Chapter 106

CHAPTER 4 A Deep, Deep Forest and the Scream of the Land A few days after we all became S-rank adventurers, I was in our room at the inn discussing the next steps of our plan with Yuuto. Leticia’s party had left town soon after our bout, heading straight for the battlefield with Leon’s imperial permit in hand. The prince, meanwhile, was slowly and unknowingly transforming from a beastfolk into a fairy. Our plans were already in motion, but there was always more to be done. We needed to keep a steady hand on the rudder and fine-tune our vengeance into the sweetest dish imaginable. “Kaito, I still think if we’re going to make Leon run berserk, then perhaps he should do it right here in town. If he’s really as noble-minded as you say, then that will be much more painful for him, don’t you think?” “Perhaps, but it’s too risky. The more people involved, the higher the chance something will go wrong. Since my knowledge of the future is already getting spotty, we need to start being more careful.” The only one we wanted to kill was Leon. Getting bystanders involved was a step too far. “We wouldn’t have to worry so much if Leon wasn’t so strong, but as it stands, I couldn’t place bets on who’d win if it came to an all-out fight. Besides, attacking a prince is a serious crime. I don’t want us to become fugitives so soon after getting into the guild’s good graces.” Not that we had any further use for the guild. Initially, my thinking was that we could use that authority to help find out where Leticia had infiltrated the army, but since she’d found us this time, that was no longer an issue. In fact, Leticia seemed perfectly happy to stand out. Was it because I wasn’t the hero this time around? “But you’re talking about the Leon from your future memories, right?” said Yuuto. “Maybe he’s not that strong yet.” “No, if anything, he might be even stronger now,” I replied. “Now that he wasn’t dragged over to the kingdom to babysit me, that is.” Ironically, journeying with me had most likely stunted Leon’s growth. Without the need to waste time on my heroics, he was free to train and obtain the power he sought at his own rate. “Still, you have a point,” I conceded. “Our plan still has room for improvement. How can we make him suffer even more?” As I was pondering it, a devilish suggestion crossed my mind. If we could get Leticia to help us, it would make our vengeance all the sweeter. Leon and Lilia seemed to go way back somehow. Just imagine how much it would hurt for them to both watch each other die… No, that’ll never work, I thought. We’d need to somehow persuade Leticia to murder her own sister. Just then, I heard a creak, and the door swung open. “Dear brother, Yuuto, dinner is ready.” Mai walked in carrying a tray of food she had just finished cooking. This was an unfair generalization, but by and large, beastfolk tended to value quantity over quality when it came to cuisine. Thus, the food carts around here were lacking in flavor, and we quickly got tired of junk food. Instead, we each took turns cooking for the three of us, and tonight it was Mai’s turn. She had prepared a dish that was as close to mapo tofu as we could get in this world, complete with various kinds of spices. “So, what did you two discuss while I was away?” she asked. I quickly summed up what Mai had missed. “I see,” she said, when I was done. “And are your Swords of Sin no use here? They’re your secret weapons, aren’t they?” “They probably won’t be much help this time,” I replied. “Leonid beastfolk have a strong sense of smell, so it’ll be hard to trick the prince into drinking my blood for Envy. Sloth requires a cursed item to activate, and we don’t have any. Lust could work, but someone like Leon could easily dodge the box before it swallowed him up. As for Pride, there’s no telling what he’ll demand in exchange for his services—that could jeopardize our future plans. And Greed only works against groups of people, not individuals.” None of the Swords of Sin I’d used so far would help us this time around. As for Avarice or Wrath, I didn’t have access to them yet, so even if they happened to have some magnificently convenient abilities that were perfectly suited to taking down Leon, that wasn’t much help to me now. If only Minnalis and Shuria were here, I thought. Minnalis could use her poisons and her illusions, and Shuria’s puppets would come in handy, too. Kitty can interrupt the flow of mana, while Teddy can alter people’s dreams. I’d feel a lot less anxious about everything if they were around. The two women weren’t dead. They couldn’t be. But even with all the information available to me as an S-rank adventurer, I could turn up nothing regarding their whereabouts. Still, ever since I’d returned to this world, I could feel my