Bonus Short Stories

A Request From Mary-chan

Suimei was in his room at Alto Schloss, the Society’s headquarters in Germany, putting together the results of his magicka work at his desk when there came a rapping at the door. After knocking several times, his assistant Hydemary Alzbayne entered the room. When Suimei turned around and asked her if she needed something, she replied in her usual flat tone with zero inflection.

“Suimei-kun, there’s just a little something I’d like to ask of you.”

“I’m a bit busy right now. I’ll have to wait till later.”

“Whaaat? But I want it now.”

Despite Suimei clearly being in the middle of something, Hydemary seemed ready and willing to force the issue. In response, Suimei turned to her and offered some candid advice.

“And I want to keep working. Think of me for a second, will ya?”

“No way. You should be the one thinking of me.”

“You’re the one who wants something! It’s common freaking sense that you’re supposed to be the one being considerate. Can’t you compromise?”

“Isn’t it because I can’t compromise that I’m here making a request?”

“That’s... Well, you do have a point, but...”

“Right? So just compromise with me. Life is a series of compromises, isn’t it?”

Hydemary spoke in an extremely composed manner. There was no denying the truth in what she said, but such wisdom was hardly convincing coming from someone her age.

“A six-year-old shouldn’t be giving me life lessons, damn it... Seriously.”

“So, what do you say?”

“I dunno...”

Suimei still seemed reluctant, so Hydemary drew closer and looked up at him from below.

“...The hell are you doing?”

“I’m looking at you with upturned eyes. I was told it was a gesture that would bring down any man.”

Hydemary spoke with confidence in her sources, but this seemed to be her first time putting such knowledge into practice. Her completely deadpan face didn’t quite have the appeal she was hoping for. Yet she persisted nonetheless.

“Nobody’s falling for that,” Suimei sighed in exasperation. “Actually, who the hell told you something so dumb?”

“Miranda-san from Usher’s Bar.”

“Ain’t he a guy?!”

Miranda was the transvestite shopkeep who ran a small restaurant at the foot of the mountain. Suimei would take Hydemary there every once in a while, and the two of them got along surprisingly well. Suimei wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. In any case, Hydemary still didn’t relent.

“Hey, it’s fine, isn’t it? You’re free anyway, aren’t you?”

“You have eyes! You can clearly see that I’m working!”

After shouting at her, Suimei turned back to his desk. When he did...

“Hey, hey...”

“No.”

“Hey, hey, hey, hey...”

“...”

“Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey...”

“Alright already, damn it! Just shut the hell up! I got it, so stop fucking ‘hey’ing me!”

Suimei’s eventual downfall was Hydemary’s plan to throw off his concentration by being a noisy nuisance. Even if he’d tried to use magicka to do something about it, Hydemary was a magician who rivaled his abilities. One thing might quickly escalate to another, so Suimei begrudgingly consented in order to keep both them and the headquarters safe. Hydemary threw both her arms in the air to celebrate his capitulation, though she remained completely expressionless.

“Yay! That’s my Suimei-kun. Your unfortunate face isn’t just for show!”

“God, you insult me on top of everything else? What a... Whatever. What do you even want?”

“Yes, about that...”

Hydemary became uncharacteristically bashful, seeming hesitant to say it. Finding this rather unusual, Suimei prodded her to continue.

“Out with it.”

“You see, I’d like you to be the experimental subject for my magicka.”

“...”

The only reply Suimei offered to Hydemary’s request was silence.

“Hey, are you listening? I want you to be my experimental—”

“Oh, I heard you. And I refuse. I’m not going to be a guinea pig.”

“Whaaat?”

“Don’t act surprised! The hell made you think I was just gonna happily agree to be your test subject?! The hell makes you think anyone would?!”

“Oh? I don’t think it’s anything that unusual.”

“This is magicka way off the right path, isn’t it?!”

“How rude. My magicka is not sinister.”

“I don’t even care!”

As Suimei continued to protest, Hydemary stepped closer.

“But it has to be you, Suimei-kun.”

“Yeah, I’d be flattered if you didn’t mean for a guinea pig. The answer’s still no.”

“Don’t say such selfish things.”

“I’m not being selfish!”

Suimei had been quite adamantly refusing for a while now, but Hydemary hadn’t backed down in the slightest. Rather than him not getting through to her, it felt more like she was just teasing him. And without one of them conceding, this conversation would likely continue in circles all day and night. So in order to move things along, Suimei volunteered to take the next step forward.

“Out with it. What kind of magicka is it really?”

“It’s that. You know, that.”

