◇Deep in a Forest◇
In a forest somewhere in the world, surrounded by trees, stood a small,
comfortable wooden cottage. This cottage was none other than the abode of
Hugi-Mugi, the monstrous two-headed bird known as a doppeladler, who
had once been part of the Dark Army's Infernal Four. This was where they
stayed while they were in their human form.
"Hm hm hmmmm!" Cartha hummed cheerfully as she stirred a pot in
Hugi-Mugi's kitchen. The kitchen was stocked full of Cartha's favorite
ingredients and everything she needed to prepare a veritable feast. She was
cooking up a storm with evident skill, when suddenly, the cottage door
swung open with a loud bang!
"M-Miss Cartha! Wh-What is going on here?!" A woman came running
up to Cartha, her shoulders heaving with exertion.
"My!" said Cartha. "If it isn't Miss Shino! Why, I'm just helping prepare
food for Hugi and all their friends! Oh ho ho ho ho!" She daintily covered
her mouth with her fingertips, laughing a high-pitched and haughty laugh.
"Grr..." grumbled Shino. "I admit, I'm not half the cook you are, but this
is just cowardly! We promised each other we would compete fair and
square for Hugi-Mugi's hand in marriage—not go behind the other's back!
So why...why are you living in his house and cooking meals for him when I
haven't even confessed my love yet?!"
"Well, what was I supposed to say?" said Cartha. "Hugi proposed the
idea to me directly!"
"Don't use the word propose!" objected Shino. "All that means is that he
wanted you to prepare food for everyone, you know..."
"Oh? But think about it! Hugi's cute little magic beast companions eat a
lot of food, you know? If Hugi wants me to cook for all of them, that means
I'll have to live with them. That means he wants me to take care of the
house! And that makes me just about as good as his bride. And you know,
this house's garden is in dismal shape as well. I can hardly deny Hugi the
help, can I?"
"Y-You! I refuse to acknowledge this!" Shino stomped over to Cartha,
growling, and pressed her forehead against the other woman's, glaring in
her smiling face.
"Hm?" said Cartha, suddenly. "Does something smell good outside, or is
it my imagination?"
"You know, now that you mention it, I smell it too..." The two opened
the door and looked outside, curious as to what it could be.
"Huh?!" Both women exclaimed at once, their eyes shooting open.
Hugi-Mugi and their magic beast companions were gathered outside the
cottage, greedily devouring heaping plates of delicious food. Here and
there, they could hear the beasts exclaim words of praise.
"This is great!"
"Yeah! Good food!"
"Seconds, please!"
"Of course!" said a voice from inside a carriage parked on the outskirts
of Hugi-Mugi's house. "Seconds, coming up!"
Cartha and Shino ran up to the carriage to see what was going on. Inside
was a young woman, clad in an apron and bandanna, cooking furiously.
This carriage seemed to be some kind of mobile food stand.
"Huh? Wh-Who might you be?" Cartha asked, a nervous tinge to her
voice.
"Ah, excuse me!" said the woman, belatedly noticing Cartha and Shino
standing in front of her. "My name is Mato. Lord Hugi-Mugi came to my
rescue when I was attacked by bandits on the road nearby. I decided to offer
him a free meal as thanks!" Mato gave the pair a cheerful smile as HugiMugi themselves came walking up.
Hugi-Mugi's original body was that of a two-headed bird, but in their
human form, they only had one head. The only clue that they weren't a
young human man was the fact that when they opened their mouth, two
voices spoke at once. "Mato is a traveling culinarian, yes! Yes, a culinarian
of travel! She goes from city to city, yes, cooking different foods! Yes, and
she sells them from her food stand!"
Mato gave Hugi-Mugi a second serving of food and turned to hand
plates to Cartha and Shino as well. "Here you go! Some for everyone," she
said.
The two had strangely tortured expressions on their faces as they tried a
bite of the meal.
"Oh no..." said Cartha. "It's delicious!"
