Six human figures stepped out of the fog, surrounding the sleeping fairies. All of them were muscular men. Some carried swords at their hips, and others had bows and arrows on their backs. They were all holding long chains with weights attached to the end.
Challe raised his sword to eye level.
Someone’s been watching them.
The fourteen fairies had very cautiously slipped away from Hollyleaf Castle in the middle of the night, but there were small settlements all around that place. It would not be a surprise if they’d been sighted. And anyone who had witnessed the strange spectacle of fourteen fairies traveling under cover of darkness would have definitely told someone about it.
That was probably how the fairy hunters had heard about them.
Anne and Allele shook the other fairies awake and told them what had happened. With grim faces, everyone gathered behind Challe.
Satisfied that they were all assembled, Challe looked over his shoulder and issued them orders.
“Go lie down near the lake.”
The fairies huddled together near the lake behind Challe and lay face down on its banks. With that done, Challe could focus on attacking in only one direction. The only thing behind him was the lake, and the hunters’ arrows wouldn’t be able to reach him from the opposite shore.
As the men came closer, tightening their circle, their amused expressions became clear.
One of the fairy hunters addressed a bearded man who seemed to be their leader. “Boss, there’s a warrior fairy.” His voice was tense.
But the bearded man smiled, baring his teeth. “Don’t lose your nerve,” he said. “If we can catch this many of them, it’ll pay half a year’s keep. Plus, look at the guy. He’s a real pretty boy. If we snag him, he’ll sell for ten times the price of a regular fairy. Stay focused.”
After a signal from the bearded man, the six hunters all began to swing their weighted chains at once.
Anne stood up behind Challe.
“Wait!” she cried. “These fairies belong to the Silver Sugar Viscount! I’m a Silver Sugar Master, and the Viscount entrusted them to me!”
The fairy hunters cackled. Then the bearded man stared at her. “Can’t hear a thing you’re sayin’, sweetheart. We don’t know what’s goin’ on here, but we found a group of fairies wandering around in the woods, so I think we’ll take ’em. After we’re done huntin’ ’em down, we’ll forget all about you, princess.”
“Well, I won’t forget.”
“Doesn’t matter to us whether you remember or not. You ain’t talkin’. Not from the bottom of that lake.”
Anne couldn’t contain her anger and took a step forward. But Challe held out his arm, keeping her back.
“Stop it,” he said. “Go lie down with the fairies.”
“But…!”
“To a fairy hunter, all fairies are merchandise. They won’t kill them if they don’t have to. But you’re a little girl who’s trying to get in the way of their payday, and they can’t sell you. They’ll have no qualms about killing someone if a year’s worth of cash is on the line.”
Anne paled, and Challe quietly ordered her again.
“Go lie down.”
She must have realized the truth in Challe’s words from the wild and violent look in the hunters’ eyes. Feeling sick, Anne ran back to the fairies.
Challe looked over his opponents and readied his sword. It occurred to him that it was keen determination, rather than anger, that was supporting him from within.
Fairy culture has been destroyed. In this world, we don’t even have the freedom to go where we please.
Even when fairies managed to run away and regain their liberty, the result was the same as if they had been abandoned in the middle of a desolate, lifeless wasteland.
The fairies whom Lafalle had gathered, who had taken their wings back and then ended up on the run again, must have faced the same reality as the ones trembling on the ground behind him.
The fairies no longer possessed a single seed to plant or even a droplet of water to nurture it.
Only a single kernel of their culture remained, and it was in human hands—sugar candy. At present, the humans had dropped that seed into an empty plot. If the fairies cultivated it, it might one day restore their domain.
The fairies had lost their songs, but this had the potential to bring their music back.
For that, I am ready to fight.
Suddenly, Challe smiled. His wing strained and shuddered, shining silver.
The fairy hunters seemed puzzled by his grin.
“You are now well aware these fairies belong to the Silver Sugar Viscount,” Challe said. “But if that won’t dissuade you from making a move…then you can kiss your arms and legs good-bye.”
“Get him!”
The moment the boss gave his order, Challe took off running.
He covered the distance to the closest hunter in an instant. The man had no time to react—not even a second to draw his sword. The most he could do was attempt to jump out of the way. Challe slashed downward, cutting through the man’s right shoulder down to his left hip. Blood gushed from the gaping wound. Challe leaped back, avoiding the spray, and the hunter he had cut screamed and tumbled to the ground.
The moment Challe landed in a low crouch, weighted chains came flying at him from his right and left, two from each side. They wound tightly around Challe’s silvery sword, locking it in place.
Then the fairy hunters’ leader came charging in.
With a casual flick of his sword hand, Challe dismissed the blade, which instantly dissolved into silvery beads of light. The four men who had been restraining his weapon lost their balance and staggered backward.
Stunned, the boss hesitated midcharge, but Challe crouched and rushed at him, sweeping his leg to send the man falling on his back. Challe stood astride the toppled leader and concentrated on his right palm, making the silver sword appear again. Then he placed the tip of the blade against the bearded leader’s throat.
“Nobody move!”