on nonstop intense combat training. One day, I
heard a rumor that the young children of other demons would sometimes go
with their parents to a fun place called Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding
Park. At the time, I felt nothing but contempt for their lack of dedication,
but since becoming my lord husband's wife and having children of my own,
I believe I have come to somewhat understand those parents. I suppose I
just wanted to create some happy memories with our Elinàsze and Garyl
and Wyne..."
Flio gave her his usual easygoing smile. "I see," he said. "In that case,
let's have the best day we can." He pulled Rys into his arms and patted her
gently on the head.
"My lord husband..." Rys said, burrowing her face into her husband's
chest.
"A—hem!" Suddenly, they were interrupted by Sleip loudly clearing his
throat. "We're very well aware of how much you two love each other, but
perhaps you could restrain yourself for the time being? There are rather a
number of children around, you know..." he said, a smirk on his face. Flio
and Rys hastily looked around to see the children they had brought along all
sitting on the cloth, staring intently at the two of them.
"Mom and dad get along really well, don't they?" said Garyl.
"Yes!" said Elinàsze. "Isn't it lovely?"
"One day, Lord Garyl will hold me like that..." Salina sighed.
"No, he'll hold Irystiel!" protested Irystiel's plush cat.
Flio and Rys's faces turned bright red. They quickly pulled away. "WWell, everyone!" said Rys. "Let's all eat our fill and go enjoy the park!"
"Yes!" agreed Flio. "What shall we do first?"
The two had smiles on their faces as they addressed the group, but their
voices sounded unnatural and forced, to no one's surprise.
Peguilla clasped her hands together as she watched the group from the
food stall. This is the worst possible situation for the park... she thought.
But I will do my utmost to ensure they all have a wonderful time!
After finishing their lunch, Flio and his party set out to explore Dark
Mountain Pudding Pudding Park. However, it soon became clear that all
was not well...
◇At the Unicorn Ride...◇
The group wandered up to a large round building. "Oh ho!" exclaimed
Sleip. "Do you suppose we can ride unicorns here?"
"It looks like it," said Flio, glancing through the guidebook. "It says you
can ride on a unicorn and fly around inside this building."
"I see..." Rys sighed. "If they truly are unicorns, I'm afraid I cannot
join..."
Wyne cocked her head. "Really? Why not? Why not?"
"O-Oh, Wyne, you know..." Rys explained. "It's just that unicorns don't
like to be ridden by anyone other than a chaste maiden..."
"Huh?" Wyne was baffled. "You need to be chased by something?"
"N-No, Wyne..." said Rys. "That isn't what chaste means..."
"Then what? What?" Wyne persisted, but Rys found herself incoherent,
unable to offer a proper explanation.
Tanya crossed her arms as she watched. "Young Mistress Wyne is nearly
an adult," she said. "Perhaps it would be best to give her some education
about such matters..."
"A-Ah..." Flio winced. "Y-Yes, I suppose we should..."
"Hey," ventured Rislei, who had been peering inside the building as the
others were talking. "Where are the unicorns? I don't see any sign of them,
and I can't sense their presence anywhere."
"Hmm..." Sleip looked over. "I don't see any either..."
Suddenly, from behind, they heard Peguilla's voice. "I apologize for the
wait!" The group wheeled around as one. Then their eyes went wide.
Before them stood Peguilla wearing a white bodysuit, with a single horn
atop her nose, seemingly conjured by magic.
"M-Miss Peguilla..." Flio stammered. "What in the world...?"
"Unfortunately, I'm afraid that the unicorns are unavailable today,"
Peguilla said. "However, if you will accept the substitution, I, Peguilla, will
be happy to perform their duties in their absence." Suddenly, her body split
into multiple copies. "Come along, everyone!" the copies said. "No need to
hesitate! Get on our backs!"
Flio's group was just as taken aback by the offer as one might expect.
They stared, speechless. There's no way... was the single thought on
everyone's mind. There's just no way...
◇At the Giant Centipede Coaster...◇
"This one's the Giant Centipede Coaster," Reptor read from the
guidebook. "It says you ride a giant centipede over a twisty course at super
high speeds."
"I-It won't turn out to be Miss Peguilla this time, will it?" worried Leina
Raina, glancing all around. Everyone else followed suit, checking every
which way for the director of operations.
She appeared behind them, with a bright smile on her face. "No need to
worry!" she said. "Catanbu the old giant centipede is standing by!" She
bowed her head, and a huge and clearly ancient centipede magic beast
poked his upper body out of the ride's entrance. He was wearing dark
glasses, seeming to imply that his eyes no longer worked.
"Hah hah hah!" the old centipede laughed. "I'm getting a bit too old for
this line of work, you see. This is the last time I'm coming back! Now, if
our lovely guests would please climb on board..." Every segment of his
body was equipped with a chair and a seat belt for safety.
"All right, everyone," Peguilla urged them on. "All aboard!"