"You're right..." Shino agreed. "Your cooking is good, Cartha, but this is
far more skillfully prepared..."
"Thank you very much!" said Mato, smiling happily at Cartha and
Shino's reactions. "It makes me so happy to hear you say that!"
"Well..." said Cartha. "I suppose Mato will be moving on to another city
once she's done thanking Hugi..." Shino nodded her head in agreement.
"Oh!" said Mato. "About that, actually! I can't help but feel that there
must be some kind of reason I was saved like this. I've been considering
staying to help Lord Hugi-Mugi with his culinary needs..."
"Hwuh?!"
"Wh-What did you say?!" Cartha and Shino froze up on the spot.
Mato's face flushed red all the way to the tips of her ears. She covered
her face with her hands. "W-Well, Lord Hugi-Mugi told me how horrible he
felt for imposing on this acquaintance of his to prepare food for all of his
companions... But my skill at cooking is my one and only redeeming
quality! I can only imagine that we were destined to meet..."
At those words, Cartha went running up to Hugi-Mugi. "Hugi!" she
said. "I don't mind cooking for you at all, you know! It isn't a bother in the
slightest!"
"But Cartha!" Hugi-Mugi protested. "You're always saying how
difficult it is to prepare such large meals, yes! Yes, and the other day, you
told me that no one but you would go through all the trouble...'"
"No, Hugi, that's not what I meant! You can't take everything people
say at face value!"
"You know how straightforward Hugi-Mugi is, Cartha!" said Shino.
"You can't play the tsundere with him!"
"D-Don't say that!" objected Cartha. "I was already embarrassed..."
"And now there's another woman involved!" Shino continued. "This is
all your fault!"
Hugi-Mugi watched as the two began to argue in earnest. "Yorminyt was
right, yes..." they said, taking a bite of the food. "Yes, women are quite
confusing..."
◇Houghtow City—Houghtow College of Magic◇
"Hmm..." Nyt sighed to herself as she looked over her class schedule.
"Another bizzzy day..."
Nyt had once been known to the world as Yorminyt, a member of the
Infernal Four. After leaving the Dark Army, however, she disguised herself
as a demihuman and found work as a teacher at the Houghtow College of
Magic. Right now, she was busy getting ready for her next class, tying her
long blue hair in a ponytail as she worked.
"Lady Nyt," said a woman dressed in a maid's uniform, adjusting her
glasses as she addressed Nyt.
"Good afternoon, Zarmasss," said Nyt. "What seemsss to be the
matter?"
"I come with paperwork on behalf of the administrator Lord Taclyde,"
Zarmas said. "Please look it over to ensure everything is in order."
"Hmm..." Yorminyt sighed again as she accepted the sealed envelope
from her former aide. "Yesss, of courssse."
Now let's sssee what he wants thisss time... she thought. As a former
Infernal, Nyt was capable of casting a truly bewildering array of spells. As
such, she frequently ended up being called upon to teach any number of
classes the school had to offer. He mussst want me to teach yet another
sssubject. Well, it's not like I dissslike teaching children how to cassst
spells, and the College of Magic isss a comfortable enough place. The
leassst I can do is make myssself useful...
Nyt chuckled softly as she opened the envelope and removed the paper
inside. The header read: "Concerning the Appointment of Principal of the
Houghtow College of Magic."
"Excussse me...?" Nyt blinked, and read the words again. "Principal?
Me? Of the College of Magic?!" Wide-eyed, she read it over a third and
fourth time to make sure she hadn't misunderstood.
At this, Nyt's colleague Oryou came walking over. She was wearing
formal clothing, which was stylishly disheveled. "Goodness, Miss Nyt!
Have they finally approached you for the office of principal?"
"S-Ssso it seemsss..." Nyt said.
Oryou smiled and gave Nyt a friendly smack on the shoulder. "They sent
out a survey to all us teachers the other day, remember? One of the items
asked if there was anyone we would recommend as principal of the College
of Magic! And just about everyone wrote in your name!"
