Chapter 3: Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding Park

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◇Houghtow City—Flio’s House◇

Behind the three-story building that comprised the main house stood another two-story building made of similar wood construction that served as a workshop. It was there that Flio devised new products to be sold at the Fli-o’-Rys General Store, and also where the products were mass-produced by Hiya, Damalynas, and Maglion—the threesome of training partners—alongside Minilio. Today, Flio was on the second floor of the workshop, having finished his business outside the house for the day.

“Thank you for waiting, Miss Zofina. Here’s the Calamity Healing Potion I synthesized from our catch the other day.” Flio handed Zofina a bag stuffed full of bottles containing a liquid that shone with the colors of the rainbow, a smile on his face.

“Oh!” Zofina said, sitting up in her chair and happily accepting the bag. “Thank you so much, Mister Flio!”

After their overnight stay in Dogorogma, Flio had told Zofina, “I believe I will have more Calamity Healing Potion ready for you in a month.” It had been a month to the day now, and Zofina had paid a visit to see how the potion was progressing.

“You truly are incredible, Mister Flio,” Zofina said, bowing over and over again. “I can scarcely believe you performed such a difficult synthesis in only a month, let alone in such vast quantities...”

Flio replied with his usual easygoing smile. “I have to admit, it was pretty tough the first few times. But I’ve managed the synthesis several times already. Now it’s no trouble at all.”

“Would you care for some refreshments?” Rys stepped up, offering Zofina a cup of black tea and a plate on which rested a slice of cake.

“Oh?” said Zofina. “This cake has such a pleasant aroma!”

“It’s my specialty,” said Rys. “Lembon cake. We sell a limited quantity at the Fli-o’-Rys General Store. They seem to be rather popular.”

As Rys was still speaking, Zofina wasted no time and dug into the soft cake with her fork before quickly bringing it to her mouth. “I can see why! This is delicious! I’m rather partial to sweets, you know, but the subtle sourness really does add something!”

“I’m very glad it pleases you!” said Rys, smiling as Zofina tore into her cake with terrific force.

◇ ◇ ◇

“Now, I should be off.” As Zofina’s scythe appeared in her hand, her human form shifted back to the half-skeleton, half-maiden form of a disciple of the Celestial Plane. She swung the weapon in a wide arc and a magic circle appeared in front of her. A great door appeared. “Mister Flio, I will see you again in a month.”

“Of course!” Flio said. “I’ll have plenty of the Calamity Healing Potion ready for you by then!”

Zofina nodded, smiling. “Speaking of, please don’t hesitate to contact us the next time you need to pay a visit to Dogorogma to secure more magic beasts for ingredients. We will be happy to take you there as often as you like.”

“Actually,” Flio said, “there shouldn’t be a need to bother with that any longer.”

“What do you mean? Your stockpile is bound to run dry someday...”

“No need to worry about that! I have things well in hand.”

“Y-You do?”

“I do.” Flio smiled his usual easygoing smile.

Zofina cocked her head curiously as she regarded Flio.He has things “well in hand”? What does he mean by that? Are there Calamity Wyrms somewhere in the world of Klyrode? But I haven’t detected anything of the sort...She was puzzling over it even as she made her way through the interdimensional portal back to the Celestial Plane. When she was on the other side, the door closed and vanished along with the magic circle.

“Oh, Rys!” said Flio. “That reminds me! There’s something I want to show you.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah! Hiya and the rest are still helping me with the finishing touches, but I want you to see it as soon as it’s done.”

“I see!” Rys nodded happily. “Then, please, do let me know when it’s ready.”

◇ ◇ ◇

That night, Flio took Rys to the mountain behind the house. They called it a mountain, at least, but it was really more of a tallish hill. Flio had hollowed out a wide space underneath it. Hiya, Damalynas, and Maglion had accompanied them as well.

“The other day, when we were walking around Klyrode Castle Town, I got a message saying I had mastered all the ‘Carriage Djinn’ skills.”

“Carriage Djinn?” Rys repeated, a puzzled look on her face. She was certain she must have misheard.

Hiya rested their chin in their hand as they mused. “I have heard that name mentioned as one of the types of djinn created by the magi of another world, known as the Magic Realm, but I had not thought there were any in the world of Klyrode...”

