The world of Klyrode is a world of swords and sorcery, home to creatures of many
sorts from magic beasts to demihumans. It is a world where humans and demons had
waged war since time immemorial—until, that is, the Magical Kingdom of Klyrode,
greatest of the human kingdoms, signed a treaty with the Dark Army, the largest and
most venerable institution among demonkind. It has been quite some time since the
two sides have laid down their arms, and the world has entered an age of peaceful
cultural exchange.
The Dark One Dawkson once ruled the Dark Army as a tyrant, but he has since changed
his ways, working diligently to foster harmonious cooperation among the demons
within his territory. And after long efforts, he has succeeded in rebuilding the Dark
Army from the brink of annihilation, where it had been teetering not long ago. Despite
this, however, he continues to face problem after problem from demons who still cling
to the credo that might makes right.
The Magical Kingdom of Klyrode, meanwhile, has been focusing its attention on
diplomatic relations with its neighboring kingdoms, seeking greater solidarity among
humanity. There was a time when many foreign nations looked at the Maiden Queen
of Klyrode with suspicion for her pursuit of reconciliation with demonkind, but they
too have come to approve of her decision. Their approval, however, comes with its
share of unexpected requests…
In the midst of it all, the Fli-o'-Rys General Store managed by Flio himself has been
steadily expanding the scope of its operations. Flio's wife Rys, as well as everyone else
living at Flio's house, have been very busy day after day as customers of all sorts flock
to their business.
And with that the stage is set. The curtains slowly rise…
◇Houghtow City—Flio's House◇
It was nighttime, and Flio's house was shrouded in darkness. Most of the windows of
the three-story wooden building were dark as well, their residents slumbering
peacefully. In Flio and Rys's room, however, the lights were still on. Rys sat on the edge
of the couple's large bed, busy working with a length of cloth. Her hands moved faster
than the eye could follow, cutting the cloth and stitching it together, swiftly bringing
yet another outfit to completion.
Rys had been a lupine demon warrior in the Dark Army, but once upon a time she lost
to Flio and resolved to walk alongside him as his wife. She adored her husband to a
somewhat excessive degree, and was something of a mother figure to everyone in
Flio's house.
As his wife worked, Flio sat up in bed, watching with his usual easygoing smile. Flio
was a merchant who had been summoned from another world as one of the
candidates for the position of Hero. The blessing he had obtained upon his summoning
gave him mastery of every skill and spell to exist within the world of Klyrode. These
days he worked as the proprietor of the Fli-o'-Rys General Store alongside his demon
wife Rys. He was the proud father of three daughters—two by birth and one adopted
—and one son.
"Your skills are as impressive as always, Rys," Flio said. Indeed, the clothes Rys were
making were all finished with a high level of care, well-made and attractive to the eye.
"Not at all!" Rys insisted as she put the finishing touches on yet another high-quality
piece at superhuman speed. "In fact, it is only very recently that I've become
competent enough to create outfits that can truly be considered satisfactory. I still
have a long way to go before I master the skill, I'm afraid." She smiled up at her
husband, her hands working away lightning fast all the while. "Garyl will need
something to wear for the training camp he's attending at the Klyrode Institute for
Chivalric Education, you know, and Elina sze and Rylna sze need new outfits as well.
And when those are completed, I'll also need to make new outfits for Ghozal and
Sleip's children."
"I suppose…" Flio said. "Everything you make is so stylish and expertly crafted, Rys.
I'm sure everyone will be happy to get clothes from you…" His smile, however, looked
somewhat strained as he glanced at the veritable mountain of clothes Rys had already
completed piled up behind her—a far cry from his usual easygoing expression. "But…"
"Oh?" said Rys, noticing where Flio had been looking. "This much is nothing, I assure
you! Why, when I spend a day tailoring, I can make forty or fifty outfits before
breakfast!" She punctuated her words with a boastful smile. "After all, it isn't only the
children who need new clothing. It is also my duty as wife of the master of the house
to provide outfits for Ura and his subordinates, now that he has become one of my lord
husband's retainers."
Flio couldn't help wincing at Rys's words.
Rys, as mentioned, was a lupine demon, a species known for having a strong sense of
camaraderie within their pack. Her older brother, Fengaryl, had been the leader of the
lupine demons in the Dark Army, and as his sister, Rys—or Fenrys, as she had been
known at the time—had a position of authority among the pack. She had held on to
her pack loyalty even after leaving the Dark Army and saw it as her responsibility to
look after not only her own children but all of Flio's household as well. In addition to
creating new outfits for everyone to wear, she arranged for everyone's living spaces,
cooked their meals, and performed a great variety of other tasks for the house's
benefit.
I do appreciate her helping look after everyone's needs, Flio thought, but still…"I'm glad
you're so eager to help," he said, smiling his usual easygoing smile once again. "But if
we need clothes for everyone, couldn't we find something suitable for sale in Klyrode
Castle Town? That way, you'd have one less thing to worry about…"
Rys, however, smiled and shook her head. "Clothes from the Castle Town would never
do!" she insisted. "They're well made, I suppose, but I'm afraid I personally don't find
them satisfactory. The clothes on sale in shops simply aren't of a quality worthy of
adorning a retainer of my lord husband's, if I may be so bold. And besides, if I make
the outfits myself, we don't have to worry about paying for the labor. It's a much more
favorable deal for us if I simply purchase the cloth and make the outfits on my own, is
it not? Plus, this way, there's no risk that we might pay for an expensive outfit only for
it not to suit the tastes of its intended recipient."
"I-I suppose that's true…" Flio admitted. Nonetheless, he seemed concerned for Rys's
health. Before he could say anything else, however, Rys continued.
"And in any event, I myself wish to work hard to help my lord husband however I can,"
she said with a cheerful smile. "There is no need to worry on my account."
Flio could only give a knowing smirk at the sight of his wife's happy face. "If you're
going to give me a smile like that, I suppose all I can do is lend you whatever support
I can," he said, pulling Rys into his arms.
"With my lord husband supporting me, I will have the power of a hundred
housewives!" Rys declared. "Just leave it to me!"
Flio held Rys gently in his arms and whispered in her ear. "I'll be counting on you, Rys.
Only, please take care of yourself as well."
Instantly, Rys's face turned bright red in an instant, almost creating an audible pop.
"O-O-Of course!" she said, her voice suddenly much higher pitched. "Y-Y-You don't have
to tell me that! Th-Th-That much is only to be expected of the wife of my lord husband!
B-But… isn't your face a little too close…?"
Flio and Rys had had three children between them already, but Rys was so enamored
with Flio that even now she reacted to his advances with the same frantic blushing as
when they had first become a couple.
The two gazed into each other's eyes. They were alone in the bedroom. Flio moved his
index finger in a single small circle outside of Rys's view and leaned in closer still.
Soon, the two were entwined in a passionate kiss. If anything, the couple had only
grown more affectionate with time.
Oh, Flio thought, but first…
He waved his finger once more as the two went to embrace.
◇Meanwhile—Flio's House, Hallway◇
A harsh plink echoed in the hallway outside of Flio and Rys's room. A second later, Hiya
appeared, seemingly from thin air.
Hiya, the djinn who commands the origin of light and darkness, was a being who
possessed enough magic power to destroy the entire world. After their defeat at the
hands of Flio, however, they had taken to worshipping him as the so-called Exalted
One, and came to live with the others in Flio's house.
"Hmm…" Hiya frowned. "I hid myself in the corner of the Exalted One's room in hopes
of spectating his amorous training with his wife, but it seems the Exalted One
discovered my presence and expelled me with his magic…" They looked up at the
ceiling with their perpetually narrowed eyes, the corners of their mouth faintly curling
upwards.
