◇Deep in a Forest◇
Deep in a forest located somewhere in the world, surrounded by trees,
stood a small wooden cottage. This cottage was where the doppeladler
Hugi-Mugi, formerly of the Infernal Four, made their residence, spending
their days not in their natural form as a two-headed monstrous bird, but
transformed to appear as a human boy.
Right now, the cottage was full of women's voices carrying on in an
argument.
"I'm telling you!" huffed Cartha, crossing her arms and puffing out her
chest as she glared down the other two women. "I've known Hugi the
longest!"
Shino, who today was dressed in a priest's vestments, sprung up from
her seat. "That doesn't matter one bit!" she protested, meeting Cartha's
furious gaze. "You can meet your destined beloved at any point in your life!
You just have to feel it!"
Mato, who had been sitting next to Shino, sprung up as well. "I owe
Lord Hugi-Mugi my life!" she insisted. "For that reason, it is my intention
to stay by his side and serve him for as long as I live!"
The women were caught in a three-way glaring match. Hugi-Mugi, in
their human form, sighed heavily as they watched. "How troublesome,
yes!" they said, speaking in two distinct voices. "Yes, how long are you
going to fight over this?!"
The three women turned at once to face Hugi-Mugi. "Oh, Hugi!" said
Cartha. "This is an important matter, you understand! Alas, there are three
of us, and only one Hugi!"
"Exactly!" Shino agreed. "And that is why we must discuss which of us
is to occupy that one-and-only seat!"
"As for me, I am satisfied merely to be your servant..." Mato
acquiesced. "But in truth, if I may be so bold, my heart wishes to be the one
you keep closest by your side..."
The three sidled closer to Hugi-Mugi on the sofa as the doppeladler
reeled back, recoiling from their overbearing courtship. "C-Calm down, you
three, yes!" they said. "Yes, you are being much too pushy!"
"We have to be pushy, Hugi!" Cartha pleaded. "The rest of our lives are
riding on this!"
"The two women we decide are unfit to become Hugi's bride must
graciously withdraw from the contest," Shino explained.
"To be honest," added Mato, "I am afraid I can no longer conceive of a
life without my Lord Hugi-Mugi..."
The three sidled up closer still, until their faces were inches away from
Hugi-Mugi's. "S-So, yes..." Hugi-Mugi said. "You all want to be my bride,
yes?"
"Yes!" the three nodded in unison, their faces turning red before HugiMugi's eyes.
Hugi-Mugi looked from Cartha to Shino to Mato. "Yes, I see... I am very
fond of you three as well, yes. Yes, very fond."
"I-I'm glad to hear that," Cartha said. "But..."
"Only one of us can be your wife," said Shino.
"Unfortunate as it is..." Mato added.
"It's quite okay, yes! Yes, quite okay! All three of you can marry me,
yes! After all, I am a demon!" said Hugi-Mugi.
"Huh?"
"What?"
"Excuse me?"
The three women stared wide-eyed, freezing stiff on the spot. They'd
had no idea of Hugi-Mugi's true identity. Hugi-Mugi, however, was correct.
Demons had a different legal code than humanity, under which it was
permissible to take as many as three wives.
"H-Hugi..." Cartha asked. "You're...a demon?"
"I am, yes!" said Hugi-Mugi, a pair of doppeladler wings erupting from
his back. "Yes, see?"
"You have wings!" Mato gasped. "Those are not the wings of a
demihuman, then, I take it?"
"No, yes! Yes, do you want to see me get bigger?" Hugi-Mugi offered.
"A-Ah!" Mato shook her head. "N-No, thank you! I believe you!
Although..." she added, resting her head against Hugi-Mugi's chest and
gazing dreamily up at his face. "I would like to fly on my lord's back
sometime...as a date..."
"Well!" said Hugi-Mugi, pulling all three into a tight embrace. "It
should be no problem, yes! Yes, after all, there is that peace treaty between
the humans and the demons! Would you three like to marry me then? Yes?"
The women smiled blissfully in Hugi-Mugi's arms.
Half a day later, Hugi-Mugi's cottage was still full of the voices of
arguing women.
"I'm telling you!" Cartha declared. "Hugi and I have known each other
the longest, so I should be the natural pick for the first wife!"
"I won't stand for it!" protested Shino. "Not when I hold the deepest
love for Hugi of all of us in my heart!"
"As I am the most indebted to Lord Hugi-Mugi, it stands to reason that
the title of first wife should be mine..." Mato proposed.
