Magic Knight Rayearth: Saving the Villainess

by HORRIOR

After meeting his end in an accident, Hotaru ends up reincarnated in Tokyo Japan, only to find out this world may not be as mundane as he first thought it to be. After stowing away in on someone else's adventure, he finds out that maybe he wasn't as uninvited as he thought. The usual retelling of MKR anime with a fourth character, done in the honor of 30th anniversary.

47. What a Year it has been!

Having returned from Autozam, Hotaru had been eager to try out the guns he had stolen from NSX as souvenirs on some unlucky monsters. Although he now had ranged spells, Uranium Cannon and Neptunium Barrage were too destructive to be used near villages. Hence a ranged weapon should open up more options for him.

However, since he had been away from home for more than three weeks, Alcyone had been very adamant about keeping him within arm's reach. Whether through house chores, training in swordsmanship or ballroom dancing, wedding planning, or using her own souvenirs, Alcyone wasn't going to let him leave. Until there was an actual monster alarm, Hotaru was to stay home.

Hotaru didn't mind this punishment too much, as he knew it wouldn't be long till there would be another monster attack. However, it did leave him a sitting duck when Geo and Zazu came over two days later, asking about the missing weapons. While Alcyone wasn't too happy with Hotaru having taken the weapons without permission, she had helped him keep them hidden as Geo and Zazu searched the mansion. To their surprise, the Autozamians had asked to search Hotaru's gauntlets and even Alcyone's forehead gem, despite having no prior experience on the latter.

Regardless, after not finding the weapons, (which were hidden in a secret compartment in the alchemy tower) the charges were dropped on Hotaru. After cooking Alcyone a delicious candle-lit dinner as a thankyou, it seemed like the sorceress had finally warmed up to him enough to let him out of the house.

Unfortunately, the very next morning Hotaru had woken up with a major headache and a sore throat. With a wave of lethargy striking him down and Alcyone confirming him having a high fever, the Hero of Cephiro had to continue his homestay. With the next day bringing with it a stuffy nose and cough, Hotaru had deemed himself bedridden, refusing to leave the four-poster bed or the bedroom for several days.

Ever eager to be relied upon, Alcyone had treated Hotaru with all the medical knowledge she had available. Medicine, tea, cough syrup, hot and cold compresses, she didn't skip a beat. Even as the mobile computer kept beeping and the alarm in the game room rang, she would teleport to quickly deal with attacking monsters. But even she had her limits on how much she was willing to pamper Hotaru.

"I understand not wanting to spread your disease," Alcyone said, swapping out pillow casings, "but would it be too much to ask to let the maids clean the bedroom? After all, it is just a flu."

"You'd be surprised how much 'just a flu' can spread," Hotaru sniffed, his voice deep and gravely. "I don't know what I caught back in Autozam but I am not letting it spread to the rest of the population."

"Then shouldn't I also be staying away?" Alcyone asked teasingly.

"Considering how much time we've spent being intimate since I came home, I'm sure you—" Hotaru stopped to cough, hacking into the blanket until his coughing fit passed, "…already have what I got. Next week, I will be keeping the maids away and coddling you in return."

"I'll look forward to that," Alcyone chuckled half-sarcastically. "But I wish you stopped being such a big baby and made it easier for me to change the sheets!"

As Hotaru smirked and rolled onto his side, Alcyone yanked the bedsheet away from underneath him, before twisting it around herself. Though she was tall and strong for a woman, a king-sized bedsheet was no easy feat to change on her own. Just as she was about to shoo him away so she could put a clean one on, her eyes widened from the shock of her lifetime.

Instead of the over two-meter-tall man in pajamas, she was looking down at around a four-foot-tall child in oversized clothes. The child was wiggling his feet and looking at her smugly, while cozily rolled up in a blanket. Had it not been for the child's striking lime-green eyes and auburn hair, she would have been completely at a loss who this was.

Shaking her head and dropping the sheet on the ground, Alcyone waltzed over to Hotaru's side of the bed, "Don't scare me like that!

"Is this small enough?" Hotaru asked in a high-pitched voice, before coughing into his fist.

"…If you're trying to get pity from me, it is almost working," Alcyone said with her arms crossed. "Where did you even get the idea to do this?"

"This actually happened to me once before. When you left the Sanctuary and got kidnapped by Debonair, I almost caught a cold trying to get you back and transformed into a child," Hotaru answered, looking up at Alcyone, before staring at his lap. "…It was so scary when Debonair found me like this… I thought I would never see you or anyone else again."

Although Alcyone tried staying stern with her fiancé, it was getting harder to do so by the second. Hearing Hotaru to have gone through all that because of her decision to run away, made her heart ache as she looked at the child's expression. The uncertainty of whether Hotaru was guilt tripping her intentionally or not, caused Alcyone to bite her lip, as she tried to decide how to treat her patient.

Seeing the discordant face Alcyone was making, Hotaru was worried he had gone too far. But before he could tell her he didn't blame her for his transformation, Alcyone's body shifted drastically. The tall woman with pale skin and long black hair quickly started shrinking, until her hair turned into long black fur and her indigo eyes turned green. Turning into a medium-sized cat, Alcyone hopped into the bed and crawled onto Hotaru's lap. Without a care in the world, Alcyone loafed down onto Hotaru's lap, joining him in the blanket cocoon.

Reaching his small hands out, Hotaru slowly stroked Alcyone's fluffy black coat, relaxing to the sound of her purring. Although the bedroom was still a mess from the unfinished changing to sheets, right now their worries were that much smaller.

"I guess you too deserve to be pampered for all you've done for me," Hotaru smiled, resting his head against his pillow. "I will help you change the sheets. After we take a nap."

Moving slightly further up until she was on top of Hotaru's chest, Alcyone curled up on top of him, nuzzling the back of her head against Hotaru's chin. Although they still had a lot of work ahead of them for the sake of their dreams, right now all that mattered was a moment of tranquility. Taking a break from their responsibilities as adults, the two of them fell asleep.

---

As predicted by Hotaru, as soon as he started getting better from his Autozamian flu, Alcyone started showing symptoms. The raven-haired sorceress tried to adamantly keep up appearances and downplay her cough and congestion, so as not to seem unsightly. But after her condition got worse and Hotaru assured her that she was still lovely as ever, Alcyone finally relaxed and focused on getting better.

For an entire week, Hotaru took care of Alcyone and even some of the gardening she usually did. Having taken notes and kept track of Alcyone's bedside manners, Hotaru had a good grasp on what to do, but would often ask her for advice. The maids would offer up as much help as they could, but Hotaru didn't want them getting sick. This meant he needed to take care of washing Alcyone's dishes and laundry, as well as bring her something to read or entertain herself with. By Alcyone's suggestion, Hotaru would sometimes fly her over to the hot spring near their mansion, so she could warm herself up and clear her nose with the steam.

Once both of them had finished their sick leave, Hotaru and Alcyone were ready to start their usual daily routines and wedding planning. But just to get a moment to enjoy their health and freedom, they decided to go for a walk in the woods surrounding their country house.

"Time sure flies. I can't believe it's already been a year since I came to Cephiro," Hotaru smiled, closing the gate behind him.

Reaching over to link arms with Hotaru, Alcyone chuckled, "And since we met. To think I was this close to killing the love of my life back then."

"It wasn't that close," Hotaru smirked teasingly, "but it will make for a great story to tell to our descendants."

"I will look forward to that," Alcyone happily leaned her head against his pauldron covered shoulder. "While this has been the best year of my life, I am happy it is behind us now."

Holding hands, the two of them slowly walked the uneven path down the mountain, using semi exposed tree-roots as steps. The coniferous woods were lush and green as always, and the forest floor was covered in tall bushes and wild flowers. Smelling the air, Hotaru could immediately feel the difference between Cephiro's and Autozam's air quality. Even the temperature felt quite nostalgic, compared to the cold and stale weather of Autozam.

"It really is so good to be back home from Autozam," Hotaru mused relaxedly. "Reminds me why I wanted to come to Cephiro in the first place. It is so peaceful and nothing ever changes here."

"…I wouldn't be too sure about that," Alcyone said, looking around her suspiciously. "You notice anything off about the forest?"

Looking around him, Hotaru tilted his head, "Not really. What is it?"

"Well… where are all the animals? There used to be so many… Even the birds are quiet."

Stopping for a moment to listen to the forest, Hotaru quickly understood what Alcyone meant. There was no singing of birds or movements of forest critters, or even the heavy footsteps of a monster nearby. Instead, he heard a quiet and incoherent sound in the distance, which caused him to quickly turn east.

"What is it?" Alcyone asked worriedly.

Furrowing his brow, Hotaru answered, "I think I hear someone talking…"

Scaling down the thumb of the hand-shaped mountain range, Hotaru and Alcyone soon reached the deciduous forested plateau of the palm. Though the source of the sound was nowhere to be seen, they could now hear the voice much clearer. Heading further east all the way to the edge of the plateau, they finally found the source of the voices; a large yet colorful commune of people and animals.

The commune had hundreds of people of all sorts, all dressed in different kinds of clothes, fashions, and accessories. At first glance Hotaru was reminded of old stories of gypsy caravans, with most buildings around being colorful huts on wagon-bases. But as he looked closer, he could see rudimentary huts and cabins among the wagons, that were either freshly built or under construction. The noises he had heard came from neighboring people either conversing or arguing about something, and planners yelling orders to builders.

He could spot darker skinned men and women with colorful and wild hairstyles, in loose and revealing outfits, who reminded him of Chizetans. There were also much paler, black- and brown-haired people in Chinese and Japanese style full-body robes, who appeared to be Fahrenese. A few relatively bland looking Autozamians were also in the mix, who were recognizable from the technology that they wore. In addition to the people, Hotaru could see various types of beasts of burden. Some of them were ones he was used to, like oxen, horses, and camels, but there were also tigers, rhinos, and large lizards that reminded him of Komodo dragons.

Regardless of the many types of beasts, not even the Autozamians seemed bothered by them. In fact, aside from some minor arguments, the people seemed to be getting along well enough.

"W-Where did all of these people come from?" Alcyone stuttered, looking at the crowd.

"I think these are immigrants…" Hotaru spoke up, trying to pick someone to talk to.

But as Hotaru was eyeing out for a person to speak to in the crowd, a group of three people approached them first. The one at the front of the group was a Chizetan man around Hotaru's perceived age, six feet tall, and had a well-toned and athletic, muscular body. His olive skin, red eyes, and spiky, black and yellow striped hair made him stand out in the crowd of already colorful people. He wore a black vest with golden embroideries, cucumber green harem pants, as well as a red sash around his waist.

Behind him followed a slightly older and taller Fahrenese man and a shorter and younger, Autozamian woman. The man wore sleek, full-length, bright maroon silk shirt and pants, had a clean-shaven face, long black hair in a ponytail, and somewhat small, purple eyes. The woman had deep red hair that stood up, green eyes, and a bronze-colored headset that covered the left side of her head. On her right arm, she had a matching gauntlet with a screen on it. Her outfit consisted of a purple jacket, a red shirt, and matching pants and shoes.

"Greetings friends!" The Chizetan man waved at them happily. "Ya two must be the folks livin' up in that tower? My name is Präsident, and I take it you're Hero Hotaru and Lady Alcyone?"

