Shadow of Nokia Part 2

The twelve women moved under cover of darkness, each one doing their best

to muffle their steps. The night wasn't pitch black, so the moonlight above still

provided some visibility. That was why they were taking extra caution. The

moment they were caught would be the end of their advantage.

They'd managed to sneak into the mine area with little difficulty. Apparently

the area had long since been mined of any valuable ore, and thus security was

sparse.

"This way. There'll be an entryway to the ruins beneath the castle..."

The girls, following Princess Pafia's lead, made their way to a corner of the

cliff face. It looked slightly different from the natural outcroppings, suggesting

Earth magic had been used. As they came closer, they noticed a small tunnel

that was almost impossible to see. It was only around three meters high, and

stretched downwards into the pitch-black cave.

Linze was quick to remedy that problem, conjuring up a small beacon with her

[Light Orb] spell. The girls used the little guiding light to see as they began their

descent. Eventually, they came to a wider area and a small pathway.

The pathway led toward a fork in the road. One left path, and one right path.

Pafia stopped at the intersection.

"Should be here... There's a secret passage straight ahead. I don't know if it

can be opened from this side, though..."

"There is a passage here, there is? It looks like an ordinary wall, it does..." Yae

murmured to herself as she ran a hand along the wall in front of them. Leen

also touched the wall, tapping a finger against the surface at different parts.

"It's certainly a rock wall. No [Mirage]-like tricks to be had here... I wonder

how it's supposed to be bypassed."

"There's a spellstone behind the wall that reacts to a trigger from the royal

family. It should activate a mechanism to open the door."

"Aha, that makes sense. It's Earth magic."

Leen nodded at Pafia. Gimmicky traps and mechanisms that used Earth magic

had been used by many countries since ancient times, so it made sense that this

was one, too.

"What should we do? Smash it up?"

"Shall I cast [Explosion]?"

Elze clenched her fists, while Linze readied a spell. It was only natural that the

twins would come to similar conclusions.

"I don't think destroying anything would be a wise idea. We don't want to

leave evidence of our entry, after all..." Yumina chimed in as the voice of

reason, as Sakura picked up a small stone and began rapping it against the rock

wall. Sue, curious about her intentions, spoke up.

"What're you doing?"

"Hitting the wall with a rock..."

"I... That's not what I meant!"

"I'm finding out the depth of the wall based on the echo. It's barely fifty

centimeters thick... I can definitely get through here, hold on... [Teleport]..."

Sakura vanished without any warning.

"Ah!"

Everyone other than Tokie was surprised when Sakura reappeared after a few

seconds.

"It's okay... There's a passage through the other side... There aren't any

monsters, either. I can take us two at a time..."

"Wh—?! S-Sakura-dono?!"

"Sakura?!"

"[Teleport]..."

Without even giving them any time to process the decision, Sakura grabbed

Yae and Hilde before vanishing with them. She decided to take the two

swordswomen first, just in case of any screw-ups on the first try.

Sakura came back in a flash, this time taking Leen and Lu. She then took Lycia

and Pafia, Yumina and Sue, then Elze and Linze. Tokie simply teleported herself.

"...That was exhausting..."

Despite her declaration, Sakura wasn't all that worn out. [Teleport] consumed

more magical power depending on the distance you covered. It was true that

increasing the number of people taken with you took a toll on the cost of the

spell, but it was basically negligible given how short a distance they'd traveled.

Sakura's exhaustion was likely more of a mental one, brought on by the

constant focus she needed to keep on her target coordinates.

"Hmhm... Yep, these are dungeon ruins, alright!" Sue looked around, just to

confirm their surroundings.

Now they were on the other side, they could see the spellstone contraption

that would open the way with enough magic power.

The underground passage looked remarkably similar to the dungeons on

Brunhild's remote islands. The walls and flooring were made of shaped stone,

clearly the product of Earth magic. Even without Linze's [Light Orb], there was a

faint light emanating from their surroundings.

"Did they compound Light magic into the Earth magic constructions...?"

"Yes, this is definitely a compound construction. It must date back to the

ancient civilizations."

Linze and Leen were quick to marvel at the craftsmanship. They all continued

walking down the passageway.

Yae and Hilde took vanguard positions, leading the gradual walk. The passage

was about four meters high and four meters wide, so they had room to swing a

weapon around if need be.

Yumina started chatting with Pafia along the way.

"You said this was an ancient ruin?"

"That's right. It's an ancient dungeon, to be precise. The main entrance is

right beneath our castle."

"It's rare to have a castle linked to a dungeon like that... Is it okay? Has there

ever been an issue with monsters making their way up from the depths?"

"We've never had a problem. There are several barriers and wards in place to

keep monsters at bay. There may be a few monsters down here, though, but

they'd only be weak ones like Slimes."

Yumina, Elze, Linze, and Yae stopped in their tracks. They began to look

around uneasily, jittery expressions on their faces. Pafia was confused by the

reaction.

"...Crush any and all Slimes you see..."

"Right. Maybe we should hunt down each and every one of them, just in

case..."

"Kill every last one of them, I say..."

"This is a kill-or-be-killed situation, it is..."

The four girls had a look in their eyes, it was one that spelled dread,

discomfort, and indignation. After all, they'd had a particularly bad incident

involving a few Slimes a long time ago. Princess Pafia, unaware of that sealed,

slimy past, backed off a little. She was more than a little confused.

"A Slime, get it!"

The moment Sue noticed a small green Slime, Linze cast [Ice Needle] without

a second thought. The little Slime was turned into a pincushion, dying almost

instantly.

"Scary..."

"Green Slimes are an enemy to all women. They're just as bad as Caezar."

"They are?"

"Green Slimes eat fabric. That includes clothing. That makes them an enemy

to any woman's decency."

Sue was a little confused, but Leen quickly set her straight. Confident in her

new understanding, Sue kept on walking with the group.

There were a few forks in the road here and there, a few stairways to clear,

but the group marched on. Princess Pafia had a great understanding of the right

route, so they made little to no wrong turns. It wasn't a matter of if they'd

make it, it was simply a matter of when. It was a little amusing to Pafia, though.

She'd always imagined using these halls to escape her castle, not invade it.

"Another fork..."

"Uhhm... We need to take a left here."

Hilde asked for directions, but it took Pafia a few moments to reply. After all,

she had to follow her memorized path backward.

"We've been going a while... I think we have to be nearly there, right?"

"Yes, we're almost there. I'm sure we're by the castle basement."

"I see... Then we'd better proceed with caution."

Linze, who wasn't very physically fit, seemed pleased to learn that they didn't

have much dungeon diving ahead of them. They hadn't seen any Slimes or

monsters for a while, which was proof they'd entered the protective vicinity of

the castle's barriers and wards.

After a short while, Yae and Hilde stopped. Everyone behind them stopped as

well.

"What's up?" Lu took a few steps forward to see what was ahead. There was

a small flight of stairs ahead, but it didn't lead anywhere. There was a roof

above them.

"Have we reached our destination, have we?" Yae walked up a few of the

stairs and tapped on the ceiling.

"There's an echo. That's a thin roof..." Sakura's comment caused Yae to

investigate the ceiling a little more closely. She found a thin seam running along

the middle.

"It should lead to the old royal audience room..." Pafia suddenly spoke up.

"I see, I do... Then I just need to do this, I do! Hup...!" Yae placed both hands

flat on the ceiling and pushed upward. It actually budged slightly and rose. But,

thin or not, it was still a massive stone slab. Try as she might, Yae could only

heave against it. Her face turned bright red.

"HNNNNNNGH!"

"Y-Yae? You look like you'll pop a blood vessel!"

"HAAAUGH!"

Hilde's concerns caused Yae's concentration to break, and she fell to her

knees. Sensing a chance to show off, Elze stepped forward.

"Don't worry, Yae. I got this. I'll lift it up in one good go!"

"Gwuh... That was too difficult, it was..."

Yae rose to her feet, passing Elze and letting her take a shot. Much like Yae

had done, Elze put her hands flat against the surface of the ceiling.

