Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers: Volume 8 (Light Novel) E-Book

Miya Kinojo

• Herausgeber: J-Novel Club
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Serie: Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers (Light Novel)
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Seitenzahl: 268

Beschreibung

Once upon a time, Flio’s house was nothing more than a humble home in the woods for himself and his wife, Rys, but now it has grown to a veritable mansion that hosts a thriving community of demons and humans alike. Flio’s house is far from the only thing everyone’s favorite omnipotent merchant from another world has transformed, however. The realm of Klyrode itself has gone from a land of strife to a chill place where ancient foes live and work side by side. Even the angels of the Celestial Plane are taking notice of Flio’s exploits, namely a marvelous potion that women everywhere swear makes your skin smoother...
Can Flio find the ingredients to make more of the coveted serum, now that he’s used up his wyrm blood stash? Moreover, how will Dawkson adjust to the trials of leadership? And how is the Shadow King still causing trouble somehow?!

Leseprobe

Chapter 1: 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 single-story 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.”