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◇Dogorogma—Flio’s Home Base◇

“Oh, welcome home, my lord husband!” Rys waved eagerly, running out from behind the waterfall where she had been preparing dinner when she’d seen Flio coming from overhead.

“I’m home, Rys!” said Flio.

“You’re just in time. I finished making dinner only moments ago. Now, come! This way!” She took Flio by the arm and led him inside. The table and chairs from the campsite had been moved to the lakeshore, laden with plates of hot food waiting for them. Flio recognized them as the ones Tanya had conjured back at the campsite. The stone oven was there as well; Tanya was busy using it to sear a large chunk of meat.

“Wow!” said Garyl, drooling. “It smells so good!”

“Yeah! Yeah!” agreed Wyne. She was drooling so much her face was wet with slobber. “So good! So good!”

All around them, Byleri, Balirossa, and Belano were busy carrying plates of food to the table.

Blossom was squatting on the ground a short distance away. “Huh,” she said. “Y’know, Dogorogma has some pretty good soil. I bet I could make a decent farm with this stuff!”

“Bworf!” cried Sybe, nodding happily.

Ghozal, meanwhile, had a fishing rod in his hand, line cast into the nearby lake. He was wearing a straw hat and watching the line closely. Suddenly, he got a hit, the lure sinking beneath the surface. “Mh?” Not missing a beat, he pulled on his rod. Suddenly, the placid lake surface began to froth and bubble. “Hrm! I got one!”

“Wow!” Folmina jumped for joy. “You’re amazing, papa!”

“Ha ha ha!” Ghozal laughed. “The fish here are easy! I suppose they’ve never had to deal with a fisherman before!” True to his words, there was already a great pile of fish behind him.

The fish, of course, were not regular fish at all. They were Fish of Disaster, each with enough magic power to destroy a fleet of merchant ships. Ghozal, however, was using his own magic to enhance his fishing, and simply pulled them out of the water one after the other. Excited for another catch, he gave a boisterous laugh and pulled his rod up as hard as he could.

Splash!With a tremendous sound, a massive fish flew out of the water, fully ten meters in length. Ghozal hoisted it up with supernatural strength and tossed it onto the pile, where it flopped and splashed all around.

Ghoro came tottering up to the struggling fish. “T-Take that...!” he said, punching it hard in the face and knocking it up into the air. It came down again on top of the fish pile, perfectly still.

Rys smiled as she watched. “The children hunted a great deal of magic beasts this afternoon, while Ghozal’s been fishing up one magic fish beast after another. I thought it only made sense to do a barbecue for dinner tonight.”

Flio nodded, smiling. “That’s a good idea. It’ll be a fun time for everyone, after coming all this way.” He took to his feet. “I guess I should go pitch in.”

Rys, however, placed a hand on Flio’s shoulder, pushing him back down in his chair. “No, my lord husband. You’ve already done a great deal today. You should take the opportunity to rest. Just leave everything to your beloved Rys!” A smile on her face, she darted back to the stove.

Flio smiled as he watched her run off. “I suppose I’ll let her dote on me a bit for tonight, then.”

“Excuse me, Mister Flio...” Zofina said, stepping up to him. “Perhaps we can discuss our plans for tomorrow before our dinner?”

“Our plans for tomorrow?” Flio asked.

“Yes. We need to discuss where to look for magic beasts that can serve as materials for your Calamity Healing Potions.” Zofina conjured a window, displaying a map of the area.

The other angels were on standby behind her. They had done nothing all day except relax and watch Garyl and the other children hunt, but their real mission was to secure Beasts of Calamity that Flio could use for ingredients. They couldn’t just relax the entire time they were here. They seemed stressed, in fact—the awareness of their mission must have been weighing on them the entire time.

Flio gave her his usual easygoing smile. “Oh,” he said. “There’s no need to worry about that. I just caught six more Calamity Wyrms while I was on a walk earlier.”

“Excuse me?!” the angels exclaimed in pure shock, eyes opened wide.

“U-Um, Mister Flio...” Zofina ventured. “You mean to say you have already captured the Calamity Wyrms...?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“A-And, six of them?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“A-And don’t tell me...you did this...by yourself?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Flio answered all of Zofina’s questions with a smile on his face. The angels stared in disbelief, their eyes showing no sign of going back to normal.

“The meat is ready! Zofina, you and your angels go ahead and sit down!” Rys came back from the kitchen, carrying a platter of sliced meat. Everyone took their seats.

“S-So...” one of the angels said. “Lady Zofina... Whatarewe going to do tomorrow?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Zofina said, smirking. “Our mission is already complete. Why don’t we just spend our time relaxing at Mister Flio’s house?”This was supposed to be a dangerous mission, she thought, nodding to herself.Hardly anyone wanted to come along. I can hardly believe it turned out like this...Behind her, Tanya was cutting the heads off the magic fish beast Ghozal had caught using an oversized saw.

The sky was already dark, but the lakeshore was lit up by a large wood fire Flio and the others had made and the area was full of cheerful voices.

◇Klyrode Castle—A Few Days Later◇

One night, a knock came on the door of the Third Princess’s private chambers.

The Third Princess had finished her work for the night and gotten absorbed in her reading “Come in!” she said. “The door’s open!”

The Maiden Queen stepped in, clad in casual clothes, a troubled look on her face. “Excuse me, Swann. Do you have a moment?”

“Of course, my sister the Queen. Whatever is the matter?” Swann, the third princess of Klyrode, looked up vacantly at her sister.

“Well...” she began. “I know how much you love books, Swann. I was wondering if you had heard of Dogorogma, by chance?”

“I have,” Swann said. “It comes up in stories from time to time. Dogorogma is a world full of terrible magic beasts. There are a number of famous tales about it, such as the one in which a great wizard takes their family on a trip to Dogorogma, and the one about a hero of legend who was deceived and transformed into a dragon...”

“And these are...fictional stories?”

“Yes, precisely. Do you really believe there’s a place full of imprisoned magic beasts from other worlds?” Swann laughed at her sister’s question.

“I-I see...” the Maiden Queen said. “I apologize for bothering you so late at night.”

“Is that all?” Swann asked.

“Y-Yes, thank you very much.” The Maiden Queen forced a smile and left the room.

The Maiden Queen glanced at the communication ring on her finger that let her speak with Garyl as she walked down the hallway back to her own room.Yes, that’s right...she thought.Dogorogma is a world that appears in fictional stories. S-So, why would Garyl tell me that he had been “hanging out in Dogorogma”...?She tilted her head and thought about it some more, but the Maiden Queen simply could not find a satisfactory explanation.