◇Deep in a Forest◇
Somewhere deep in a forest, surrounded by trees, there stood a cozy
little wooden cottage. It was here that the doppeladler Hugi-Mugi, a former
member of the Infernal Four, lived out their life disguised as a human.
"Look papa!" said a boy, pointing up at the sky. "A big flying boat!"
"A big flying boat, is it, yes?" said Hugi-Mugi, stepping out of the house
to see what the fuss was about. In their undisguised form, Hugi-Mugi was
an enormous two-headed demon bird, and even in their human form they
spoke with two distinct overlapping voices. The boy didn't seem to find that
at all peculiar, though. He took Hugi-Mugi's hand and led them into the
front garden. "It's true, yes!" Hugi-Mugi exclaimed. "Yes, a big flying
boat!"
"That boat is really cool, isn't it, papa?" the boy said. "I wanna ride on it
too!"
"Hmmm..." Hugi-Mugi considered. "Want to ride on it, yes?" Then they
turned to the house. "Oh, Cartha!"
"Yes, Hugi, what is it?" said a woman, poking her head out from one of
the windows. "I'm a little busy getting everything ready for dinner..."
Cartha once operated a farm outside the nearby village, but now she lived
with Hugi-Mugi full-time.
"Excuse me, yes, but what exactly is that boat up there?" Hugi-Mugi
asked. "Yes, do you recognize it?"
"Ahhh!" Cartha exclaimed. "That must be an Enchanted Frigate! Folks
have been talking about it back at the village! I've heard they're operated
by some shop called the Fli-o'-Rys General Store in Houghtow City."
"Huca says he wants to ride on the boat, yes!" Hugi-Mugi reported.
"Yes, how would we do that?"
"Well, I suppose I would need to go to Houghtow City to learn the
details..." Cartha mused. Then she turned and called out to someone in the
garden. "Excuse me, Shino? You wouldn't know anything, would you?"
A woman walked up, carrying a baby on her back and dressed in priestly
vestments. This was Shino, who worked as a priestess in the village Cartha
was from. "The Enchanted Frigate?" Shino asked. "I've only heard rumors
at the church myself..." Suddenly, however, her expression changed. "WWait, could you hold on just a moment?! There's something warm running
down my back...I think Muno must have wet himself!" She hastily
unstrapped the baby from her back and put it down. "Oh, goodness, you
really did wet yourself, didn't you? You really can be such a naughty child
sometimes, Muno. But I suppose it's something you have in common with
my lord husband, after all!" Blushing, Shino went to change her baby's
clothes. It seemed like a task she was very used to.
Just then, a wagon rolled up to the cottage. "I have returned!" said the
woman driving the team of enormous magic beasts hitched to the reins. She
stepped down to the ground, mindful of her large pregnant belly.
Hugi-Mugi came running right away. "Mato, there's no need for you to
go to town to trade right now, yes! Yes, you are nearly about to give birth!"
Mato had been traveling in the forest one day when she found herself
attacked by bandits. Just when things were looking bad, though, Hugi-Mugi
came to her rescue. Ever since, she had been living with them in their
cottage.
"Oh, well..." Mato said. "I realize it may be a little improper for a wife,
but I would still like to do everything I can to be of use to you, if you will
allow it."
"There's no need to worry about that, yes! Yes, after all, I'm the one
who took you as a wife!" said Hugi-Mugi. "What worries me is your body,
yes! Yes, please don't push yourself too much!" The magic beasts all
nodded in agreement. It seemed as if they could understand Hugi-Mugi's
words.
"Lord Hugi-Mugi... Everyone... Thank you. I will do my utmost not to
push myself overmuch." Then, she glanced up at the sky. "Oh! Is that the
Enchanted Frigate I see?"
"It is, yes!" said Hugi-Mugi. "Huca wants to ride on it, yes! Do you
know how, Mato?"
"Oh!" said Mato. "It just happens that I heard something while I was
doing the day's trading! It seems you can purchase tickets at the village
hall. But to get on board, we'd need to go all the way to a town on the other
side of the mountain..."
"I see!" said Hugi-Mugi. "Well, then, shall we be off, yes?"
"Oh, but Hugi!" Cartha protested. "Won't it be quite the hassle to go all
the way to the other side of the mountain? I know the magic beasts are very
fast, but it would still take two entire days, I should think. I don't know if
we should be leaving Mato alone for so long when the baby could be due
any day now..."
