◇Several Days Later—Flio's House◇
One day, Flio was in the workshop behind his house—not the building
itself, but the vast underground workspace he had hollowed out beneath.
Rys, who had just stepped down from the stairs, tilted her head curiously as
she peered at the mysterious objects lying on the ground, which were
wrapped in a white thread. "My lord husband, what are those?"
"Oh, those?" answered Flio. "Greanyl's team found them when they
were out making deliveries around the border between the Magical
Kingdom of Klyrode and the demons' territory. They seem to be the corpses
of some sort of magic beast. Someone must have killed them recently. See?
They're still leaking magic energy out from their mouths..." He stepped
over and placed his hand on one of the white magic beasts' mouths to
check, when suddenly, a window appeared in front of him.
Mastered All Spells from Dark Divinity Lilia's Magic.
"Dark Divinity Lilia's magic?" Flio read, cocking his head in confusion.
Flio had a skill that enabled him to instantly master any magic he didn't
already know simply by touching a spell once. These white creatures had
been created by the Dark Divinity's Fusion spell, after all, and touching the
magic energy seeping out from their corpses had been enough to cause his
skill to activate, giving him access to Lilia's fusion spells on top of
everything else.
"Did you say Dark Divinity Lilia?" Rys asked.
"That's right..." said Flio. "I guess that's the kind of magic that created
these things. Do you know anything about this Dark Divinity, Rys?"
"Not really..." Rys admitted, folding her arms and mulling it over in her
head. "I feel like I've seen that name before, though. In a book in the Dark
Citadel's archives, maybe..."
"Well, tell me if you remember anything, okay?" Flio said, smiling his
usual easygoing smile.
"I will," said Rys. "But my lord husband, what do you intend to use
these creatures for?"
"Oh, I just wanted to see if I could use them as components to make
some kind of new magic item. Like I said, there's still some magic left in
their corpses. Right now I'm just trying things out."
"I see," said Rys. "I was wondering if you were perhaps going to use
them as feed for the magic horses."
"Anyway," Flio said, turning away from the husks to face his wife,
"Rys, was there something you wanted?"
"Well...yes..." Rys said, suddenly looking nervous. She fidgeted a bit
before timidly opening her mouth again. "My lord husband...about that
cloth..."
"You mean the cloth we bought from Esto, the merchant from Indol?"
"Yes, that one... I'm afraid we've run out..."
"Huh...?" Flio asked, freezing up for a second before realizing that Rys
was staring at him. He cleared his throat. "Rys..." he said. "We bought out
that entire wagon, didn't we? And it wasn't a small one either. You've really
used all of it?"
"Yes..." Rys uttered, touching a finger to her lips and lowering her gaze.
"I got so wrapped up in making clothes for the house's newest children,
Rylnàsze, Rabbitz, and Belalio. And then I ended up making clothes for
Elinàsze and Garyl, and Rislei and Folmina and Ghoro too, and before I
knew it, I was completely out..."
"I-I don't suppose you could use the cloth from Silkfleece in Osahka,
could you?" suggested Flio.
"Well, I could..." Rys admitted. "But the children are really quite taken
with that cloth. I'd like to get them more of the same sort, if possible..." She
looked nervously up at Flio, begging with her eyes like a needy puppy. One
look at her expression, and Flio felt like he had been pierced through the
heart.
"W-Well..." Flio started, crossing his arms. "Esto did say he would be
paying a visit to Houghtow City on his next trip, but that won't be for
another two months... But I can't teleport to Indol since I've never been
there before, and I'm afraid my hands are a bit full at the moment..."
"My lord husband..." began Rys, gently grabbing hold of one of his
arms. "Might I have permission to travel to Indol and back with Wyne? She
says she's been to Indol before, and in her wyvern form she could make the
trip in a single go..." She squeezed Flio's arm tight, pressing it to her chest
in the process.
Flio's cheeks went red. "W-Well, all right. Just take care, would you?"
"Of course! Thank you so much, my lord husband!" Rys flushed as well,
her nervous expression lighting up instantly. "Now then, I'll get ready to set
out at once!"
"Right this instant?"
"Yes! Right this instant!" Then, Rys ran off to her room to get a start on
packing. There was no stopping her when she made up her mind to do
something, after all.
Flio watched her go with a slightly lonesome smile on his face. If she
was willing to go tomorrow or the day after, I could have worked extra hard
to get all this done so I could go with her... he thought as he called up a
window displaying his busy itinerary. But alas...
◇Later—Near Flio's House◇
A wyvern with brilliant red scales touched down in an empty field
nearby Flio's house—Wyne, in her full draconic glory. It was a regular
weekday, so most of the house was out for either school or work. The only
three who showed up to see Wyne and Rys off were Flio, Blossom, and
Byleri.
"I looked over my schedule, and there is really just no way for me to go
with you today," remarked Flio. He didn't apologize, exactly, but it was
clear from his face that he was disappointed not to be coming along.
Rys, however, smiled brightly and wrapped her arms tight around her
husband. "I'll be back in time for dinner," she cooed. "In the meanwhile, I
leave the house in your capable hands." And with a soft kiss on Flio's cheek
and a "Well then, I'd best be off," Rys climbed up on Wyne's lowered head
and got ready to fly.
"Oh," said Flio, calling for them to stop. "Hang on just a second..."
"What is it, my lord husband?"
"I managed something interesting with those white magic beast
carcasses..." he said, pulling one of the white magic beasts that had been in
the workshop basement out of his Bottomless Bag. Its corpse was sealed
inside a magic orb.
Flio held the orb in his left hand and touched it with his right as he
began casting a spell. A magic circle appeared around the orb and seemed to
fuse with it, binding together in a complicated arrangement of arcane
elements. Before long, the mass took form, uncannily resembling a young
Flio.
"Incredible!" said Rys. "I suppose that would be a magic doll, then?"
"No, actually," said Flio. "His structure is closer to a magic beast. A
magic doll doesn't generally change after it's produced. But this magic
beast doll, let's call it, has the ability to return to its original component
materials, or even transform into other types of magic beasts..."
"Goodness!" gasped Rys. "I suppose that means there's less need to
worry about what you're going to do with them..." Flio had long been able
to create magic dolls, but since a magic doll lacked the ability to simply
return to its original form, it wasn't something that he did lightly.
"That's the hope. I made this one using Fusion—one of those Dark
Divinity Lilia spells I learned just a bit ago. I thought I'd send him along
with you in my stead."
"I see!" said Rys, patting the magic beast doll's politely smiling head.
"That will make me feel a bit less lonely, I suppose."
"I'll be here too, Mama!" Wyne said, rubbing her own massive dragon
head against Rys. "So you won't be lonely-lonely!" She shook her head for
emphasis. Rys, however, was holding on to Wyne's scales, and the gesture
caused the skirt of her dress to ride up her legs...
"W-Wait!" Rys said, pushing her skirt down as best she could and
blushing furiously. "Wyne, wait! My lord husband, might I ask you to look
away for a moment?!"
Flio dutifully obliged, covering his face with both hands and turning to
look the other direction. Next to him, the magic beast doll followed suit.
Blossom and Byleri, meanwhile, ran over. "Hey, Wyne!" said Blossom
pounding on Wyne's head with her fists. "Cut it out, will ya?!"
"Like, what she said!" added Byleri. "Cool it a bit, 'kay?"
Nothing, however, could deter Wyne from nuzzling her face against
Rys's cheeks.
◇ ◇ ◇
Eventually, Wyne calmed down, and Rys settled in properly for her
flight. She waved Flio goodbye, the magic beast doll he had given her held
tight in her lap. The doll copied her movements, waving alongside her.
"Thank you for Chibilio, my lord husband!" she said, nuzzling the doll
affectionately. She had given him the name Chibilio herself. "Now I'll be
able to dote on him while I'm away, and think of you!"
