Bonus Short Stories

In Search of My Beloved Synergist: 2

“I can’t... die yet...”

A desperate voice echoed across the open sea. It belonged to the young, fifteen-year-old, waitress of one of Velnika’s restaurants, Aisha. And this was her tenth day adrift at sea. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she was gripping the ship’s railing so hard her knuckles were white. Mistakenly believing that the young synergist that she’d fallen in love with needed rescuing, she’d gone off chasing after him. Mistakenly believing he was waiting earnestly for her to come, she’d crossed an entire continent and struck out into the ocean. Traveling with her were two adventurers who owed her a debt, or rather adventurers that she’d blackmailed, into joining her misguided adventure. One was the bald Failur, while the other was Scurdy, whose hair looked like the end of a broom. The two of them were currently collapsed atop the ship’s deck. The three of them had originally set sail for Andika, but all three of them were amateurs at navigation. Naturally, their ill-fated voyage had gone off-course, and they’d become shipwrecked. Their mouths were full of ashes and regret, but what they’d have really preferred stuffed in there was food and water.

“I’m sorry, Failur, Scurdy. This is my fault.”

Aisha let go of the railing and slid to the ground. She fell face down on the wooden planks, looking surprisingly contrite. The two men who could have been mistaken for corpses twitched.

“Aisha-chan, if we make it back to the continent alive... will you live together with me?”

Scurdy’s response was so unexpected that both Aisha and Failur looked at him in shock. Aisha suspected that he’d come so close to death that his instinct to leave descendants behind was starting to kick in. However, Scurdy kept on talking.

“Oscar’s gone. He’s far beyond our reach now, so you should just compromise with me and—”

“No way.” Aisha flatly refused him. Her voice was so firm it was hard to believe she looked like she’d been dying a second ago. Her rejection crushed Scurdy’s spirit, but still, he persevered. He knew these might be his last few moments on Tortus.

“I-I understand how you feel, Aisha-chan. But you should try to find happiness closer to—”

“No way.”

“I really love—”

“Absolutely not.”

“Isn’t there even the slightest possibility—”

“Nope.”

“......”

“This isn’t good, Failur-san. Scurdy-san’s going insane. He’s having delusions about the impossible. But I’ve gotta say, it’s kind of pathetic that he’d get this weak just from three days of no food and no water. I could keep going for another ten years on just my feelings for Oscar-san! Oh, Oscar-san! I won’t succumb to a trial like this!”

“Hic...”

“Don’t cry, Scurdy! You’ll end up wasting even more water!”

However, Scurdy kept crying, wasting more of his precious bodily fluids. Failur kept trying to encourage him but ended up only wasting more of his stamina as he yelled himself hoarse. Aisha ended up wasting both stamina and water as she began seeing hallucinations of Oscar on the boat and chasing after him with tears in her eyes. Before long, the three of them had exhausted themselves so completely they couldn’t even move.

“Hey, you three, are you alright?”

Looking up, the three travelers saw that a large ship had come up beside them. A young catgirl with beautiful white hair, glinting in the sunlight, was looking over the railing at them.

“S-So beautiful...” Scurdy fell in love with the catgirl at first sight.

Some time later, Aisha and the others were wolfing down food and drink on the deck of the Melusine.

“Calm down, you guys. If you eat that fast, you’ll choke on your food.”

Kyaty, the catgirl who’d saved the three starving travelers, offered them some water. Aisha thumped her chest to help the food stuck in her throat go down, then opened her mouth to thank Kyaty. But before she could, Scurdy butt in.

“Thanks, Kyaty-chan. Not only did you save us, you even made such delicious food! It’s rare to find someone who’s this beautiful and also a good cook!”

“O-Oh, stop it. You don’t need to flatter me, I’ll still take you guys back to the mainland, don’t worry.”

“I’m not flattering you, I mean it! I’ve never met anyone as beautiful as you!”

“S-Stop the empty praise and get back to eating!”

Kyaty blushed and looked away, her ears flapping back and forth. Her adorable reaction made Scurdy even more enamored with her.

“Guess you’ll be alright if you’ve got enough energy to try and woo Kyaty,” Chris, the first mate of the Melusine, said as he walked over to the group.

“Umm, thank you very much for saving us,” Aisha turned to Chris and thanked him on behalf of the group. Chris sat down on a nearby barrel and waved his hand dismissively.

