Chapter 6: Saint? No! I’m Just a Passing Beast Tamer!

“Truly, our spirits have never been higher. It has been quite some time since we have felt this refreshed. What say you? Is not our body more limber?” Zag’giel darted from one of Kanata’s shoulders to the other. It wasn’t actually particularly fast, but it was more than enough to pierce Kanata’s heart.

“Woooowwww...” Kanata breathed. Zag’giel’s soft, freshly brushed fluff was positively heavenly. “You’ve really powered up, Zaggy! This is way too amazing!”

“However, Kanata, let us return to our original point. It was not we who needed equipment, but you yourself. Shall we go back to the smithy and have you armored?”

It probably wouldn’t make the best impression for them to return immediately after leaving, but with the send-off Lily had given them, she would certainly be happy to make equipment for Kanata.

“Equipment for me?”

“Indeed.”

“Why?” Kanata asked, confused. “I don’t need it.”

Zag’giel flailed his short stubby paws. “What are you saying?! Of course you need it! How do you intend to defend yourself wearing that—” He stopped himself. “Although, come to think of it, you seem to have no trouble at all.”

Zag’giel had yet to see Kanata take a single wound in battle. She was not only preposterously strong, but also a genius with healing and dimensional magic. It might not be an exaggeration to say she was invincible. All while her abilities were lowered by her Profession. It defied all logic.

“I’d rather prioritize you, Zaggy,” she said. “I couldn’t bear to see your fluff hurt!”

They argued in that vein for a while, each wanting to put the other first. In the end, Zag’giel was the one to fold. “Kh... If we were not so weak, you would have no cause to worry for our defense. Very well! If you will do without armor, Kanata, then we shall grow until you do not need it!”

“Zaggy’s gonna grow?” Kanata asked.

“Indeed! We shall grow until we can protect you!” With his strong body, he meant.

“You’re gonna protect me?” With his fluff, she meant.

Zag’giel was imagining his form changed into something fierce and tough, while Kanata was imagining an even fluffier Zag’giel, but both of them were excited for the future they envisioned.

“Mhh!” Kanata exclaimed. “That would be incredible!”

“Yes! It shall be!”

Their misunderstanding yet unresolved, they walked through the shopping district. Eventually, they noticed a conspicuous crowd.

“What is that?” asked Zag’giel. “Is some performance about to start?”

“I dunno...” Kanata mused. “I can’t see from here.”

The more they walked, the thicker the crowd got. It seemed to be concentrated around the great gate that connected Midtown to Undertown.

“Open the gate!” someone hollered. “Open the gaaaate!”

The gate was very, very large, and usually only one door would be open at a time. But now the guards seemed to be working to heave the whole thing wide open. Beyond the gate, Kanata and Zag’giel could see an enormous platform cart pulled along by a great team of horses.

“That’s huge!” they heard someone in the crowd remark.

“I can’t believe what I’m looking at...” said another.

As they watched, the crowd got a good look at the thing that was loaded onto the platform cart, and let out a cheer—it was a colossal dragon. The dragon was held in place by layer upon layer of steel webbing to prevent it from getting away. However, the dragon showed no interest in going on a rampage. Perhaps he was unconscious—all he did was take in slow, shallow breaths. But even that was no joke. Each puff of his breath sent out a little whirlwind, tossing up dust and garbage from the street and making the townsfolk shriek as their clothes were blown upward.

Zag’giel looked. “That is the dragon you defeated, Kanata. Is it not?”

“Oh, you’re right! It’s missing the scale on its neck!”

Kanata had ripped the underscale off of the dragon’s chin, and she’d taught him a lesson with her fire, which far outclassed his own. Realizing the difference between their power, the dragon had fainted from shock. He had yet to recover.

The guild, having finally set their sights on collecting the dragon, had arranged for him to be carried into town. He was probably taken alive so that the royal laboratories could use him as a subject for experiments. Although dragons were particularly dangerous magic beasts, this one didn’t seem like he was in his best condition after what had happened.

“Our old follower...” Zag’giel sighed. “There is nothing we can do. It is the law of the demon world that those who are defeated are the prey of the victor. But it gives us no pleasure to watch. Kanata, let us be gone.”

“Oh,” Kanata muttered, “the dragon’s waking up.”

Suddenly, the voices of screaming women filled the square. “It’s awake! The dragon opened its eyes!”

“Didn’t they give it something to make it sleep?!”

“It must have worn off!”

The townsfolk cowered and trembled as the dragon regarded them with frightful eyes—his pupils were narrow slits. Everyone was frozen in place, too frightened even to run. Even the guild staff members who had brought the dragon here looked tense. They were trying to calm the horses, just praying that the dragon would close his eyes again.

“D-Don’t worry, everyone!” said one of the guild staff, trying to calm down his subordinates. “Even if the dragon’s awake, the webs we have binding it are made special, out of steel. Even a dragon would be torn to shreds if it tried to break out of that!”

The staff member was immediately forced to retract his statement. A terrible rumbling issued from the dragon’s throat as his muscles seemed to grow. His limbs swelled up like tree trunks, and he effortlessly shattered the steel web.

“Grarwooooooooooown!” he bellowed, taking to his feet.

The townsfolk screamed.

The horses were wild with fear, while the guild staff were forced to cover their ears to block out the deafening roar. The onlookers were tripping over each other in their haste to escape.

“What in the world...?” The guild staff member who had spoken stared up at the dragon in disbelief. His vision felt like it was going dark. “I can’t...” he muttered. “It’s over...” He was so overcome by fear that he didn’t even notice that he was drooling.

If the dragon were to go on a rampage in the middle of the city, how many lives would be lost? The dragon would burn houses and gobble up humans. It could very well mean the destruction of the Royal Capital.

“Graaooooooooooorn!” The dragon’s eyes were red with fury. It was not a question of whether the people would forgive their mistake—the dragon certainly would not. The dragon would massacre these humans who’d dared to insult his pride by casting him in bonds. That’s what his burning eyes seemed to say.

“Someone...” the guild staff member gasped. “Someone...someone save us...”

But who would that someone be? As it happened, there was someone in the crowd who could stand up to that dragon. But the man’s cries for help were drowned out by the dragon’s roars.

† † †

The dragon would not forgive humankind for imprisoning him. He roared his rage to the heavens.

“R-Run awaaaaay!”

“Don’t push! That’s dangerous!”

“Shut up! I don’t wanna die!”

The crowd was in a panic, pushing and shoving even as they tried to escape. They flowed past Kanata like river rapids rushing around a rock.

“Look at his eyes!” Zag’giel shouted. “He has forgotten himself in his anger! If we do not put a stop to this, this city will be consumed by the flames!” He mewled pitifully on Kanata’s shoulder. Zag’giel did not feel any moral obligation to save human lives, but this was the city in which Kanata lived. He was prepared to lay down his life at a single word from her.

“You’re right,” said Kanata. “Now, Zaggy...” she started.

“Yes! We are yet trapped in this puny body, but if you wish it, Kanata, we shall risk our very life to stop him!”

“Hold on tight, okay?” Kanata finished.

“What?” Alas, as worked up as Zag’giel was, it was not his time to shine.

Kanata placed a hand on Zag’giel’s back and stepped forward. She darted between the fleeing townsfolk, moving fast, until she came up to the dragon.

“Hey!” The guild staff member, who had refused to run away, spoke in a trembling voice. “What are you doing?! Do you wanna get eaten?!” But Kanata stepped past without paying him any mind.

“Kanata,” said Zag’giel, “do you intend to face him here? He will not discriminate. If you fight in the city, you will be putting people in danger, will you not?”

“Don’t worry,” said Kanata, “I’m not gonna fight him. I’m gonna use persuasion.”

“What did you say?! Kanata, that is not possible! He may be the victim of mind-control magic, but he is yet an enemy! He is far too mad with rage to listen!”

“It’ll be okay! If you wanna make friends with an animal, you can’t show any fear. You have to approach them calmly and openly. Empty your mind—that’s what the big shots in the animal world say.”

Zag’giel had no idea what Kanata was talking about.

The dragon looked down and noticed Kanata, approaching slowly, step by step.

“Ghrrrrrrr...” he growled, gazing down at them with wrathful eyes.

Will you be my first prey? he seemed to say. And then, recognizing Kanata, he suddenly stopped moving entirely.

Some of the fleeing townsfolk stopped, noticing the change in the dragon’s behavior. “Look!” someone shouted.

“It stopped!” said another.

Kanata smiled kindly and spread her arms wide. “It’s okay!” she said. “Don’t be afraid...” The dragon showed no signs of attacking.

“Incredible!” Zag’giel exclaimed in surprise. “Kanata, you really were able to reach him!”

However, a second later, Zag’giel realized that the dragon was acting strangely. The dragon was shaking and trembling.

“Gh-Ghrrrrowrh...” he rumbled.

He was terrified. In his mind, he was reliving his memories of the outlandish defeat he had suffered at this girl’s hands. No. Defeat might be too mild a term. He had been crushed, unable to resist as the girl ripped off his underscale and overwhelmed his breath—the pride of a dragon—with her own massively more powerful fire. In all his long life, he had never feared anyone as much as Kanata. His inability to stop quivering attested to that much. He knew how much power that girl hid in her small body.

In that moment, the dragon gave up all hope for victory. “Gowrh... Ghwrron... Ghrrrroon...” He drooped his head. At least, he hoped, it might be a quick death.