Suimei looked in the direction that Hydemary was pointing and spotted a large, rectangular box.

“That...? If I remember right, isn’t that the setup for a magic trick to split someone in two?”

“That’s right.”

“And isn’t that the kind of magic trick where you need two people in the box to make it work?”

“That’s just it. That’s the crux of this experiment. I’ve developed a spell to enhance the trick so that only one body is necessary to— Ah! Suimei-kun, wait! Don’t run away!”

Before Hydemary could even finish explaining, Suimei fled the room as fast as he could.

Come One, Come All! The Yakagi Residence House of Horrors!

It was a well-known fact at this point that Yakagi Suimei had a penchant for being dragged into all sorts of trouble. There were plenty of cases where he would stick his neck out on his own, certainly, but after being to summoned another world, he’d gotten involved in something or other everywhere he’d been—from Astel to Nelferia, from Nelferia to the Saadias Alliance, and back again.

It didn’t particularly help that, no matter where he went, he inevitably ended up picking some kind of fight with whatever authority was in power. Really, the only place he still had amicable relations with was the kingdom of Astel. He’d made enemies in the other two countries he’d visited so far, but the king of Astel was in a similar position without a great deal of allies. Astel was also the country that had brought Suimei and the others to this world, so he had the longest standing relationship with the king there. It could be said that they’d come to an understanding of sorts. But even though Suimei was on good terms with the king, there were still a good many people involved in running the country that didn’t have such a generous opinion of him. Our story this time around is about precisely that.

It was also a well-known fact in Astel that when Yakagi Suimei was first summoned, he quite vocally refused to take part in the Demon Lord’s subjugation. On the surface, it was because he hadn’t received the Goddess’s divine protection and held no power. There were those that thought his refusal was quite understandable given the circumstances, but others not so much. They thought him gutless. A coward. They were the ones who’d summoned him against his will, but alas, the world was full of such hypocrites.

Moreover, what had become of Suimei after all that didn’t sit well with them. They assumed he’d get his just deserts after allegedly being driven out of the castle, but when they came to find out that he was actually living peacefully in the Empire, it was a rather sore spot. He was in a land he knew nothing about with no connections or friends to rely on. By all reasonable estimations, he should have had a rather rough time adjusting and providing for himself. Yet nevertheless, he’d ended up quite well off. It smelled like some kind of bribery. Like perhaps some influential figure in the upper echelons of the Empire had taken him under their wing. And reading too much into things has a way of making people anxious, especially when they were already apprehensive to begin with.

But regardless of why it had happened, the result of consequence right now was that a certain noble had sent an assassin. Astel’s King Almadious knew nothing about it, of course, and even Duke Hadorious had nothing to do with it. It was a different noble who felt a righteous indignation on behalf of their country, and had let that feeling run off the rails in the wrong direction. They were just spoiled and privileged enough that the moment the notion crossed their mind, they pulled out all the stops to put their selfish plan into action. Yes, that sort of noble.

This noble believed rather baselessly that Suimei had, in the time he spent wandering around Royal Castle Camellia as he so pleased, made contacts in the Empire. That that was why he’d left Astel, and that he couldn’t possibly be up to any good.

In a sense, it could be said that the assassin this noble had hired was truly the unfortunate one in the situation. In the business of assassins, work was work. And as a mere protégé, this particular assassin had no reason to turn down the job. In fact, it was an exciting opportunity. So upon receiving his orders, he set immediately to work. Mistaking Suimei for a simple coward, he had no way of knowing that he was about to walk into a tiger’s den. It was pitiable, really.

The current hour only made things more unfortunate. Assassins naturally operated under the cover of darkness. It was a different story in the modern era where lights were on and there were people out and about regardless of whether it was day or night, but here in this world with no electric lights and a considerably smaller population, night was the ideal time for an assassin to do their work. But the same was true for magicians. And that important detail of course escaped the assassin, for he had no way of even knowing what magicians were.

After making it to the Empire and infiltrating the imperial capital, said assassin was currently in front of Suimei’s base.

“How unfortunate for him...”

The whisper that escaped the assassin’s lips was likely prompted by pity. Even if he was an assassin, he was still human. Even as a dealer of death, he still had feelings. His target, Suimei, had not only been summoned to this world against his will, it had all been by accident. Furthermore, he had no power of his own and would be completely defenseless. The assassin felt for him and understood why he’d declined the demon subjugation. So this job was nothing personal. The assassin had simply caught the eye of the overzealous noble who’d hired him. It was a dangerous proposition for someone in his position to cross such a powerful noble, so he’d felt pressured to accept. He had to act—to work—without letting his feelings get in the way. It was a common story.