"You'd be correct…" Hotaru nodded, before pausing. "Wait, tower? We live in a—"

Turning around to look up at their home, Hotaru realized what Präsident meant. From this point of view, their country-house was almost completely covered by the trees in front of it. Only Alcyone's alchemy tower reached above the tree-line, and if one squinted, they could see the thinner façade of the main building behind it.

"…Well, never mind that," Alcyone changed the subject, "what is it that brings you all here?"

"We heard a rumor that Cephiro had opened its borders and to take a chance at coming here," the woman answered, fiddling with her arm mounted computer. "Some of us just came for a visit but we decided that this would be a good place to stay."

Nodding respectfully, the Fahrenese man admitted, "Most of us didn't believe Cephiro was real, but after seeing Bravada and Dome come back so beat-up, we figured to give it a shot. I guess we all have our own reasons for being here."

Realizing her words had been misinterpreted, Alcyone waved her hand quickly, "That's not what I meant. Why are you all here, specifically? Cephiro is a big world and I haven't seen immigrants anywhere else. How come you are all living this close to us?"

"Well, when we found out that the man who approved of us all migratin' here also provides monster protection services, it seemed like a no-brainer!" Präsident chuckled with a wide smile.

"So I did…" Hotaru stared into the distance awkwardly.

Hotaru's eyes widened as he remembered his discussion with Clef nearly a year ago. He had told Clef they should allow people from other worlds to move into Cephiro, so as to increase the planet's population. He had figured this might cause some cultural conflicts and paranoia among the native populus, but was ready to deal with that. However, he hadn't accounted for them to go out of their way to move into his neck of the woods. But, it wasn't like he couldn't use this to his advantage.

"Well, you've come to the right place if you want to live safely," Hotaru said confidently, moving his hands as he spoke. "As long as you subscribe to my protection services same as everyone else, you'll be well taken care of. Now the usual rate is five hundred gold coins per month, but since you just migrated, I am willing to give your village the first two months for free."

While the other two seemed a bit stunned by this sales pitch, Präsident replied with a smile, "Oh is that so? We were sort of hopin' ya could give the services to us for free since we live so nearby? After all, we're neighbors, aren't we?"

Unperturbed by this request, Hotaru shrugged, "I would love to help you, but as the Hero of Cephiro I cannot show favoritism. I give it to you for free, the second closest village will ask for a half price, and so on. I prefer to keep my customers on equal footing."

"Well, that is a shame," Präsident shrugged a bit more expressively. "We were hoping to get proper protection from Cephiro's Hero, but I suppose we can keep fending for ourselves for now."

Seeing Präsident trying to guilt him, Hotaru placed his hand on his shoulder, "I did pick you for a strong one! If you think you can keep your village safe, that is great! People and communities should drive to be self-sufficient! Mind if I take a look to see how the people are doing?"

"Kn—! Knock yourself out…"

After giving Präsident a firm handshake, Hotaru walked off with Alcyone further down the path, deeper into the commune.

"You gave up on them awfully quickly," Alcyone said in a quiet tone. "Why didn't you try to persuade them more?"

"There was no point," Hotaru admitted. "I am not short on money and if monsters give them trouble, they will come for me instead. If they can actually take care of themselves, then that is one less thing for me to worry about."

As they walked deeper into the village-in-progress, Hotaru could spot more and more permanent housing, showing that the village was expanding towards the plateau. There were families with small children and even infants, some of whom were playing outside, others helping out their parents. Hunters and foragers were bartering with their catches, as well as trying to figure out what mushrooms and animals were edible. A small group of men had started something akin to a quarry or a mine, and were digging a hole deep into the mountain.

"When did they all get here?" Alcyone asked, looking around apprehensively. "It's almost like they've been here for weeks…"

"Did you happen to fly over the area when I was on Autozam?" Hotaru asked her. "If not, then they've had five weeks to move in. …Does it bother you to have them move in?"

"Well… I am glad they have found home on Cephiro, but I…" Alcyone frowned, trying to find the right words, "…got used to the privacy of living in seclusion. Now we don't know when there might be people nearby…"

"True…" Hotaru nodded, stroking his chin. "It's a good thing we soundproofed the main building."

"Not what I meant!" Alcyone slapped him on the back while blushing. "Anyway, I don't like the way some of these people look at us…"

Looking at the people more closely, it took a while for Hotaru to figure out what Alcyone meant. On a few occasions he could see some of the adults and many of the kids stare at him, but he recognized this as them marveling at his height. Focusing in on the people who looked at Alcyone, there were some who were taken aback by her beauty, but he could also see some less obvious looks. Sensing no hostility in them, it took Hotaru a while to realize the people staring at Alcyone the most were all from Fahren.

"…Maybe the Fahrenese in general just aren't used to such revealing outfits?" Hotaru suggested.

"Yes, but they're already living alongside the Chizetans…"

Before Hotaru could think of another reason, someone shouted out, "EVERYONE GET INSIDE! A MONSTER IS COMING!"

Facing the shouting, Hotaru and Alcyone saw a group of what looked like hunters running towards them. Not long after, people started running inside their cabins, huts, and wagons, or up to a higher ground.

"A monster? Here?" Alcyone asked surprised.

"Could be just Ascot coming for a visit…" Hotaru suggested calmly, until he felt the ground rumble.

Charging towards the village and knocking down trees in front of it, a loudly howling and growling monster charged through. At first it looked like an ordinary yet monstrous gray wolf with red glowing eyes, until the rest of its body became visible. Instead of legs, it had six large, furry arms and clawed hands that it crawled on at high speed. From behind its over-sized head sprouted a pair of large bat wings, and further down its back opened a second mouth, with spiky tentacles as fangs. A large and thick, spiny, rat-like tail sprouted from the rear of its body.

With the monster visible, many of the people who had already been hiding took off running again, screaming in fear. Seeing its prey screaming and running, the abominable wolf took off after them, its howls freezing its prey in place from fear and causing them to stumble. Just as its toothy tentacles were about to snatch prey right off the ground, a bright blue beam of light struck it in the head. The people still cowering in their hiding places watched as Hotaru brandished a mental energy blaster with a smile on his face.

"Finally, I've been dying to try these out," Hotaru smiled, firing again and again at the wolf.

Scoring hit after hit in the monster's face, the giant wolf backed off for a moment, before growling angrily. Seeing that the blaster was only singeing the wolf's fur and causing its eyes to sting, Hotaru used Silver Speed to quickly swap to the fully automatic energy shotgun. Although the weapon was flashy and Hotaru remembered it shredding a metal plate to pieces, the wolf was reacting to it like a dog to a squirt bottle.

"What is this thing made out of…" Hotaru gritted his teeth.

Before he could get his answer, he heard a loud bang behind him, after which a conical, almost crossbow-bolt shaped projectile flew over his head. The golden projectile struck the wolf's face, smashing through its teeth before blowing the top of its head off. The fearsome beast collapsed to the ground in an instant, its wings, tail, and tentacles going limp.

Turning around, Hotaru could see Präsident and his two friends rushing over, with the Autozamian woman carrying a rather large, cylindrical gun. Although it looked like a miniature bazooka, the red-headed woman was able to carry it single-handedly without issue.

"Are ya guys alright?" Präsident asked, addressing everyone around the monster.

"Nobody seems to have gotten hurt," Alcyone said, before looking at Hotaru's shotgun, "except for my trust in Autozamian weapons tech…"

"It is not the gun's fault," the woman corrected her. "Cephiroan monsters just don't seem affected by mental energy weaponry. You need to use something with actual ammunition."

Hearing this, Hotaru looked at his guns before storing them back in his gauntlets, "Federal laws broken for nothing…"

Smiling smugly, Präsident spoke up, "Like we said, we can take care of monster attacks on our own, without—"

"LOOK OUT!" Alcyone yelled out.

Before Präsident and his friends could react or reload, the wolf-like monster split in half violently, horizontally. The top of half of the wolf flew up, revealing a black monstrosity that looked like a flying tentacled maw with bat-wings. The lower half used its forelimbs to stand upright, before the wolf's rat-like tail split into several spiny tendrils, revealing a blood red orifice between them. The tentacle ridden mouths of both monsters spread wide open, before purple, noxious looking clouds spewed forth from them.

Seeing the poisonous cloud spreading, the people ran away in panic once more, with even Präsident taking a step back. Before he had time to start formulating a plan, there was a strong gust of wind as the person in front of him disappeared. Faster than his eye could see, the six limbed hairy creature burst into a cloud of black mist, with Cephiro's Hero standing tall in its place, holding his fist out. Almost just as quickly, the raven-haired sorceress turned the bat-like monster into mist, by firing icicles the size of javelins through its bloated body. Even as the purple cloud enveloped them, they seemed calm and unphased by the poison surrounding them.

Waving away the poison, Hotaru coughed, "Antidote, please."

"Say aaa~," Alcyone smiled playfully, feeding him a purple pill, before taking one herself.

Swallowing it down, Hotaru asked loudly, "Do the rest of you need any? We got plenty!"

---

Aside from discovering a village stone's throw away (at least if Hotaru threw it) and getting attacked by a monster, the loving couple managed to spend a peaceful day off. This peace did not last for long though, since their work had piled up while being sick. The courtyard and Alcyone's gardens needed tending and her herbs and spices harvesting. Furthermore, while Hotaru had been in Autozam, Alcyone had managed to make a deal with several general goods stores all around Cephiro. In exchange for a discount on supplies and ingredients, she would wholesale her medicine and candies to the shops, raking in a tidy profit.

As for Hotaru, while his line of work didn't have the tendency to pile up, his household chores were a separate thing. With two weeks spent in bed and Alcyone picking up his slack while he was in Autozam, no one in their mansion had gone shopping for a while. They were nearly all out of food and basic necessities, due to which Hotaru needed to spend several days flying around to resupply their reserves.

But going shopping for groceries wasn't Hotaru's only problem. While so far, he had only had to deal with monster attacks twice a week or so, their frequency seemed to increase. His mobile computer would blare the alarm almost every other day, and they seemed to come at the most inopportune times. While monster attacks during night were nothing new to him, the monsters seemed to wait till way past midnight to attack. This led to many red alarms, to which Hotaru rarely had time to even put his armor on.

Even if it were just a green alarm that might have been a villager jumping at shadows, he needed to rush in to look into it. There was also a time when he received a red alarm during an afternoon bath, but luckily, he had taken his gauntlets with him to the bathhouse. While fighting a monster in front of a crowd in armor was better than just a towel, doing so commando was not something he wanted to repeat.

Despite all the things keeping them busy, Hotaru and Alcyone still found time for each other, as well as their friends. On a couple of occasions, Hotaru would invite Ascot, Clef, Ferio, Lafarga, Lantis, Zazu, and Mokona over for a guys' night, to drink, eat snacks, play video games, and pool. In the meanwhile, Alcyone took Caldina, Presea, Sierra, the maids, and Primera out for a ladies' night of gossip, gambling, sweets, tea, and wine tasting. It was during one of these nights that Alcyone was forced to finally master Mass Teleportation, as the flying carriage was damaged due to drunk flying. This would've given the guys quite a chuckle, had it not been for the once almost-lethal case of Hotaru explaining to Zazu about nuclear energy. With Mokona in the same room. All three of them drunk off their asses.