Huh? Nyt thought, staring blankly at the paper in her hands. What? ThThere wasss an item like that on the sssurvey? I didn't really read it... It
ssseemed like more trouble than it wasss worth.
The next time Nyt looked up, she found herself surrounded by faculty,
each offering her words of congratulations.
"I look forward to working with you, Principal Nyt!"
"I can't think of anyone more suited for the job than you!"
"H-Hang on jussst a moment..." Nyt protested. "Doesssn't the
Houghtow College of Magic already have a principal?"
"Well you see," someone explained, "the previous principal was
promoted to board chairman, leaving his seat empty!"
"I-I sssee..." Nyt could scarcely believe what she was hearing. I don't
mind teaching classss...but principal? That ssseems a little much.
Essspecially since I'm actually a demon in disssguise... The other teachers
in the faculty office, however, were celebrating her appointment as a fait
accompli. B-But... she thought, withering under the expectant gazes of so
many people. I can hardly refussse...
In the end, despite her best efforts, Nyt was unable to avoid being made
principal. Once the faculty decided to hold a celebration in honor of
Principal Nyt, she felt she had no recourse but to accept her fate.
◇Houghtow City—Flio's House◇
Flio blinked awake by the first rays of morning light streaming in
through the window. "Mnnnh..." he mumbled. "It's morning..." Still lying
down, he turned his head towards the light. Rys was sound asleep next to
him, her head resting against Flio's shoulder. Both of them were naked
under the covers. Flio regarded his sleeping wife with a fond smile. Rys is
as beautiful as ever... As he watched her sleeping face, he thought back on
everything that had brought him to this point.
Come to think of it, I never would have met her if I hadn't been
summoned to this world as a Hero Candidate... he mused. The goddesses
are supposed to give people some kind of blessing when they come to
another world, but there was no sign of anything like that. I was rejected as
a hero, and because of an oversight on their part, I ended up unable to
return to the world I came from. But thanks to that, I was able to meet Rys.
And now we have such a wonderful life together, with our children and
friends. I guess this must be true happiness...
Flio gently stroked Rys's hair as she slept peacefully in his arms. He
brought his lips in close and kissed her on the cheek. "You make me so
happy, you know," he whispered, holding her gently. "I love you, Rys."
A moment later, something drew Flio's attention to the window. Hm?
What's that? It looks like something's happening over on the farm...
Careful not to wake Rys, Flio waved a single finger of his right hand.
His clothing instantaneously appeared on his body, and he flew out the
window faster than a speeding arrow.
Back in the bedroom, Rys's hair fluttered ever so slightly from Flio's
departure. Rys, who had been sleeping peacefully just a second ago,
suddenly sat up, wide awake. "Who dares..." she grumbled. "My lord
husband had me in his arms! He was whispering sweet nothings in my ear!
I'm sure I could have persuaded him to do this and that and all sorts of
things in just a moment! Who dares get in our way?!" She puffed her
cheeks out in a sulky pout, face bright red.
In fact, Rys had been awake the entire time Flio was stroking her hair.
She had been enjoying Flio's kisses and affection, and was very much
looking forward to an encore of the previous night's activities. But alas, her
plans had not come to fruition. Rys retrieved her dress from where it was
lying folded on the bedside table and quickly put it on. Her teeth had
reverted to the sharp fangs of a lupine demon. "I'll show them no mercy!"
she snapped, leaping out the window after Flio.
◇ ◇ ◇
"Nhhh..." Blossom stretched her arms wide as she walked along the road
leading away from Flio's house, a great big smile on her face. "Good
weather we're having today!" she said. "I tell ya, I get more satisfaction
working the farm every day with the sun on my back than I ever did as a
knight..."