connection to them growing stronger by the day. If I waited a little longer, or if they came closer, I would be able to get in touch with them using the Soulspeak granted to us by our contract. But first, let’s focus on Leon. If I’m not mistaken, killing one of my sworn enemies should restore power to our contract. “It doesn’t seem like there’s much choice but to fight Leon outright,” I stated. “It won’t be easy to capture a man like him and hold him at our mercy, but we have to do it. Now, then—” I tossed my spoon atop my empty plate. “—I’m going to go take a little nap before night falls. It’s the full moon tonight; that’s when Valeria will make his move.” I hadn’t been able to sense hide nor hair of the connection between Valeria and the Fey Queen, so I had doubted my suspicions for a while, but what I saw through Sir Squeaks confirmed it. “We have to give him precisely the fate he deserves.” I exited the brightmoss-lined tunnel and stepped into a clearing. The trees here were rich in mana and reacted to the light of the full moon by emitting a pale and ethereal glow, which shifted colors slowly, like an aurora. “A truly magical sight,” I said to myself. “I never tire of it.” This would be a wonderful place to come and enjoy a quiet drink, were it not for the fairies’ constant pranks and the unreasonable requests of their queen. “Sis…where have you gone…?” “I’m tired…” “Whaah!” “…” “My feet hurt…” “Just a little farther, he said…” Oh, yes, and if I didn’t have to drag these children around, too, of course. With me were thirty small children, all under the age of ten, some of them babies. They were of different races and were dressed in tattered rags. Good grief. Doesn’t that queen know what a bother it is to ferry all these brats around? The constant yet irregular demands of Queen Berrybell had led me to build this passage with “Earth Magic,” connecting Zolkia directly to the fairy forest. After smartly disposing of everyone who’d aided in its construction, I was the only one who knew of its existence. The tunnel was perfectly straight, but it covered a fair bit of distance. Perhaps it was a little too long, and the air too cold for these old bones, especially with these whippersnappers in tow. “Let us keep up the pace,” I said. “Come along, now.” “M-mister? Where are we?” “Hmm? I believe I stipulated you were to come quietly and not ask any questions.” The war had left many children orphaned. That made it exceedingly simple to gather the “pure souls” Her Majesty had requested from the gutters of the town. All I’d needed to do was offer them a little food or money, and they’d followed. Children tended to be the easiest to spirit away, partially because it didn’t take much to fill their stomachs, and partially because… “You never mentioned a forest. Where are you taking us…?” “Goodness, you’re a handful. Can you not shut your trap?” …so long as nobody was watching, it was simple to make them obey. “Huh? Eep!” I swept my arm, knocking the boy down and removing his grubby fingers from my clothes at once. Then I unleashed the spell I had prepared. Magical chains appeared out of nowhere, clamping around the necks of the children, which connected to a single chain in my hand. “A guildmaster cannot tie himself down with too many obligations,” I said. “I must exercise extreme caution at all times, even against children.” Still, the post came with its fair share of privileges, so I couldn’t well complain. “We’ve lost precious time. We must make haste.” Thanks to these children slowing me down, it had taken longer than I expected to pass through the tunnel. Fairies didn’t experience time like humans did, but it was still best not to keep them waiting, lest I be subjected to their whims. You never knew what might set them off. “Wait! Slow down…!” “Mister?!” “You’re hurting me!” “Let me go! Let me go!” “Waaaaaaaahhh!!” I advanced deeper into the forest, dragging the children behind me. Queen Berrybell had seemed uncharacteristically stressed this time, so I thought it best to get a move on. “Oh, I must be getting old. The cries of children are like a rasp in my ears…” “Why?! Why are you doing this to us?!” “Because I made a deal with the Fey Queen,” I replied. “In exchange for her granting me success in life, I agreed to do whatever she asked of me.” I hauled the unruly children along until I arrived at our usual meeting spot. It was tough work, bringing a haul of five or six times more people than usual. “Finally here,” I said aloud. It was a clearing containing a circle of fallen stone pillars. “I’m here!” I called out. “Your Majesty? Where are—? Hmm?” Just as I began tugging the children over to the circle, I suddenly felt the chain snag. “What’s that? Did it get caught on a tree or something?” I turned around and