“Don’t sweat it. Anyway, what’re you three doing out here? You trying to reach Andika?” Chris asked as he narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Aisha and her companions were clearly amateurs at navigation, and he couldn’t imagine what business normal travelers would have with the city. Chris and the others had been patrolling the waters around Andika in the Melusine, looking out for suspicious visitors. In fact, everyone on deck was poised to jump on Aisha and the others at any time if necessary. However, Aisha didn’t notice the sharpness in Chris’s gaze.

“Did you say Andika!? You know about the city!?”

Surprised by her sudden vehemence, Chris reflexively drew his sword.

“Y-Yeah, I guess we do.”

“Please tell me where it is! I have to get there no matter what!”

“C-Calm down, young lady! Your eyes are bloodshot! And you’re way too close to my face!”

“Hurry up and take me there! I need to get there right now!”

“Seriously, calm down! Why do you want to go to Andika so badly anyway!? That place is full of outlaws!”

“For love!”

“Love!? What are you talking about!?”

“I need to destroy all of my rivals and grasp hold of the future!”

“What kind of love is that!?”

Failur finally succeeded in pulling Aisha off of Chris and started calming her down. Once she’d regained her composure, she cleared her throat and said, “I’m searching for someone who I heard is in Andika. His name’s Oscar, and—”

Chris and Kyaty exchanged glances. That name was quite familiar to both of them. They turned warily back to Aisha.

“Young lady, what’s your relationship with him?”

“I’m his wife.”

“His wife!?”

Failur and Scurdy quickly butted in to explain the situation. They also gave a brief summary of how their journey up until now. Aisha continually interrupted their story to talk about how great Oscar was. As the pirates listened to the adventurers’ story, they realized Oscar was way more popular with the ladies than they’d ever imagined. But while everyone else was interested to hear just what Oscar had done to make Aisha so obsessed with him, Kyaty turned her nose up unhappily and muttered, “Hmph, so he’s just a womanizer after all.”

Chris turned to her with a grin.

“What’re you so mad about, huh, Kyaty? Did you fall for him after he praised your maid outfit so much?”

“What!? I don’t care about that stupid—”

“He praised your maid outfit? I need to hear about this.”

“Eek!? When’d you get behind me!?”

Kyaty leaped away when she heard Aisha whisper that from right behind her. She even used her special magic, Acceleration, to put as much distance between her and Aisha as possible. However—

“What’s wrong with this girl!? How’s she keeping up with me!? What’s she doing to move like that!?”

Aisha’s skills at tailing people who knew about Oscar were so advanced they were indistinguishable from magic. And that was why she could keep up with someone using magic. Probably.

“Love makes everything possible! Now tell me, what kind of relationship do you have with Oscar-san!? Did you really service him in a maid outfit!? While wagging that tail of yours and acting all cute!?”

“What the hell are you implying!?”

For some time after that, Aisha chased Kyaty around the deck of the ship, demanding answers. The other pirates found the spectacle entertaining, so they just watched. Meanwhile, Scurdy collapsed into a sobbing heap as he realized Oscar had stolen yet another one of his loves away from him, and Failur just watched everything with a sigh.

Afterward, the pirates brought Aisha and the others to Andika, where they learned all about Oscar’s many exploits in the city. But that is a story for another time.

The Wrong Way to Use Metamorphosis Magic

“Ugh...”

A cute groan could be heard from within one of the houses of the Liberators’ hidden village. The one who’d made that scream was Corrin, and the one who’d caused her to scream like that was Katy. Though Katy and Ruth had yet to recover their egos, they had healed enough that they could follow basic instructions to eat and sleep and take care of themselves. As a result, it had gotten a lot easier for Corrin to look after them. So why was it that Corrin was groaning at Katy, whose vacuous eyes were staring off into the distance? Well, because—

“Katy, you have to eat your vegetables! They’re nutritious!”

Corrin once again brought the spoonful of beans up to Katy’s mouth, but Katy slapped it away. Corrin’s cheeks puffed out indignantly as she looked at the mess Katy had made on the table.

“Bad Katy! You can’t just waste food like that!”

Her eyes still empty, Katy turned away. Even though she couldn’t talk, it was obvious she was flatly refusing to eat the beans. Bidel Beans were very nutritious, and they grew everywhere, including forests. Unfortunately, they were also bitter. Katy had hated them before being transformed into a super soldier by the church, and she hated them still. That being said, this hidden village wasn’t stocked well enough for people to be able to eat lavish dishes.