"[Boost]!"

A massive rumbling sound rang out as the stone was shifted. Elze had

succeeded in lifting it over her head. Elze saw a dimly-lit room through the nowopened exit. She shifted the slab to the side, creating a full opening for the

others. It wasn't until she'd turned around that she realized she'd crawled out

of the fireplace. The room was certainly unused; it was barely even furnished.

Not even the fireplace she'd come out of had anything decorating it.

Elze took a few glances around to check if anyone else was there, then turned

around.

"Coast is clear, girls. You can come on up."

"Muffle us, o Wind. A Silencing Force: [Mute]."

Leen responded to Elze's words by casting a spell around them all. It would

block any noise from the room they were in. It was a similar spell to Touya's

[Silence]. Leen had learned it in Babylon's Library.

Everyone clambered out of the fireplace, one after the other. Except for

Sakura and Tokie, who simply teleported upward.

"Alright, so we broke in."

"Woo! What next, guys?"

"We'll find my father and Lefia. We must get them to safety. And then we'll

take Caezar on...!" Pafia clenched her fists together as she spoke. There was a

raging fire in her eyes.

"Then... where's the king?"

"He should be on the third floor, at the end of the corridor. Uhhm..."

As Pafia answered Elze, she walked over to a nearby window, just barely

opening the curtains.

"Look over there. The furthest room from here, on the third floor."

Pafia pointed toward the castle wing left of the courtyard.

"That's not that far."

"I could use [Teleport] to get there, it's in range..."

Sakura could glance enough through the far-off window that she had a good

idea of how to land there. Unlike [Gate], [Teleport] was a spell that couldn't be

blocked by barriers or warding talismans. The only issue was not knowing

whether or not the king was alone.

"It should be okay. Even my father's close confidants and personal maids

weren't allowed in. Caezar decreed that only me, my sister, and our royal

physician could see him. The physician was one of Caezar's puppets, though..."

The doctor might have been possessed to kill the king at any point, to

effectively keep him as a hostage. Or Caezar might have been holding out for

the king's heart to weaken to the point of being a manipulation candidate.

"Then, Sakura... you should take Pafia. Ah, and take Leen as well. She can cast

that [Mute] spell over there."

"Okay... Got it..."

Sakura took Pafia and Leen by the hand. Paula, intent on tagging along,

grabbed on to Leen's leg. Sakura focused her vision on the distant window.

"[Teleport]."

In the blink of an eye, the trio (and Paula) were moved toward the king's

quarters. The room was just as dimly lit as the one they'd been in before. It had

a large canopy bed up against the far wall.

"Muffle us, o Wind. A Silencing Force: [Mute]."

Leen immediately activated the spell, but her voice alerted someone in their

vicinity.

"Who's there?!"

A clattering sound alerted the girls, and they turned to find an individual

standing by the bedside. It wasn't the king. The voice belonged to a girl. The

king was still laying down in his bed; this was someone who'd been sitting by

him. Before Leen could begin to cast a spell at the mystery person, Pafia ran

over to them.

"Lefia!"

"P-Pafia...? You're safe?! Y-You're alive?!"

Leen couldn't fully make out who the person was in the darkness, but she

could infer that it was Pafia's sister. The two sisters pulled each other into a

tight embrace. It was, after all, the first time they'd seen each other in three

months.

Caezar had fabricated a story about Pafia being dead and even produced a

fake corpse. But Lefia refused to allow herself to falter. Despite the fake

evidence presented to her, she refused to believe it. Even though the fake

corpse looked much like Pafia, Lefia knew it couldn't have been her. She cradled

her sister like a long-lost treasure, finally returned to her arms.

As she stepped into the moonlight, Lefia's form was revealed. She looked

much like her sister. She was clearly in her twenties and wore a traditional

white Nokian dress. Her hair was the same color as Pafia's, but it was long

enough to reach down to her waist. Though her eyes didn't burn with the same

ferocity as her sister's, it was clear that she had a strong will.

"I'm good, Sakura. You head back."

"Right..."

Sakura nodded at Leen and teleported away. Less than thirty seconds later,

she reappeared with Elze and Linze in tow. She vanished again, bringing the rest

of the girls two at a time. Lefia was bewildered at the sight.

"Pafia... J-Just who are they?"

"They're here to help us. They're all betrothed to the grand duke of Brunhild."

"R-Really?! Even that elderly woman?!"

"A-Ah, no. That's his grandmother..."

Tokie had appeared out of thin air, much to Lefia's amazement. Pafia was

quick to dispel her sister's misunderstanding. Perhaps the girl was a bit of a

natural airhead. Lefia looked at the nine fiancees, almost speechless.

Ever since Yulong's destruction, there'd been more stories from the outside

world. But most of these stories were about the enigmatic grand duke of

Brunhild, who had allegedly brought Yulong down himself. There were far too

many stories to list.

Some rumors said he'd single-handedly taken down an ancient evil. One

rumor said he'd led an army against a horde of Dragons. Another said he'd

kidnapped a princess from Xenoahs, and destroyed an entire army in the

recently-discovered western continent. It was hard to tell which rumors were

true, and which were false.

But the most prominent rumor of all was that he was a notorious womanizer.

Lefia's impression of Brunhild had largely been negative as a result of these

rumors. After all, Caezar was a womanizer as well... And he was truly scum.

But apparently, she'd thought wrong. Apparently, this grand duke was a man

who was welcoming to women of all kinds. These brides-to-be certainly looked

happier than the women Caezar had gotten involved with.

"You must be Princess Lefia."

"Ah, yes."

"Your marshal, Caezar, used a summoned beast in our territory in an attempt

to target us, along with our fiance. As such, we are here to bring him to justice.

That's our ostensible reason, at least. We're actually here because your sister

seemed like she needed help, I hope that's alright..." Yumina spoke in a

surprisingly cheeky manner, offering the princess a smile.

In response, Lefia bowed her head. After all, this was their best chance at

defeating Caezar. There was no great ally she could've asked for.

"Thank you so much! As the first princess of Nokia, I pledge my truest thanks

to the Duchy of Brunhild!"

"BrUnhiLd... BRuNhILD... DeSpiCAbLe... DesPiCaBLe...!"

A voice suddenly reverberated around the room. But the room had been

soundproofed with [Mute], meaning it had to have come from someplace

within.

"Over there!" Yumina screamed and pointed at the king's bed. A white, hazy

substance was floating up from the bedridden man's mouth.

The white blur grew larger and larger until two golden eyes appeared in the

mist. The spectral form looked almost identical to the one they'd seen back in

Brunhild.

◇ ◇ ◇

"My NaMe is GaLaVeLLuM... LoRd CaEZaR's mOSt faITHfuL seRvaNT..."

"Impossible... How could Father have been possessed?!"

"It taKeS liTTlE to hIJaCk a BodY... I inHaBit THiS oNe on CaeZaR's coMManD...

ReaDy tO snUff it ouT aT aNy moMEnT..."

The Specter mocked Lefia, who looked horrified. This monster was clearly

another of Caezar's summons.

In order to control various summoned beasts of a specific species, you needed

to make a contract with a more powerful monster that served as their leader.

Specters like these often had their own factions and groups, so Caezar had likely

contracted with the leader of one such group, and thus had access to a great

number of them.

"Well, let's drag you all the way out..."

Leen glared at the spectral mass before casting [Banish] on it.

"GuWeEh?!"

The light emanating from Leen's palm reached the Specter, exorcizing it from

the king's body. It fully emerged from the bedridden man's mouth, drifting

closer to the center of the room.

"WrETch... A mEre liTtle GiRL daREs caST suCh A tHiNg on mE?!"

"I'm no little girl, you monster. I'm probably older than you, to be honest."

Leen began chanting another magical incantation as the Specter floated

upwards towards the ceiling. She wasn't about to let him go that easily. She

held a hand forward, and five orbs of light concentrated at each of her

fingertips.