Hiya had been created by a great magus of ages past as a being capable of wielding
magic to control the origin of light and darkness. As a result of their origin, they
initially lacked any comprehension of acts of sexual love. Through observing Flio and
Rys's intimate activities, however, they became fascinated with the concept, to the
point of developing a habit of spying on Flio and Rys in their bedroom whenever they
were given the slightest opportunity.
"Now then…" Hiya said, folding their arms and glancing up and down the hallway. "If
that door is closed, then what sort of training should I engage in today…?"
Suddenly, a woman appeared next to Hiya. Her outfit was purple, and quite revealing
to boot. "Excuse me, Your Divinity," she said, sidling up to the djinn.
"Oh?" said Hiya. "Damalynas, is it?"
Damalynas was a witch known as the Grand Magus of Midnight, a consummate master
of the dark arts. She had long since lost her corporeal body, and now existed only as a
psychic construct. She was once vanquished by Hiya, and now she lived on in Hiya's
mindscape—the djinn's mental world—as their beloved training partner.
"What is it you seek?" Hiya asked, a smile creeping on their face as they lifted
Damalynas's chin tenderly with their fingertips. "Have you come to invite me to train
with you, perhaps?"
"N-No!" Damalynas squeaked, her face turning bright red. "A-Actually… Lady Elina sze
has been calling for you…"
"Indeed?" Hiya asked. "I see… I must have failed to notice, as her telepathic messages
never reached me…"
"Well, that's only to be expected," said Damalynas. "You blocked yourself off from
telepathy in order to infiltrate Lord Flio's room, right?"
"Ah, of course. To think that one of my stature would commit such an error…" Hiya
chided themself, smacking their forehead with an open palm and good-humoredly
shaking their head. "In that case, we had best pay her a visit immediately. Damalynas,
our training will have to wait until later."
"F-Forget that for now!" Damalynas huffed, blushing once again. "We need to hurry!"
With one last glance of amusement at Damalynas's flustered expression, Hiya waved
an arm, and the two of them vanished from the hallway.
◇Flio's House—Elina sze's Room◇
Elina sze sat with her arms folded as she perused the text of the book she had propped
in front of her.
Along with her younger twin, Garyl, and her little sister, Rylna sze, Elina sze was one of
the three biological children of Flio and Rys. She was a serious-minded girl with an
endless adoration for her father and held a particular talent for the art of magic. That
night she was dressed in a gorgeous deep green outfit, but her long hair, tied back in a
disheveled ponytail, seemed to be in dire need of grooming.
She adjusted her round glasses and took another look over the book, when Hiya and
Damalynas suddenly appeared behind her.
"My Lady Elina sze," Hiya said, placing a hand over their heart and bowing deep. "Did
you call for me?"
"Hello, Hiya," said Elina sze, turning away from the book and looking in the djinn's
direction. "I'm terribly sorry to summon you so late in the evening." She snapped her
fingers and one of her books rose into the air, flying over towards Hiya.
"What is this?" Hiya asked.
"A magic grimoire from another world," Elina sze answered. "Our visitor from the
Celestial Plane gave this to me today when she was here picking up the usual medicine.
I've been working on deciphering it, and there's one place in particular where I would
appreciate your opinion on how to interpret the text…"
"Oh? A magic grimoire from another world, you say…" Hiya mused, taking the book in
their hands with great interest. I recognize these characters, they thought as they
examined the book's cover. This writing system is indeed unused in the world of Klyrode.
The title reads, The Grimoire of Stelamh…
As Hiya finished reading the title the book opened on its own, its pages turning quickly
until they reached the relevant passage and came to a stop. "I want to ask about this
part right here," Elina sze said. "It seems to be explaining a spell for creating a pocket
dimension outside of the space-time continuum, but there are some points I don't
quite understand. It seems like it might be similar to the method you use to create that
permanent mindscape of yours, but different as well…"
"I see…" Hiya said. "You are correct, Lady Elina sze, that this spell is quite similar to the
one I use to create my mindscape, albeit with one fundamental difference." Hiya
gestured with the index finger of their right hand and a collection of spheres appeared
in midair. "This," they said, "is the planetoid world of Klyrode, on which we reside. The
spell in question creates a miniature artificial planetoid world outside of the bounds
of this one. What you must understand, then, is the difference between the location in
which the caster chooses to create their world. A mindscape and a planetoid world are
worlds of a different order, and are therefore composed of a different essential
substance. Therefore, the spells used to create them are different as well."
"Aha!" Elina sze exclaimed. "I believe I finally understand. I was so focused on the
notion of creating a world that I forgot to consider something so basic…"
"On the contrary, it is a sign of your keen insight that you discerned the commonalities
between this spell and my mindscape," Hiya insisted. "I, Hiya, find myself deeply
impressed."
"Then, in that case…" The two carried on their conversation, sharing their thoughts
and making frequent reference to both the book and the spheres Hiya had conjured as
a visual aid.
Elina sze loved her father Flio more than anyone or anything in the world. She had
spent many long days engrossed in magic study with the goal of becoming a superb
witch capable of assisting her father with his tasks. As a result, she had far surpassed
even the magical knowledge of Damalynas. With Elina sze conversing as equals with
Hiya, the djinn who commands the origin of light and darkness themself and an
authoritative figure on the subject of spellcasting, it was clear that her knowledge was
top-class in the world of Klyrode.
Damalynas's eyes went wide as she listened in on their discussion. H-Hang on… she
thought. Wh-What in the world are Their Divinity and Lady Elinàsze even talking about?
I'm the master of the midnight arts, and even I can barely follow their conversation! A
cold sweat ran down her back as she stared, dumbfounded. Th-This is no joke! I'd better
step up my game, or else Their Divinity might lose interest in me entirely…
With that in mind, the Grand Magus of Midnight reached out for one of the magic
grimoires Elina sze had left unattended on her desk nearby.
◇The Next Day—Fli-o'-Rys General Store◇
Today, as always, the area in front of the Fli-o'-Rys General Store was packed full of
people. Some had come to shop. Others had come to discuss some matters of business.
Still others were here to rent out workhorses.
"Good, good." Uliminas nodded, a grin on her face as she watched the stream of
customers making their way into the shop. "Looks like we've got ameowther day of
purrofitable dealings ahead of us!"
Uliminas the hellcat had been Ghozal's closest confederate back when he had served
as Dark One. When Ghozal abdicated the throne, Uliminas left along with him and
came to work at the Fli-o'-Rys General Store in disguise as a demihuman. Since then,
she had become one of Ghozal's two wives, and the mother of his daughter Folmina.
"U-Um… Excuse me…" A woman stepped up to Uliminas, her face hidden by a heavy
hood.
"Yes?" Uliminas asked. "Something I can help mew with?"
"W-Well…" the woman faltered. "U-Um… I heard a damned rumor that this shop was
selling equipment branded with the Wolf of Justice seal…"
"Oh!" said Uliminas, pointing towards one corner of the shop. "Those'll be on the
shelves meowver that way!"
"I see them!" the woman said. "Thanks a damned bunch!"
Uliminas watched, smirking, as the woman ran off in the direction she had pointed. A
number of other customers followed after her, apparently having overheard her
exchange with Uliminas.
That customeowr was a demon, wasn't she? Uliminas thought. I guess demeownkind still
can't get enough of the Wolf of Justice!
When the Magical Kingdom of Klyrode and the Dark Army had still been at war, Flio
had taken to donning a wolf mask when he fought back invasions by the Dark Army,
adopting the name of the Wolf of Justice. With his overwhelming power he had no
trouble scattering the demons' forces into the winds, and soon he had become
something of a legend among demonkind. Since then, many demons had come to
revere the Wolf of Justice with worshipful awe.
I was the one who had the idea of using the Wolf of Justice's popularity to sell our
meowrchandise, Uliminas thought. But it's purroven much more effective than I ever
could have imeowgined… The display shelves for the Wolf of Justice branded
equipment had been set up just this morning, but there was already a huge crowd of
demons vying with each other to get their hands on the choicest goods. Uliminas
watched the scene with a satisfied glimmer in her eye.