“I boiled them with sugar for you this time. So please, just try some.”

Corrin once again gently brought a spoonful of beans up to Katy’s mouth. But this time—

“Mmmph!?”

Faster than Corrin’s eyes could follow, Katy grabbed the spoon and stuffed it into Corrin’s mouth instead. Whatever warrior’s spirit had been implanted into her was still alive in there somewhere.

“Jeez! If you don’t cut that out, I’m going to get mad for real!”

Katy once again pointedly turned away. Corrin continued trying to get Katy to eat the beans, but she’d always either slap the spoon away or force the food into Corrin’s mouth instead.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

After thirty or so minutes of that, Corrin was reduced to a sobbing heap. Hearing her cries, Oscar and the others came running over.

“What’s wrong, Corrin?”

“Onii-chaaaaaaaaaaaan!”

Corrin clung to Oscar and told him what had happened with Katy.

“Come on, Katy. You know you’re not supposed to make Corrin cry.”

But even when Oscar scolded Katy, she just turned up her nose and looked away. Seeing that, Miledi, Meiru, and the others all smiled. Determined, Oscar grabbed Katy and sat her in his lap. He then scooped up a spoonful of beans. Katy struggled at first, but the moment Oscar wrapped his free arm around her, she went quiet.

“We’ll be able to get better food soon, so just bear with it for now, okay? You’re a big girl, aren’t you, Katy?”

Oscar slowly brought the spoon of beans up to her mouth.

“It won’t work, Onii-chan. Katy just won’t—”

But much to Corrin’s surprise, Katy swallowed the mouthful of beans. When she saw that, Corrin’s eyes glazed over and her expression grew stony.

“There, there. That’s a good girl. Say ‘aaah,’ Katy.”

“Mmmmmm.”

Though Katy’s eyes still showed no expression, it seemed like she was happy. Even the way her hair bounced around her head looked cheerful.

“I hate you, Katy.”

“Waaah! Hey, Corrin! Stop that! I’m trying to feed her here!”

Corrin was mad that Katy would listen to Oscar, but not to her. And so, she started beating her fists against Katy’s legs. However, Katy blocked all of Corrin’s attacks and nuzzled up against Oscar. And that, in turn, made Corrin get jealous as well as even angrier.

“Th-That’s weird. Katy didn’t use to be that clingy. Especially not with Oscar.”

“Huh? Is that true, Ruth-kun?”

Miledi cocked her head at Ruth. According to Ruth, Katy was a tsundere to the core. Normally, she never let Oscar pamper her in any way. In fact, she always tried to act more like an adult whenever he was around. Things had to get really bad for Katy to hug Oscar of her own accord.

Upon hearing that, Meiru looked thoughtfully over at Oscar and muttered to herself, “Since Katy-chan’s will is currently locked in a struggle with the will of the warrior who possessed her, it’s probably likely that her base instincts have come to the forefront, and that’s what she’s expressing.”

In other words, Meiru was implying that despite her attitude, Katy secretly wanted to be pampered by Oscar.

“I see. So that’s why she’ll eat the beans when Oscar’s feeding her. Normally, she’d start crying every time we served them for dinner. Come to think of it, Dylan never really liked them either...”

Ruth glanced over at Dylan. He was methodically eating his beans, but his face was exceedingly pale. And though he showed no emotion, he looked oddly lonely.

“D-Dylan? We haven’t forgotten about you, buddy.”

Ruth turned to Dylan with a stiff expression, but Dylan quietly turned his back to him. He then resumed eating his beans. His lonely back looked so sad that everyone couldn’t help but feel sorry for the neglected child.

“Dylan-kuuun! Cheer up! We haven’t forgotten about you, really! Look, come over here. The amazing Miledi-oneesan will feed you!”

Miledi hurriedly turned to Dylan and spread her arms open for him to jump into them. Dylan glanced at Miledi, then blushed slightly. A glimmer of hope sparked in Ruth’s eyes as he watched.

“His expression’s changing!”

Dylan slowly got to his feet and started tottering over. But he walked straight past Miledi and fell into Meiru’s ample cleavage.

“......”

“M-Miledi, umm, are you okay? You look kinda... scary.”

Ruth took a few steps backward. At the same time, Meiru said cheerfully, “Oh my, Dylan-kun. Did you want to play with me that badly!? Fufufu, well, I do like boys who are honest with themselves.”