And so the assassin shook off the emotions that lingered inside him and steeled himself as he stood before the door. As a cat meowed behind him, he got to work picking the lock. It was a commonplace mechanism that didn’t offer much of a challenge for a professional, and the assassin easily made his way inside. Unlike houses in Astel, houses in the Empire usually opened into a corridor. Several doors lined the one in Suimei’s house, and the assassin began pondering where best to start. Taking a habitual glance over his shoulder before moving on, the assassin realized the front door was open.

“I thought I closed it...”

As he muttered to himself, a cat poked its head in through the gap in the door. Without making a single sound, it just stared fixedly at him, making him feel strangely uncomfortable. Brushing it off, he turned to head down the corridor and spotted a large portrait of a woman decorating the wall. It was the sort of artwork one would expect to find in the house of a noble or wealthy merchant. Seeing it here felt somewhat strange, but even stranger still, the eyes of the woman in the portrait suddenly seemed to move.

That painting is staring at me...

That thought was his first real bad omen. It felt like no matter what angle he looked at it from, the painting was looking right back at him. His confidence began to waver. Knowing he couldn’t let himself get hung up on something so silly while on the job, however, the assassin hurriedly moved on. But as he stepped further into the hallway, the eyes of the portrait followed him in a glare.

“―?!”

Seeing the painted woman watch him go, the assassin’s body stiffened up. Just what was going on? He didn’t have time to sit and think about it, but it was truly unbelievable. Telling himself it was just his imagination, he moved to take another step down the hallway. And when he did, the portrait’s eyes continued to follow him.

“Ugh...”

Was that a groan of fear, perhaps? The fact that the assassin didn’t scream spoke to his professionalism, but it was quite clear he’d been stricken with fright. He couldn’t help recoiling a single step. He was filled with such dread that he was momentarily sure he’d gotten lost in a funhouse or something. To make matters worse, he suddenly sensed something. He quickly whipped around to see the front door still ajar... and the cat from before still silently staring at him.

“Shit, shit, shit... What the hell is going on?”

His fear began to escalate into full-blown panic. Since there seemed to be no sign of magical enchantment on anything, his sense that something was afoot grew rapidly. He then started thinking he’d seriously stumbled into a haunted house. As fright won out over his sense of obligation to complete the job, he turned to retrace his steps. When he did...

“Daaaaaruma-san fell dooooown.”

He heard the voice of a young girl from down the corridor behind him where he’d just been looking. It made his heart skip a beat. Had he been found by one of the residents? He wasn’t immediately convinced that was the case because of the oddity of the words he’d just heard. Maybe it wasn’t someone talking to him at all. The assassin stood there frozen in fear for a moment, then slowly turned towards the source of the voice. What they saw was a delicately crafted doll standing down the hall looking at him. Other than the doll, there was nobody there.

“Was it... you?”

He knew there was no way it could be, but he couldn’t help the question that escaped his lips. Regardless, the doll didn’t answer. The assassin stared at it skeptically for a long moment, but nothing else happened. His sense of dread reaching its peak, the assassin turned to flee the house. When he did...

“Daaaaaruma-san fell dooooown.”

He heard the same voice from behind him once more. When he whipped around again to identify the speaker, there was still only the doll standing in the hallway. Was it... really her talking? The assassin was no longer sure it wasn’t, and the dire need to escape seized hold of his legs. He immediately tried to run, but...

“You moooooved! Now you’re it!”

The voice said something different this time. He peered over his shoulder and saw that the corners of the doll’s mouth were now curved upward into a smile. But that was the last thing he saw. His consciousness then sank into darkness.

Moments later, quiet footsteps approached from down the hall.

“My goodness, aren’t you up past your bedtime?”

Suimei appeared from the darkness and looked down at the assassin with an exasperated expression. It needn’t be said what happened to the assassin and the noble who sent him after that.

Learning to Become a Swordswoman

“I will become a swordswoman!” Mizuki had suddenly declared just a few hours ago.

Ever since coming to this world, she had been worried about her lack of power. And, after dwelling on it all this time, she’d woken up with a certain idea in her head this morning: if her magical abilities were weak, she could supplement them with something else. At least, that seemed to be her train of thought.

“Hah! Hyah! Hiyah!”