"Hrm…" said Ghozal, stepping out of the shop's backroom. "Aren't we selling that Wolf
of Justice equipment at the Dark Citadel branch store too? Why are they all coming
here?"
Ghozal, once known as Dark One Gholl, had been the leader of the Dark Army until he
surrendered the throne to his younger brother Yuigarde in favor of disguising himself
as a human and living as a freeloader at his Flio's house. Over the course of their time
together, he and Flio had become something akin to best friends. Since then he had
taken two wives: Uliminas, his former confederate from the Dark Army, and Balirossa,
a former knight for Klyrode. He had two children as well, named Folmina and Ghoro.
Ghozal was, of course, correct. The Fli-o'-Rys General Store had a branch store located
right outside the front gates of the Dark Citadel itself. It had been set up during the
period when the current Dark One Dawkson—who had still gone by Yuigarde at the
time—vanished from his post, leaving Calsi'im to rule in his place as Dark Regent. Flio
had opened the store in response to Calsi'im's request for aid.
"We sell Wolf of Justice meowrchandise in the branch store too, of course," Uliminas
confirmed. "But their stock is all sold out, with new gear coming in already reserved a
fair ways into the future. These are the demeowns who've come all this way to try their
luck with the main branch's inventory."
"I see," Ghozal said, folding his arms and cocking his head as he looked over the rows
of merchandise. "That makes sense. But… Uliminas…"
"Hm? Mew've got a question?"
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like all of the Wolf of Justice equipment you're
selling is branded with Mister Flio's blue wolf mask…" Ghozal frowned, a furrow
forming in his brow.
Aha… Uliminas thought as she realized where Ghozal was going with this. "To answer
meowr question, no," she said, giving Ghozal a narrow-eyed smirk.
"H-Hrm?" said Ghozal.
"We didn't make any with meowr black wolf mask."
Ghozal's face fell at Uliminas's words. "But I was there too, you know!" he protested.
"I fought right alongside Mister Flio as Black Justice!"
"And we've tried selling Wolf of Justice goods with the black wolf mask, but nobody
ever bought them!" Uliminas shot back.
"H-Hrm…"
"Besides, mew weren't involved that often anyway," Uliminas pointed out. "We were
worried it might cause purroblems if word got out that the former Dark Meown was
fighting on the side of humanity, remember? I don't think mew would have earned any
fans one way or another."
"W-Well…" Ghozal objected. "B-But still! I fought the Dark Army as Black Justice a
number of times…"
"Not nearly enough to count. And mew were holding back every time," said Uliminas,
giving her husband a sidelong glance as she calmly laid out the simple facts. "The
meownly time you went all out was when we were fighting the pirates on the Calgosi
Coast. Why would the Dark Army care about Black Justice meowne way or another?"
"H-Hrm…" was all Ghozal could say in the face of the undeniable truth of Uliminas's
words.
Flio hadn't been the only one active as the Wolf of Justice—many of the residents of
his house had pitched in to help when they could. Ghozal had chosen to use a black
mask and black-colored costume to distinguish himself from Flio, who wore blue, but
it seemed the persona of Black Justice never earned much in the way of acclaim.
"Well, whatever the reason, Black Justice has almost no popularity among demeowns,"
Uliminas said. "I have hard sales figures purroving it too, so be a grown-up and let it
go."
"H-Hrm…" Ghozal repeated. "W-Well… if that's the case, I guess it is what it is…"
Dejected, he took a step towards the backroom he had just come from.
A second later, however, Folmina came running up after her father. "Papa!"
Folmina was the daughter of Ghozal and Uliminas, making her half demon royal and
half hellcat, although she was equally as attached to Balirossa, Ghozal's other wife, as
she was to her biological mother. She, like many others, was somewhat infatuated with
Flio's son Garyl.
Behind Folmina came Ghoro, chasing after his big sister like always. Ghozal's son with
Balirossa, Ghoro was half human and half demon royal, although, like Folmina, he
regarded Uliminas as his mother as much as Balirossa. He was a boy of few words who
adored his big sister Folmina.
"You two!" Ghozal said, his eyes opening in surprise as Folmina and Ghoro ran up to
him and hugged him tight around the legs. The two of them were both wearing new
outfits with a matching color scheme. On closer inspection, they seemed to be Black
Justice costumes modified for daily wear. "Where did you get those clothes?"
"Mama Uliminas got them for us!" Folmina answered, looking up at Ghozal with a
smile on her face. "Do they look good?"
"Oh? Uliminas did, did she…?" said Ghozal, looking over at the counter where Uliminas
was waiting.
Noticing Ghozal looking her way, Uliminas shyly averted her gaze. "I didn't want to let
inventory go to waste," she said. "So I asked Rys if she could make them into meowtfits
for our children to wear…"
"Hrm! I see!" Ghozal said, laughing merrily as he hoisted Folmina up on his right
shoulder and Ghoro up on his left. "I have to admit, it feels good seeing them dressed
in those old clothes!"
"These outfits are so cool, papa!" Folmina said, smiling brightly as she gave Ghozal a
big hug. "Me and Ghoro both like them a lot!"
Atop Ghozal's other shoulder, Ghoro nodded his head in mute agreement as he hugged
his father from the opposite side.
Uliminas smirked to herself as she looked over at her husband and children. Well, we
had to do something with the meowld inventory, and if those three are happy, all the
better…
"Excuse me," said a woman, startling Uliminas out of her thoughts.
"Mreow?!" she started. "H-How can I help mew?"
"Oh," the woman said. "I was just wondering… Do you sell the outfits those children
are wearing by any chance?"
"Huh? Th-Those are just something we made as a test, I'm afraid…" Uliminas answered.
"Really?" said the woman. "That's a pity. My son seems to be very taken by them…" At
her feet, Uliminas could see a boy of around Ghoro's height. He was looking over at
Ghoro, who was perched atop Ghozal's shoulder, with shining wonder in his eyes.
These two are demeowns as well, if I'm not mewstaken… Uliminas thought, before
turning to look at the child. "Mew like that outfit, kiddo?"
"I do!" came the child's instant response.
Uliminas smiled. "I see!" she said. "In that case, I'll give mew a set! If meow're fine with
a test purroduct, that is."
"Really?!" The boy said, his face lighting up in a radiant smile.
"I-I'll gladly pay for it…" the woman protested.
"Meow need!" Uliminas insisted. "These are test purroducts, after all! Just make sure
he wears it a lot and shows it off to his furiends, and we're even!" She retrieved an
outfit identical to the one Ghoro was wearing from a box by her feet and handed it
over to the boy.
"Truly?" the woman said, bowing deeply as she thanked Uliminas. "In that case, thank
you very much!"
"Thank you, miss!" said the boy, taking the outfit Uliminas had given him in both arms.
"These outfits are so dark and cool! I like them a lot!"
I see… Uliminas mused as she saw the mother and child pair off with a smile. Demeown
children do tend to like dark colors, don't they? Maybe there's some merit to selling Black
Justice merchandise to them instead…
While Uliminas was busy at the counter, Greanyl and Dalc Horst, who were on shop
tending duty, were engaged in a conversation of their own.
"S-Sir Dalc Horst!" Greanyl cried. "This way, if you please!"
"G-Greanyl? What's wrong?" Dalc Horst asked.
"We have a customer crushed under our merchandise! I think her back is injured!"
"Whoa!" Dalc Horst exclaimed when he took stock of the situation. "That lady was
carrying five Wolf of Justice Buster Swords! Miss, didn't you see the sign?" he said,
chiding the customer as he went to pull the swords off of her back. "It says, 'Product
very heavy, limit one per customer please!'"