“See? Look!” said Kanata, petting the dragon above his nostrils. “He’s not afraid of me!”

“No,” said Zag’giel. “Rather, we do not believe it would be possible for him to be more afraid.”

The crowd, who had been watching with bated breath, broke out in a cheer. “She did it! She calmed the dragon’s fury!”

“It’s a miracle! The advent of a Saint!”

“Oh! Her smile is so full of love! That girl must be a Saint!” They hailed their savior with jubilation.

Kanata, meanwhile, was thinking, A dragon’s nose doesn’t feel very good to pet. Its fluff score just isn’t high enough...

† † †

“What did you say?!” Melissa turned pale when she heard the report from the adventurer who had come running into the guildhall. The live dragon had broken free midtransit and had begun to rampage in the middle of the city. Such a thing happening in a city full of ordinary humans would mean untold death and destruction. Melissa shook at the mere thought of it.

“We depart at once!” she said. There was no time to wait for the guildmaster’s approval. She gave orders as the highest-ranking member of the guild staff currently available. “Prioritize the evacuation of the residents, and recapture the dragon if you can! If it can’t be done, we must lure it outside the city at all costs! I knew it was reckless to try to capture a true dragon alive. To think the laboratories’ senseless demands would come to this...” Cursing the name of the royal laboratories that had demanded they bring the dragon back alive, as a valuable test subject, Melissa grabbed her sword. She was prepared to fight to the death.

Empty-handed adventurers and armed guild staff charged out of the guild and ran to the scene. But when they got there, they heard not screams, but cries of joy. There wasn’t a single dead or injured person to be found. In fact, they were grinning and applauding. Melissa could hear people saying things like “It’s a miracle!” or “A Saint!”

“Wh-What’s going on?” Melissa marveled. It looked like the cheering crowd was all facing one person. “Excuse me!” she said as she pushed her way through the wall of onlookers. “I need to get through!” And there, on the other side, was—

“Oh! Miss Melissa!” said the black-haired girl as she gently stroked the dragon above the nostrils.

“Gwroooon... Gwrooooowon...” the dragon said. He was lying flat on the ground in a show of total submission, shaking like a puppy caught in the rain. He looked like he thought the girl stroking his muzzle might at any moment rip off his snout.

“M-Miss Kanata?! You again?!” Kanata had crossed Melissa’s mind as a possible resource, it is true, but she hadn’t imagined the girl would arrive at the scene of the crisis with such perfect timing. As soon as she saw Kanata and the cowering dragon, Melissa understood what had happened. “I still can’t believe how outlandishly powerful you are,” she said, returning the rapier, which she had so bravely brought to face a dragon, to its sheath. She was still afraid of the enormous dragon, but it didn’t look like he was going to do anything as long as Kanata was there. The memory of Kanata’s overwhelming victory was etched into the very core of the dragon’s being.

“Hello, Miss Melissa!” Kanata said. “I haven’t seen you since yesterday!”

“Hello? Is that what you have to say? First yesterday and now today... Miss Kanata, what are you really?!”

In three short days, Kanata had struck down the Roc Brothers, defeated a dragon, utterly purified the sewers, and now averted a crisis in the Royal Capital. Even the heroes of fantastic tales don’t perform such feats in such quick succession!

“No...” Melissa said. “First, I should thank you. Miss Kanata, because you were here, this ended without any of the city’s residents being hurt. I can’t imagine what we would have done without you. You have my unending gratitude.” She bowed her head deeply, but Kanata just casually waved it off.

“Oh, it’s no big deal,” Kanata said. “We just took care of it while we were out shopping.” To Kanata, apparently, subjugating dragons was something you did on the way back from a shopping trip.

Melissa was starting to doubt her own sanity. “But... We are in your debt once again. We still haven’t decided what to do with your reward for defeating the dragon. When the guildmaster hears about this, he is going to faint.”

Perhaps, Melissa thought, they could work out some alternative payment with Kanata, like the city official had done. But if the other adventurers learned that the guild had done that, it might diminish their trust. Part of the cooperative relationship between adventurers and the guild was the promise that the guild would pay reward money without trickery. It might cost them in the long run if they made an exception to the rule now. That was what Melissa hoped more than anything to prevent.

“Oh,” said Kanata. “I have an idea of what to do about that. Do you have a moment?”

“I have a moment!” Melissa said. “Yes, I have a moment!” Kanata had given her a lifeboat. If there was a way to settle this without damaging the guild’s reputation, Melissa was all ears. “So what’s your brilliant plan?”

“Well,” began Kanata, “you see...”

Melissa nodded along. “I see... I see... Wait, what?!” Kanata’s plan was enough to make her reel in shock.

† † †

“Hey, Melissa, are we really just gonna watch? Shouldn’t we kill that thing while it’s being quiet?”

“I already explained,” Melissa answered the adventurer. “I’m in charge here, so follow my instructions.”

Kanata had asked Melissa to clear the area of people, and so she did. The townsfolk, now reduced to mere gawkers, were pushed back by the guild, but they remained at the far periphery of the area, watching the spectacle of the girl standing in front of the dragon. They were too far away, however, to hear what was being said, which was precisely what Kanata wanted.

Kanata, and Kanata alone, could resolve the affair with the dragon. Melissa and her adventurers stood silently and watched.

“But,” continued the adventurer who had objected, “what happens if it goes berserk again?”

“If that happens, Kanata will stop it,” said Melissa. “You can talk about killing it all you like, but do you have the strength to rip off a dragon’s scales? I certainly do not.”

“I-If you can’t do it, there’s no way I could,” he said. “But that’s not what I meant. We don’t have to use weapons. We could have the laboratories get us some poison...”

“The laboratories were the ones who wanted us to bring the dragon back alive. I doubt they’d give you permission to kill it. And anyway, the sleeping drug they gave it doesn’t seem to have worked. I don’t think they can handle this either.”

“But...” the adventurer protested, “I don’t know about leaving it to that girl...”

“You wouldn’t say that if you’d seen her work firsthand,” said Melissa. “I’d trust her above the laboratories’ poisons any day.” With that, Melissa turned away from the adventurer and returned to watching Kanata. She was sick of repeating herself. The adventurer, sensing that he’d get nothing more from her, let out an anxious sigh.

The dragon was crouched down on the ground in front of Kanata, shaking like a puppy. He whined pitiably. His eyes, which had been red with fury only a minute ago, showed no hint of aggression. He looked around. Through his hazy consciousness, he perceived that he was surrounded by a great number of humans. He couldn’t imagine that he would serve a human, but then why was he kneeling in submission? The dragon was confused.

“Ghh...” he managed, “what...what am I doing?” He decided to find somewhere quiet to collect his thoughts and spread his wings. The movement caused a stir in the crowd. And then, from below, he heard a voice.

“He has recovered enough of his mind to speak?” the voice asked. “Perhaps his instinctual fear was too great for Zarbok’s control to suppress. He must have broken free.”

The dragon looked down, and he saw a young girl holding a black ball of fur in her arms. He recognized that voice. “You!” he exclaimed. “Your Infernal Majesty?!” He lowered his raised head back down, and once more prostrated himself.

“Indeed we are,” Zag’giel said with a “miu.” He looked adorable—completely lacking the dignity befitting his station. “But we are impressed that you could recognize us in this state.”

“Ha ha!” the dragon laughed. “I would recognize your aura anywhere, no matter what form you took!”

“We see!” Zag’giel said. “No matter what form, is it?” The truth is, the dragon had been made to memorize Zag’giel’s current form while being brainwashed in order to kill him, but the pair were too overjoyed by their reunion to think of something like that. “Tell us,” Zag’giel asked, “how much do you remember?”

“I heard that you had perished, Your Infernal Majesty,” the dragon said. “I couldn’t believe it, so I hastened to your castle to see for myself. I remember Zarbok took me by surprise; everything after that is a blur. I think there were others like me. That bastard Zarbok must have done the same to many of your loyal retainers—the strong ones, at least.”

“We thought that might be the case...” Zag’giel said. “However, why would he send the Roc Brothers after us now of all times?”

“I can’t remember clearly, but I think I remember that he was in a hurry to send us to kill you.”

“He was in a hurry?” Zarbok had taken control of Zag’giel’s army. What cause would he have to hurry now? The only thing he could imagine was that Zarbok feared that the curse might be broken. “But why? The condition for lifting the Goddess’s curse—that so-called trial of hers—was to earn the love of one million...”

As ill-natured as she was, the Goddess was still a supernal being. The conditions of her curse were absolute. There could be no other way to break it. Then why would Zarbok, who had been content to leave Zag’giel to his misery for the longest time, suddenly feel the need to send assassins? Perhaps he had seen a sign that the curse was beginning to lift?

“Have we been earning love?” Zag’giel asked. “Impossible. Who would love one so ruthless as we?” There was only one person he could think of...

“Hm?” Kanata asked, looking innocently down at the Demon King in her arms. “What’s wrong?” Kanata had taken him in, even in his feeble, pathetic state. Her heart was overflowing with infinitely more kindness and grace than that Goddess could imagine.

“No...” Zag’giel said, “even if we have received love from Kanata, the curse will only be broken with the love of one million. Kanata alone would not be enough. There must be some other reason.” Zag’giel rejected that line of thinking. “Perhaps...” he thought, “as Kanata’s magic beast, the adulation she has received has passed on to us in the form of love?”