"There is no need to worry about me, Miss Cartha," Mato said with a
bright smile. "I will gladly watch over the house while you are away!"
"All of you are family, yes!" Hugi-Mugi said. "Yes, I don't want to leave
even one of you behind!"
Under demonic law, a demon could take as many as three wives. HugiMugi had filled out their full quota, marrying Cartha, Shino, and Mato and
having a child with each of them in turn.
"Lord Hugi-Mugi..." Mato said. "I really do appreciate the sentiment,
but..."
"There's nothing to worry about, yes!" said Hugi-Mugi. "Yes, if we do
this we can cross the mountain in half a day!" Their body began to shake
violently and shine with a golden light, and soon Hugi-Mugi had reverted to
their original two-headed body. "Now, everyone, get on, yes!" They
lowered their wings to the ground to make it as easy as possible for their
wives to climb onto their back.
"Thank you, Hugi!" said Cartha. "Come on, Huca! Let's get on papa's
back!"
"Okay!" said Huca.
"Here, Mato," Shino said, holding out her hand. "I'll help you up, so
please do take it easy."
"Thank you very much, Lady Shino," said Mato, accepting Shino's
hand. One by one, the family climbed onto Hugi-Mugi's back.
"Is everyone on board, yes?" asked Hugi-Mugi. "Make sure you grab on
tight, yes!"
"Yes, Hugi, I am!" said Cartha. "I have a firm grip on Huca too!"
"I am quite ready!" said Shino.
"It feels almost disrespectful to grab onto your feathers..." Mato
remarked.
When everyone had responded, Hugi-Mugi began to beat their
enormous wings, taking to the sky. In no time at all, they were flying even
higher than the Enchanted Frigate. "Now, let us fly, yes! Yes, across the
mountain in one go!"
"Oh my gosh, wow!" Huca gasped in awe. "You're even better than the
Enchanted Frigate, papa!"
"Ah ha ha ha ha!" Hugi-Mugi laughed. "We can still go higher, yes! Yes,
now hold on tight!"
"Yeah!" Huca nodded happily as Hugi-Mugi flew higher and higher, up
through the clouds.
"Huca," Cartha asked, "isn't riding on papa's back more fun than the
Enchanted Frigate?"
"Yeah! That's right, mama!" Huca nodded again.
"Muno seems delighted as well," said Shino, as the baby in her arms
cried out with delight.
"I hope my child is born soon, so I can enjoy this with them as well..."
said Mato, smiling as she watched Cartha and Shino with their children.
Hugi-Mugi flew faster and faster as they gained altitude, soaring like an
arrow. "Hang on, Hugi! Wait!" Cartha cried. "Too far! Too far! We've
passed three mountains already!"
"D-Did we, yes?!" Hugi-Mugi exclaimed.
"Miss Cartha, perhaps today we can simply enjoy flying through the
skies like this?" suggested Shino.
"I agree with Lady Shino," added Mato.
Cartha looked down at the boy in her arms. "Would you be happy with
that, Huca?"
"Yeah!" Huca said, smiling delightedly. "I wanna ride the Enchanted
Frigate sometime too, but today I wanna fly with papa!" The tiny wings on
his back fluttered with excitement—he had inherited them from his father, a
sign of his demonic blood.
"All right, Hugi!" Cartha said. "In that case, why don't you show us
what you can do?"
"Of course, yes! Yes, just you wait!" Hugi-Mugi said, letting out a
mighty bird call as they sped up even further still. Soon the cottage was far,
far out of sight.
◇Meanwhile—Aboard the Enchanted Frigate◇
The shadow demon Greanyl stood at the hull of the Enchanted Frigate as
it flew through the skies above Hugi-Mugi's cottage.
Greanyl had originally been a member of the Dark Army's intelligence
network, the Silent Listeners. The Silent Listeners, however, had left the
Dark Army when Ghozal abdicated the throne, Greanyl included, and found
employment instead at the Fli-o'-Rys General Store. They were responsible
for transporting Fli-o'-Rys's products to places far and wide, and for
gathering information about the various realms in which Fli-o'-Rys did
business.
"That magic beast..." Greanyl said, staring wide-eyed after the enormous
demon bird that had just flown past the Enchanted Frigate at breakneck
speed. "Could that be Lord Hugi-Mugi, the former Infernal?! I'd heard
reports from the other shadow demons that they had retired from the world
to live a life of seclusion in the mountains, but I didn't realize that this was
where they made their home!"