In the garden of the inn where they were staying, Mizuki was swinging Reiji’s orichalcum sword while shouting loudly. Since she’d taken the time to cast physical reinforcement magic on herself, she didn’t seem at all bothered by the weight of the sword. But her form was terrible. Her shoulders were all over the place and she was leaning this way and that. It was obvious even from a distance she had no knack for the blade.

“Um, Mizuki...”

“What is it, Reiji-kun?”

“I think you’d have an easier time if you straightened out your back more.”

“Alright, got it! I’ll give it a try!” she replied enthusiastically, straightening out with a snap.

Upon lending Mizuki his sword, Reiji had promised to give her some pointers while she trained. She was earnestly listening to his advice as she took practice swings, but alas, it didn’t seem to be making much of a difference. Because...

“Raaaaah! Hiiiyaaaaah!”

After another few swings, Reiji swore he could hear a creaking sound and her posture went immediately back to how it was. However, it seemed Mizuki didn’t notice at all. She just continued swinging. This cycle had repeated at least a dozen times now.

“You know, Mizuki...”

“What’s up, Reiji-kun?”

“Well, I was thinking... Wouldn’t it be better if you stopped trying to use a sword, Mizuki? I mean, it’s dangerous.”

“It’s dangerous no matter where you stand on the battlefield, isn’t it? After all, if I was scared of danger, I wouldn’t have come along with you in the first place, Reiji-kun.”

“That’s fair, but...”

It sounded like he wouldn’t get anywhere with a roundabout approach. Worse yet, what he’d just said only seemed to fan the flames in Mizuki’s heart. Her practice swings became more intense—dangerous, even.

After that, Reiji tried several other ways to convince her to give it up, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. She was intent on swinging that sword. But while Reiji was racking his brains, Mizuki suddenly stopped.

“Phew...”

Taking a deep breath, Mizuki looked rather satisfied. But the important part—at least to Reiji—was that she’d stopped swinging the sword. He let out a sigh of relief.

“Now that I’m finished with practice swings, it’s time to start practicing killer techniques.”

“WHAT?! NO!”

“Huh? Reiji-kun, what are you yelling for?”

“U-Uh, Mizuki... by ‘practicing killer techniques,’ you mean what, exactly?”

“Killer techniques are techniques that kill, duh. Any self-respecting swordsman has at least one! A good, proper killer technique! Now, here I go! HAAAAAAAAH!”

With a shout, Mizuki hefted Reiji’s sword high overhead and swung it downward. Relying entirely on her physical reinforcement magic, it was an incredible slash. For a moment, Reiji was truly impressed. But really only for a moment. The sword slammed right into the ground and buried itself there.

“Ack!”

Watching the tip of the blade cut into the ground, Mizuki must’ve thought she’d really done it. She immediately yelped.

“Mizuki, you...”

“Ah... Ah, oh, this? This is proof of the tremendous destructive force of my killer technique, the Anou Grand Slash! So you could witness a glimpse of its power, I intentionally hit the ground.”

Despite her confident words, her eyes were darting about. She’d likely never given a single thought to what would happen if she swung down with all her might. After trying to bluff otherwise with Reiji, she yanked at the grip of the sword to try and pull it out of the ground. She managed eventually, and, as perhaps was expected at this point, proceeded to act like absolutely nothing had happened.

After hearing all the commotion, Titania came out into the garden in the midst of this. She took one look at Mizuki’s wild swings and turned to Reiji.

“Pardon my asking, Reiji-sama, but what is Mizuki doing?”

“Oh, that? She suddenly said that she wanted to learn how to use a sword too.”

“I see... But what is she doing?”

“Those are practice swings... More or less.”

Titania hadn’t even recognized Mizuki’s movements as practice swings. Watching her from the sidelines, it looked more like she was performing some mysterious ritual from an unknown country.

“HIIIYAAAAAH!”

Mizuki, who had noticed Titania’s arrival, let out a deliberately loud shout in response to her badmouthing. She was doing her best to impress the two of them. And she seemed awfully proud of herself, but Titania observed all this with cold eyes.

“...You call those practice swings? Are you mocking the sword? If you swing it like that, you’ll never hit your opponent. You really are mocking it, aren’t you? Or perhaps the real mockery here is you? Yes, a mockery. A terrible sham. A crying shame...”

“Tia?”

“Oh, don’t mind me! Ohohoho...”

Titania had been mumbling with a dark shadow over her face, but it disappeared instantly as she laughed brightly. Mizuki then stopped swinging the sword and began doing something else with it. Seeing this new, curious motion, Titania’s face grew stern again.

“Reiji-sama, what is Mizuki doing now?”

“I wonder... I thought she’d given it a rest, but it looks like she’s twirling the sword around in front of her or something.”