"Come forth, o Light! Shining Duet: [Light Arrow]!"

"GrAuGh?!"

The beams of light shot out in the form of beaming arrows, piercing the

Specter's misty form and shredding it apart. To Leen, killing something so weak

was as trivial as crushing a bug.

"Hmph. All you could do was hide. Don't act so high and mighty if you're

going to die so easily."

Seeing Galavellum obliterated prompted the two sisters to snap out of their

terrified stupor. They immediately rushed towards the bed.

"Father! Can you hear me?!"

"Now now, dears. Don't jostle him. The Specter was sapping his energy, so

he's quite powerless right now."

Tokie gently separated the girls from their father's arms. She then walked

forward and placed two fingers atop the old man's head.

"I'm not sure how much he has been weakened, but he seems stable. He'll

surely recover within a few days."

"Oh, thank goodness..."

While the two princesses heaved sighs of relief, Yumina and the others turned

toward the door in concern. Thankfully, they had Sakura, who was able to hear

further than the rest of them. She'd noticed that things had gotten noisier

within the main area of the castle. [Mute] blocked all sounds that came from

the room, but it still allowed the people inside to hear things going on outside

of it.

"If that Specter was one of Caezar's summons..."

"Then he must know we are here, he must."

"There's probably a whole group of them on their way, huh...?"

They'd lost the element of surprise. They were stuck in a room with Lefia,

Pafia, and Lycia to worry about. Not to mention the king himself. It'd be a bit

difficult to fight without the risk of collateral damage.

"I suppose there isn't any helping it, dearies. I will take care of the noncombatants here. Please, go and fight to your heart's content..." Tokie suddenly

spoke up, as if she'd read everyone's minds. She was the goddess of space-time,

and barriers were intrinsically linked to spatial force. If she really wanted to, she

could create a barrier even more powerful than Touya's [Prison].

"I don't feel good relying on Granny like that, though..."

"We don't have any other option, Sue. Let's just take these guys out."

"There are lots of footsteps coming this way... Let's brace..."

The noises outside were now loud enough for everyone to hear. Their

enemies were close by. Yae and Hilde stepped up closest to the door,

unsheathing their blades. Elze took the gauntlets from her waist and quickly put

them on.

Tokie murmured something, and the area around the king's bed suddenly

shimmered in a pale light, almost like Touya's [Prison] spell. It was likely some

kind of highly-advanced barrier.

"I'll just obscure their forms while I'm at it..." Tokie waved her hands, causing

herself, the king of Nokia, Lefia, Pafia, and Lycia to disappear. Even the blanket

the king had been under was now flattened as if he wasn't there at all. This was

a form of magic far beyond simple illusion. It was as if space itself had been

compressed and superimposed.

"That's incredible!"

"Ahaha... Flattery will get you nowhere, my dear..." Tokie's disembodied voice

rang out to answer Linze's amazement.

At that moment, several armed men came barging into the room.

"Let's get to a better fighting position! Yae, Hilde, Elze, push them back!"

"Very well, Yumina-dono!"

"You can count on us!"

"Chaaarge!"

On Yumina's command, the close-combat trio charged toward the incoming

foes. Yae and Hilde had blades that were powerful enough to slice through steel

like butter. But the real benefit came from Touya's [Modeling] spell, which

allowed them to make their blades dull or sharp on command. In other words,

they could pinpoint manipulate just how lethal their strikes were.

Obviously, it would've been bad if they killed Nokian soldiers in their own

castle, self-defense or not. That was why Hilde and Yae chose to dull their

blades. At worst, they'd break some bones, but it was better than the

alternative.

"Guhgh?!"

"Gwaugh?!"

"Hngh!"

The three girls beat down their enemies one after another until they made it

outside the room.

The corridor outside the king's quarters was a narrow one. More and more

soldiers came down the hallway to their right, while there was only a solid wall

to their left. Yae and Hilde clashed with the incoming soldiers while Elze turned

to face the wall.

"Elze-dono!"

"I'm on it! [Boost]!"

Elze swung back her fist and punched the wall. It didn't stand a chance. As the

obstacle crumbled, a cold breeze rolled into the corridor. The courtyard became

visible below. It was nice and spacious.

Linze suddenly burst out of the bedroom, unleashing her magic at the hole

where the wall had been. She cast [Ice Wall], creating a huge chunk of ice. Truly

capable mages were capable of manipulating the shape of their conjured ice, so

Linze expertly crafted the wall into a slide.

Elze was quick to acknowledge the gift her sister had just provided and

promptly slid down to the courtyard. Linze, Yumina, Sakura, Sue, Leen (with

Paula), and Lu then slid down to the courtyard. Hilde and Yae, who had been

holding the soldiers back, came down last.

Their pursuers attempted to charge out toward the icy slide. However,

Yumina began chanting a spell just in the nick of time.

"Come forth, Earth! Barrier of the Mother Soil: [Earthwall]!"

A massive hunk of rock jutted out of the courtyard's ground, smashing the icy

slide and covering up the hole in the wall before any soldiers could make it

through. The men quickly realized that they couldn't break through, so they

doubled back and headed down toward the courtyard.

"Looks like we don't need to worry about fighting space here." Lu drew her

twin blades as she spoke.

The girls could see the soldiers through the castle windows. There was

another group running across the courtyard. Upon seeing them, Yumina was

struck by a strange sensation. The Nokian soldiers they'd encountered in the

castle wore light leather armor, while the ones headed toward them in the

courtyard were clad in full armor one might expect from a cavalry trooper.

The design of the armor was unlike any Yumina had ever seen before. It was

jet black all over. They had the visors of their helmets raised so their faces were

visible, but they were completely devoid of expression or emotion.

"They are possessed, they are! Linze-dono, we need you!"

"Roger that. Come forth, Light! Shining Exile: [Banish]!"

A magic circle appeared on the ground beneath the incoming soldiers, but

they were completely unaffected. Their dark armor almost pulsed with wicked

energy as it repelled Linze's Light magic.

"It didn't work?!"

"That's no ordinary armor. They must be lost artifacts from the past..."

"Correct. These sets of armor are remnants of an ancient civilization. They're

known as the Antimagic Suits. Try all you like, but your spells will be

ineffective!"

Leen's postulating was confirmed by the man standing behind the black

knights. He was a tall man with red hair and various pieces of jewelry on his

body. A jet black robe covered him from neck to toe. The man was none other

than Caezar Nortelis, marshal of Nokia's military.

"I'm surprised to see so many of Brunhild's bitches here, but no matter.

Where is Pafia? You will tell me at once."

To Caezar, women were entities that belonged on their knees. He didn't care

for such things as equality between sexes. His warped mind simply demanded

subservience from those he viewed as naturally lesser.

"Heh. So you're Caezar? Man, I knew you weren't gonna be much of a

charmer, but I didn't expect you to have an ass for a face."

"Sis... I agree with you, but you shouldn't say it so brazenly... Besides, I think

his personality's probably worse than his appearance."

Elze started belittling Caezar the moment she saw him, while Linze made a

perfectly backhanded comment. It was clear that the twins shared opinions

when it came to him.

Caezar, apparently unprepared for that kind of backtalk, glared at them with

fire burning in his eyes.

"You sluts! Who are you to insult my venerable self, hm?!"

"Venerable?! Ahah... He said he was venerable, he did! Hilde-dono, did you

hear that?"

"Yae, you shouldn't kick a man when he's down. Especially when he looks so

meek... Pff..."

Yae burst out laughing, barely unable to contain herself. Hilde attempted to

keep her composure as the samurai boisterously patted her on the back. The

display made Caezar's blood boil.

"..Tk... Ghhh.... Very well, then. If you will not tell me where Pafia is, then I

will take you by force and make you tell me! I'll lay punishment and disgrace

upon you all until you beg for me to kill you!"

"...You're really lucky, Caezar. If Touya was here, he'd have thrust his fist into

your face halfway through that sentence."

"Mm... He definitely would've done that. Thankfully, we're more patient, and

we can handle a little bit of chittering now and then. Though it is nice when he

fights for us."

