Flio, Rys, and the Fli-o’-Rys General Store

The world of Klyrode was a world of swords and sorcery, of magic

beasts and demihumans, in which humans and demons had waged war since

time immemorial. But the Dark Regent Calsi'im, who commanded the

demons' Dark Army, had signed a peace treaty with the Maiden Queen of

the Magic Kingdom of Klyrode, the greatest of the human kingdoms. And

upon returning to the Dark Citadel, the Dark One Dawkson elected to

maintain peace.

Dawkson had once ruled demonkind as the Dark One Yuigarde. Back in

those days, he was a vainglorious ruler who listened to no one's counsel and

resolved all problems with force. But he changed his ways during his

travels, and now he made a point to listen to other demons before passing

judgment. He had become a Dark One who labored day after day for the

good of all demons.

The Maiden Queen, meanwhile, refocused her efforts towards

developing her kingdom, which now enjoyed unprecedented prosperity. She

did not limit her efforts to the Magic Kingdom itself, however; even

neighboring lands saw the benefits of her efforts. Hardly anyone anywhere

had a bad word to say about the Maiden Queen's rule.

And so, the stage is set. The curtains open...

◇Houghtow City—Flio's House◇

The Magical Kingdom of Klyrode was the very heart of the human

world, with Klyrode Castle at its center. Houghtow City was built far to the

west of the castle, along the central highway that stretched across the

kingdom from east to west. Because of its location along a major trade

route, it had long been a fairly prosperous city. And outside of the city

walls, a fair distance away, was a house.

Flio stood outside in front of his house, looking it up and down. "I've

been adding an extension to the house every time someone moves in..." he

observed. "It got quite large at some point, didn't it."

Flio had come from another world entirely, where he had made his

living as a merchant. He had been summoned to this one as one of the

candidates to be Hero of Klyrode. Thanks to the blessing he'd received

when he was summoned, he now had mastery of every spell and every skill

to exist in the world. Since then, he had settled in with his wife Rys,

formerly a demon of the Dark Army, to raise his two children and manage a

local general store: Fli-o'-Rys.

They had found the house abandoned near the Delaveza forest and

moved in. Later, Flio had used his magic to teleport the house to near

Houghtow City, where they lived to this day. It had originally been a singlestory building, but now it stood three-stories tall, plus a basement level. In

the back was a workshop Flio used to develop new items to sell at the

general store, and in front of the house were a large pasture and farm.

"Is something on your mind, my lord husband?" Rys stepped up beside

Flio. Rys was a lupine demon, and a former soldier in the Dark Army.

When she had been defeated by Flio, she had made the decision to walk

alongside him as his wife. She adored her husband to a possibly excessive

degree. She had even had a pair of twins with him—Elinàsze and Garyl.

Rys, who had just stepped out of the side door leading to the kitchen,

pressed close to Flio, gazing adoringly at his face.

"I'm just looking at our house," Flio said. "It's gotten pretty big, hasn't

it?"

"Yes," Rys agreed. "It's grown quite a lot between all of the new

children and the people coming to be your retainers."

"Hold on, Rys," Flio protested. "Nobody's anyone's retainer. We're all

just companions and good friends."

"Hmm..." Rys considered his words, a frown crossing her face. "If you

say so, my lord husband. I can hardly contradict you..."

Flio patted Rys gently on the head. "What matters is that I'm grateful to

you for the work you do around the house. We couldn't have done this

without you."

Rys's cheeks flushed. "I-I simply do what is expected of me as your

wife," she said. "It's my responsibility to look after everyone's well-being."

Lupine demons were well-known to be creatures who operated in pack

structures. Under lupine social standards, the strongest was the leader, and

their mate was responsible for looking after the pack. Thus, Rys considered

everyone living in Flio's house to be part of her pack. As the wife of Flio,

the head of the household, she saw it as her duty to fully take care of

everything within the house.

Rys was elated to have been praised by Flio. She was so happy that even

in her human form, her wolf tail materialized and began to wag cheerfully

from side to side.

"All right then," Flio said. "How about you go get the vegetables from

the garden before the rest of the house wakes up?"

"Leave it to me, my lord husband!" Rys thumped her fist against her

chest. "I, your wife, as well as Sybe, will go right away!"

As she spoke, Sybe appeared behind her, pulling along its cart. Sybe had

originally been a wild psychobear Flio and Rys had encountered randomly

in the forest, who realized immediately that it had no chance of winning

against Flio and surrendered. Since then, it had lived with them as their pet.

It spent most of its time in the unicorn rabbit form Flio had granted it with

one of his spells, but in order to do the heavy work of carrying vegetables

this morning, it had returned to its original psychobear form.

"Gworf!" cried Sybe, nodding happily.

Flio gave the psychobear and his wife one of his usual easygoing smiles.

"You know, since I'm up, why don't I come along with you today?"

"R-Really?" Rys said. "Well, if you insist, my lord husband..." She

nodded, wrapping her arm around Flio's. "And since you're coming, why

don't we walk arm in arm?" A great big smile spread over her face.

With his wife's arm tight around his, Flio could feel his own arm

rubbing up and down against her chest with every step they took—Rys was

surprisingly voluptuous for how slender she was. R-Rys... Flio thought,

flustered, a blush creeping onto his face, but it didn't seem like Rys

particularly minded the contact.

"Hm?" Rys asked, peering up at her husband's face. "My lord husband,

is something the matter?"

"Huh?" blurted Flio. "O-Oh! No, nothing at all!"

"Truly?" Rys said, cocking her head. "Then I suppose it's just my

imagination..."

They headed on towards the farm, Flio continually flustered by the

sensation of Rys's chest against his arm as Sybe pulled the cart along

behind them.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Well if it isn't Lord Flio! Good morning!" Blossom greeted the pair

with a cheerful wave when they arrived on the farm. Blossom had once

been the heavy fighter of a party of knights from Klyrode Castle, led by her

best friend Balirossa. They had quit the knighthood together and now lived

at Flio's house. Blossom came from a farming family and was very good at

the trade, and was now putting those talents to use managing the large farm

just outside Flio's house.

"Good morning, Blossom," said Flio. "Thank you for working the farm

so early in the morning."

"Don't be ridiculous!" said Blossom. "I'm the one who should be

thanking you! It's crazy satisfying being in charge of this farm!" She looked

out over her handiwork with a grin on her deeply tanned face from atop the

small hill.

Flio followed Blossom's gaze. "It really is an amazing farm," he said,

impressed. "Has it gotten bigger again?"

"Oh? You could tell? We have a few more heads now, after all, so we

started planting some new fields and orchards." Blossom's grin grew wider.

Looking closely, Flio could see goblins and skeletons alike hard at work in

the fields. A number of them noticed Flio and came up to greet him.

"Oho!" said the skeleton Calsi'im. "If it isn't Lord Flio!" Calsi'im had

served as Dark Regent until his demise. Flio had brought him back to life,

leading Calsi'im to settle in with the rest of the household.

"You're up bright and early, Calsi'im," Flio observed with a smile.

Calsi'im was carrying a basket on his back and had a headband tied around

his bony skull. It looked like he was helping out at Blossom's farm. "But

you aren't required to help with the farmwork, you know..."

"Perish the thought!" Calsi'im said, his jawbone rattling as he laughed.

"You took us in when we had nowhere else to go! I could hardly forgive

myself if I didn't pitch in at least this much!"

Calsi'im had been thrust into the role of Dark Regent when the Dark

One Yuigarde abandoned his post. Once Yuigarde had returned as

Dawkson, Calsi'im had abdicated the throne and left the Dark Army in

order to avoid any confusion as to who was in charge. The skeleton veterans

who had been with Calsi'im through thick and thin quit the Dark Army with

him and also came to live at Flio's house. Now his former subordinates

were working cheerfully on Blossom's farm. Calsi'im surveyed the scene

and nodded, satisfied.

"Do your skeletons have everything they need?" Flio asked. "I kind of

threw their lodgings together at the last minute."

"Everything and more!" Calsi'im said, his jawbone rattling again with

laughter. "You built everyone private rooms with attached kitchens, toilets,

and baths! We couldn't have asked for finer lodgings."