Mizuki had the tip of the sword pointed at the ground, but spun the blade to trace a sweeping circle in the air. Reiji felt like he’d seen this somewhere before. It was like something out of a historical drama...

“Ah, yeah. It’s probably the deadly full moon blade.”

“‘Deadly full moon blade’? Is that some sort of technique?”

“Mm. Right now, Mizuki is making circles with the sword, you see? That’s supposed to ensnare her opponent’s focus, allowing her to cut in while they’re distracted. It’s kind of like hypnotism with a sword, I guess.”

“Wha― That sort of technique exists?!”

Seeing Titania’s surprise, Reiji realized—to his horror—what he’d done. Since he’d explained something fictional with a serious face, Titania had taken him completely at his word. He tried his best to laugh it off.

“Haha, no, it doesn’t actually exist. It’s an imaginary sword style.”

“What? It’s not real?”

“Yeah, no way. Not at all.”

“Does Mizuki know that?”

“Of course. She knows it can never be done.”

“...”

Upon hearing those words, a shadow once more fell over Titania’s face. She then silently walked towards Mizuki, and stood behind her as she continued her strange practice.

“Tia, it’s dangerous to...”

Just as Reiji was trying to warn her, Titania kicked Mizuki’s legs out from under her.

“Hmph!”

“Hwah?!”

Mizuki let out a rather comical cry as she fell to the ground. Reiji watched all this in confusion. But just as he was about to ask Titania what she was doing, she picked up his orichalcum sword that Mizuki had been using.

“What was that for, Tia?! I was practicing my killer technique!”

“As if somebody who just started swinging a sword today could use a killer technique! To begin with, ‘killer techniques’ are not just things you make up! They are an art you learn by earnestly, painstakingly practicing moves into sublime perfection! That is the true essence of a genuine killer technique! And so―”

“But killer techniques are where it’s at!”

“Silence! Who said that you could open your mouth?!”

“Eek!”

“Now, you sit right there and you stay there. Are you listening, Mizuki? First things first, know that becoming a swordsman is not something you accomplish in a single day. It is something you earn after pouring blood, sweat, and tears into countless days of training...”

Titania’s lecture continued for quite some time as Mizuki sat there on the ground looking up at her. Even though she was a mage, it sounded like she knew what she was talking about. Like there was an undeniable truth to her words. Naturally, as Reiji was also a relatively amateur swordsman, her scathing lecture was painful to his ears.

“Maybe I should also do some practice swings...”

Reiji exited the garden, muttering to himself. He thought Mizuki called for help as he walked away, but pretending that he’d heard nothing, he went to borrow a sword from one of Titania’s knights.

From that day forward, Mizuki no longer held any reckless notions about becoming a swordswoman.

All’s well that ends well.

The Most Evil of Indoor Monsters! Its Name Is...

On a certain day at Suimei’s base in the Empire, an incident occurred around noon. Suimei was examining some raw materials for his magicka in an interior room of the house when Felmenia came running in in an unusual fluster.

“Suimei-dono! Are you here, Suimei-dono?! A grave situation has occurred!”

“What is it all of a sudden? You’re pretty worked up...”

“How could I not be?! Martial law! I officially declare martial law as of this moment!”

“Wuh?”

Hearing Felmenia’s odd proclamation, Suimei cocked his head to the side. He couldn’t parse what she’d just said. Martial law was normally instituted to stabilize deteriorating public order and handle uprisings or revolts. And since households were typically governed by majority rule in the first place, there was hardly a situation where something that extreme would ever be necessary.

Taking a good look at her, Suimei could tell that she had an urgent problem, but no idea how to handle the situation. Her eyes were darting about like she was at a frantic loss as to what to do. To say she’d lost her composure was an understatement. That was probably why she’d said something so bizarre.

And while Suimei sat there puzzling over Felmenia’s condition, Lefille came running in next.

“Suimei-kun! Where’s Suimei-kun?!”

“Oh, Lefi? You know, Menia just came in and told me she was declaring martial law. What’s going on?”

“Well, I didn’t hear anything about martial law, but I do understand her panic. This is a critical situation, after all.”

“A critical situation?”

“That’s right. Of all the crises that have befallen this household since we began living here, this is easily the worst.”

Suimei was unable to hide his bewilderment. Those words held a certain weight coming from Lefille. He immediately scanned the house for mana presences and used his magicka to take a quick look around, but didn’t spot anything that appeared to be dangerous in the slightest. Next, it was Liliana who came running into the room.