To switch things up a bit from time to time, Hotaru and Alcyone would have couples' game nights with Clef, Presea, Zazu, Sierra, Lafarga, and Caldina. Alcyone would also sometimes host sort of a book club, with Ascot, Clef, Sierra, Lafarga, and Lantis attending. Hotaru in turn would keep Caldina, Ferio, Presea, Zazu, and Primera busy with a game of cards, each of them bringing in a thousand gold coins to gamble with. With the maids keeping their eyes on the gamblers, they made sure no one betted beyond the agreed upon amount or cheated.

As the weeks passed, the village near their home slowly grew larger, as more people moved in and more buildings were built. Just as Hotaru had expected, the village was growing across the palm of the claw mountains, towards the thumb. It hadn't been a full month before Hotaru could see trees being cut from the window of his bedroom, and houses being built in their place. While Hotaru wasn't too happy about his forests and training grounds being cut down and built upon, he couldn't complain about it either. The migrants were here mostly due to him, and soon even native Cephiroans started moving into the village too.

As such, instead of telling the villagers to leave, Hotaru negotiated with them about not cutting down all the trees on the palm. He explained the area was home to many animals and birds that needed their homes, and due to them being on Cephiro, the animals were used to humans. With the help of the native Cephiroans who had moved in the area, Hotaru was able to convince them to leave large wooded patches and parks between buildings. In addition, Hotaru took his time to ask Mokona for supplies for a rope fence, to mark the thumb mountain as private property.

While the fence did keep away lumberjacks and construction workers, it didn't keep away curious children who came snooping around the country house. Although Hotaru didn't mind at first, he started receiving complaints from the maids and Alcyone, about the kids messing with the horses and the gardens. To Hotaru, breaking rules and exploring forbidden places was part of growing up, but he did understand the ladies' frustration.

Overall, Hotaru and Alcyone learnt to live and let live with the villagers, until one day…

"Sir Hotaru, Mr. Präsident is here to see you," the head maid Integra informed him. "Do I let him in or shall you see him at the gate?"

Sitting on an armchair, reading a book about magic, Hotaru asked, "Did he tell you why he came over?"

"He said it had something to do with large quantities of gold."

"I see," Hotaru's ears perked up, putting down the book. "Bring him in, I will be waiting in the drawing room."

Figuring that the village's spokesperson was here to finally make a subscription to his services, Hotaru knew he should give a good impression. Quickly touching his hair up and gathering Alcyone and the remaining maids to the drawing room, he then straightened up all the decorative pillows on the couches. Alcyone helped also, providing a bowl of assorted sweets of her own making. With Alcyone by his side and Envix and Livina standing by ready, Hotaru felt confident when Integra brought in the almost bare-chested Chizetan.

"Mr. Präsident, Sir Hotaru," Integra announced their guest, bowing respectfully.

"Hello!" Präsident waved, looking around curiously. "So, this is where Cephiro's richest man lives. Not bad… Almost as opulent as Chizetan noble-houses."

"Well to be fair I only became the richest after the house was built," Hotaru admitted, crossing his legs. "Alcyone and I are looking to upgrade in the future. And I guess you villagers can help us in that endeavor."

"How?" Präsident raised an eyebrow, sitting down in an armchair.

"Well, an extra five hundred gold per month is bound to speed things up a little," Hotaru extended out his arms to shrug.

Looking at Hotaru strangely, Präsident eventually yelled out, "Oh! That's what ya mean! Nah, I'm afraid you're mistaken 'bout the reason behind my visit, Mr. Hero."

"Huh? Then why have you come?"

"Ya see..." Präsident placed his hands together, "our commune has now reached a population large enough to be officially branded a village in the laws of Cephiro. To celebrate we had a lil election to select the village's first mayor and I came out victorious. So, ya may now call me Mayor Präsident."

"Sounds a bit reduntant…" Hotaru thought out loud, before Alcyone spoke up.

"Wait a minute!" Alcyone slammed her hands against the desk. "How come we weren't told about this? Hotaru could have run for mayor too!"

With Alcyone's uproar surprising both Hotaru and Präsident, the latter placed his palms together, "Sorry 'bout that! We figured Hotaru was too busy to act as the mayor of our village with everything else he has going for him."

"He has a point," Hotaru calmed Alcyone down. "So, why is it that you have come here then? Our head maid told us it had something to do with money."

"Quite so!" Präsident clapped his hands together. "For ya see… as rich as you are, you have not been paying taxes to our village."

"Taxes?" Hotaru repeated, twitching slightly in his seat. "But we're not even part of your village!"

"Oh, but you are!" Präsident corrected him, speaking in a more formal tone. "In accordance with Cephiro's laws of region management, all inhabitants are obligated to pay their taxes to the governing force of the nearest village or town. Considering the border of our village is only six hundred meters from your front door, that would be us."

Remembering having read something along those lines himself in the law books of the library, Hotaru was trying to calmly think of a rebuttal. But as he thought about it, a sudden realization dawned on him, causing his temper to flare out in an instant. Like a released bowstring, Hotaru lashed forward, slamming his fist against the coffee table, scaring the maids and Alcyone.

"You sons of BITCHES!" Hotaru snarled, his hairs standing up in anger. "You purposefully built your village close to my home to charge taxes from us!"

Staying calm, Präsident continued smiling, "Please calm down. We only decided to do it because we are migrants on a foreign planet."

Seeing Hotaru calm down a bit, Präsident continued, "…We only have so much money or available connections in this world. Hence, we need your tax money to better support our community. With what you will pay we will soon have proper roads leading up the plateau and your mountain, not to mention plumbing."

"…How much tax would we be paying?" Hotaru asked, gripping the armrest of the couch.

"With your wealth, we figured five thousand gold coins would be appropriate," Präsident answered, leaning back in the armchair.

"B-But that is over a third of what we earn a month!" Alcyone objected. "The taxes were never that high outside the war!"

"Yes, but we are living in a post war world," Präsident pointed out calmly.

While appearing to be deep in thought on the couch, Hotaru was raging internally. Although five thousand a month wouldn't be detrimental to his wealth, it was still a hefty chunk to lose. Coupled with his monthly spendings and the payments of the maids, who he had planned on giving raises, his monthly savings quickly shrunk down. Furthermore, if the tax was just simply decided and not based on any concrete numbers, how high would it be raised if his true wealth became apparent? He was a billionaire on Autozam, and with the amount of Olympia opals he still had, technically even wealthier. If people found out about those, he could be forced to pay even more.

Just when I thought I was free to live a carefree life on Cephiro, bureaucracy still rears its ugly head…

Deepening his voice, Hotaru suggested, "How about we agree to pay you three thousand gold pieces? That way we can both get something out of this deal and keep good relations."

"I'm afraid that just won't cut it," Präsident refused. "Of course you can always refrain from paying the taxes, but then the city hall will have the right to foreclose on your home."

Glancing at Alcyone to see if what Präsident said was true, Hotaru gritted his teeth as he saw her nod. However, not willing to give up yet, Hotaru allowed his aura to flare out a bit, catching the Chizetan mayor off guard. Even the maids were forced to take a step back, feeling the temperature in the room rise up.

"You do realize you are speaking to a person with enough power to wage war on your native world on his own?" Hotaru stared Präsident down, tapping his finger against the arm rest. "Not to mention the means of reaching it."

Swallowing deeply, Präsident shrugged, "I do not mind, for my home is now Cephiro. Besides, what is losing one's birth home to losing the respect of your people? I'm sure the people of Cephiro would be glad to hear about their hero trying to dodge paying taxes using violence, especially when his own wealth is paid by their taxes."

Gritting his teeth, Hotaru was very close to chipping a tooth, before his wrist-mounted mobile computer started blaring out. Being reminded of the true source of his income and seeing it was a red alert, he realized there was no point in arguing. With no other way out left for them, Hotaru promised to pay his taxes by the end of the month.

---

A few days after Präsident's visit, Hotaru and Alcyone had in return gone to visit Clef and Presea. While Presea worked in the research center of Renault, she now lived with Clef in the Sanctuary. The colossal crystal castle had seen some repairs in the little less than a year that had passed, with it no longer being in danger of collapsing. For his and Presea's abode, Clef had chosen the castle's spacious master bedroom, which he had used as his room during the weeks of darkness. The bedroom had been split into several sections, transforming it into a large, single bedroom apartment.

In addition to a simple sleeping area in a corner, there was a dining area, a living-room area, and a library/study. There was no kitchenette or stove of any kind, as Clef and Presea either used magic, Mokona, or the castle's public facilities for food. The furniture was all magical, with the chairs and couches hovering off the ground and the tables having glowing, hard-light surfaces. Only the bed, desk, and bookshelves were grounded to the floor.

As they had all sat around the dinner table, Alcyone and Clef had brewed tea for the group, with Mokona summoning fruits and snacks. After Presea reported about the magic battery production progress on Autozam from Zazu, the topic had swapped to the village near their mansion. Still annoyed by the whole ordeal with Präsident and the rest of the villagers, Hotaru had not bothered staying neutral about the topic.

"And that's basically what happened," Hotaru finished his story, holding a cup of tea in his hands while pouting.

"I see… What a sneaky use of Cephiroan law," Clef frowned, sitting on the opposite side of the table.

Tapping the table with her finger while leaning against her hand, Alcyone pondered, "How do migrants from other worlds know so much about what remains of Cephiro's laws?"

"Maybe Caldina might know about it," Presea pointed out. "She knew about Cephiro before coming here, and she has… Well, history with dealing with the criminals and smugglers."

"Lantis could also know about it," Clef pointed out, before leaning back, crossing his arms and thinking. "Though if I were to hazard a guess, they may have just talked to some of the locals before coming up with this plan. As we have no idea how long they have been on Cephiro, they could have been planning for this for months, gathering intel from the natives."

Sighing heavily and knocking back a cup of tea, Hotaru grunted, "Nothing is certain in life but death and taxes, even on a fantasy world like Cephiro."

"Is our world really that fantastical to you?" Clef asked curiously. "I've been to other worlds in the past, they weren't all that far removed from Cephiro."

"Try visiting Earth next time," Hotaru snarked. "The closest thing we have to magic is technology far less advanced and far more volatile than Autozam's. …Speaking of magic, there's a reason we came to visit you."

"What do you need Mokona to conjure this time?" Clef and Presea asked simultaneously.

"Not that!" Hotaru corrected them. "I was thinking if it would be possible for you to teach me more about magic, Master Mage Clef."

"More?" Clef raised a dumbfounded eyebrow. "But Hotaru, you are already the most powerful magician on Cephiro."

"Powerful, yes. Skilled, not so much," Hotaru admitted begrudgingly. "Compared to magic users like you, Alcyone, or Lantis, I know very few spells. And what I do know, is only good for combat and destruction."

"They can be a bit indiscriminate," Alcyone chuckled knowingly, before leaning to Presea. "He even stole weapons from Autozam to have something more manageable. Unfortunately, the monsters weren't impressed by his little guns."

Giving a vicious side-eye to the giggling women, Hotaru eventually rebutted, "It doesn't matter, I don't need new weapons. But with monster attacks becoming more and more common, I would be willing to go above and beyond to learn Teleportation."

"I can only imagine it coming handy with your profession," Clef admitted. "Personally, I do not think I could learn to live without Teleportation anymore."