Meiru happily embraced Dylan, and his blank expression softened somewhat. According to Meiru, he was just following his instincts, so it was perhaps expected that he would gravitate to her over Miledi. He was a growing boy, after all.

As he watched, Ruth muttered, “I never knew you were into big boobs, Dylan...”

“Why does it always have to come down to boob size, dammit!?”

Miledi collapsed on all fours in frustration. She felt utterly defeated. But a second later, she suddenly looked up, a brilliant idea coming to mind.

“I know! I can just ask Van-chan to use metamorphosis magic on me and make my boobs huge! Van-chaaaaaan! Van-chan, where are you!?”

She ran around the village, shouting, “Van-chaaaaaan I need you to make my boobs biiiiiiiiiiiiiiig!”

That day, multiple eyewitnesses reported seeing a giant ice dragon fire its breath at a young girl.

Invincible Corrin

“Heh, that’s fifty matches and fifty losses for you.”

“Goddammit!” Oscar’s frustrated shout echoed through the square of the Liberators’ new hidden village, while Vandre grinned smugly down at him. Oscar was having Vandre teach him how to fight.

“Man, you’re pathetic. I thought you’d have improved at least a little by now.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry I don’t have any talent.”

“The problem is, if you’re not using your glasses’ abilities, they’re actually just useless. It’s because you’re wearing that crap that your movements are so dull.”

“I’d prefer it if you stopped insulting my glasses. If anything, that muffler of yours is even more useless than my glasses. You should look in a mirror sometime.”

“Insult my muffler one more time and I’ll snap your glasses in half.”

“Do that... and I’ll rip your muffler to shreds.”

The two men glared daggers at each other. The spectators watched on with mild exasperation. They’d grown quite used to this sight already. As they watched, a young girl trotted over to the two of them.

“Onii-chan, Van-oniisan, I brought you towels and water bottles!”

Oscar and, surprisingly, Vandre both smiled as they accepted the water bottles from Corrin. After taking a drink, they both reached out for the towels and accidentally grabbed the same one.

“......”

“......”

They exchanged a silent glance. There were two towels, so one of them just had to give this one up and there’d be no problem. But neither of them was willing to give an inch to the other. Oscar adjusted his glasses, while Vandre shifted his muffler. They both tightened their grip on the towel and glared menacingly at each other. But their silent staredown was interrupted when they heard a large ripping noise. Then, they looked down to see the towel had been torn in half. Corrin stared wordlessly down at the ruined towel.

“Err, Corrin, I didn’t mean to do that. This is all because that idiot Van refused to let go.”

“Hey, don’t make this my fault! I’m the one who grabbed it first, so—”

Just as the two were about to start arguing again, Corrin looked up at Oscar.

“Onii-chan, what do you say when you do something bad?” Corrin said that as he stared directly into Oscar’s eyes. Though she was just seven, her reproach carried immense weight.

“S-Sorry.”

Overwhelmed by the pressure, Oscar apologized. Vandre gave him a smug grin, but that grin didn’t last. For once, she was done with Oscar, so Corrin turned to Vandre.

“You too, Van-oniisan.”

“But Oscar’s the one who—”

“Van-oniisan, it’s important to treat things with respect.”

“Ngh... But... Well... my bad.”

Vandre blushed as he was scolded by a little girl. But Corrin wasn’t done lecturing them yet.

“Also, you two should try to get along. Onii-chan, I don’t want you to stop being the kind person I know. And Van-oniisan, if you’re always fighting with people, you’ll cause problems for Margaretta-oneesan, so you should try to be nicer.”

“Yeah, we’re sorry...”

The two men replied simultaneously. Their spirits had been crushed.

“Bahahaha! I can’t believe two grown men are being lectured by a little girl! Hey, you two, how does it feel? How does it feel to have your pride crushed?”

Miledi was thoroughly enjoying this spectacle. And since she was enjoying herself, she decided to expand the range of Corrin’s targets.

“Hey, Corrin-chan! Who else do you have a problem with!? You should tell them what they need to fix so they can improve themselves!”

Miledi walked up and hugged Corrin from behind. For a moment, Corrin seemed uncertain, but then Meiru chimed in as well, saying, “My, that does sound like a good idea. Surely there are one or two things about everyone that bothers you a little.”

“Th-That’s not... true.”

Corrin’s hesitation made it obvious that she didn’t mean that.

“Now now, Corrin. If you’ve got complaints about us, just be honest about them,” Marshal smiled and egged Corrin on as well.