It might be possible. Kanata had certainly performed incredible feats. She had performed so well in school that everyone had heard her reputation, brought down a wanted beast as soon as she became an adventurer, and healed the people of Undertown. Now she had saved the city from the threat of a rampaging dragon. Some of those who had witnessed her feats had gone so far as to bend their knees in worship. If that was the case, perhaps he could obtain sufficient love to break the curse from the faith the humans of the Royal Capital had for Kanata. Zag’giel had no way of knowing what state the seed the Goddess had given him was in, but perhaps it had started to bud. Perhaps that was why Zarbok was in a hurry.

“Perhaps we are close to recovering our old strength,” Zag’giel mused. Zarbok must fear that the former ruler would once again conquer the Dark Continent and reign as Demon King. Zag’giel might even seek revenge against that wicked Goddess.

The dragon sent a puff of fire into the air. “When you do,” he said, “we shall strike Zarbok down!”

“No,” said Zag’giel, shaking his head once. “We shall not.”

“Wh-What?!”

“We owe everything we have to Kanata,” said Zag’giel. “It would not do to leave that debt unpaid. A human’s lifespan is brief. So long as Kanata lives, we shall not abandon her.”

“I see!” the dragon said. “Such nobility, to always repay debts, even to a human! I suppose, then, that nothing can be done. I shall remain here, and serve Your Infernal Majesty once more!”

“No,” said Zag’giel. “You are no longer under our command.”

“Wh-What?!” the dragon said again.

“From this day forward, you shall serve as one of Kanata’s magic beasts.”

“A proud dragon such as I, lowered to becoming the possession of a human girl?!” The dragon had taken Kanata for one of Zag’giel’s servants. The suggestion that he might serve her came as a total shock.

“Does that displease you?” Zag’giel asked. “Under our law, the victor may do as they will with the vanquished. It is only logical for the weak to serve the strong.”

“I...” The dragon hesitated. “I suppose that’s true...”

“Then there is no reason to refuse. After all, Kanata has defeated you.”

“Wh-Wh-Whaaaaat?!” the dragon roared. “I lost to a little girl?! No...” He hesitated. “But...I was shaking! It was just like what happened when I challenged Your Infernal Majesty and lost! No...even greater than that! It’s faint, but I remember...fire piercing the heavens...the difference between our power...” He could feel the trauma coming back to him and quickly put a lid on those memories. “I-It seems you speak true,” he said. “The law is the law. I will not complain.”

The dragon bowed his head to Kanata. “I bid you greetings, my master,” he said. “From this day, my fangs and my wings are yours! I shall serve you with the whole of my being.”

Kanata smiled cheerfully. “Oh, that’s okay!” she said. “I don’t need them.”

“Wh— Hw— H-Huh?!” the dragon and Zag’giel exclaimed together, shocked.

“Mister Dragon,” Kanata said, “do you understand what makes you and Zaggy different?”

“Wh... What makes us different?”

“Look at how cute Zaggy is when he’s all stunned like that! Oh my gosh! I want to dive face-first into his belly!” I want to, Kanata had said, as if she hadn’t already done it. With a look of utter confusion on his face, the dragon watched her rub her face into his king’s belly.

“Wh-What do you mean?”

“Can’t you tell?” Kanata asked. “It’s just that your fluff score isn’t high enough to come along on my journey!”

“My fluff score?”

“Yes! Your fluff score!”

What on earth was a fluff score? The dragon was only getting more and more confused. He wasn’t the most proficient in human speech, but he did his best to understand what Kanata was saying. His fluff score was too low, it seemed. It must be something Zag’giel had that he did not.

Suddenly it hit him. “I see!” said the dragon. “I understand!” Fluff must be a unit of power. That made sense. If his strength was one fluff, then Zag’giel’s power would be one hundred fluff. Compared to the King of Demons, his power was nothing. He would only get in their way.

“You do?” Kanata asked.

“Yes, I do. Of course. Truly, I am not fit to accompany you on your journey.” He didn’t understand at all, but his interpretation led him to the same place just as well. He acknowledged his inferiority with true sportsmanship. “However,” he said, “it would dishonor dragonkind if I did not find some way to be of use to you. Is there anything you would have me do?”

“There is!” said Kanata. “I can think of a perfect job!”

“You can?!” Excited, the dragon began to wag his tail like a dog’s. It was somewhat cute, but, alas, it did not raise his fluff score. “What is it? I’ll do anything!”

“I’d like you to protect the Royal Capital,” said Kanata. “Can you do that, Mister Dragon?”

“Hmm...” the dragon said. “The guardian of a city, is it?” He looked around, at the onlookers watching with curiosity and fear. “It seems that while I was not myself, I caused these humans a great deal of trouble.”

This was Kanata’s plan that she’d shared with Melissa. The dragon would be registered as one of her magic beasts, and, in recompense for the panic he had caused, Kanata would have him serve as guardian of the region. The reward for defeating the dragon and the Roc Brothers would be paid over time, in the form of the dragon’s living expenses.

“I see, I see,” the dragon said when the matter was explained. “I am very grateful for your help with food and housing.”

In this way, the issue was resolved without any harm done to Kanata, or the dragon, or the guild, or the people of the Royal Capital. If any party had cause to dislike the arrangement, it was the laboratories alone, who had been very much looking forward to getting their hands on a live dragon. But the panic, in any event, had been caused because of the failure of the laboratories’ sleeping drug. With the dragon registered under Kanata’s name, the guild had every right to simply ignore their protests.

“Very well,” the dragon said. “I shall protect this city until my bones are reduced to dust.” He spread his wings wide, and he let forth a mighty roar. “Heed me, humans! I am to serve as your protector! No harm shall befall this city as long as I reside within it!”

The crowd murmured with surprise at the dragon’s proclamation.

“In the name of my master, Lady Kanata, I swear it!” With a beat of his wings, he took to the sky. “Now, I will leave to see for myself the lay of the land. Farewell!”

“See you!” Kanata said, waving back at the dragon, who was now soaring high in the sky.

Once again, the people cried out with joy.

“Gods above! She didn’t just quell the dragon’s wrath! She tamed it and made it the guardian of our city!”

“If a magic beast is doing what she says, wouldn’t that make her a Beast Tamer?”

“There’s no way a dragon would take orders from someone as weak as a Beast Tamer!”

“Then...what does this mean?!”

“It’s a miracle! The Saint has brought about a miracle!”

“I knew it! That girl is a Saint!”

“Your Holiness! Your Holiness! Your Holiness!”

The people from the Adventurers’ Guild called out for quiet, but it looked like it was going to take a while for the crowd to settle down.

“Well!” said Kanata. “That settles that! Do you wanna get back to shopping, Zaggy?”

“You give no thought to the adoration of the masses, we see,” Zag’giel remarked. “That is a mark of true greatness. That said, have you forgotten? You gave your money to Lily.”

“Oh, that’s right!” Kanata said. “I guess we’ll have to earn more.”

“No, no, no,” Melissa interjected, “hang on! We need you to stay here so you can register your dragon and we can question you for the incident report! There’s lots to do without making more work for yourself. If you need money, you can take some out of your reward fund.”

Kanata puffed out her cheeks in a pout, and Zag’giel sighed in exasperation, while Melissa prepared herself for another day of overtime.

† † †

Once more, we return to the castle of the Demon King on the Dark Continent. Zarbok was trembling with fear, his face stiff, holding the glass that had once contained a seed—now it was an actual flower. It was still in its bud, but it was vibrantly colored and healthy. It looked like it might bloom at any moment.

“Impossible...” Zarbok muttered. “The flower has grown so quickly! At this rate, the curse on the Demon King will be broken...”

If the curse broke and the Demon King regained his strength, there was no question as to what he would do next. He would return to the Dark Continent and execute Zarbok as a traitor. The hatred Zag’giel must have for him after living a miserable life for so long, as the lowest of all magic beasts, must be unfathomable. Even if he surrendered completely, there was no chance at all that he would be forgiven. Zag’giel was ruthless. He would make an example of Zarbok and execute him in some unimaginably horrific way. The thought of it made his hair stand on end.

“Wh-What do I do? Has it come to this? Do I send my entire army to exterminate him?”

The Demon King Zag’giel was strong. He was a brilliant tactician, yes, and cunning, but the reason he had become the Demon King came down to power, plain and simple. In the demon world, power was everything. The weak were to serve the strong. If the Demon King were to return, most of the Dark Continent would immediately flock to his banner. Zarbok, with his brainwashed soldiers, would be no match for him. Once the flower bloomed, it was over. Struggle as he might, Zarbok would have lost.

“Confound it!” he spat. “Everything had been going so well, for centuries! Why is this happening?!” He crouched down, clutching his head. He couldn’t play his strongest card—not if he wanted to one day make war on the humans. All he could do was send more assassins and pray. He would even pray to that wretched Goddess, begging her with his whole body and spirit for aid.

Suddenly, interrupting his hysterics, the door flew open. “Lord Zarbok!” said his minion. “Terrible news!”

“Wh-What’s all this ruckus about?!” Zarbok snapped at his minion, pretending to be merely annoyed. He hid the flower behind his back and did his best to act like nothing was wrong.

“Th-They’re all dead! Every magic beast you sent as an assassin! We’ve lost contact!”

“What?!” Zarbok snapped. “What happened?!”