looked at the children. Hmm? Something’s not quite right… They were all standing in a line, perfectly silent. Even the ones who had been crying just a few seconds ago. Then I heard voices. Not from the children, as their lips were all shut, but from the ground beneath my feet. “Why?” they asked. Some sounded young, others as deep and husky as old men. “Why?” “Why?” “Why?” In perfect sync, the children all cocked their heads in puzzlement. I didn’t know when it had happened, but someone had replaced the kids with something else. “Oh dear. This must be the fairies’ work.” I thought I had grown wise to their schemes by now. How did I fall this far without realizing it? I spotted death, standing in the darkness. I had learned to feel it on the battlefields of my youth. “Why?” “Why?” “Why?” “Why?” The sweat clung to my skin. The children’s necks bent at impossible angles. “Hmm… I don’t know what you’re after, but it’ll take a lot to pull one over on old Valeria here…… Hmm?!” Suddenly, a skeletal hand burst from the soil. Just as I thought to use the chain to defend myself, countless tiny hands, like those of children, grabbed on to my feet. “The undead?! Release me now—! Hwuh?!” They were weak, and I easily shook them off. But then they suddenly grew stronger. Not only that, but the earth broke apart like the surface of boiling water, as many more hands came to join them. “Wh…? What is this?!” “Why, it’s everyone who hates your guts.” “What?!” At that moment, I heard a voice. It rooted me to the spot in fear, as if I were impaled on a thick black stake of death. “The Fey Queen asked you to bring sacrifices,” the voice went on. “To be toys for the fairies’ despicable games. An offering from which they might grow in power and multiply.” “Th-that voice! Ggrgh!!” I recognized it. It was one I’d heard only recently. But before I even had time to be surprised, hundreds upon hundreds of skeletal parts erupted out of the ground, clutching at me, pulling me, tearing and biting at my skin. “Let me go!” I yelled. “You think a few undead is enough to…? Wha—?!” I swung a fist at the summoned skeletons in an attempt to shatter them into pieces, but my hand passed straight through, as though there were nothing there. “Wh-what are they? They’re not just skeletons? Gggaggh!!” “They hate. Hate this cruel world. Hate the cruel fairies and their cruel games. Hate you. And hate never dies. They’ve been here all this time, hiding amid the mana of the trees, determined to make you pay.” It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. A fleshy sound reached my ears as my body tore apart. Wh-what’s happening? My skin shouldn’t break so easily…! A burning cold sensation, like frostbite, spread from the wounds across my whole body. I knew, then, that I was being devoured. Three figures appeared before me. The S-rank adventurers from before. “You!” I yelled at them. “What have you done to me?!” The leader of the trio took a step forward and answered in a voice as cold as ice. “Us? We haven’t done anything in the slightest. We’re not the ones who truly deserve you this time—they are. So we only lent them a hand.” ““…”” His two companions remained as silent as the night. “I asked them what they thought of you, and they said even death could not end their hate. So I gave them shape. A temporary form to embody their undying rage.” Then the man smiled. A cold, lifeless grin. His eyes were filled with disgust, like I was nothing more than a cockroach lying dead in the gutter. “The power to strip the life and everything away from the man who wronged them, even though nothing remains of their former selves. These aren’t undead. They’re just bundles of raw hate that only possess a form so long as I say so.” “S-so they’re wraiths? In that case, if I just channel mana into my fists, then…!” Wraiths possessed a magic form, which meant they could only be harmed by magical attacks. …Or so I thought. But no matter how many water-infused punches I threw, the only thing I felt was my hands passing through thin air, and a freezing pain that turned my blood to ice. “Ggggh!! Wh-why isn’t it working?!” “I never said they were wraiths, either. These souls don’t yearn for life—only death. Yours.” “Rrrrghh!! Enough games!!” At this point, I began fearing for my life. The sensations of the battlefield, forgotten after my prolonged absence, came rushing back, along with the instincts that had helped me slip the grasp of death on so many an occasion. They caused me to see red, a red so deep, it eclipsed my pain. Mana suffused my body, stimulating every one of my cells. This was the secret art of the beastfolk, devised to circumvent our kind’s weak affinity for magic. “Wildfoooorm!!” It granted a beastfolk tremendous physical strength and unparalleled combat