Published: September 9, 2025
Satou here. During the year-end party season, we used to gather around for barbecues and hot pot meals. Although, most times I was working on New Year’s Eve and New Year's Day, so the year would change before I knew it.
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“Satou!”
The first to spot me returning from the Royal Capital with souvenirs was, of course, Mia. Using teleportation magic apparently unsettles spirits, so they can detect it a few moments beforehand.
Shortly after Mia, Pochi and Tama came running from the villa. These two can sense fluctuations in space or magic power, so they know when I teleport. They say they just “somehow” sense it, but neither seems to really understand what exactly they’re detecting.
“I knew it! It’s Master!”
“Welcome back~”
The three of them arrived at the same time.
Mia gently floated in front of me.
Tama jumped and landed on my shoulders in a piggyback style, almost like she was going to do a head throw. The slightly wrong chant she muttered when landing, “paodaruu~in,” is probably because of Arisa’s influence.
Pochi charged headfirst with enough force to take down even a knight with one blow. To make sure Mia didn’t get kneed in the back of the head, I used my magic hand to catch him gently.
With teary eyes, Pochi pleaded from below, “Arisa did it~.”
What’s going on?
When I asked why, he just babbled or kept repeating “Arisa did it” without finishing his sentence. Perhaps because Lulu and Liza taught them not to badmouth others, they struggled to come up with insults.
“Hmm, emotional instability.”
Mia peeked out from beside Pochi whom she was holding sideways to tell me this, but I wasn’t sure if she meant Pochi or Arisa. I wish they’d use more words to explain.
“Kenken-gou-gou? Or kankan-gakugaku?”
Is it “heated quarrel” or “earnest debate”?
Tama, piggybacking on my shoulders, ruffled my hair while peering at me.
I didn’t really get it, so maybe I should ask Arisa and the others directly.
“Since I brought souvenirs, shall we eat and talk?”
“Meat~?”
“Sweets?”
“Both.”
The three perked up hearing that (・・). When I caught Pochi’s eye, he looked a bit embarrassed and turned away, whistling as if to change the subject, saying, “Meat is a separate stomach!”
If meat is a separate stomach, I want to interrogate him for an hour about what goes in the main stomach.
Opening the villa door, I could hear Arisa and the others arguing.
“Like I said! The first strike should be the most powerful magic from a distance!”
“I disagree. If you don’t defeat the enemy with that first strike, the lives of the rear line like Arisa are in danger.”
“That’s right. The first spear is the pride of a warrior. We up-front fighters should charge to weaken the enemy, and the rear line like Arisa should deliver the finishing blow.”
“But then, Liza and Pochi would get injured!”
“Arisa, I suggest you also consider my well-being.”
Nana is no iron wall. She took the triple attack of the Magic Hydra’s breath, magic, and bite without a scratch and could probably one-on-one a mid-rank demon.
“That’s thanks to equipment and new magic. The praise should really go to Master.”
Sounds like they’re really heated.
Speaking of the Magic Hydra, I told them not to engage because of its charm attack, but they fought anyway. They’re getting punished after dinner for sure.
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“So, Arisa, Liza, and Nana were debating tactics, and you mistook it for a fight?”
“That’s sort of it, but not really.”
Tricky.
“Arisa is being unreasonable.”
“Eh? I just told Lulu to use the smoothbore cannon to hit the Brilling Bird.”
“Arisa, hitting the Brilling Bird even with magic arrows is tough, so that’s unreasonable.”
Lulu was arranging dishes and ingredients on the table while scolding Arisa.
“But Lulu did hit it, didn’t she?”
“That was a sniper shot from afar when the Brilling Bird was resting on a rock. That was because of the linked goggles and space stakes for barrel stability. Against a moving Brilling Bird like Pochi though, I’m not confident I could hit it.”