“So...” Rys asked. “What can Carriage Djinn do, anyway?”

“I looked into it a bit,” Flio said. “It looks like they can turn into any vehicle they’ve had a chance to touch before. But...”

“But what?”

“I tried turning myself into a number of the vehicles listed in the skill menu, but I just can’t seem to get it to work.”

“That makes sense,” said Damalynas. “Without the physiology of an artificial djinn, I can’t imagine you could transform into a vehicle with or without the skill.”

Flio nodded. “That seems to be the case. However...” He opened up one of his windows, setting it to display to everyone.

“Is that...a carriage?” Rys, Hiya, Damalynas, and Maglion crowded around to see a very precise blueprint for a carriage projected in Flio’s window.

“I can’t seem to turn my body into a vehicle,” Flio said, “but Icancall up precise schematics for all of these.” He slid a finger across the window, changing the screen.

After the ordinary carriage that had first appeared came an enormous wagon capable of seating nearly a dozen, then a cart specialized for transporting goods, then a cart with its luggage compartment replaced with a festival float. They continued past the data on horse-drawn carriages and found all kinds of boats, automatic vehicles, humanoid armored battle suits, and anything else you could imagine.

“This must be data on any vehicle any Carriage Djinn has ever touched,” Flio mused. “There’s lots of vehicles in here thatI’venever even seen before.”

Hiya nodded. “I agree. Some of those vehicles are difficult to imagine existing in the world of Klyrode.” Hiya, as well as Damalynas and Maglion, had their attention fixated on the data showing in Flio’s window. Even Rys was watching with keen interest.

“Anyway,” Flio said, his hand coming to a stop on a particular item. “I found something interesting while I was looking through the data.”

“Does that say...‘Enchanted Frigate’?” Rys’s eyes went wide. The window was displaying data for a vessel that resembled a sailing ship with three masts.

“At first, I assumed it was a ship for traveling on the surface of the water,” Flio said, calling up more detailed data for the Enchanted Frigate. “But on closer inspection, I realized it can fly.” Hiya leaned in, reading through the data like they were trying to devour it with their eyes. “So I got to thinking...” Flio went on. “If I know what materials it would take and how to build it, why not try making an Enchanted Frigate myself? It took a lot of trial and error and hard work, though, in the end.”

“I-In the end?” Rys repeated breathlessly, her eyes going even wider. “M-Meaning, youalready builtit?”

Maglion smirked wryly at Rys’s response. “I thought it would be impossible as well, at first,” they said. “But the Exalted One simply began building the ship before my eyes...” They turned to face past the window Flio was projecting. Flio pointed his finger in the same direction, and the magic lamps lit up, illuminating the darkness and revealing an enormous ship, hovering in midair. It was a precise recreation of the Magic Frigate from the Carriage Djinn data, in minutest detail.

Rys’s eyes went wide. For a second, she simply stared in shock.

“M-My lord husband,” said Rys. “This ship is massive...”

Flio smiled as usual. “I wasn’t able to complete it using ingredients from the world of Klyrode,” he said. “I gave up at the time, but after we went to Dogorogma, I was able to make substitutions with the bones and hide of the magic beasts we captured, as well as the magic gems inside their bodies. But I didn’t do it on my own—I had help from these three. Really, thank you so much.”

Hiya keeled down in reverence. “Exalted One,” they said. “You need hardly thank such lowly beings as we...” But Flio grabbed Hiya by the shoulders and pulled them to their feet.

“Hiya... You, Damalynas, and Maglion are all part of the family. You don’t need to stand on ceremony with me.”

Hiya shook with emotion at Flio’s words. “E-Exalted One...” Behind them, Damalynas and Maglion were likewise weeping tears of joy.

“A-A dark wizard like me, the Grand Magus of Midnight...” Damalynas sobbed. “To be treated as part of the family...”

“The Mistress of Evil created me only for slaughter...” Maglion sniffled, wiping the tears from their eyes. “And yet, you would welcome me into your family!”

Rys stepped in front of the tearful group, a bright smile on her face.

“O wife of the Exalted One...” Hiya began. “I, Hiya, and my beloved training partners vow to you our loyalty everlasting. I swear that we shall never again spy on you and the Exalted One in the bedroom, no matter how useful it may be for our training...”