ability. It was a simple power, but it had saved my life many times, and there was no peril I could not weather with it at my side. The Fey Queen’s blessing shall see me through this!! Berrybell had given me much in our deal. The guildmaster’s seat, a close relationship with nobility, and this, the crowning achievement of the beastfolk race. However… “Oh, now you’ve done it.” The adventurer’s mocking voice reached my ears, like that of a monster toying with its helpless prey. And then, another one of my escape routes vanished without a trace. “““GGGGGGGGGGGGG!!””” “Gggghhh!! Wh-what is the meaning of this?!” It was as if something had sucked out every last drop of the power building up inside me. The skeletal fiends emitted a cry of joy, of anger, of grief, all rolled into one. “These guys are powered by hatred,” the man explained. “The deeper their vengeance, the stronger they become. What do you think is going to happen if you call upon an ability you traded their lives away to obtain?” A wide grin accompanied his gleeful words. “““Kee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!!””” The skulls rattled as they laughed. They devoured me, their snow-white bones turning a dull liver-red, as though they were absorbing my very blood and flesh. “Wh-what nonsense! T-tell me the truth! What did you do to me?! Wildform! Wildform! Wildfooorm!! Why isn’t it working?!” Power. I sacrificed so many lives for power. Yet in my hour of need, I could summon not a drop of it. It was as if those bones were sucking it out of me. I couldn’t shake them off, no matter how hard I tried, and soon the skulls covered every centimeter of me, leaving only my head free. They nibbled and tore at my flesh, in some kind of depraved torture. “Let me go! Let me—! Gggrrhh!! F-fairies! What are you doing?! Save me! This is a violation of our contract!! I’ve always come to your aid in the past, haven’t I?!” The specter of death grew closer, despite my futile efforts to dispel it. As it approached, despair filled my mind, along with pain, fear, and confusion. But soon, even that would end. A great gurgling filled the air as a giant skull, larger than my own body, rose from the earth. Its bone was stained dark and red, even murkier than the others, and insalubrious purple veins pulsated across its surface. “N-no,” I cried. “Stop! Wh-why are you doing this to me?” That skull, that embodiment of death, opened its bony jaws wide. “No, no, no, nooo!! Save me, somebody, save meee!!” I had no alternative but to try bargaining with those who appeared to have orchestrated this foul trap. “I gave you the rank you desired! What else do you want?! Is it the fairies’ power?! I can help you make a deal, too! I’ll do whatever I can, I promise! Just don’t kill me!!” “Welp, that’s what he’s offering,” spoke the man. “What do you guys think?” He addressed his two companions. “I think we have no cause to show mercy here,” replied the girl. “I agree. Everyone in this world can die, for all I care,” replied the boy. The man turned to me once more. “Sorry,” he said. “Looks like it’s just not in the cards.” A callous smirk spread across his lips. “Besides,” he went on. “It’s not us you should be begging to, is it?” “R-ridiculous. Y-you think this…this monster will hear my demands?!” “Oh, so you do understand.” The skull emitted a low groan as it closed its jaws around me. The man’s smile deepened. “You understand what you’ve created. A monster that no apology can placate. In that case…let it be your end.” “Th-this isn’t the end! It can’t be! I am the guildmaster! Somebody, HELP MEEEEE—! Gplff!!” The very last thing I heard was my own bones grinding to dust, my own flesh tearing apart, and laughter. Scores and scores of cackling voices, though their owners were nowhere to be seen. After watching Valeria die, I turned and addressed the presence that had been watching us for some time now. “Now that’s dealt with,” I said, “it’s time to exterminate some pests.” “…Foolish mortal.” A fairy materialized in front of us. But it was by far the largest of its kind I’d ever seen. Were it not for her long white hair, sparkling in the moonlight, and the pair of long wings extending from her back, she would have appeared to anyone like a young girl of five or so. Beneath each of her eyes was a dark mole, and in her hands she held a crystal ball of swirling black and white. “Hey there, Berrybell. Long time no see,” I said. “That’s…” “…the Fey Queen?” It was obvious, even to the untrained eye, that she was not human. She was from a different world—a cruel and barbaric one with different laws and morals. When I’d fought her in my first life, I managed to tear off one of her wings, but she’d escaped in the confusion. “I guess you don’t remember me, though.” “No. I remember