“Felmenia!” she shouted as soon as she entered.

“Lily! How did it go?!”

“I’m afraid... that the target... has escaped... into the kitchen.”

“Into the kitchen, you say?!” Felmenia yelled in surprise.

“This is bad... At this rate, all our food will be compromised,” Lefille groaned with a severe expression.

“Wait, what? Can someone explain what the hell is going already?” Suimei asked.

“A monster. An extremely evil monster... has appeared,” Liliana replied.

“Inside the house?”

“That’s right.”

“No, no, no, there’s no way... right? There couldn’t be a monster outbreak here.”

Since Suimei’s house and the area immediately surrounding it were kept under strict surveillance, there should have been no way a monster had appeared without him noticing. But according to what the girls were saying...

“Strictly speaking... it’s not a traditional monster. However, it is still... extremely evil. In this world, it is known... as an indoor monster.”

“Y-You don’t say... So, what kind of creature is it?”

Suimei posed his question with a raised eyebrow, and it was Lefille who answered him.

“It exudes a dreadful aura comparable to that of the demons. As far as appearance is concerned, you could even call it a winged demon...”

The other two girls were nodding their heads repeatedly in agreement, but this description only puzzled Suimei further. Felmenia, donning a bitter and solemn expression, took over the dramatic explanation from there.

“This monster, you see, possesses brown wings. It also takes to hiding in the shadows. From time to time, it will suddenly appear out of nowhere. And it seems to take a sick pleasure in consuming human food.”

“You don’t say...”

Putting together everything he’d heard so far, Suimei arrived at a conclusion.

“So, is this monster extremely nimble, by any chance?”

“Yes,” answered Liliana. “It very well may be... the fastest creature in all of nature. Even scholars... have suggested as much.”

“And does it make a terrible skittering sound when it moves around? Would you say it’s the enemy of all women... No, of all housewives?”

“That sounds exactly right. Could it be that you too know this monster, Suimei-kun?”

“Yeah, you could say that.”

Indeed he did, for what the girls were describing sounded an awful lot like a cockroach. However, to think that they were so reviled in this world that they were regarded as monsters... All three girls looked at him with pleading eyes, begging him to do something about the terrible abomination that had infiltrated the house.

“...Alright. I’ll do something or other about it.”

They then cheered for joy as though their prayers had been answered.

“That’s our Suimei-dono!”

“Suimei-kun is brave indeed. It’s said that even men fear this monster.”

“Suimei... How cool.”

Suimei never thought the day would come where he was treated like a hero for something like dealing with a cockroach. It left him with mixed feelings.

“...”

But just then, a certain doubt stirred in him. This was a different world, after all. There were plenty of mysterious creatures living here that defied all natural reason. He couldn’t deny the possibility that this wasn’t just any cockroach. Perhaps there was a good reason the girls were so terrified of it.

“Is something the matter, Suimei-dono?” Felmenia asked, concerned over his silence.

“No...”

All three of the girls, even together, had been unable to handle the threat. It was better to approach this situation cautiously. Holding on to that thought, Suimei anxiously stepped into the kitchen.

“Suimei-kun, it’s there! Right over there!”

“Suimei-dono, please defeat it quickly before it gets to the food!”

“It won’t be that big of a deal, right? I mean, it’s not like it’ll ruin it...”

“What sort of ridiculousness is coming out of your mouth?! If that thing so much as touches our food, we’ll have to throw it all out immediately! There will be no eating it! You couldn’t even wash it clean after that!”

“Nuh-uh-uh. Hang on here. Hold the phone. You’ve gotta be exaggerating...”

It’s not like he didn’t understand the feeling, but he really did think it was going a bit far. But as he stood there astonished at the girls’ continued nonsense, the cockroach on the floor began creeping towards them.

“I-I-It’s coming this way!”

“S-Stay back! Stop making that disgusting sound with your disgusting little legs! Uwaaaaaaaah!”

“R-Retreat! Fall back!”

While raising hell, the three girls scrambled behind Suimei. After giving them a sidelong glance over his shoulder, Suimei turned to the cockroach with a somewhat tired expression on his face. Seeing it in person like this, everything became clear. He was quite literally stunned into silence. Meanwhile, all three girls were still shrieking and squealing. It was just a testament as to how much they feared this monster, but...

“It’s so small...”

The cockroach in the kitchen was unexpectedly small. It was no bigger than an adult’s thumb. In other words, it wasn’t even fully grown. Suimei honestly didn’t see the reason for all the fuss, and couldn’t help thinking the girls had gone a little overboard.