In front of Flio's house was a pasture...and beyond that was nothing but
green as far as the eyes could see. Those green fields were none other than
the very farm Blossom spent her time managing. At first, it had been
nothing but a small vegetable garden outside Flio's house. Blossom had
taken to tending it—she had been helping out at her family's farm ever
since she was very young, after all—and in her skilled hands, it grew to the
enormous, sprawling farm it was today, supplying food not just to
Houghtow City but also to other nearby towns.
"All right! It's another busy day! So let's...hm?" As Blossom walked
along, a number of goblins came running out of the fields. They were
wielding sticks as cudgels and looking in every direction, plainly trying to
find something.
The two goblins in front, who stood a head above the rest, were engaged
in conversation. The smaller goblins followed along after. "Damned
thieves! Where could they have vanished to...?"
"Don't you worry! We'll find them, and make them wish they were
never born!"
"Hokh'hokton! Maunty!" said Blossom, running over to see what was
wrong. "Everyone's here, huh? Did something happen?"
Maunty had once been a low-ranking foot soldier in the Dark Army, but
after Flio spared his life, he decided to stay at Blossom Acres and work the
fields. He was a married man, and the proud father of an ever-growing host
of children. Hokh'hokton, another foot soldier, was his companion. He had
come along with Maunty to live and work at Blossom Acres. Alas, he was
single.
"L-Lady Blossom!" the goblins cried as they ran up.
"It's terrible!" said Hokh'hokton. "Thieves have gotten into the farm!"
"Thieves?!" Blossom exclaimed. "Hang on! Didn't Lord Flio put up a
barrier around the place? How the heck did a bunch of thieves get inside?"
"Well..." Maunty began. "It looks like they dug their way in from
underground..."
"Dug?" Blossom stared in disbelief.
A couple of Maunty's children led her over to and pointed at an
enormous hole someone had dug in the ground. "There, look!"
"H-Hang on just a moment..." Blossom said, peering into the hole,
which continued deep underground, farther than she could see. "Now how
would someone go about digging a hole this big?"
"Blossom? Is something wrong?" came a voice. Blossom whipped
around to see Flio standing behind her.
"Oh, Lord Flio! What are you doing up so early?"
"The goblins seemed upset by something," Flio said. "I came to take a
look..."
They surveyed the nearby orchard. Row after row of trees stood tall,
their branches heavy with yellow fruit.
"I am so terribly sorry..." said Hokh'hokton. "I'm afraid the thieves
made off with lembons you labored so hard to grow..."
"I see..." said Flio. "Well the lembon orchard is a new addition. I guess I
forgot to extend the barrier. I can't believe something so simple slipped my
mind..." Wincing, he held out his arm and conjured a threefold magic circle.
It slowly revolved, and the area around the lembon trees glowed with a
bright light. "There. The barrier's complete. It should be safe now." He
smiled as usual.
"I-I apologize most profusely for our failure..." said an
uncharacteristically mournful Maunty. "How could we have allowed thieves
to infiltrate the farm...?"
Flio clapped a reassuring hand on Maunty's shoulder. "Not at all!" he
said. "I'm the one who forgot to set up the barrier. None of you did
anything wrong."
"B-But!"
"Don't worry about it!" Flio said, his smile not faltering for a second.
"For now, let's just focus on helping Blossom with her farmwork, okay?"
"L-Lord Flio..." Maunty said, screwing up his face in determination and
raising his fist in the air. "Leave it to us! My children and I will give it our
all! Even more than usual!"
"Yeah!" cried Maunty's children as they raised their fists in the air as
well, inspired by their father's passion. They had expected Flio to be angry
with them, but instead, he had spoken to them kindly. It was enough to put a
smile on everyone's face.
"Well, now that that's settled, let's get started on the morning chores!"
said Blossom. Maunty and his children took off for the fields at a run, eager
to get started. They stopped by their cottage on the way and exchanged their
cudgels for farm equipment.
Flio watched as the children ran off. "Don't tell me..." he started. "Did
Maunty's wife have more children?"
