That's one.
Beneath the table, Ian clenched his fist.
“Sema. Next.”
“Yes!”
The next bronze mirror rippled, revealing the Fairy Kingdom.
The Fairy Queen, with hair curled like a rolled cake, was circling the enormous World Tree.
She gazed at it in rapture, hugged it, spun around it again, and let out delighted sighs.
Ian imdiately felt his motivation for work increase.
“Your Majesty.”
[Eek?! W-Where is Ian's voice coming from...? An elental?!]
The elental Ian had sent to the Fairy Kingdom nodded proudly.
The Fairy Queen stared at it in wonder.
[An elental! If they are friends of the elves, then they are friends of ours as well! To see them again after all this ti! Oh? Wait a mont. If that's true...]
“Yes.”
[You've beco friends with the elves, Ian! How did you ever find those sisters who hide themselves away?]
As the Fairy Queen hopped excitedly in place, her rolled curls bounced up and down with her.
“Never mind that. Has anything happened in the kingdom?”
[Ah! It has.]
The Fairy Queen covered her mouth with both hands.
Ian imdiately beca serious as well.
Monsters reached the Fairy Kingdom too?
The kingdom was isolated on an island.
Even in the ga, the Fairy Kingdom was usually safe.
As long as you didn't dispatch fairy warriors to the dungeon.
The kingdom and the dungeon lay in completely opposite directions, so there was no reason to divide monster forces if the goal was to destroy the dungeon.
Do fairy warriors trigger so sort of grudge chanic?
Ian guessed.
Perhaps the mont they helped the dungeon, they beca classified as part of the sa dungeon faction, causing the system to cut off potential assistance.
But why now?
The Fairy Queen clasped her hands together.
[Many new fairies have been born in the kingdom! Wrapped within the tender leaves of the World Tree, sleeping peacefully... they're so adorable. You absolutely must co see them, Ian!]
Oh. That.
Ian wanted to see them too.
Unfortunately, now was not the ti.
“Your Majesty. The dungeon is in danger.”
He finally got to the point.
The Fairy Queen's already enormous eyes sohow grew even larger.
[Ian is in danger?!]
That wasn't what Ian had said.
Still, the misunderstanding proved useful.
The sleeping fairies began poking their heads out from between flower petals.
[Ian?]
[Who's in danger?]
[Apparently Ian, who's going to marry .]
[Ian is going to marry .]
[No, .]
The fairies squeezed themselves out of flower buds.
After stretching and fluttering their wings, they proudly announced,
[Napti is over!]
[Did everyone hear? Ian, who saved us, is in trouble!]
[Your Majesty. We shall march to battle.]
[Leave the rescue of our benefactor to us.]
The fairy warriors who normally played trumpets during the Fairy Queen's appearances stepped forward.
Wearing full armor and helts, they thumped their chests proudly.
[I trust all of you, but... no. I cannot allow that.]
The Fairy Queen raised her head resolutely.
[I shall go myself.]
[Your Majesty?!]
[Ian is the benefactor who saved our kingdom. He even secured our future. How could I spare my own life when he risked his for ours?]
[Waaaah! Long live the Queen!]
[Let's go save Ian!]
The fairies flew around punching the air.
Ding!
[You have witnessed the Fairies' "Warrior Dance."]
[Warrior Dance]
The courageous dance sets your blood ablaze.
Stamina Recovery Speed: 10%
Energy Recovery Speed: 10%
Remaining Ti: 02:59:59
Let's make them do that again before the battle starts.
Ian nodded in satisfaction.
[Ian. Wait for us. We'll be there soon.]
The Fairy Queen clenched her tiny fists and trembled with determination.
Ian fought desperately not to grin.
If he did, he might have to complint Keith another five tis.
“Next.”
The third bronze mirror revealed the Underwater Kingdom.
Ian imdiately leaned across the table.
What is this?
The Underwater Kingdom was in ruins.
“Princess— No, Your Majesty!”
Ian called out to the rmaid Queen.
She had been rubbing her chest anxiously behind a wooden wall, but jumped in surprise when she heard his voice.
[I-Ian? When did you arrive?!]
“I didn't. Look at the elental in front of you.”
[An elental?!]
The rmaid Queen gasped.
[I've never seen that elental before. Elentals... certainly adopt unusual postures, don't they?]
Unusual posture?
Looking closer, the elental really was standing strangely.
It had thrust its body far forward with a tense expression.
Why?