Flio waved back at Rys, Wyne, and Chibilio with his usual easygoing
smile on his face. "Take care, everyone. Wyne, Chibilio, I'm counting on
you two to look after Rys, okay?"
Chibilio and Wyne both nodded their assent.
"Well then," Rys declared. "We're off!" At that signal, Wyne spread her
great wings wide and beat them powerfully. In no time at all, the enormous
wyvern was high in the sky, flying off towards the west.
"Whoa!" cried Blossom. "Wyne's speed gets me every time!"
"Like, no kidding..." Byleri agreed. "It's been, like, a second, and
they're already totally out of view!"
Flio, meanwhile, kept waving off to the west. It seemed like them being
out of view wasn't a problem he was having. "All right," he said after a
while. "I suppose I'll do my best to get everything done as quickly as I
can." He turned and headed back to the workshop.
As Flio walked, he focused his thoughts on Chibilio. As he did, he found
he could see everything in the magic beast doll's vicinity through his mind's
eye. Everything's working well, he thought. Just like the instruction window
for the Fusion spell said... By synchronizing his consciousness with the
magic beast doll, Flio was able to perceive the world through Chibilio's
senses. This way, if something goes wrong, I can head there immediately.
He smirked to himself. Although, thinking back, Rys hardly ever needs the
help, does she...?
Suddenly, Flio felt a strange soft sensation on the back of his head. "HHuh? What's that?" he wondered aloud, brushing the back of his head with
his hand. There was, however, nothing to be found on Flio's head itself. The
sensation had come from his synchronized senses—Rys's breasts pressing
up against Chibilio's head.
◇Meanwhile—On Wyne's Back◇
Wyne coursed through the sky with incredible speed. On her back sat
Rys, holding Chibilio in her lap with one hand and patting him on the head
with the other.
"Now, now, Chibilio," Rys said. "You mustn't turn around in midflight!"
Chibilio, who had turned to glance at Rys's chest with an embarrassed
smile on his face, turned his head back to look forward.
"Chibilio," Rys went on. "The man who created you—my lord husband
—is a truly wonderful man. He loves me so dearly and always treats me
with such care. Why, just the other day, he gave me the most beautiful
magic gem! He said it would suit me perfectly as a hair accessory..."
As they flew over the land, Rys regaled Chibilio with story after story
about her wonderful husband.
◇Still Meanwhile—Flio's Workshop◇
Flio's face was bright red as he reached the front door to his workshop.
Rys... he thought. It makes me very glad how much she thinks of me, but it's
also just a little bit embarrassing...
Flio had heard everything Rys was saying through his connection with
Chibilio. He had been blushing and smiling bashfully the whole time he had
been making his way to the workshop.
Let's get this done as soon as we can, and then go meet up with Rys!
◇Houghtow College of Magic◇
While Flio was seeing Rys off on her journey, Garyl, Elinàsze, and
Rislei were finishing up their day at school. The bell rang, signaling the end
of class, and the girls in the classroom all took to their feet at once, rushing
out the door as quickly as they could. Each of them was holding a small
rectangular object in their hands.
"I'd best be off!"
"Me too!"
"Hey! No head starts!"
Just the other day, Flio had begun selling miniaturized crystal
photography devices, which he called Pictocapture Cameras. They were
small enough to fit in the palm of a child's hand. Before Flio began
experimenting, magic items capable of recording images suffered from a
number of limits. They had to be shaped like a hefty orb or else the magical
energy wouldn't be conducted properly. Flio, however, had been performing
all sorts of research with the help of Hiya, Damalynas, and Maglion. He
discovered a way to compress the waste matter produced when a magic
gem undergoes refinement, and with this method managed to reduce the
size to no bigger than a human thumb.
Flio set the resulting crystal in a box, with a view hole and a button on
the front. It was a simple machine that enabled anyone to take pictures of
their surroundings. Before long, he had developed a model for sale and
begun mass production. Because they were made from magic gem waste
byproduct, they were quite inexpensive as well—cheap enough for a child
to afford. Soon, they had become the newest fad among the city's youth.
Pictocapture Cameras in hand, the girls ran through the halls until they
reached a particular classroom. They tossed the door open and burst inside,
all crying, "Garyl! Take a picture with meeeee!" as they mobbed the boy at
his desk, which was the closest one to the window.
Garyl looked up at the mob of girls and held his index finger to his lips,
indicating for them to keep the volume down. The girls closed their mouths
tight immediately and looked to see a little girl mumbling in her sleep,
clinging to Garyl's head. He seemed to be taking great care not to rouse the
girl.
"So Folmina fell asleep after all..." said Elinàsze, walking up to her
brother's desk.
"Uh-huh!" Garyl winced. "She drifted off partway through class and
started snoring on my head."
Elinàsze couldn't help smirking wryly at the sight. "And after she was
so excited to experience school... There's no point if she's just going to fall
asleep!"
"Well, Folmina's still really little," said Garyl. "It is what it is."
"Oh! But Ghoro seems to be wide awake!" Elinàsze remarked, turning
to look at the desk next to Garyl, where Ghoro was sitting quietly.
Garyl, however, smirked to himself as he glanced Ghoro's way. "He
might be awake, but he's been staring at Folmina the whole entire time!"
"So...he hasn't been paying attention to the lesson?" Elinàsze asked.
At this point, Rislei, who was in the same class as the twins, walked up
to join the conversation, smiling coyly. "Gho does love his sister Fol,
though. It is what it is with her too, I guess."
"Fair enough!" said Garyl.
Ghoro, meanwhile, just kept staring at Folmina as she slept atop Garyl's
head.
"By the way, Gar," said Rislei. "Are you all right? Can you see like
that?" Folmina, after all, had managed to sleepily wrap her arms around
Garyl's entire face.
"Hm? Oh, that's no problem! When it gets difficult to see in front of me,
I can just do this with my hair!" He focused his power, and the two tufts of
hair on his head that stuck up like a wolf's ears stood on end. Folmina, who
was sandwiched between Garyl's hair tufts, was lifted up, clearing the
obstruction from Garyl's face.
The girls didn't miss their chance. The moment they had a clear shot of
Garyl's face without Folmina's hands in the way, they all began snapping
pictures. Garyl gave them a forced smile.
"I was holding Folmina up like that during class..." he whispered to
Rislei. "But I thought, during break, I could use her to shield me from the
Pictocaptures..."
"I see..." Rislei whispered back. "I'm sorry for inconveniencing you."
Garyl relaxed his energy, letting his hair return to normal and lowering
Folmina back down over his face. She reflexively moved her hands back to
where they had been, hiding him from the cameras once more.
"Awwwwww!" cried the girls in open disappointment.
"I must say, I find these circumstances most objectionable!" Salina,
Garyl's classmate, strolled up with folded arms, shooting Folmina a dirty
glance as she clung to Garyl's face. I understand wanting to spend every
waking moment with Lord Garyl, she thought, but this girl is taking things
too far, isn't she? And anyway, I'm jealous! I wish I could cling to Lord
Garyl's head like that... Suddenly, Salina found a black cat plush shoved in
her face. "Mghf!"
Irystiel, a young girl wearing a black gothic lolita outfit, pulled the plush
cat back by her own face, skillfully making it talk using ventriloquism.
"Salina was making a creepy face! Mreow!" it said, its pink mouth opening
and closing in time with the words.
Irystiel wasn't lying. Salina had indeed been staring at Garyl with a
dreamy, slack-jawed, lovestruck expression as she imagined wrapping her
arms around his head like Folmina. The words shocked Salina out of her
stupor. She immediately closed her mouth and wiped the drool from her
chin. "Wh-What would you know..." she huffed. "But more importantly,
Folmina needs to sit properly at her desk! How else is Lord Garyl to receive
his education in comfort?!"
Salina grabbed Folmina's waist with both hands and pulled for all she
was worth, but Folmina, who had latched on to Garyl's head like an
octopus, didn't move an inch. "Folmina! Get down from there!" Salina
snapped. "Lord Garyl needs to pay attention to the lesson as well!"