"Well, Lord Hugi-Mugi or not, they don't seem to be an enemy," said a
man, stepping up to her with a smile on his face. "It's nothing to worry
about, I think."
"O-Of course, Lord Dalc Horst, you are correct..." said Greanyl. "At the
speeds they are flying, they don't seem to be in pursuit of the Enchanted
Frigate. I will carry on our voyage and report what we saw to Lord Flio
upon our return."
"Right, sounds good," Dalc Horst agreed, nodding.
"I-Incidentally, Lord Dalc Horst..." Greanyl ventured, glancing at her
companion out of the corner of her eyes as she kept the ship on course.
"May I ask why you are aboard the Enchanted Frigate I am piloting?"
"Why?" Dalc Horst repeated. "Well, we demon horses of Byleri Pasture
made the decision to accompany you shadow demons for security, just in
case some disaster should happen. You're the ones Lord Flio had learn how
to fly these things, after all!"
"No, that isn't what I'm asking..." Greanyl said. "It's just that I am
reasonably certain I was scheduled to be with Lord Udkhupa today..."
"Oh," said Dalc Horst. "Udkhupa had something come up. I'm here as
his replacement. Is that a problem?"
"N-N-N-No!" Greanyl exclaimed. "I-I-It's not a problem at all! I-In fact,
after all the time we spent together on the supply wagon teams, having you
here puts my mind at ease..."
That's right... Greanyl thought. Before I started piloting the Enchanted
Frigate, I used to transport goods in a Fli-o'-Rys supply wagon. For some
reason, I was frequently paired with Lord Dalc Horst back then as well. In
fact, I would say it was more common for us to be together than not. A-And
then there was the conversation I overheard, where I learned that Dalc
Horst was intentionally arranging things in order to spend time with me! DDon't tell me he's still doing it!
Dalc Horst, meanwhile, was standing to the side, stealing glances at
Greanyl. I was really at my wits' end when Greanyl got moved to piloting
Enchanted Frigates... he thought. It's a good thing we decided on assigning
protection for the pilots! Thanks to that, I can keep going on missions with
Greanyl! Maybe I'll ask her out to dinner again this time...although, come
to think of it, she never says yes, does she? He folded his arms as he
thought. What to do...?
Next to her, Greanyl carried on deliberately ignoring Dalc Horst's
presence as the Enchanted Frigate made its way over the forested
mountains.
◇Houghtow City—Houghtow College of Magic◇
"What...is thisss...?" Sitting behind the headmaster's desk, Nyt blinked
in disbelief at the mountain of paperwork before her.
Nyt was another former member of the Infernal Four, once known as the
Serpent Princess Yorminyt. Since leaving the Dark Army she had faced all
sorts of trials and tribulations, before eventually finding employment as a
faculty member of the Houghtow College of Magic. And in short order, she
rose in the organization until she became the headmaster.
"It zeemz to be work," said Zarmas, holding her glasses in place as she
bowed dutifully.
Zarmas was a demon as well and had been Yorminyt's aide in the Dark
Army, quitting alongside her and following her all the way to the Houghtow
College of Magic.
"Zarmasss..." Yorminyt said. "I am fully aware of what this isss. But
isssn't this quantity of work...abnormal?"
"It iz only to be expected," said Zarmas. "With the Enchanted Frigatez
in operation, it iz much easier for studentz to travel to attend school. We
have been pozitively flooded with the sudden increaze in prospective
enrollmentz, az well az tranzfer requestz from other schools, and
institutionz wishing to partner with ourz."
"I sssee..." Nyt said, a stoically miserable expression on her face. "You
know, I wasss only forced to accept the role of Headmassster due to the
circumstancesss. I never actually wanted to do thisss sort of work..."
"In that case, perhapz you could quit, and make a living as an
adventurer?" Zarmas proposed. "If it iz your wish, Lady Nyt, I would
gladly accompany you."
Just then, there came a knock on the door. "Excuse me! It's Taclyde the
administrator! Do you have a moment?"
"Yesss, come in," said Nyt.
"Thank you," said Taclyde, entering the room. He was wearing his work
outfit. "Excuse me. I'm terribly sorry, but could you perhaps look over
these papers? And these ones as well? And there's going to be an
emergency staff meeting tomorrow, so I'll need to get your approval on
these too. And after that..." Taclyde immediately began handing over paper
after paper, not slowing down for a second and explaining all the while.
Soon, the mountain of paperwork on Nyt's desk had become more of a
mountain range.