The party obliged and took their seats on Catanbu's back. "Is everyone
buckled in?" the centipede asked. "Then let's away!" Cheerfully, he started
down the course. "When I was a young centipede, I could zoom down these
rails!" he told them. "The guests would always shriek and scream so
loudly..."
"I-I see..." said Sleip, who was sitting in the seat furthest back. He
sounded anxious. "But Mister Catanbu... Are you certain you're up to this?
You're awfully wobbly..." From Sleip's position, it was clear that the
centipede's body was swaying right and left to a worrying degree with
every step he took.
"Oh ho ho! Never mind that! I've just gotten a bit up in years, is all.
Besides, a little sway to your step is attractive, isn't it?"
"M-Maybe..." Sleip said, his worries unassuaged. "But this is going a bit
beyond a little..."
Catanbu continued on down the track, not paying the least bit of mind to
Sleip's concerns. He tottered along, slow and unsteady on his feet, his joints
weak with age. Eventually, the track lifted up off the ground, past the log
path up the Dark Mountain's sheer cliff. Catanbu just kept plodding along at
his slow pace.
Suddenly, there was a scream. "O-Oh, no!" It was Salina. "I'm going to
fall! Lord Garyl, save me!!!"
Irystiel blanched, clutching her plush cat tight to her chest. "Irystiel said
she wanted to go to the flower garden instead!" the cat cried.
"W-Wait!" said Reptor, tightening his seat belt for safety. "Are we in
trouble?!"
"How come we stopped?!" Sadjitta wailed, messy tears in his eyes.
"We're right above a cliff!"
"Awawah..." Leina Raina moaned, too dizzy from vertigo to form
coherent words. "N-No way..."
"I thought this one would be fun..." said Rislei, cold sweat running
down her brow.
Garyl, at least, seemed to be enjoying himself. "Th-This is incredible!"
he said. "It's way scarier than just going fast!"
"H-How can you be so calm?" asked Elinàsze, who had manifested
wings on her back, in case she needed to start flying at a moment's notice.
In the midst of all that chatter, Wyne was jumping up and down in her
seat. "Ah ha ha! This is fun-fun!" she exclaimed. Her seat belt was still
buckled tight, so every time she moved, she caused Catanbu to waver this
way and that.
"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear...!" the ancient centipede cried.
"Eeeeeek!!!" screamed the children.
They were perfectly safe, however. The whole time, Flio had been busy
using his spell Gravitation to ensure that Catanbu didn't fall from the track
as he held on for dear life.
◇At Dakwun's Dance Stage...◇
"Old man Catanbu's centipede coaster turned out to be pretty fun after
all!" said Garyl, a cheerful grin on his face.
Elinàsze sighed. "Well, I suppose..." she said. "Although I don't think
most of those screams were joyful, exactly..."
"Lord Garyl..." Salina cried, clinging to the boy's arm. "I was so
scared..."
"Irystiel was scared too!" said Irystiel's plush cat as Irystiel herself
clung to Garyl's other arm. The two girls really seemed to have been
frightened by their experience. Their legs were shaking, their faces pale.
"It'll be okay, you two," said Garyl, giving them each a reassuring grin
as he wrapped his arms around their shoulders in a gentle hug. "You're safe
now. There's nothing to worry about."
Lord Garyl... Salina thought, looking up at him with an expression of
pure adoration.
He's such a gentleman! thought Irystiel as she glanced up at Garyl from
the other side. I can't handle this!
Flio, meanwhile, was speaking with Sleip as the group walked through
the park grounds. "It really does seem like most of the attractions are out of
service..."
"It does, doesn't it...?" agreed Sleip. "The only one that's actually
running is that old centipede's ride..."
Since they had parted ways with Catanbu at the Giant Centipede
Coaster, the party had stopped by all sorts of park attractions, only to be
disappointed again and again. The cyclops who spun the Ferris wheel had
quit, leaving the wheel out of order. The haunted house was closed because
there were no ghosts to frighten the guests. The pirate ship cruise wasn't
available because the demons who played the pirates hadn't come to work
that day. In fact, the vast majority of the attractions in the park seemed to be
unavailable.
I wonder how the park ended up in this state, Flio thought as they
walked along.
Rislei and Wyne were walking along ahead of Flio. "According to the
guidebooks Peguilla gave us," said Rislei, her nose buried in the pamphlet,
"someone named Dakwun does a show on that stage twice a day."
"Dakwun?!" asked Wyne, staring eagerly over Rislei's shoulders to try
to get a glimpse. "What's that? What's that? Can you eat it?"
"Ah ha ha! No, big sis Wyne. I don't think they're for eating," Rislei
said with a smile. "If we go now, we should make it just in time for the
second performance. What do you think, everyone?"
"Let's go!" came the unanimous cry of approval.