"Zzz..." Folmina snored. "But I like it here..."
"Don't be difficult!" Salina chided her. "Come now, hurry down!"
"Don't wanna... Zzz..."
Salina pulled and pulled and pulled, but nothing she could do was
enough to budge Folmina from Garyl's head. The girls surrounding them
watched with bated breath, waiting with their hands poised over the
Pictocapture button for a clear shot of Garyl's face. You can do it, Salina!
they cheered to themselves, doing their best to send their support without
actually saying a word. And then we can finally get a good picture of Garyl!
Rislei snickered at the sight of the girls waiting for an opportunity to
take Garyl's picture as her classmate, the lizardfolk Reptor, walked up, his
tail swishing behind him. "Your house must be a lot, Rislei," he said.
"Aren't there three new children too, on top of Ghoro and Folmina?"
"Yes, that's right," Rislei answered. "Ryl, Rabi, and Bela. They're all
very cute children."
"Oh really..." Reptor replied. "Say, how about I come over to hang out
sometime?"
"Huh?" Rislei blinked.
"A-Ah! I-I don't mean anything weird by it! I'm just an only child, you
know? I've always wanted to live in a big house with lots of other kids..."
"O-Oh!" Rislei sighed with relief. "So that's what you meant. I thought
you wanted to meet my papa and mama..."
"What was that?" Reptor asked.
"A-Aaah!" Rislei exclaimed, blushing to the tips of her ears and shaking
her head furiously from side to side. "N-N-Never mind! It's nothing!
Nothing at all!"
Reptor, meanwhile, covered his face, equally embarrassed by Rislei's
words. Both children were awkwardly averting their eyes from each other.
Snow Little grinned as she watched Reptor and Rislei's little drama play
out from her seat nearby. "Goodness! I can feel the romantic comedy
vibrations all the way over here! Perhaps I should do something to improve
the mood..."
Snow Little was one of the fable folk, a tribe of demons with the ability
to manifest powers from the fairy tales of many different worlds. One of her
abilities let her conjure characters from stories as dolls. She spread her
hands, and dolls representing seven dwarves appeared, each holding a
musical instrument. They began to skip and twirl around Reptor and Rislei
as they played their music.
"S-Snow..." Rislei protested. "You're embarrassing us..."
"Y-Yeah!" agreed Reptor. "It's way too soon for this!" He recognized
the song the dwarves were playing—it was a melody used in wedding
processions. Blushing a deep scarlet, he grabbed at the dolls with his hands
and tail to try to stop them.
Snow Little, however, deftly manipulated her dolls, nimbly avoiding
Reptor's grasp. Seeing Reptor woo Rislei reminds me of my sister, she
thought. She's tried so hard to win the Dark One's heart...
In her pursuit to wed Dawkson, Snow Little's older sister, Snow White,
had moved her entire family. She had sent Snow Little to study at the
Houghtow College of Magic, which happened to be relatively close to her
temporary house, until it was decided who the Dark One was to marry.
Alas, however, she failed catastrophically in the cooking contest arranged
for the Dark One's hand. As such, she was now taking lessons at the local
culinary school.
The bell rang again, signaling the start of the next class period. The
students all brought their various conversations to a close and went back to
their own desks or classrooms.
◇Some Time Later—Indol◇
Rys soared through the sky on Wyne's back, holding the magic beast
doll Chibilio tight in her lap. Before noon, they had reached the border of
Indol.
"That city with the big-big stone wall is Delulhi!" Wyne told her.
"Delulhi is the capital of Indol, isn't it?" said Rys. "Let's not get too
close, or else we'll give the guards at the gate a terrible fright! We should
walk the rest of the way."
"Okey dokey, mama!" Wyne nodded her assent and flapped her wings,
skillfully canceling her forward momentum and diving to the ground. She
landed in the desert, and lowered her neck.
Rys got down off Wyne's back, clutching Chibilio in her arms as she
stepped onto the desert sands. "Now, shall we get walking?"
Wyne stretched her body like a cat, raising her tail and leaning back. She
gradually grew smaller, until she had returned to her humanoid form.
"Ahhhh!" she cried, still doing her stretches in the nude. "It's been forever
since I flew like that! I feel great-great!"
"Here, Wyne," said Rys, producing a set of Wyne's clothes from her
Bottomless Bag. "Put these on."
"Okay-kay!" Wyne assented, tossing the underwear to the side like it
didn't bear mentioning and pulling the poncho down over her head.
Rys, however, had anticipated Wyne's refusal to wear her underwear.
She didn't waste a second snatching up the discarded garments and went to
put them on Wyne's body herself.
"Myeh?!" Wyne exclaimed, squirming at the sensation. "Feels grossgross..." she muttered as she finished getting dressed.
"Now, now, Wyne," Rys said, smirking wryly at the dragonewt's
behavior. "You know you have to wear your undergarments. Tanya is
always telling you so too, isn't she? Now, let's head for Delulhi." She took
Wyne by the hand and began walking in the direction of the city.
"Nghhh... But it feels gross-gross..." Wyne complained, still squirming
as she followed alongside.
◇ ◇ ◇
The city of Delulhi, capital of Indol, was surrounded by a formidable
wall of stone and brick. As Rys approached the gates, she produced a letter
of introduction and handed it over to the guard on duty, who was dressed in
a white cloth uniform. "Here you go!" she said with a smile. "A letter of
introduction from Mister Esto's association."
"Everything seems to be in order," remarked the guard. "You may
enter."
Rys carried Chibilio in her arms as the guard showed her and Wyne into
the city. No sooner had they made it in, however, than they encountered a
number of soldiers making their way to the gate in evident haste.
"Are the rumors true?" asked one of the soldiers. "Did a creature
resembling a dragon make landfall on the other side of the dunes?"
"No doubt about it," answered another. "The lookouts could see it
clearly from the high tower."
"We need to investigate," said a third.
Rys glanced over her shoulders as the soldiers made their way outside
the city walls. They must have seen Wyne, I suppose... she thought as she
continued into the city. Oh well. Next time we'll just have to land a bit
farther away.
The three stepped foot into the metropolis of Delulhi. All around them
were rows of buildings made of fired brick. The people in the streets wore
light, breathable clothes designed for comfort in the climate, which was
sweltering hot year-round, topped with hoods as they went about their
business to protect themselves from the fierce sun rays.
"Phew!" Rys sighed, taking a wide-brimmed hat out of the Bottomless
Bag on her belt and putting it on. "It really is as hot as they say!"
"It's hot, but it's not humid-humid!" Wyne exclaimed happily, stretching
as they walked through the streets.
"Make sure you don't go wandering off, Wyne," Rys cautioned her.
"Okay, mama!" said the dragonewt, wrapping her arm around Rys's.
Grinning from ear to ear, she nuzzled her cheek against Rys's shoulder.
"Oh, Wyne. Whatever am I to do with you?" Rys simpered despite
herself at her adoptive daughter's fawning behavior. Come to think of it,
Wyne is always doing her best to look after her younger siblings at home,
she thought. She deserves to be spoiled a bit from time to time.
Rys looked around, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "Er..." she
started. "Now where did Esto tell us his shop was, again...?" Chibilio
grabbed Rys's arm and began leading her down one of the streets leading
away from the town gates. "Oh? Chibilio, do you know where Esto's shop
is?" Chibilio nodded, giving one of Flio's familiar easygoing smiles. "Then
please, lead the way!" Rys smiled joyfully back at him.
And so, the three of them entered a street lined with shops as far as the
eye could see.
◇Indol—Delulhi Shopping Street—Esto's Shop◇
Luna the high elf looked like a young maiden, but in fact she was well
past her first century and a half in years. She found herself surrounded by
men in black attire. "Wh-What is the meaning of this?!" she demanded,
squaring her shoulders with anger. "We paid those debts in full!"