you, turncoat.” “Huh?” I said, frowning. “What do you mean?” “There is no meaning,” the Fey Queen replied. “Because you cannot stop it now. The time has come at last. At last, at last, at last, at last, at last…” Berrybell spoke as if entranced, stroking the crystal ball in her hands. “…What’s up with you?” I asked. “Hee-hee-hee. My task is finally coming to an end. That is a wonderful, wonderful thing.” “…Whatever. It doesn’t change what I’m going to do to you. I guess I’ll hear whatever it is you’ve got to say.” “I am no longer required,” said Berrybell. “I can finally disappear from this world.” She raised the crystal, a royal treasure of some kind, as if offering it to the heavens above. “Hey, wait, what are you—?” But before I could react, the crystal shattered. Berrybell began disintegrating into motes of light that vanished on the air. “What the…? What are you doing?!” “Oh, poor, foolish Hero. You know nothing. Fare thee well. Give my regards to the Lion Prince and the Handmaiden of Darkness.” A pure, genuine smile crossed Berrybell’s lips. It was the very last part of her to disappear. “D-dear brother? What on earth was that?” I just stared at the spot where the fairy had been. “…Tch. Whatever. First things first, we have to focus on Leon.” There was much I didn’t know about the Fey Queen. Like the reason Leon had saved her. But that doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change what I have to do. “You’re next, Leon. Don’t think you can wriggle your way out of this one.” The time had come at last. Leon Gailed. How old was I when I first questioned the meaning of that name? I remember being told that it was customary to grant the name “Leon” to Golden Leonid beastfolk of the imperial family. Wanting to know more about this ancient tradition, I descended into the basement of the castle, trawling the libraries for ancient tomes in an attempt to shed light on the mystery. It became something of a hobby of mine. The old tales spoke of many things. Of course, the stories rarely agreed on the details, but I enjoyed comparing them and piecing together the truth. It was nothing but fanciful thinking, dreaming of “what if.” However, everything changed when I came across that book. It had come from the library of a disgraced noble whose assets we had seized, and at first, its contents were encrypted. I took it upon myself to decipher the tome, and soon I learned it spoke of “the place where holy power rests.” Encouraged by early success, I decoded the rest of the book and learned that this location was in fact very close by. I went there and claimed a part of that power for myself. After that, I began taking what had only been a hobby far more seriously. I told my family I had learned of a traditional soul-searching pilgrimage undertaken by princes of old and used it as a pretext to travel the world, searching for power. I visited all the places spoken of in my books and investigated the ruins I found there. As I learned more and more about the history of our realm, I began catching glimpses of the horrifying truth that underpinned it all. In denial, I tried to disprove my theory, but everything I learned only lent it more credence. Along the way, I met Lilia, who taught me that this was not the first time it was happening, but that history had been repeating itself for eons. This world was being drained of life. And all people across the land were being manipulated into killing one another, like pieces in a game. Where there was a demon lord, there was always a hero. Time and time again these battles played out, bringing our world closer and closer to destruction. People were dying. Offering themselves up to a goddess who only saw them as toys. It was wrong. This wasn’t the way the world was supposed to be. Lilia thought so, too, so we joined forces and set out to slay a god. For if not us, then who? Who but those who knew the threat could save our world from destruction? After completing my negotiations with the aristocrats, I decided to make one last stop at the guild before departing for the battlefield, reinforcements in tow. Thanks to the efforts of those new S-rank adventurers, the tide of battle had shifted heavily in our favor, but for some reason, the guild was in an uproar when I arrived. I stopped the vice-guildmaster as he ran by, and I asked him what was the matter, and his answer shocked me. “Valeria, missing, you say?” “Y-yes, your Highness. He hasn’t been seen for five days now.” I frowned and scratched my chin. The vice-guildmaster was sweating profusely, his nerves perhaps exacerbated by the presence of a royal figure. “We’ve checked everywhere he might be, but our investigations have turned up nothing. I beg your pardon, Your Highness.” “And he hasn’t left us a note or sent