"You're right about that..."

Yumina and Sakura nodded along with Lu's assessment, fondly thinking about

their fiance.

Veins started bulging on Caezar's forehead. He'd never been so relentlessly

disregarded or mocked before. By nature, he was a man with a short fuse. He'd

always looked down on women, and no woman had ever treated him with

contempt. But in the face of all this mockery, he was like a volcano on the verge

of violent eruption. The only reason he hadn't exploded at them yet was due to

his sense of pride. He didn't want them to know that they'd gotten to him.

Unfortunately for him, it was already showing on his face.

Caezar looked over the group of girls, eyes focusing on the smallest one. She

would make an easy target, surely. But the smallest of the girls, Sue, simply

tilted her head when he looked her way. "You look kind of mad, Mister," she

said. That was the last straw.

"ENOUGH OF THIS! SEIZE THEM!"

On Caezar's frenzied command, the black knights advanced towards Yumina

and the other girls.

"Alright, then. Let's take out the trash."

Elze grinned before kicking off the ground and charging into the fray. She

caught one of the knights on the jaw with a brutal uppercut. The knight she

struck fell backward and slumped to the ground. Even if they were possessed by

Specters, their bodies were still human. Taking damage would make it harder

for their bodies to move, and concussive blows would end up rattling them.

After all, a mounted soldier was made less efficient if he was knocked off his

horse.

The Specter didn't directly manipulate the body like a puppet. It was more

like they commanded the person to move their body by force.

"YoU..."

"Not that smart, are you? Guess the summons take after their summoner."

The fallen man's mouth leaked ectoplasm as the Specter escaped, but Elze

was quick to jab a light-infused fist straight through it.

"GraAuuRgH?!"

"Looks like trashing you's easy once we get you away from that armor, huh?"

The Specter split apart, destroyed by the strike.

Another knight came up from behind Elze, ready to strike. But, just as he was

about to leap... He found that both of his feet had been fused to the ground

with ice. Linze had used [Icebind] to trap him in place. Unfortunately for Caezar

and his soldiers, the girls knew how to deal with enemies that could resist direct

attacks.

"Get him, Sis!"

"Thanks for the assist, Linze!"

Elze spun back around with a half-turn and kicked the knight square in the

chest. It was a move that Touya had shown her in the past.

The black knight, with his armor kicked in, fell flat on his face. No ectoplasm

leaked out this time, though. The cowardly Specter inside must have seen what

happened to the last one that tried escaping.

"They are not any different to regular soldiers, they are not."

"Yeah, at least they don't fire beams like the Phrase did..."

"They can't regenerate, either!"

Yae, Lu, and Hilde started knocking down more knights, not wanting Elze to

have all the fun.

"Strike forth, Earth! The Fool's Abyss: [Pitfall]]!"

"Come forth, Water! Cleansing Downpour: [Waterfall]!"

"Come forth, Lightning! Pure Sparking Javelin: [Thunder Spear]!"

Yumina used Earth magic to create a large pit beneath a group of knights.

Sakura then filled it up with her Water magic. After that, Leen launched a volley

of Lightning magic that struck not at the knights, but the water itself.

Direct magical attacks were a no-go, but indirect electrocution was more than

acceptable as an alternative. The frazzled knights, unable to even move after

such a horrible shock, simply slumped backward in the pit.

Some of them leaked out of their host bodies in a desperate attempt to

escape, but every single one was wiped out by Sue's [Shining Javelin] spell. The

more men that fell, the angrier Caezar became.

"Zebeta!"

"You rang, my lord?"

Caezar yelled out. A hunched, robed man suddenly appeared by his side.

"What is the meaning of this?! You told me those armor sets would give us an

advantage!"

"They do, sir. They give us the advantage of having our conventional

weaknesses nullified. It doesn't improve physical strength... Though, a Specterinfested human actually has twice the muscle output compared to a standard

human..."

"Enough excuses! Do something about this!"

"Very well. Let us use #8."

Zebeta's suggestion made Caezar reach into his pocket to produce a small

box-like container. He opened up the lid and removed a small sphere, about

four centimeters in diameter. It had '#8' written on it.

"This should do it..."

Caezar, in the throes of his angry tantrum, smashed the little sphere against

the ground as hard as he could. The sphere was a container that employed

storage magic, so shattering it was the only way to release what was inside. The

tiny orb shattered against the floor, and an enormous Dragon appeared in its

place.

"Wh-What in the...?!"

"It's a Steelhusk Dragon, my lord."

The Dragon before them was unlike any found in the wild. Its entire body was

outfitted with armor plating, wiring, and circuitry. In short, it was a cyborg. To

the people there, it just looked like an armored Dragon, though.

It was around fifteen meters long. It had no wings, which meant it was

probably an Earth Dragon once. It had four bulky legs, and its feet were tipped

with steel claws. Its back was lined with spikes from head to tail, but even they

weren't as menacing as the cyber-beast's fearsome fangs. Its eyes glowed a

faint red, suggesting that they were actually camera lenses.

"Now, if you'll excuse me..."

The hunchbacked man opened his mouth, and an ectoplasmic goop rose from

his insides. Now released by his parasite, he fell to the ground in a heap. The

hazy substance that had squirmed its way out of the man then entered the

Cyber-Dragon's body.

A fan mounted on its back began to slowly whir, and the enormous creature

began moving. Apparently, it was absorbing mana from the atmosphere.

The Dragon craned its neck upward and let out a hideous roar. Its cameraeyes glowed a bright and piercing red. A plume of smoke, or perhaps steam,

spewed from its mouth. This unholy fusion of biology and technology somewhat

reminded Yumina of Babylon's gynoids.

"Now then, young ladies! Which of you wishes to spar with me first?!"

A voice came from the Dragon, almost carried by the steam it was exhaling. It

was a similar voice to the one that had come from the hunched man.

The Steelhusk Dragon was originally created by a master craftswoman. It was

considered an upgrade on her original creation, the Dominant Resonance

Needle. Instead of hijacking a Dragon's mind, she had cyborgified an entire

living specimen. Deborah Elks, the original inventor of this hybrid creation, had

hoped that someday it would be used to defeat the Phrase invasion.

◇ ◇ ◇

The Steelhusk Dragon was a magic weapon created five-thousand years ago

by Deborah Elks. To be more accurate, it was a biological weapon. The result of

a Dragon that had been brainwashed until it no longer had a will of its own,

then fitted with cybernetic augments. It was supposed to be deployed against

the Phrase invaders, so it went without saying it was at least strong enough to

shatter them.

Caezar had now deployed it against Touya's fiancees, and his spectral servant

Zebeta inhabited its body.

"Now..."

As it spoke through steaming breath, Zebeta had the Dragon extend its left

foreleg. The ankle, or wrist, depending on how you looked at it, split off and

fired the Dragon's foot toward a nearby castle wall. It smashed the building

apart in seconds.

"Ooh!" Caezar cheered, clearly amazed, as the left paw was pulled back via a

wire rope and reattached to its limb.

"It seems my motor controls are all attuned properly... Well, then..."

Zebeta looked down through the Dragon's camera eyes, keen to pick out its

first target. Reducing their numbers one by one was the intelligent, tactical

choice. Eliminating the weakest of them with the 'strike claw' function would

weaken the group as a whole, and significantly damage their collective morale.

With that in mind, Zebeta had the Dragon's pointed foot launch right out at

Sue. But, just before the Dragon's fearsome claws could pierce Sue's body, she

deftly twirled out of the way without a single care in the world.

"What?!" Zebeta unintentionally cried out in confusion. It hadn't expected

someone so young to have such dexterity.

"You're too slow! Moroha's way faster than that! You couldn't even swat a

fly."

All the other girls agreed, but they didn't bother speaking out. They all saw

the Dragon's claw as it flew out toward Sue, and from their perspective, it was

easily avoidable.

"Tch... Then how about this?!"