Flio's party made their way to the stage in the middle of the park. "Oh!"
said Elinàsze, running ahead and beckoning for the others to follow. "It
looks like they're just starting!" Before their eyes, a person dressed in a
comical mascot suit stepped onto the stage.
"Doesn't that kinda look like uncle Ghozal?" said Garyl.
Elinàsze nodded seriously. "You know, now that you mention it, it
does..."
"According to the pamphlet, it looks like they used him as a model,"
Rislei reported as she read along.
"I see!" nodded Garyl and Elinàsze.
"Uncle Ghozal...?" Salina whispered behind them. "Isn't that Folmina's
papa?"
"B-But the pamphlet says the character was based on the former Dark
One, Gholl!" objected Irystiel's cat, just as quietly.
"Huh?" whispered Reptor. "Wh-What does that mean?!"
The three exchanged a confused look, not knowing that the Ghozal who
lived at Flio's house was none other than the former Dark One himself.
"Ah ha ha!" Wyne laughed. "Dakwun's a cutie-cutie!"
"Isn't he?!" agreed Folmina.
"I-If you say so, big sis Folmina, I think so too..." said Ghoro.
But Wyne, Folmina, and Ghoro seemed like the only ones who were
really enjoying the show.
Ten minutes later, Dakwun finished their show and removed their head
with a heavy gesture, revealing Peguilla's face, drenched in sweat. "Well?
How was it? Did you all enjoy yourselves?" she asked, giving the group a
great big smile.
"It was super-duper fun-fun!" said Wyne, running up to the stage.
"I had fun too!" Folmina added, running up as well.
"I-If big sis Folmina had fun, so did I..." said Ghoro, following along
behind.
"Yeah," said Garyl from behind the trio. "It wasn't bad." He and
Elinàsze were smiling cheerfully.
"Yes, I enjoyed myself as well," said Elinàsze.
"H-Hey!" Irystiel protested through her plush cat, moving its mouth and
using ventriloquism as always. "You're not supposed to take off your
costume onstage!"
Peguilla bowed her head apologetically. "I'm afraid that the person who
usually performs the role of Dakwun suddenly quit just the other day... I
apologize for my inexperience." She replaced the costume's head, but
accidentally put it on backwards, the eye-holes facing the completely wrong
direction. "Wh-What's this?" Peguilla said. "I can't seem to see anything!"
Confused and panicked, she wandered this way and that until she finally
teetered close to the edge of the stage and fell.
"Watch out!" Flio cried, quickly casting Fly on the plummeting head of
operations. Thanks to his timely intervention, the show ended without
anyone breaking their neck.
◇ ◇ ◇
"Th-Thank you..." said Peguilla, lying on her back on the cloth Rys had
set up in front of the stage.
"It's quite all right," said Flio. "Are you hurt at all?" It's hard to tell,
what with how pale her skin is... he thought. But from up close, she seems
unwell... He quietly cast a healing spell on her just to be safe.
Peguilla's ragged breaths gradually steadied. She sighed deeply. "I really
do owe you an apology. You came all this way, but all my attempts to
entertain you have been absolutely dismal," she said, bowing deeply. "I
wanted to make things work with the people we had left, but nothing's been
going at all how I planned..." she muttered lonesomely, half to herself.
"Excuse me," ventured Flio. "May I ask what happened to this park?"
Peguilla hemmed and hawed indistinctly for a while before answering,
clearly self-conscious before the gaze of Flio and the rest of the group.
"You see..." she began. "Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding Park was set up
in partnership with Dark Citadel Shopping Town. We had a good number of
customers at first, but without the funds to expand the park or update the
attractions, it slowly began to dwindle. And then the other day, just as we
were starting to run out of funds to pay our staff's monthly salaries, Dark
Citadel Shopping Town cut off our support completely, saying that they
couldn't afford such an unprofitable venture... We weren't able to pay the
staff, and most of them quit on the spot." She was doing her best to sound
unaffected, but it was obvious that Peguilla was still passionate about the
park.
I see... Flio thought, nodding in understanding. So Dark Citadel
Shopping Town cut off their support. I suppose that's why it didn't appear
on the Enchanted Frigate's map... He thought back to that morning, when
they had been heading to the park. Back then, he had been perplexed to see
the map window display Dark Mountain's older name—Mount Nankholi.
As Peguilla finished her speech, Garyl took a step forward. "But you
know," he said, grinning widely. "I had a pretty good time today, at least.
Catanbu's Giant Centipede Coaster was crazy scary!"
"I agree," said Elinàsze, smiling wryly. "It isn't often one gets to have an
experience like this. Although, I can't say I was as much a fan of the
centipede coaster as my brother..." The other children also started chatting
cheerfully about the events of the day.
Flio, meanwhile, gave Peguilla a searching look. "I'm sorry if this is
rude to ask..." he said. "But what are you planning to do going forward?"
Peguilla gave a small sad smile. "Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding Park
has a long history," she said. "If I can, I'd like to find some way that we can
stay in operation. But without the support of Dark Citadel Shopping Town,
and with hardly any employees, I'm not sure what I can do..."