A feminine figure stepped up beside Calsi'im. "Why, if it isn't Lord Flio

and Lady Rys!" the girl—Tia—said. She lifted up her skirt in an elegant

curtsy. "I trust the morning finds you well?"

Tia was a magic doll created by one of the Dark Army's mages. She had

been discarded until Calsi'im discovered her and restored her to working

order. Ever since, she had stayed close by his side. She was a small-bodied

girl wearing an elegant gothic lolita style dress, but she had thick gloves on

her hands and a basket on her back. It seemed that she too was here

working on the farm, but she stuck out like a sore thumb.

Belano and Minilio followed along behind Tia. Belano was a witch in

service to Balirossa's knightly company from Klyrode Castle. She was a

tiny, shy woman who specialized in defensive magic. After quitting the

knighthood to live at Flio's house, she'd eventually come to work at the

Houghtow College of Magic. Minilio was a magic doll Flio had made as an

experiment. He looked like a child-sized version of Flio, hence the moniker.

Minilio lived with the rest of the company at Flio's house and spent his time

making magic items for the Fli-o'-Rys General Store.

Minilio stepped up to Flio and bowed politely. Minilio was Flio's first

experimental magic doll, and he had been created without the means to

speak aloud. Flio smiled down at the doll with his usual easygoing smile

and patted him on the head.

"Good morning, Minilio," said Flio. "I see you're working on the farm

today too. Thank you for the hard work." Minilio smiled. Back when I first

created him, Flio thought, Minilio hardly made any expressions. It was the

best he could do to fake a smile. But lately, it seems like his expressions

have a bit more depth to them. Almost like he's turning into a human—or

perhaps some sort of demon...

Belano stepped up beside Minilio and bowed politely as well, saying

nothing.

"Thank you too, Belano," Flio said. "Do you have work at the College

of Magic today?"

"I do..." Belano said, mumbling and lowering her gaze as she replied.

"But I wanted to help out here first..."

Blossom draped her arm over Belano's shoulder. "Or so she says,

anyway! Belano just wants to be wherever Minilio is! She's even getting up

early for him despite how much she hates mornings!"

"Awah..." Belano stammered. "Awawawaaah..."

"She's even been taking Minilio to her own room to sleep with at night!"

continued Blossom, grinning like a fiend.

"Awahah?! Whuha— Awawawawaaah!" Belano jumped up, trying to

clap her hands over Blossom's mouth to stop her from talking. Her face was

bright red with embarrassment.

Belano had lost both her father and brother in the war against the Dark

Army. She had come to regard Flio, who had treated her so kindly, as a

surrogate for the two of them, though with an odd mixture of filial and

romantic love. Flio, however, was already married to Rys, so Belano at

some point turned her romantic feelings for Flio to the smaller version of

himself he had made. Blossom had been Belano's companion for a long

time and knew her in and out—and sometimes she liked to do a little

teasing.

Flio's expression turned pensive as he considered Belano's situation.

Magic dolls don't have emotions... Minilio's smiling, but it's more like a

default setting...

He had told Belano as much, of course, but Belano had refused to be

dissuaded. "Even so..." she'd said. "I want to be with him..." In deference to

Belano's feelings, Flio had given Minilio permission to enter Belano's

room. Belano, however, was very shy, and few people in the house besides

Flio and Rys knew that anything at all was happening between her and

Minilio.

As Flio thought, Blossom kept poking fun at Belano while Minilio

simply stood beside her, a basket on his back and a smile on his face as

always.

◇ ◇ ◇

Blossom and Belano eventually settled down and the group continued

on towards the fields. "By the way," Flio asked, "what are you harvesting

today?"

"Heh heh!" Blossom laughed, grinning from ear to ear. "I'm glad you

asked! It's been rough going with this experiment for a while, but lately,

we've been getting more and more of these fruits!" She took a fruit from

the basket on her back and handed it to Flio. It was a yellow fruit that fit in

the palm of his hand.

"Is this...a lembon?"

"Got it in one!" Blossom said, giving him a thumbs-up.

"Goodness!" Rys exclaimed, a smile spreading across her face. "You've

harvested this many lembons?"

Lembons were a famously sour fruit, much desired by those who found

themselves with unusual cravings during pregnancy. They had been a great

asset to the house during the recent influx of children. Lembons were high

in nutritional value, but because of their acidity, they were seldom used

outside of alcoholic beverages. They were not commonly traded, and the

ones that were tended to be found growing in the wild rather than as

products of a farm.

"Yup," said Blossom, pridefully rubbing her finger under her nose. "At

first I wasn't sure how best to cultivate those things. When we just planted

the seeds in the ground, they'd just wither right away. But now look at

'em!"

"And we're helping harvest all these lembons!" said Calsi'im, rattling

with laughter.

Beside him, Tia was peering very seriously at the lembon. "Perhaps if I

can eat this lembon, it will help me have a child with Calsi'im..." she said

before taking a big bite out of the fruit. The next second, her eyes shot wide

open. She jumped straight up into the air. "Nhghhfppfff?!"

"Goodness, Tia," Rys said, shaking with laughter as she handed over her

canteen of water. "I suppose that will teach you to underestimate the

sourness of a lembon."

Tia shook her head. "Th-Th-This is nothing!" she declared. "One day, I

will be able to gobble up lembons with no trouble at all! And then... Then I

will be blessed with Calsi'im's child..." She forced a smile onto her face,

despite the intense sour flavor overpowering her senses.

"Tia..." Rys said, smirking at the doll. "It isn't that eating lembons will

help you conceive a child; it's that once you're pregnant, you may find

yourself craving sour foods. Although that does vary from person to

person..." Rys took a slight nibble of the lembon and pursed her lips up

from the sourness.

Belano tried a bite of lembon herself. "Nhhnghff?!" It was far sourer

than she had expected. Just like Tia, her eyes shot open wide and she leapt

into the air.

Blossom smiled as she watched everyone's antics. "Well, all that aside,

once they're all harvested, we're handing them over to the goblin women,

who're gonna turn 'em into lembon cakes!"

"Lembon cake..." Flio repeated. "Wasn't that Rys's specialty?"

Rys had once mistakenly bought far too many lembons and begun

making lembon cakes as a way to use them. She smiled happily at her

husband's words. "Yes, they were," she said. "Lately I've taken to giving

cooking lessons to the goblin women and the shadow demons, you see."

"I see," said Flio. "And so now they know how to make lembon cakes

too!"

"Yes," said Rys, nodding happily. "They took to it very quickly. It was

very rewarding, as a teacher."

Blossom smiled. "I remember when we first met you, though, Lady

Rys," she said. "Back when you were just plopping hunks of raw meat on a

plate and calling that dinner. I can't believe you've gotten to be the best at

cooking in the whole house."

"Of course I have!" Rys replied, puffing out her chest. "It is my duty as

wife to ensure that my lord husband and his underlings are well-fed." Rys,

raised in a pack of lupine demons, was more than capable of hunting food

for everyone to eat, but aside from the times they would get meals from

whatever inn or barracks they had been lodging in, her pack ate food raw

and as is. When she'd first joined forces with Flio, Rys knew practically

nothing about cooking. But she started attending cooking lessons in secret

and polished her skills. Now she was so good that the teacher at the cooking

school had asked her if she was interested in becoming an instructor herself.

Her original teacher from back in the day had been in tears. "I can't

believe you've come so far..." she'd said. "Our Rys, who used to somehow

cause an explosion every time she diced vegetables..."

"In that case," suggested Flio, "let's get to harvesting these lembons

right away!"

"Yeah!" the group replied. Hoisting their baskets, they headed off

eagerly towards the rows of lembon trees.

Just then, Flio heard a girl's voice coming from overhead. "Dada! Dada!

There you are!" He looked up to see Wyne gliding through the sky. Wyne

was a dragonewt, said to be the strongest of all the draconic soldiers. Flio

and Rys had found her collapsed on the road and rescued her, adopting her

into the family. She loved to dote on Elinàsze and Garyl as the twins' big

sister.

Wyne streaked fast through the air towards Flio, a smile on her face.

Tanya, however, was hot on her tail.