Yes—Hugi-Mugi being a demon meant that all three women could
marry him without any issue, but Cartha, Shino, and Mato now had to settle
the issue of which of them was to be Hugi-Mugi's first wife. They had been
arguing about this for nearly the entire afternoon.
Hugi-Mugi watched on, a profoundly tired expression on their face.
Women do love to argue about all sorts of things, yes... they thought.
◇After the Demon Magic Beast Fusion Incident—Dark Citadel Throne
Room◇
The Dark One Dawkson sat on the floor in front of his august throne.
The Dark One still considered himself unworthy of his station and refused
to sit on the throne itself.
Dawkson looked over the four demons kneeling in front of him. "Well
met!" he greeted. "So you're Demmie, the head of House Ulgo, and her
retainers, right?"
"Y-Yes, my lord..." Demmie answered, flinching noticeably at being
addressed. I-I-I-I can't believe we got a direct summons from the Dark One
Lord Dawkson himself! she thought. She could feel her heart pounding, and
beads of nervous sweat were forming on her brow. I-I-I-Is this because of
papa and the others joining that rebellion? I-I-I-Is he going to execute us?!
Behind her, Genbushein, Rosalina, and Rozen Laurel seemed no less
gripped by fear.
"House Ulgo," began the Dark One's minion Phufun, stepping up beside
the four of them. "Do you have any wish to join the Dark Army?"
"What...?" Demmie's eyes went wide. "E-Excuse me...are you not going
to execute us?"
The Dark One Dawkson couldn't help cracking a smile at Demmie's
words. "Oh, the old rebellion House Ulgo was a part of?" he asked. "Who
cares about that?! I barely remember it! Nah, I called you here so I could
give you a proper reward for vanquishing that blue demon magic beast and
saving the kidnapped demon!"
"O-Oh! Um... B-But in the end, we were only able to defeat one of
them..." Demmie demurred.
"Hey, one's plenty!" Dawkson said with a smile. "So anyway, whatcha
think? You gonna accept our offer or not? Oh, and you won't be in trouble
if you don't accept or anything, so don't worry about that."
"Y-Yes!" Demmie said, her face brightening at the Dark One's words.
"If you will truly accept one so inexperienced as me, I am prepared to
devote my whole body and spirit to serving you, O Dark One!" She
prostrated herself, touching her head to the ground as her three retainers
followed suit.
F-Finally... Demmie thought, tears coming to her eyes. Finally I can
restore House Ulgo to its proper place of honor!
Dawkson nodded, a smile on his face.
A few days before the meeting with Demmie, and the morning after their
battle with the demon magic beasts, the Dark One Dawkson was in Wuha
Gappoli's mansion interior, speaking with a large shovel—none other than
Hero Gold-Hair, still stuck in his fused form with the Drilldozer Shovel.
"W-Well, never mind that!" Hero Gold-Hair said, making a sound like
he was clearing his throat. "More importantly, Dawkson, there's a favor I
want to ask of you."
"Of course!" said Dawkson. "Anything I can do, my brother."
"I appreciate it..." Hero Gold-Hair said. "Actually, I was wondering if
you could give some kind of award to that House Ulgo lot for defeating the
blue demon magic beast."
"House Ulgo..." Dawkson repeated.
"House Ulgo is one of the clans that rose up to join Lord Zanzibar's
rebellion," said Phufun, not looking up from the documents she was reading
as she pressed her glasses up the ridge of her nose in her usual habit. "The
head of the house of that time has passed away, however, passing his title
on to his daughter."
"I see..." said Dawkson. "In that case, why don't I just make 'em part of
our demonic leadership! We've got Zanzibar on the Infernal Four, so I don't
see why not!"
"Understood," said Phufun, keeping her finger on her glasses so they
didn't slip off as she gave a sharp bow. "I will make the arrangements at
once."
If I were still like my old self, I wouldn't have had any second thoughts
about sending the lot of them flying with my fists... Dawkson thought back
in the present as he recalled his conversation with Hero Gold-Hair the other
day.
"Even a former rebel has use, if they have the ability," said Zanzibar of
the Infernal Four, nodding in appreciation from his position standing at the
ready to the side. "Truly, it is admirable conduct, worthy of a Dark One."
Belianna, Zanzibar's peer as an Infernal and fellow devil, giggled
knowingly at his remark. "Damned well said, old man Zanzibar! As far as
I'm concerned, having the damned eye to pick me for the Infernal Four
makes him the best damned Dark One in history!"