That's understandable, Flio thought, staring intently at Peguilla. There
was hardly anyone in the park aside from us. Without guests, it'll be pretty
hard to keep this place operational. Using normal means, at least...
◇Meanwhile, with Hero Gold-Hair...◇
At long last, Hero Gold-Hair and crew reached the entrance to Dark
Mountain Pudding Pudding Park. Valentine and Aryun Keats were rubbing
their bellies with an air of satisfaction.
"I really can't believe there wasn't a single spot to buy refreshments on
the trail up here..." Valentine said. "Thank goodness for that flock of magic
birds that happened by the cliff! We would have been in real trouble if not
for them."
"And I would have been in real trouble if not for you, Madame
Valentine," said Keats.
The group had luckily had the fortune to happen upon a flock of edible
bird-type magic beasts as they made their way up the narrow log path.
Valentine had captured them all with her dark thread.
Haaah... Tsuya sighed to herself. I'm just glad it didn't cost us any
moooney...
"But you know," said Hero Gold-Hair, folding his arms. "It looks like
most of the attractions at this park are out of service. Well, at least there's
this one..."
The old centipede Catanbu reared up and waved cheerfully at Hero
Gold-Hair's words. "It's been a very good day for me!" he said. "It's been
so long since I've had two entire groups of guests come to ride on my
back!"
"Oh?" said Hero Gold-Hair. "I thought the park was empty aside from
us! There was another group?"
"Indeed there was!" answered the centipede.
"Hm," Gold-Hair mused. "Well, I'm glad to hear it, I suppose. Now,
let's see what you can do!"
"Right away!" Catanbu cheered as he started along the track, his body
wobbling violently to the left and right as he tottered along. "Just you wait
and see! Centipede leaving the station!!!"
"W-Wait!" cried Hero Gold-Hair. "Is something wrong?! Your body's
rocking rather a lot!"
"Awaaah!" shrieked Tsuya. "I-I'm scaaared!"
Eventually, the track lifted up off the ground and proceeded on towards
the sheer cliff. Wuha Gappoli and Aryun Keats's eyes went wide at once.
"Wait, wait, wait, hold on!" interjected Wuha. "Isn't this kinda
dangerous?!"
"Th-There's nothing below us!" exclaimed Keats. "What if we fall?!"
"Oh ho ho!" the old centipede laughed. "No need to worry! Why, I got
the last group of customers back safe and sound!"
"I-I see..." said Hero Gold-Hair. "Well, I suppose I'm glad to hear it..."
Nonetheless, there was a cold sweat forming on his brow.
Alas, Catanbu had no idea that last time he had taken a group of guests
for a ride, Flio had used his Gravitation spell to ensure that nobody fell off.
It was only a matter of minutes before Hero Gold-Hair's party took the
plunge, their screams filling the air as they fell...
◇That Night—Flio's House◇
Flio and the rest of his group made their way home from Dark Mountain
Pudding Pudding Park on the Enchanted Frigate. They ate dinner in the
living room and put the children to bed, leaving just the adults awake.
"So," Flio began. "We went to Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding Park
today..." He proceeded to recap the events of the day to the rest of the
house.
As Flio finished his explanation, Uliminas heaved a heavy sigh. "Dark
Mountain Pudding Pudding Park's been around since before Ghozal was
Dark Meown, mew know," she said. "It mewsed to be the most popular
tourist spot in all the Dark Army's territory. They were raking in cash paw
over fist. But it's been a long time since then, and now the new Dark
Meown's been opening up the Dark Citadel and doing all kinds of
construction. I guess they've been in the red meowre often than not
lately..."
"Hrm..." said Ghozal, folding his arms and nodding. "Thinking about it
now, the park management was a bit unreasonable back in those days. They
kept expanding without any rhyme or reason. It cost the Dark Army quite a
bit."
"And yet," added Sleip, "they were able to keep up their operations,
back then."
"They had the apurroval of demon children everywhere," said Uliminas.
"They grow up with fond memories of the park, and when they have their
meown kids, they take 'em there themselves. It's not a bad business model.
Mew'd think they'd have lots of guests...but..."
"But?" asked Sleip.
"When the meowney started to dry up, they took out a big loan from
Dark Citadel Shopping Town. Suddenly, they couldn't afford to keep the
rides in working meowrder or build any new ones. And customeowr
satisfaction fell off a cliff..."
Sleip folded his arms and lowered his head in thought. "That fits with
what we saw," he said. "There was only a single working attraction. It
sounds like Dark Citadel Shopping Town just cut off their support too. I
suppose they'll have to rethink things going forward."
"Well, you know," said Calsi'im, "I myself have a number of childhood
memories there. It would make me terribly sad to see them shutter the gates
for good."
"I quite agree," said Tia, nuzzling close to the skeleton. "I should very
much like to take my children with Calsi'im one of these days..."