Tanya's full name was Tanyalite. She was an angel from the Celestial

Plane—an exceptionally powerful one sent to monitor Flio. However, she

had lost her memory in a freak midair collision with Wyne and now worked

as Flio's maid.

"Young Mistress Wyne!" Tanya shouted. "You must wear this if you are

going out!" Her distinctive angelic wings were fully manifested as she flew

after Wyne, every bit as fast as the dragonewt. In her hand, she clutched a

piece of clothing.

Wyne... Flio thought, grimacing as he looked up at his adopted daughter.

Not again... Indeed, Wyne was stark naked as she flew through the air, not

wearing a single thread of clothing.

As a dragon, Wyne's body was full of molten magma that she could spit

out as fire breath, and as a result, her body temperature was exceptionally

high. She was always throwing off her clothing, declaring, "It's stuffy! I

hate it!" Being naked didn't seem to bother her at all. Flio, Rys, Tanya, and

her little sister Elinàsze had all gotten very used to chasing after Wyne,

trying to get her to wear clothing.

Wyne glanced at the clothing in Tanya's hand and winced. She sped up,

flying straight for Flio, impacting at high velocity and wrapping her arms

around his shoulders. "Dada! Good morning! Good morning!"

Flio caught Wyne in his arms and tried to set the grinning girl down, but

Wyne herself had other ideas. "Wyne..." Flio said. "I'm glad to see you so

happy, but you really need to wear clothing when you go outside, like you

promised."

"I know! I know!" Wyne said, nodding with a big grin on her face. But

she refused to even look at Tanya, who landed behind her with the clothing

in hand.

No helping it, I suppose... Flio wiggled his finger ever so slightly and the

clothes vanished from Tanya's arms, appearing instead on Wyne's body.

Wyne went on nuzzling against Flio's cheeks like nothing had happened.

He patted his daughter on the head and made sure that she was properly

dressed.

"E-Excuse me..." Tanya said, oddly timid about something. "Master

Flio?"

"Hm?" Flio asked. "What's wrong, Tanya?"

"Nothing's wrong," Tanya said. "But you took a direct impact from

Young Mistress Wyne. I was wondering if you weren't hurt..." Tanya had

her arms held out, conjuring a magic circle in order to cast a healing spell if

it were needed. After all, Wyne had impacted with Flio without pulling up

from her dive in the slightest.

When Wyne was in human form, her body was no harder than any

human's, but her dragon scales had appeared seconds before the impact in

order to protect her body. Being crashed into by her was like catching a

boulder from a volcanic eruption. And yet Flio was simply standing there,

patting Wyne on her head, his usual easygoing smile on his face.

Tanya blinked her heterochromatic eyes as she stared in disbelief when

behind her appeared Hiya and Damalynas. Hiya was known as the djinn

who commanded the origin of light and darkness. They had enough power

to destroy the entire world, but Flio had defeated them nonetheless. They'd

taken to calling Flio "Exalted One" and now lived in his house. Damalynas,

meanwhile, was the Grand Magus of Midnight, master of the dark arts. But

she'd lost to Hiya and now lived inside Hiya's mindscape, where she served

as the djinn's "training partner."

The two emerged from Hiya's mindscape through a magic circle and

stepped up beside Tanya. "I understand your bewilderment, Tanya," said

Hiya.

"No kidding," Damalynas agreed. "An attack like that from Wyne would

bust right through one of my Midnight Barriers. It was quite the charge..."

Tanya nodded, confused. "Y-Yes..." she said. "I had thought so too..."

"And yet," said Hiya, "the Exalted One can endure even that as if it

were nothing." Their lips curled up in a smile.

"Indeed..." Tanya said, bowing her head. "He is Master Flio, after all. I

apologize for my confusion."

Flio glanced past Wyne's face over at Hiya and Damalynas. Come on...

he thought. I didn't do anything that incredible, did I...?

Flio hadn't consciously done anything at all to lessen the impact, but his

many passive spells had activated when they sensed danger incoming—

spells like Absorb Impact and Antigravity. They hadn't just prevented any

damage to Flio himself, but even reduced the impact on Wyne's body and

the surrounding area, stopping her terrifying dive dead in its tracks. Each of

the spells involved was high-level magic; even the greatest magic users in

Klyrode would take as many as ten minutes to cast them all. But Flio had

cast them not only without an incantation, but without any awareness that

he had done so. All of this was because of the Divine Revelation he had

been granted by the goddesses when he was brought to the world of

Klyrode, although Flio himself was still convinced that what he could do

was nothing more than what was typical for magic users in this world.

Hiya and Damalynas really think far too much of me, Flio thought,

grimacing as he watched Hiya, Tanya, and Damalynas nod to each other

with expressions of awe. "W-Well," he said. "Let's get back to work so we

can finish harvesting these lembons before breakfast. I have a trip to

Klyrode Castle I need to make this morning, after all." He began in the

direction of the lembon trees.

"Okay!" said Wyne, finally releasing Flio from her grasp. She raised her

hand in the air, grinning. "I'll help too!"

"I will help as well," added Tanya.

"Needless to say," said Hiya, "it would be my great honor to assist you,

Exalted One."

"And I'll help if Their Divinity Hiya's helping, of course," added

Damalynas.

"Thanks, you three," said Flio, smiling as usual. "Let's get this done!"

◇Klyrode Castle—A Parlor◇

After he finished helping with the morning's farmwork, Flio ate a

breakfast prepared by Rys, saw his children off to their day of primary

school lessons at the Houghtow College of Magic, and headed to Klyrode

Castle. He and the Maiden Queen were now in a parlor, sitting across from

one another.

The Maiden Queen had assumed the throne after expelling her father,

the former King, for his many misdeeds. She was a hard worker with a

strong sense of justice who was committed to the people of her kingdom.

As Queen, she was universally beloved. If she had a dark secret, it was her

intense anxiety and habit of pushing herself too hard.

"I must thank you for coming to make this delivery yourself, Lord Flio,"

the Queen said, bowing politely with a smile on her face. "It is a terribly

long way from Houghtow City."

"Not at all!" Flio said. "It hardly takes any time at all using my Teleport

spell. There's no need to thank me."

"A-Ah," the Queen said. "That's a relief..."

The smile on her face looked a little strained. After all, when she'd

needed to teleport from the castle to Houghtow City it had taken several

advanced magic users a great volume of magic power to cast the spell, and

even with so many of them, they'd needed a lengthy incantation. The mages

who cast the spell, moreover, would often find themselves stricken with

magic exhaustion for anywhere from a few hours to entire days, struggling

even to sit up in bed. Flio, on the other hand, showed not even the slightest

sign of fatigue despite having teleported himself to Klyrode Castle mere

minutes ago. He was sitting in his chair, talking amiably like he had

accomplished no great feat at all.

Lord Flio truly has powers worthy of the Hero... the Queen thought to

herself.

Flio had originally been summoned to this world as a candidate for the

role of Hero, to fight the Dark Army. When he had first been summoned at

Level 1, however, his stats were below average for an adult human man.

He'd been completely unable to use magic, and his skills hardly seemed

useful at all. The King, who had still ruled Klyrode at the time, had Flio

sent away to be disposed of. But when Flio hit Level 2, he had instantly

mastered every spell and skill to exist in the world, and his stats increased

to such a high level that they could no longer be calculated.

Lord Flio should be the Hero, the Queen thought, but every time I

broach the subject, he refuses to consider it. Then there's the issue of the

title itself. We cannot bestow it upon Lord Flio unless we first wrest it from

that golden-haired man the previous king appointed. He must be brought to

the castle and have his title proclaimed void in view of the people...

"Your Majesty?" Flio said, getting the Maiden Queen's attention. She

had fallen a bit into her own thoughts. Flio eyed her curiously.

"Oh, my apologies!" the Queen said, shaking her head and forcing a

smile on her face. "It's nothing! I simply have some things on my mind..."

I guess the Maiden Queen has a lot on her plate, after all, Flio thought,

nodding. He had no idea that what the Maiden Queen was thinking about

was none other than himself.

Suddenly, there came a knock on the parlor door. "Come in!" said the

Queen, and in stepped Knight Captain MacTaulo, accompanied by Boralis,

the captain of the Queen's personal elite guard.