After looking around uncertainly for a few seconds, Corrin finally made up her mind. Still looking a little reserved, she nevertheless met Marshal’s eyes and said, “Umm, Captain. Could you stop walking around naked after you take a bath?”

“Wha—!?” Marshal stiffened up. He hadn’t expected Corrin’s first complaint to be about him. Also, he only walked around half-naked. He did still wear a towel around his lower half.

“Because whenever you walk around naked, Mikaela-oneesan starts... acting weird.”

“Wha—!?”

Mikaela crumbled to the floor as Corrin basically indirectly called her a pervert. Of course, she was actually one, but that didn’t mean she wanted little girls thinking she was.

“Umm, humans need to wear clothes because we’re civilized animals, so please make sure you wear clothes, Captain.”

“I will, sorry...”

Marshal crumbled to the floor as Corrin basically indirectly called him an uncivilized beast.

“Also, Tony-oniisan. Stop leaving your clothes inside-out when you put them in the laundry.”

“Oh, okay... Sorry.”

“Abe-oniisan... don’t smoke so much... It smells bad.”

“Gah. M-My bad.”

“Shushu-oneesan, you need to eat your vegetables. I’m trying my best to make them taste good.”

“S-Sorry...”

“Susha-oneesan... you need to control yourself better...”

“Huh!? I-I’m sorry...”

“Naiz-oniisan... you don’t have to be that scared of Susha-oneesan...”

Naiz silently crumbled to the floor as well. Normally, Susha would have rushed to console him, but Corrin had just scolded her for being so overbearing, and she was at a loss for what to do. Incidentally, Tony and Abe had also crumbled to the floor. Corrin continued rattling off complaints, destroying every single one of the hardened members of the Liberators. Miledi and Meiru laughed uproariously as they watched the carnage play out before them. Unfortunately, Oscar and the others were too mentally destroyed to even glare reproachfully at them.

“Meiru-oneesan.”

“Huh? S-Surely you don’t have any complaints for me...”

“Please try to become less of a mess.”

Meiru took such a huge mental blow that she started vomiting blood. She dropped to all fours and started trembling uncontrollably. That was quite possibly the most shocking thing she’d ever been told.

“Corrin, what about Miledi!? Surely you have something to say to Miledi, too!” Oscar urged Corrin on, hoping to get something to laugh at Miledi about this time.

“Huh? Ummm... not really?”

“Corrin-chan, you’re the best! See? I’m totally perfect! How does it feel, O-kun? Knowing that I objectively have no flaws? Well? Bahahaha!”

“Impossible...”

Oscar’s disbelief was shared by everyone else there. Miledi hugged Corrin and grinned smugly at Oscar.

“I mean, you’re such an amazing person, Miledi-oneesan. You’re everyone’s leader, and you’re strong, and pretty, and...”

“S-Stop, you’re making me blush! Well, I guess it’s all true!”

“Yep. I know the real you is the cool Miledi-oneesan that saved Onii-chan back in the city.”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, I guess.”

“Even though you’re always joking around, that’s just because you’re trying to keep everyone’s spirits up...”

“U-Umm, Corrin-chan? I think you’re misunderstanding some—”

Corrin turned toward Miledi, her eyes sparkling with admiration. In Corrin’s eyes, Miledi was noble, beautiful, strong, and only joked around as a way of encouraging others. In other words, Corrin basically thought of Miledi as—

“You’re like a goddess.”

Everyone turned to Miledi. She clutched her chest and staggered a few steps backward. Corrin’s pure, innocent respect for Miledi was too much for the twisted leader of the Liberators.

“C-Corrin-chan, you’re an angel. But even though you’re an angel, it hurts...”

Miledi could feel her wicked heart being purified by Corrin’s divine grace. Corrin had managed to take out all of the Liberators, including their ancient magic users and even their leader. A feat no one else had been able to manage before. And, as Oscar and the others watched Corrin hurriedly run over to nurse Miledi, they all thought the same thing.

Corrin’s the strongest among us, isn’t she?

Glasses + Maid Uniforms + Crossdressers = War

Within the rocky village the Liberators had created for Andika’s refugees, a certain bunny girl was desperately trying to show Miledi she’d be useful to bring along on her journey.

“Here you go, Miledi. I finished doing your laundry. I’ll leave it over here for you.”

Miledi turned around to thank Kiara for her help.

“Thanks, Kia-chan. Can— Wait, what the heck are you wearing!?”