“Hup!”

With a snap of his fingers, he used his strike magicka to exterminate the threat. And as the cockroach was crushed by the explosion of air, the girls raised celebratory cries of relief.

“You defeated it!”

“Thank goodness...”

“Evil must be vanquished... without exception.”

Liliana thrust out her index finger at the squashed bug as if to make an example out of it. And so the squall had passed. As that settled in on everyone, Lefille began nodding in impressed approval.

“Suimei-kun really is amazing. Even before such a big one, you didn’t falter at all.”

“...A big one? That thing?”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

It was clear they somehow weren’t on the same page. They stared at each other, heads cocked to the side. Eventually, it was Suimei who broke the silence.

“You’ve gotta be kidding, right? That little sucker’s just a baby.”

“Certainly not. It has been a long time since I’ve seen one so large.”

Hearing Felmenia say that, Suimei was dumbfounded. This had gone past the point of ridiculous. He simply didn’t even know what to say.

“Wh-Why are you going silent now?”

“I have... a bad feeling about this... A very bad feeling...”

“So, um, Suimei-dono, in your world...”

“Yeah, there are bigger ones.”

“...H-How much bigger, exactly?” Lefille asked reluctantly.

Suimei held up his two index fingers side by side to approximate the size for her.

“I’d say a normal one’s about this size.”

“Impossible...”

“That’s gargantuan! Normal humans would never be able to defend against those! This cannot be! You’re lying!”

“I’m as serious as a heart attack.”

Abject fear was visible on Lefille’s face, Felmenia was shouting denial in all four directions, and Liliana’s shoulders languidly drooped in defeated silence. They all fell into their own despair upon learning the terrible truth.

“Do all the denizens of your world battle against such monsters, Suimei-dono?”

“You could say it’s an ongoing battle...”

Chances were that someone somewhere in the world was currently fighting a cockroach at this very moment. Pondering the nature of humanity’s war with insects, Suimei began disposing of the felled cockroach.

“What the hell is even going on here...?”

The Most Evil of Indoor Monsters! Reiji Edition

Upon stumbling across a certain scene in their rented room in the self-governed state, Reiji had but one thought...

What on earth is everyone doing?

But rather than a question of urgency, it was primarily one of exasperation. For, you see, Titania and her knights were spread out across the room with their weapons drawn and at the ready. They were slowly closing in on a target they had encircled. And it was said target that was truly the cause of Reiji’s exasperation.

“Ugh, to think you allowed such a foe to trespass here... Gregory, Roffrey, Luka! The enemy’s movements are irregular! Stay vigilant and do not lose it!”

Titania’s gallant and commanding voice rallied the others. It would have been a rather impressive thing to see in the middle of battle, or rather, to hear. Despite the bravery in her voice, she was shrinking back. It wasn’t exactly an inspiring sight. Even her three knights were wavering. And with all of them standing there glued to the spot like they were, it looked like they were playing some sort of children’s game.

But then the target went on the move. It drew nearer to Roffrey, who pitifully yelped in response.

“E-Eek!”

“Roffrey, keep it together! How can we call ourselves Her Royal Highness’s escorts in such a state?”

Seeing the young knight panic, Luka scolded him. She was taking this dead seriously, which only amplified Reiji’s exasperation. It was then that the senior knight, Gregory, took control of things.

“E-Everyone, protect the princess with your lives! We cannot allow that monster to reach Her Highness!”

Perhaps because of Gregory’s shouting, the target began moving once more. When it did...

“Waaah!”

“It moved!”

The knights fell into a frantic uproar. With the situation quickly deteriorating, Titania made a bitter expression like she’d been driven into a corner.

“I-If it has come to this, then I will use my magic to...”

Before Titania could enact such violence in the inn, Reiji called out to her.

“Um, sorry to butt in while you’re in the middle of something, Tia, but...”

“R-Reiji-sama?! I didn’t know you were there... But please be careful! There is a monster in here!”

“...”

By “monster,” she was referring to the target they’d encircled. As Reiji looked down, he set his gaze upon the primary cause of all this commotion—a cockroach. And a particularly small one at that. While it was still creepily moving its feelers, it was just sitting there on the floor for now.

Were these people genuinely afraid of it? Or perhaps they were trying to play a prank on Reiji? That was all he could think.

“Reiji-sama!”

“Mm, yeah, I can hear you. So, what’s up?”

“Did you not hear me?! I am saying that there is a monster—”

“Um, about that... How is that a monster? It just looks like a bug to me.”