MacTaulo was a storied champion and the commander of the kingdom's

knights. During the war against the Dark Army, he had been away from the

castle, directing his knights from the front. He was loyal to his duty yet also

kind to his men. The knights of the kingdom trusted him with their lives.

Boralis, meanwhile, was the commander of the all-female team of knights

charged with guarding the Maiden Queen. She was a beauty who cut a

handsome figure in a man's uniform. Men found her attractive enough, but

she was an even bigger hit with the ladies.

MacTaulo seemed to be in high spirits. "I apologize for interrupting your

conversation, Your Majesty," he said. "I heard a rumor that Mister Flio, the

manager of the Fli-o'-Rys General Store, is here. I thought I would offer

him my thanks." He turned to face Flio and bowed deep, smiling. "Mister

Flio, we owe you our thanks for selling us such splendid weapons at quite

the high discount. We may be at peace with the Dark Army, but there are

demon hardliners who haven't laid down their arms, as well as bandits and

wild magic beasts to worry about! Your gear has been a great help."

"I would like to thank you as well, on behalf of Her Majesty's Royal

Guard," Boralis said, following MacTaulo's suit and bowing from her

habitual position diagonally behind the Queen.

"I too would like to offer you my thanks, Lord Flio. We are in your

debt." The Maiden Queen rose from her chair and joined the other two,

bowing her head.

"N-Not at all, not at all!" protested Flio. "There's really no need to be so

deferential to me. You're our valued customers, after all."

Flio worked as the manager of the Fli-o'-Rys General Store in

Houghtow City. Most of the items for sale in the store were conceived of by

Flio himself and made by residents of Flio's house, especially Hiya and

Damalynas. They were marvelous weapons, enchanted with offensive and

magical abilities that most people would need a considerable amount of

magic power to use. With them in hand, even knights with no magic power

at all could add whole new abilities to their arsenal. Until now, it had been

almost impossible to find such weapons, even in Klyrode Castle Town, and

those that were available would have commanded a steep price. But

between Flio and Hiya and the others, they could easily produce great

numbers of such items, driving down the price and sending them into

circulation all over the kingdom.

"Thanks to the equipment from the Fli-o'-Rys General Store, our

knights are taking fewer casualties in every expedition. And thanks to your

company keeping the trade routes you use free of bandits and magic beasts,

there is less need to deploy them as well. I am truly grateful for your

efforts." The Maiden Queen bowed again.

"And thanks to you, I was finally able to come back from the front line!"

MacTaulo said, grinning as he too bowed his head once more. "Now I can

focus on training the next generation at the Klyrode Knight Academy. No

matter how good our weapons are, they're no use if our people don't know

how to use them!"

Flio gave the assembled group one of his easygoing smiles. "Not at all,

not at all!" he repeated. "We're just doing what we can. Our delivery teams

are just protecting themselves, after all." Internally, however, he winced.

I've been going through and making sure the routes are safe whenever one

of our teams hears news about bandits or dangerous demons or magic

beasts. I guess they've noticed...

◇ ◇ ◇

"I have some business to attend to in the castle town," Flio said once

they had finished talking. "If you will excuse me..." He stood up, offering

the Maiden Queen his hand.

"I do hope to see you again," the Queen said, shaking it with a smile.

"You are welcome here any time."

"Oh!" said Flio, retrieving a small box from his pocket and offering it to

the Queen. "One more thing..."

"What's this?" the Queen asked, staring intently at the box.

"Please try using it at nighttime," Flio said. "I'm sure it would make

Garyl very happy."

"G-Garyl?!" the Maiden Queen exclaimed, her face turning red. The

Queen had been reserved and dignified throughout the entire conversation,

but when Flio brought up Garyl, she suddenly seemed extremely nervous.

The Maiden Queen had been infatuated with Garyl ever since

accompanying Flio's family in secret to the hot springs. Since then, she had

visited Flio's family in secret several times and spent even more time with

Garyl.

Th-This won't do! the Maiden Queen thought. I must keep my romantic

feelings for Garyl a secret from everyone! Poor Garyl would never want a

thirty-year-old hag like me... I feel like I owe his parents an apology. B-But

for now, I must remain calm! I must adopt a posture of serenity, just as I

always do whenever the subject of Garyl comes up... She cleared her throat

a number of times, trying desperately to calm herself.

Despite her best efforts, there was no hiding her feelings from MacTaulo

and Boralis, who had accompanied the Maiden Queen as security on her

secret ventures. They stood behind her as she desperately struggled to quiet

her emotions, looking off to the side and pretending not to have seen or

heard anything.

The Queen glanced at MacTaulo and Boralis out of the corner of her eye

and cleared her throat again, louder. "A-Ahem! I thank you for the kind

gift!" she said, doing her best to act calm. "Please give my regards to Garyl

as well."

"Yes, of course," Flio said, bowing with his usual easygoing smile

before taking his leave.

◇Meanwhile—Klyrode Castle Town◇

While Flio was making his delivery to Klyrode Castle, a great crowd

had gathered in one of the castle town's central wholesale markets. Most of

the people there were the proprietors of various shops in the castle town or

else employees in charge of their shop's inventory. In front of the crowd

stood Byleri.

Byleri had been the archer of Balirossa's former company of knights.

Now she lived at Flio's house, where she put her talents handling horses to

good use caring for a stable of horse-type magic beasts. Although they

weren't officially married, she was Sleip's lover and the happy mother of

their daughter, Rislei.

"Ummm..." Byleri started, looking over the paperwork in her hands.

"So, like, we're here from the Fli-o'-Rys General Store today, with all kinds

of stuff..." Byleri had come along with Flio on his delivery from the store.

Flio handled the orders from Klyrode Castle, while Byleri was responsible

for orders from merchants in town. Behind Byleri, members of the Fli-o'-

Rys supply team, formerly of the Dark Army's intelligence network, the

Silent Listeners, were busy unloading their wagons.

Byleri gave instructions as she looked over her papers. "Okay!" she said.

"So like, this box is for the Hudjiit Association. And this one's for the

Tanooki Company..."

The crowd followed Byleri's instructions, gathering their various orders.

Then, one person, the elderly shop proprietor Bundacca, stepped forward.

"Miss Byleri..." he said. "I see that the Fli-o'-Rys General Store is not only

transporting the goods themselves, but you are also distributing them

directly? You are making a delivery to the castle as well, correct? I'm sure

you could work out an arrangement with the people there to distribute the

goods..."

"There's, like, totally no need to worry, Mister Bundacca," said Byleri,

smiling. "Our manager, Lord Flio, like, totally believes that it's important to

do business directly with local stores."

Bundacca grimaced. "Y-Yes, but you know... When I heard that

employees of the Fli-o'-Rys General Store were distributing goods directly

in the wholesale market, well, I didn't think it would be allowed!"

Indeed, the Klyrode Castle Town Merchant's Guild wasn't amused when

the Fli-o'-Rys General Store began selling directly to shops in town. Fli-o'-

Rys was in a city far to the west of Klyrode Castle, and moreover had only

recently opened for business. For a store like that to distribute their

merchandise directly incurred the ire of some individuals, while others

turned up their noses at the breaking of procedure. Many suspected that Flio

intended to open a store in the castle town with the backing of Klyrode

Castle itself. Flio's actual request, however, was rather different. "I merely

wish to offer the quality items we deliver to Klyrode Castle to the shop

owners doing business in the castle town as well."

Bundacca had been the merchant's guild member that Flio had dealt

with through the whole affair. He winced awkwardly and scratched the back

of his head.

Byleri, however, simply kept grinning. "Well, like, y'know..." she said.

"I'm not super good at explaining things? But, like, Lord Flio's always

saying he wants everyone to get along and have fun working together. Oh!

And your stuff's over there, Mister Bundacca!" She pointed, and one of the

members of the Fli-o'-Rys supply team stepped forward to collect the item.

"I must say," said Bundacca. "That's quite encouraging. You make me

want to give it my all as well."

"Yeah, totally!" Byleri said, grinning and flexing her slender arms to no

effect. "Like, let's do our best and keep business lively!"