Miledi’s jaw dropped open when she saw Kiara’s appearance. The young bunny girl was wearing a pure white apron over a frilly, navy-blue one-piece dress. And on her head sat a frilly white headband.

“D-Does it not look good on me?” Kiara asked as she fidgeted awkwardly, her ears drooping. She looked so adorable that Miledi ended up getting a nosebleed.

“Miledi!? Are you okay!? You’ve been getting a lot of nosebleeds recently, are you sure you’re not sick!?”

“I’m fine, really. You just looked so cute.”

“Isn’t it dangerous if you start bleeding every time you see something cute!? That sounds like a horrible disease!”

Kiara dabbed at Miledi’s nose with a handkerchief to wipe off the blood. Unfortunately, her attempts to help just made Miledi’s nosebleed worsen. After all, the way she panicked was cute too. Meiru, who was standing nearby, had to cast restoration magic to keep Miledi from bleeding to death.

“This is your doing, isn’t it, O-kun?” Miledi asked as she pointed decisively at Oscar, who was adjusting his glasses to hide his expression.

“Kyaty showed me the wonders of a catgirl maid. And, as I suspected, a bunny maid is just as wonderful. Thanks to Kiara, I have made a groundbreaking discovery, Miledi. Animal ears and maid outfits are a godlike combination.”

“You really need to rein your fetish in, O-kun.”

Oscar ignored Miledi’s retort. He had eyes only for maid Kiara.

“Kiara, if you don’t mind, will you allow me to preserve your cute appearance for all eternity?”

As Oscar was a gentleman, he naturally asked for permission before taking pictures.

“O-Oscar-oniisan, you’re just exaggerating now...” Kiara said as she blushed shyly. Her embarrassed fidgeting was so cute that blood started gushing from Miledi’s nostrils again, forcing Meiru to once again use restoration magic.

“I’m not exaggerating at all. Right now, you’re radiant. If I had a maid as cute as you, I’d be in heaven!”

“Hey, don’t say that in front of Miledi!”

Kiara still believed that Oscar, as well as Naiz and Meiru, all had a special relationship with Miledi. Though everyone had told her it was a misunderstanding, she was unconvinced.

“Wh-Why are you trying to sweet-talk me when you already have Miledi? W-Wait, don’t tell me you want to have a threesome together with— Haaah!”

“If you want to go to heaven so badly, you perverted four-eyes, I’ll send you there myself.”

Kiara lost herself in her delusions again, while Miledi glared angrily at Oscar. Oscar ignored them completely and focused on taking pictures of Kiara, after he obtained her consent, of course. Only when he was done did he turn to Miledi and Meiru.

“Now then, you two. I’ve made special uniforms for you as well, so—”

“Meru-nee, catch!”

“Aye aye, ma’am!”

Miledi used gravity magic to snatch the two maid uniforms out of Oscar’s hands and sent them hurtling toward Meiru. Meiru then drew her sword-whip and sliced them to pieces.

“Aaaaaah! How could you!? I spent three whole days making those for you two!”

“Your obsession with maids is kinda scary, O-kun...”

“Indeed, even I can’t say I approve of it.”

Oscar fell to all fours while Miledi and Meiru stared coldly at him.

“Umm, I think they’re very cute at least... and they’re fitting clothes for a servant!”

Kiara hoped to become Miledi’s servant, so she was glad Oscar had given her the appropriate uniform. She was also glad to have the opportunity to wear something pretty, since she hadn’t had too many nice clothes back in Andika. Though she normally acted like a rough tomboy, she looked unbelievably cute in a maid uniform, and her attempts to cheer Oscar up worked somewhat.

“If you want to see a maid uniform that badly, look over here, darling!”

A deep voice boomed from behind the group. Turning around, Oscar and the others saw a terrifying monster whose appearance sapped away their sanity. Snowbell was wearing a sleeveless maid uniform with a short skirt. His thick, muscled arms and legs bulged out from underneath the dainty fabric. The uniform was wrapped so tightly around his massive pecs that it looked like the uniform might tear at any time. The top only covered his chest as well, so his massive six-pack was visible for all to see. But most blasphemous of all was the short skirt he was wearing.

“Bwaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”

Everyone who’d been watching Oscar and the others’ lighthearted exchange threw up.

“It’s sexy, right?” Snowbell asked, then struck a sexy pose and lifted his skirt up slightly. Of course, no one wanted to see what was underneath it.