The Dragon rose upward and began firing out projectiles shaped like crescent

moons from its shoulders. The cutters, apparently formed of mithril, danced

around the air as they closed in on the girls. But Hilde and Yae were quick to

block them, taking care to use dulled blades so that they could knock the

incoming projectiles to the ground. After all, if they'd sliced the cutters in half

they'd just have twice the problem to deal with.

"It certainly has a lot of features, it does."

"Yeah. I wonder if Doctor Babylon would be interested in it..."

Hilde laughed softly in response to Yae's comment, but neither of them knew

that Babylon had actually seen this thing before. She most certainly wouldn't

have been interested in it, as her only comment on it five-thousand years ago

was "This is a half-baked piece of crap, Deborah. I hate it."

One of the main reasons Babylon gave for her criticism was that it wasn't

easily mass-produced. You needed an entire Dragon to create the foundation

for the damn thing, so making a whole army of them would be incredibly

difficult. Not to mention the fact that brainwashing and forcibly cyborgifying a

whole bunch of Dragons would probably piss off most of their species, and

could even end up causing a major conflict between humanity and dragonkind.

Babylon figured that the Dragons would kill humanity before the Phrase could

if they got angry enough about it. True enough to the good doctor's fears,

Deborah abandoned the project precisely due to fear of retaliation from

dragonkind as a whole. This Dragon was the last remaining relic of that early

attempt.

"Come forth, Water! Ballistic Bubbles: [Bubble Bomb]!"

Linze's spell summoned forth soapy bubbles that impacted against the

Zebeta-infested Dragon. They burst against the metal plating, rocking its body.

"Ghh! You little..."

Zebeta had the Dragon fire out spines from its back, popping the surrounding

bubbles before they could explode.

At the same moment, the Dragon's body swiveled around to strike Yumina

and the other girls with its tail. A direct blow from such a thick, armored

appendage could surely kill a human on impact. But unfortunately for Zebeta,

that wasn't going to happen. The tail swipe was effortlessly blocked by a

gauntlet-clad girl.

"Wh-What?!"

"Y'know, I really have noticed that I can take a lot of punishment lately...

Maybe that's the trait I ended up manifesting. I've got a real sturdy body!"

Elze grinned slightly as she kept a tight hold on the tail, which was thicker

than a log. There were special abilities that manifested in those who served as

beneficiaries of the divine. In Yumina this had manifested as foresight, in Sakura

it had manifested as enhanced hearing, and in Lu it had manifested as an

unparalleled sense of taste.

It wasn't fully accurate to just call Elze's body sturdy. It was more that her

body could infuse itself with residual divinity. This enhancement was strong

enough to be considered a lesser version of the Apotheosis ability that Touya

and the other gods could unleash. For the sake of simplicity, it would be easier

to call it her battlegarb, as she basically 'wore' the divinity she'd been blessed

with in battle.

"Oh my... That is quite fitting for Elze-dono, it is."

"It's somethin' alright... I gotta say it feels pretty similar to [Boost], so I can go

in hard with it!"

"Gaugh?!"

Without missing a beat, Elze bent the tail in her grip and began twisting it. The

appendage snapped off and was promptly kicked into the distance by the

brawler.

The Dragon's sudden loss of its tail caused Zebeta to lose balance and

stumble.

"What is the meaning of this, Zebeta?! Do something! You can't seriously be

losing to women, can you?!" Caezar was fuming, steam practically shooting out

of his ears. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

However, before Zebeta could try to attack again, Hilde kicked off the ground,

leaped up high, and brought her sword down on the Dragon's neck.

"Lestian Sacred Sword: Third Shear!"

"Wh—"

Before anyone could even blink, the Steelhusk Dragon was decapitated. Its

head rolled around on the ground. Its body slumped downward, sparking and

hissing at the neck-stump. Zebeta clearly had no control over it anymore.

"Wow! Good job, Dragonslayer!"

"I think it's offensive to dragonkind to call that thing a Dragon, personally..."

Sue and Sakura offered their own thoughts on Hilde's feat. Sakura had a

point, though. This creature didn't even bleed. It might have been a Dragon

once, but it definitely wasn't at this point.

"GhHh..."

A blurry shadow emerged from the Dragon's body. It quickly moved toward

Caezar and floated by his side.

"You idiot! How did you lose?! You useless dullard! How could you lose to a

bunch of little girls?!"

"...#3..."

"What?!"

"Produce #3 from Elks' Legacy! Do it now..."

"H-Huh? Okay..."

Caezar panicked in response to Zebeta's urging, and quickly produced a little

crystal orb engraved with '#3.' He threw it to the ground, and a set of armor

similar to the black knights' equipment appeared. This set was transparent and

crystalline, however.

"Hm?"

"Is that..."

Yae and the others stopped in their tracks. They all recognized the armor... or

at least the material it was made out of. The crystal armor floated in the air

before affixing itself to Caezar's body. It wrapped itself around his arms, his

chest, his belly, his lower body, his legs, his neck, and then his head. Caezar's

body was outfitted, head to toe, in phrasium armor.

"O-Ooh...! This is phenomenal!"

"This is an armor crafted from a Phrase lifeform, Lord Caezar. It is impervious

to magic and harder than any blade. Truly it is the perfect equipment for you,

my lord."

Zebeta explained the situation. Caezar looked less like a traditional knight and

more like a sci-fi warrior in power armor. Despite the heavy look and defensive

nature of the gear, it was incredibly easy to move around in. The armor had

seemingly been enchanted with weight-reducing magic. Even the shield on his

back and the sword at his waist felt lighter than air.

"Ooh! Incredible!"

Caezar drew the blade at his waist and swung it against a nearby wall. The

blade effortlessly cut through the hardy construct as if it were butter.

"Muhaha... Muhahahaha! Incredible! Now there's nobody in this world who

could possibly stop me!"

Caezar was originally a simple soldier in Nokia's army, so there had to have

been a reason for his quick rise to the rank of marshal. And, indeed, that reason

was the Elks Legacy. Caezar had stumbled upon it quite by chance in a northern

Nokian ruin. He accidentally dropped and destroyed one of the little orbs inside,

the one marked with a '#1' symbol. After that, everything changed.

From within the little crystal ball came a Specter that called itself Zebeta, a

summoned beast who'd been sealed for five thousand years. Its purpose was to

teach whoever discovered Deborah Elks' inventions exactly how to use them.

Caezar wasted no time. He learned the arts of possession from Zebeta, freely

taking advantage of individuals higher in status than he was.

Before long, the power went to his head. He viewed himself as a chosen

inheritor, the only one in the world capable of leading the babbling masses.

His ultimate goal was to rule Nokia, destroy its neighboring countries, and

then move to conquer the entire world. Even though he could only turn others

into puppets, he truly believed himself a capable, inspiring leader. He thought it

would be easy to win the hearts and minds of all mankind, that ruling over the

world would be a simple feat. And so, he couldn't afford to fall here. He needed

to properly punish these insolent girls for daring to disrespect such a

magnificent man as himself.

Caezar turned toward the girls, brandishing his phrasium sword and shield.

"I will ask you one final time. Where is Pafia? If you tell me, I'll let you escape

with your lives. You'll live comfortably as my slaves."

"You should really look at yourself in a mirror before you try to act

intimidating. You look like a clown."

Leen's scathing comment didn't go over too well with Caezar, but even Touya

had decided to make the Brunhild knight armor out of mithril instead of

phrasium. In terms of raw aesthetics, having a see-through armor just made you

look ridiculous. It wouldn't have been so bad if the armor made people

completely invisible, but it didn't, so it just looked goofy as hell, like they were

encased in a block of ice.

"What's with that creepy look on your face, anyway? You look like you could

strangle a puppy."

"He's definitely the type to lose sight of his surroundings when he gets angry,

isn't he?"

"I don't think men like that should get involved in politics."

"He is getting ahead of himself, he is."

"Of course he is, he's an idiot..."

"Don't kick him while he's down, Sakura."

Each disparaging word from the girls only caused Caezar's frustration to

intensify.