“Do not be fooled! It is a monster that has threatened households since time immemorial! An abomination that strikes fear into the heart of man!”

“I mean, I know it looks gross, but I don’t think it’s actually hurting anyone...”

“Oh, but it will! It’s even said that a terrible disease can be contracted just from touching it!”

“A terrible disease, huh? Is that what they say...?”

There was no way that was true. As Reiji’s exasperation continued to mount, he heard Mizuki’s voice coming from behind him.

“Oh, Reiji-kuuun! I heard shouting over here. What’s going on?”

“Ah, Mizuki...”

Mizuki slipped past Reiji standing at the door while humming, and immediately whipped around to stick her tongue out at him. She was being cute, but the situation being what it was, it didn’t improve Reiji’s mood any. Mizuki, however, was clueless as to what she’d just walked into, and Titania called out to warn her.

“M-Mizuki! Be careful!”

“Huh? About what?”

“Fall back! It’s dangerous here!”

Hearing the urgency in Titania’s voice, Mizuki took a look at her surroundings. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, however, she only grew more puzzled.

“Ummm... What’s dangerous, exactly? I don’t see anything...”

“There’s no time to waste! Make haste and flee this place!”

“You want me to run away— Aaah!”

Mizuki spotted the cockroach midsentence. Her initial reaction was simply surprise, but then her shoulders began exaggeratedly trembling.

“...Hmph! You sure got some nerve to invade my territory...”

Mizuki began exuding a dangerous aura and a low, creepy laugh. Titania was bewildered by her sudden change in attitude. Seeing it, Reiji called out to her.

“H-Hey, Mizuki...”

“Leave this to me, Reiji-kun. It’s alright. I’m quite used to it.”

“Mizuki...?”

With no further response, Mizuki slowly left the room. When she eventually returned, she was carrying a large number of coins that she’d folded up into a cloth. She then used a string to seal the top of the makeshift bag so that none of the coins could come out. Seeing this, Reiji was reminded of a particular scene from a certain detective manga. The one where coins were stuffed into a sock to make an improvised blackjack of sorts.

Since they were short the staple arsenal of tools for dealing with such a threat—spray pesticide, flyswatters, rolled up newspapers, and the like—she’d likely chosen this as a substitute. It looked like she was planning on crushing the cockroach with it. Indeed, Mizuki wasn’t afraid of cockroaches. To the contrary, she was the type of girl to get rid of them herself upon discovering them. And once she’d finished fashioning her weapon, she sidled right over to it.

“R-Reiji-sama! If we do not stop Mizuki, then...!”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t worry about her. Not Mizuki.”

“No, we mustn’t allow her to get close to it! Please stop Mizuki immediately! She will contract a terrible disease!”

Or so Titania pleaded, but Reiji didn’t move. Meanwhile, Mizuki took in a deep breath, and...

“Get the hell out of my territory! EEEEEEAAAAAAAAT THIIIIISSS!”

The moment she locked eyes on the cockroach, she let out a valiant roar. She was telling it to get out, but she was fully intent on crushing it. Swinging her improvised weapon, she struck the floor repeatedly with a series of bangs. Witnessing the bloodcurdling sight of a mad warrior at work, Titania and the others were overcome with an indescribable sense of fear.

Needless to say, the cockroach didn’t stand a chance against her.

“Hmph... It’s over.”

After obliterating the cockroach, Mizuki turned an astoundingly triumphant smile on her companions. Seeing her like this, the three knights in the room began muttering.

“A-Amazing...”

“My god, to have defeated that monster so easily...”

“Does Mizuki-dono fear nothing...?”

It didn’t take long for their fear to evolve into deep admiration. They looked up at her with ardent zeal like they would a true hero.

“I don’t really get what’s going on, but that was okay, right?”

“It was magnificent, Mizuki. I never knew you were so heroic... I am seeing you in a new light.”

Titania clasped Mizuki’s hand firmly in both of hers. Her eyes too were sparkling with admiration.

“What? Naw... I’ve still got a long ways to go.”

“No, the dauntless courage you just demonstrated as you defeated that monster with your own hands was truly commendable. I shall follow in your example.”

“Monster? That cockroach?”

“Yes. It’s especially praiseworthy that you could challenge one so large.”

“I dunno. It was kinda tiny.”

“Pardon?”

Titania sounded like she’d misheard Mizuki, but Mizuki simply replied...

“I mean, I’ve taken on groups ’em that size all at once before, you know? Compared to that, this was nothing. Nothing at all.”

Hearing those words, Titania and the others beheld Mizuki as if she were a god.