“Aaah!? Meru-nee! Get a hold of yourself!”

The sight was so shocking that Meiru actually fainted. Most of Andika’s refugees had fainted as well. Those who hadn’t run away started screaming incoherently.

“Come, darling! Have your fill of this maid uniform!”

Snowbell flexed, making a few of the buttons on his maid uniform pop off. Any child who happened to see Snowbell started crying on the spot. Pale-faced, Miledi desperately urged Snowbell to stop.

“Please, change! At this rate, there’ll be casualties!”

But while everyone else was panicking, there was one man who bravely got to his feet.

“You heathen.”

Oscar’s eyes burned with a fierce rage. The fire in his eyes was so great it illuminated the frames of his glasses.

“How dare you blaspheme the holy maid uniform, you heathen! You’ve spit on the honor of the god of maids! Such heinous crimes deserve only death!”

Oscar sounded like a member of the church. The only difference was the god he worshiped.

Who the hell is the god of maids? Miledi thought idly to herself.

“What’s wrong with what I’ve done!?”

“Everything!” Oscar casually insulted Snowbell’s very existence, then leaped at the gargantuan man. “I’ll strip you down until you’re nothing but bones, you monster”

“Oh my, how passionate! But if you go that far, I’ll die!”

“Good. That’s what you deserve for besmirching the maid uniform!”

“How dare you call me an ugly heathen! I’ll make you pay for that!”

A huge shockwave spread across the rocky field as the two sides clashed. The maid uniform-wearing heathen and the maid uniform worshiping man were going at it for real. Miledi desperately tried to calm them down, but they didn’t listen. Just as she was considering flattening them both with gravity magic, Miledi’s savior arrived.

“Phew, I just got back with— Wait, what the hell is going on!?”

Miledi turned to Naiz and said in a teary voice, “Nacchan, stop those two idiots! Dump them into the sea.”

“I have no idea what’s going on, but alright.”

Right before the two of them clashed again, Naiz opened a portal, sending them both to the middle of the ocean.

“Our savior...”

“He’s saved us again!”

“Naiz-sama, we love youuuuuu!”

“You’re our guardian spirit! The protector of this desert!”

The residents of Andika all started cheering on Naiz. Their love for Naiz had grown, while their wariness toward Oscar had also grown. Thanks to this incident, everyone learned one simple formula: Glasses + Maid Uniforms + Crossdressers = War.

Boys’ Talk and the Aftermath

One quiet night in the Liberators’ hidden village within the forest, all of the men in Miledi’s party gathered under a single roof. At their center sat Naiz, gulping down glass after glass of cheap alcohol.

“Uhhh, Naiz, don’t you think you’re drinking too much?”

Oscar tried to gently warn his friend off drinking anymore. Groaning, Naiz put the cup down. He was already drunk enough that his face was flushed. Sighing, Vandre offered him a few snacks to help the alcohol settle.

“Don’t be so pathetic, Naiz. So you’ve got two girls clinging to you. What’s the big deal?”

“Every time I talk to them, it feels like they can see right through me.”

“......”

Naiz neither argued back nor insulted Vandre. He simply spoke the truth with such weight that even Vandre paused. In truth, the guys had all organized a men-only drinking night. Oscar had placed multiple powerful barriers to keep anyone not invited out. The reason for all this secrecy was Naiz. Oscar had wanted to create an atmosphere where Naiz felt safe to divulge his worries. And since his worries revolved around Susha and Yunfa, Oscar hadn’t wanted any girls overhearing.

“Well, I kinda get what you mean. Susha and Yunfa have been clinging to you the whole time we’ve been here,” Marshal said with a wry smile.

Things had gotten to the point where Susha and Yunfa somehow knew every single word Naiz said every day. Furthermore, they knew everything about his hobbies and preferences. They waited on him hand and foot, acting like they were his wives. Whenever they had the opportunity, they’d sit down on either side of him and monopolize his attention. Yunfa hugged him every chance she got, and while Susha attempted to be more modest in public, she still made relatively bold overtures all the same. Both of the girls worshiped Naiz with a fervor that bordered on fanatical, and whenever they were with Naiz, the other Liberators couldn’t bring themselves to talk to him, even when they wanted to.

“So, what do you think of them, anyway?”

“Isn’t it obvious? They’re kids. There’s no way I’d see them like that.”

Naiz gave the common sense reply. Unfortunately, that common sense defense wouldn’t last forever. “But as time passes, I can feel their approaches getting more aggressive... I’m scared...”