"Fine, then! I'll just carve some sense into you whores!" Caezar snarled,

charging forward and flailing his sword around.

"He really is short-sighted, he is."

"I agree. If he paid any attention to our weapons he'd have noticed by now."

Yae and Hilde brandished their blades, their crystal material reflecting the

sunlight. It would be obvious at a glance that they were crafted from phrasium,

but Caezar was in such a delusional state that he could barely tell.

The raging man charged in with his sword, but Hilde's sword effortlessly

blocked it. Blocking wasn't exactly the right word, though... Caezar's blade had

been sliced cleanly in half.

"Wh—?!"

Without missing a beat, Yae leaped upward and flaunted her beloved katana.

"Kokonoe Secret Style: Flying Swallow Rend!"

Caezar could only look up in despair as Yae's blade caught the light. In mere

moments, he found his crystal armor sliced apart and on the ground. Yae had

effortlessly disrobed him, not leaving a scratch on his actual body.

Despite the fact that they both had phrasium equipment, the amount of

magic energy strengthening Yae and Hilde's weapons was far higher. Unlike

Caezar's blade, theirs could truly cut through just about anything.

"H-How can...? How can this be?!"

Caezar, now completely defenseless, dropped the broken blade he was

holding. Elze took this opportunity to charge in with a brutal uppercut, ramming

her fist into Caezar's chest.

"Buzz off, freak!"

"HAUGH?!"

Elze held back enough to stop her blow from shredding Caezar's body, but the

strike was still fierce enough to knock him over ten meters into the air. The

beaten man's face contorted in agony, but from the corner of his eye, he saw

someone standing on the third-floor balcony outside the king's bedroom.

"This is for everyone you've hurt and manipulated, you monster!"

"Pa...fia...?!"

"Rage forth, Lightning and Wind! A Dazzling Cyclone: [Plasma Storm]!"

Princess Pafia unleashed her compound magic upon the airborne man. As it

closed in, Caezar screamed out in desperation.

"Z-Zebeta! Do something! Help me!"

"I'm afraid I must decline that request, my lord."

"Wha—?!"

Caezar was dumbstruck, he hadn't expected his obedient servant to say no.

But he had no more time to process those feelings, as he was struck by a storm

of lightning right after.

"AUUUUUUGHHH!!"

After the initial blast, he crashed down hard into a nearby wall. Thus, a man

who once gripped an entire nation fell down to the ground like a hammer. His

unconscious but still-breathing body lay twitching in a small crater. The little

box he carried was broken, and its crystalline spheres scattered around him.

"Great job, Pafia. Thank you, Grandmother Tokie."

Yumina smiled as she ended the call on her smartphone. Yumina's foresight

had given her a vision of Elze launching Caezar into the sky. That was why she'd

had enough time to call Tokie and have her position Pafia for the final blow. She

thought it was only appropriate for him to be taken down by a fellow Nokian.

"I am sure you will be executed for this, I am..."

Yae looked down on Caezar, his unconscious form still smoldering, before she

turned her blade toward Zebeta.

"I am not impressed by cowards who forsake their masters, I am not."

"Now, now, madam. He was never truly my master at all."

"Hm?"

Summoned beasts were typically enslaved to those that called them forth.

They were duty-bound to obey their masters unless the terms of their contract

were broken. The girls had assumed this was the case for Caezar and Zebeta,

but they all seemed shocked by the Specter's sudden denouncement.

"My one and only master is Mistress Deborah Elks. I served this fool only at

her behest..."

"Deborah Elks? Don't we know that name...?"

"She was the craftswoman who created that mind-controlling needle that was

being used on those Dragons, no? But wasn't she over five thousand years old?"

Leen raised a brow in surprise as she recalled the information Cesca and the

other gynoids had given her.

"I was ordered to serve whoever found her legacy, though it seems he has

proven unworthy..."

The shimmering Specter displayed no physical signs of emotion, but its voice

came out as one of frustration and general weariness.

"You should remove the golden bangle on his arm. The possessed should be

freed after that..."

Paula toddled over to the fallen man and began prodding and poking at his

bangle until it fell off. At that moment, all the fallen black knights let out a loud

wheezing sound. Spectral mist flowed out of their mouths and vanished into

thin air.

Paula shivered in fright, jumped up, and quickly clung to Leen's leg. Leen

crouched down and took the bangle from Paula, she squinted. It was an ancient

magic tool, that much was certain. Just by handling it, Leen intuitively knew

what kind of artifact it was.

Many of her fellow fairies had a keen eye for magical equipment like this, but

recently Leen had felt her understanding of magic tools had become far more

acute than normal. This new ability of hers, her appraising gaze, was the

manifestation of the divine blessings she'd been receiving.

"I see... So this is the source of the magic power that kept all those Specters

maintained. Now that it's disconnected from him, he can't keep them around

anymore."

"Indeed... That man had little talent for magic, and even less so for

manipulation. That's why I had him make use of the artifact, to make up for his

natural shortcomings."

That meant that every Specter that Caezar had ever summoned had been

sent back to wherever it was they'd come from. Zebeta was maintained by the

box containing the Elks legacy, so it was unaffected. Unfortunately, the box had

shattered when Caezar fell to the ground. It was only a matter of time before

Zebeta faded from the world as well.

Zebeta, however, considered this a mercy. For five thousand years, it had

been bound to that box, like a genie confined to a lamp. After finally awakening,

it had no option but to serve a vile and childish man. Zebeta did not relish being

ordered around like a servant. It wanted to complain to Deborah for creating

such a burdensome duty, but she was long dead.

"Women are being held in Caezar's home and the castle basement... Free

them, if you would. I'll be taking my leave now, thank you..."

Zebeta, no longer able to maintain its existence, blew away like dust in the

wind. The Specter was finally free...

When the evening breeze died down, nothing remained of Zebeta.

"...I'm not sure how to feel about that."

"I'm just glad it wasn't hostile..."

"No point worrying. We got the baddie and dealt with the real trouble, right?"

Elze grinned down at Caezar's unconscious body. He was completely

powerless now. The nobles he'd been controlling had been freed, and the king

woke up since the spectral parasite had been dealt with. He'd likely be

sentenced to life imprisonment or executed for his crimes against the state. But

before any of that, he needed to pay for his crimes against women.

◇ ◇ ◇

When Caezar awoke, he was in a dimly-lit room. To be more precise, he was

in a dingy underground prison cell. He had none of his ceremonial jewelry,

which immediately signified that his political status had been stripped from

him.

"Zebeta! Come out! Do you hear me, Zebeta?!"

Nobody answered him. He clicked his tongue in irritation and attempted to

call out a summoning circle. His magic didn't work. That should've been

obvious. He was in a prison, so there were countermeasures against that.

"Damn it...! Those Brunhild sluts did this, didn't they?! Just wait until I get my

hands on them... I'll torture them to death!"

Caezar immediately devolved into a self-gratifying toxic tirade. He'd

completely lost himself to his frustrations... Or maybe he'd just always been

that way.

In the midst of his raging, Caezar suddenly heard a sound from inside the cell.

He stiffened up out of fear. He could distinctly make out the sound of

breathing... There was an animal in the cell with him.

Caezar narrowed his eyes, noticing a vague silhouette in the corner of the

chamber.

"A... horse...?"

It certainly appeared to be a horse. But there was something different about

this one. It had a horn jutting out of its head. It was a Unicorn.

"Why is there a Unicorn here?!"

Caezar was utterly terrified. He knew that Unicorns were docile and calm

around virgin maidens, but had heard stories of how terrifyingly violent they

were towards men. But, for some reason, this Unicorn didn't move to attack

Caezar. It simply stared at him in a manner that made the man very

uncomfortable.

The Unicorn slowly started walking toward Caezar, who desperately tried to

scurry back. Unfortunately, the cell wasn't that large, so he found himself

backed up against the wall.

"E-Eep!"

With a loud thud, the Unicorn slammed its hoof against the wall next to

Caezar's face. He was trapped. You certainly never saw Unicorns in the wild do

this kind of thing. Something was clearly off.

