Bonus Short Stories

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One day, the village of demons who had been transplanted near Flio’s house decided to hold a summer festival. In attendance were not only the residents of the oni village but humans and demihumans from Houghtow City as well, who had heard about the festival and taken an Enchanted Frigate flight to the village to see for themselves. Stalls had been set up all over the slopes of the oni mountain, and everywhere you looked you could find crowds of excited festivalgoers.

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Tucked away among the busy festival stalls, there was one stall in particular that seemed to be drawing an especially large crowd. In front of the stall dangled a sign reading, “Eat it all within the time limit and win a gold coin!” Next to the sign was posted a piece of paper reading, “Extra large extra spicy extra hearty soup.”

Gwa ha ha!the man behind the stall thought to himself, a cunning sneer on his face.No ordinary demon or human could ever finish this soup within the time limit! I’m giving them an extra large bowl with an extra large helping, and the soup itself is chock-full of the spiciest ingredients I could get my hands on! Not only that, but I’ve written “Ten gold coin penalty for each unfinished bowl” in smaller letters underneath the advertisement! I’m gonna make a killing!

At first things went exactly like he thought.

“You’re on! I accept the challenge!”

“Hey mister! Gimme a bowl!”

Lured by the promise of gold, challengers with powerful appetites came aiming for the jackpot one after another, only for each of them in turn to fall in defeat before the soup. The stallkeeper watched the scene play out in smug satisfaction—right up until his face suddenly went white.

Before the man’s eyes were Wyne, Ben’ne, and Ghozal, each of them devouring a bowl of soup with astonishing speed.

“Seconds! Seconds!” called Wyne.

“Indeed!” said Ben’ne. “It is a fine soup. I, too, would entreat you for a second helping!”

“Hrm!” Ghozal agreed. “Not bad at all! I can feel the heat welling up inside my body! Give me another bowl!”

The three of them chatted happily away as they finished off one bowl after another.

The stallkeeper racked his brain for a way to expel the three from the stall, but it was no use. Their display of gustatory prowess had drawn a crowd of onlookers, watching intently and cheering them on.

Wh-Wh-What should I do?!the man thought, growing paler and paler still.If I close the stall now, those onlookers will never let me hear the end of it! But if I keep serving them, I’ll go broke handing out prize money...

“Seconds! Seconds!” demanded Wyne.

“Y-Y-Y-Y-Yes ma’am!” he replied, unable to do anything but serve up another bowl of soup.

All around them, the bustling festival continued.

One day, the village of demons who had been transplanted near Flio’s house decided to hold a summer festival. In attendance were not only the residents of the oni village but humans and demihumans from Houghtow City as well, who had heard about the festival and taken an Enchanted Frigate flight to the village to see for themselves. Stalls had been set up all over the slopes of the oni mountain, and everywhere you looked you could find crowds of excited festivalgoers.

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The lamps of festival stalls and floats lit up the slopes of the oni mountain, making it look like the silhouette of a castle as Hiya gazed upon it from their perch atop the roof of Flio’s house. “A festival, is it...?” they mused, a faint smile on their face.

As Hiya looked out into the distance, Damalynas appeared beside them. Damalynas, who had long since lost her corporeal body, now existed purely as a psychic construct and spent most of her time in Hiya’s mindscape—the djinn’s mental world.

“Oh?” Hiya remarked. “Is there something you need, Damalynas?”

“Ehe hee,” Damalynas laughed, smiling brightly. “I just thought it might be nice to get a chance to enjoy the festival atmosphere! Something like this doesn’t happen every day, after all!” She sat down next to Hiya, resting her chin in her hands and gazing off at the mountain. She kept looking away, however, stealing glances in Hiya’s direction before returning her eyes to the mountain.

“Hah...” breathed Hiya. “Are you truly here to enjoy the festival atmosphere? You seem to have eyes for nothing but myself.”

“Not at all!” Damalynas insisted. “It’s just...how do I put this...” She lowered her head, concealing her eyes behind the wide brim of her hat as if she were trying to hide her embarrassment. “For years and years, I devoted myself completely to pursuing mastery of the dark arts. Back then, I didn’t have a thought to spare for anything else. But...” She glanced up at Hiya once again. “I keep thinking that even just watching the festival from a distance is really nice, now that I’m doing it with the one I love...” With that, she planted a kiss on Hiya’s cheek.

“Hm...” Hiya considered. “So it’s that sort of thing, is it?”

“Y-Yeah, it’s that sort of thing...” Damalynas acknowledged, shyly looking the other way.

Such emotions are strange to a djinn like myself...Hiya thought.Even now, I do not fully understand them. However...They wrapped their arms around Damalynas’s shoulders, pulling the mage in close.I must say, I find these unfamiliar emotions quite fascinating...

Damalynas shut her eyes as Hiya’s face drew close to hers. Just as they came together, however, a gorgeous display of magic circles bloomed in the sky above the oni mountain.

“That is the Exalted One’s magic, I believe...” Hiya observed.

“I-It’s pretty, isn’t it?” said Damalynas.

“It is,” Hiya agreed. “Shall we go and lend him our assistance?”

“O-Okay! Sure! Let’s go!”

The two separated, smiling. Hiya raised their right arm, and the pair vanished from the roof.