Greanyl was a member of the Silent Listeners, a group that had once served as the
Dark Army's intelligence agency. Currently she served as a supervisor for the Fli-o'-
Rys supply teams, as well as a pilot and manager for their fleet of Enchanted Frigates.
From time to time she worked tending shop as well, in order to help show newer
employees the ropes.
Dalc Horst, meanwhile, was a type of demon horse known as a nightmare. He had once
been the captain of a team of elite soldiers under the command of Sleip, a former
member of the Dark Army's Infernal Four. Now he worked for the Fli-o'-Rys General
Store as the head of both the freight and guard teams, although he also tended shop
when his schedule allowed.
"Damned sorry…" the woman managed in an agonized mutter from beneath the pile
of oversized swords. "I thought I'd have no damned problem handling this many
swords…"
That bit of trouble aside, however, business at Fli-o'-Rys carried on as briskly as ever.
◇Houghtow City—Flio's House◇
That evening in the living room after Flio's household had finished their dinner,
Charun, a woman of short stature, made the rounds with a full pot of tea. "Please,
everyone, don't hesitate to ask if you would like a cup of my first-rate tea as an afterdinner refreshment!"
Charun, a magic doll created long ago by a mage in the service of the Dark Army, was
the wife of Calsi'im. Calsi'im had discovered her in a broken and discarded state and
had her restored to working order. She had stayed by his side ever since, and now the
couple lived together in Flio's house.
The living room of Flio's house was quite a bit larger than what you might find in a
typical residence. Not only did it need to accommodate the building's large number of
residents, but it also featured a hutch large enough for the household pet Sybe to move
freely in his natural psychobear form. The interior of the house had been permanently
expanded far beyond what should be possible if one considered the size of the building
on the outside, all thanks to one of Flio's spells.
From one corner of the large table in the middle of the living room, large enough for
the entire household to eat meals together at once, Calsi'im the skeleton raised a bony
hand. "I'll take a cup of your tea, if I may!" he said.
Calsi'im was an old skeleton who had once served in the office of Dark Regent. He had
succumbed to old age once already, but Flio had brought him back to undeath. Now he
spent his retirement living with the others at Flio's house.
"Of course, Calsi'im!" Charun said, hurrying at once to his side. Her feet made no sound
as she moved along in spite of the superhuman speed with which she arrived next to
her husband.
"Oh?" Calsi'im asked, peering over at Charun's teapot. "I don't believe I've seen you use
this teapot before, have I?"
"Well spotted, Calsi'im!" Charun replied. "This is a kyusu-style teapot I purchased from
a Hi Izuran merchant just the other day. The tea is a variety from Hi Izuru as well,
known as hojicha. It is meant to be enjoyed with these special yunomi tea cups."
"I see, I see!" said Calsi'im, his jawbone rattling cheerfully. "I can't wait to have a taste!"
Charun set the elegant cup on the table in front of Calsi'im and began to pour, when
suddenly she was interrupted by their daughter Rabbitz bursting onto the scene.
"Papa!" Rabbitz cried, grinning from ear to ear and spreading her arms wide as she
draped herself over the top of Calsi'im's head, holding him tight.
Rabbitz was the daughter of Calsi'im and Charun, making her a being of exceptional
rarity, half skeleton and half magic doll. Calsi'im was not a large skeleton, but Rabbitz
had been growing fast, and even though she was already nearly twice the size of her
father she refused to abandon her habit of contorting herself in order to fit atop her
favorite perch—Calsi'im's head.
"Oh ho ho!" Calsi'im laughed. "Y-You're in high spirits as ever, eh, Rabbitz?"
"Yah!" Rabbitz chirped.
"B-But you know!" the skeleton volunteered. "Th-This habit of yours is getting quite
rough on my old neck vertebrae! P-Perhaps it's time we have a talk about sitting next
to me instead of on my head…"
"Yah!" Rabbitz readily agreed with a toothy grin. There was no sign, however, that she
intended to remove herself from her perch anytime soon.
"R-Rabbitz really loves her father, doesn't she?" Flio remarked, looking over at the
family's antics with an awkward startled smile as Rabbitz rubbed her cheeks up
against Calsi'im's skull.
"I believe she may love him a little too much, if I may," said Charun, stepping up to Flio
in turn and placing a tall yunomi cup full of tea in front of him.
"Thank you, Charun," Flio said, smiling as he took a sip of the beverage.
"Incidentally," Charun said, "we have begun selling tea of this sort at the Fli-o'-Rys
General Store, have we not?"
"Ah, yes," Flio answered. "Now that we have regular Enchanted Frigate flights going to
Hi Izuru, we're able to do business with merchants from that part of the world. So far
we've only been buying wholesale goods from Hi Izuran suppliers to sell in our shop,
but we're expecting some merchants to pay us a visit in the near future for sales talks
on their end as well."
"My lord husband!" At this, Rys, who had been busy in the kitchen cleaning up after
dinner, came hurrying into the living room. "Will the Hi Izuran merchants be bringing
you know what when they come to visit?"
"Oh!" Flio said, nodding in understanding. "The cloth they use in Hi Izuran clothing,
you mean! Don't worry—I asked them to bring as much as they could carry."
Rys smiled, delighted at the news. "My lord husband, thank you so much! I was able to
make some excellent products using the test cloth you purchased for me the other day.
I've been at my wits' end waiting for a chance to get my hands on more!"
On closer examination, Flio noticed that the outfit Rabbitz was wearing as she clung
to Calsi'im's head bore a striking resemblance to the kimono worn by the people of Hi
Izuru. "Don't tell me," he said. "Rabbitz's new clothing is one of your test items, isn't it?
'Tanmono,' I believe that sort of cloth is called…"
"Yes, that's exactly correct!" said Rys, pridefully thumping a fist against her chest. "I
made that outfit and many more out of the cloth from Hi Izuru using the clothes they
wear in the oni village as a reference!"
As if on cue, Kora came dashing up beside Rys on her little legs. Kora was the only
daughter of Ura, the chief of the aforementioned oni village. She was of hybrid species,
with her mother being a fairy and her father an oni. Kora was an extremely shy and
self-conscious girl, but she had made a great deal of progress in opening up to the
residents of Flio's house.
"U-Um…" Kora began, fidgeting shyly as she did a quick rotation in front of Flio to show
off her outfit. "R-Rys made an outfit for me too!"
"I see!" said Flio. "It looks great on you, Kora!"
"E-Ehe hee!" Kora giggled. "Thank you! And thank you, Lady Rys, for making me such
a wonderful outfit!" She bowed deeply and darted back to where Ura and Blossom
were sitting. "Dad, mom!" she said, smiling happily in spite of her beet-red face. "UUm… Lord Flio praised my outfit! He said it looks great on me!"
"Lord Flio's got that one right!" said Ura, grinning as he patted his daughter on the
head. "You look great, Kora!"
Ura had been raising Kora as a single father ever since his fairy wife passed away, on
top of looking after the group of demon misfits he had taken in under his wing. He was
kind, passionate, and serious-minded when it came to his duties, and a strong enough
fighter that he once had been a candidate for a position on the Infernal Four during
the time of Dark One Gholl.
Next to Ura, Blossom smiled happily as well.
Blossom had originally been a heavy fighter from a company of knights in service to
Klyrode Castle, and was the best friend of Balirossa, the company's leader. When
Balirossa resolved to quit the knighthood, Blossom followed suit. Now the two of them
lived at Flio's house with the rest of their former company. Blossom came from a family
of farmers and was an expert in agricultural work, and in due time she had established
an enormous farm on a patch of land outside Flio's house.
"That's right!" Blossom said. "'Course, you were cute to begin with, Kora. That outfit
Lady Rys made for you just made you even cuter!"
"Ehe hee! Thanks, mom!" Kora said, smiling happily as she hugged Blossom tight.
Blossom wrapped her arms gently around the girl.