The men sneered cruelly at her. "Hey, missy!" jeered one of the men.
"Don't tell me you've been sleepwalking all these years! You're in some
real hot water!"
"Everything you've paid so far has just been interest, understand?
Interest," added another, shoving a piece of paper into Luna's hands. "You
still gotta pay the actual debt!"
Luna's eyes went wide as she read what was written. "Th-There's no
way this is in order!" she protested, shoving the paper in the man's face and
jabbing her finger at some of the fishier numbers. "You've even changed
the total sum of money owed!"
One man laughed as he pushed Luna away. "Please, enough with the
false allegations."
"I don't suppose you have any proof that the paperwork has been
tampered with?" said another. "Besides, this is a Magic Record! We
couldn't change it if we wanted to. And Mister Esto's thumbprint is right
here, clear as day..."
Magic Records couldn't be rewritten once they were set down. They
were enchanted by the mages at the city's public office to serve as a
permanent record. If a Magic Record ever were modified, there would be
characters along the right-hand corner displaying how many times the
document had been edited. It was clear as day that the numbers had been
changed, but the contract bore no indication of any tampering.
"Nhh..." Luna read and reread the paper time and time again, but she
could find no proof at all that anything had been changed. All she could do
was sputter in futility.
The men surrounding her sneered. "Listen, all you gotta do is pay off the
rest of your debt, in full. If you don't got the money—"
"Excuse me, may I take a look at that?" Suddenly, a woman interrupted
the conversation, snatching the paper out of Luna's hand. "What do you
think, Chibilio?" she asked, handing the Magic Record to the small boy
standing next to her. "Can you see anything off with this note?"
The woman—Rys—watched as Chibilio stared intently at the paper.
After a short while, he pointed his finger at the spot where the sum of the
loan was recorded. The numbers vanished, replaced by a different, much
smaller sum.
Luna's eyes opened wide in shock. "Yes! That's it!" she exclaimed,
pointing at the Record. "That was the sum we agreed to!"
Chibilio, who didn't seem to be able to speak, took a piece of paper from
the shop's memorandum and began to write. When he finished, he handed
the paper to Rys, who nodded studiously as she read. "My Chibilio says,
'Letters or numbers written in a Magic Records cannot be altered once both
parties have applied their thumbprint. That's why, instead of altering the
Record, they covered the actual numbers up by placing the image of their
falsified figures above the paper itself. Looking at it with my Identify spell,
it was obvious that it had been added later.' Is that right?"
Luna leaned in, spurred on by Rys's words. "Excuse me, did I hear that
correctly?! Forging a Magic Record is a serious crime, you know! This is
grounds for me to bring a suit against your boss, understand?!" she huffed
angrily, hands on her hips.
The men's earlier sneering demeanor had vanished completely. Now
they were glaring at Luna, eyes full of spite. "So. Guess you found us out."
"And here I was hoping things wouldn't have to get violent..." grumbled
another, placing his hand on Luna's shoulder.
"What? What?! Excuse me, what do you think you're doing?! Don't
touch me!" Despite her brave words, however, both Luna's face and voice
betrayed no small amount of fear.
"L-Leave Luna alone!" Esto shouted as fiercely as he could, bursting
into the shop floor from the back room. A timid man by nature, Esto
preferred to let Luna deal with frightening customers like these men, but he
had come running the moment he sensed she was in danger.
"M-Master!" Luna cried, tears of joy brimming in her eyes at the sight
of Esto's hidden courage.
Esto's courage, however, wasn't much use. One of the men in black
punched him in the face and with a cry of "Ackhblth!" he fell to the floor,
unconscious.
"Master..." Luna's shoulders drooped, her expression darkening once
again. "That wasn't very impressive, you know..."
Two of the men stepped up to Rys and Wyne, clearly intending them
harm. Rys, however, simply seized the man by his wrist and tossed him
right out the shop door. "Unseemly brutes!" she cried. "Begone!"
"Begone-begone!" echoed Wyne. Copying Rys, she grabbed her wouldbe assailant by the arm and hurled him outside.
Both of the men had been tall and muscular—easily twice Rys and
Wyne's total mass. But the pair had tossed them as if they weighed nothing.
They landed headfirst in the garbage heap on the street corner, thoroughly
confused as to what had happened.
The rest of the thugs, who had just watched their companions be picked
up and thrown, got on guard. "H-How dare you?!"
"Don't think we'll go lightly on you just 'cause you're a bunch of
women!" Wielding swords and cruel sickle-like blades, the men stood to
face off against Rys.
Rys, however, took one look at the men and sighed. "It's such a bother,
dealing with people who can't tell when they're outmatched..."
"Me!" volunteered Wyne, bouncing up and down. "You don't gotta do
anything, mama! Let me do it! Let me!" She stepped out in front of Rys,
cheerfully stretching her arms.
Chibilio stepped out even farther in front of Wyne, blocking her from
fighting.
"Chibilio?" Rys called. "You get back. Wyne, you too. Leave this to
mama, okay?" She held out both hands, one for Chibilio and one for Wyne.
Chibilio, however, shook his head and turned to face the men.
"Hah! Whatcha gonna do, pip-squeak?" said one.
"Just holding out your hand in front of you..." scoffed another.
They drew closer to Chibilio, grinning wickedly. But before they could
get within reach, a magic circle appeared at Chibilio's fingertips. It shone
and began to revolve, when suddenly, the men menacing him fell to the
ground at once.
"Wh-What the hell?! I can't move..."
"I-I'm being forced down!"
The men tried as hard as they could to move their bodies, but found
themselves completely unable to even struggle.
Rys looked down at Chibilio with a surprised expression on her face.
"Th-This is Gravitation, isn't it? My lord husband's specialty?"
Chibilio looked back at Rys over his shoulder and quietly nodded.
"I see!" marveled Rys. "So you can do such things as well!"
Wyne sulked and stomped her feet. "Ngh! How come I didn't get to beat
'em up?! How come?!"
Luna, who had gone to attend to Esto's injuries, couldn't help cracking a
smile at her antics.
◇Later◇
Once Chibilio's Gravitation spell had rendered the men fully
unconscious, Rys and Wyne bound them up with rope, reported the crime,
and left them outside the front of the shop for the city guards to collect.
When they got back inside, Luna looked up from tending to Esto to
apologize to and thank Rys. "I am so sorry that the honored wife of Lord
Flio should have seen our family in such a pitiful state. I thank you for your
aid," she said, bowing again and again.
"It's lovely to see you again, Miss Luna," said Rys. "I actually came
today hoping to buy more cloth, but might I ask what that commotion
earlier was all about?"
Luna furrowed her brow. "The truth is, when my master Esto first
opened this shop, he did so as an independent merchant. Nobody would
lend him the money he needed on account of his youth, until an
organization calling themselves the Shadow Conglomerate said they would
provide the funds. We used their money to set up everything here, but..."
She sighed deeply.
"I can take it from here," said Esto, opening his eyes and sitting up. He
had been resting his head in Luna's lap. "Thanks to the enormous purchase
you made the other day, Lady Rys, we were able to pay off all the debt we
took on when we opened this place, as well as replenish our stock. And then
today, they showed up with that illegally modified Magic Record to try to
demand more money from us! Frankly, we've been confused and
frightened!"
"Master..." said Luna, hugging Esto tight. "Were you hiding in the back
of the shop this whole time? I was worried they'd gotten you!"
"I'm sorry, Luna..." Esto said, hugging her back. "I was so scared..."
"You did show some guts at the end..." Luna remarked. "Although after
that, you got taken down in one hit."
"Gh..." Esto choked. "I'm so sorry... I couldn't do anything..."
"Still, it made me happy to see you mustering your courage."
"Luna..."
"Master..." The two gazed into each other's eyes, lovestruck.