"He isn't joking. He teleports so much, I don't think he even knows how to climb stairs anymore," Presea whispered to Alcyone jokingly.

Pouting slightly at their snickering, Clef cleared his throat before asking, "Alcyone, how is your training into taking the mantle of Master Mage coming along?"

Quieting down and freezing as if asked if she had done her homework, a nervous bead of sweat dripped down Alcyone's temple. After her failure to teach Envix magic, Alcyone had attempted to teach Integra and Livina, but neither of the maids had been able to awaken their powers either. After that Alcyone had figured she could try out Caldina's class or look for an apprentice in one of the nearby villages, but had never gotten around to it. There had simply been too many things she had found more interesting, such as getting her gardens and production set for business.

Tapping her fingers together, Alcyone answered sheepishly, "Well you see… Learning to become a master mage is mostly about helping others learn magic. I haven't been able to find a suitable student yet who to teach…"

Looking at Alcyone confused at first, Clef eventually smiled warmly, "Then why don't you try and teach Hotaru?"

"…Eh?" Alcyone blinked; her mouth slightly ajar. "But… isn't the point to teach someone from the very beginning?"

"Maybe so, but from what you've told me, you have already taught plenty of people the basics," Clef pointed out. "Although none of them were able to use magic, they still learned. So, why don't you go and teach Hotaru more advanced magic next?"

Looking at each other bewilderedly, Hotaru and Alcyone blushed out of embarrassment due to the irony. To not realize they were the ones they'd been looking for all along, was painfully awkward and yet heartwarming. While Alcyone looked forward to spending more time with Hotaru, Hotaru couldn't help but think back to a time with the Magic Knights.

You want to be privately tutored by a naughty onee-sama in a tight outfit?

…Dammit Umi! Oh whatever, it's not like this is the first time Alcyone is teaching me something new. This might actually be kind of fun…

With his former students getting ready to flirt in front of him once again, Clef spoke up, "In any case, I think I know of a way to help you with your problem with the village."

Snapping out of thought, Hotaru and Alcyone turned towards the planet's eldest, eager to hear what he had in mind.

"What is it?" Hotaru asked, desiring to know. "Is it some tax evasion trick?"

"Not quite," Clef sighed, disappointed in Hotaru's first reaction. "I am only willing to tell this to you, if you both promise not to misuse your power, alright?"

Giving each other a quick glance, Hotaru and Alcyone nodded, "We promise!"

Having heard Clef's plan, Hotaru and Alcyone had spent the next hour or so memorizing laws and filling in the proper paperwork with the Master Mage. During this time, Presea had requested Hotaru if she could borrow the guns he had stolen from NSX. By the time they were finished and ready to head home, the Master Blacksmith was convinced she could modify them to be more effective against monsters. As such, Hotaru left all of his guns in Presea's care, with the promise she wouldn't tell Zazu about them.

With Alcyone teleporting them back home, Hotaru saw no reason to waste time in delivering the news to the people. But first, he needed to dress appropriately.

---

Sitting in the newly built town hall with his two adjutants, Präsident was filling paperwork and budgeting the soon to be collected taxes. The coffers of the village weren't very full as of the moment, but a change to this would soon arrive. As the town hall was a public facility, the three of them needed to keep up professional appearances. But as the office space they were using became empty from others, they were able to speak freely.

"So, how much gold do we need to put aside?" the Autozamian woman, Vertigo asked.

"At least ten thousand gold," the tall Fahrenese man, Keoh Wa answered. "Once we have that secured, we can take our time with the rest."

"Livin' on a knive's edge ain't for the faint of heart, but soon we should be—"

"Mayor Präsident!" An Autozamian villager interrupted them. "You need to come quickly!"

Being startled, the trio quickly jumbled to cover their paperwork, before sighing in relief.

"What is a citizen?" Präsident asked, wiping sweat off his brow.

"Hotaru the Hero has come and he is demanding to see you and the rest of the village! He says he has an announcement to make."

Following the villager, the trio rushed out of the town hall, over to the cobbled village square in a hurry. It was already getting late, and the setting sun had dyed the horizon blood red. While at first, they had been confused as to what the Hero of Cephiro had to say, they knew it was nothing good as soon as they saw him all armored up. Standing in the middle of the stone paved square, on a wooden platform used for town meetings, he was being accompanied by Alcyone and the maids. The gold and silver armored paladin held his helmet in his arms, looking like a conquering hero, while smiling smugly down at the three latecomers.

"Ah, Mayor Präsident, you finally managed to join us," Hotaru greeted them with a pompous grin.

"Mr. Hotaru," Präsident greeted him, trying to appear calm, "why have you gathered us all here?"

"I just wanted to take a look at how all my villagers are doing," Hotaru answered, looking at the crowd's reactions. "Everyone is good and healthy? Great!"

Sharp as he was, it didn't take long for Präsident to latch onto Hotaru's words, "What do you mean your villagers?"

Reaching for the gem on the back of his left gauntlet's glove, Hotaru pulled out a pristine stack of papers, covered in text and formal seals. Although most of the villagers couldn't read what they said, those Cephiroans who were close enough were gasping at the sight of them.

"As degreed by Master Mage Clef himself, the last member of the royal court, I, Hotaru the Hero, have been granted the right of ownership of Claw Mountains!" Hotaru announced in a loud voice. "Being the first to settle down to live in this region and to build my estate here, as well as being affiliated with a member of one of the eight noble families; I set myself as the highest authority of these lands!"

Hearing this, the crowd gasped and stared at him in disbelief, with Präsident and his crew in absolute shock. Cocksure about their plan and having bet everything on it, they had completely ignored this possibility, albeit for a reason.

"But that's impossible!" Vertigo objected. "Cephiro doesn't even have any remaining nobility!"

"Yes, it does," Alcyone spoke up smugly. "I am Lady Alcyone Subaru! The heir and current head of the Subaru noble family! And with my engagement to Lord Hotaru, I will hear no objections to his claims to these lands!"

Reading the crowd, Hotaru could see the migrant villagers gasping and turning towards the natives of Cephiro. As they were given confirmation on Alcyone's claims, little by little the crowd quieted down, which didn't sit well with its current ruling body. Realizing the true implications of all this, the heads of the village all started sweating.

Swallowing nervously, Keoh Wa asked, "D-Does that mean we now have to pay you to live on your land?"

Before answering, Hotaru paused for a moment, thinking about the suggestion, "…We will see about that later. The main point is that from now on, I will be in charge of the law and order in this village! And that includes the collection and distribution of taxes!"

"But Mr. Hotaru!" Präsident quickly objected. "Surely a man of your caliber has more important use for their time! Like protecting villages, rubbing elbows with the nobility, upholding diplomatic relations? How about letting us take care of the taxation and save you the trouble!"

"I assure you, Mayor Präsident, deciding how to allocate the village's tax money is no issue," Hotaru said confidently. "Though if you are so eager to help, then I will allow you to collect the said taxes and bring them to me."

As the villagers started murmuring and presenting questions, Präsident could only swear under his breath, "Ssshit…"

"Lord Hotaru!" one of the native Cephiroans asked. "What about the village guard? Will we continue working or are you going to replace us?"

Surprised to learn the village even had guards, Hotaru thought about it quickly, "The guard will remain as is! While I will… acquire this village as part of my customer base in terms of monster protection, the guard still has its purpose! This village will grow into a prosperous town in the future, and for that we need people upholding the law, and… Does this village even have a name yet?"

There was a moment of silence, as everyone stared at each other, waiting for someone to speak up. Everyone was so used to referring to their home as just the village, that the need for a name had never come the awkward silence lasting longer than he had hoped, Hotaru eventually spread out his arms.

"As my first degree as the Lord of this region, I shall name this village…" he spoke in a grandiose voice, before pausing for a second. "…Martin!"

There was another moment of silence, before some of the people in the crowd started applauding, soon joined by more people. As the crowd seemed pleased, Hotaru walked off the wooden platform, soon followed by Alcyone.

"Martin?" she raised her eyebrow. "A bit self-aggrandizing, don't you think?"

"Would you have preferred Romeo?" Hotaru asked sarcastically. "I thought of naming the village Subaru at first, but then I remembered there is already a region with your family name out there."

Hearing this, Alcyone's heart skipped a beat, "…You're right, it would have been awkward. Do… do you know what it is like in Subaru these days?"

Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, Hotaru answered gently, "The area is doing well, aside from there being fewer people than normal. No one has yet asked any questions about you."

"…That's a relief," Alcyone sighed, still feeling apprehensive about visiting her family's lands.

As the crowd dispersed and the lord and lady of the region walked away, the Mayor of Martin and his adjutants were left standing frozen in place. While Präsident was still the mayor and their positions or wages hadn't been cut, they had just lost more than they cared to admit.

"This is not good…" Präsident grumbled under his breath. "Once again the rich nobility find a way to avoid paying taxes…"

"What about plan B?" Vertigo asked, keeping her voice low. "Is the tunnel getting ready?"

"We gave up on it," Keoh Wa admitted. "The rock is dead solid for the most part, and where the ground is soft it is volcanic and unstable."

"Plus, our spies found out our lord and lady keep all their wealth on hand," Präsident sighed, hanging his head low with his hands on his hips.

Covering her face, Vertigo crumbled, "Uuuugh… Broncho is going to have our heads for this…"

"I wouldn't be too worried about Broncho," Präsident said, pacing about the village square. "He is a patient man and will soon have a new plan ready."

"What about the Admiral?" Keoh Wa asked under his breath, seeming more nervous.

Staring up into the skies, with the evening stars already visible, Präsident gritted his teeth, "He isn't known for his patience. And without him, we are stuck on this planet…"

---

Having been named the Lord of the Claw Mountains, Hotaru was quickly reminded why he had turned down the position as Cephiro's king. Among his usual tasks of protecting villages from monsters, exercising, training, and relaxing, he was getting daily visits from villagers. Most of the visits were as regards to suggestions and questions about laws, due to so many clashing cultures having to live together. But in addition, there were a few complaints regarding neighbors and either about the rules being unfair, too strict, or not strict enough.

At first Alcyone had just told Hotaru that this is what being the lord of the lands was all about. But when it became apparent that all of these visits would get in the way of her teaching magic to Hotaru, Alcyone had pulled a few of her father's old tricks. First of these was guiding all the complaints, suggestions, and questions to the town hall for Mayor Präsident and his cronies to sort through. Once sorted, the second trick came to play, by assigning official times of the week when Hotaru and Alcyone were receiving villagers. These villagers had been granted an audit by the mayoral staff, under the assumption that the topic was too important or difficult for them to decide upon.

Of course there was some misuse of the system at first, such as sending the most annoying villagers in or keeping vital information out. But then Alcyone implemented the third and final trick; public humiliation. Those found mismanaging or shirking their duties, were placed into a pillory in the village center, and then pelted with sufficiently squishy fruits. At first Hotaru thought this method was too barbaric for his own taste, but as the number of misdemeanors dropped, the results spoke for themselves.

With their schedules cleared, Alcyone finally had time to start making progress on becoming a Master Mage. While Hotaru would have wanted to jump straight into learning Teleportation, Alcyone insisted they start with something simpler. While learning a cleansing spell seemed ridiculous as they had hired maids to do laundry, Hotaru soon began appreciating Alcyone's insight. While Hotaru had already created many powerful spells naturally, learning a new spell that didn't come from his heart was nothing like he had imagined.