Not long ago, Blossom had gone in front of the entire household and declared that she
and Ura were to become husband and wife. Since then, she left her room in Flio's house
and moved into Ura's house in the oni village where she, Ura, and Kora now lived
together. As the oni village was located right outside of Flio's house, however, she still
came by the house nearly every night to join them for dinner.
As Flio's household all smiled fondly at the sight of the happy family of three, Wyne
came running up in front of Flio himself. Wyne was a dragonewt, said to be the
strongest warrior among all of dragonkind. Flio and Rys had found her collapsed on
the side of the road and rescued her, adopting her into their own family as their oldest
child. She was a doting older sister to Elina sze and the other children.
"Dada!" Wyne said, a great big smile on her face as she spun round and round. "Looklook! Mama made me a new outfit too! Does it look good-good?"
"Ah! I— Geh?!" Flio exclaimed, his expression going stiff as he looked over at her. Wyne
was spinning happily in place in her new outfit, but the sash had come undone
completely, leaving the kimono open wide and exposing her body for all to see.
"W-Wyne!" Rislei cried, springing up from her seat nearby and running up beside her.
"Stop!"
Rislei was the daughter of Sleip and Blyleri, half lichsteed and half human. She was a
serious girl, and something of a leader for the younger cohort of children living at
Flio's house.
Wyne, however, kept right on spinning in spite of Rislei's efforts, smiling all the while.
"D-Don't look…" Belano, who was seated across from the scene, blushed furiously,
covering Minilio's eyes with her right hand and Belalio's with her left. The two of them
were seated to either side of her, after all.
Belano was another of the former members of Balirossa's knightly company from
Klyrode Castle—the company witch. She was a shy, tiny woman who was only capable
of casting defensive magic. After leaving the knighthood she came to live along with
the others at Flio's house, eventually finding employment as a teacher at the
Houghtow College of Magic.
Her husband Minilio was a magic doll created as an experiment by Flio. He was given
the name Minilio on account of his resemblance to a younger version of his creator.
Minilio spent his time assisting Belano with her work at the Houghtow College of
Magic. The two of them became close over their time working together, and eventually
the two married and had a child they named Belalio.
As the child of a magic doll and a human, Belalio was every bit the rarity that Rabbitz
was. In appearance, they looked a great deal like their father Minilio—a younger
version of Flio. They preferred to dress in an androgynous manner, however, keeping
their gender ambiguous.
"Young Mistress Wyne!" As the scene in the living room descended into confusion, a
woman made her way straight towards Wyne, moving with astonishing speed. This
was Tanya, the maid in service of Flio's house.
Tanya's original name was Tanyalina. She was an angel, a disciple of the Celestial Plane
sent to observe Flio due to his tremendous magic power. On her way to Flio's house,
however, she suffered a freak collision with Wyne and lost much of her memory. Since
then, she had come to stay at Flio's house as a live-in maid.
Tanya, dressed in her maid outfit, crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Hah!" she
cried, letting out a breath as she began moving with superhuman speed. In the blink
of an eye, Wyne's undone sash was retied around her waist, her open kimono now
looking remarkably neat. Tanya, her flurry of motion finished, was left kneeling, her
arms spread wide. "It is done," she said, giving a satisfied nod.
"T-Tanya, wait!" came Rislei's distressed voice from behind the angel. "Y-You got me
wrapped up in the sash too!"
Yes—Tanya's superspeed movements had succeeded in retying Wyne's sash and fixing
her kimono, but Rislei, who had been running over to Wyne herself from the opposite
direction, had ended up caught in the flurry, and was tied up along with Wyne inside
the sash.
"Ah!" Tanya exclaimed, springing to her feet. "Y-Young Mistress Rislei! I, Tanya, have
committed a most grievous error…" Tanya's expression remained as cool and
composed as always, but the beads of sweat forming on her forehead made it clear
how much the mistake had shaken her composure.
"Ah ha ha!" Wyne laughed, jumping up in the air with childish glee. "I'm fused-fused
with Lei-Lei!"
Rislei, by contrast, had gone pale in the face. "H-Hey! Wyne! Stop moving around so
much! You're squeezing my belly! A-And right after we ate dinner… Ghk!" she cried,
clapping a hand over her mouth in an attempt to prevent herself from vomiting said
dinner right back up.
"Y-Young Mistress Wyne!" said Tanya, chasing after the pair. "Please, behave yourself
and settle down! And Young Mistress Rislei, please try to hold on a moment longer!"
At this point, however, they were interrupted by none other than Sleip. "Hey now!" he
bellowed, fury in his eyes as he bolted towards them. "What are you doing to my
Rislei?!"
Sleip was a former member of the Infernal Four who had left the Dark Army and ended
up living at Flio's house, where he spent his days looking after the equine magic beasts
in the pasture outside. He and Byleri were practically husband and wife, although they
never formalized their marriage, and he was a doting father to their daughter Rislei.
Wyne ran in circles around the living room, Tanya and Sleip in hot pursuit.
"Oh!" said Charun, barely dodging the rampaging dragonewt. "I-I wish you would
please look where you're going!" A second later, Tanya and Sleip came thundering
past. The living room had descended into madness with remarkable speed.
Flio winced as he watched the scene play out in front of him. "Maybe I should lend a
hand here…" he said, holding out his right arm towards Wyne.
"You had better not, papa," Elina sze said from the seat beside him, closing her eyes
and shaking her head just slightly. "If you use your magic to resolve the situation, Miss
Tanya will be depressed. That would be far worse than anything happening now."
"No kidding…" Byleri said, nodding in agreement. "Like, something like this totally
happened just the other day? Mister Flio, like, fixed the whole thing with his magic,
but that just made it worse! Miss Tanya was all, 'The Master of the house troubled
himself on account of my own foolish mistake… ' and got, like, super depressed. She
wouldn't even respond to anyone for a while after that…"
Byleri had originally been an archer from Balirossa's company of knights, and was
now living at Flio's house with the rest of her former company. These days she put her
exceptional talent for caring for horses to use looking after the equine magic beasts
alongside Sleip and their daughter Rislei, greeting every day with a smile on her face.
"You were in quite a state yourself then, weren't you, Byleri?" said Balirossa, touching
her index finger against her cheek as she recalled the events Byleri mentioned. "You
were so upset when Miss Tanya nearly threw away those important books of yours in
her depressed stupor…"
Balirossa, of course, had originally been the leader of the company of knights from
Klyrode Castle. She had quit the knighthood and now lived at Flio's house, working for
the Fli-o'-Rys General Store. She was one of Ghozal's two wives, and the mother of
Ghoro.
"Hwaaah?!" Byleri exclaimed, blushing all the way up to her ears and down to her
shoulders the second Balirossa mentioned her important books. After all, the volumes
Tanya had nearly disposed of when she was struggling to focus thanks to her flagging
spirits had been a collection of adult literature Byleri had obtained in secret. In her
ordinary state, Tanya would be sure to meticulously pretend she hadn't seen such a
book if she were to chance on one during her cleaning, but in her depressed mode she
lacked the needed discretion.
"By the by," Balirossa said, "I happened to catch a glimpse of the book at the time. That
wasn't one of those books you collected during our time together in the academy, was
it?"
"S-Stoooop!!!" Byleri begged.
"I know you've refused my requests to read the books myself in the past," Balirossa
blithely continued, "but I would love to hear what they are about, if you wouldn't mind
telling me…"
"Like, no way!" said Byleri, waving her hands frantically as her face turned redder and
redder. "Not in a million years! Y-You're, like, too young! Or… not too young, I guess,
but… u-um… you just can't!"
"Whatever is the problem?" Balirossa asked, blinking in innocent confusion. "There's
no need to panic like that. I simply want to know what those books were about!"
"Oh, Balirossa…" said Blossom, looking over with a wry smirk on her face. "You sure
can be clueless sometimes, can'tcha? I thought everyone at the academy knew about
Byleri's secret pornography collection!"