"Oh!" Calsi'im exclaimed. "W-Well! I-I suppose that would make me
very happy!"
"Tee hee hee!" Tia giggled. "I'm afraid you won't be getting much sleep
tonight, dear!" The rest of the house was right there, but the two didn't
seem to pay any mind. They were off in their own little world.
I see... Flio reflected. All these people have such fond memories of this
place. It would be a shame to lose it... He glanced over at his wife. Come to
think of it, didn't Rys say something like that too?
He remembered Rys's words from earlier that day. "At the time, I felt
nothing but contempt for their lack of dedication, but since becoming my
lord husband's wife and having children of my own, I believe I have come to
somewhat understand those children's parents. I suppose I just wanted to
create some happy memories with our Elinàsze and Garyl and Wyne..."
Flio rested his chin in the palm of his hand, and gave the matter some
thought.
◇A Few Days Later—Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding Park◇
"Haah..." Peguilla let out a small sigh as she surveyed the entrance to
Dark Mount Pudding Pudding Park. Nobody's responding to my help
wanted notices... Everyone I've approached for a loan has said no...and
worst of all, we're hardly getting any guests...
She sighed again and looked up at the sky. Then she saw it—something
was flying towards the park. Peguilla couldn't believe her eyes. "What
is...that?" She stared, doubting her senses, as the object drew closer, until
she realized it was a giant flying ship. She froze in place as it flew straight
for the park entrance and came to a stop, hovering quietly in the air above
Peguilla's head.
A set of stairs extended down from the bottom of the ship and Flio
stepped out, smiling his usual easygoing smile and waving hello. "Good
afternoon, Miss Peguilla."
"Y-You're Flio, the guest from the other day! I-Is that the same ship you
flew to the base of the mountain last time, might I ask?"
"Yes, that's right. I made this ship with some of my companions. It's an
Enchanted Frigate." Flio stepped off the ladder onto the solid ground and
walked up to her. "Miss Peguilla, I'm here today not as a park guest but as
the proprietor of the Fli-o'-Rys General Store, to approach you about a
business venture."
"The Fli-o'-Rys General Store... Isn't that the human store that opened a
branch in front of the Dark Citadel?"
"Yes, the very same." Flio's smile didn't waver an inch. Peguilla could
only stare, an expression of pure bafflement on her face.
◇Meanwhile, with Hero Gold-Hair...◇
Somewhere in a forest, a single carriage rolled along. It wasn't pulled by
any horse, nor was there anyone sitting in the driver's seat. Nonetheless, it
was moving along the road at a neat clip.
Inside the carriage sat Hero Gold-Hair, shaking his head and muttering,
"That really was quite a nasty run-in we had back at Dark Mountain
Pudding Pudding Park..."
"I really do apologize for that," came Aryun Keats's voice from the
ceiling of the carriage. "It was much busier and far more enjoyable the last
time I went."
After all, the carriage was none other than one of the forms of the
carriage djinn Aryun Keats herself.
"Well, whatever," said Hero Gold-Hair. "It's not like you suggested the
park out of malice."
"I am truly relieved to hear you say that..."
"By the way, Aryun, darling," said Valentine. "What other sorts of
vehicles can you transform into?"
"An excellent question, Madame Valentine!" replied Keats. "I have lived
for longer than you might guess from looking at me, and in that time, I have
obtained the data for a prodigious variety of vehicles. In addition to
carriages, I can take the form of all sorts of ships and war machines, up to
and including an Enchanted Frigate!"
"An Enchanted Frigate?!" asked the rest of the party.
"Those are extraordinarily rare, even in my old homeworld, the Realm
of Evil!" exclaimed Valentine.
"Indeed!" said Keats. "But I had occasion to lay my hands on such a
vessel, and now I can transform into one should I have need!"
"Hm," Hero Gold-Hair grunted. "I take it that this Enchanted Frigate
isn't the kind of boat that floats on water?"
"Well deduced, Sir Hero Gold-Hair!" Keats answered. "The Enchanted
Frigate is a ship that sails through the sky!"
"Wooow!" Tsuya cried, clasping her hands together. "That sounds
amaaaazing! Sailing through the sky in an Enchaaanted Frigate..." Her eyes
lit up at the thought.
"Leave it to me!" said Keats. "Just one second!" No sooner had the
words left her mouth than the carriage began to change shape. Only the
seats of Hero Gold-Hair and the rest of the party remained solid as
everything around them shifted and transformed. "Transformation
complete! Now, let us take to the sky!" Now in the form of an Enchanted
Frigate, Aryun Keats ascended upwards at tremendous speed.
Hero Gold-Hair looked out the window and gasped in awe. "Well! This
really is quite something!"
"An excellent view!" agreed Riliangiu.
Aryun Keats the Enchanted Frigate flew higher and higher into the air
for a while before Wuha Gappoli spoke up. "Um... Keats?"