To learn a spell, one's own heart was required to accept that spell as part of itself. The more rigid and unyielding a heart was, the more difficult it was for it to adopt a new spell into itself. This could be assisted with studying the spell in question or meditation, to allow one's own heart to better understand it. However, nothing was ever certain when learning magic. In fact, according to Alcyone, there was no guarantee that Hotaru even could learn Teleportation.

Not one to give up, Hotaru studied simplistic spells first through books, before moving to practicing with Alcyone. Unlike when practicing fencing, ballroom dancing, or horse-riding, Alcyone tried to refrain from flirting too much with Hotaru. She didn't wish for this to become a habit with her students at first, but soon realized it helped Hotaru to learn and internalize magic better. In less than two weeks, Hotaru managed to learn a cleansing spell which allowed him to clean his body and clothes. While proud of his accomplishment, Alcyone still reminded him of the importance of actually washing his body and clothes regularly. When asked if there was a real reason behind this, Alcyone simply answered that evidence to him doing otherwise would be socially detrimental.

As weeks went by, Alcyone taught Hotaru how to sense the presence of others from a distance, as well as how to move objects via levitation. Although not on Hotaru's list of things he wanted to learn, he soon figured out the purpose behind these lessons. By sensing presences, he learned how to project his magic far beyond the horizon, instead of just into his body or right in front of him. With levitation, he learned how to use his magic with precision, as Alcyone forced him to practice by stacking cups and plates. With the groundwork laid down and several sets of porcelain laid waste to, Hotaru quickly adopted the Teleportation spell.

Mastering the said spell was a different matter however, as Hotaru struggled to teleport to places he couldn't see. While he could teleport high up into the sky in the blink of an eye, teleporting just a couple of meters backwards took him a minute of concentration. But with Alcyone helping him train and teaching by example, Hotaru slowly but surely improved every day.

One day, Alcyone announced to Hotaru that he would be studying independently, as she had errands to run. While she was gone, Hotaru received a yellow alert on his mobile computer, signaling an approaching monster attack in the village of Honda. After successfully teleporting to the scene, dealing with the monster, and teleporting back home, he felt quite proud of himself. While waiting for Alcyone to come home, a Fahrenese woman came to visit him with an official reservation, to ask him about the education of her children. She wanted to know if a school would be built in the village, they would have to study elsewhere, or if she would have to homeschool them. After going through all the options with her, Hotaru came to the conclusion that establishing a school similar to Caldina's in the village would be for the best.

With his meeting coming to an end and his guest taking her leave, it was already starting to become evening. Hotaru was about to try and sense where Alcyone was, when he sensed her teleport into the courtyard. Wanting to tell her of his success with the Teleportation spell, Hotaru hurried outside to greet her. Finding Alcyone standing among flowering bushes and fruit bearing trees, Hotaru could tell that his raven-haired fiancée was slightly fatigued.

"Welcome home!" Hotaru greeted her, pulling the beautiful sorceress into his embrace. "I've had quite the day, how are you doing?"

Leaning into his embrace with a smile, Alcyone answered, "I am doing fine love. You may tell me about your day later, first we must continue practicing your magic."

"But I already teleported over a thousand miles today…" Hotaru objected, before Alcyone placed her finger on his lips.

"No arguing with your teacher," Alcyone winked, before teleporting them both.

As the world around them changed in a flash, it took Hotaru a moment to get used to the darkness around him. Seeing the stars above, Hotaru figured Alcyone had teleported them far to the east. As he looked around, he could see that they were surrounded by a familiar glow of multi-colored flowers.

"The rainbow lotus plateau…" Hotaru blinked, still trying to get used to the lighting. "Why did we come here to—"

Before Hotaru could finish his sentence, he spotted a large wooden table in the middle of the flower-lit plateau, with chairs on opposite sides. The table was covered in a wide selection of dishes, plates, pots, silver cloches, and drinks, accompanied by a basket of bread, a bowl of fruit, and a dessert tray. Realizing it was dinner time already, Hotaru's stomach grumbled, before a certain memory flashed before him, causing him to carefully turn around.

"…You've not been replaced by Stella again, have you?" Hotaru looked down at the sorceress.

About to let out a sharp laugh, Alcyone held herself back, remembering what a dark time it had been for the both of them. Instead, she looked up at Hotaru and smiled warmly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"No, you silly," Alcyone leaned against his chest. "It's our anniversary."

"But we're not mar—" Hotaru started, until he realized what she meant. "…Is it the day that I saved you from that fall or the day you saved me from Inouva?"

"Not sure," Alcyone admitted, tilting her head, "I couldn't keep track of days back then. All I know is that it is the anniversary of us confessing our love to each other. Come, let me treat you for today."

With Alcyone pulling him along, they both sat down to eat, enjoying the ambiance of the nightly plateau. Looking around the feast table, Hotaru could spot many foods the two of them had fond memories of. Steak, pancakes, stew, soup, paella, even sushi, pizza, and hot-pot from when they had traveled together with the Magic Knights. There were also plenty of Cephiroan dishes that he didn't remember the names of, but remembered Alcyone telling him they were healthy and delicious. Compared to any buffet he had eaten at on Autozam, the variety was far greater and more appetizing. While Alcyone's cooking had always been filled with her love and affection, it hadn't stayed the same.

"Your cooking has greatly improved a lot since we first met," Hotaru complimented her, before taking another big bite. "And it was great to begin with."

Smiling proudly, Alcyone leaned her head back, "I've had a lot of practice this year. Glad you appreciate it, but remember your table manners honey~."

Wiping his mouth before taking a swig of wine, Hotaru sighed satisfied, "This was a great surprise, but you really should have let me help you out in setting it up."

"Fufufu~, but then it wouldn't have been a surprise," Alcyone chuckled. "Besides, it wasn't that much effort. The maids helped me in the preparation process and sorting the ingredients. Honestly the most taxing part was keeping the clouds away from the lotuses, like you said."

"Maybe so, but if this is our anniversary, that means it is about celebrating us both," Hotaru pointed out. "Meaning we both should have put some effort into it."

Hearing the man who had once called himself a lazy good-for-nothing so eager to help her, Alcyone couldn't stop smiling. Thinking back, even the maids had asked her why she had kept this all a surprise from Hotaru, as she would have nothing to gain from it but a romantic dinner. But now that they were here alone, she finally felt like she knew the answer why she had wanted to do this.

"…I guess this is my way of showing appreciation," Alcyone smiled while blushing, looking down at her plate.

"Well, that's what anniversaries are about, right?" Hotaru asked. "Never had a relationship last long enough for one, but I too would have wanted to show my appreciation to you…"

Chortling quietly and leaning her cheek against her hand, Alcyone asked, "And what is it that you are grateful for?"

"Everything," Hotaru answered without hesitation. "The food you cook for me, the things you teach me, the way you look after me and always think of my best, and the love and support you show me every day. Grateful doesn't even begin to describe how much I cherish everything you have done for me. Were it not for you, Cephiro truly wouldn't be the paradise I see it as now…"

Although Alcyone had been living with Hotaru for a year now and gotten used to his loving words, she couldn't help but feel her heart flutter at how serious he was. While many of the things Hotaru said she could have said right back at him, it was heartwarming to know how much her fiancé cherished her. However, she also couldn't hold back a contented sigh at Hotaru still not grasping the true depths of her own gratefulness.

"I am glad that you feel that way," Alcyone smiled, unfastening her white, triple-layered cape to cool off, "but the thing is, without you, there would never have been a paradise for me. Isn't that right, Martin?"

Having been focused on Alcyone beauty, it took a moment for her words to register for Hotaru. With so many things having happened since they moved to their new home, being addressed by his old name felt almost foreign. He needed no explanation why Alcyone had use it, for he finally understood the point she was making.

"It's… only recently that I've truly come to realize how much I owe you," Alcyone admitted, feeling slightly ashamed about it. "This past year has been the greatest one of my life, and I am truly glad to have shared it with you. But without you, I wouldn't even be sitting here now."

As Alcyone looked up into the sky at the moon, Hotaru saw her eyes gleam in its light, revealing the tears she was holding back. Yet despite her indigo eyes glistening, the smile on her red lips didn't waver in the slightest.

"Back in the Sanctuary, you told me that you were protecting me from my fate to save my life. Between learning your true identity, hiding my own crimes, being kidnapped, and Stella dying, I never had time to really think about it or thank you," Alcyone recounted, wiping her tears before tilting her head to the side, smiling with her eyes closed. "But now that I have had the time, I know there is a place for me in this new world, and every day that I wake up by your side, I know I owe to you. So, thank you for saving me and letting me experience this year together with you."

As Alcyone opened her eyes again, Hotaru could see an overwhelming amount of love, gratitude and happiness in those indigo pools. It was almost stomach wrenching for him to have considered her as a villainess, but then remembered her actions in the past. But regardless of these memories, he still loved her more than the world itself, and wanted to keep her always smiling like this.

Looks like you were wrong, Romeo. It was worth it to save the villainess from her fate after all.

Standing up from the table, Hotaru walked over to Alcyone's side, at which point she stood up as well and quickly hugged him. Hugging her back and kissing her deeply, Hotaru waited for this tender moment to pass, before looking into her eyes with a smirk.

"You may have kept our anniversary a secret, but I still came prepared," he winked.

Alcyone looked at him surprised, before Hotaru reached for his gauntlet, at which point it was Hotaru's turn to look astonished. He had prepared a golden, oval pendant with a large Olympia opal on it. The pendant had a picture of him inside it that had been taken on Autozam, as Cephiro had no photography. The idea was he would always carry it around in his gauntlets, in case he needed a present for Alcyone. Realizing only now that he had left his gauntlets back home, he sighed disappointedly.

"…I had a gift selected out for you, but I left it at home," Hotaru admitted, rather annoyedly. "Want me to go and fetch it?"

Pressing her head against his chest, Alcyone shook it while nuzzling against him, "No, I want you with me now, you can show it to me later. I have prepared bedding for us when we are done eating. You know, for 'stargazing'."

Hearing Alcyone's suggestive tone, Hotaru's fingers trailed down her black leotard, "While we're at it, perhaps we should try to find some eggs for our nest today…"

(Alcyone! Hotaru! Can you hear me! Where are you!?)

Just as the two of them were about to skip the dessert, Clef's telepathic voice startled them. They both panted heavily while grasping each other tightly, before the initial shock faded. While Hotaru's expression was quickly growing unfriendly and his teeth gnashed together, Alcyone's rage-filled response took even him off-guard.

(CLEF! YOU HAD BETTER HAVE A DAMN GOOD REASON TO INTERRUPT US OR I SWEAR I WILL TURN YOU BACK INTO STONE!)

(…Apologies if I contacted you at a bad time, but I have grave news! A small fleet of space pirates are heading towards Cephiro! Specifically, near Claw Mountains!)

"Nani!?" Hotaru gasped, his eyes growing wide.

Staring up into the star-filled skies, Hotaru could spot a small group of them moving. Though they were too far for him to sense or see clearly, he knew they could only have been the ships of the pirates. As he was trying to decide how to deal with them, he heard Alcyone sigh frustratedly.

"It looks like you need to go and get your gauntlets after-all," the sorceress pouted, before looking up at him. "Make sure to come back safe and soon."