“A-According to our scrying magic, they were struck down by dragon fire,” the minion said. “It seems the dragon has joined the enemy...”

“The dragon switched sides?!” That dragon had once sworn an oath of loyalty to Zag’giel. That was why it had been necessary to brainwash him and rob him of his mind. If he had switched sides, it could only mean that the mind control magic had been broken. There was only one person who could have overcome Zarbok’s powerful magics, returned the dragon to his senses, and then brought the dragon once more under his command—the Demon King Zag’giel.

“Curse you, Zag’giel!” Zarbok shouted. “How much of your power have you regained?!”

The flower was already peeking out of its bud. The Goddess had said that when Zag’giel had obtained the love of one million the curse would be broken and the flower would bloom. That couldn’t have been a lie. A curse such as that would not be successful if the conditions contained a falsehood. Zag’giel was in the Royal Capital. Therefore, it stood to reason that he had obtained the love of the city’s populace. That would account for the sudden growth of the flower.

Zarbok had thought that it would be impossible for a million people to love someone as cold and brutal as Zag’giel. He had certainly never expected him to become loved by humanity. His victory should have been assured when the Demon King was inflicted with that unyielding curse, but everything was falling to pieces around him.

“Curse you!” he shouted. “Curse you! Cuuurse yooooooooou!” The glass he was gripping in his hand began to crack under the pressure of his grip. He wanted to crush the accursed flower, but there was no point. The flower was nothing more than an indicator of when the curse would be lifted. Crushing it would only leave him ignorant of Zag’giel’s state.

“L-Lord Zarbok! What do we do?” his minion asked.

“Ghhh...” The dragon had been the strongest fighter in his army. If he had switched sides, there would be no point in sending more assassins. They would simply be struck down. He was afraid of leaving himself vulnerable to attack from other demon nations if he made a move with his army, but if the Demon King returned, he would no doubt be executed on the spot. “We cut off the serpent’s head before he has a chance to revive!” Zarbok declared. “Yes! If we leave now, we may yet make it in time!”

There wasn’t a moment to lose. Zarbok threw away his dreams of invading the human realm and resolved himself to marshal his whole army with only one objective—the death of Zag’giel!

† † †

“Look, Zaggy! Look, look! We’re finally ready to set out on our journey!”

“Indeed! It is a thrilling sight!”

Before them, spread out on the floor, was a great collection of preserved food and camping supplies. For the past several days, Zag’giel and Kanata had been scrounging up and down the city for travel supplies.

“However,” Zag’giel said, “is this not too great a quantity to fit in a bag?” Then he remembered. “Ah, yes. You can use dimensional magic, we suppose.”

“Yeah! It won’t be a problem at all!” As she spoke, Kanata used her dimensional magic, and all of their goods were swallowed up by what looked like a black hole. Ordinarily, only a Sage could use dimensional magic. It was completely unheard of for a Beast Tamer to wield such powers, but by now Zag’giel had gotten used to Kanata’s particular brand of absurdity.

“Finally!” Kanata said. “It’s time to get this show on the road!”

“We kept getting sidetracked and interrupted.” Zag’giel sighed. “Although, we suppose much of that was due to our pursuers.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it! It’s not your fault!”

“Hm,” Zag’giel mused. “We had already put thoughts of our life before this out of our mind. But if we are to be pursued, we should go to meet our pursuers ourselves! We swear to you, Kanata. We shall regain what we have lost and become a magic beast worthy of you!”

Kanata chortled. “You’re plenty worthy, Zaggy!” she said. “Honestly, I feel a bit bad keeping you to myself!” Of course, Zag’giel and Kanata were thinking in very different senses of the term “worthy.”

The two finished chatting, and Kanata checked the room to make sure she hadn’t left anything behind. Then, she closed the doors and locked them tight. She was still officially a student, so she left her room as it was. When she returned—if she returned—it would be alongside a great assemblage of fluff.

“Let’s go, Zaggy!” Kanata said. “The quest for fluff awaits! We’re gonna make lots of friends!”

“Indeed, let us be off! But take care to choose companions that can at the very least outperform ourself.”

“Huh?! Outperform Zaggy?! That’s a high bar!”

“Is it?” Zag’giel blinked. “Are you not perhaps overestimating us?”

“No way! Zaggy’s the best there is!” In terms of fluff, anyway.

“W-We see! If you are to place such faith in us, we must exert ourself to the highest degree!” Zag’giel was imagining himself in an even stronger body than he’d had before, while Kanata was imagining him becoming fluffier and fluffier, but both of them had equally goofy grins on their faces. Perhaps the pair actually had a fair bit in common.

The two took their leave of the school dormitory, enjoying each other’s company as they made their way out of the city, still caught up in their mutual misunderstanding.

† † †

They headed north along the main street of the Royal Capital, past the three sets of high walls, and toward the gate.

“I’m so excited, Zaggy!” Kanata said. “Where should we go first?”

“Where to, you ask? You have yet to decide on a destination?”

“Uh-uh.” Kanata shook her head. “I was just gonna go wherever the wind takes me!”

“Hmm...” Zag’giel said. “We can only imagine that setting out recklessly with no plan would end in death and disaster, but perhaps you, Kanata, would have little trouble.”

“And you too, Zaggy! I feel a lot better knowing you’ll be with me!”

“Indeed? We must train harder to meet your lofty expectations!”

Kanata chuckled. She was glad she wouldn’t be lonely, and glad she’d have someone as soft and fluffy as Zaggy to serve as a body pillow.

She said as much, but Zag’giel wasn’t listening—lost in his fantasies of Kanata relying on his power, he snuffled haughtily.

“Let’s go!” Kanata cried.

“Yes! May we find fortune on our journey!” This time, they were ready to travel and eager to get on the road.

The two took their first step out of the north gate, but before they could take a second, they immediately encountered their first obstacle.

“Wait!” they heard voices shouting.

The two sighed deeply. It seemed that there were going to be yet more interruptions.

“What is it?” Kanata asked.

She turned around to see a group of men in armor—heavy armor, not the kind worn by ordinary guards on patrol. These were knights sworn to protect the castle. They knelt before her.

“Lady Kanata Aldezia!” the knight at their head said in a commanding voice.

“Yes?” The look on Kanata’s face said that she was completely uninterested.

“We ask that you come with us! His Majesty the King requests an audience!”

A direct summons from the king? The guards at the gate were stunned.

“Oh,” said Kanata, pursing up her lips in annoyance. “The king?”

“Kanata,” Zag’giel asked, “are you acquainted with the king of this land?”

“I’ve met him a bunch of times when I won some tournament or other. He gave me lots of prizes. Not that I especially wanted them.”

As important as the king was, Kanata treated his gifts like presents from some distant uncle. The gate guards, who were listening in on the conversation, stared in disbelief. They were beginning to sweat.

“Nonetheless, it is a summons from the ruler of this land. It would not do to refuse.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, Zaggy,” Kanata said. “Honestly, that king is such a pain in the butt...” There was no refusing an audience with the king.

“Come this way!” the knight barked. “Your carriage is waiting!”

Beneath their helmets, the knights seemed palpably angry. The gate guards were shaking in their boots, already frightened by Kanata’s blatant disrespect. They were on the verge of tears. As far as they were concerned, the change of guard couldn’t come soon enough.

“Okay!” Kanata said, seemingly unaffected by the knights’ anger. She casually got in the carriage and was taken to the king’s castle, fluffing Zag’giel the whole way.

† † †

The king looked down at Kanata from his seat in the grand and lavish audience hall. He was a powerful man, with a honed physique and wild, golden hair that resembled nothing so much as a lion’s mane. On his throne, the strength of his mighty presence was overwhelming. Everyone in the hall knelt before him.

Everyone, that is, except for Kanata. Nobody reproached her for it, though. After all, the king had given her permission.

“Kanata Aldezia,” he intoned, in a low voice that reverberated powerfully through the room. His retainers seemed to tense up from where they were kneeling. She had been given some rewards by the crown, true, but what could cause the king to summon a mere schoolgirl directly before him?

“What is it, Your Majesty?” Kanata asked.

“First, we must offer our gratitude for pacifying the dragon and saving the Royal Capital from his wrath.”

“Oh! You’re very welcome!”

“Not only that, but you made the dragon the guardian of the region! Truly, it was splendid work. We hear he has already struck down a great number of dangerous magic beasts. On behalf of our people, we give you our thanks.”

“No, no,” said Kanata. “Thank you for letting Mister Dragon live here! If only his fluff score was just a bit higher...I could have taken him on my journey!”

“Ah, yes,” said the king. “That is the reason we called you here.”

“Oh?” said Kanata. “Are you interested in fluff, Your Majesty?”

“N-No!” the king coughed. “No. Not that.” He decided to dispense with the pleasantries and ask Kanata directly. “We’ve heard you’re leaving. Is that true?”

“It is. Why?”

“Are you serious?”

“Seriously serious!”

The king tensed up visibly at Kanata’s casual reply. A vein popped out in his forehead as he gripped the armrest of his throne with shaking hands. Suddenly, he raised his head. “Kaaaanny!” he said. “You gotta stay! Please?”

“Y-Your Majesty?!” The chancellor, who was standing beside him, froze up, startled by the king’s sudden change in behavior.

“No,” said Kanata, smiling as she firmly rejected the king’s request. “I’m leaving.”

