"I see..." Flio nodded as Phufun, who was sitting in the seat opposite
him, finished her story. "So I suppose the cooking contest is over, then."
"Indeed," said Phufun, pressing her glasses up against the ridge of her
nose. "However, if I may, I would like to continue to attend your cooking
lessons, Lady Rys, as a student."
"Of course you may!" Rys smiled brightly. "I'm sure the shadow
demons will be happy to have you as well!"
"As long as Rys says so, you're welcome anytime!" added Flio.
"Thank you both so much." Phufun bowed deeply. "I am in your care
once again." As she raised her head, she took another glance around the
room. "L-Lord Flio..." she ventured. "May I ask...are we truly in
Dogorogma?"
Indeed, this conversation was taking place in the base Flio had set up the
other day in the world of Dogorogma. "We are!" Flio said, smiling his usual
easygoing smile. "I had an opportunity to visit Dogorogma the other day
thanks to a number of circumstances, so now I can use my Teleportation
spell to come here whenever I feel like it!"
"T-Teleportation...you say?"
"That's right!" answered Flio. "Teleportation allows you to travel
instantly to any place you've been before, doesn't it? It only makes sense."
"Huh..." was all Phufun could manage.
Flio was correct. Those who could cast Teleportation were able to return
instantaneously to anywhere they had been before. That being said, there
were few magic users in the world of Klyrode capable of casting such a
high-level spell. Moreover, Teleportation demanded more magic power
from its user the greater the distance they sought to traverse. Using
Teleportation to travel long distances ordinarily required multiple casters to
combine their power, or else a long period of casting time with plenty of
rest for the caster to recover their magic. Flio, however, was able to warp
somewhere as far away as the Calgosi Coast in a single second, a feat that
would take the best mages in Klyrode Castle multiple days of casting to
accomplish. And now he had used the spell to transport them to Dogorogma
—another world entirely.
Nobody in the world of Klyrode was powerful enough to teleport all the
way to another world. Even in the Celestial Plane, there were very few
magic users on that level, and they accomplished the feat with the aid of
their scythes and other magic-enhancing items. Flio's feat—that is, using
the spell Teleportation to travel from the world of Klyrode to Dogorogma
without any assistance whatsoever—was completely unheard of.
Flio evinced no more understanding than he ever did of just how
outrageous the spells he was casting really were. Phufun, who understood
perfectly well, stared in disbelief, cold sweat on her brow, as she pressed
her glasses up the bridge of her nose. True... she thought. That is how the
spell Teleportation works. And yet...
Suddenly, everyone's attention was drawn to the window. "Ah ha ha!"
Wyne laughed, flying through the air at high speeds. "Fun! Fun!" A tiny
dragon was chasing playfully after her.
"Mushy, wait up!" cried Elinàsze, flying after the two using a pair of
angelic wings she had conjured.
"Th-That dragon that just passed by..." said Phufun. "Am I imagining
things, or did it look like a miniature version of the legendary demon wyrm
Mushu-Fushu...?"
"You're familiar, I take it!" said Flio, smiling cheerfully. "Yes, that's the
one! We captured it the first time we came to Dogorogma, but it was so cute
after I shrunk it down that the children took a liking to it immediately. It
seems to be fond of them as well, so we ended up adopting it as a household
pet."
"A h-household pet, you say? The Mushu-Fushu?" Phufun was utterly
dumbfounded. According to legend, Mushu-Fushu devoured an entire world
on its own! Learning Mushu-Fushu was real would be enough of a shock.
B-But they're keeping it as a pet?!
Flio just kept smiling like he always did.
"My lord husband," Rys said, taking Flio by the arm, "it seems the
others have finished the preparations for the barbecue. Listen, Tanya's
calling for us!"
Flio could hear Tanya's voice calling from outside the house. "Would
you care to join us, Miss Phufun? You've come all this way, after all. You
can try your hand at cooking some of the ingredients!"
Just as Flio spoke, outside the window an enormous fish magic beast
came splashing through the air. "Ha ha ha!" laughed Ghozal. "Caught a big
one!" He was wearing a straw hat and wielding a fishing rod, its line
terminating in the giant fish's mouth.
"Mreow!" Uliminas cried in jubilation. "Mew got it, Ghozal!" Her tail
swished excitedly at the prospect of fresh fish. It was one of her favorite
foods, after all.
"Just wait!" said Garyl, casting his own line with tremendous
enthusiasm. "I'll fish up an even bigger fish than Uncle Ghozal's!"
"You can do it, big bro Garyl!" cheered Folmina.
"I-If big sis Folmina's cheering for you, I will too..." added Ghoro. Both
children had big grins on their faces as they cheered Garyl on.
Sybe, in its unicorn rabbit form, also hopped up and down next to
Folmina and Ghoro. "Snuffle, snuffle!"
"Hey, come on, you two!" Ghozal said, grinning despite his protests.
"Aren't you gonna cheer for your own papa?"
"No!" said Folmina. "I'm cheering for big bro Garyl!"
"A-And I'm cheering for big bro Garyl because big sis Folmina is..."
added Ghoro.
Sybe, meanwhile, kept right on hopping.
"Hrm..." grumbled Ghozal, pursing up his lips. He wasn't sure how to
feel about that. "Well, I guess it's fine since they're enjoying themselves."
Blossom, meanwhile, was taking her hoe to the soil by the lake shore. "I
had a feeling this was good earth the moment I set eyes on it!" she declared.
"This'll be well worth cultivating!"
Rislei, who had been galloping around the circumference of the lake in
her centaur form, came trotting up next to Blossom. "Are you going to
make a farm here too, Blossom?"
"I reckon so!" said Blossom with a grin. "There're lots of rare plants
around these parts! I figure it'll make for a great farm!" She pointed at a
great heap of vegetable seedlings she had taken from the nearby forest.
None of them were like anything that grew in the world of Klyrode. "I
asked the great and powerful Hiya about everything, and they said these
plants should be fine."
"I'm glad you did..." said Rislei. "One of the plants you tried growing
before reached out to grab me, you know. It didn't feel like a living thing..."
"Ah ha ha!" Blossom laughed. "Sorry about that! Boy, Sleip sure was
angry, wasn't he..."
Nearby, next to the stone stove they had set up, Tanya was using her
scythe to deftly prepare the fish for the barbecue. "It's time, everyone!" she
announced in a loud voice. "The ingredients are ready to be cooked!"
Belano and Minilio, as well as Wyne and Elinàsze, who had been flying
in the sky, came to gather around the stove.
"Shall we join them, Calsi'im?" asked Tia.
"Certainly!" said the old skeleton, who had been enjoying a relaxing cup
of tea in the room next to Flio's, before following Tia into the hallway.
"I suppose we'd better join them too," said Flio.
"Yes, my lord husband." Rys and Flio left the room, Rys holding close
to her husband's arm.
One day, that will be me and Master Dawkson... Phufun thought,
watching Flio and Rys smile adoringly at each other as she followed along
behind.