Recently, the villagers had started asking Naiz when he’d hold the wedding ceremony. Susha and Yunfa had already brought the other women in the village over to their side.

“So why don’t you just tell them they’re not in your strike zone?” Vandre asked as he pointed a suspicious look at Naiz.

“I did.”

Seriously!? Everyone turned to Naiz in shock. Marshal and the others knew exactly what Susha and Yunfa’s personalities were like, and they were amazed that there hadn’t been some huge incident the day Naiz had told them they were too young.

“You guys are acting like Susha’s the demon lord or something,” Vandre said, confused. Judging by how terrified Naiz looked as he recalled the moment he’d told them that he wasn’t interested in them, Susha may well have been more terrifying than the demon lord.

“To be honest, I am happy that they like me, but... I feel like they’re wasting their time fawning over me like this... Man, what do I do?”

Wanting to help his friend, Oscar adjusted his glasses and said, “Sometimes, you just have to learn to give up.”

If Naiz gave up, he felt as though he’d be disgracing his dead family. Trying to drown out his sorrows, he downed another cup of alcohol.

“Anyway, what about you, Oscar?” Marshal turned to Oscar and asked that question, trying to change the subject into something more pleasant. Oscar gave him a confused look, so he added, “I’m talking about Miledi. How far have you two gone?”

“Give me a break. We’re not like that. Neither of us has feelings for each other.”

Oscar waved his hand dismissively. His reaction made it seem as if there really was nothing between them.

“Didn’t you tell my brother you’d never hand Miledi over to a guy like him or something, though?”

“Van!?”

Marshal and the others looked at Oscar with renewed interest.

“Oho, is that so? Just so you know, Oscar...”

“Wh-What?”

“The moment you and Miledi become a couple, half of the Liberators will become your enemy. Namely, all the guys.”

“Well, that’ll never happen but... do you guys seriously like her that much?”

“Of course we do! Yeah, she’s normally just an annoying clown, but her real personality’s amazing! And she’s a beauty to boot! There are tons of guys who are totally in love with her! Come on, even you’ve gotta admit she looks captivating when she’s being serious!”

Oscar adjusted his glasses to hide his expression. But of course, his silence spoke louder than any confession. Realizing he couldn’t defend himself, Oscar instead decided to launch a counterattack.

“Well, what about you, Marshal!? I’m sure you know Mikaela’s raping you with her eyes every time you walk out of the bath, right!?”

“Don’t word it like that! It hits too close to home!”

Marshal had only recently discovered that Mikaela peeked on him in the bath, and he still didn’t know how to process this new knowledge. In order to change the topic, he swapped to yet another target.

“Van, what about you! Are you into that Margaretta woman!?”

“Hell no. She’s family, you moron!”

“Then who’s your type!? Who do you like most out of the girls here!?” Marshal asked as he leaned closer to Vandre. Oscar and the others turned to him as well, their eyes brimming with curiosity.

After considering the question for a few minutes, Vandre replied, “Shushu probably.”

“Are you fucking serious!?”

Everyone stared at Vandre in shock. They couldn’t believe he was into someone as rude and coarse as Shushu.

“She’s got slender legs. I actually asked her to model for me, but I haven’t been able to convince her yet.”

Oh, that’s what you meant... Oscar sighed in relief. However, the topic of people’s types had caught on among the other guys. They started discussing who was their type and who they thought was cute, secure in the knowledge that no girls were around.

Around the time the party was beginning to wind down, Oscar muttered, “In the end, no one said they’d go out with Meiru, huh...?”

There was a brief moment of silence. Then, the guys all looked at each other and said simultaneously, “Sure, she’s hot, but just look at her personality!”

For some time, the guys all joked about how hopeless Meiru was when it came to taking care of herself. Naturally, all of them had forgotten that this “hopeless” pirate queen could use magic to observe the past.

The next day, Miledi returned from her patrol to find Oscar and the other men all standing in the town square.

“Hey, O-kun, everyone! What’re you guys—”

“Yes, Meiru-oneesan is the best.”

“Meiru-sama is wonderful.”

“She’s our goddess.”

“We all love Meiru-sama.”

“Meiru-sama’s so beautiful.”

Oscar and the others simply repeated those lines with dead eyes.

“Meru-neeeeeeeee! What did you do to O-kun and the others!?” Miledi’s shout drowned out the monotonous words of praise Oscar and the others robotically repeated.