One day, the village of demons who had been transplanted near Flio’s house decided to hold a summer festival. In attendance were not only the residents of the oni village but humans and demihumans from Houghtow City as well, who had heard about the festival and taken an Enchanted Frigate flight to the village to see for themselves. Stalls had been set up all over the slopes of the oni mountain, and everywhere you looked you could find crowds of excited festivalgoers.

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From foot to peak, the oni mountain was full of lights from the festival stalls and the happy voices of excited festivalgoers. The festival had reached its peak, and Ura and Kora had ascended the platform erected atop the mountain, Ura playing the drum and Kora the flute in joyful harmony as the crowd around them danced to the rhythm for all they were worth. The ring of dancers extended far beyond the area around the platform, all the way down to the main road. The whole of the mountain was alive with the excitement of the festival.

A magic circle appeared somewhere in the mountain’s foothills, followed by three mages materialized out of thin air. In the middle of their ranks was the Maiden Queen. They had done so out of sight so as not to attract attention, and the Queen herself was not dressed in her usual courtly attire but a robe in the yukata style from the Land of the Rising Sun, which was given to her by none other than Rys.

“S-So this is the festival...” she said, poking her head out from the group’s hiding place.I can’t believe I’m showing up so late after Garyl went to the trouble of inviting me...she pouted to herself as she made her way over to the main road on the double.Honestly, how could I get so tied up with government affairs on a day like today!

The Maiden Queen reached the road and began looking restlessly around as people danced and shopped and enjoyed festival food.I haven’t told Garyl I was on my way, have I...?she thought, hastily retrieving her ring set with a Conversation Gem from its case, of the same color as the yukata she was wearing.I suppose I had best use the ring Mister Flio gave me to let him know I’ve arrived...

Just as she put the ring on her finger, however, the Maiden Queen found herself bumped by another festivalgoer. “Ah!” she cried. Not used to her current style of dress, she lost her balance and went tumbling face-first towards the street. She closed her eyes...

“Are you okay, Miss Ellie?”

The next thing the Maiden Queen knew, she could hear Garyl’s voice in her ears. Her eyes shot open to see Garyl, holding her in his arms to avert her imminent collapse. “G-Garyl?” she said.H-He already found me, even though I never used the Communication Ring...she thought, a blush rising in her cheeks.

“I had a feeling you were here,” Garyl said, smiling cheerfully as he helped the Maiden Queen back up to her feet. “Good thing your outfit didn’t get dirty!”

Th-This must be fate...the Maiden Queen thought, shyly lowering her head as her face turned redder still.

Garyl pulled the Maiden Queen in close. “There’s tons of people here today. How about I show you around? We can enjoy the festival together!”

“O-Okay!” said the Maiden Queen, her voice coming out a somewhat higher pitch than usual.

The two made their way up the main road, taking their time and enjoying the scenery as above them a beautiful display of magic circle artistry began to appear, shining in the sky.

One day, the village of demons who had been transplanted near Flio’s house decided to hold a summer festival. In attendance were not only the residents of the oni village but humans and demihumans from Houghtow City as well, who had heard about the festival and taken an Enchanted Frigate flight to the village to see for themselves. Stalls had been set up all over the slopes of the oni mountain, and everywhere you looked you could find crowds of excited festivalgoers.

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A large number of stalls had been set up along the road leading up the mountain. Most of them were set up by the residents of the oni village themselves, but some were being operated by humans from Houghtow City, or students and faculty from the Houghtow College of Magic, or even people from other towns who had heard rumors about the festival, all packed together with hardly an inch to spare between them.

Operating one of the many stalls was Belano from the Houghtow College of Magic, selling magic potions and magic gems.They’re just basic potions and magic gems whose only property is casting light... Common items you can buy anywhere...she thought to herself as she went about preparing the stall for business.But I did my best making them, after all. It would be nice if I could sell at least a couple...

Soon, however, a throng of shoppers had gathered in front of Belano’s humble stall, much to the witch’s disbelief. “H-Huh?!” she exclaimed, going stiff at the sight.Wh-Why are there so many people here? I-I’m not selling anything particularly uncommon...

In spite of her confusion, Belano did her best to meet her customers’ demands, one after another. Her husband Minilio and her child Belalio stood to her left and right, helping her operate the stall.

At the time Belano had yet to realize it, but for the past several days, Minilio and Belalio had been enhancing the effect of Belano’s merchandise every night after she had gone to sleep, tired from a long evening working hard to produce goods to sell at the festival. Her customers were scarcely able to believe their eyes when they saw the results of their effort.

“H-Hey! This stall’s selling high-level potions for the price of basic ones!”

“Check this out! This magic gem’s light effect is powerful enough to last an entire decade! And it’s so cheap!”

Soon, rumors had spread of the stall selling quality magic items for next to nothing, and more and more customers came to shop at Belano’s stall.

I-I can’t for the life of me understand why they’re selling so well...Belano thought, smiling happily as she did her best to keep up with the flurry of customers.But I’m glad to see so many people buying the items I worked so hard to make...

Minilio and Belalio almost looked like they had happy smiles on their expressionless faces at the sight of how much Belano was enjoying herself as well.

And on the festival continued...