Next to her, the little girl carrying an oversized syringe—the mad
scientist Coqueshtti—frowned. O-Oh, but, but... she thought, I really don't
know what to think of him picking me for the Infernal Four when the only
thing I know how to do is heal... She was trembling with nerves. It seemed
she still hadn't internalized that she had, in fact, been selected for the
Infernal Four.
One way or another, everyone welcomed House Ulgo eagerly and with
open arms.
"So there you have it," proclaimed Dawkson. "Look forward to workin'
with you!"
"Yes, my lord!"
And so, House Ulgo pledged their allegiance to the Dark One Dawkson.
◇Klyrode Castle—Maiden Queen's Chambers◇
"Whaaaaat?!" Second Princess Leusoc, the Maiden Queen's much
younger sister, practically shrieked when she heard the news. "E-Elizabeth,
are you for real right now?!"
"Leusoc..." the Maiden Queen Elizabeth said, chiding her sister for her
language. "There is no need for us to speak like commoners."
Leusoc was sitting on the sofa in the Queen's chambers, across from the
Maiden Queen herself, wearing an outfit that wouldn't have looked at all
out of place on a coarse adventurer. "No, but, I mean!" she protested,
clearly agitated as she began to ramble on. "I rode all the way across that
accursed, scorching desert and back without so much as a moment's rest, all
because we received a request from the kingdom of Indol for our assistance
in driving the Shadow Conglomerate out of their lands, only to learn that
the Shadow Conglomerate had already been destroyed! And now you tell
me that it was the wife of the Fli-o'-Rys proprietor?!"
The Maiden Queen smiled knowingly at her sister's outburst.
"Incidentally, Leusoc," she said, "it seems that the selfsame proprietor has
recreated the lost Enchanted Frigate for us."
"So I heard..." Leusoc remarked. "That is the vessel that's been making
those regular round trips between the Klyrode Castle Town and the territory
of the Dark One now that our peace treaty is in effect, no?"
"Yes, that is one of them. However, Lord Flio is currently readying five
more vessels for service. One of them, it seems, will be traveling from the
Magical Kingdom to Indol and back. They recently made a test flight and
returned with a copy of a new book given to them by the king of Indol."
"Huh? What?" Leusoc blinked. "Then...sister...how long does it take for
this Enchanted Frigate to travel from the Magical Kingdom to Indol and
back?"
"Well..." said the Queen. "From what I heard, I believe it was about half
a day's travel."
"Half a day?!" Leusoc sprung up from the sofa in shock. "Are you for
real?!" she exclaimed. "It took me an entire month to get back from
Indol..." she added, plopping herself back down on the sofa, staring up at
the ceiling with a very strained smile on her face.
"Listen, Leusoc..." the Maiden Queen told her. "Your hard work
traveling from land to land has not gone unappreciated. You have been a
tremendous help in keeping our diplomatic channels open. But consider—
with the Enchanted Frigates in service, your duties will become somewhat
easier to accomplish as well."
"That's true!" Leusoc said, sitting back upright. "I guess I can't deny it
would be nice to have a single year where I'm not running around north and
south and east and west the entire time."
"Yes, precisely!"
Leusoc nodded in understanding, smiling happily at the Queen's words.
"In that case, maybe I'll finally have time to start seriously looking for a
boyfriend! Ha ha! This might be kinda fun!"
"A b-boyfriend..." the Maiden Queen repeated, wincing just slightly.
"Leusoc, I really wish you would be just slightly more mindful of your
language..."
"Oh, but speaking of boyfriends..." Leusoc carried on.
"Yes?" asked the Queen.
"So when are you and Garyl getting married?"
"Pfffffft!!!" the Maiden Queen spat out the black tea she had been
daintily sipping.
Leusoc moved over to where the Maiden Queen was sitting and sidled
up close. "Swann's told me all about it, you know," she said. "I hear you
and the Fli-o'-Rys company's oldest son have been all over each other
lately..."
"A-Ah..." the Maiden Queen stammered. "W-We have not gotten so far
as talks of marriage yet..."
"So far, she says..." Leusoc observed. "So you are going out!"
"I—! Th-That's...!"
"Come on! Tell me everything! You know I love gossip!" Leusoc
pleaded, grabbing her sister's arm to keep her from getting away.