The king tumbled out of his throne, all the way to where Kanata was standing. “But Kanny!” he protested. “You’re so strong! We need you! What’ll happen to the balance of power if you go to some other kingdom?! Please! Please, please, please stay here!”

“No, thank you~♪”

“Nooooooooo!”

The king’s retainers were gossiping noisily as the scene played out in front of them. Who was this man pleading so miserably before this young girl? It couldn’t be their king.

“Y-Your Majesty! A king must not allow himself to be seen behaving this way!” The chancellor ran over to pull him to his feet.

“Silence!” the king shouted, shaking his chancellor off. “What do you know about it?! Kanny here is the jewel of our kingdom! She’s the descendant of Boldow the Divine Sword and the Archsage Aleksia! It is certain that she will one day do some tremendous service to our land!”

“T-True,” the chancellor answered. “Lord Boldow and Lady Aleksia are extraordinary people, but—”

“Kanny’s just a girl, and she’s already surpassed both of them! Boldow could literally fight a thousand soldiers at once, and she’s even stronger than he is! And she’s wiser than Aleksia, who advanced our kingdom’s technology by three generations! I’m telling you, this girl is a national treasure! We can’t let any other kingdom get their hands on her! Why don’t you understand that?” He turned back to Kanata. “Please, Kanny!” he begged. “Pleeeeease don’t go!”

The king was sobbing messy tears, while his chancellor looked like he might cry for a somewhat different reason.

“I already told you, I’m not staying! Jeez!” Kanata said. She smacked the king lightly on his coarse head. “But I’m not moving to another country, you know. I just want to see the world. I’ll come back here eventually.”

“You will? You mean it?”

“Yes, I promise,” Kanata said.

The king sniffled, tears streaming down his face. “You’re a Saint!” he said. “You’re my Saint, Kanny!”

“I’m not a Saint!” Kanata said. “I’m a Beast Tamer!”

“Well, that takes care of that,” Zag’giel added at the very end, finally getting a word in edgewise.

The next second, a calamitous noise rang out. It sounded like it was coming from somewhere far away, but it was as loud as a clap of thunder.

“What is that?!” the king demanded.

“I-I don’t know! But look! There’s smoke rising outside the city walls!”

“What?! Magic beasts?! Or is it an invasion?!” The king ran to the balcony outside the audience chamber to take a look for himself. It was worse than he’d feared. The great walls of the Royal Capital were halfway in ruin. Beyond the broken walls, he could see a great herd of magic beasts. No. It was too regimented to be a disordered herd. This was an army. Their numbers were in the thousands—perhaps the tens of thousands. “How did such a force get here?! We should have noticed an army that size if it was within our borders!”

“We can smell the lingering magic...” Zag’giel said. “This is a mass-scale dimensional shift! Teleportation!”

“You know what this is, Zaggy?” Kanata asked.

“We do. It is a difficult ritual requiring a great magic circle and an enormous amount of power, but with it you could send an army anywhere on the Dark Continent, even into enemy territory. It is the absolute apex of magic. In our time it was still in development. Zarbok must have completed it!”

“That’s terrifying!” said the king. “Wait...how do you know so much about this spell? Aren’t you just a magic beast?!”

Zag’giel went silent.

“Look!” one of the guards shouted, pointing to the sky. There was an enormous figure projected above the city—a grand-scale illusion. The figure had pale skin and knotty horns protruding from his head. He did not look human.

“Zarbok!” Zag’giel shouted.

“A demon?! They’ve come from the Dark Continent to invade?!”

“No! After so long without a demon attack...why now?!” There was a crowd gathering on the balcony now, crying out in despair at the sight.

The illusion of Zarbok opened his mouth. “Humans!” he said. “We are not here to destroy you. Rather, we have but one demand—surrender the former Demon King Zag’giel to us. If you do so, we will leave, and nobody else must be hurt. You have my word. However, should you refuse, I shall crush your miserable city with the full strength of my army!” Zarbok clenched his open hand into a fist, and thunder rang out as if in response. “I will wait one hour,” he said. “If you have not acquiesced in that time, you will be destroyed.”

The image vanished.

Immediately, the retainers started to shout frantically. “Th-This can’t be! We’re doomed! We have no hope of victory against such a large army of magic beasts!”

“We’re no match for a demon! It’s impossible!”

“Did he say the former Demon King Zag’giel?! Is he in the Royal Capital somewhere?! He had best reveal himself!”

Everyone in the Royal Capital had seen Zarbok’s image. Panic was spreading like wildfire. It might not be long before the people started rioting.

“So it has come to this...” Zag’giel said. “This is our responsibility. After all, it was we who formulated the principles behind that teleportation spell. If it were not for us, Zarbok would not have come here.”

“Zaggy...”

“He seeks our death, we think. In that case, the solution is simple.”

“Zaggy?”

“We are sorry, Kanata. We said we would do anything for you, and yet...” He shook his head. “Please. Forgive us.”

“Z-Zaggy!”

“Farewell, Kanata! Short though it was, our time with you was full of joy.”

Zag’giel jumped off of Kanata’s shoulder, and took off running at top speed. Then, he was plucked back up off the floor and into Kanata’s arms. His top speed was not very fast. It seemed he would not get to make a moving sacrifice.

“Zaggy!” Kanata said. “You can’t!”

“K-Kanata! Release us!” Zag’giel flailed with his little legs, in a futile show of resistance. “We— We must—!”

“No! Way! I’m not letting go! Your responsibilities are my responsibilities, Zaggy, so if you’re gonna go out there, then I’m coming with you!”

“Kanata...” Tears came to Zag’giel’s eyes. Kanata’s love had touched his heart. “You are a splendid girl...”

“All right, Your Majesty,” Kanata said. “I’m gonna head out for a bit!”

“H-Huh?!” The king balked. “Kanny?!” But before he could tell her to stop, she had jumped down from the balcony. “Nooooooooo!” he cried again.

“It’ll be okay!” Kanata said. “Don’t worry!”

Kanata alighted on the city streets, landing with perfect form and using wind magic to disperse the impact of her fall.

“K-Kanata... There is something we must say before we go...”

“Aw,” Kanata said. “Zaggy’s cute when he’s all limp!” Kanata’s leap from the castle had shocked Zag’giel with fright. He was frozen, unable to move. Kanata held him firmly in her arms and walked toward the outer walls.

“Are you not listening?!”

Behind her, the king watched in awe as Kanata went to face the army. “She means to go alone!” he said. “The city! The people! She means to protect them herself!” He pressed his hands together, praying earnestly for her safe return.

The king didn’t notice because he was watching her from behind, but Kanata had a big goofy grin on her face.

“Eheh heh,” she laughed. “With that many magic beasts out there, there’s got to be some fluffy ones!”

But the king was too far away to hear what she’d said.

† † †

The sudden appearance of Zarbok’s army had left the Royal Capital in absolute chaos.

“Hey! What the hell is going on?! What are those adventurers doing?! Isn’t it their job to deal with stuff like this?!” someone in the crowd asked.

“What do you expect a single Adventurers’ Guild to do against a force like that?! This is the job of the army,” another person said.

“The army is assembling as we speak! But there isn’t much we can do in one hour...”

“Shouldn’t we just accept their terms? They say they’ll go home if we hand over the Demon King. We should try to find him as soon as we can!”

“Do you even know what the Demon King looks like?! More to the point, how exactly do you plan on capturing a Demon King?!”

The guard was unable to quiet the crowd without the help of the Adventurers’ Guild.

“Calm down!” Melissa shouted, arriving on the scene. “Everybody calm down!”

But no matter how hard she shouted, it didn’t have much effect. It looked like another busy day at work, and on the heels of so many others...

“Gods, I can’t take much more of this,” she lamented. There were dark shadows under her eyes. “I want to go home and take a bath.” A tear ran down her cheek.

“Are you all right, Miss Melissa? Do you need a handkerchief?”

Melissa sobbed, “Thank you so much...” She took the proffered handkerchief and wiped the tears from her eyes. Only then did she realize who it was that had given it to her. It was the source of all her trouble. “M-Miss Kanata?!”

“Yes!” Kanata said. She was smiling, and Zag’giel was riding on her shoulder. “It’s been three whole days!”

Kanata’s sweet smile did something to lift her spirits, but Melissa had a bad feeling about what was coming next.

“No,” she said. “Don’t tell me. Kanata, did you—”

“Oh, no, no,” Kanata said. “This doesn’t have anything to do with me.”

“Oh! You... You don’t say!” Melissa was embarrassed. She smiled apologetically. “I suppose I was being a bit unfair. There’s no way this army would be here because of you...”

“See, this time it’s Zaggy’s fault!” Kanata giggled like she had just gotten to the punch line of a joke.

“Excuse me?” Melissa froze up, bashful smile still on her face. She had no idea what Kanata could possibly mean. What in the world did that black furball have to do with the army of magic beasts?

The furball pulled himself up to stand with a semblance of dignity, and introduced himself. “It is we whom they seek. We are the Demon King Zag’giel.”

“Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!”

A weakling like that was the King of Demons? No way. There was just no way. But this was Kanata’s magic beast they were talking about. Kanata had never been one to stick to the realm of the possible. What she said was distressingly credible. Melissa tried to think of what to do with this information, but after the string of all-nighters she’d pulled, her brain was screaming at her that it was at its limit.

“Well, I’d best be off!” Kanata said.

“Wait, where are you going?!”