Rys smirked to herself as she watched. Hm... she thought. Those two
really had better get a room, rather than doing that on the shop floor...
"What're they doing?" Wyne asked, peering curiously after Esto and
Luna. "What're they doing, mama?"
Rys stepped in front of Wyne's field of view, blocking Esto and Luna's
public display of affection from sight. "Erm..." she sputtered, searching for
a way to distract Wyne. "Y-You know, those men were only underlings,
after all. It's like my lord husband says: the way to get rid of a bad smell is
to find the source!"
◇Indol—A Room in the Back Alleys◇
In a room in a building somewhere, a woman in a slightly worn black
gothic lolita outfit was receiving a report from men in not so dissimilar
black clothing. "What was that?!" she exclaimed when they were finished.
"You failed to recover the money? The collections team was arrested?!" She
unslung the oversized abacus she wore and began making furious
calculations as she processed the information. "Impossible..." she muttered,
staring darkly at the beads in her abacus. "I was sure I accounted for every
variable..."
A woman in a much nicer gothic lolita outfit danced into the room, her
unnaturally large eyes open wide. "Oh me, oh my, oh dear, oh goodness, oh
gracious, oh no!" she sang. "Hya ha ha ha ha!" She cackled wickedly, her
pitch-black eyes opening even wider still.
"Yanderena..." grumbled Shanderena. "Shut up."
"So baaaaaasically," Yanderena started, "it sounds like you need little ol'
Yanderena to go take care of this, riiiiight?"
"That's right. The Shadow King himself entrusted us with the Indol
branch of the Shadow Conglomerate. And with the loss we incurred when
the demon magic beast contract failed to pay...well, any more mistakes
might put His Majesty in a rather murderous mood..."
The two shared a glance, and both girls grinned with fierce
determination.
◇Houghtow City—Blossom Acres◇
It was coming up on the middle of the day, and the weather in the
temperate climate of Houghtow City was as pleasant as ever. Two kobolds
—Tyrus and Chilala—came trotting up to Blossom as she worked on the
farm she managed outside of Flio's house.
"Miss Blossom! I've finished harvesting the vegetables!" said Tyrus.
"And I finished weeding!" added Chilala.
Blossom wiped her brow as she surveyed the fields around her. "Good
job, you too! Just a bit more and I reckon it'll be time for us all to take a
break."
A chorus of replies rang out.
"Okay!"
"Understood!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Here and there in the fields were goblins and kobolds hard at work.
Some of them carried baskets for harvesting produce, while others held
sickles for trimming the stubborn grass or hoes for cultivating the soil,
depending on their tasks.
"I remember when it was just me and Maunty and Hokh'hokton..."
Blossom remarked. "Feels like it became a whole community here in the
blink of an eye!"
"Indeed..." mused Maunty as he walked up to Blossom. Maunty was
carrying a large hoe hefted over his shoulder. "I was just thinking the same
thing."
"It's all thanks to the peace treaty between the Dark Army and the
Magical Kingdom of Klyrode," Blossom said. "Without that, we
wouldn't've been able to hire all these out-of-work demons..."
"Quite right," Maunty agreed. "This farm has become fairly well-known
among demons. After all, you give us three square meals and liquor every
day. The lodgings, tools, and clothes are all free, and you pay a good wage
on top of all that!"
"Of course!" said Blossom. "That's just how Lord Flio does things! He
didn't want all those demon folks who lost their jobs as mercenaries to lose
their way, so he decided to give 'em a place to go. He's been proactively
recruiting them for the Fli-o'-Rys General Store and this here farm."
Maunty smiled and nodded.
"By the way, Maunty..." Blossom went on to say.
"What is it, my Lady Blossom?"
"I was just wondering... How many children of yours are there working
the farm these days?"
"Forty-one boys and girls!" Maunty replied. "Ten of them have already
grown up to be splendid adults!"
"Family got bigger yet again, I see..." Blossom noted.
"That it did!" said Maunty. "And it sounds like it's going to get bigger
again next week!"
"O-Oh! I... I see..."
"Indeed! I, Maunty, will continue to work ever harder, for the sake of
my family!" Maunty proclaimed, flexing his arm.
"That's right," Blossom said. "You and your family are all a bunch of
serious, hardworking folk. Not at all like someone I could name..."
Grinning wryly, Blossom turned to look off towards one corner of the farm,
where Telbyress sat slumped on the ground in the middle of a field of
ripening eggenplants.
"Hahhh..." the former goddess sighed, miserably staring up to the
heavens. "Honestly, why do I have to do all this weeding?!" she lamented.
"I used to be a goddess, you know! I miss lounging around in airconditioned rooms on the Celestial Plane, wearing a different outfit every
day, partaking of the finest teas and sweets as I managed my world from a
distance... I seriously can't believe I'm sweating in the sun, working in a
place like this..." Telbyress was wearing a farmworker's outfit, complete
with a straw hat, and long rubber boots. Dressed like that, she didn't look
out of place in the slightest on the farm. "I'll just slack off until lunch..."
With that, she settled in with a rustling sound among the leafy vegetables.
Telbyress was shocked out of her rest by Hokh'hokton's face appearing
suddenly in her field of view. "You no-gooddess!" the goblin snapped. "I
had a feeling you were slacking off over here!"
"Eeek!" the no-gooddess shrieked. "H-Hokey! Don't shove your face at
me out of the blue like that!"
"You're the one who decided to shirk! No complaints!" Hokh'hokton
grabbed Telbyress by the collar and struggled to pull her to her feet.
"O-Ow! Ow, ow! But my butt, Hokey! My butt is gonna break if I keep
working!"
"I'm certain your butt will be fine! Now, get back to work! Somewhere I
can see you!"
"Hokey! How come you're being so mean?!"
"Because all you do is slack off, that's why!"
"And you say such horrible things..."
"No complaints, I tell you! Madame Zofina specifically asked me to fix
that rotten personality of yours, after all! Now, on your feet! Up and at
'em!"
"No! I won't! Be nice to me!"
Blossom shook her head at the overheard conversation. "That former
goddess hasn't changed a bit, has she...?"
"She has not..." Maunty agreed. "Even with Hokh'hokton's constant
supervision, she hasn't improved in the slightest..."
Off in the fields, they could still hear the sound of Hokh'hokton and
Telbyress arguing furiously.
◇Indol—A Building in the Back Alleys◇
"Now," said Shanderena, "we really must pay them a friendly visit to
collect what we're owed." Still fiddling with her abacus, she marched out of
the room and down the hallway.
"Mess with us and you're dead!" Yanderena cried, hurling her body to
the floor and thrashing about theatrically. "You're dead, you're dead, you're
deeeaaad!!!" she sang, trailing off into a high-pitched shriek.
The two made up their mind to pay a visit to Esto's shop themselves to
check in on the report from their subordinates, the men in black.
Shanderena, followed closely by Yanderena, threw the building's doors
open and stormed out to the alleyway.
No sooner had they stepped foot outside, however, than they found
themselves face-to-face with Rys, Wyne, and Chibilio. "Excuse me!" said
Rys, bowling the pair over as she forced her way past. "I'm coming in!"
"Wha—?!" exclaimed Shanderena.
"Wha-haaaaaa?!" Yanderena cried.
Carried on by Rys's momentum, the two found themselves pushed back
inside, where they landed in a heap. Rys didn't bother stopping to check on
them before beginning her search of the building, sniffing with her sensitive
nose as she looked this way and that. "There's no mistaking that scent...
Those men in black must have fled here!" As a lupine demon, Rys had
exceptionally keen olfactory senses. She had followed the men by scent all
the way to their hideout. She nodded, satisfied she had found her mark,
before turning to face Shanderena and Yanderena, who were still lying
facedown on the floor. "You two were on your way out of this building,
weren't you? I don't suppose you have anything to do with the Shadow
Conglomerate? My name is Rys. I would like to have some words with you
about the affair regarding Esto's shop, if I may be so bold."