"Now that you mention it, she had eight children just last night..." said
Hokh'hokton. "They have more than thirty now..." Then he folded his arms
and began muttering to himself. "I've been helping out raising the children
too... And they're so quick to grow up... I keep thinking perhaps I could
take one as a wife, but for some reason it's only the boys who seem to have
any fondness for me..." His shoulders slumped.
Flio gave Hokh'hokton a very strained smile. "A-Anyway... I suppose I
should expand your cottage again..." Suddenly, Flio heard the sound of
metal on dirt. "Huh?" He looked up. He could feel the earth shaking—
tremors underground at odd intervals—the source of which appeared to be
from a small hill just outside the farm.
Flio looked in the direction of the noise and focused his sight, zooming
in to get a closer look. In his mind's eye he could see the opposite side of
the hill. It was Wyne, attacking the ground with her deadly headbutt. She
spread her wings and took to the sky, her piercing stare fixed on the ground.
"There! There!" she cried, diving into another headbutt attack against
something under the earth's surface.
Wyne's head struck the ground, which caved, revealing an enormous
tunnel. It looked like something had been burrowing through the ground.
"Mrrr..." Wyne grumbled. "These thieves are fast-fast!" Puffing out her
cheeks in a pout, Wyne again took to the air.
Rys came running up to the dragonewt. "Wyne!" she shouted. "You
search for any trace of the thieves from the sky! I'll see where this tunnel
leads!" She dove into the tunnel. It was big enough inside for a full-grown
human to walk along comfortably. Rys took off in a mad dash.
"Mistress Rys!" said Tanya, jumping in after her. "There's no need for
the mistress of the house to involve herself in this affair! Please, leave this
to your maid Tanya!" Tanya's wings appeared on her back—the distinctive
mark of an angel from the Celestial Plane. Scythe in hand, she hurried into
the tunnel.
Rys and Tanya disappeared from sight. After a while, there came the
sound of an explosion from somewhere deep underground. The two must
have been attacking the thieves as they tried to escape underground.
Flio grimaced as the hill began to crumble before their eyes. All we lost
was a few lembons... he thought. There's really no need for all this. But...I
suppose it might teach our thieves a lesson or two. He cast the spell Fly and
took off towards Wyne, who was aiming headbutt after deadly headbutt at
the surface of the earth...
◇Meanwhile, with Hero Gold-Hair...◇
"Damn it all... What's with that farm, anyway...?" Hero Gold-Hair's
shoulders heaved up and down with exertion as he poked his head out from
his hole, looking every which way.
"I think we fiiinally managed to get awaaay..." Tsuya breathed a sigh of
relief as she looked in the opposite direction.
"I don't understand..." said Hero Gold-Hair. "I can usually hide myself
by digging a hole with my trusty Drilldozer Shovel, but those confounded
farmers seemed like they were going to chase us to the end of the world!
They hardly seemed like living beings..." Hero Gold-Hair's Drilldozer
Shovel was a legendary item he had found stored in a chest in Klyrode
Castle. With it, he could dig through the ground as fast as the wind. "But I
can tell you one thing," Gold-Hair continued. "With such a dangerous farm
around, maybe we'd better steer clear of this whole area!"
"Yeaaah..." Tsuya agreed. "But it's too baaad. They had such taaasty
looking fruits and vegetables..."
The pair extracted themselves from the hole as they carried on the
conversation. "Well then," said Hero Gold-Hair. "Shall we go meet up with
Aryun Keats and the others?"
"Okaaay!"
They continued through the forest, keeping a sharp eye out. "Oooh!"
Tsuya said suddenly. "You know, Hero Gooold-Hair... I did get a feeew
things from the faaarm..." She reached into her cleavage, and pulled out two
bright yellow fruits.