a message?” “No, sir. He was last seen heading to the slums, Your Highness.” “And has there been any disturbance there?” “We looked into that, sir, but we didn’t learn of anything out of the ordinary. However, ‘ordinary’ can mean many things around those parts. Anything could happen, and it wouldn’t so much as make gossip.” “But at the very least, you would have heard if a building was destroyed or the like.” Valeria wouldn’t go down without a fight. I think this rules out a kidnapping or murder plot. Then who could make him disappear without a trace? The fey? Or perhaps Valeria had simply gone missing of his own accord. Either way, it was likely the fairies were involved. Perhaps one of their demands had come through once more. The slums are where Lilia built that tunnel to the fairy forest. Everything adds up… “Has there been any unusual activity in the forest lately?” “The forest? You mean the fairy forest?” “Yes.” The vice-guildmaster was confused by my sudden and seemingly unprompted query, but he nonetheless answered me. “Only stories told at the bar of drunken lumberjacks heading too deep into the forest and encountering strange monsters,” he replied. “I see.” Chances were high that something strange had happened in the forest. Stranger than usual, that was. Did Valeria incur the queen’s wrath somehow? I thought back on my memories of Queen Berrybell, a creature who took the form of a human girl, despite her brazen contempt for mankind. On a bad day, she could snuff out a life as uncaringly as picking fruit. Even if Valeria did have some kind of deal with her, that was no reason to think she wouldn’t turn on him, too. Fairies, like true vampires, were creatures that the Goddess had implanted in this world. They could not be trusted. “…” Things look bad. But I still can’t believe Berrybell would turn on her supplier so easily. I must go there and make sense of the situation myself. In all honesty, it wasn’t Valeria’s welfare that concerned me. The only thing that man cared about was himself. Even if he was obligated to supply the fey with tributes, he lacked any qualms in handing over innocent children, and he greedily enjoyed the power and status he received in return. I wasn’t worried about my own safety, either. Rather, if some terrible fate had befallen the fey folk, it needed to be investigated as soon as possible. We still lack a means to combat the ley-line energy, as well as to deprive the fey of their divine power. Fairies were servants of the Goddess who’d taken over this world. They were tasked with managing the ley-line energy in an effort to increase the Goddess’s control. Since they were formed of the mana of the Goddess herself, they were the only beings capable of interacting with ley-line energy. Were the fey to disappear, there would be no one left to control it, and the ley-line energy would run rampant across the land. This would cause monsters to become more numerous and more powerful and produce strange weather anomalies. If that were to happen, chaos would inevitably follow. Thus, we could not eliminate the fey, despite how they threatened the people of this land, and we had little choice but to acquiesce to their demands. Plus, the fairies were one of the few leads we had to the Goddess. They could communicate with her, and they always knew where she was. War has broken out once more, precisely as the ancient texts described. A conflict between the demon lord and her dark armies, and the forces of mankind, led by the kingdom’s hero. There was precious little time remaining in which to act. The kingdom claims to have chosen a divine champion through a tournament, but that is most likely a ruse. If the ancient texts are to be believed, the hero must be summoned from another world in order to receive the holy power. And yet I knew next to nothing about this supposed hero. They had no history, and they wore silver plate armor that completely concealed their identity; people weren’t even sure if they were a man or a woman. The hero also stayed in the princess’s care at all times, so it was difficult for either me or my spies to get anywhere near them. As such, the fey were my only connection to the Goddess. I could not let anything happen to them. Someday, I would take up arms against them, but not today. “Thank you for your time, vice-guildmaster. Excuse me.” I left the guild and ordered a subordinate to take the reinforcements to the front lines, while I departed for the fairy forest alone. “There’s no doubt…” As I pressed on through the trees, I got the distinct impression that something was different. “…something happened here.” I had been here before. There was a spring nearby where it was possible to meet Queen Berrybell directly, and at first glance, the forest seemed as I