Just as Rys was getting started, though, numerous men came running out
down the stairs at the end of the hallway.
"What was that sound?!"
"Is something happening?!"
"Don't tell me the city guards are here!"
The black-garbed men emerged at the foot of the stairs to see Rys
standing at the end of the hallway—her slender, curvaceous body...her
classically beautiful face...her silver-blue hair fluttering in the breeze...
"Wh-Who the hell is she?"
"Sh-She's beautiful..."
"She's out of this world..."
The men stood, at a loss for words, enraptured by Rys's beauty.
Shanderena and Yanderena pulled themselves to their feet, fixing their
clothing. Their outfits had gotten a bit disheveled in their earlier tumble.
"Wh-What are you idiots doing?!" Shanderena demanded. "Attack!
Attack!"
"Come on! Get to it! Slaughter! Slaughter! Slaughteeer!" Yanderena
added in her usual singsong.
Scolded, the men suddenly seemed to remember what they were
supposed to be doing. "R-Right! I forgot!" said one of them.
"Her beauty really distracts from the fact that she's an enemy..." added
another.
They rushed forward, closing in on Rys. Some of them clearly had
wicked thoughts on their minds. It looked like they were as likely to force
themselves on Rys as drive her away.
"Miserable wretches..." Rys growled, transforming into her full lupine
form. But before she could act, Chibilio stepped out in front of her, holding
both arms before the men. A magic circle appeared as he once more cast the
spell Gravitation. The men fell unceremoniously to the floor, completely
immobilized.
Rys transformed back into her customary human form. "Chibilio," she
said, frowning as she pinched the magic beast doll's cheeks, "I'm happy
you're so concerned for my safety, but I really was hoping to be able to
fight a little myself..."
Chibilio, however, gave an easygoing smile, just as Flio always did, and
shook his head. It seemed he refused to place Rys in any danger.
"Hmph..." Rys pouted.
"Hey! I wanted to fight too!" exclaimed Wyne, jumping up and down in
frustration as she registered a complaint of her own. "Me too!"
Rys checked to make sure that the men were all unconscious, then
moved to stand at the end of the hallway, blocking Shanderena and
Yanderena's escape. "Now then, you two. I gather you have some authority
in the Shadow Conglomerate. Perhaps we can have a little chat about the
affair regarding Esto's shop?"
Shanderena and Yanderena shook before Rys's gaze.
I-I can't even speak! Shanderena thought in terror. This she-wolf is far
too terrifying!
H-H-H-H-How am I supposed to say anything in front of that
moooooooonster?! Yanderena lamented.
The two had seen Rys in her lupine form. It was a sight that had terrified
them so thoroughly that now all they could do was press up against the wall
and tremble in fear. Fed up with their silence, Rys snarled impatiently.
"E-E-Eeeeeeeeeek!!!" the women shrieked in unison.
◇Later◇
The Delulhi guards had been busily milling in and out of the Shadow
Conglomerate's building for some time now. Rys, Wyne, and Chibilio stood
to the side, speaking with the guard captain.
"Thank you for your report, Lady Rys," he said, bowing deeply. "The
Shadow Conglomerate's unlawful activities have been causing a great deal
of trouble for the people of Indol, but thanks to the information you gave
us, we were able to wipe out their headquarters. We had been having so
much trouble finding a proper lead that we had to call for assistance from
the Magical Kingdom of Klyrode. But now we should finally be able to
bring this to a close."
"No need to thank me!" chirped Rys with a cheerful smile. "I just did
what anyone would have!"
As they were speaking, the guards passed by taking Shanderena and
Yanderena away. "Don't forget—this isn't over!" said Shanderena. "Not for
me, and not for the Shadow King!"
"I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll, I'll be baaaaaack!" sang Yanderena.
The two of them were wrapped up tight in bandages, unable to move
their bodies. Despite their bluster, they needed the guards to carry them. It
was quite the comical sight. Rys watched as the two were loaded into the
guards' carriage. "Villains always have a lot to say when they're defeated, I
suppose." She sighed. The carriage set off, surrounded by an armed escort,
and Rys turned her attention back to the guard captain, taking a bundle of
papers out from her Bottomless Bag. "I got this from those women. It seems
to be a list of methods the Shadow Conglomerate has for illegally acquiring
money."
"Well, now!" said the guard captain, accepting the list. "This will be a
great help! With this, we'll put an end to the Shadow Conglomerate for
good!"
"Thank you very much for your efforts," Rys said. "I hope we can settle
things without Esto or their other victims coming to any further harm."
"Of course! You have my word!" the captain said, bowing deeply once
again.
"If that's all, then, we'll be heading back to Esto's shop. I have to finish
my shopping so I can return home in time to prepare dinner!"
"Lady Rys, you reside within Indol?" the guard asked.
"Oh, no," Rys answered. "I live outside of Houghtow City. Now, I'd best
be off!" And with that she walked away, leading Chibilio by the hand.
"No fair!" Wyne complained as she trotted along behind. "I didn't get to
fight at all! Not at all!" She puffed out her cheeks in a childish pout, upset
that she had yet to see any action.
"Houghtow..." the guard repeated, cocking his head quizzically. "Is there
a city of that name in this region? I believe I've heard of such a city in the
Magic Kingdom of Klyrode, but it would take them two months by carriage
to travel that far! She certainly wouldn't be home in time for dinner..."
Behind him, the guards were hard at work confiscating every last scrap
of paper from the Shadow Conglomerate building.
◇Meanwhile—Near the Shadow Conglomerate Building◇
Nearby, a man and two women were hiding behind a building, watching
the proceedings. The Shadow Conglomerate building was surrounded by an
impressive number of city guards, who were rounding up all the relevant
paperwork they could find.
The heavy-set man—the Shadow King himself—clicked his tongue in
irritation. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded. "The Indol Shadow
Conglomerate is the biggest branch outside of the Magical Kingdom! If
they're being raided by the guards..."
Kintsuno the Gold stood behind him, wearing her customary golden
cheongsam and chewing on her thumb in frustration. "That dark-tempered
abacus woman and the dancing lady should have been watching over this
place..." she muttered. "Shanderena and Yanderena, I believe. What do they
think they're doing, letting it come to this?"
Her sister, Gintsuno the Silver, slumped her shoulders in exhaustion.
"And after all we went through getting to Indol..." She sighed. "What are
we going to do now, Shadow King?"
"I don't know!" the Shadow King snapped. "Shut up and let me think!"
Suddenly, a guard turned in their direction. "Hey! Is someone over
there? I hear voices!"
"They might be members of the Shadow Conglomerate!" said the guard
captain, who was a sturdy, muscular man. "You there, with me!" Leading a
handful of guards, he ran off towards the building where the Shadow King
and demon fox sisters were hiding.
"D-Damnation!" the Shadow King sputtered, taking off as fast as his
legs would carry him. "Hurry! Run!"
"R-Run?" Kintsuno yipped. "But where to?!"
"We can figure that out as we get away! Hurry!" barked the Shadow
King.
"Hang on!" Gintsuno protested. "If we can't get our money out of that
building, we'll have nothing left!"
"We can worry about that after we get away!"
They ran through the backstreets, arguing as quietly as they could as
they made their escape.
◇Houghtow City—Houghtow College of Magic◇
After class, Garyl was called to the school's reception lounge by
Taclyde, the school administrator. Belano, Garyl's homeroom teacher, was
sitting next to him. A man sat on the sofa across from them, dressed in the
chivalric cape only permitted to be worn by a knight in service of the
Magical Kingdom of Klyrode. He smiled when Garyl entered the room.
"Well now, Garyl! It's been a long while, hasn't it?! How have you
been?"
"I've been all right," Garyl answered, smiling back. "How about you,
Mister MacTaulo?"
"Quite well, thanks to your father!"
"You were the captain of the Klyrode Knights, right?"