"I would like to treat this seriously, if it's the same to you..." the Maiden
Queen muttered, blushing furiously and averting her eyes.
The two continued on in this vein until it was at last time for dinner.
◇Houghtow City—Flio's Workshop◇
That day, Greanyl and the rest of the shadow demons gathered in Flio's
workshop. This was the same group that had once been the Silent Listeners
—the Dark Army's spy corps and intelligence apparatus. Currently, they
were employed as the supply and transit team for the Fli-o'-Rys General
Store. Lined up before them were five consoles, each made to resemble the
cockpit of an Enchanted Frigate.
Greanyl sat down at one of the consoles, and suddenly, all around her
she could see an expanse of blue sky. She gasped in awe as she took the
controls. "So this is the training simulation platform... Incredible. As long
as I'm at the controls, the world in front of my eyes is replaced with a
vision of a ship responding to my inputs..."
Greanyl's fellow shadow demons gasped out all the same as they took
their own consoles. Flio looked over the crowd and smiled. "As you know,
we're planning on flying six Enchanted Frigates at once on set routes all
around the world. So, for now, I'd like you all to practice and familiarize
yourselves with the controls."
Greanyl screwed up her face in determination as she focused on
operating the ship. The training simulation featured all sorts of obstacles,
from tall mountains to giant flying magic beasts, all popping up at random.
After all, a pilot would need to keep a level head and respond appropriately
to the situations that arose, all while keeping the ship on course to reach its
destination.
"We'll be conducting live training flights to Indol," said Flio as he
watched the shadow demons at work. "So for now, just focus on getting a
feel for the basics. I don't expect there to be any emergencies, but just the
same I would like you to learn how to address the situation in case
something were to go wrong." The shadow demons all nodded seriously as
the first five tagged out to let five more take a turn at the controls.
Greanyl, who had been part of the first wave of five, raised her hand.
"Excuse me, Mister Flio...?"
"Yes, Greanyl?" Flio asked. "Can I help you?"
"Sir, I have a question. What will become of our road freight network
now that we are launching these Enchanted Frigates?"
"Oh, we'll keep our ground teams operating as always," Flio said.
"We'll use the Enchanted Frigate routes to link faraway major urban centers
to each other, and have horse wagon teams to transport goods to and from
the outlying areas."
"I see..." Greanyl breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hm?" Flio cocked his head, curious about Greanyl's behavior. "Is
something the matter, Greanyl?"
"O-Oh, no, it's nothing," Greanyl answered. "I was just thinking it
would be a little sad if I didn't get to accompany him on our wagon routes
anymore..." Suddenly, she stopped herself, covering her mouth. O-Oh, no!
she thought. I let my feelings slip right in front of everyone! She looked
around, at the rest of the shadow demons.
"'Him'?" one whispered.
"You know," answered another. "That subordinate of Lord Sleip..."
"Oh? I thought everyone knew!" said a third.
"It's quite famous, their little love affair."
It seemed they had been listening after all. Greanyl's face turned red all
the way to the tips of her ears. "U-Um!" she blurted out. "I just remembered
an urgent task I need to take care of! Excuse me!" She tossed a smoke
bomb to the ground, obscuring herself from sight. When the smoke cleared,
Greanyl was gone.
The rest of the shadow demons burst out laughing.
"She knows we all support her, right?"
"We're all just waiting for them to announce their courtship!"
"Well, Greanyl has always been a bit ridiculous about this sort of thing."
"All we can do is watch over her with love in our hearts."
Flio smiled as usual at the crowd of gossiping demons. "All right," he
said, "shall we end the conversation and get back to training?"
"Yes, sir!" the shadow demons proclaimed, saluting in unison. The five
who were next in line for the cockpits carried on their training without any
more chatter. Flio nodded and watched on, quite satisfied with the progress
everyone was making.
That evening after he finished conducting Enchanted Frigate training,
Flio was walking through the forest near his house, his daughter Rylnàsze
following along holding her father's hand.
"This will be your first time going all the way to the lake, won't it,
Rylnàsze?"
"Yes, that's right!" Rylnàsze chirped. "I'm very excited!"
"You're always running around outside the house, though, aren't you?"
asked Rys, who was holding Rylnàsze's other hand.
"Yes! I love playing outdoors!" Rylnàsze answered, smiling at her
mother.
"Snuffle! Snuffle!" Sybe cried out as it led the way in its unicorn rabbit
form, trotting on ahead of the family.