"Yes? What is it, Madame Wuha?"
Wuha's expression was strangely dark. "Sooo..." she began. "Weren't
you just telling me the other day that flying as the Enchanted Frigate uses
up a ton of magic power?"
"Oh yes!" said Keats. "Now that you mention it, that's true!"
"What?!" the party's eyes shot open with belated realization. Then, a
second later, a tremendous rumbling sound filled the frigate, sounding just
like that of an empty stomach.
"It's an emergency!" Aryun Keats reported. "I seem to have run out of
magic power!"
"Whaaaat?!" Tsuya cried, looking out the window in utter terror. "KKeeeats! We're reeeally high up!"
"Oh no!" lamented Keats. "I wanted to show everyone my cool side, but
I ended up going too far! Tee-hee!"
"Don't you 'tee-hee' at us!" said Gold-Hair. "D-Do something!"
"Oh, I really, really wish I could..."
Suddenly, the Enchanted Frigate began to plummet towards the ground
at an alarmingly high speed. Inside, Hero Gold-Hair's party let out a
scream.
"Sir Hero Gold-Hair..." Keats asked. "Where would you like me to
crash?"
"Don't crash at all! Land this thing properly!"
"Well, I don't know... I'm not sure I'll be able to do that!"
Soon, Aryun Keats's Enchanted Frigate form came crashing down in the
same forest she had started from.
◇Later Still—Fli-o'-Rys Dark Citadel Branch Store◇
The Fli-o'-Rys Dark Citadel Branch Store opened at five o'clock in the
morning and operated late into the night. It was nearly closing time one
night when a demon woman stepped into the store.
Gekiduta, the daruma oni manning the store, greeted the new customer.
"Oh, if it isn't Lady Belianna! Your tasks are finally complete, then?"
Because of its long hours of operation, the workers at the branch store were
divided into two shifts, and thus Uliminas had hired many demons to staff
the store.
"Yeah," said Belianna, raising her right hand in a stiff greeting as she
made for the drink corner in the back of the shop. "It's been a damned hell
of a time out there." What a damned hunt that was, she thought. We chased
that damned magic beast all over the damned place. I'm damned exhausted.
She grabbed five bottles of her go-to recovery drink and brought them to
the register.
"Five WJ Super Recovery Drinks! Many thanks!" Gekiduta bagged the
items and placed them on the register as Belianna grabbed her purse out of
her Bottomless Bag. "You really are fond of the WJ brand, aren't you, Lady
Belianna?"
"Damned right I am!" Belianna said with a grin. "Just seeing the logo
blasts away every bit of my damned fatigue!"
The WJ brand was given to goods that met the approval of the Wolf of
Justice, the mercenary who worked only for the Fli-o'-Rys General Store.
The Wolf of Justice had roundly defeated demon after demon, time and
time again, until demons everywhere began to develop a profound respect
for the man. Some of them even worshipped the Wolf of Justice.
Uliminas, who had a shrewd eye for these sorts of developments, had
come up with an ingenious plan—one that made her exclaim, "That's
purrfect!" when it was first conceived. And so, the WJ brand had been
born.
Belianna picked up her purchase. "All right," she said. "I'm gonna go
home, drink these things in one shot, and feel damned... Hm?" Something
caught her attention. Her eyes flicked to a large poster on the wall behind
the register.
When Gekiduta noticed where Belianna was looking, he smiled
cordially and launched into a scripted speech. "Oh, that? Fli-o'-Rys and
Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding Park are holding a festival in
commemoration of their new partnership. Students from the human College
of Magic in Houghtow City will be in attendance, and there will be
entertainment in the form of..."
Belianna suddenly interrupted his speech, grabbing Gekiduta firmly by
the neck. "I-I don't give a damn about some performance for kids!" she
said. "Th-That!" With her free hand, she pointed to something written in the
very corner of the poster. "I-I-Is that true?! A-About the talk show?!"
"Y-Yes, my lady!" Gekiduta choked out. "H-He's on an exclusive
mercenary contract with the Fli-o'-Rys General Store, after all..."
Belianna wasted no time. She retrieved the purse she had just put away
from her Bottomless Bag. "A ticket!" she barked, slamming a fistful of cash
down on the counter. "Give me a damned ticket to the Wolf of Justice's
damned talk show!"
Belianna had faced the Wolf of Justice in combat, and had found herself
utterly helpless before him. She'd begun training to defeat him, but over
time, her admiration for his overwhelming power had grown beyond respect
or even mere worship. It was as if she were passionately in love with the
Wolf of Justice.
Naturally, that was the real reason she purchased so many WJ-branded
items as well.
◇Even More Days Later—Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding Park◇
The carriage parking area at the foot of the mountain was packed with
vehicles, near overflowing. Before, customers would have made the rest of
the trip in a skull dragon gondola, but now, the path up the mountain to the
park had finally been completed. In their centaur forms, Sleip's underlings
pulled carriage after carriage full of guests up the mountain.