"I was, aye. But with our new peace treaty with the Dark Army in place,
I've decided to retire from active duty. We're setting up a new academy to
help raise the next generation of knights, and I've been asked to serve as
headmaster." The old knight took a sip from his cup of tea before looking
up at the boy across from him. "In fact, I'm here today in just that capacity.
Tell me, Garyl, do you have any interest in enrolling in the Klyrode Knight
Academy?"
"Huh? Me?" Garyl asked, blinking in surprise.
MacTaulo nodded. "That's right! I've been going all around the Magical
Kingdom of Klyrode looking for promising young boys and girls to join me
in the academy. We would love to have you. We're prepared to offer you a
full scholarship as well."
"Hm..." Garyl gave the matter some thought. "Well, I've always wanted
to work for Miss Ellie—er, I mean, for Her Majesty someday..."
"Yes, I am well aware," MacTaulo remarked. "Boralis tells me you've
already saved Her Majesty's life numerous times. If you graduate from the
Klyrode Knight Academy, you'll qualify to join the knighthood right away,
if that's something that would appeal to you." Belano nodded eagerly,
encouraging Garyl to take MacTaulo up on his offer.
Garyl, however, seemed to come to a conclusion on his own. "Well,
thank you for the offer! I'm really glad you thought of me!" he said, a big,
genuine smile on his face. "But is it okay if I hold off for a bit?"
"Does that mean you refuse the offer?"
"That's right," Garyl said plainly, without hesitation. "I love the
Houghtow College of Magic! I wanna graduate from this school before I go
to your academy."
MacTaulo looked the boy in the eyes. Garyl met his gaze without
flinching. "I see," MacTaulo said, smiling to himself. "In that case, I will
look forward to the day you graduate from the Houghtow College of Magic
and join us at the Klyrode Knight Academy."
"Yeah! I'll see you then!" Then, Garyl stood up from the sofa and
bowed.
MacTaulo offered his hand and Garyl shook it, when suddenly the door
to the lounge burst open. A throng of students came falling through the
door, tripping over themselves and landing in a huge pile. Garyl's
classmates Salina, Irystiel, and Sadjitta were there, as were others Garyl
knew less well.
Belano's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Eavesdropping is wrong..." she
scolded in her quiet, faltering voice.
"But!" Salina protested, leaning forward urgently. "But I heard Lord
Garyl might be transferring to another school! I couldn't help myself!"
Next to her, Irystiel held up not one but two plush dolls, making them
speak with her proficient ventriloquism.
"But Garyl said he's staying here!" said one of the dolls.
"Irystiel's really happy! Mreowr!" the second said.
"Good!" huffed Sadjitta. "I need to beat you at least once before I
graduate, so you'd better stick around!" He held his head high, speaking as
if he were some kind of rival to Garyl.
The other students, however, regarded Sadjitta with a sardonic side-eyed
glance. "You're going to defeat Lord Garyl, Sadjitta?" Salina asked. "I'll
believe that when I see it!"
"There's no way!" said one of Irystiel's dolls.
"Not in a million years!" growled the other.
"Sh-Shut up!" Sadjitta protested, his face turning bright red. "I-I'm
doing my best, you know! I'll get there any day now!" The other students
all burst into laughter, the sound filling every corner of the reception
lounge.
MacTaulo smiled kindly at the assembled students. "Well, I think I can
see why Garyl is so keen to stay here until graduation," he observed. "This
is a good school."
Belano nodded earnestly.
MacTaulo spent some time talking with the students after that before
eventually taking his leave of the Houghtow College of Magic.
◇Indol—Esto's Shop◇
"Really, I don't know how I can possibly thank you!" Esto exclaimed,
beaming with delight as Luna bowed over and over again, her long ears
bobbing up and down every time she lowered her head.
Rys had returned to the store with good news. "Everyone involved with
the Shadow Conglomerate's immoral business has been arrested," she'd
told them. "I don't believe they'll come here again." Esto and Luna had
been so overjoyed that they had forgotten all propriety, hugging each other
tight and jumping for joy.
"Take all the time you like looking over our merchandise, Lady Rys,"
Luna told her. "We'll give you a big discount as thanks for today! Master,
would you please bring more textiles for the lady?"
"Right away! Just for you, Lady Rys, I'll bring out our secret reserve!"
Rys smiled as she looked over the merchandise on offer, but something
was clearly bothering her. "Um..." she started. "Thank you. I'm delighted to
have so many different fabrics to choose from! But...what in the world is
happening outside?" She turned to look out the shop entrance, where an
enormous crowd of people was gathered at the door, staring right at her.
"I think that's her!" shouted someone in the crowd. "She's the one who
broke up the Shadow Conglomerate!"
"Yeah, no mistake," another man agreed. "I saw her with the guard
captain earlier."
"Thank the gods! With them gone, we can finally do business in peace!"
"We can live our lives without jumping at every shadow!"
"Lady Rys..." someone rhapsodized. "What an incredible person..."
This whole crowd, it turned out, had come here to catch a glimpse of the
woman who brought down the infamous Shadow Conglomerate. Rys,
however, decided to ignore them. She turned her attention back to the cloth.
"I need to hurry and make up my mind so I can be home in time to make
dinner! Miss Luna, might I have as much of this cloth with the blue
embroidery as you have in stock? And I wonder, does this red and green
weave here come in any other patterns?"
"Of course!" Luna said, smiling from ear to ear. "I'll bring them for you
right away, my lady!"
Rys watched as Luna went to retrieve the cloth from the storeroom in the
back of the shop, then looked back at the cloth, touching it lightly with her
fingertips to assess its quality, her eyes dead serious. Chibilio stood at the
ready behind her, storing the cloth Rys picked out in his Bottomless Bag.
The crowd outside the store kept watching as Rys carefully examined
the merchandise.
"She's so pretty..."
"Did a beautiful woman like her really break up the Shadow
Conglomerate all on her own?"
"Maybe they were distracted by her looks..."
"I can imagine that. They had those two creepy women in charge, after
all..."
"Still, there's no denying that she's gorgeous."
As the onlookers discussed Rys's beauty, Wyne strolled up behind her
munching on a roast bird leg. Wyne had no interest in textiles whatsoever,
so Esto had prepared something for her to eat instead. "This tandoori
chinkin thing is good-good!" she declared with a mouth full of poultry,
grinning as she ate.
Suddenly, a number of guards came pushing their way through the
crowd in front of the store. "Esto!" their leader called over the hubbub. "Is
Esto within these premises?"
"Y-Yes!" cried Esto as he hurried out of the back room where he had
gone to retrieve more textiles. "Here I am!"
The guard nodded, acknowledging Esto, then glanced around the inside
of the shop where Rys was still deeply focused on picking out her cloth.
"Well met, Esto. I suppose that woman is the one they call Lady Rys, then?"
"Y-Yes, that she is...?" Esto replied, slightly confused.
Having confirmed Rys's identity, the guards marched up behind Rys and
fell into an orderly row behind her. "Lady Rys," their leader stated, saluting
sharply. The rest of the guards followed suit, saluting Rys in unison. "I am
Musainmad, high commander of the Delulhi guard." With his introduction
finished, Musainmad knelt down and lowered his head in a display of deep
gratitude. His retinue knelt down as well at his signal, lowering their heads
like their commander. "In recognition of your meritorious deeds leading to
the capture of Shadow Conglomerate personnel, our liege lord His Majesty
Dhalsam would like to award you the Crest of Indol. No doubt you have
your own pressing matters to attend to, but might we impose on you to
accompany us to Delulhi Palace?"
At Musainmad's words, the crowd outside let out a cheer.
"Th-The Crest of Indol?!" one of the onlookers exclaimed.
"And directly from the king?!" gasped another.
"Incredible! It's been years since the crest was last awarded!"
"Maybe, but I guess it makes sense. She did wipe out the Shadow
Conglomerate, after all!"
