The 3rd day of the second Fire month. One night after the birthday party which turned out to be quite an event, I was sorting through the gifts I had received.

  I am grateful for the gifts I received, but they were so many that it will take me some time to finish sorting through them, especially if I include the memorabilias from the Six Kings Festival.

  Incidentally, regarding that flying castle that was given to Lilia-san…… I heard that Shiro-san only gave her the castle, as Chronois-san retrieved the fountain that doubles one’s magic power.

  However, the castle itself was also an extraordinary thing, and it seemed that Lilia-san was having a hard time deciding how to handle it…… but at that moment, Amalie-san, the first princess of Symphonia Kingdom, reached out to her.

  Apparently, Amalie-san wanted to make the flying castle that Lilia-san received a tourist spot for the royal capital, and she negotiated with Lilia-san right after the party.

  Her proposal was a boon to Lilia-san, and this matter was settled in a jiffy. As a result, it was settled that the Symphonia Kingdom would pay a rental fee to rent the flying castle from Lilia-san.

  It seems that Amalie-san is very enthusiastic about this project, as she visited Lilia-san’s mansion this morning to sign the contract and immediately started working on making it a tourist attraction.

  As to be expected from the leading candidate for the next king, she has tremendous determination and energy. Well, it seems that Lilia-san was saved because of that, and she was grateful for it.

  As I was checking and organizing the gifts one by one, I suddenly heard a knock at the door.

  [……Yeeeees, arehh? Hina-chan?]

  [Kaito-senpai, Aoi-senpai was asking to come to the training space.]

  [Unnn? Me?]

  [Yes, or rather, she was actually asking both Kaito-senpai and I. It seems that she learned some new magic again, and she wanted to show it to us.]

  [Fumu…… Then, I guess let’s check it out.]

  [Yes!]

  It’s not like this is something I urgently needed to do, so I quickly agreed and walked with Hina-chan to the training space behind the mansion.

  Incidentally, this is not the first time I’ve been invited to something like this. Aoi-chan has a strong interest in magic, and with how studious she is, she keeps on learning new magic.

  Whenever she learns a new spell, she usually shows it to me and Hina-chan.

  Aoi-chan is usually very mature, but when it comes to this kind of thing, the childishness within her heart appears. I can understand why she wants to show off her new magic, and it somehow makes me smile.

  Ten minutes after arriving in the training space…… Currently, out of the corner of my eye, Hina-chan was throwing a sharp kick at the golem Aoi-chan had made.

  The kick from Hina-chan, who is good at Body Strengthening Magic, is so sharp and fast that I honestly can’t even follow it with my eyes. However, even with such a powerful kick, Aoi-chan’s golem didn’t budge an inch.

  [……A- Aoi-senpai. This golem is too hard…… My foot hurts. It looks like your usual golem but……]

  [Fufufu, this is the new magic I’ve just learned…… High-Density Golem!]

  Aoi-chan triumphantly puffed out her chest, exuding cuteness appropriate for a girl her age. However, I see…… High Destiny Golem huh.

  I wonder if she learned this as a countermeasure to the fact that her golem was destroyed rather easily by Hina-chan in the past? Aoi-chan had this pretty competitive part in her huh……


  And then, as soon as the two of them had finished fighting (?) and Aoi-chan had unveiled her new magic, I approached them.

  [……I clearly saw your new magic. It was amazing, a complete upgrade from your usual golem.]

  [Thank you! With my magic power, I can barely make one of them…… Well, but putting that aside, there’s something I’d like to ask you, Kaito-san.]

  [Me?]

  [Yes, this golem…… “Can you try breaking it?”]

  [Unnn?]

  After happily smiling at my words of praise, Aoi-chan asked me to destroy the golem for some reason.

  Wondering why the heck she’s asking me, who is the weakest person in this mansion, to do something, I tilted my head.

  [It actually had an effect that activates when it’s destroyed, and I want to see if it works properly……]

  [……Then, why ask me?]

  [Eh? After all, Hina-chan couldn’t break it…… and the strongest one among us here is Kaito-san.]

  Hearing what Aoi-chan told me as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, I tilted my head to another side again but…… That’s when it occurred to me what she meant. I see, they’re “including my pets” with my combat power huh.

  ……That just means Bell is the strong one here, not me, okay? No, well, according to Aoi-chan and Hina-chan, I’m a Monster Tamer, so what she’s saying isn’t entirely wrong……


  However, hmmm. I didn’t bring Bell here because I didn’t think it would turn out this way. It can’t be helped, this is the request of my cute kouhai, so I guess I’ll fetch him……


  [……wait, oi!? What the heck are you doing here, idiot……]

  As I was about to go call Bell to fulfill Aoi-chan’s request, right after that, Alice appeared, wearing a collar with “Pet#3” written on it.