Bundacca smiled wryly at Byleri's behavior. They're thinking not only of

their own profit, but also for the good of everyone in the merchant's guild...

he thought. With them in the business, it's like the old days being forced to

pay protection money to the Shadow Conglomerate were nothing more than

a bad dream...

Bundacca and his demihuman employees loaded their wagons with the

goods from Fli-o'-Rys and left the wholesale market behind. They traveled

through the backstreets, carrying the merchandise to their own store. But on

their way to the back entrance they used to stock incoming goods, they

were intercepted by a woman. She stood in front of them, cutting off their

path.

"That's far enough," she yipped. She had long golden hair and was

wearing a golden cheongsam. Bundacca opened his eyes in shock.

"Y-You!" he said. "K-Kintsuno the Gold, from the Shadow

Conglomerate!"

"Oh, you remember me!" Kintsuno said, a sneering smile on her face as

she took a step forward. "I'm so delighted!"

Kintsuno the Gold was one of the demon fox sisters who had once ruled

the demons of the lands to the west. They had joined forces with the

Shadow King—the former king of Klyrode—in a bold attempt to seize the

throne of the Dark One, which had ended in failure. She was disguised in a

human form, but an aura of Malicium welled up behind her, marking her as

a demon and menacing the poor shop owner to no end.

"Our business will be quick," Kintsuno sneered, leaning in to whisper in

Bundacca's ear. "You owe us protection money." She placed a hand on

Bundacca's shoulder, her claws digging into the base of his neck. "I think

you know what will happen if you refuse..." Despite the mocking smile on

her face, Kintsuno's voice was cold and dangerous.

Bundacca swallowed, breaking out in a cold sweat. His employees

watched helplessly. If they tried to save him, Kintsuno would simply

puncture Bundacca's throat with her claws.

Suddenly, they heard a voice. "And what, pray tell, would happen if he

refuses? Well?!" A man appeared from behind the wagon, running at

Kintsuno with incredible speed. He landed a kick on the fox, sending her

flying through the air.

"Y-Yip?!" Kintsuno exclaimed. "Wh-Who are you?!"

"Hmph," the man said. "Who am I? I believe we are acquainted,

Kintsuno the Gold." He stepped up in front of Kintsuno. He wore a black

wolf mask emblazoned with a red lightning bolt. "My name is Horse

Justice, the protector of the shopping district, Byleri, and Rislei! Don't tell

me you've forgotten!" Horse Justice folded his arms dramatically.

"Grrr!" Kintsuno spat. "Another one of the Wolf of Justice's friends?!

You're the ones who've been ruining all our business!" Kintsuno

transformed into an enormous nine-tailed fox demon and took off running

down the street. "I know I can't beat one of you weirdos in a fair fight! I'm

getting out of here!"

"Fwa ha ha ha ha!" Horse Justice cackled as he transformed into an

enormous centaur. "Foolish evildoer! You will never escape me running as

slowly as that!" He reared up on his front legs and took off galloping after

Kintsuno, as fast as the wind. "Fwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Today's the day I

capture you!"

"Wait!" Kintsuno yipped. "How are you so fast?! Who are you?!"

"Fwa ha ha ha ha! I told you! I am Horse Justice!"

Kintsuno the Gold and Horse Justice vanished as suddenly as they had

appeared. Bundacca watched them run off, grinning. "That was Master

Sleip from the Fli-o'-Rys General Store, I believe..." he said. "Ah, I can't

believe he would come save me!" Suddenly there was a tap on his shoulder.

Bundacca wheeled around to see a small woman wearing a gray wolf mask.

"A-Ah! And you are?"

"Excuse me," the woman said. "I am a member of the Justice Legion,

the intelligence network of the Wolf of Justice."

"The Justice Legion..." echoed Bundacca. "That would make you part of

the mercenary army Fli-o'-Rys has clearing out bandits and magic beasts

from all over the land?"

"Yes," the woman said. "The very same. But I must correct you. The one

chasing after Kintsuno the Gold right now is Horse Justice, companion of

the Wolf of Justice and commander of the Justice Legion."

"C-Come now..." Bundacca said, narrowing his eyes dubiously. "He

looks exactly the same, and he even mentioned the name of his wife and

daughter..."

"I see," said the woman from the Justice Legion. "Then you leave me no

choice." She held her hand up to Bundacca's face and muttered an

incantation. A magic circle appeared around her hand. Her eyes glowed

with a mystic light. "That man earlier was Horse Justice. Do you

understand?"

"I... I..." Bundacca mumbled indistinctly. "Yes. That man from earlier

was Horse Justice... Horse Justice... Horse Justice..."

The rest of his employees were also muttering along, repeating the

name. "Horse Justice... Horse Justice..."

The woman nodded. "My work here is done." She bowed politely and

ran off after Horse Justice and Kintsuno, taking off her mask as she got out

of sight to reveal the face of Greanyl, a shadow demon, Uliminas's

subordinate in the Dark Army and a former member of the Silent Listeners.

When Uliminas left the Dark Army, the Silent Listeners had followed suit

and now worked making deliveries for the Fli-o'-Rys General Store.

"Lord Sleip can be such trouble..." Greanyl said. "Lady Byleri and Lady

Rislei have told him so many times not to use their names while he's Horse

Justice, but he still has the nerve to introduce himself as the 'protector of

the shopping district, Byleri, and Rislei'... And now I have to clean up after

him with my Modify Memory spell..."

Indeed, as Bundacca surmised before having his memory erased, Horse

Justice was none other than Sleip, a former member of the Infernal Four. He

had left the Dark Army and now lived with Flio, helping look after the

horse-type magic beasts on the ranch. He adored Byleri, his common-law

wife, and his daughter Rislei with all his heart.

"Regardless," said Greanyl, speeding up as she ran, "today will be the

day we finally capture Kintsuno the Gold and put an end to the Shadow

Conglomerate and all their evil deeds!"

Ahead of her she could hear the echoing sound of Horse Justice's

laughter. "Fwa ha ha ha ha!"

◇The Gates of the Dark Citadel◇

Not long ago, there had been nothing outside the gates of the Dark

Citadel except an overgrown forest, but now there were several lively

commercial establishments. And in the very middle, standing directly in

front of the gates themselves, was a shop with a sign that read: "Fli-o'-Rys

General Store: Dark Citadel Branch."

The store had opened back during the time Calsi'im had served as Dark

Regent. Built to supply the Dark Citadel with much-needed foodstuffs and

other sorts of items, it was one of the many things that would not have been

possible without the peace treaty between the Dark Army and the Magic

Kingdom of Klyrode. Inside, a number of demons were having a

conversation.

"Goodness gracious, my lady Uliminas!" exclaimed Alcaccino.

Alcaccino was a lava demon, his entire body made of igneous rocks, and he

was currently wearing a joyous smile on his craggy features. "How can I

ever, ever thank you for granting me permission to open my magic gem and

pickle stand next to your store?! It's everything I could have possibly

dreamed of!"

Uliminas, a hellcat demon, smiled back from behind the counter. She

had been Ghozal's right-hand cat back when he ruled as Dark One. When

Ghozal had quit being Dark One, she left with him and began working at

the Fli-o'-Rys General Store in the guise of a demihuman. She had since

married Ghozal, becoming one of his two wives. Together, they had a

daughter named Folmina.

"Meow need for thanks," she said. "Dark Meown Dawkson himself

gave purrmission for stores to do business in front of the Dark Citadel. The

meowr the meowrrier, if mew ask me!"

"Oh yes, very much indeed!" agreed Leggy Vuitton, a mad spider

demon wearing extravagant clothes. "Why, the Dark One's decree was the

best thing to ever happen to me! You know, I used to do business in the

Dark Citadel Shopping Town, a ways away from the Citadel itself. They

charged outrageous sums of money simply to operate a business there, you

know, and they would always raise the operational fees even further with no

forenotice whatsoever! It was miserable, you know. No good at all!"

"Yeah," said Barry, the elder demon bear brother. "It was unbearable!

But here, they charge us bearly anything!"

Bear-Bear, the younger demon bear brother, nodded along. "Yeah!

We're beary grateful to be able to open a shop here!"