"Mmm... I prefer my men with a little more muscle definition... I'm not all that

picky, though... Let's get a better look!"

"Wh-What are you—?!"

The Unicorn bowed its head down, catching Caezar's clothing with its horn. In

one fell swoop, it ripped off half of the man's outfit, exposing his upper body.

"Ohmygosh! You have a pretty good bod, now that I see it better. I guess

you've got more of an otter build going on? That's pretty nice. It's kind of a

turn-on..."

"Wh-Wha...? E-Eek?!"

The Unicorn licked Caezar's bare chest. There was clearly something wrong

with this creature. It wasn't right in the head. Before Caezar could even ask

what the hell was going on, the bottom half of his clothing was torn off, along

with his underwear. For the first time in his life, he felt vulnerable.

"G-Get away! D-Don't touch me! Stop!!"

"It's okay, sweetie. It won't hurt. I'll be real gentle, okay?"

"Wh-What's that supposed to mean?!"

Caezar, now completely nude, scrambled to his feet and ran to the other side

of the cell. The Unicorn gave chase, resulting in them both running around in

circles. Caezar screamed out for dear life, but his resistance only made the

Unicorn more excited.

"Zebeta?! Zebetaaa! Please come back, Zebetaaaaaa!"

"Geez... Calling out for your ex while we're fooling around? I'll make you

forget that Ze-beta, and show you what a real alpha stud is like..."

"NOOOOOO!!"

That day, everyone in Nokia castle ignored the screams that rose up from the

dungeons.

◇ ◇ ◇

"I see. So everything's fine, then?"

"It is. The king of Nokia's being extra mindful of his health, though. They're

going to have Princess Lefia formally succeed him, with Pafia serving as her

administrative aide."

I was pretty relieved to hear Yumina's story. Apparently, Caezar had been

sentenced to death for his treasonous designs, and the people he'd

manipulated had gone back to normal. As for the remaining crystal orbs that

contained Deborah Elks' legacy... Princess Pafia had them all destroyed in a

controlled explosion. I thought maybe that was a little extreme, but she

probably feared a second or third Caezar could arise if that kind of ancient

technology went unchecked.

"I'm just glad you're all safe."

"Oh, were you worried?"

Leen grinned at me.

"No way, I wasn't worried in the least. I knew it'd all be fine."

"My liege, were you not constantly checking your phone out of anxiety for the

last day or so?"

"Shut up, Kohaku!"

Kohaku was sitting on Yumina's lap, and she really needed to learn when to

keep quiet... It was true I was wondering why I hadn't heard from any of the

girls, but I wasn't super worried or anything...

We were all sat around the balcony table. The girls had just finished telling me

what happened. Suddenly, Elze turned toward me with a wry smile on her face.

"Don't be such a worrywart. I told you we'd be fine."

"No, I know... It's just a little hard to explain. Having you all away from the

castle just felt... unsettling, I guess?" I never felt that way when I went off to

adventure alone, so it was probably just uneasiness related to the girls not

being home. I didn't want to sleep knowing they could be in the middle of a

fight, and I had to actively resist the urge to call them.

Though honestly, it was a bit of a wakeup call for me. I realized that I'd

probably made the girls feel that way whenever I went on my solo missions.

"Either way, good job, girls. Looks like Nokia's gonna be a bit more open to

the outside world."

"We tried our best, we did. Ah, Touya-dono... There is something I have been

wondering about, there is."

Yae glanced over toward the person facing Granny Tokie, who was sitting on

the couch. I understood her curiosity...

"You're looking mighty healthy, ya space-time hag."

"Ohoho... Call me that again, you little rascal, and I might split your skull open.

Or perhaps you would settle for having your mouth sewn shut?"

The two of them jabbed at each other, but they seemed to be doing it in a

friendly way. This was probably just their usual way of interacting with each

other. Granny Tokie called the guy a little rascal, but he didn't look little. Far

from it. He actually looked about the same age as Tokie herself, but his body

was huge and beefy. He was layered with muscle. He'd give Baba more than a

run for his money. He had black eyes, shaggy hair, and a bushy beard. For the

most part, he resembled a Japanese man. Even his clothes were Japanese in

style. He had geta sandals on.

"Is this another god, perhaps?"

"Yeah... I guess... Didn't expect him to arrive so soon, though."

I answered Linze's question with a weary smile.

"What god is he, exactly?"

"Well... he's uh... the god of destruction, hahaha..."

"What?!"

My response to Hilde's question caused all the girls to freeze up in shock. It's

not like I couldn't understand why. Lu shakily set her teacup down before rigidly

turning her head and opening her mouth.

"G-G-God of, um... d-destruction... you said? What's he here for?"

"How am I supposed to know? He just showed up, asked for a drink, and now

he's here."

A large flagon of ale sat on the table in front of the god of destruction. He

merrily gulped from it as Suika, everyone's favorite gremlin from hell, snickered

obnoxiously by his side.

"H-He's not going to be taking the role of Touya's father, is he...?"

"Heavens... The god of destruction as our father-in-law...?"

"Gotta admit the guy looks pretty tough."

"C'mon, girls. I don't think that's what's happening here."

That definitely wasn't the case, or at least I hadn't wanted it to be. The guy's

role in my extended family was just another uncle. Though it was pretty hard to

imagine him playing the role of Uncle Kousuke's brother, given how peaceful

and gentle he was. The two of them looked pretty far apart in age, too.

Oh, Granny Tokie's calling me over.

"I'm gonna go talk to him."

"Good luck, Touya-dono..."

"I won't need luck, it's just a conversation!"

I laughed off Yae's foreboding comment before heading over to the god table.

"Please take a seat, dearie."

Granny Tokie insisted, so I took the seat by her side. The god of destruction

sat across from me, taking a big ol' sip from his flagon.

"Want a drink, laddie?"

"Ah, no. I'm not much of a drinker."

"Gotcha."

The god of destruction simply shrugged, then gulped down more booze.

"So, let's get down ta brass tacks. Wanna follow in my footsteps, lad?"

"Uh?"

Follow in your what, now?

"I'm askin' if you wanna be the new god of destruction."

"What?! Huh?! No! Wh-Why me?!"

What the hell, man? I only just enrolled in the company! Why're you trying to

put me on the fast track to a senior position I don't even want?

"I don't mean right now. Just when I retire from active duty, aye? Ya gotta

think about yer future, kid. You got the makin' of a destructor about you. The

way I see it, yer definitely the kinda person who could keep his cool while

puttin' an end to an entire race or whatnot."

A little quick to judge, aren't you? I wouldn't say I'm destruction material... I'm

definitely not the type who'd merrily trash an entire planet! You'd have to be a

real monster, and that's definitely not me.

"Y'get a lotta perks as the destruction god, kid. Y'can do whatever ya want if

it's within the means've your job, and ain't nobody gonna boss you around.

Plus, the job lets ya have a little wiggle room on destruction excuses, so you can

extinguish any planet y'might find distasteful."

"Uh... that sounds a little bit wrong?!"

Oh crap. This guy's definitely not a good god... Almost sounds like he's been

abusing his position...

"Don't misunderstand him, dearie. The god of destruction is a highly

important post. Worlds far removed from divine jurisdiction always go awry,

they become monstrous places that could threaten other worlds down the line.

Thus, it is necessary to end those worlds, and create new ones from their

ashes."

Tokie elaborated a little. I'd never really considered the idea of creation from

destruction.

"Well, y'can dwell on it a while. We can wait til this world ends, aye?"

"...Don't say that!"

This world isn't going anywhere anytime soon, buddy. We worked hard to

avoid it coming to that.

The god of destruction finished off his booze, then slowly stood up.

"Right-o, then. Business is over, so I'm goin' down to the tavern. Booze

goddess, let's hustle."

"Woohoo! Hey, hic, Touya! Gimme money!"

"What?! When'd I become your personal piggy bank?"