Belano nodded in agreement.
Balirossa, Blossom, Byleri, and Belano had been together since their days in school
training to be knights. After all those years, they knew each other better than anyone.
Although, because Balirossa was prone to cluelessness, her understanding of her
companions was somewhat muddled from time to time.
"So…" Balirossa said, looking blankly between Blossom and the red-faced Byleri with
her knowing smirk. "What were the books about, then…?"
"Give! Me! A! Hecking! Break!" Byleri cried, waving her arms.
"Goodness…" Rys said, folding her arms as she surveyed the living room. "After dinner
or not, this is far too much chaos!" She frowned, squaring her shoulders in anger as
she tromped over towards Byleri and Balirossa. "I suppose I will have to tell them off,
then!"
Before she could reach them, however, Flio grabbed her by the arm, stopping her. "I
don't see the harm in it," he said. "It's not that late yet, and everyone seems to be
enjoying themselves."
"Hmph…" Rys said, puffing out her cheeks in a pout as she came to a halt. "Well… if you
say so, my lord husband…"
"More impurrtantly, Rys, there's something I want to talk to mew about!" said
Uliminas, getting her attention.
"Oh? What is it, Uliminas?" said Rys.
"Mew know those child-size Wolf of Justice meowtfits you made the other day?"
Uliminas said. "I've been thinking about testing them out as new meowrchandise at
the Fli-o'-Rys General Store…"
"Really?" Rys asked. "Are they that popular?"
"Let's just say I have a feeling they might go over well with demeown children."
"I see…" Rys said, mulling it over. "If we're going to sell those outfits as merchandise,
I'm afraid my own efforts might not be quite enough. Perhaps we should get some help
from the residents of the oni village."
"We'd be much obliged!" said Ura, raising his hand at Rys's words. "Us villagers have
all been busy helping out at Blossom's farm, but some of our women aren't suited for
that sort of heavy work. I'll ask some of them if they'd like to assist with the outfits
instead!"
"That would be a great help," said Rys. "In that case, all we need is to secure a source
for the fabric…"
"I should be able to help with that," Flio volunteered. "I'd already been planning on
ordering cloth from different shops all over the land. I'll just be sure to include the
materials you need in the order."
"My lord husband!" Rys gushed. "Of course you've already figured it out! Thank you
ever so much!"
Suddenly, the conversation in the living room had turned to the subject of work.
Meanwhile, on one side of the living room in a large hutch for the house's pets, a Bear
of Misfortune slept peacefully. There was a sign on the entrance to the hutch reading,
"Home of Sybe, Shebe, Sube, Sebe, and Sobe," with another, smaller sign appended to
the first: "And Tybe!"
Tybe was a Bear of Misfortune cub who became attached to Flio's daughter Rylna sze
during one of the family's trips to Dogorogma and ended up following them back to
the world of Klyrode, where it now served as one of Rylna sze's familiars. In
appearance, Tybe looked quite a bit like a psychobear. Currently, it was dressed in a
pair of overalls, sleeping on its back on top of a large cushion. It was still quite young,
and had a habit of falling asleep shortly after eating dinner.
What was Sybe's family doing, you may be wondering? Well…
◇Meanwhile—The Forest near Flio's House◇
"Come along, everyone!" Rylna sze sang as she ran on ahead, smiling brightly. "It's time
for our after-dinner stroll!"
Rylna sze was Flio and Rys's third-born and youngest child, blessed with a tremendous
natural talent for taming that led her to get along easily with magic beasts of all sorts.
Thanks to her abilities she had already become a member of the Houghtow College of
Magic staff, helping out at their magic beast pasture despite having yet to enroll in
school herself.
Sybe, in his unicorn rabbit form, hopped along behind her. Sybe had originally been a
wild psychobear Flio had met in a random encounter. Sensing that he had no hope of
victory against Flio, however, Sybe had surrendered on the spot and since then lived
with Flio as a household pet. He spent most of his time in the unicorn rabbit form Flio
had given him using his magic, although he had the ability to change between either
form freely.
Behind Sybe came his mate Shebe, a wild unicorn rabbit Sybe had befriended who was
brought into the house as well as Sybe's partner. And down the train further behind
Shebe came the couple's children: Sube, Sebe, and Sobe. The children had a mix of
unicorn rabbit and psychobear traits, with Sube and Sobe more closely resembling
unicorn rabbits and Sebe taking after its psychobear father.
Rylna sze led Sybe's family on a merry romp through the woods right outside of Flio's
house. She came this way every night for an after dinner stroll. By now the path had
become fairly well trodden. It was uneven, hilly terrain, but neither Rylna sze nor the
magic beasts seemed to have any difficulty as they continued along at a fast clip.
Behind the group, the goblin Hokh'hokton came running as fast as he could.
Hokh'hokton had once been a low-ranking goblin soldier in the Dark Army, but now
he was one of the workers on Blossom's farm, Blossom Acres, working hard every day
with his various duties. He was currently finding himself occupied dealing with the
so-called no-gooddess Telbyress, a former goddess driven from the Celestial Plane
who had chosen to spend her life in exile lodging in Hokh'hokton's home, quite against
the goblin's wishes.
"You there! Telbyress!" he shouted angrily behind him. "Pick up the pace! Enough of
your slacking off!"
"E-Easy for you to say… Huff… huff…" Telbyress panted as she ran after Hokh'hokton,
lagging a considerable distance behind.
Telbyress was exiled from the Celestial Plane for neglecting her duties as a goddess.
Now that she had forced herself into Hokh'hokton's home she was nominally helping
with the farmwork at Blossom Acres, but as she was a perpetual drunk and had a
strong aversion to any sort of labor, she found herself being scolded by Hokh'hokton
day in and day out.
Telbyress ran for all she was worth, but she was horribly out of breath, her legs
trembling and her body on the verge of teetering over. Despite her best efforts, she
was only falling further and further behind.
"Hmph!" Hokh'hokton snorted in indignation. "Useless woman! You slack off and skip
work whether it's farming or sewing… The least you can do is accompany Madame
Rylna sze on her after-dinner strolls! You damned no-gooddess!"
"D-Don't be so mean to meee!" Telbyress protested. "Goddesses are like humans—we
all have work we're suited for and work we're not! My strong suit, for example, would
be relaxing and enjoying fine liquor…"
"Drinking liquor isn't work!" Hokh'hokton snapped. "Now quit bellyaching about it
and run!"
"I-I caaan't!!!" Telbyress cried, finally collapsing from exertion and falling down on the
path.
Hokh'hokton looked back over his shoulder at the fallen Telbyress and removed a
bottle from the rucksack on his back. "If you can keep up with us…" he said. "I'll let you
have this."
"I-Is that?!" Telbyress's eyes shot open when she caught a glimpse of Hokh'hokton's
bottle. "Dadaccai! The phantom liquor! Hardly any of it was ever made! It's almost
impossible to find a bottle!"
"You may have it," Hokh'hokton said, returning the bottle to his pack, "if you keep up
with us for the entire stroll!"
Suddenly, Telbyress sprung to her feet, full of energy. "Booooooze!" she cried, bolting
straight for Hokh'hokton's rucksack.
"I told you!" the goblin chastised her. "You may have the booze if you keep up with us
for the entire stroll!"
"Who cares about that?!" Telbyress objected. "We're inside Mister Flio's magic barrier,
aren't we? What's going to hurt us?"
"That's beside the point!" said Hokh'hokton.
Telbyress ran after Hokh'hokton like her life depended on it. With her sudden renewed
vigor, it wasn't long before they had closed the distance to Rylna sze and the others.
All in all, it was a typical evening for Flio and his house.
◇Klyrode Castle—Maiden Queen's Office◇
In the Maiden Queen's office, tucked away in a corner of Klyrode Castle, the lights were
all lit up in spite of the fact that it was well into the middle of the night. Inside, the
Maiden Queen sat at her desk.