“What?” Hiya’s words make Rys’s eyes glint with a deadly light. Her eyebrows furrowed dangerously as she advanced towards the djinn, cracking her knuckles. “Hiya... I’ve told you time and time again not to peep. Are youstillat it?”

“N-No!” Hiya protested. “We have never done such a thing, o wife of the Exalted One!”

“Yes, never!” confirmed Damalynas. “We may havetriedto look, but thanks to that barrier Lord Flio set up, we weren’t able to get a single peek of the deed!”

“Indeed,” said Maglion. “The three of us have been training night and day to try to figure out how to overcome that barrier...”

“Well,you had better cut that training out!!!” snapped Rys.

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Flio just watched the scene play out with a rather strained smile on his face.

◇Days Later...◇

The enormous Enchanted Frigate sailed along through the clear blue sky. Flio’s family was gathered in the stern of the ship, in a room big enough for all of them.

“Whoa!” exclaimed Garyl as he looked out the window. “What a view!”

Folmina ran up to take a look next to him and gasped with delight at the sight. “Wow! It really is amazing!” Ghoro tottered along after her, clinging to her sleeve and cheerfully looking out the window himself.

“Ah ha ha ha ha!” Wyne laughed as she flew along outside the window. Her dragon wings were fully materialized as she playfully flew around the Enchanted Frigate. “This is great-great!”

“Young Mistress Wyne, how many times do I have to tell you?!” shouted Tanya, her angel wings flapping as she chased after her, a pair of Wyne’s panties clutched in her outstretched hands. “At the very least, put on underwear when you go outside the house!”

“Honestly, Wyne...” Elinàsze sighed, frowning. “You left without your underwear again? Everyone’s been looking forward to this trip on the Enchanted Frigate. What if you ruin papa’s travel itinerary?”

Flio smirked. “Now, now,” he said. “Your sister is just excited for the trip. Let’s be understanding.”

“I know...” Elinàsze said. “But...”

Flio smiled gently and patted his daughter on the head.

A few days ago, when Flio had unveiled the Enchanted Frigate to Elinàsze, Garyl, and Wyne, the three had been absolutely agape with awe.

“Holy crap! This is amazing!” said Garyl.

“Papa’s amazing-mazing!” agreed Wyne.

“A ship?! And such a large one!” added Elinàsze.

Flio smiled at his three children. “I was thinking of taking this thing for a flight somewhere to test it out. Do you want to come?”

“Yeah!” said Garyl.

“Of course!” said Elinàsze.

“I wanna come! I wanna come!” sang Wyne.

Rys smiled brightly. “In that case, I’ll have to make plenty of boxed lunches!”

“Yay!” cheered Wyne, jumping in delight all around the room as Flio watched with a smile on his face. “I love-love mama’s lunches!”

“Hey, dad?” Garyl said, walking up to Flio. Garyl had grown up much faster than his twin sister Elinàsze. While she still had the body of a young girl, Garyl was already nearly as tall as Flio himself.

“Yes? What is it, Garyl?”

“Um... Is it okay if we bring our friends on the trip?”

“Those friends of yours who’re always visiting?” Flio said. “They’re welcome to come!”

Garyl beamed. “Thanks, dad! This is awesome! They’re gonna love it!”

Flio smiled back, and got to thinking. “Although, in that case, I wonder where would be a good destination for the trip? If Garyl and Elinàsze’s school friends are coming along, maybe we should take them somewhere that’s good for kids...”

“I know just the place, my lord husband!” Rys volunteered.

“Oh! You do?” Flio asked.

Rys nodded her head for a moment before cocking it in thought. “Ithinkso...” she said. “Although, I wonder if they’re still in business...”

“Huh?” Flio gave Rys a puzzled expression. He had no idea whatsoever where Rys was referring to.

And now, they were flying along in the Enchanted Frigate, Garyl and the rest of the household’s faces glued to the windows as they passed the land by. Salina was standing right next to Garyl, wearing a dress with a frilly miniskirt. “I’m so excited to go on an adventure through the sky with my Lord Garyl!” she cooed, wiggling her hips.