“Out there, obviously!” Kanata pointed past the ruined walls. There were people fleeing from that direction, trying to put any amount of distance between themselves and the demons.

“Out there— Are you going to let them have the Demon King?!”

“Um, no? There’s no way in a million years I’m giving them Zaggy.”

“Then...what could you possibly intend to do against that army?!”

“I’m a Beast Tamer!” Kanata said. “There’s only one thing to do!” Kanata continued forward, dodging through the wave of humans fleeing toward them.

“Miss Kanata! Miss Kanataaaaaa! What does that meaaaan?!” Melissa’s voice was drowned out by the screams of the crowd. There was no hope of hearing a response.

But Kanata gave one. As she approached the other side of the wall, she declared her intentions. “I’m gonna get so many fluffy-fluff-fluffies!”

† † †

As Kanata approached the outer walls, the city around her grew silent. The gates had been closed shut, so Kanata squeezed through a hole in the wall and made it outside.

“Your Infernal Majesty! I am so, so sorry...” The dragon was crying out in torment. He had been captured. He’d tried to attack Zarbok’s army, but in the end he had been struck down. Even he, the champion of the Demon King’s army, could not prevail against tens of thousands of magic beasts. He was being held in place by a great number of them. Most likely he was being kept alive so that he could be brainwashed again and brought back into their ranks. His captives jeered, not at all concealing their wicked malice.

“Zarbok!” Zag’giel declared. “We have come! Just as you requested!”

At Zag’giel’s voice, the ranks of the army split, and Zarbok, their commander, came forth. “Well, well,” he said. “It has been too long, Your Infernal Majesty.”

“Hmph. You would address us as an old friend, after what you have done? You truly have no shame.”

“Perhaps I do not. But I am pleased to see you come along peacefully.” Zarbok nodded his head coolly and then raised one eyebrow in confusion as he regarded the girl. “But, who is this girl?” he asked. “Has Your Infernal Majesty taken to using human servants? My, my. What will they say?”

Zag’giel swallowed. “Kanata... Kanata is no servant.”

“Oh? Then what you mean to tell me is that she is your friend? To think, that the merciless King of Demons would grow so softhearted!”

“Kanata...” Zag’giel started, terribly flustered as he choked out the words, “Kanata is our...our m-m-master!”

“Your master.” Zarbok repeated. “Your master?! Aha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha haaaa!” He threw his shoulders back, laughing uproariously. “What a joke! The King of Demons, reduced to the servant of a human! Incredible! I am in awe!” But then he stopped. “No,” he said. “I apologize for laughing. I think I understand. It isn’t strange at all that you, who have become the lowest of all magic beasts, would seek out a human to take you in as a pet. I thought you might be regaining your powers, but it seems you have been crawling along in the dirt like always.” He gave Zag’giel a look of pure condescension.

Zarbok had expected Zag’giel to start shaking with humiliation, but instead, he laughed triumphantly. “Hah. Then it is as we suspected. You feared we had regained our power. In which case, we assume, our curse is on the verge of breaking?”

“Kh! How did you—?!”

“It seems that we hit the mark. The flower is in your possession, is it not? Show it to us!”

“I will do no such thing! The moment you appeared before my army was the moment your death was assured!”

Zarbok’s soldiers moved to obey his commands with a strange vacantness. They must have been under the same brainwashing technique as the mighty dragon had been. Even if Zag’giel were to cry out to them, none would take his side.

“Your purpose in coming here is to kill us, no?” said Zag’giel. “Do you intend to go directly home when you have disposed of us, or have you designs on the humans?”

“Ah ha ha! Of course I have designs on the humans! Once I’ve taken care of you, I’ll brainwash the ones I can use and kill the ones I can’t! And then, I shall make the city my own, and from it, launch invasions of other countries! My plans may have gone a bit astray, but we have the spell that can move an entire army in the blink of an eye! I shall subjugate the human realm first, and then return to claim the Dark Continent! I will become the new King of Demons!”

Zarbok had no intention of giving up on his ambitions. He might as well have told them that he must be stopped here.

“As we suspected,” said Zag’giel, “you have no intention of keeping your promises. Then you leave us no other choice.” He leapt down from Kanata’s shoulders, doing a flip in midair and landing with grace. Then he slipped on the ground and rolled over onto his back.

Everyone went silent.

Still upside-down, Zag’giel skillfully moved his paws like he was trying to adopt some kind of guard, and glared down the army. “Come! Face us!”

“Pff—!” Zarbok snorted. “Bwa ha ha ha ha! What was that? Are you trying to get me to laugh to death?”

“We do not jest! Now, come, Zarbok! Or are you afraid?!”

“I have to admit, it is impressive, in a way, that you would make such a statement in your state.” Zarbok looked like he didn’t know how to respond.

An enormous magic beast came up behind Zarbok and kneeled—a great knight in jet-black armor, with no head. Or, rather, he did have a head, but he was carrying it tucked under his left arm. On his back he wore a great sword, rough-hewn out of a lump of iron.

“Lord Zarbok,” he said. “Allow me to handle this.”

“A dullahan,” Zarbok said. “Very well! It would be a waste to send my whole army to kill such a pathetic failure. Finish it with a single strike!”

“My lord!” The dullahan drew his sword, holding it in one hand as easily as if it were made of paper. He went to face Zag’giel. “Zag’giel, former King of Demons! I will sever your head from your neck!”

“Our neck will not be cut so easily! Come at us! Hold nothing back!” Nobody bothered to point out that Zag’giel didn’t seem to actually have a neck.

Zag’giel and the dullahan squared off, each ready to fight to the death, when the girl stepped in front of Zag’giel, protecting him.

“Kanata...” he said.

“Child,” the dullahan intoned, “do you know what it means to step between two warriors in a duel?” The head in his arms popped a vein in irritation. He pointed his sword at Kanata.

Kanata didn’t seem at all intimidated. She looked the dullahan over, glancing up and down its body, an expression of deep concentration on her face. Then she sighed. “Two points,” she said.

“Excuse me?” said the dullahan.

Kanata didn’t respond. She grabbed the tip of the knight’s sword with an air of despondency.

“What are you—” he started, but it became clear soon enough.

Kanata twisted the sword out of shape. The dullahan’s sword was made of strong metal from the Dark Continent, but Kanata bent it like it was soft candy.

“Nu—ha?!” the dullahan exclaimed. The force pulling on his sword was like nothing he had ever felt. He dropped his head and seized the hilt with both hands, planting his heels as he tried to pull. His sword made a horrible, discordant straining noise as it was transformed into scrap metal. “N-No! My beloved sword!” Clutching his ruined sword, he crumpled up into a ball.

“I’m gonna do a quick point assessment, Zaggy,” said Kanata. “Wait a minute, okay?”

“K-Kanata, wait!” Zag’giel cried, shocked out of his awed stupor, but while he was speaking, Kanata took one, then two steps toward the main host of magic beasts and was somehow immediately upon them.

“Wha—?!” the magic beast before Kanata exclaimed.

“Hmm...” Kanata said. “Five points, maybe.”

The magic beast swung his axe, startled by Kanata’s sudden speed. Kanata caught it in one of her dainty hands and crushed it. “M-My aaaaaxe!” the magic beast cried. Just like the dullahan, his heart seemed to be broken along with his long-beloved weapon.

Kanata moved on, seemingly done with him. “Let’s say four points.”

“Eek!”

“Around eight points.”

“Aaaah!”

“Six points, give or take.”

“Nooooo!”

She moved like she was blinking in and out of existence, appearing in front of magic beast after magic beast, shattering their claws, breaking their fangs, and ruining their weapons. In the face of such overwhelming power, they would faint, or lose heart, or even soil themselves.

“What are you wretches doing?!” shouted Zarbok. “Get her! She’s only a little girl! Stop trying to fight her one-on-one, and gang up on her!”

The army obeyed, coming to attack her all at once. No matter how many directions they came from, Kanata effortlessly countered their attacks.

“Five points...seven points...three points...two points...four points...five points...” Kanata sighed. “None of these are any good!”

What could this girl possibly be awarding points for?! The magic beasts had no idea, even as Kanata rendered one after another unable to fight.

“Get her!” bellowed Zarbok. “I don’t care how! Somebody finish that girl!”

“W-We can’t! She just won’t stop!”

Indeed, there was no stopping Kanata. This single girl tore through the army, tens of thousands strong, like a whirlwind, blowing aside everything in her path. “Two points...three points...six points...four points...five points...eight points...seven points...nine points...six points...three points...four points...nine points...five points...three points...five points...six points...two points...nine points...eight points...one point...” In their dwindling numbers, all the magic beasts could understand was that whatever it was that was being judged, they had been found wanting. “There really aren’t any good ones! No good at all. None of you would even reach up to Zaggy’s pinkie toe.”

“What did you say?!” Zarbok demanded, clearly panicking. “My soldiers are even lower than the weakest magic beast?!”

“Mm-hm,” said Kanata, flatly. “Even all of you together wouldn’t equal one of Zaggy’s feet.” And then, for good measure, she sent the whole army flying.

“What?!” said Zarbok. “What are you?!”

“I’m just a Beast Tamer,” Kanata said with a tone of mild confusion, not stopping her rampage through Zarbok’s army. “Why?”

“A Beast Tamer?! Can such a Beast Tamer even exist?!”