Peguilla stood by the ticket station at the gate, along with a number of
shadow demons from the Fli-o'-Rys supply team, greeting each guest with a
smile. Past the gates were rows of food stalls, where yet more shadow
demons were busily cooking up food and handing it over to the customers.
The shadow demons had been honing their culinary technique under Rys's
watchful eyes, and now had a prodigious degree of skill.
The broken Ferris wheel was running again with a generous application
of Hiya's magic, while Sleip's underlings were stationed in the unicorn
building in their demon horse forms, letting customers ride on their backs.
Meanwhile, Damalynas, the Grand Magus of Midnight herself, had
summoned a crew of ghosts to populate the haunted house. But Flio's crew
hadn't only reopened the existing attractions—there were new attractions
making their first public debut as well. Every single one of them was
crowded with eager guests.
As Peguilla watched the renovated park in disbelief, a demon family and
their young child passed by in front of her. They were looking every which
way, bright smiles on their faces.
"Papa, mama, have you been to Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding Park
before?" the child asked.
"Sure!" said the demon father. "Your grandmother took me when I was
no bigger than you!"
"I went with my family many, many times..." the mother reminisced. "I
thought it had gone out of business a long time ago! I had no idea it was
still so crowded!"
Peguilla smiled as she watched them go. The park's back... she thought.
It's all thanks to Mister Flio—no, rather, the manager of the Fli-o'-Rys
General Store...
As she was thinking that, Flio himself appeared before her eyes. "Good
work today, Miss Peguilla," he said. "I'm glad we were able to get this
many guests."
"Mister—Mister General Manager, sir!" Peguilla bowed deeply. "I don't
know how I can possibly thank you for all you've done. Not only did you
give us the funds we need to operate the park, but you also gave us enough
to renovate and expand as well! And not only that, but also sending your
own employees to work here...!"
"Don't worry about it!" said Flio, giving Peguilla one of his usual
easygoing smiles. "We're business partners, you know. Helping out is what
I'm here for."
"By the way, Mister Flio, I've been meaning to ask..." Peguilla ventured.
"Is it truly safe for a human merchant to operate inside Dark Army territory
like this? I know humanity and demonkind have that peace treaty now,
but..."
"Oh! You have nothing to worry about on that front," Flio said, pulling
out a roll of lambskin parchment. He handed it to Peguilla, who read it over.
"This..." she said. "You have official permission from the Dark One
Lord Dawkson himself?!"
◇Dark Citadel—Throne Room◇
In the Dark Citadel's throne room, the Dark One Dawkson sat on the
ground in front of his throne. He refused to sit on it, having declared that he
"still hadn't earned his place as Dark One."
When Dawkson had reigned as Dark One before under the name
Yuigarde, he would recline back in his throne, legs spread wide with an air
of ultimate self-conceit. His current self hardly seemed like the same person
at all.
"Master Dawkson." Dawkson's minion Phufun pressed her glasses up
against the ridge of her nose. "Do you truly think it was wise to allow the
Fli-o'-Rys General Store to partner with Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding
Park? It is a human business, after all..."
Dawkson nodded. "I wouldn't worry about it!" he declared. "Fli-o'-Rys
helped Calsi'im out a ton when back when he was Dark Regent, and nothin'
bad happened to demons when it did business in our territory. Besides, the
demons have already accepted Fli-o'-Rys."
"It is as the Dark One says, Lady Phufun." The devil Zanzibar, one of
the Infernal Four, spoke from his position to the side of the Dark One.
Zanzibar had once led a rebellion against Yuigarde, who had ruled
demonkind through pure force. However, Calsi'im, who had been serving
as Dark Regent at the time, had joined forces with the Wolf of Justice to
defeat him. Afterwards, Dark One Dawkson pardoned his crimes and made
him one of the Infernal Four. Zanzibar had been working himself to the
bone night and day since then, out of a sense of obligation to live up to the
expectations placed on his release.
"What do you mean by that, Lord Zanzibar?" asked Phufun, adjusting
her glasses again. "There are many demons who think poorly of our peace
treaty with the Magical Kingdom of Klyrode, the largest of the human
kingdoms. What if this is the spark that incites them...?"
"Indeed," Zanzibar admitted. "If it were any other human store, I would
expect demons to riot. However, if it is Fli-o'-Rys, there should be no
problem. Fli-o'-Rys has a contract with the Wolf of Justice, after all."
Phufun nodded pensively. "I see... Many demons do respect or even
admire the Wolf of Justice. You're saying they will permit it because of the
store's connection to him..."
Dawkson looked over to the spot in the throne room reserved for the
Infernal Four. Right now, Zanzibar was the only one in attendance.
"Belianna's off today?"
"Yes, Master," said Phufun. "She hadn't missed a day of work since
being appointed to her station, so I decided to allow it."
"All right," grunted Dawkson. "I'll leave her area to you, then."