It all lasted but a brief moment, and soon he had handed over everything
he had. "Terribly sorry about all the work!" he said. "I'll leave it in your
hands!" With a bow, he departed from the headmaster's office, leaving Nyt
to glance over the papers with a dry grimace on her face.
"What shall we do, Lady Nyt?" Zarmas asked. "Give up on all thiz work
and flee?"
Nyt sighed deeply. "As much as I might want to, he did give usss an
explanation at least..." she said. "And it seemsss there is a meeting
tomorrow. Let'sss do our best, at least until all thisss paperwork is done..."
Sighing once more, Nyt began to look over the papers. It seemed it
would be a while yet until Nyt and Zarmas left the Houghtow College of
Magic.
◇Flio's House—Blossom Acres◇
The shadow of the Enchanted Frigate passed over Blossom Acres.
"Oho!" cried Hokh'hokton, pausing his farmwork and wiping his brow
as he looked up at the sky. "It seems one of Lord Flio's Enchanted Frigates
is departing! Ah ha ha... It makes my heart race every time!"
Hokh'hokton had originally been a goblin soldier in the Dark Army, but
now he lived and worked on Blossom's farm together with his friend
Maunty, Maunty's wife, and their rather excessive number of children.
"That's right!" said Maunty, folding his arms and nodding intelligently.
"And with the Enchanted Frigates, we'll be able to ship our vegetables
farther than ever before!"
"Indeed!" Hokh'hokton nodded. "Well said!"
"By the by, Hokh'hokton..." Maunty ventured, furrowing his brow and
pointing towards a woman some distance away from them in the fields.
"What are you planning on doing with that woman?"
Hokh'hokton furrowed his brow as well when he saw who Maunty was
pointing at. "That's the rub, isn't it...?" he said darkly. "She refuses to leave
me alone no matter what I tell her, she can't cook, she can't do laundry...and
whenever she has a spare moment, she spends it stealing drinks of my
precious liquor! I tell you, I am really at my wits' end with that one..."
The subject of Hokh'hokton's diatribe was Telbyress, a former goddess
in charge of an entire world. She had been exiled from the Celestial Plane,
and with nowhere else to go, ended up staying in Hokh'hokton's room.
Currently she was busy doing all sorts of energetic motions among the
vegetables. At a glance it looked like she might have been helping with the
farmwork, but on closer inspection, she had been standing up and sitting
down in the same spot for a while now. Her harvesting basket was
completely empty.
"Excuse me," Hokh'hokton said, walking up to the errant goddess.
"Madame Telbyress? Might I have a word?"
"Hwuh?" Telbyress said, staggering as she turned around to face
Hokh'hokton. Up close, Hokh'hokton could see that her face was flushed
and her breath smelled strangely like alcohol. "Oh, if it isn't ol' Hokey!"
"Yes, quite..." said Hokh'hokton. "You haven't been pretending to work
while you drink my liquor, have you?"
"Whaaa?! I'd never!" Telbyress protested, slurring her words as she
tried to defend herself. "Seeee? I'm helpin' out with the farmwork all—hic!
—all proper n' stuff!"
Hokh'hokton's eyes shone dangerously as he peered up at the former
goddess. "Oh? In that case, what's this!" He leapt in the air, thrusting his
arm right into Telbyress's cleavage.
"Eeek!" Telbyress cried, doing her best to quickly cover her chest.
"Hokey, you perv!" But it was too late. Hokh'hokton had already extracted
something from between her breasts—a small bottle of alcohol.
"You scoundrel!" Hokh'hokton shouted. "Look! You've attached a tube
to the lid of this bottle so you could sneak drinks out of it! And worse, this
is my very finest liquor that I keep hidden under the floor in my room!"
"But I can't heeelp it! The liquor tastes so gooood!" Telbyress protested,
entirely straight-faced. "You can't 'spect me to not drink it jus' 'cause you
tell me not tooo!"
"Useless idiot!" Hokh'hokton spat. "This is why everyone calls you the
no-gooddess! I'm confiscating this liquor! You hear me?!"
"No waaay!" Telbyress pleaded as Hokh'hokton made to leave with the
liquor bottle. "This is cruelty! I'll diiiie!" she wailed pitiably, clinging to the
goblin's feet.
Maunty smirked knowingly as he watched the two go at it. "Hard to
believe we're seeing Hokh'hokton, the world's most ineligible bachelor,
sticking his arm into that woman's chest like it's nothing..."