"No, I don't think that will be necessary," Hotaru said, before smirking. "I feel this calls for Super Mashin."

---

High up in the sky, the fleet of around five silver-colored spaceships hovered over Cephiro. The ships looked vaguely like galleons without masts, sails, or bowsprits, made entirely out of metal. The decks, the sides, and the fronts of the ships had turrets, hatches, and emitters. At the backs of all the ships, there were different shaped configurations of wings and boosters, ranging from rings to triangles. At the front of the fleet was a larger ship, with four spread out wings at the back, and two large, forward curving spikes at the bow of the ship.

Inside the giant vessel's command deck, the captain and his crew were looking at an image of Cephiro on a large monitor. The command deck was in immaculate condition and outfitted like a modern apartment, with a multi-leveled floor and built in light-fixtures on the walls and ceiling. The metal walls were beige in color with bronze frames and pale pink floors, making the pirate spaceship seem quite cozy. The center of the room was surrounded by bushy indoor plants in large planters, separated by short staircases. The lower level of the room was taken up mostly by a U-shaped couch, which faced a large desk in front of the monitor, on the higher level.

Despite the opulent décor, no one was sitting down to relax, as everyone was in battle stations around the upper level. Radars, gun controls, life-support systems, and radio stations, were all manned by a ragtag group of people, from all corners of the galaxy. In addition to mismatched outfits, many of the pirates had cybernetics used to replace missing limbs, eyes, or other sections of their bodies.

Sitting lazily in the captain's chair, was a man dressed in a red overcoat with gold trims, black boots, and skull-shaped gold pauldrons. He had fair skin, black messy shoulder-length hair, an unshaven stubble of a beard, and several ear piercings on his left ear. His left leg had been replaced by a metallic peg-leg from his shin downwards, and his left middle finger was fully cybernetic.

"Any response from the tightwads?" the captain asked from his radio-controller.

"Negative captain. Präsident nor any of his posse are picking up."

"In that case, open fire upon the areas they were last spotted," the captain spoke out dismissively. "A few nearby explosions should drive the rats out of hiding. Tell the lookouts to let me know if they spot them."

"Captain, is that wise?" his first mate asked. "We will be firing upon inhabited areas. Is it wise to gain the ire of Cephiro's people?"

"These primitives have no space faring technology to speak of and are completely planetbound," The Captain spoke dismissively. "We could burn down their entire world and they can do nothing about it."

Without further questions, the message was sent to the gunners of all the ships, causing several hatches to be opened on the sides of the ships. Several downwards-facing mortar tubes protruded from the sides, pointing down towards Cephiro. Without hesitation, the gunners began to fire orange, glowing, free-falling projectiles with similarly colored trails. The lookouts kept their eyes on the ground, waiting for the people to start running out of their homes, when…

"Captain! Ship Gamma has spotted an unidentified object moving towards us at incredible speeds!"

"Well, tell them to identify it then—!"

Before the Captain could finish his sentence, there was a bright flash of green outside the ship. Watching from the window on the starboard side, they could see ship Gamma blow up in a bright ball of fire. Sooner than they could react, another bright flash shone at the rear of the ship, before another ship tailing them blew up. The pirates had seen many of their ships be destroyed in the past, and seeing it happen silently in the vacuum of space was unnerving each time. But right now, they had no idea what was even causing it.

"Get those cameras rolling and radars spinning!" The Captain yelled out orders. "Give me a visual on it, dammit!"

"It's moving too fast, Captain!" the navigator yelled, looking at the radar. "All I can tell is that it is big!"

"We lost another ship!

"…And humanoid in shape?"

As another flash could be seen outside, the crew of the lead ship knew they were the only target left. Realizing their time was up, the Captain reached for the self-destruct button underneath his desk, hoping to take out the attacker with them. As everyone stared outside into the space, trying to catch a glimpse of the attacker with their eyes or instruments, three words almost caused the Captain to push the button.

"Good evening, everyone."

All the pirates on the command deck almost jumped out of their boots, as they heard a deep and amused voice speak behind them. Turning around, they could see a brunet, slightly tan man in fancy gem studded clothes, sitting on the large couch at the center of the room. Despite sitting down lazily with his legs spread out, the pirates could tell he was one of the tallest people they had ever met. His pose and the look of confidence on his face made it seem like he owned the vessel which he had boarded without a sound. This confidence was only overshadowed by the animosity gleaming from his lime-green eyes.

"So then," the man spoke out, "my name is Lord Hotaru, am I right—"

"FIRE!"

At the orders of their captain, the pirates all pulled out their guns from various hiding-places on their persons. Despite their convoluted hiding spots, each pirate pulled them out and aimed in a blink of an eye. Pistols, lasers, blasters, crossbows, shotguns, and even a plasma bazooka were fired at the man sitting at the center of the room. But though the planters and the couch were blasted to pieces, the man in the center didn't move an inch.

Blaster bolts fizzled up against him, bullets turned to dust upon impact, crossbow bolts ricochet off, pellets bounced back, and the blast waves circled around him. After what felt like an eternity of gunfire, the pirates eventually ran out of ammo, yet their target was still sitting comfortably, on the now slightly on fire couch.

Waiting till the pirates had calmed down, Hotaru looked towards the captain, "So let's start from the top. Am I right to assume you are the ringleader of this group of space pirates?"

Gritting his teeth, the Captain stared at the intruder, before asking, "Am I right to assume you were the one to destroy all my ships?"

Extending his arm to the right, Hotaru used his levitation spell to pull one of the female pirates over to him. In a flash, the woman was seated next to him, with Hotaru grabbing the crown of her head tightly with his fingers. The dark-haired woman tried her best to break out of Hotaru's grip, but it felt like her head was stuck in a vise.

"I'm the one asking questions here," Hotaru said sternly, not taking his eyes away from the pirate in red. "The only reason the rest of you are still alive is for the off chance that there will be less death in the future. Now speak!"

"Captain Countach is not our leader!" The first mate spoke up suddenly, standing up straight. "Our commander-in-chief is Admiral Grosser!"

"Helmsman Borac!" Countach roared. "What the Hell are you doing giving away information to the enemy!"

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

"Admiral Grosser, huh?" Hotaru thought out loud, letting go of the woman. "Don't think I have ever heard of him before."

"How under-the-rock are you Cephiroans exactly!?" Countach asked insultedly, waiting for the woman to run off the couch. "He's the galaxy's cruelest, most blood thirsty, and most wanted pirate! There is no man or woman alive who has crossed him!"

Appearing unimpressed, Hotaru asked, "In that case you mind contacting him? I want to know if we want him on Cephiro."

As the pirates all looked at him quietly, Hotaru sighed while facepalming, "I miss Umi… She may not have laughed at my jokes but at least she got them."

Ignoring their intruder's words, Countach turned towards his desk, while muttering, "If you have a death wish on your head, then so be it…"

"Uh… Captain?" One of the lookouts spoke.

"NOT NOW!" Countach roared, ringing up his superior officer.

It took a few minutes of waiting, but eventually the view of the monitor above the desk turned staticky, before a clear image formed. Not knowing what to expect, Hotaru was still taken aback by the sight of Admiral Grosser.

Though he could only see the top quarter of the admiral, the white-bearded man was still an intimidating sight. He wore a large black tricorn hat with ornate silver trims around the edges, studded with tear-drop shaped rubies. The tricorn had silver armored earflaps that framed the sides of his head, with voluminous and messy white hair spreading out from behind it like the crests of waves. He had a stiff looking garibaldi beard with the lower edge looking like the teeth of a beartrap. Grosser's nose was large and crooked, with a horizontal scar going across its ridge. His left eye was bloody pink in color with a large scar running over it, with his right eye and the area around it being completely cybernetic. The cybernetic eye was black with four horizontal silver bars curving over it, with a red-glowing pupil shining from the middle of a dark glass sphere.

Below the admiral's neck Hotaru could see the collar of a black and red naval coat, with silver trims and ruby buttons. Around his neck, he wore a haphazardly made platinum pendant, with different sized pieces of Olympia opal studded to it. The naval coat's shoulders were covered by skull-shaped platinum pauldrons with upwards curving horns above their eye sockets. Behind the admiral, Hotaru could see more upwards curving platinum horns, which he couldn't quite tell if they were part of a cape or a throne.

"Cap'n Countach, I take it ye 'ave managed t' gather the bounty owed to us?" Admiral Grosser spoke in a rough and ominous, sailorly voice. "Ye know I hate unnecessary calls."

Swallowing nervously, Countach answered as shortly as he could, "Slight hiccup sir. This man calling himself Lord Hotaru got in our way and wishes to speak with you."

"How do you do, Mr. Grosser," Hotaru smiled, crossing his legs while leaning back relaxedly.

"Dat's Admiral Grosser t' ye, Hero o' Cephiro!" Grosser spoke through his teeth.

"Oh? You've heard of me then?" Hotaru chuckled with a smirk. "I guess that settles which one of us is more famous then. Because I only learnt of you today."

"Dat only tells dat I'm better informed than ye be, Son o' Zagato," Admiral Grosser spat back. "But I'll be straight wit' ye; I'd rather nah 'ave t' fight wit' the man feared by the scourge o' the space pirates."

Though it was unnerving to hear the pirate calling him Zagato's son, Hotaru managed to remain calm. He also had no idea what or who the scourge of the space pirates was, but was convinced it had something to do with Autozam. He would have wanted to ask further about the situation, but he didn't want to appear completely clueless in front of the admiral.

"Then let us forget about the popularity polls for a moment," Hotaru tried keeping up his poker-face. "What kind of a bounty were your lackeys here trying to collect from Cephiro, by bombarding it from orbit?"

"Captain…"

"Later!"

"A bunch o' slippery bandits requested us t' take 'em t' Cephiro be exchange fer a bounty o' ten thousand gold doubloons at a later date," Admiral Grosser explained with bile and venom in his voice. "But now the time agreed upon has long since sailed 'n we 'ave come t' collect!"

Listening to the reason, Hotaru was reminded of something Caldina had told him when discussing about the migrants. Apparently, it was possible on many planets for law abiding citizens to migrate from one world to another legally using state provided transportation services. However, anyone with a criminal background would be arrested on the spot if found out, under international treaties. This left space pirates and other illegal smugglers as the only option for outlaws to travel between planets.

"I have a feeling I know who these bandits are that you are talking about," Hotaru stroked his chin pensively, "as well as how they planned on getting the money."

"I'd imagine ye would," the admiral clicked his tongue. "So, if ye don't mind, we would like t' collect our doubloons from Broncho's ilk 'n be on our way."

"I would rather not hand over my own hard-earned money to a bunch of space pirates," Hotaru said annoyedly. "Especially since it would just lead to you giving a ride to some other group of outlaws and then coming to collect their payments. And if not you, then some other idiots think they can start making money by bringing criminals here."

"Captain!"

Ignoring the voices of the pirates, Admiral Grosser leaned closer, "I warn ye young boy. If ye do nah pay us, then the depths o' space will ne'er again be safe fer ye 'n yer kind. Ye may reckon yourself invincible, but I 'ave been at dis game fer a long long time, 'n I know fer a fact thar be two kinds o' men in dis world. Those who 'ave power, 'n those who believe they 'ave power."