H-Hang on! Hero Gold-Hair thought. Wh-Where exactly was she
keeping those?! Tsuya preferred to wear very skimpy outfits, made
accordingly with little fabric. There was quite a wide gap for her cleavage,
and when she reached into her top to withdraw the fruits, it gave Hero
Gold-Hair a clear view of her entire chest.
Hero Gold-Hair deliberately cleared his throat and accepted one of the
yellow fruits from Tsuya. "I see! My throat's quite dry after all that digging,
you know. One of these will be perfect to quench my thirst!"
"Yeaaah!" said Tsuya. "Let's tryyy them!"
The two each wiped the peel of their fruit clean with a handkerchief and
took a big bite.
"S-Sooour!!!" they shrieked, their anguished voices echoing far and
wide.
Never underestimate the sourness of a lembon.
◇Blossom Acres◇
Rys pursed up her lips as she picked lembons from the orchard. "I can't
believe it," she muttered. "What kind of ruffian would steal the fruit we
worked so hard to grow...?"
"Now, now," said Flio, wincing as he harvested lembons alongside Rys.
"I've extended the barrier outwards and underground. It shouldn't happen
again."
It would have been a simple task to harvest the lembons using magic,
but Blossom had a policy: "At my farm, I want us to do the harvesting by
hand whenever possible." And so, they busied themselves picking fruit the
old-fashioned way.
Working the farm today alongside Flio and Rys were Tia and Calsi'im,
Belano and Minilio, and Blossom, plus Maunty and the other goblins who
worked the farm regularly, and the skeletons, who were Calsi'im's former
underlings.
"I must say, though," said Rys. "Blossom really is quite the farmer.
Lembons are difficult to grow in this climate, and she's managed to produce
so many of them! Quite flavorful ones too..."
"Heh heh heh!" Blossom laughed proudly. "It took lots of hard work and
plenty of trial and error, you know!"
"They really are fantastically flavorful," said Tia, who was harvesting
alongside Blossom. "The ones we buy in town are far too sour to eat, but
Blossom's lembons are quite delicious."
Belano nodded silently in agreement.
"Ah ha ha... I'm not gonna give you anything for praising me, you—
know?!" Blossom's eyes shot open midsentence when she saw what Rys,
Tia, and Belano were doing. The three of them had started snacking on the
very raw lembons that they were harvesting. "Huh? L-Lembons are too sour
to eat raw, aren't they?" Frowning, she grabbed a lembon herself and took a
bite.
"Bwaaaah!!!" she shrieked. "S-Sour!!!"
"What's wrong, Blossom?" Flio asked.
"O-Oh! Nothing, Lord Flio! I just saw Lady Rys and Belano and Tia all
chowing down on lembons like it was the most normal thing in the world,
so I was wondering if maybe these were high enough quality to eat raw or
something..." Blossom winced as she looked over at the three.
Flio quickly cast a spell, analyzing the lembon in Blossom's hand and
comparing it to the ones Rys and the others were eating. "That's strange..."
he said. "They seem to be identical..." Flio and Blossom exchanged a long,
puzzled glance when suddenly, Flio was struck by a thought. "I wonder..."
He cast another spell, this time on Rys, Belano, and Tia.
"Hm?" Rys said, looking over curiously. "What's the matter, my lord
husband?"
"Yes? Is something wrong?" asked Tia.
Belano said nothing, trembling nervously at the attention.
"Congratulations, Rys! And Tia and Belano as well!" said Flio.
"Hm?" Rys asked, uncomprehending. "C-Congratulations? Whatever do
you mean?"
Flio pulled his wife into his arms and held her tight. "Rys, you're
pregnant."
"What?" Rys's eyes open in shock. Then, gradually, she smiled, grinning
with her entire face as tears welled up in her eyes. Tia and Calsi'im looked
at each other in surprise, as did Belano and Minilio.
"Well, whaddaya know!" said Blossom, a smile on her face. "I guess
this place is gonna get even more crowded!"
Cries of joy and celebration could be heard for quite some time on
Blossom's farm, beneath the afternoon sun.