I personally found the idea of the god of destruction getting wasted in my

town to be unpleasant. But I ended up folding after he told me that he'd go

home in the morning... He also told me if I didn't fork over the cash, he'd do

everything within his power to obtain cash through alternative means. So

basically, I was extorted...

I sighed quietly as I handed over the money to Suika, reminding her to call me

if any trouble came up. Hopefully, I'd actually be able to solve any issues those

two could cause.

The optimist in me believes that the god of destruction will follow the rules...

Unless he gets drunk and forgets where he is... Still, saying "But I was drunk!" is

never an excuse! Getting wasted and swearing or being violent isn't the

alcohol's fault. You shouldn't ever drink so much that you become that way,

honestly. Know your limits.

You tended to find that people who used that kind of excuse just wanted to

shift the blame. Personally, my sympathy in those cases only went to the people

who brewed the alcohol, as their labor was wasted on idiots. Still, for all her

flaws, I had a feeling Suika wouldn't let anything bad happen.

The drinking buddies merrily skipped out of the room. Seemed like they were

headed straight for the tavern by the guild.

Wait, didn't I say I'd meet Ende there...? Ah, whatever, I'll just skip. It's not like

we haven't hung out together lately. I'm sure he'll be able to drink with Uncle

Takeru or something... It'll be fine.

As fate would have it, that's exactly what happened. Kind of. It wasn't just

Uncle Takeru there. Karen, Moroha, Uncle Kousuke, Karina, and Sousuke were

there, too. Ende was thrown into a terrifying divine sea of drink and

merrymaking. But, apparently, he was physically incapable of getting drunk, so

he didn't exactly have a good time.

"I tried to call you, Touya! Did you turn your phone off on purpose?!"

"Only one sacrifice was necessary, Ende..."

"You're the worst!"

What can I say, I'm a busy man. I don't have time to entertain the fickle whims

of the gods.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Hrmm..." I groaned slightly as I scrolled through the website on my phone.

I'd been researching the necessary planning for the wedding, but apparently

there were a lot of things I had underestimated... It wasn't like I had to abide by

Earth's cultural norms, but there were still a lot of things that made me sigh. I'd

distilled all the necessary things down to a single list:

Propose. (This one's obvious).

Inform the fiancee's parents and receive their blessing.

Choose a venue and a date for the wedding.

Acquire a wedding ring.

Determine where you'll be living together.

Decide on your honeymoon destination.

Figure out what's happening at the wedding.

Figure out who you're inviting to the wedding.

Report your marriage to your place of employment.

Pick out a wedding dress.

Decide on the souvenirs for your wedding.

Draw up the wedding invitations.

Arrange photography and video for the wedding.

Figure out the wedding reception venue.

Choose the menu for the wedding reception.

Arrange the bouquet.

Figure out seating.

Figure out who'll be giving the speeches.

Ensure the wedding ring is properly sized.

Do a hair and makeup rehearsal.

Take pre-wedding photos.

Prepare the bride's letter to her parents.

And so on...

I understood that this was a once-in-a-lifetime event, but it was still a lot of

work... Fortunately, we already had the venue sorted, along with where we

were living. Didn't need to worry about informing work, either. Plus, Kousaka

and Lain were handling most of the actual legwork, so it wasn't too bad for me.

That being said, I still had a few things to deal with.

"Gotta sort a wedding ring... I've already given them engagement rings, so the

wedding bands need to be simpler... Hrm... Orichalcum is a little too flashy...

Maybe mithril's silvery finish is elegant enough?"

Apparently, this world's standard was mithril wedding bands for royalty and

nobility. Some nations separated by sex, though. The groom's band was

orichalcum, while the bride's was mithril. It was difficult to think about, so I

decided to put it off a bit.

"Gotta think about the honeymoon..."

I actually had an idea about that one. I wanted all my fiancees to meet my

parents. Obviously, I was dead back there, so I was going to have them meet my

folks in a dream. I also wanted to show the girls my homeworld. I could use my

divinity to move to other worlds, and my former world was no exception.

Honestly, that was one of the biggest perks of joining the pantheon. I never

thought I'd be able to go back to the place I was born...

"Then there's the wedding ceremony itself..."

It wasn't just any old wedding. This was going to be a huge gathering of world

leaders. I needed to take several safety measures to keep them all in good

health, but I also needed to maintain a good public image.

I didn't know if it was too dramatic to say or not, but Brunhild's honor was

basically on the line. I didn't care so much if it was just my image, but I couldn't

have Yumina and the others besmirched. The day had to go perfectly. That was

why we couldn't afford to cut corners. Kousaka was handling most of the guest

list, but I had my own special guests to deal with as well.

"The god of strength... Uh... let's just say he's an uncle who loves

bodybuilding. And, uh... the god of glasses... Let's just say he's an uncle who

loves glasses..."

I absentmindedly typed down my ideas on my smartphone. I didn't really

know how to go about this at all... I didn't feel confident enough to just decide

their roles off the bat... That wasn't an excuse, either!

"Oh!"

My phone suddenly started vibrating. It was an incoming call from Lapis.

"'Sup."

"Your Highness, Mr. Zanac is here to see you. The dresses appear to be

ready."

"Oh, gotcha. I'll be right over."

I quickly answered then ended the call. Just to be clear, I hadn't ordered any

dresses for me. It was my fiancees' wedding dresses. I quickly sent out a group

text to the girls, it was easier to do that than send out individual messages.

I finished up my business at my desk and left my room. By the time I made it

to the fitting room, everyone was already staring at their dresses. The maids

were on standby to help the girls into them. They sure were fast... The girls all

looked spectacular in their dresses, though.

"Can I touch?"

"Are your hands clean?"

"They are."

I gently touched the hem of Elze's dress. It was smooth and had a mesh-like

texture, quite different to Linze's.

"Are they made of different stuff?"

"But of course! Each have their own unique properties incorporated into the

design. They're crafted with impeccable precision and care. Fashion King Zanac

never cuts corners!"

Zanac proudly puffed out his chest as he spoke. His brand had become pretty

big since the first time we'd met. There were even store branches in Refreese

and Regulus.

Yumina and the others wore Fashion King Zanac branded clothing quite a bit.

They'd become pretty popular around the world... Though nobody knew that

the designs were taken from other fashion lines back in my world. When the

other world leaders saw the outfits at the league of nations meetings, they

immediately ordered some for themselves. From there, it had a knock-on

effect, and the various noble families of the world started wearing those outfits

as well.

"We'll need to make final sizing adjustments. That means you gentlemen

need to leave."

"R-Right..."

Lapis, our head maid, ushered Zanac and I out of the room. I didn't bother

questioning it.

I sat with Zanac and discussed a few things, learning that he'd begun to

incorporate zippers into his clothing. That certainly took me by surprise.

"Where'd you learn that kind of technology?"

"Ahaha. Whatever do you mean? The contraption was on the first outfit you

ever sold to me."

Oh... Right! My uniform's pants. Heh... Kind of funny that the basis for zippers

in this world are from one of my old outfit's crotch, though...

Apparently, they'd been working hard with the dwarves to forge zippers en

masse. I was impressed. Just as we were discussing more details about the

zippers, the doors opened and the girls began to file out.

"Huh? Can't I see you girls in the dresses?"

"You'll have to wait until the rehearsal, Touya. Best to keep you on your toes,

no?"

Yumina grinned a little after saying that.

Hrmm... I'd rather not be kept in too much suspense...

"Your Hiiighneeesss... It's time to taaake your measuremeeents..."

Cecile, our maid, called out to me from within the fitting room. I'd almost

forgotten that I needed to sort out my outfit, too. I asked them to keep it as

plain as humanly possible, but I wasn't sure how it'd come out. Hopefully it

wasn't as gaudy as the first outfit Zanac had proposed... I didn't really

appreciate lamé fabric, it was much too flashy for my tastes.

Still, there was no helping it... Brides were the stars of their weddings, after

all. The groom was just an accessory. I sighed softly, walking into the fitting

room to meet my fate.