A sly grin crossed over Uliminas's face as she watched the crowd

chatting happily from behind the counter. That's just what the Dark Citadel

Shopping Town gets for daring to capitalize on the Dark Citadel's name

while also insisting they were a separate opurration that didn't need to pay

tribute! They've been doing that since before even Gholl was Dark Meown.

They were underhanded and opurrtunistic, even when doing business with

the Dark Citadel itself. But I suppose their avarice was their own undoing,

in the end! Obviously, the merchants will come to us if we just treat them

with the least bit of respect!

"On that note," Uliminas said, surveying the group, "let me know if

mew know of anymeown doing business in the area. Lord Flio's asked us to

help them set up shop here."

"Truly?!" said Alcaccino. "You would go so far even as to assist in

setting up a shop?!"

"Oh yes, oh yes!" said Leggy Vuitton. "I'll tell everyone I know—I

promise you that!"

Some time later, the demons left and returned to their own shops.

Without missing a beat, someone else appeared in the doorway leading to

the hall behind the counter. "Hey, Uliminas!"

"Ghozal?" Uliminas responded, looking back over her shoulder. "Do

mew need something?"

Ghozal was standing in the doorway, looking intently at a wolf mask in

his hands. Ghozal had once himself reigned as Dark One, under the name of

Gholl, until he abdicated the throne to his younger brother Yuigarde and left

to live as a human, freeloading at Flio's house. In that time, he and Flio had

become the best of friends. Now he was married to Uliminas and the

swordswoman Balirossa, and had two children, Folmina and Ghoro. He

looked cagily around the store.

"Well..." Ghozal said, "I'm just wondering when it's gonna be my turn!

Sleip was assigned to Klyrode Castle Town and he gets to drive off all sorts

of evildoers and bandits as Horse Justice!"

"That just means it's been peaceful around here lately," Uliminas said.

"I'd say it's a good thing, if mew ask me."

"I suppose that's true..." Ghozal grudgingly admitted.

"I understand how mew feel," Uliminas continued, "but Calsi'im isn't

the Dark Regent anymore. Now that Dawkson's the Dark Meown, he's been

reorganizing the Dark Army from the Infernal Four on down. Now that they

have some mewlitary power again, nobody wants to start trouble near the

Dark Citadel."

"Hrm. I can't deny it." So Ghozal said, but his thoughts told a different

story. I can't believe I still haven't had an opportunity to show off my new

mask and cape! I worked so hard on them! He had been doing nothing but

moving luggage for days on end. A complicated expression came over his

face.

"Anyway, get mewving!" Uliminas said, chuckling to herself at her

husband's attitude. "Don't just stand in the doorway! Those boxes won't

carry themselves!"

"Hrm..." Ghozal said, reluctantly placing the mask and cape on a shelf

behind him. "Right. I have a job to do."

Hardly anyone in the Dark Citadel noticed that the pair, disguised as

human and demihuman, were none other than the former Dark One Gholl

and his confederate Uliminas.

◇Meanwhile—Dark Citadel Shopping Town◇

Some ways away from the Dark Citadel itself stood Dark Citadel

Shopping Town, a city of vice and pleasure. There, in one of the buildings

dotting the town's back alleys, a number of demons were having a

conversation.

The demon fox Gintsuno the Silver sighed. She was sitting on a platform

a level above the others, wearing a silver cheongsam that flattered her

voluptuous figure. She clicked her tongue in irritation as she looked over

the contents of the bag given to her by some men.

"Tell me," she yipped. "Is it my imagination, or have fewer and fewer

demons been paying their operation fees?"

Gintsuno the Silver was one of the demon fox sisters who ruled over the

demons of the west. The sisters had joined forces with the Shadow King,

the former king of the Magical Kingdom of Klyrode, in a failed attempt to

seize the throne of Dark One for themselves.

One demon man stepped forward. Gintsuno regarded him with

displeased eyes. "My lady, Gintsuno the Silver..." he began. "Lately, there

have been a number of shopkeepers who have simply left in protest of the

high fees. It seems they intend to create their own merchant association. It

has been very difficult to—" Bang! Gintsuno slammed her fist down on the

table, interrupting the man's speech.

"Do you think I came here to listen to your excuses?!" she demanded.

"Who do you think made it possible for you to operate this shopping town

in the first place?! The Shadow Conglomerate has been supplying you with

goods—and even protection! Have they forgotten everything we've done

for them?! Running off at the first sign of trouble?! Lousy ingrates!" She

hurled the now-empty bag at the man's head, having finished extracting its

contents. "I'll be back soon to collect again," she said. "See to it that you

gather the rest of your missing operation fees before then."

"Wh-What?!" the man protested. "B-But...we just gave you this month's

fee!"

"I'm raising it!" Gintsuno yipped. "There's a fifty percent increase in

operation fees this month! Do you understand?!"

"Huh?!" the man stammered. "B-But!"

Gintsuno strode outside and slammed the door, not looking back at the

bewildered demons. The demon store owners sighed as they stared at the

door after her.

"She raised our fees again..." one of them said. "What should we do?"

"What can we do?" another replied. "Peace with the humans is bad for

our business, since war goods were our specialty. Work just isn't profitable

anymore. We've been cast off. I suppose the best we can do is accept that

it's over and try to start a new chapter in our lives..."

"Why are we paying operation fees to the Shadow Conglomerate,

anyway?" another demon asked.

"Hmm..." said another. "Well, back in the day, they used to provide us

with specialized anti-human weapons and bulk quantities of lots of things

that're hard to find in the Dark Army's territory. And they stirred up

regional conflicts, which was good for our business as war merchants. But

lately, their weapons have been lower quality, they haven't been bringing

much in the way of quantity, and they aren't even starting conflicts

anymore..."

"So they don't do anything for us at all... Then why are we paying their

operation fees?"

The demons shared a look and sighed.

"Well...if we don't pay the operation fees, we'll end up on the Shadow

Conglomerate's bad side for sure..."

They shared another, even heavier, sigh.

"Hey..." one of the demons said. "Why don't we do what the others did

and move to the Fli-o'-Rys shopping area?"

"What?!" another demon objected. "B-But that store's run by humans!"

"True," said the first. "But a guy I knew who moved there told me that

the Fli-o'-Rys people will help you set up shop if you come to them. Their

prices are way cheaper than the Shadow Conglomerate's, their goods are

better quality, they don't charge operation fees at all..."

"Plus," another added, "Fli-o'-Rys employs none other than the Wolf of

Justice and his companions as mercenaries! I've heard they'll help you out

if you're in trouble—without even asking for a reward!"

"The Wolf of Justice? The Wolf of Justice?!"

Demons had a strong tendency to revere power above all else. For many

demons, their hatred of the Wolf of Justice had turned to respect and then

ultimately worship as he effortlessly defeated unit after unit of Dark Army

soldiers all over the land.

"Wow... The Wolf of Justice himself, coming to help us out..."

"And we wouldn't need to deal with Dark Citadel Shopping Town

anymore..."

"I don't like the idea of moving somewhere else after all these long

years in business, but I can't deny those positives..."

A perceptible difference had come over the demons ever since someone

had mentioned the Wolf of Justice. After their conversation, most of the

shopkeepers who had been working for the Shadow Conglomerate moved

to the growing shopping district next to the Fli-o'-Rys Dark Citadel Branch

Store. Eventually, they would cut ties with the Shadow Conglomerate

altogether, but that would not be for a little while yet...

◇Klyrode Castle Town◇

After finishing his business at Klyrode Castle, Flio made his way to the

castle town below.

"My lord husband!" Rys came running up, a bright smile on her face as

she wrapped her arms around her husband's.

"Hello, Rys! Are you finished with your errands?"

"I am," Rys said. "I learned a new recipe at the cooking sch— Ah!"

Panicking, she clapped a hand over her mouth. "N-Never mind that! All I

mean is that I have finished my errands."

Rys had taken advantage of her trip to Klyrode Castle Town to pay a

visit to her old cooking school. Rys was a champion fighter of the lupine

demons and the second-in-command to her late older brother Fengaryl,

formerly of the Infernal Four. She had spent her whole life fighting or

leading warriors in combat. When she had first met Flio, she could hardly

cook a meal to save her life. Rys had grown determined to become a cook

worthy of her husband and began going to the cooking school to polish her

skills whenever she and Flio visited the castle town. In the end, it was all

worth it. Rys had become a truly excellent cook, good enough to prepare

meals almost single-handedly for the bustling community that had grown at

Flio's house.