"Mister Hokh'hokton and Miss Telbyress have quite a lot in common, I
would say," observed his wife.
"They've been spending every day in the same room, but I haven't seen
any signs of them pairing up," said Maunty. "I wonder what'll happen from
here..."
The husband and wife watched as Telbyress abased herself at
Hokh'hokton's feet, pleading desperately. Meanwhile, in the skies above,
the Enchanted Frigate gleamed in the sunlight as it passed by overhead.
◇Flio's House◇
The children were at school, and as it was a weekday, Flio and the others
had left for work, leaving Hiya and Tanya alone in the living room. They sat
facing each other, with the table between them.
"Madame Tanya, there is something I feel we must discuss, if I may,"
ventured Hiya.
"Of course," Tanya said. "What is it?"
"Well..." Hiya began, taking care to speak gently and calmly. "As the
maid of the Exalted One, you have taken it upon yourself to perform
domestic duties for this house. These duties, however, were once tasks that
fell to me. If I may, I would like to ask you to refrain from such activities in
the future."
"So you say," Tanya said bowing deeply. "However, with all due
respect, if I am to be Master Flio's maid, I cannot yield on the matter of
housework."
"Under no circumstances?" asked Hiya.
"Yes, under no circumstances."
With their opposing positions now clearly stated, the two fearlessly met
each other's gaze.
"It seems we are at an impasse," Hiya observed. "Would you perhaps be
amenable to entreating a third party to deliver an impartial judgment on this
matter?"
"Very well..." Tanya conceded. "You may use who you like, as long as it
is not one of your training partners. Then, who shall be our judge?"
"A good question," said Hiya. "Shall we, perhaps, use him?" They
pointed towards the corner of the living room, where Sybe was amusing
himself by rolling around on the floor.
"Master Sybe..." said Tanya. "I have no objections."
"In that case, let us begin immediately." The two nodded to each other
and stepped up to their designated judge. Hiya scooped the unicorn rabbit
up in their hands, holding him aloft by the armpits.
"Snuffle?" Sybe asked, tilting his head curiously as he looked up at
Hiya.
"Sybe," Hiya intoned. "Do you believe myself or Madame Tanya to be
more worthy of this estate's housework?"
"Snuffle snuffle?" Sybe repeated, peering questioningly between Hiya
and Tanya's faces. It looked back and forth between them for a while before
finally, with a loud cry of "Snuffle!" it leapt from Hiya's hands and raced
for the door.
"I'm home!" cried Rylnàsze, appearing in the front entrance. Sybe leapt
through the air and into her arms. "Oh, Sybe!" she said, hugging him tight.
"Thank you ever so much for coming to greet me!"
Hiya and Tanya, meanwhile, watched Rylnàsze and Sybe snuggle
affectionately from across the living room.
"I suppose we will have to call it a draw for the time being..." said Hiya.
"Indeed..." agreed Tanya. "So it seems..."
◇Flio's House◇
That day, Ellie—the Maiden Queen—happened to be visiting. As
reigning monarch, Ellie ordinarily spent her time managing the entire
political apparatus of the Magical Kingdom of Klyrode, but between all of
the busy days in her schedule she found time about once a week to stop by
Flio's house, where she took part in the daily chores as a full member of the
family. At the moment, she was busy helping Rylnàsze wipe down the
living room table after dinner.
"Big sister Ellie, would you wipe over there too, please?" Rylnàsze
asked.
"Yes, right away!" Ellie went to the end of the table and began to wipe.
Rylnàsze looked somewhat apologetic. "U-Um... I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't
ask the most important person in the kingdom to do something like this..."
She clasped her hands together and bowed gravely.
"Oh! There's really no need to stand on that sort of ceremony between
us," Ellie hastened to correct her. "As long as I'm in this house, you may
treat me like any other member of the family."
"W-Well, then..." Rylnàsze ventured, looking up at Ellie with big,
puppylike eyes. "I-In that case...may I ask you a question?"
"Of course!" Ellie nodded, a smile on her face. "Ask me anything you
like, as long as it's something I can answer!"
"U-Um..." Rylnàsze stood there for a while just fidgeting. "Th-There's
something I've been really, really, really wanting to know..." Embarrassed,
she stepped up to whisper in Ellie's ear, cupping her hands so that nobody
else could hear what she was saying. "Big sister Ellie...when are you and
Garyl going to be getting married?"
"Bfweh?!" Ellie exclaimed, before being suddenly overcome by a
violent coughing fit.