Everyone was excitedly celebrating Rys's award, as happy as if they had
won it themselves. They began to chant a loud chorus of "Rys! Rys! Rys!"
drawing even more onlookers to come see what was happening.
Rys, however, seemed to pay no mind to the commotion at all. She went
on focusing with single-minded intensity on the cloth. She didn't so much
as pause her hands in response to Musainmad's entreaty.
"E-Excuse me..." Musainmad tried. "Lady Rys? There is a carriage
waiting outside to take you to the palace..."
Finally, Rys seemed to realize she was being spoken to. She turned
around, smiling kindly. "I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid I must decline,"
she said, turning back to continue inspecting the cloth Luna had prepared
for her. "I need to purchase this cloth quickly so that I can be home in time
to prepare dinner."
"Huh? D-Dinner preparations...you say?" Musainmad was baffled.
"Erm...I don't believe the ceremony will take long..."
"No, thank you," answered Rys.
"Well," Musainmad offered, "the palace does have a kitchen of its own.
Perhaps your family can join us for dinner...?"
"Oh, but I already set out an entire meal to cook when I got home..." Rys
said.
"Then perhaps His Majesty could pay your family a royal visit?"
ventured the increasingly befuddled commander of the guard.
"I'm afraid it's quite a distance to travel," Rys told him. "I really must
decline."
"Erm..."
"Was that all?" Rys asked. When Musainmad failed to answer, she
turned back to the cloth, seeming to once again shut out the entire rest of
the world. "Miss Luna, do you happen to have this cloth in any other
colors? Oh, and I would like three cuts of this fabric, all in different colors
please."
"Huh?" Luna blinked, a little confused herself by Rys's conversation
with Musainmad. "O-Oh! Yes! Right away!" she exclaimed, swiftly moving
to the back of the shop.
◇ ◇ ◇
After her encounter with the guards, Rys finished picking out the cloth
she wanted and made her purchase. "Well, we've done what we came for,"
Rys said. "Wyne, Chibilio, are you ready to go home?"
"Okay, mama!" Wyne said, grinning and raising her hand. Chibilio
nodded silently.
Musainmad glanced at Rys from behind, nervous sweat running down
his brow. "L-Lady Rys!" he voiced, hurrying over as she made her way to
the store exit. "Is there truly no way I can persuade you to accompany me to
the palace? Even as a personal request? It won't have to take long."
Rys stopped in her tracks and sighed. "Well, if it really means so much
to you, I suppose it would be rude to send you back empty-handed..."
"S-So you'll come?!" Musainmad exclaimed, a smile of relief coming to
his face.
Rys, however, turned to face the two shopkeepers. "Mister Esto? Miss
Luna?"
"Y-Yes?!" the pair started, reflexively stiffening their backs.
"I'm terribly sorry to trouble you with this, but would you perhaps
accompany this man to the palace in my place?"
"Huh?!" Esto, Luna, and Musainmad—indeed, everyone watching—
reeled in shock.
"Well then, I'd best be off!" Rys said, smiling cheerfully at the
assembled crowd as she made her way out of the store and headed for the
city gates.
"W-Wait! Lady Rys?!" Musainmad and his retainers chased after Rys,
but when they followed her out of the gates, they were stunned to see no
sign of her or the children anywhere. "What a strange person..." Musainmad
remarked, pursing his lips up with wry amusement. "I've never heard of
anyone who would prioritize dinner preparations above the Crest of Indol."
Just then, an enormous red wyvern burst forth from behind a nearby hill,
flapping its wings and ascending high into the sky. "What?! A wyvern?!"
The guardsmen quickly drew their weapons, readying themselves for a
fight. Musainmad, however, held out his hand to stop them.
"W-Wait..." he began, narrowing his eyes and peering at something on
the wyvern's back. "Up there, riding on the dragon...i-is that Lady Rys?!"
The moment he said the words, the guards all began to cry out as well.
"Lady Rys keeps a dragon for a servant!" marveled one.
"Just like that queen who fought off the Crimson Dragon when it came
to destroy Indol!" a second exposited excitedly. "They say the dragon has
obeyed her ever since!"
"Lady Rys must be none other than an incarnation of the Dragon
Queen!" uttered a third.
"Long live Queen Rys!" someone cheered.
"Long live Queen Rys!"
"Long live Queen Rys!"
"Long live Queen Rys!!!"
More and more guards joined in the rousing chorus with every cheer.
Soon it had spread to the people waiting their turn at the gate. Before long,
it is said, chants of "Long live Queen Rys" could be heard in every corner
of Indol.
◇Meanwhile—In the Sky◇
"I'm terribly sorry, Wyne, but would you mind speeding up just a little
bit?" Rys asked. "I spent so much time dealing with that Musainmad man
that I'm afraid we've fallen behind schedule."
"Got it, mama! Speed up! Speed up!" Wyne nodded and flapped her
wings faster still, picking up speed as they flew along.
Rys leaned over to get a look at the ground from overhead, holding a
hand over her hair to keep it from blowing around too much in the wind.
"Look, Chibilio!" she said, smiling down at the magic beast doll in her lap.
"Isn't it beautiful?"
Chibilio gave her that smile that reminded her so much of Flio, and
nodded silently.
An adventure with Chibilio... Rys thought, gently stroking his cheek.
This was quite enjoyable in its own way, but I really do wish my lord
husband had been able to come with us... She closed her eyes.
Suddenly, she heard her husband's voice in her ear. "Hello, Rys!" Rys's
eyes shot open. She whipped her head around to see Flio sitting behind her.
"I finished my work and hurried over with Teleportation," he said, smiling
like he always did. "Sorry it took so long."
I thought I'd try Teleporting here by synchronizing my consciousness
with Chibilio, he thought. Looks like everything went well! He sighed with
relief, glad his first test of the technique had succeeded.
Rys's face lit up the second she laid eyes on Flio. "My lord husband!"
she cried, wrapping her arms tight around him. Flio hugged back, squeezing
her in turn. For a moment, the two stayed silent in each other's embrace.
"Ah!" Wyne cried happily, finally noticing that Flio had suddenly
appeared on her back. "Dada! It's dada!"
Wyne seemed eager to chat, but Chibilio had a sense that Flio and Rys
might want a bit of privacy. He gave Wyne a pointed look and held his
index finger to his lips in the universal gesture for silence. Wyne understood
and swallowed her words, turning her full attention to flying.
Rys leaned closer to Flio as they flew through the air. Flio held her
gently against his chest. "What now?" he asked. "We could go home right
away with Teleportation if you want to."
"No," said Rys. "Let's stay like this..." She closed her eyes, angling her
face upwards towards her husband. Flio leaned in, kissing her softly on the
lips.
Wyne sped along with Flio, Rys, and Chibilio on her back, heading
home to Houghtow City.
◇The Following Morning—Indol◇
"Is this really happening...?" Luna asked, the sight of Delulhi Palace
towering before her making her go stiff with nerves.
"W-Well, it was a request from Lady Rys," said Esto, looking no less
stiff than Luna.
Musainmad regarded the couple with a smirk. "Come now, you two are
the emissaries of Lady Rys, are you not? Look alive!"
"I-I-I-I-I'm looking as alive as I can!" Luna shot back. "Oh, if it weren't
requested by Lady Rys, I would have never agreed to do something like
this!"
"If you can say that much, you'll probably be fine," Musainmad told her.
"Now come along! Let's go!"
"H-Hmph..." Luna objected impotently.
"We have to do this, Luna," Esto said. "Let's just get it done."
"V-Very well, Master..."
Musainmad gave Esto a friendly smack on the shoulder as he led Esto
and Luna into Delulhi Palace.
That day, King Dhalsam gave the Crest of Indol to Esto and Luna, as
proxies for Rys. It was a very strange situation by all accounts, but the pair
performed the role that had been forced on them without any particular
issues, and before long the award ceremony came to a merciful close.