  Well, there are lots of things I’d like to tsukkomi about…… but it’s times like this where you should wear that stuffed costume of yours, idiot!

  [……Errr, Aoi-chan, is this fine?]

  [……Well, I’m fine as long as it’s destroyed, so I don’t really mind if it’s Phantasmal King-sama……]

  [I thought Aoi-senpai’s new golem is already foul play…… but I guess Kaito-senpai is still the most amazing one huh.]

  Well, if Aoi-chan is fine with this…… However, I have a feeling that there’s something hidden with Alice’s appearance here.

  As if to affirm my thoughts, Alice handed me a piece of paper with something written on it. Errr, let’s see……


  { Alice-chan Sword One Copper Coin }

  { Alice-chan Punch One Silver Coin }

  { Alice-chan Kick One Gold Coin }

  { 5-Unit Combination: Great Alice-chan Robo One White Gold Coin }

  I’m really curious about that last one! Robo, this should be those mecha robots, right? Moreover, 5-Unit Combination…… No matter how I think of it, this is straight out of a man’s dreams.

  To be honest, I really want to see it volting in but…… let alone the training space, I don’t think I can guarantee the safety of Lilia-san’s mansion, so I’ll stop.

  So that leaves me with the three other options…… Why is the Sword option the cheapest? Is it like that? That fantasy-like setting where if someone is apparently as strong as Alice, it’s stronger if they just hit them directly rather than using a lousy weapon?

  Well, never mind…… For the time being, let’s pick the Sword option.

  After making my choice, I put a copper coin in Alice’s hand. Then, out of nowhere, Alice took out a sheet of paper and started rolling it up to a cylinder.

  She just freaking took out the sword kids use in their samurai games.

  [……ALICE-CHAN SWOOOOOOORD!]

  With her strike, Aoi-chan’s High-Density Golem…… was “cleaved in half”. The way she called it is a joke, but it seems like even with a paper, she still held outstanding power.

  W- Well, with this, I’ve fulfilled Aoi-chan’s request. However, hmmm…… There doesn’t seem to be any change in the golem after it was cut by Alice.

  [……A- Arehh? It’s not reforming yet…… Did I make a mistake in the magic formula?]

  Aoi-chan’s golem apparently had a regeneration function built into it, but it doesn’t seem to be working properly?

  [I’ve added the “Null: Regeneration” option to my slash just now so———- Ouch!?]

  [……You really are……]

  It’s not because Aoi-chan made a mistake in her magic formula, but because of that unnecessary option Alice added to her attack.

  [……Well, it looks like you got textbook technique right, so I’m sure it would be fine. Its regeneration speed would be quite slow with this magic formula though, so whether it will be useful in actual battle is another matter……]

  [I- I see…… I guess Phantasmal King-sama is also skillful at making golems?]

  [Hmmm, well, I certainly can make one…… like this.]

  [!? ]

  In front of Aoi-chan, who had her interest greatly drawn, Alice nonchalantly pointed her hand at the ground. Then, a small magic circle appeared at the ground and a magnificent earthen bird-shaped golem appeared, flapping its wings and flying through the air.

  Seeing what Alice did, Aoi-chan’s eyes widened in astonishment.

  [A- Amazing…… P- Phantasmal King-sama! I- It’s fine if it’s just a bit. Can you teach me golem techniques?]

  [Don’t wanna. I don’t have enough time to waste on random people.]

  An incredibly fast and powerful refusal. Could it be that? Would it be better if I asked her to do it?

  Just as I was about to speak to Alice, thinking that I would ask her for Aoi-chan’s sake, Alice spoke something I hadn’t expected.

  [I mean, if it’s about golems, “it would be better if you ask Kuro-san” rather than me, you know?]

  [……Unnn? Kuro?]

  [Yes, after all, Kuro is someone who had created a “self-aware golem that’s capable of growing 20,000 years ago”…… Well, technically speaking, she is considered a magic doll, so she might be slightly different from normal golems.]

  [……Ahh.]

  Hearing Alice’s words reminded me of something. I’m talking about Zwei-san’s statement regarding how she’s a magic doll and that “her body was given to her by Kuro”……


  Dear Mom, Dad————– I see, thinking about it again, there were quite a few hints showing something like that. If Kuro is the one who created Zwei-san, then in regards to creating golems—————– Kuro has the best techniques in the world.

  T/N: 32/181