"Hm?" Rys glanced around the area as they walked through the forest.
"What's wrong, Rys?" Flio asked.
"Oh..." said Rys. "It's nothing, just...hm?!" Suddenly, her eyes found
their target. She stared intently at something far away in the forest.
Flio's passive Sense Presence spell picked up something just as Rys
turned her head. He looked off in the distance in the same direction as his
wife. "Huh?"
Thud, thud, thud... Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud... They could hear the
sound of footsteps in the distance. They sounded quite large and seemed to
be moving at a tremendous speed.
Rys stepped out in the direction of the sound. "A magic beast, by the
sound of it," she said. "My lord husband, leave this to me!" Her lupine wolf
ears materialized on her head as she darted towards the thicket ahead,
moving like an animal.
Flio cocked his head. "That's strange... The spell says it's..."
As he was thinking, something that looked like a magic beast came
bounding out of the thicket. Rys's expression darkened perceptibly when
she saw what it was. "M-My lord husband... Don't tell me...is that...?"
"Looks like it," said Flio. "As strange as that sounds. Although, Miss
Zofina did tell us that one of the beasts went missing, didn't she...?"
"And of course it was that one..." Rys sighed, extending her fierce claws
from both her hands. But suddenly, a much smaller magic beast leapt out of
the underbrush in front of them, straight into Rylnàsze's arms.
"Shhh!" Rylnàsze hushed soothingly, gently petting and reassuring the
small creature. "Don't worry! You're safe!"
As she was petting it, a much larger magic beast came running up from
even farther in the brush. It seemed like the smaller creature had been
running away. "Where are you going, my cute little unicorn rabbit?" he
cooed. "Don't you know I'm all alone, lost far from my home world here?
I'm so lonely I just can't help it! So that's why—"
That was as far as Leonorna got before he was silenced by one of Rys's
savage spinning kicks. "The perverted Divine Beast," she hissed. "What are
you doing in this world?!"
"Wh-Why! If it isn't the lady with that spectacular pair of— Gack!" the
lion cried as another one Rys's kicks sent him crashing to the ground, his
mane fluttering spectacularly. He twitched and spasmed, clearly
unconscious.
Flio and Rys looked down at the Divine Beast. "I don't believe it..." Flio
said. "The Divine Beast Leonorna fled to our world?"
"So it seems," said Rys, huffing in anger at the unconscious Leonorna.
"What a troublesome creature. And to think, he was picking on a magic
beast not even half his size..."
"Speaking of, let's see this unicorn rabbit..."
Flio watched as Rylnàsze set the unicorn rabbit down in front of Sybe,
who was currently a unicorn rabbit at the moment itself. "Sybe," Rylnàsze
explained in a gentle voice, "this unicorn rabbit just had a very big scare.
Since you're a unicorn rabbit too, do you think you could cheer it up?"
Sybe stood up on its hind legs and thumped its paw against its chest as if
to say, "Leave it to me!"
The other unicorn rabbit inched timidly nearer to Sybe, who lowered its
head and approached. The two gently bumped their horns together before
moving in closer and nuzzling against one another.
Rylnàsze watched happily as the two unicorn rabbits mingled.
"Excellent! I'm so happy you're getting along! I'm sure you two will be the
best of friends!" she said, smiling happily and patting the two rabbits on the
head. Sybe and its new friend sidled up to her, nuzzling against her leg as
she continued to pet the critters.
Her parents, Flio and Rys, smiled as they watched.
"That horned rabbit is a female, if I'm not mistaken," Flio remarked.
"So it seems!" Rys agreed. "Then, perhaps, she'll end up as Sybe's
wife?"
"Who can say!" said Flio. "But they seem to like each other, and she's
taken to Rylnàsze so much already...perhaps we should adopt her into the
family?"
"That sounds like a lovely idea to me!" Rys said, nodding brightly. A
second later, however, her expression changed. She furrowed her brow,
looking behind her at the unconscious lion. "That aside...my lord husband,
what are we to do with this so-called Divine Beast?"
"I'll just contact Miss Zofina from the Celestial Plane," Flio said.
"She'll come to pick him up in no time, I'm sure."
Rys breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. I would hate it if we had to
keep him around to keep an eye on him..."
Rylnàsze, Sybe, and the new unicorn rabbit all furiously nodded in
agreement.
"All right. Let's get Zofina to pick up Leonorna and head to the lake."
Rys and the rest nodded, and so it was settled.