Irystiel, dressed in her black gothic lolita outfit, could not possibly have looked more unlike Salina, but like her classmate, she seemed to be dressed much more nicely than usual. “Irystiel says she’s very happy to have been invited as well,” she said through the medium of the stuffed cat toy she carried with her, making the cat’s mouth move and speak using ventriloquism.

Salina and Irystiel were in the same primary school classes as Garyl and Elinàsze at the Houghtow College of Magic. Behind them stood three more students from their year—Leina Raina, Reptor, and Sadjitta.

“H-Hey, Salina...” Sadjitta said, working up the nerve to tap Salina on the shoulder. “Are you having fun in the sky? It’s kinda like we’re on a date, isn’t it...?”

Salina brushed his hand off her shoulder without even turning her head. “Now, Lord Garyl...”

“H-Hey, come on, Salina!” Sadjitta said, venturing another touch. “I’myour fiancé!”

Salina brushed his hand away again. “Oh, Lord Garyl, look! A waterfall!”

“S-Salina! Pay attention to me!”

Salina brushed Sadjitta’s hand away a third time. “Can you see those carriages traveling along the road? They look like tiny little specks!”

“Salinaaa!” Sadjitta begged, only to be brushed away yet again.

Sadjitta and Salina’s parents had arranged for the two to be married when they came of age. Sadjitta adored Salina despite her frequent coldness towards him and kept trying desperately to start a conversation, but Salina simply continued to abjure his hand as she continued her conversation with Garyl.

“Hey, Salina,” Garyl said. “Sadjitta’s been trying to talk to you for a while. Why not at least say a few words?”

Salina slowly turned to face Sadjitta. “Oh?” she said, leaning in close with icy venom in her voice. “And what doyouwant? I suppose I will say a few words to you, if it is my lord’s will, but please don’t get between me and my lovey-dovey date time with Lord Garyl.”

Sadjitta’s mouth flapped open and closed like a fish, wordless before Salina’s verbal assault.

“Sadjitta and Salina must be really good friends if they can argue so much,” said Reptor as he watched the exchange.

“I was just thinking the same thing,” agreed Leina Raina.

No sooner had the words left their mouths than Salina whipped around to face them. “Not atall!” she protested. “I have love in my heart only for Lord Garyl—and none other!” And with that, she turned resolutely away from the rest of the room and towards Garyl. The fearsome scowl she had worn to face Leina Raina and Reptor was gone, replaced by a look of pure bliss.

“I know girls like big brother Garyl, but that seems a bit extreme...” Rislei remarked with a grimace to her father Sleip, standing beside her.

“Gwah ha ha!” laughed Sleip, slapping his daughter on the shoulder. “Garyl’s a kindhearted and strong young lad, you know! You don’t find many young men of his stature. Why, I’d have no compunctions whatsoever about letting my precious Rislei marry such a fine young man!”

Rislei’s cheeks flushed red. “Wh-What was that?! I mean, big brother Garyl is very dashing, but he’s nothing more to me than a big brother! We’re family, nothing more and nothing less!”

“I see,” said Sleip. “Well, that’s a pity. Just take care not to be lured away by some good-for-nothing boy now that you’re enrolled in school!”

“Why are you so worried about that, papa?” Rislei shot back. “I don’t intend to focus on anything but my studies.”

Indeed, Rislei had been enrolled in the same classes as Garyl and Elinàsze only the other day, and was the newest member of the friend group that had formed around Garyl.

Reptor and Leina Raina watched Sleip and Rislei’s conversation from a short distance away. “I feel sorry for whoever Rislei ends up dating...” said Reptor.

“Ohhh?” sang Leina Raina, smirking up at him. “But just the other day, weren’t you saying how cute little Rislei is and how you’d love to go on a date with—”

Reptor quickly clapped his hand over Leina Raina’s mouth, silencing her. “B-Be careful! Rislei’s papa is right over there! What if he hears?!” Reptor glanced nervously around the room, his eyes settling on Sleip.

Sleip gave him a grin and a thumbs-up, but the smile didn’t seem to reach his eyes.

◇ ◇ ◇

The assembled group enjoyed themselves watching the land go by beneath them in the large room on the Enchanted Frigate while Flio stood a level above, steering the ship at the helm. There was a window displayed showing the surrounding terrain. Every now and then, it would catch sight of Tanya or Wyne flying alongside the ship. Flio grinned at the pair’s antics.