Then Ian realized he himself was doing exactly the sa thing.
He had no idea why elentals copied his posture as well.
He didn't rember them doing that in the ga.
Straightening himself, he calmly asked,
“What happened?”
[The kingdom was attacked.]
The rmaid Queen bit her lip.
[Fortunately, we drove the monsters back... but the damage was severe. Many rfolk were injured and lost their hos. If Father had been here, he would have defended us much better. I was inadequate...]
“We don't know that.”
Ian stopped her before she could dig herself into another pit of self-recrimination.
If she reverted to her old indecisive self, this conversation would beco difficult.
“Your Majesty did your best. So did your people. Isn't that true?”
[Th-That's right. Of course...]
“Then what are you doing out there? You're not inside the palace.”
[I was preparing a speech to comfort my subjects.]
Ian blinked.
The rmaid Queen had made a decision like that?
“A speech could be delivered from the palace.”
[The royal palace is unhard, but... I don't want to tell my people, 'Co stand in front of my palace and listen to speak.']
The rmaid Queen had changed.
Ian felt strangely emotional.
People didn't change easily.
A single event couldn't suddenly transform a timid person into a bold one.
Even if they changed through sheer determination, most eventually drifted back to who they had been before.
Just as he himself had.
"If you're going to work like this, get the hell out, you bastard!"
"Okay. I'm leaving."
Just as Ian had once thrown his resignation letter into his supervisor's face.
Damn it.
At the ti, he'd thought his supervisor's threat—
"You'll never work in this industry again."
—was complete nonsense.
To his surprise, it hadn't been.
Unable to afford spending all his ti job hunting, Ian had spent his days sending resus and his nights working part-ti jobs.
But the people inside the ga were different from real humans.
When they decided to change, they actually changed.
The rmaid Queen stared directly at the elental.
Apparently she believed Ian was looking at her through it.
[But Ian. If you're contacting so urgently through an elental... have monsters attacked you too?]
“Yes.”
[Oh heavens. The day Mother foretold must finally have arrived! It has to be.]
The rmaid Queen nervously chewed on her hair.
“That day?”
Ian repeated.
I've never heard of this setting.
[Yes. Among the Underwater Kingdom... among rmaids and rfolk, each king traditionally takes as a spouse soone blessed with the gift of prophecy. My mother was also a prophet. At the age of five, she predicted that the continent would one day belong to the demons, proving her gift. Before she passed away, she left one final prophecy.]
The rmaid Queen swallowed.
[One day, a black hand will descend to extinguish even the last hope remaining in the Middle Realm!]
Why not just say everyone's going to die except the demons?
Ian never understood why prophecies were always so vague.
Why couldn't they just say things directly?
“I see.”
[Yes! Scholars have proposed many interpretations. So believe the "last hope" refers to our kingdom. Others believe it refers to a rfolk hero destined to defeat the monster of the grave. Others say it refers to the Vatican, the light of the continent. So claim it ans Sir Keith, the Agent of God. After you visited our kingdom, however, a new theory was added. Personally, I strongly support the latest one.]
“Ah. Really.”
Ian had absolutely no desire to hear what that theory was.
[Of course. The "last hope" must be you, Ian!]
The rmaid Queen's eyes sparkled.
[I have not forgotten the lesson you gave . You brought courage and hope to both and my people before departing. And now danger has co not only to us, but to you as well...]
[Your Majesty. You must co out now.]
A rfolk chamberlain whispered.
[Ah, right. I'll be there in a mont. Ian, I have to go. ...Don't worry. This ti, we'll be the ones helping you.]
Ian tried to stop her.
But she disappeared before he could even explain why he had contacted her.
Wait.
Why wasn't she listening to the important part?
Then the rmaid Queen stepped onto a platform and spoke.
[My people! We have endured a great crisis and overco it. Let us observe a mont of silence for the brave warriors who sacrificed themselves to protect us.]
The trembling woman from monts ago was nowhere to be seen.
The rfolk solemnly closed their eyes.
[But our trial is not over. Ian, the one who saved us, now requires our aid.]
“...!”
[My people, let us protect Ian!]
[Ian! Ian!]
[Long live Her Majesty!]
That worked?
Ian stared in disbelief.
There hadn't been a single persuasive argunt in that speech.
Then the rmaid Queen added,
[And there are warm houses there.]
[WAAAAAH!]
[Warm houses!]
[Warm soup!]
“......”
Reviews
All reviews (0)