Though the deep and cold tones of the admiral made many of the ship's crew members shiver in fright, Hotaru continued staring at his cyborg eye unblinkingly. While Hotaru had fought beings and people like Zagato, Debonair, and the Grand Lancer, his instincts were telling him that the admiral was a dangerous person. While he probably couldn't harm him any better than Countach and his crew, Grosser would be smart enough to harm those around him. Which was also why he needed to make sure the admiral would stay far away from Cephiro.

"You know, it's funny…" Hotaru said with a slight smirk. "I too have a motto very similar to that."

"CAPTAIN!"

"WHAT!? What is it!?" Countach yelled at his lookout, feeling the admiral's eyes glaring at him angrily.

"The ship is quickly losing altitude!" the lookout exclaimed. "We have tried to keep the ship from being pulled by the planet's gravity with the emitters, but we don't have enough power!"

"How can we not have enough power!? It is not like that planet has a particularly strong gravity!"

"I don't know! It's like this stupid ship is weighing triple its normal capacity!"

Quickly catching on what was happening, the admiral turned to look towards Hotaru, still sitting comfortably on the couch. Though the couch seemed to be holding, the admiral could see its white leather upholstery being stretched to its limit, and its stuffing being pushed out from holes. As the ship began to shake and vibrate, he looked into the Cephiroan's lime-green eyes, seeing the cold-blooded look of a killer staring him back.

"There are two kinds of men in this world," Hotaru spoke out in a sharp and audible voice, catching everyone's attention. "Those who cannot survive an atmospheric re-entry, and those who can."

Right on cue, red warning lights and sirens started flashing and blaring throughout the ship, as the ship continued vibrating harder and harder. The pirates who were standing were barely able to stay upright, as their vessel's electronics started failing.

"EVERYONE ABANDON SHIP!" Captain Countach yelled, causing the pirates to flee the deck.

Ignoring the panicking pirates, Hotaru continued looking at Grosser's cybernetic eye, "I hope you will keep those words in mind, Admiral. Because next time you or any of your forces come around my neighborhood or bother my people, I will find out which category you fall into."

Before the admiral could give his answer, the footage from the ship cut off. As the pirate spaceship burned through the atmosphere, it flashed over the skies of the village of Martin like a shooting star. With all the pirates having left the command deck, Hotaru curled up into a ball for the crash landing, not wanting to take any chances. Only ten seconds later, the flaming metal ship crashed into the ground, creating a large crater in a forest, around fifty miles away from the nearest town.

Activating Titanium Power, Hotaru burst out of the wreckage, towering over the remains of the pirate ship. Looking around him, he couldn't spot any habitation nearby, which made him sigh in relief. Though Cephiro was sparsely populated, the chances of the ship having struck something weren't zero. Using his magic, he dusted himself off and smiled proudly, for his plan for scaring away the space pirates had worked flawlessly, as far as he knew.

"Now to just get back to Alcyone and finish our anniversary in peace," Hotaru smiled, before looking around the crash site. "After I put out the forest fires…"

---

After the incident with the space pirates, and a night of unforgettable passion, Hotaru had his hands full dealing with the aftermath. For starters he and Alcyone had to hunt down all the members of Präsident's group of bandits as well as the escaped pirates. Surprisingly, the bandits hiding among the migrants were easy enough to find, as the leaders of the bandit group were already ready to turn themselves in. Präsident, Vertigo, and Keoh Wa had explained to them that after failing to deliver their payment to the pirates, they had been stranded on Cephiro. And with Hotaru having ruined their plans to leech off of the tax money, their final scheme for getting money had failed too.

When the time came to decide how to deal with the bandits, Hotaru had surprisingly decided to let them keep their current jobs. They had no prison or dungeon in Martin, no crimes had yet been committed on Cephiro, and this allowed the bandits to contribute to the society. Alcyone had suggested they would execute the bandits, but Hotaru was against this. The villagers weren't privy to the situation at hand, and as such killing off rather popular public figures of Martin could have had serious consequences.

Despite the easy time with the bandits, locating the remaining members of Captain Countach's crew proved far more challenging. Revisiting the wreck of the spaceship, Hotaru had been able to confirm the deaths of most of the crew, but also that several escape pods were missing. The escape pods scattered around the continent, and Hotaru had no idea if the people who had been in them were even alive. But with the help of Präsident and his information network, the remaining pirates were slowly getting weeded out, or their remains located. Some of the pirates had hidden among the populace, but their cybernetics or other injuries quickly ousted them out. One pirate had tried hiding in the woods, but had apparently met their end at the hands of a monster.

After three weeks of the initial encounter, Hotaru had managed to locate most of the escaped pirates, provided each pod only had one. Taking a page from when he and Clef had searched for Hotaru, he decided to try and sense the escapee while flying around Cephiro. To speed things up, he had summoned Mazdakin and activated Silver Speed and Aluminum Flight. So as not to cause harm to the environment and to scour the world around him accurately, he only used his spells at low power to start with. But eventually, he was able to fly around Cephiro at the speed of lightning, while accurately sensing the creatures around him. However, scouring all of Cephiro still took time.

You know, Cephiro is very beautiful, but it does get very samey now that the planet has fully recovered. I kinda miss the wastelands. At least the oceans are back to normal finally… BUT WHERE IS THAT DAMN PIRATE!? I swear if we hadn't found the pod empty already, I would just call them dead at this point! I should probably go home; like what can one pirate do without any allies?

Having searched for three hours by now, Hotaru's patience was wearing as thin as his free time. Hunting for bandits and pirates had taken up so much time as of late, that he and Alcyone had to take a break from Hotaru's training and magic lessons. He wanted to spend more time with his soon-to-be wife, but after discussing the situation, Alcyone and he had both agreed it was best to not let the criminals get away.

The more thorough we are about hunting these pirates down, the less likely it will be that they will be showing their faces here again. With this final pirate down, there will be no one left to tell the tale of what happened to the space pirates that attacked, aside from Admiral Grosser. If he is unwilling to send ships towards this planet, no one else will dare to do so either. Of course, there will always be some random idiot who will— WAIT! …Found ya!

Turning quickly towards east, Hotaru crossed the ocean he was flying over quickly, reaching a shore and soon a coniferous forest. Soon enough, he was able to sense the pirate more clearly, and spotted a small river running across the forest. Landing Mazdakin nearby, Hotaru quickly exited the Mashin in full suit of armor, as he knew his quarry would have already spotted him.

"You can come out of the bushes, I know you are there," Hotaru said firmly, staring towards a patch of undergrowth.

At first a moment of silence passed, after which Hotaru heard some rustling, and then a lot more rustling, as his quarry started running away. Seeing the person in a greenish outfit running away from him, Hotaru quickly pulled them over with his levitation spell, almost throwing them into the river. Landing onto her rear on the gravelly riverbank, the red-haired woman yelped in pain before looking up at Hotaru.

"Please! Do not hurt me!" the woman begged, shivering in place. "I am just a poor woman who was stranded in the wilderness!"

Raising an eyebrow under his helmet, Hotaru scoffed, "Oh, I'm sorry, it seems you do not remember me. Let me take this off."

"EEEK!" the woman screamed, seeing his lime-green eyes, quickly getting down to her hands and knees. "Please forgive me! Spare my life! I only followed Captain Countach out of necessity! I never meant to hurt anyone!"

Pulling out one of his rapiers from the orb on his left tasset, Hotaru clicked his tongue, "You know, I have a particularly hard time believing that…"

Alcyone already read the minds of the others, there isn't a single innocent person aboard that ship. Compared to these pirates, Präsident's bandits are saints.

"…so how about I cut you a deal," Hotaru jested, pointing his rapier towards her. "You have two choices. Either I kill you right here and now, or you come with me quietly, and await your summary execution with the two others we've managed to recover alive. Sounds fair?"

"No!"

"Eeek!"

At first, Hotaru was confused as to how the woman's voice sounded deeper all of a sudden, until he heard her screaming again. Looking into the frightened eyes of the pirate, Hotaru realized they weren't staring at him, but behind him.

"That is not fair!" a young, somewhat boyish voice spoke out again from behind Hotaru.

Turning around, Hotaru's jaw dropped as he saw that the only thing standing behind him was his Mashin. Though Hotaru had parked Mazdakin in a neutral stand, the robot was holding its hands on its hips.

"Pardon?" Hotaru asked, blinking confusedly.

"I will not allow you to harm another person who has already surrendered!" Mazdakin declared, its four red eyes flashing, as it leaned down towards him.

Still in disbelief of this, Hotaru pointed his finger at his Mashin, "Forget about her! Since when have you been able to talk and move on your own!?"

"SINCE NOW!" the Mashin yelled in a shrill voice. "And good thing too! I was so fed up with not being able to do anything, as you went around hurting others!"

While taken aback by Mazdakin's childish mannerism, Hotaru instantly latched onto his accusations, "What do you mean hurting others!? I have done nothing but help people, since I created you! Did you miss the part where I am the HERO of Cephiro!?"

"You're not a hero, YOU'RE A MONSTER! You tortured Debonair, dozens of people died when we fought that space ship, hundreds more when we blew the other ones, and now you have been hunting people who cannot even defend themselves! You even threatened to use me to invade other countries!" the gold and silver Mashin listed off.

"But that's all—! AAARGH!" Hotaru roared frustratedly, almost pulling out his hair.

Why is my Mashin acting like a little child! ...Granted it is only a year old but Zagato's and Emeraude's never did this! And it has the gall to accuse me of…! Calm down Hotaru… you need to be the bigger man. You need to be the Hero this world deserves.

"…Listen Mazdakin," Hotaru started after having calmed down. "What happened with the Grand Lancer was an accident that the government of Autozam was prepared for. But other than that, everything else you mentioned was well deserved! Those were bad people, and…"

"YOU are a bad person too! Does that mean it would be okay for me to kill and torment you!?"

"I'd like to see you try…" Hotaru muttered under his breath, before calming down again. "Look Mazdakin, there's more to it than that…"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" the Mashin roared out. "I don't want to be called by a stupid name a monster like you chose! From now on, I am… Quatsar!"

Slowly turning to see if the pirate was still behind him, Hotaru said, "Would you stand still for a moment? This might take a while."

As the woman was too scared to move and just nodded, Hotaru turned back towards Quatsar, before activating Titanium Power. The pirate almost fainted, as the man in armor all of a sudden grew to a staggering height. Even the giant robot had to take a step back, as he grew more than twice as tall, forcing Quatsar to look up at Hotaru.

"Listen up son," Hotaru said in a deep and threatening voice. "If you wish to act like a mouthy little brat, then I will treat you like one! You think I am a bad person? I can be a LOT worse, if you don't start behaving like a proper Mashin and show some respect to your owner! I created you, I can uncreate you!"

With Quatsar's bladed wings quivering slightly, Hotaru could tell this was the first time he had seen a Mashin display fear. The two silver and gold giants continued their staring match for a while, with the pirate watching quietly from the side, realizing her end was soon.

Eventually the overly ostentatious Mashin said firmly, "I will never take another order from you or show you respect! You are just a monster that Cephiro will be better off without!"

Lowering his brow, Hotaru took a deep breath, "So bold of you…"

Without a warning, Hotaru grabbed Quatsar by his shoulder, picking the Mashin up before sitting down on nothing but air. Laying the Mashin down over his lap, Hotaru started spanking Quatsar like a naughty child, the sounds of metal against metal echoing for miles. Pieces of Quatsar's armor were being flung far and wide with each hit, as Hotaru continued punishing his mech.