“Um, yes? I’m right here.”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up! If you were a Beast Tamer, you would send your magic beasts to fight! How can you wreck my army with your bare hands?!” Zarbok cried out in despair. “Stop! Stoooop! My army! My dreams of glory! Noooooooo!”

That whole exchange had taken ten seconds. In that time, Kanata had crushed the army Zarbok had brought with him. His dreams of invading the human realm would never come true now—not in a million years.

“No...” he said. “My ambitions... My dreams... I was to be King of Demons...” He looked at his defeated army and collapsed to his hands and knees.

“The reason you lost,” Kanata said, “is that your fluff score isn’t high enough.”

“Our...fluff score?” Zarbok had come here to kill the Demon King, but he was unable to even fight, his entire army defeated by this girl who had come out of nowhere. This had to be a nightmare.

“Your fluff score is zero, by the way,” Kanata said. “Not a bit of fluff anywhere on you.”

“My score is zero...” Zarbok said, miserably. “Even lower than my minions. My score is zero...”

“And Zaggy’s is one hundred,” Kanata finished. “You had lost the moment you started.”

“No...” In that instant, Zarbok gave in to despair.

Then, a light shone down from the heavens. Innumerable white feathers fluttered down to earth.

“Do not lose heart, Zarbok,” said a feminine voice. “The gods have not abandoned you.” A beautiful woman descended from on high, clad in a heavenly robe.

† † †

“The Goddess! Why have you come here?!” Zag’giel, who had finally managed to roll himself back onto his feet, glared up at the divine woman in the sky.

“Her wings have some pretty good fluff,” Kanata said. “They look soft. She’s a solid eighty points.” Even the advent of a goddess didn’t break her stride. She was still focused on her fluff assessment.

“Why have I come here, you ask? Zag’giel, I have come to offer some words of guidance as your trial reaches its climax.”

The Goddess smiled with divine solemnity and gestured with one hand. In response, a glass bottle containing the flower flew up out of Zarbok’s possession and into the sky. The flower had grown splendidly. It looked like it might bloom at any second.

“Truly splendid, Zag’giel,” the Goddess said, caressing the bottle with her fingertips. “For you to have grown the flower of love so fully is no small feat. You have nearly gathered the love of one million. Only a little more, and you will have overcome the trial before you.” She spoke as if praising Zag’giel for his success, but when she looked down at him it was with exaggerated pity. “However...sadly, there is something I neglected to tell you.”

The Goddess raised up the bottle, and the flower began to wilt from its stem. “I am afraid that the time given to you is not endless. If you can not overcome your trial before the flower wilts, your life shall be forfeit.” A triumphant grin teased over her face, despite her best efforts to hide it. “Ah, but what shall you do? The flower wilts before your eyes. Can you gain the love you need in the time remaining? It does not seem possible.”

The flower of love was an indicator of Zag’giel’s condition. Its wilting must portend the end of the Demon King’s life. Before their eyes, it began to dry out and crumble like sand.

“You truly have a wicked heart,” said Zag’giel. “We thought you might do something like this. That time limit is something you thought of only now, wasn’t it!”

“Who can say?” said the Goddess.

“You never had any intention of allowing the curse to be lifted, did y—ghk!” Smoke began rising from Zag’giel’s body—the matter that made up his form was dissolving, turning to smoke with a sound like rushing wind.

“Zaggy, are you all right?! Hang in there!” Kanata ran over to him and held him in her arms. Zag’giel shook, only able to cry out in feeble moans.

“K-Kanata...” he said. “It seems...that this is the end...”

The Goddess pressed her hands together and wept at the moving display of Zag’giel forcing himself to give his last words.

“Ah, what a sorrowful end!” she said. “Alas, Zag’giel. It would never have come to this had you accepted your role as Demon King.”

As the Goddess cried her crocodile tears, Zarbok watched with a look of dark triumph on his face. “Ah ha ha! Are you dying? Are you dying, Zag’giel?! It serves you right! My dreams may have ended in ruin, but I am more than satisfied to see the death of my hated enemy!”

As the villains mocked him, Zag’giel strained himself to speak. “We are sorry that we were unable to join you on your journey...” he said. “But in meeting you, Kanata, and spending our days together, we came to learn the meaning of happiness. It was you and you alone who extended your hand to us, to save us from our hell of loneliness. We were truly, truly happy. To you, we owe our salvation...”

“I feel the same way, Zaggy,” Kanata said. “I was super happy every day. I got to wake up with you, cuddle you, feel your warmth and softness... But we’re gonna stay together forever, you know.”

“We thank you, Kanata...” said Zag’giel. “We are glad we were able to bring you delight. But there is nothing you can do about this curse. The gods are higher beings than you or we. Under the laws of this world, such a curse is unbreakable.”

“Is it?” Kanata asked.

“It is.” Zag’giel quietly nodded his head. “The gods are our creators. It is impossible for we, the created, to triumph over them. With this body, ruined by the curse, it would be impossible even for us to...speak?”

“You are speaking, though.”

Zag’giel, in fact, seemed to have no problems speaking at all. He noticed that his body, too, felt better.

“H-Hey!” said Zarbok. “Goddess! What is this?! Why is Zag’giel not dead?!”

But the Goddess had no answers. “I-Impossible! The death of Zag’giel was predetermined!” Then she noticed that Zag’giel, in Kanata’s arms, was glowing with a soft light. His body was recovering. “That girl! It can’t be! She resists the judgment of the gods through mere healing magic?! How can her magic be strong enough to vie with divine providence?!”

Stunned though she was by Kanata’s power, the Goddess thought she had some idea as to what was happening.

“I had thought her fighting style was strange,” she mused. “So is her outlandishly powerful magic! This girl must be one of the heavy souls! Is this the interference of the gods of another world?! But even for a heavy soul, her power is unheard of. A mortal who can contend with the gods...”

The girl had been born with the greatest possible talent, but still she’d trained and trained and trained and trained and trained. And from those efforts, a monster had been born—the thing that was Kanata Aldezia.

The Goddess ground her teeth in frustration, but this wasn’t over. Not yet. The flower that showed Zag’giel’s condition had wilted. That meant that the curse was still eating at Zag’giel’s body in the present progressive tense. Unless and until the conditions were met, Zag’giel would not escape his fate.

“Hmph,” the Goddess said. “You struggle in vain, heavy-soul girl! It is only your healing magic that keeps Zag’giel alive! He has not fulfilled the terms of his trial! And now that the flower has wilted, it can never bloom! There is no time for him to gather the love of one million. Your magic will run out, and Zag’giel’s life shall end!” She grinned triumphantly.

“Love?” Kanata asked.

“Yes, love! The love of a million people! Without that, Zag’giel is doomed!”

The Goddess had expected her proclamation to throw Kanata into despair, but all she had done was teach Kanata how to break the curse.

“I have love,” Kanata said. She held Zag’giel tighter.

“Oh ho ho ho ho!” the Goddess laughed, mocking. “Were you not listening? You need the love of one million people! Your love alone will not be enough!”

The Goddess had no idea. Kanata’s superhuman power had come from sheer effort, but the wellspring of that effort—where it had all begun—was a single wish.

“A million is nothing!” Kanata said. “I love the fluff times infinity!”

Zag’giel looked up at her. “K-Kanata?!”

Kanata took him all in. His soft fluffy fur. His big round eyes. The pointy ears poking out from his head. His short stubby legs. His long tail. His adorable voice. The smell she had grown addicted to. She took it all in and shouted out with all her strength, “Zaggy fluff fluff, I love you!!!”

With that cry of love, a light shone out from Kanata’s chest, and the withered flower produced a seed. It fell, and in almost no time, it sprouted, took root, grew, and produced a new bud. And then, in all its brilliant glory, it bloomed.

“How could this be?!” the Goddess cried. “How can one girl have the love of a million?! Even a god could not perform such a feat!” And yet, the proof was before her own eyes.

“The curse!” Zag’giel said. “It is breaking!” He flew out of Kanata’s arms into the sky. “Kanata, behold! Our true form!” His frail, weak body began to regain its strength. His stubby legs grew long while the black fur that had covered his body receded to just his head. He grew two splendid horns. The whole thing took less than a second. He created clothes for himself with magic and calmly alighted in front of Kanata.

“Ahh,” Zag’giel sighed. “How long has it been? This...this is our body!” There was no trace of the black furball he had been. His body was that of a beautiful youth. “Kanata, we thank you. The curse under which we suffered has been broken.”

“Zaggy...?” Kanata blinked.

Zag’giel smiled kindly at her. “Indeed, it is we. Kanata, your love has saved us.”

The Goddess screamed and tore at her hair. “How can this be?! A mere human, overcoming divine judgment?! Such a thing should not be possible!”

Zarbok was trembling in fear, clutching his head and moaning pitiably. “Th-The Demon King is back! I’m ruined! It’s over!”

And as for Kanata...

“You’re not Zaggy!” she said. She seemed the most miserable of all.

“K-Kanata!” Zag’giel balked. “What’s wrong? Do you not recognize us?”

Kanata decided to try touching Zag’giel’s outstretched arm. It was slender and well toned. Zag’giel was beautiful enough to be a statue in a museum.

This only threw Kanata further into despair. “You’re not Zaggy!” She touched his lean and muscular chest. “You’re not Zaggy!” She touched his face, beautiful like the evening moon. “You’re not Zaaaaaggyyyyyy!” she screamed.