The Maiden Queen was the Magical Kingdom of Klyrode's current reigning monarch.
Her personal name was Elizabeth Klyrode, known to some by her nickname of Ellie.
She had taken the reins of the kingdom ever since her father, the former King Klyrode,
was sent into exile. She was a woman in her early thirties, but due to her lifelong
obsession with political affairs, she had managed to go that entire time without having
ever had so much as a boyfriend.
The Maiden Queen grabbed a piece of paperwork, looked over its contents, dipped the
tip of her feathered quill pen in an inkwell, and began to scratch out a series of words
on the page before setting the completed document to her left and grabbing a new one
from the stack of papers awaiting her to her right.
"Hmh…" the Maiden Queen sighed.
It stood to reason that the Maiden Queen's energy was starting to flag. After all, the
Queen looked over the majority of the decisions made by the Magical Kingdom of
Klyrode with her own two eyes. She had entrusted a great deal of her work to her two
younger sisters, deputizing her second youngest sister the Second Princess to act with
her authority in regards to foreign affairs and her youngest sister the Third Princess
to help her in the realm of domestic politics, but the Maiden Queen still insisted on
reading the reports her sisters sent her on the same day they arrived without fail.
"The threat from the Dark Army may be no more, but we are still facing raids in the
frontiers by demons who do not follow the Dark Army, not to mention these reports
of bandit activity…" the Maiden Queen said to herself. "Then there's the construction
requests for new magic beast racing halls to be built in Dark Army territory, and the
items of negotiation with neighboring kingdoms… I know perfectly well that there's
plenty of matters that need the eye of the Queen even in times of peace, but still…"
She leaned back, sighing deeply. Then, tilting her neck to the left and resting her
weight on her feet, she slid down into the crevices of her chair. Ahhh… she thought. I'm
nearing my limit. It's coming on that time of night, where I always find myself wanting
to meet with him…
Someone placed a cup on the desk in front of the Maiden Queen, interrupting her
thoughts. "Hello, Miss Ellie. Would you like to take a short break?"
"Huh?!" Startled by the sudden voice, the Maiden Queen felt her eyes shoot open. She
looked over at the hand that had just placed the cup in front of her and followed the
arm up to find Garyl's smiling face.
Garyl was the son of Flio and Rys and was the younger twin brother of Elina sze. His
ready smile and friendly disposition had made him a celebrity at the Houghtow
College of Magic. His physical abilities were nothing short of outstanding.
"G-G-G-Garyl?!" the Maiden Queen exclaimed, practically jumping out of her seat in
shock. She immediately corrected her slacking posture, sitting up straight in her chair.
"A-Ahem! E-Erm… How long have you been standing there?" she asked, doing her best
to maintain an appearance of calm in spite of her bright red face.
"Oh, I only just got here!" Garyl said. "Someone asked me if I could come over and bring
you a cup of tea!" Sensing that the Maiden Queen was worried about being witnessed
behaving in an unbecoming manner, he gave her an understanding smile.
The Maiden Queen reached for the cup, her heart aflutter. "Th-That's right… You're
participating in a short-term study camp at the Klyrode Institute for Chivalric
Education, aren't you?"
"That's right!" Garyl grinned. "They brought in a former Hero who fought with a Dark
One from back in the day as a special instructor! I got to ask him some questions, and
in return I agreed to do a friendly duel with him!"
As Garyl finished speaking, a cloud of mist appeared at his back, a woman dressed in
Hi Izuran garb materializing in its midst. She laughed haughtily, hiding her mouth
behind her hand. "That former Hero you speak of has some ability to be sure, but not
nearly enough to serve as the teacher of my master!"
This was Ben'ne, a master of the blade from Hi Izuru whose corporeal body had long
since passed away, leaving her to endure as a psychic construct. She faced warrior
after warrior in single combat until at last she was defeated at the hands of Garyl.
Impressed by the boy's strength, she had chosen to follow Garyl as his familiar. Right
now, Ben'ne's smile behind her white hood seemed full of scorn for the former Hero
Garyl had mentioned.
"I wouldn't say that at all, Miss B!" Garyl objected, smiling brightly all the while. "I
learned a lot from talking with someone who fought a Dark One from even before
Ghozal! And it was definitely a worthwhile opportunity to be able to experience the
sword techniques he used back then firsthand!"
"I suppose it is all well then, if such are my master's words," Ben'ne said, her smile
looking a bit more accepting from behind her fingertips. My master effortlessly saw
through the former hero's every attack during their duel, and yet he does not boast of his
victory, instead seeking ever to extol the virtues of his opponent. Truly he has the
makings of a king. Who could be more worthy than him of being my master?
"Um… Miss B?" Garyl said, looking bashfully back at his familiar. "It's just… I'd like to
talk with Miss Ellie, you know…"
"Oh!" Ben'ne exclaimed. "I beg your pardon! I have committed a significant
discourtesy! I am most sorry for having intruded into your lover's tryst, my master."
"L-Lover's tryst…?" Garyl winced, blushing as Ben'ne turned back into a cloud of mist
and dispersed from the area. "Ah ha ha…" he laughed, looking nervously over at the
place Ben'ne had just vanished from. "Oh, Miss B…"
The Maiden Queen, for her part, could hardly bring herself to lift her face from
embarrassment. N-Now that I think about it, Ben'ne has the right of it, does she not?
This is a lover's tryst—like a knight stealing into a princess's tower! And there isn't
anyone around so late at night, is there…? Her thoughts started racing, her heart
beating hard in her chest. Wh-Wh-What am I to do?! N-N-Now that we're finally alone
together, how am I meant to go about setting the proper mood for us to have a leisurely
and engaging chat?! Th-Th-That is my role as the older of us, is it not? B-B-But I've never
had a gentleman caller before in my whole life! H-H-How am I meant to speak to him?!
Her face turned bright red all the way to the ears, beads of nervous sweat running
down her brow.
"Um… M-Miss Ellie?" Garyl asked. Lost in her own panicked thoughts, however, the
Maiden Queen seemed not to have heard him at all.
◇ ◇ ◇
As the Maiden Queen froze with distress, the Second Princess, who had been peeking
through the crack in her door, frowned in frustration. "Dang it…" she hissed. "That
older sister of mine's completely lost her cool…"
The Second Princess, Leusoc Klyrode, was the Maiden Queen's next youngest sibling.
She had been handling diplomacy for the Magical Kingdom of Klyrode since the old
King Klyrode was on the throne and the kingdom was still at war with the Dark Army,
a task she continued now as the right hand of the Maiden Queen, always conversing
with leaders from the other human kingdoms in the world. She was a candid,
outspoken woman who was no less frank in her dealings with the Maiden Queen
herself.
"And after you went to such trouble to create a situation for the two of them to be alone
by sending Garyl to deliver a cup of tea to our older sister the Queen… It is most
frustrating!" said the Third Princess. She certainly looked frustrated, squatting down
on the floor next to her sister and hugging her legs tight to her chest. She was biting
down on a handkerchief, furrows on her brow.
The Third Princess's personal name was Swann Klyrode. She had graduated from an
academy for children of nobility as quickly as she could in order to serve as the Maiden
Queen's left hand, working mostly to lighten her sister's load when it came to domestic
politics. She adored her sister the Maiden Queen to a degree somewhat beyond
reason—some even said she had something of a complex.
"Oh?" said the Second Princess, looking over at her younger sister. "Well, this is
unusual. You're cheering for our sister to get with a man, Swann?"
"W-Well…" the Third Princess said, puffing out her cheeks. "To be perfectly honest, I'd
prefer that no men get close to my beloved older sister the Queen under any
circumstances. However, I can't deny that Garyl has helped her out of her fair share of
predicaments. If it were him by her side, I suppose I might be willing to allow it… NNo, I mean, I would be happy to welcome him…" she muttered, almost as if she were
speaking to herself.