Rys stepped up to her husband, carrying a cup. “My lord husband, would you care for a cup of tea?”

“Gladly, thank you!” said Flio, accepting the cup and taking a sip. “But Rys... Is that really the spot?” He pressed his finger against one of the windows, zooming in. All sorts of high-tech-looking lights and indicators blinked and lit up as the frame of vision sped along, stopping on a spot marked with a large floating X.

“Yes, that should be it...” said Rys. “Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding Park...”

Flio cocked his head curiously. “But...the Frigate’s display gives the name as Mount Nankholi. I don’t see anywhere labeled Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding Park...”

“What? Really?” Rys said, blinking in surprise as she looked at the map on display.

A while later, the Enchanted Frigate came to a large open place. “Looks like that’s where we’re supposed to land our ship,” Flio said, steering in its direction. The ship slowly descended and came to a stop in the sky above.

◇ ◇ ◇

“What’s this?” Flio’s eyes blinked open. Before him stood a gate labeled with a sign that read, “Dark Mountain Pudding Pudding Park Skull Dragon Boarding Point.” But the gate’s entrance had a handwritten note posted to the shut doors reading, “Skull dragons on break today.”

“It looks like you’re supposed to get in the gondolas here, and the skull dragons come and take you up to the park entrance on the mountain peak,” Flio observed, cocking his head. “But the skull dragons are on break today. How are we supposed to get to the park?”

Elinàsze took her father by the arm. “Papa, there’s some kind of arrow pointing that way!” Just as she said, they saw another paper note pasted to a wall with an arrow pointing towards a narrow path. It looked like barely more than an animal trail.

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“E-Excuse me?!” Salina balked. “A-Are we meant to gothatway?!” She was far from without reason. Just a short ways ahead, they could see a rickety rope bridge that looked like it could crumble any minute, and past that the path continued up a steep cliff.

“Sounds good to me!” said Garyl, already doing his warm-up stretches. “Some light exercise on the way to the park entrance? What could be better!”

Irystiel blanched. She held out her stuffed cat, using ventriloquism to make it say, “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t! Lord Garyl’s the only one who could possibly be eager to tackle such a miserable trail! Irystiel says so too.”

As for Sadjitta, Reptor, and Leina Raina, their faces had gone completely pale. They shook their heads from side to side as hard as they could.

“Hey, papa!” said Wyne, who was busy inspecting the gondola with a smile on her face while everyone else had gone looking for the path. “Can I carry the gondola? Can I? Can I?”

“Oh!” said Flio. “All right, then, Wyne. Can we count on you to take us there?”

“Of course, of course!” Wyne said, thumping her chest with a grin. “Leave it to me!” She gleefully tossed off her clothing and transformed her naked body into the form of an enormous dragon.

“Whoa!” said Sadjitta, his eyes zeroing in on Wyne’s full chest for a split second before she turned into a dragon. His eyes opened wide in shock. “Wait...Whaaa?!”

Next to him, Reptor had quickly hidden his eyes behind his hands. “I-I like Rislei!” he declared, muttering quickly under his breath. “I-I would never look at another girl!”

“R-Reptor?!” said Rislei, who had been standing right next to him. Her face flushed bright red. “What are you saying?!”

“That’s quite a thing you let slip there, boy,” said Sleip, Rislei’s father who adored her to an excessive degree. His arms folded in front of his chest, he regarded Reptor with a very big, very forced smile.

◇ ◇ ◇

There were fourteen in total who boarded the gondola to the park: Flio, Rys, Elinàsze, Garyl, Tanya, Sleip, Rislei, Folmina, Ghoro, Salina, Irystiel, Sadjitta, Reptor, and Leina Raina. Hiya had come along too, but they had stayed behind to perform an inspection of the Enchanted Frigate, now that it had completed its first test run. When everyone was safely on board, Wyne, in her dragon form, grabbed the gondola tight with her talons and flew up into the sky. “Let’s go go go!”

“Wow!” The children in the gondola let out a cry of delight.

“Seeing the land from a gondola is every bit as splendid as watching it go by from the Enchanted Frigate!” rhapsodized Elinàsze. The other children all nodded in emphatic agreement.