Even as skilled as she's gotten, Rys is still going to the cooking school to

learn new recipes... Flio thought. I'm not sure why she doesn't want to talk

about it, though. Maybe it's because she was hiding it at first... Flio

understood his wife's behavior very well. He gave her one of his easygoing

smiles. "Byleri and Sleip had a couple errands of their own," he said. "Shall

we take advantage of our alone time to buy some souvenirs for the rest of

the house?"

"That sounds delightful," Rys nodded, smiling. She pressed close to

him, holding his arm tight and chatting happily as they walked through the

city streets. After some time, a carriage rolled along past them. Flio could

hear a conversation from inside.

"Hang on a minute, Keats! This is Klyrode Castle Town, isn't it?!"

"Of course it is! You're the one who told me to bring you here, weren't

you, Madame Wuha?"

"No! I asked you to take me to a castle town, yes, but I meant the one

outside the Dark Citadel! I was very specific!"

"What?! I don't believe it! I, Aryun Keats, have made a grave error! I

must change my direction immediately! Ah... But this street is rather full of

people, isn't it? Perhaps I had better transform..."

Suddenly, there was a light. Flio turned to look at the carriage. What...?

Where the carriage had been, now there were two women, running as fast as

their legs could carry them. H-Huh? He wore a puzzled look. There was no

sign of the carriage from earlier. Didn't a carriage pass us just now?

"My lord husband?" asked Rys, looking curiously at her husband as he

glanced this way and that. "Is something the matter?"

"Huh?" Flio said, before quickly putting a smile on his face. "O-Oh! No,

nothing at all, Rys!" But just then, suddenly, a window appeared before

Flio's eyes. "Huh?!"

All Carriage Djinn Skills Mastered.

It continued on a while longer, with paragraphs and paragraphs full of

explanatory text. All Carriage Djinn Skills...? Flio's eyes went wide as he

began scrolling through the window.

"My lord husband?" Rys asked again.

"A-Ah! Sorry, Rys!" Flio said, wincing as he closed the window. I've

never heard of a carriage djinn... he thought. I should ask Hiya and Ghozal

about this when we get home...

◇That Night—Flio's House◇

After dinner, Flio's household gathered together in the living room on

the first floor, as usual.

"My!" exclaimed Elinàsze, beaming as she nibbled on the deserts Flio

and Rys had brought back from Klyrode Castle Town. "These little cakes

are simply incredible!"

Elinàsze was the older of Flio and Rys's twins. Because of the demon

blood they had inherited from their mother's side, the twins were growing

to adulthood far faster than a human would. Elinàsze loved her papa Flio

more than anything else in the world.

"You're right!" agreed her younger twin Garyl, nodding eagerly as he

tried a bite. "These are great!"

Flio smiled at the pair. "I'm glad you like them," he said. "Balirossa

recommended the store, so it's no wonder they're good."

"O-Oh!" Balirossa said, suddenly shy. "I-It's really nothing more than a

shop I took a liking to when I was part of the knighthood. I'm very glad to

see that you enjoy their cakes as well."

Balirossa had originally been a knight in service to Castle Klyrode, but

she had quit the knighthood and now lived at Flio's house and worked at the

Fli-o'-Rys General Store. She was one of Ghozal's two wives and the

mother of his son Ghoro.

"Mama Balirossa!" said Folmina, who was sitting next to Garyl and

stuffing her face full of cakes. "These cakes are so good!" Folmina was the

daughter of Ghozal and Uliminas—half-demon royalty and half-hellcat—

but Ghozal's children were being raised to see both Uliminas and Balirossa

equally as their mothers. She was a sweet girl who was absolutely

infatuated with Garyl.

"Uh-huh..." said Ghoro, nodding insistently. "It's good..." He was sitting

next to Folmina, stuffing his own face every bit as much. Ghoro was

Balirossa's daughter with Ghozal, making him half-human and half-demon

royal. He was a quiet boy who adored his big sister Folmina.

"I'm very glad to hear that!" said Balirossa. "Folmina, Ghoro, make sure

you thank Lord Flio and Lady Rys properly for the cakes."

"Okay! I will!" said Folmina. Ghoro just silently nodded.

"These really are good, though..." said Garyl, spearing another with his

fork. But before he could eat it, Wyne leaned forward in her seat opposite

Garyl, so close her body was practically horizontal.

"So tasty-tasty..." she said, a line of drool dripping from the corner of

her mouth. Wyne had already finished her portion of the cakes. She eyed

the end of Garyl's fork with greedy eyes.

"Ah ha ha!" Garyl laughed, smirking. "Your appetite never gets any

smaller, does it?" He held out the cake he had previously intended for his

own mouth.

Wyne's eyes lit up. "Thank you, Gare-Gare! Thank you!" She ate the

whole thing in one bite, smiling blissfully as she chewed.

Rislei watched the scene with an amused smirk of her own. Rislei was

Sleip and Byleri's daughter, half-human and half-lichsteed. She was a

serious-minded girl and had become something of a leader among the

youngest generation in Flio's house. "Wyne, that's enough," she scolded.

"At least sit down when you eat. Do you want Folmina and Ghoro to follow

your example?"

"Ah ha ha! 'M sowwy!" Wyne apologized, but with her mouth so

stuffed full of cake, she sounded a bit ridiculous. The whole living room

burst out in laughter.

Suddenly, Garyl seemed to react to something. "Huh...?" He stuck his

hand in his pocket. "Ah!" He shot to his feet and ran quickly up the stairs.

"Um... Excuse me! I gotta go! Thanks for the meal!"

"Wait, Garyl!" Folmina said, springing to her feat to follow him. "Take

me with you!"

Elinàsze smiled at Folmina. "Excuse me, Folmina," she said. "Would

you like to take a bath together?"

"Oh!" said Folmina. "Yes! Okay! Let's take a bath together!" The small

girl stopped and turned around, hugging Elinàsze tight. Elinàsze patted her

gently on the head.

That Garyl... Elinàsze thought. The things I do for my brother...

"Oh, right!" Rislei suddenly exclaimed. "Papa, Greanyl told me that you

called out mine and mama's names when you were chasing after the bad

guys."

"O-Oh!" said Sleip, suddenly stammering uncomfortably. "W-Well, you

know! I guess I just...felt like it?"

"Well, whether you feel like it or not, you shouldn't speak without

thinking!" Rislei declared. "Honestly, papa, what am I going to do with

you?!"

Once again, the living room was filled with laughter.

◇Flio's House—The Rooftop◇

A little while later, Garyl was sitting alone atop the roof of Flio's house.

The children all slept together in a big room on the second floor. Garyl had

simply opened the window and flown out, up onto the rooftop. He had a

ring on his right hand, set with a magic gem that was now displaying a

projection of the Maiden Queen's face.

"My dad's amazing, isn't he?!" he said. "He invented a new

communication ring that lets us see each other's faces when we talk!"

"He truly is incredible," the Maiden Queen agreed. "I wasn't sure what

to expect from the ring Flio gave me, but to think it could do something like

this!" Flio had handed the communication ring to the Maiden Queen when

he had spoken with her earlier at Klyrode Castle. It was a device she could

use to communicate with Garyl. "But I must apologize. I wasn't expecting

the ring to show you my face like this. I'm so exhausted from work; I must

look dreadful..."

"Not at all!" said Garyl. "You're as pretty as ever, Ellie!" Ellie was the

name that Garyl knew the Maiden Queen by.

"P-Pretty..." Ellie muttered, her face turning red.

"Yeah!" said Garyl. "But anyway, I got a story to tell you! Guess what

happened today!"

"Oh? Whatever do you mean?"

The two cheerfully chatted away under the moonlight, until finally Rys

came to tell Garyl it was time to take a bath.

◇Meanwhile, with Hero Gold Hair...◇

In a hidden corner of the castle town surrounding the Dark Citadel, Hero

Gold-Hair stood waiting impatiently, his arms folded across his chest.