The Second Princess smiled brightly, patting her sister atop the head. Well, what do
you know? she thought. This girl's all twisted up because of how much she adores our
older sister, but she's still capable of thinking about things rationally. I must say, I'm a
bit relieved…"Anyway," she said, "I set the table for things to go well for those two, but
at this rate, things are gonna end without them doing anything but sharing a cup of
tea. Now, what should we do…?"
"I can't think of anything…" the Third Princess said. "Nothing short of barging into the
room with another request for something Garyl can do for our sister the Queen…"
"Nuh-uh, let's not do that one," said the Second Princess. "If we did that, Sister Dearest
would lose her mind from embarrassment and break down even further…"
"Then… what do we do…?"
"Hm… That's the question, isn't it…?"
The two discussed the question in secret as they waited outside the Maiden Queen's
office door. Inside, the Maiden Queen had long since finished her tea, and Garyl had
already left through the window with the empty cup in hand, but the princesses were
too distracted by their conversation to notice his absence just yet.
◇Dark Citadel—Throne Room◇
Dark One Dawkson sat as he always did, on the floor in front of his throne.
Dawkson, the reigning Dark One, was the younger brother of the previous Dark One
Gholl. He had previously used the name Yuigarde, during which time he conducted
himself with supreme self importance, but he changed his name and ways and now
ruled as a wise and benevolent lord. He refused to sit on the throne of the Dark One
when he conducted politics, however, to castigate himself for his egotistical behavior
during his time as Yuigarde, which had nearly ended with the complete destruction of
the Dark Army itself.
"Master," said Dawkson's minion Phufun, stepping forward from her position beside
the Dark One. Phufun was a succubus who had served Dawkson since before his
ascension to the throne. She gave the appearance of an intellectual, but in truth she
was a remarkably thoughtless person, and an inveterate masochist.
Phufun pressed her false glasses up against the ridge of her nose with the index finger
of her right hand and looked over at Dark One Dawkson. "I will now begin my daily
report," she said. "Our first item concerns the magic beast racing hall we established
in the premises of Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding Park. It seems the venue has been
even more popular than we initially anticipated, leading to requests from various
regions for permission to open their own racing halls."
"Hm…" Dawkson considered. "More magic beast racing halls, huh?"
"My Lord Dark One," said Zanzibar, raising his hand and stepping up beside Phufun
from his position waiting off to the side. "Your permission to say a word on this
subject?"
Zanzibar was a devil noble, and one of the Dark Army's current Infernal Four. In the
past he had raised a rebellion against Dark One Yuigarde only to be defeated. Since
then, he was pardoned and made a member of the Infernal Four for his spirit and
initiative, not to mention the knowledge he had gained as a member of the nobility.
"Of course," said Dawkson. "What's up, Zanzibar?"
"First, allow me to say that I fully support the proposition of increasing the number of
magic beast racing halls," Zanzibar said. "However, rather than build them
indiscriminately, perhaps we might assign each racing hall an individual rank."
"A rank…?" Dawkson asked.
"Indeed," Zanzibar explained. "We already require the operators of racing halls to
notify the Dark One of the specifications of their establishments. My proposal is to
assign each hall a rank based on seating capacity, course length, and facility
equipment, corresponding to the class of magic beasts to participate in their races. We
will perform inspections of all magic beasts entered by aspirants, and limit their
participation to an appropriate rank of racing hall. By doing so, the high-ranked racing
halls will be able to assemble only the strongest racers among magic beasts, to
conduct races of a truly phenomenal level. Of course, we can expect high-ranking
racing halls to draw a tremendous number of guests, increasing traffic to the
surrounding facilities as well. If we assign the highest rank of M-1 to our greatest
existing racing hall, we can expect a seventy percent increase in guests to the Dark
Mountain Pudding Pudding Park compared to the previous year."
"I see. And that would mean more development inside demon territory, huh?" said
Dawkson, nodding and folding his arms. "You don't mind being the one to set up a
system for ranking the racing halls, do you?" he asked Zanzibar.
"I do not, if you would be willing to entrust the task to me?" Zanzibar replied with a
questioning tone.
"Yeah," Dawkson nodded decisively. "Seems like leaving it to you would be the best
way to do things. If you need anything, talk to Phufun, and I'll get it figured out for
you."
Zanzibar's mustache twitched. In the time of Dark One Yuigarde, this man never trusted
another demon with anything, he recalled. He would never be happy unless everything
was done exactly to his liking. To think that tyrant would become such a man who would
delegate his authority without a moment's hesitation as soon as he identifies the right
demon for the job… He bowed deeply, holding his hand over his heart. "You may leave
it in my hands, my lord," he said. "I, Zanzibar, shall carry out your will with my whole
body and spirit."
Phufun adjusted her glasses, pressing them up against the ridge of her nose once again
as she watched the exchange between Zanzibar and Dawkson, a satisfied smile coming
to her lips. Excellent, my master, she thought, nodding in appreciation. Your stature as
a ruler increases by the day. However, his change in character does come with a sharp
reduction in the number of times I've gotten beaten or punched or kicked around of late.
Ahhh, never will I forget the sensation of Master Dawkson's right cross…
"Hey! Phufun!" said Dawkson.
"Y-Yes?" the succubus replied.
"What's up? You started drooling and making a weird face all of a sudden!"
"A— Huh?!" Startled back to her senses, Phufun hastily wiped the drool from her chin.
Just recalling the sweet pain of Dawkson's fists had been enough to cause her to
unconsciously start smiling with vacant bliss, even drooling from the memory.
She was, after all, an inveterate masochist.
◇A Building Somewhere—In a Room◇
In a dimly lit room, a man of hefty proportions sat on an ornate chair, lost in thought
as he smoked a cigar. He was the Shadow King, former King of Klyrode and the father
of the Maiden Queen. He had been exiled from the country when his evil deeds came
to light and took the name Shadow King, making the black market operations he had
dabbled in during his time on the throne his main line of work.
Before the Shadow King stood two women, each wearing identical high-cut
cheongsam, one silver and one gold—the demon fox sisters Kintsuno the Gold and
Gintsuno the Silver. The two had once been demons of significant authority in the Dark
Army, the rulers of the demon fox clans. After the fall of the demon fox stronghold,
however, they joined forces with the Shadow King and his Shadow Conglomerate.
"And so…" Kintsuno the Gold, the elder of the two sisters, who of course favored the
color gold, continued her speech. "We've come here looking for any good leads we can
find."
"It seems the Dark Army performs routine inspections of this area," reported Gintsuno
the Silver, the younger sister who naturally enough was fond of the color silver. "Our
best move would probably be to make as much money as we can in the meantime and
clear out before the inspectors get here. But first, we need more information…"
The Shadow King clicked his tongue in irritation as he thought. "And all because
Janderena and her crew are making such a fuss about securing funds… Our only option
is to find some way to make a killing, hm?"
"That Janderena girl…" Kintsuno yipped contemptuously. "Always muttering darkly
and fussing with that enormous abacus of hers… and the moment anything displeases
her she has no compunctions about smashing you with it!"
"Her sister Yanderena's even stranger if you ask me," yipped Gintsuno. "Always
dancing strangely, looking at you with wide-open eyes… and there's something
unsettling about those dances of hers, like she's sucking the magic right out of the air."
The demon fox sisters furrowed their brows in mutual displeasure for the sisters
Janderena and Yanderena.
The Shadow King, too, furrowed his brow. "I know they can be a lot to deal with," he
said. "But they're capable enough, at least." If only I had more manpower at my disposal,
I would have no need to rely on distasteful individuals like those two, he thought. But I
suppose nothing can be done about it now…
In the dimly lit room, the three conspirators all sighed as one.