"O-Oh!" Rylnàsze said, flustered by Ellie's panicked reaction. "I-I'm so
sorry! Did I ask something I shouldn't have?" Confused, she began bowing
in repeated apologies, her head bobbing up and down.
"N-No, no! You have nothing to apologize for, Rylnàsze! I-It's just, well,
I would like to be Garyl's bride someday, but—"
"We're back!" Just then, Flio and Garyl entered the living room, having
just returned home.
"Abahhhffh!" Ellie sputtered incoherently at the sudden appearance of
the topic of the conversation.
"Huh?" Worried, Garyl hurried over to Ellie's side. "Miss Ellie, what's
wrong? Are you not feeling well?"
"I-It's nothing of importance!" Ellie insisted. "I was simply a little
startled, I suppose..." She turned her face away so that Garyl wouldn't see
how red she was blushing from sheer embarrassment.
"Well, maybe it's my imagination, but I thought your face looked a little
red..." Garyl said. "Are you sure you don't have a fever?" Then, he pressed
his own forehead right up against hers.
Wh-What? Ellie thought, suddenly unsure of what was even happening.
A second later, Garyl pulled back. "Hm..." he said. "Well it doesn't feel
hot to me, but you should probably take it easy anyway..."
G-Garyl's forehead...was touching mine... the Maiden Queen thought,
her mind finally processing the latest turn of events. And then she fainted,
keeling over backwards.
"M-Miss Ellie!" Garyl rushed to support Ellie's body, holding her in his
arms as she collapsed, her body bereft of strength. "Miss Ellie! Miss Ellie,
are you all right?!" he cried, staring intently at her face.
Hmm... Flio considered as he watched the scene play out from behind. It
would be easy enough to wake her up with one of my spells, but if Miss Ellie
came to now, she'd probably just faint again upon realizing Garyl's holding
her in his arms. Now, what to do... He reached out towards Ellie,
considering option after option, but was unable to act from sheer
overthinking. This might be harder than capturing that magic beast... he
thought as he desperately searched for the optimal solution.
"My lord husband, is something the matter?" Rys asked, hurrying over
from the kitchen where she had been tidying up. Then she followed Flio's
eyes to where Garyl stood holding an unconscious Ellie in his arms. A wry
smirk came over her face. "Oh my, has our dear Miss Ellie had another
fainting spell?"
"Yes..." said Flio. "It's becoming a rather common occurrence..."
"Well, after all!" Rys said, laughing with amusement. "Every time Garyl
gets close to her, she faints dead away!"
"Yes, I suppose she does..." Flio agreed, nodding.
"U-Um..." said Garyl, his own face starting to turn red at his parents'
talk. "I wish you wouldn't have that kind of conversation where I can hear
you... Now I don't know how I should handle Miss Ellie when she wakes
up..."
"You don't?" said Rys. "But there's no need for you to worry about such
things, is there?"
"Huh?" Garyl asked. "I-Isn't there?"
"Of course not! You're arranged to be married, after all—she's going to
have to start getting used to you one way or another!"
"I-I guess that's true..." Garyl said, but he didn't seem to be entirely
convinced.
"You agree, don't you, my lord husband?" said Rys, beaming cheerfully
in Flio's direction.
Flio winced. "W-Well, I suppose it's certainly one way of looking at
things..." he said, dodging the question.
"Oh, dad, that reminds me. There's something I've been wanting to ask
for a while..." said Garyl, looking up at his father. "Would you tell me how
you proposed to mom? J-Just for the sake of future reference..."
"Huh?" said Flio, his eyes blinking open in surprise at the unexpected
question. "M-Me and Rys?"
Rys, however, held her chest high with pride despite the blush creeping
into her cheeks. "I see no harm in telling them, my lord husband, do you?"
she said, smiling rather smugly. "First, your father used his body to—
Mrrff!"
"R-Rys!" said Flio, quickly clapping a hand over her mouth. "That's
quite enough! L-Let's take it one thing at a time when it comes to that
subject, okay...?" The clearly forced smile on his face, however, did nothing
to help the impression that he was trying to hide something.
By this point, Ellie had actually regained consciousness a while ago, but
she had kept her eyes shut, pretending to still be unconscious. Wh-What do I
do...? she thought. It seems they're in the middle of some sort of important
conversation! It would hardly do for me to wake up now of all times! I-I
suppose I had best simply stay like this a while longer...
Because she still hadn't opened her eyes, Ellie had yet to realize that
Garyl was the one holding her in his arms.