"OW! OW! THAT HURTS!" Quatsar yelled as he struggled to get away.

"You don't know the HALF of it!" Hotaru roared, continuing to dish out the punishment. "You are my Mashin! ACT LIKE ONE!"

"I AM NOT!"

As Hotaru was about to raise his hand again, there was a bright flash of lime-green light, before Quatsar disappeared into thin air. Remembering Mashins could do this, Hotaru stood up quickly, before yelling for his Mashin to summon it.

"MAZDAKIN! Get back here! MAZDAKIN!"

Even when roaring at full volume, there was no response, at which point Hotaru remembered his Mashin had changed his name. However, he couldn't remember what Mazdakin had said, as he hadn't paid attention.

"FUCK! What did he call himself… YOU!" He pointed down at the Pirate. "Do you remember what Mazdakin renamed himself?"

Seeing the cowering pirate shake her head without even daring to look up, Hotaru realized he had no way of reaching his Mashin. Stomping his foot down hard enough to shake the entire forest, his yells of frustration could be heard for miles on end.

---

It was close to midnight at Fort Galant on the southernmost continent, and most of its facilities were empty. While the fort had at one point housed dozens of Galant Guard members, it now only housed a handful.

Some of these remaining members were wounded who couldn't fight, as well as the healers taking care of them. In addition to these, the leader of the Galant Guard, Darracq, was burning the candle at both ends in his office in the main building.

Despite not many people remaining at the fort, his workload hadn't decreased, but increased, as the absent members hadn't quiet. Many of the guards now had homes outside the fort, in villages that they were assigned to protect when the need arrived. The guards now mostly considered their positions as part-time jobs, focusing more on their local livelihoods of toiling in the fields, building, and mining. This had improved the living conditions of the people of the southernmost continent and lowered the monthly payments the guard required. However, now the guards needed to buy their own weapons, pay for blacksmiths to maintain them, and donate funds to the guard itself.

All of this back and forth of funds was keeping Darracq busy trying to keep up with the flow, as well as going through the monthly reports. Normally Darracq didn't mind doing paperwork, as he found it quite calming and rewarding. But these days, doing the paperwork meant spending time in his office, which had seen better days.

Ever since the visit of the Hero of Cephiro, the Galant Fort's main building had been literally flipped upside down. As a result, his door frame had been cut apart and rebuilt, the hole in his wall had been patched, and there were now footprints on the ceiling. What was now the floor had been reinforced to support the weight of his desk and bookshelves, as the direction of gravity had changed. This had left plenty of unevenness to his flooring, causing things to tip over often. While none of these changes made working in the office impossible, they served as a constant reminder to Darracq about his sworn enemy.

That damn Hotaru still didn't come today to flip the building right side up! I did as he told me and followed every command to a letter, but he just completely forgot about us! At least Lieutenant Titan is doing okay, but even he isn't a big enough brute to set this house right!

Writing furiously, Darracq was snapped out of his thoughts by a snapping sound, as his quill had broken under pressure. Seeing the ink splashed all over the document, Darracq gritted his teeth before throwing the bundled-up document and an inkwell against a wall.

"CURSE YOU HOTARU!" Darracq roared, pulling on his upper-back-length dark brown hair.

Every day I have to put up with the aftermath of his ultimatum while getting to hear about his latest exploits! Defeated Zagato! Defeated Debonair! Got a mansion! Richest man on Cephiro! Best friend of Prince Ferio! Inventor of Magic Battery! Cephiro's number one diplomat! Became the lord of his own region! Took down space pirates!

"GAAAAAH!" Darracq screamed frustratedly, before slamming his face against his desk.

Breathing quickly and deeply against the desk, Darracq tried his best to calm himself down. He was the captain of the Galant Guard, and as such he had to keep up appearances. He had to be better, he had to be perfect, and his work flawless. But as much as he tried to ignore Hotaru and concentrate on his happy thoughts, that damnable man was still firmly held onto them.

Clenching his fists, Darracq whimpered, "…It wouldn't be so bad, if he hadn't also taken you away from me… Lady Alcyone."

Decades ago, when Darracq had been one of Captain Lafarga's best guards, he had often admired Lady Alcyone from afar. Beautiful, skilled, athletic, prideful, and a powerful sorceress to boot; she had been everything Darracq had ever dreamt of in a woman. He had often daydreamed of confessing his feelings to her and sweeping her off her feet, but the difference in status between them had held him back. Furthermore, he had found out that Alcyone harbored strong feelings towards High Priest Zagato, cementing her as out of his league.

When Zagato's uprising started, Darracq had been crushed to find Alcyone following him to battle and raising his armies. Thinking that the source of his passion had been forever lost, Darracq had cut his losses and focused on surviving the years of war that came. He was appalled to hear what had become of Alcyone, and often wondered what could have been if he had shown her the right way in time. But without access to magic, facing off against Zagato or Alcyone would have been suicide.

Eventually the truth behind Zagato's and Emeraude's affair had come to light after the pillar had been slain by the Magic Knights. Wondering if Alcyone was still alive after all that, Darracq had held onto the hope to see her again someday. But once Alcyone returned to the refugee camp at Ford Vale, he saw her accompanied by a man who had apparently fought alongside the Magic Knights. Hearing they had both helped in defeating Zagato and were living together, Darracq's heart had been broken. He had sulked for two days, until eventually deciding to leave Alcyone behind him for good. But now, the man who had taken away the love of his life, was a constant reminder in his day-to-day life, and with him, Alcyone too.

"Hotaru, you keep taking everything away from me that I hope to achieve!" Darracq grunted, gripping his desk. "If you ever let your guard down, I swear I will—"

Seeing the door of his office open up, Darracq quickly shut up, not wanting to seem hostile in front of his men. But instead of a member of his guard, a tall dark figure entered his office.

"Excuse me," the voice of a woman spoke up, "but are you the captain of the Galant Guard?"

"Y-Yes, I am…" Darracq answered, slowly standing up, looking at the woman in awe.

Despite being dressed in black, hooded robes that covered her entire body aside from her mouth, she was still a striking figure. She was almost as tall as Darracq's 193-centimeter self, and her form fitting silk robes accentuated her sensuous hourglass figure. Even without any makeup, her lips were plump and beautiful, and her voice sweet and innocent.

"Oh, thank goodness, I finally found you!" The woman clasped her hands together. "All of Cephiro is in danger, and I have been looking for a hero like you to help me!"

"H-Hero?" Darracq blinked in shock. "But… Why ask me? Why not go and request Hotaru the Hero's help? I'm sure he would be more qualified…"

Shaking her head adamantly, the woman refused, "That won't do! Hotaru the Hero might be powerful, but what I need is a hero like yourself! Cephiro's fate depends on it!"

"A hero like me…?" Darracq's jaw hung agape, before realizing he was blushing. "Ahem! Of course, I will help you as best as I can! You will have the backing of the entire Galant Guard, lady…?"

Smiling happily, the woman requested, "Please Captain Darracq, call me Prophet."

---

It was a warm and sunny July afternoon in Tokyo in the year 1995, and all was peaceful. Due to the good weather and it being the weekend, the Tokyo Tower was packed with visitors, both tourists and locals alike. Among the colorful group, three young women were standing next to each other, wearing their summer high-school uniforms. They were looking out into the sunny Tokyo skyline, but their eyes were set towards lands much further than that.

Turning towards the other two, the green eyed blonde smiled, "It has been over a year now since that time."

"Fufu, we were junior-high-school girls," the blue-haired girl chuckled, lifting her finger up, "who went to another world twice."

Thinking back to those wild times, the other two girls laughed as well. Looking towards the crowds of people, the shortest, red-haired girl spotted an old wanted poster on the inside wall of the observation platform's support structure. The poster was yellowed out and slightly torn, but still depicted the rather grumpy face of an eighteen-year-old man with lime-green eyes. Seeing it felt wistful, but at the same time it warmed her heart.

"I wonder how Hotaru and Alcyone are doing?" Hikaru asked out loud, reminiscing her friends.

"Knowing Hotaru, he probably has gotten himself into all sorts of trouble," Umi giggled.

"At least he has Lady Alcyone to take care of him in our absence," Fuu smiled with her eyes closed.

While chatting with her friends, Hikaru spotted something from the corner of her eye. Turning to look outside, her eyes widened and trembled as she looked up into the sky.

"Look!" she pointed upwards, leaning over the safety railing.

Surprised by her shout, Umi and Fuu looked up to where Hikaru was pointing. At first all they saw were just blue skies with a few clouds, until bright lines could be seen going across the skies. As their vision got more used to the distance, these lines turned out to be shorelines of mountainous continents. Lush and green forests and hills dotted the landscapes, with sparkling blue oceans surrounding them. Several islands with massive crystals floated up in the skies, with small streams of water pouring down their sides.

"So beautiful…" Umi gasped under her breath.

"They were able to create a beautiful, peaceful world even without a Pillar," Fuu's eyes glistened with happiness.

"With everyone pooling their strength together, right?" Umi asked to confirm.

"…I want to go to Cephiro one more time," Hikaru admitted, feeling her heart calling for the other world. "But this time, it's not out of regret."

Sliding her hand under her shirt, Hikaru pulled out a golden necklace with a large pendant, decorated by a silver mirror and pink gems. Stroking it with her hands, she could remember the faces of all her friends, as well as the one who gave it to her. Closing her eyes one more time, she looked up at the landscape up in the sky only she and her friends could see.

"It's to learn the story of the new Cephiro."

With them all in agreement, they all settled on the date of their next journey.

---

Author's Afterword: While this isn't my longest chapter, it sure felt like it would never end when writing it. I apologize for how long it took for this one to come out, but I was sick for like two weeks, and I had a bunch of other things getting in the way of writing. Releasing this unproof-read was an experience, and I hope people who got to read it had a laugh at my spelling mistakes.

As the final intermission chapter before the return of the Magic Knights, I had a lot of things to establish and wrap up. Alcyone's training and candy-making, the arrival of migrants mentioned five chapters ago, the aftermath of Hotaru's dealings with Galant Guard, introduction of the space pirates, and setting up a whole bunch of characters for the next season.

While not in the spotlight, one of the most prevalent things was rebalancing Hotaru. I did say that he wouldn't be getting any more power boosts, but it would only be natural for him to try and learn more about magic. Of course he would learn it over time, but to balance things out, I figured it would be for the best for his Mashin to finally learn how to talk. After all, Mazdakin, or should I say Quatsar, is now much older than the other recently created Mashins. Oh and just so that everyone knows, it is pronounced Qua-tsar, not Quat-sar.

Now, lately I have not been receiving as many reviews as I used to. This can be due to a lot of reasons, but since we have just finished this mini-series of intermission chapters, I am curious to hear how you all felt about them. Please tell me what you thought of these in between chapters, as next time we start on Season 3!

As always, reviews, questions, and critiques are welcome! Let me know what you thought of the chapter! I would like to thank Cartoonguy133 for the review on the last chapter!

Remember, even if you leave a review on an older chapter, I will always be grateful and make sure to mention you in the next chapter!

The link to my Deviantart page with images on the OCs is available in my profile bio.