"She's late," he grumbled, glancing around the area. "Wuha Gappoli said

she would be here an hour ago with this comrade of hers! What's taking

them so long?! If they decided to take a scenic stroll somewhere..."

Tsuya looked over at Hero Gold-Hair from a short distance away. As

usual, her outfit left very little to the imagination. She was smiling brightly.

Valentine gave Tsuya a quizzical look. "How come you're smiling like

that?" she asked, leaning in to whisper in Tsuya's ear. "Hero Gold-Hair

seems terribly angry..."

"Huuuh?" said Tsuya. "Nooo, see, Hero Gooold-Hair is just so

wooorried about Wuha Gappoli! He can't stop wooorrying, and it's making

him all upseeet! Don't you think he's sweeeet?"

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yes! Toootally!"

The two shared a look and nodded to each other—Tsuya, a human, and

Valentine, a djinn from the Realm of Evil. Both of them were beautiful

women with attractive bodies wearing hardly any clothing. Even though

they were hidden from sight behind one of the buildings, quite a number of

demons passing by noticed them and stopped to stare.

Riliangiu, Valentine's former familiar, was waiting atop the roof of a

nearby building, surveying the area from her high vantage point. Suddenly,

she pointed down the road. "Sir, they've arrived! That energy could only

belong to Wuha Gappoli."

"Good," said Hero Gold-Hair. His anger vanished in an instant, replaced

with obvious relief. "I'm glad they made it."

A carriage raced through the streets, coming to a halt in front of the

party. "Ah, Hero Gold-Hair!" said Wuha Gappoli, scratching her head

bashfully as she disembarked from the carriage. "Sorry to keep you

waiting..."

"You certainly did do that!" Hero Gold-Hair replied. "How dare you

keep me waiting so long! You nincompoop! I oughta give you what for!

But," he added in a softer voice, "I'm just glad you're safe."

The carriage shone with a brilliant light, and transformed into a woman.

She was naked when she first appeared, but quickly gathered up a set of

clothes. She put on a white miniskirt and knee socks combo before turning

to face Hero Gold-Hair. "Madame Wuha, is this the gentleman you serve,

Master Hero Gold-Hair?"

"Yup, that's the one," Wuha said. She was dressed casually, in shorts and

a shirt. "A lot of stuff happened, and now I've got Hero Gold-Hair here

looking after me." She leaned back, resting her head against her hands, a sly

grin on her face.

"I see," said the new girl, putting on a black jacket that looked like some

kind of military uniform as she spoke. "If you are the one whom my dear

friend Madame Wuha sees fit to serve, then I would like to offer you my

service as well." She brought her right hand up to her temple in a salute. "I

am Aryun Keats, the Carriage Djinn. As of today, you may consider me to

be under your command. I am in your hands."

"Very well." Hero Gold-Hair extended his hand. "I'm Hero Gold-Hair.

That's what everyone calls me, at least. You might as well call me that too."

Keats took Hero Gold-Hair's hand and shook it firmly.

"But I have to ask..." Hero Gold-Hair said, folding his arms as he looked

the newcomer over. "Wuha's a mansion djinn and has the ability to turn into

any building she's ever touched. I assume you have some ability relating to

carriages?" Tsuya, Valentine, and Riliangiu watched the conversation with

interest, curious to hear Keats's answer as well.

"Ha ha ha!" Keats laughed, stepping out in front of the party. "Very

astute!" she said, puffing her chest out proudly. She was short, but her

breasts were every bit as big as Tsuya's or Valentine's. "As a carriage djinn,

I have the ability to transform into any vehicle that I have come into contact

with!"

"Any vehicle?!" the rest of the party exclaimed, eyes going wide with

shock.

"Perhaps a quick demonstration is in order." Keats raised her hand and a

magic circle appeared, its light stretching high into the sky. The light

enveloped Aryun Keats's body, and then...

Rumble...

Aryun Keats's stomach made a tremendous rumbling sound. She

collapsed to the ground, unable to stand.

"Wh-What's wrong, Keats?!" Hero Gold-Hair said, hurrying over

quickly.

"Ha ha ha..." she laughed, looking up at him with a hollow lifeless

smile. "I... I apologize most profusely. Earlier, I went to Klyrode Castle

Town by mistake, and had to quickly change course and come here. I

believe I may have asked too much of my power..."

"In ooother words..." Tsuya said, "You're huuungry, and you need to

eeeat?"

Keats nodded weakly. "Yes..." she said. "I am so sorry. So very, very

sorry..."

Tsuya smiled down at the girl, but her smile had a distinctly strained

quality. The color vanished from her face. Wh-What do we dooo? she

thought. We were alreeeady struggling to afford fooood, now that

Daaawkson isn't with us anymore and Miss Valentine can't suck out his

eeenergy! Pleeease don't say we're getting anooother big eater... Tsuya

took out the group's money purse and checked to see how much they had

left.

"What's up, Tsuya?" asked hero Gold-Hair, who noticed what she was

doing. "If you're worried about the money, don't be." He handed her a bag.

Tsuya looked inside to find it stuffed to the brim with gold and silver coins.

"H-H-H-Hero Gooold-Hair?" Tsuya stammered. "H-H-How did you

—?!"

"You know, it's the strangest thing," Hero Gold-Hair said as Tsuya

stared at the treasure in her hand. "One of the pitfall traps we set in the

forest caught a fox magic beast carrying this pouch of gold! It had such a

beautiful silver pelt too, but it ran away while I was getting ready to skin it.

Guess it wasn't dead after all!"

"W-With thiiis, we'll be fine for a whiiile, even with Miss Vaaalentine

and the neeew person!" Tsuya exclaimed, tears streaming down her face.

"Th-Thank yooou! Thank you sooo much!" She hugged Hero Gold-Hair

tight, her ample breasts pressing against his masculine chest.

"W-Well, y-you know!" Hero Gold-Hair sputtered, his cheeks turning

red. "I'm always working hard for the team! I'm the party leader, after all!

O-Oh, get off me!" he said, finally extracting himself from Tsuya's

embrace.

"Tee hee hee!" giggled Tsuya. "Then let's get something gooood to eat!

To ceeelebrate our new frieeend!"

"Yeah!" Riliangiu, Valentine, Wuha, and Keats all raised their arms in

unison.

Well, well... Hero Gold-Hair thought, sighing as he looked over the

group. Looks like another one I've gotta take care of...

"Oh! I just remembered!" Keats stepped up to Hero Gold-Hair. "My

beloved companion, Madame Wuha, tells me that you have been a great

help to her. As thanks, I would like to take you somewhere fun, if you will

allow me."

"Somewhere fun?" asked Hero Gold-Hair.

Keats thumped her chest in reply.

◇A Building Somewhere◇

In a city somewhere in the world stood a building made from stone.

Inside, the Shadow King sat in a luxurious armchair, smoking a cigar, with

a look of aggravation on his face. "What is the meaning of this?!" he

demanded.

Kintsuno the Gold and Gintsuno the Silver knelt before him, their faces

pressed to the ground in a posture of abject groveling. Their bodies were

covered in wounds, and the cheongsams they wore were in tatters.

"Well..." said Kintsuno, a pained expression on her face. "I was

collecting our fees from the merchants in Klyrode Castle Town, when who

should appear but one of the Wolf of Justice's companions! I barely escaped

with my life..."

"I was collecting money from the merchants in Dark Citadel Shopping

Town..." said Gintsuno. "But when I was on my way back, running through

the forest in my fox form, I fell into a pitfall trap! A man tried to skin me! I

was barely able to escape, but I seem to have lost the money..." Gintsuno

shivered. The fear of being skinned alive was still fresh in her mind.

The Shadow King glowered down at the fox sisters, grumbling bitterly.

"Hmph. At this rate, we might not be able to continue our operations at all!

To think that all of my work in the black markets back when I was King of

Klyrode should come to nothing..." Come to think of it, he mused,

everything's gone wrong since I exiled that man... The one we summoned at

the same time as that golden-haired fellow we made the Hero...

"What was his name..." the Shadow King mused aloud, recalling the

name Flio had used when he was first summoned to the world. "Banaza, I

think...?"