She seemed even more miserable than she had when Zag’giel was close to death. “Zaggy...” she sobbed. “Zaggy’s gone...”

“No, Kanata!” said Zag’giel. “We have not died! We are here!”

“But...” said Kanata. “But...” Sobbing like a child, Kanata finally touched Zag’giel’s hair. It was soft to the touch. She remembered this sensation...

“Zaggy!” She sighed with relief. “Zaggy, there you are! Oh, I’m so glad...”

“I-It seems she understands who we are...” Zag’giel, blissfully unaware of the fluffiness of his own hair, was shocked by Kanata’s behavior. “But Kanata’s behavior has been unaccountable from the very beginning, we suppose.”

He decided to let it slide. This was by no means the beginning of Kanata’s fluff mania. After the time they’d spent together, Zag’giel had come to understand her, if only a little.

“Kanata,” Zag’giel said. “Matters here are still not settled. Would you refrain from petting our head for the time being? You may pet us all you like later.”

“Fluff fluff, fluffy fluff, ehe he...”

“It seems she is not listening. Then we will do as we must.” Taking care not to separate Kanata from his head, Zag’giel pulled her into his arms so he could turn and face Zarbok and his minions. “Our armies!” he shouted. “Return to us!” The forlorn magic beasts lifted their heads at the Demon King’s commanding voice. “Who would you serve? Your king, or this fool who dances to the Goddess’s whims?!”

Suddenly, the magic beasts returned to their senses. “Y-Your Infernal Majesty! Your Infernal Majesty, you have returned!”

“What... What have I been doing?!”

One after another, the sight of the King of Demons seemed to stir the magic beasts, breaking them out of their hypnosis. And then, as one, they prostrated themselves on the ground. Only Zarbok, trembling with fear, remained standing.

Calm and composed, Zag’giel maneuvered with Kanata in front of Zarbok. Zag’giel looked down at him, eyes shining with a cold light. “Zarbok. You have lost.”

“Eeeek!” Zarbok was sweating from every pore as he stared up at the overwhelming majesty that was Zag’giel.

“There are duties we must needs tend to in this land,” Zag’giel said. “If you repent and swear to us that you will give everything you have for the sake of peace on the Dark Continent, then we shall spare your life.”

Zarbok cried out. He pressed his head to the ground, groveling splendidly. “I-I-I swear!” he said. “I’ll never betray you again!”

“Very well. Then, return! Your presence has disturbed the people of the Royal Capital!” Zag’giel raised one hand and cast the same mass-scale teleportation spell Zarbok had used, returning Zarbok and his army to the Dark Continent. Zag’giel had been the one to formulate the basic structure of the spell. He understood how to cast it after having seen it once.

Now, the only ones remaining were the two of them and the dumbfounded Goddess. “What now, Goddess?” Zag’giel said. “It seems you are out of schemes.”

“Nhh...” the Goddess said. “How dare you...” She was shaking with humiliation, but Kanata had powers that rivaled those of the gods. As long as Kanata was around, the Goddess would have to be careful about making a move.

As the two stared each other down, the gates of the Royal Capital suddenly swung open.

“To arms!” bellowed the king. “It would shame us to force Kanny to take on the army alone. If you have courage, follow me! To arms!”

“To aaaaarms!” echoed the crowd. A great force of knights and common townsfolk alike followed their king out of the gates, prepared to take to the field.

“To aaaaar— W-Wait. Where are the magic beasts?”

There was no sign of the magic beasts they had come here to fight. They stood there, confused, bereft of a target.

“Hey!” someone said. “Look! There’s a lady in the sky!”

“She has wings! Could she be a Goddess?”

“So sublime...just like the icons in the Church! To think I should see a Goddess with my living eyes!”

The crowd gathered around, gazing up at the Goddess. With this much attention, her options were severely limited. She seethed. Clenching her teeth, she glanced between Zag’giel and the townsfolk, and admitted defeat. “D-Demon King Zag’giel,” she said. “Well done! You have learned love and repented of evil. With this maiden at your side, continue on the path of virtue.” She hoped that would put the right spin on it. And then, exactly as if she were running away, she vanished into thin air.

The people cried with joy. “Incredible! The words of the Goddess!”

“That girl must have driven off the army of magic beasts and gotten the Demon King to repent!”

“A miracle! Only a Saint could perform such feats! She can be nothing other than a Saint!” The crowd turned their adulation from the Goddess to Saint Kanata.

“I’m not a Saint!” she protested, still petting Zag’giel’s hair. “I’m a Beast Tamer!”

Nobody seemed to hear her.

“Well, Kanata,” said Zag’giel. “It seems we have been interrupted once again. What shall we do? If you are fatigued from combat, we would not object to returning to the Royal Capital...”

“I’m not even a little fatigued!” said Kanata. “I’m full of energy! And we have everything ready for our journey. Let’s go!”

“We are in full agreement.”

At long last, the two set out on their journey, the throng of cheering townsfolk behind them.

“Kannyyyyyyy!” the king cried. “Don’t go, Kanny! You’re a national treasuuuuuure!”

“Miss Kanata!” Melissa shouted, “What is going on? How can the guild possibly reward you for something like this?! At least give us an incident report! How are we going to settle this? Please! Tell me! I don’t wanna do more overtiiiiiime!”

“Come baaaaaaaack!” the two wailed at once. But their voices were drowned out by cries of joy and praises to Her Holiness the Saint.

† † †

The two left the Royal Capital and made their way south along the stone-paved road. This was not a major road, but it did see some traffic. Some of those passersby did a double take at the breathtakingly beautiful man and woman walking along.

“What this means,” Zag’giel continued, “is that human faith is the source of the gods’ power. The Goddess vanished to prevent her true nature from being revealed. Were it known, the people’s faith would surely diminish.”

“Huh!”

“You see, the human souls that ascend to the heavens upon the death of their mortal bodies are the gods’ sustenance. Magic beasts, by contrast, are like worker ants. The gods rely upon them to bring them their food.”

“Hm.”

“Powerful magic beasts vie with each other on the Dark Continent like venomous insects trapped together, fighting until only the strongest survives. The winner becomes the Demon King and brings their armies to invade the human realm. And when enough human souls have been harvested, the gods use Heroes or humans with other rare Professions to drive away the magic beasts. Then there will be peace for a time, while the humans and magic beasts both replenish their lost numbers. Most likely, Kanata, you, too, were meant to become a Hero or some such thing.”

“You don’t say!”

“You can think of Professions such as Hero or Demon King as nothing more than implements of harvest. But we discovered the gods’ machinations and refused to lead the magic beasts to attack. We sought to create lasting peace, but that damned Goddess inflicted us with that curse. We still hold the Profession of Demon King. It was to torment us that she kept us alive, but in the end it was her undoing. We have broken Zarbok’s ambition. We do not believe that the Dark Continent will invade while we are gone.”

“Oh, really!”

“Kanata,” Zag’giel said with a sigh. “What is this. Are we boring you?”

“Not at all!”

“We don’t believe you!” Usually, whenever he spoke, Kanata would nod along cheerfully with shining eyes. But now she was being blatantly curt. “You usually pay far more attention! Why now, when the curse is lifted, do you have no eyes for us? Do you think nothing of this body?!”

It was like she was a completely different person than the Kanata he had known when he was a little black furball. And he was gorgeous enough that no girl could look at him and not feel her chest stir a little. Walking together with Kanata, the pair looked like a painting.

“Hm...” Kanata said, looking Zag’giel’s body over with squinted eyes. “The only part that’s nice to touch is your hair,” she said. “I liked the old Zaggy better.”

“Gh-Ghwah?!” Zag’giel cried out like he had been stabbed. He collapsed to the ground, crying messy tears. “Why?! Why would you say something like that?! We have become stronger...a magic beast worthy of you! Kanata! We... We... Hm?!” Suddenly, he understood. The mystery was solved.

“We see,” he said. “It has nothing to do with strength. You simply prefer our earlier form. In that case, if we are to become worthy of you, we must seek to achieve ultimate power in that form as well! At last, we understand everything!”

Really, his understanding was still somewhat incomplete.

“We understand more or less how to perform such a curse,” Zag’giel said. “We cannot cast it with as much power, but it is simple enough to alter our form and our strength!”

And so, Zag’giel cast the curse on himself. His beautiful young body shrunk and shrunk until only his clothing remained. And then, from inside popped out a familiar black furball.

“Miu!” he said. “Kanata! For you, we shall become the greatest of magic beasts, even in this form! We now understand for what you wish. It must have been to make us realize that you were so curt earlier.”

For a while, Kanata just stared at Zag’giel. Silence fell. And then, Kanata’s shrieks of joy shattered the quiet.

“Eeeeeeeeeeeee!” she squealed. “Zaaaaaaggyyyyyyyyy! Fluffy-wuffy-huffy-snuffy! Fluff fluff squeeze squeeze fluff fluff fluuuuuuuuff!”

“K-Kanataaaaaaaaa?!”

Kanata dove into Zag’giel’s soft fur, breathing it in, indulging in every inch. “Zaaaaggyyyy! This body is sooo gooood! You’re the best! Zaggy Zaggy Zaggy Zaggy Zaaaaaggyyyyyyy!”

“K-Kanata, wait! There are people on the road. Wh-What if someone sees? Kanataaaaaaaaaa!”

And he got fluffed and fluffed and fluffed. It was honestly a bit excessive.