"As you command." Phufun bowed deeply.
As they were speaking, Coqueshtti, the little mad scientist girl wearing a
light pink outfit, quivered and shook where she stood beside Zanzibar. She
had been summoned to appear in the throne room that day, and had been
jittery with nerves the whole time, repeating, "Awawa! Wh-Whatever could
I have done...?"
But what Dawkson said was, "Hey, you! You're now a member of the
Infernal Four. Look forward to working with ya!" Once she calmed down
somewhat, he gave a more detailed explanation. "You've been looking after
hurt demons for a long time as one of Phufun's underlings, haven't you?
The way I figure it, that makes you a better choice for the Infernal Four
than anyone. And between Zanzibar and Belianna and you, that brings us
up to three!"
I-I couldn't possibly refuse after the Dark One himself said such things!
Coqueshtti thought, clutching her oversized syringe in her arms and shaking
furiously. B-B-But I'm just a little girl! I can't be one of the Dark Army's
Infernal Four! It's m-m-much too scary for me! I-I-I'll have to ask him if he
won't please reconsider... She looked over at Dawkson, sitting in front of
the throne with his powerful body and fierce-looking face. She could only
hold her gaze for a second before she turned away in fear. M-M-Maybe I'll
do it some other time...
◇Back at Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding Park◇
"And with that, let's hope today is the beginning of a long and fruitful
partnership!" Flio said, smiling as always. "Now, I should go get the stage
ready..."
"Yes!" agreed Peguilla. Grinning, she turned to face the swell of guests
coming towards the gates. "And I will do my best not to be outdone by you,
Mister Flio—er...General Manager, sir!"
◇That Evening◇
A return carriage made its way down the path from Dark Mountain
Pudding Pudding Park and arrived at the foot of the mountain. Out stepped
Belianna, off-duty today, wearing not her usual revealing costume, but a
short-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans. She donned glasses as well, all so
that nobody there would recognize her as the Infernal Belianna.
Belianna had a dopey smile on her face as she stepped down from the
carriage. Her breath was coming out hot and steamy. She looked like she
had just experienced pure bliss. "Eh heh..." she giggled. "Eh heh heh... The
Wolf of Justice's talk show was so damned good..."
That afternoon, Belianna had attended the talk show event hosted by
none other than the Wolf of Justice. Just remembering it made her face go
slack with joy. She clutched a commemorative crystal she had gotten which
would project an image of her hugging the Wolf of Justice to her chest, face
bright red. She had, of course, stayed after the talk show for a photo session
with the Wolf of Justice.
That was the best... she thought. The best damned moment of my life...
◇Meanwhile—Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding Park◇
Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding Park had closed its gates for the day,
but there was still a good-sized crowd in front of the entrance.
"I had a great time today!" Garyl said, grinning next to his assembled
friends. Volunteers from the students at the Houghtow College of Magic
had performed songs and stage plays for the event celebrating the
partnership between Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding Park and the Fli-o'-
Rys General Store. They had all worked hard, and even managed to get a
round of warm applause from the demons who had come only to see the
Wolf of Justice's talk show.
"I was worried at first, but I'm glad so many demon guests came to
watch us in the end!" said Elinàsze, smiling brightly.
"All's well that ends well, I suppose?" Rislei said, nodding happily.
Salina, however, had a complicated expression on her face. "Maybe I'm
imagining things, but it seemed like there were rather a lot of insects
swarming about my lord Garyl today..." She took Garyl by the arm and
huffed, pouting.
She had her reasons for feeling that way. The guests who had come to
watch the show—and especially the women—couldn't get enough of Garyl.
Some of them even took to catcalling him.
"Look at that boy! He's such a pretty thing, isn't he!"
"I wonder if he'd go out with me..."
"Please! Just one cup of tea!"
"I don't mind!" said Garyl, still grinning cheerfully. "Everyone was
having fun, after all!"
"Well, I suppose..." Salina said, nodding reluctantly. Garyl patted the
girl reassuringly on the head.
Irystiel kept her distance, merely watching the group.
"Hey, Irystiel," said Garyl. "What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's just..." Irystiel made her plush cat say with ventriloquism,
"Irystiel's sister Belianna isn't here..."
Irystiel and Belianna were half-sisters. Belianna was a pure devil, while
Irystiel was half-devil and half-human. She had been attending a human
school to avoid persecution from the other demons. Irystiel had performed a
song and acted onstage today, while Belianna had been in the park. They
had promised to go home together after it was finished, but Belianna had
gotten too worked up after the photo session with the Wolf of Justice and
forgot herself entirely, going down the mountain on her own.
"I'm sure Irystiel's big sister is waiting for her," Garyl said, giving her a
big grin.
"Yes," agreed Elinàsze. "I believe papa will be back soon too. When he
gets here, shall we go looking for your sister together?"
The children spent a bit more time lingering in front of the park, chatting
and laughing merrily into the night.