remembered it. The sandy soil had long since given way to proper earth, though the soil was rich in mana and caused the trees to grow in bizarre and miraculous ways. That aside, the forest appeared normal, but my beastfolk instincts were sensitive to changes the senses could not readily detect. I haven’t run into a single fairy since I came here. What’s going on? Ordinary people could not detect a fairy who did not wish to be detected. To sense them required either holy power or a special skill. I had acquired a fragment of holy power when I was young, and if I used that, I would be able to see the fey, but even if I did not, I could still locate them using my ability, Infallible Nose. But right now, I could detect no trace of fairies on the air, and the risk of calling upon my holy power was too great. “I can smell something…but it’s not a fairy. It’s similar…yet different.” It had the same sweet scent of flowers that fairies possessed. But if the smell of the fey was a poisonous flower, then this scent was that of a perfume made of those flowers. Whatever it portended, it could not be good. It is unfortunate that Lilia, with her boundless knowledge of magic, has departed alongside the demon lord. The timing could not be worse. It was clear something about the forest had changed, but my nose alone would not be enough to ascertain the cause. On the other hand, if I were to unleash my holy power, I would not be able to maintain that state for very long. I lamented the absence of my lover. She possessed not only knowledge of magical theory far superior to mine but an intrinsic ability called “Magic Eye,” that would be invaluable in this endeavor. Plus, I have been feeling rather unwell these past few days. Perhaps I should return to town? Without letting down my guard, I carefully pondered my options. Recently, I had been struggling with a rather bizarre affliction. Some days I felt normal, while on others a great weakness overcame me. Luckily, this disorder never seemed to strike when I was in dangerous situations, such as in battle or within a dungeon. On the contrary, I had felt at my worst in the safety and security of the aristocrats’ private mansions, surrounded by their wealth and treasures. I had never experienced anything like this before, and while there were times the affliction itself did not bother me, its unknown nature was a constant source of torment. “…No, I cannot give up now. I have come so far, and it would be a shame to return empty-handed.” Whatever ailed me was troubling me less now that I was far from town. Perhaps I was being overly cautious. I shook my head and pressed on, ever vigilant. Just as the evening sky began to turn a deep midnight blue, I reached the spring at the center of the forest, where water rich in mana bubbled up from the earth. At the spring’s center was a tree known as a Fairy Tree, whose leaves were all different colors, including red, blue, green, yellow, white, and black. This was the Fairy Village. I had first come here six years ago, after inferring its existence from ancient texts, to see if the fey really were real, and if they truly held the power of the divine. That was when I had first met Queen Berrybell. She’d sat on a throne woven of magical flowers, floating before the Fairy Tree, a dreamlike smile upon her lips. Back then, I’d caught on to the fairies’ malicious nature at once. Just as now, I finally realized the evil of the person sitting here in her place. “Hey there, Leon. Lovely night for a stroll, isn’t it?” “…I see. It appears I have been outwitted.” A man sat on the Fey Queen’s throne—the very same adventurer who had brought the guild a Dragon Eye and earned himself the title of S-rank adventurer. His two party members stood next to him, one on either side, and behind him were a row of despicable creatures, like an army of dark knights awaiting the word of their king. The air crackled with tension, and it was clear that what happened next was not going to be pleasant conversation. I brandished my trusty weapons, a pair of knuckledusters crafted from an adamantite-mythril alloy. The man, whose name I recalled as Kaito, stood up and threw his arms wide, grinning a mad, intoxicated grin. “Let’s get started, Leon! This is the end of the line for you, I’m afraid. A nightmarish hell from which there’s no escape!!” With that, the evil king let out a mocking laugh, filled with nothing but contempt for the world and everything in it. “I presume these monsters answer to you?” I asked. “Tell me, who are you, really? What did you do to the fairies of this forest?” “What do you think?” As I feared, the man had no intention of answering any of my questions. Using some kind of skill to tread across thin air, he moved over the surface of the spring toward me.