Chapter 4

Off to the Country of the Fairies! “Um. For starters, could you describe your friends to us? Feoras and Alan, right? Are they both boys?” Sifla shook her head. “A cat.” “Huh?” “Feoras is my pet cat.” “So is Alan a cat, too?” “No. He’s a dog. But they’re both my precious friends. They’re all I have.” Sifla’s face crumpled. Uh-oh, she’s gonna cry. Now that I was on the spot, I puffed up my chest in confidence. “Okay. I’ll find them for you!” “…Really?” Sifla’s eyes suddenly shone. Startled, Lotte tugged at my sleeve. “Wait a minute, Akko.” But I couldn’t back down now. I stuck my chest out even farther. “It’s totally fine! Just look at how bright it is tonight. If we all look, we’re sure to find them!” “That doesn’t mean you should just…” “…When you say we, are you including me?” Standing up ponderously, Sucy turned around to face us. Her expression clearly said this would be more trouble than it was worth. “Of course. After all, we’re three hearts that beat as one, aren’t we?” “We’re just roommates.” The corners of Sucy’s mouth turned down. I lunged at her and hugged her around the shoulders. “Oh, come on. Don’t be like that, Sucy. Everybody needs a little help sometimes, you know!” “Have you ever helped me when I was in trouble, Akko?” “I’m always your guinea pig, aren’t I?!” “So you’re telling me it’s all right to keep experimenting on you.” “Huh? That’s…uh…” Sucy gave me a creepy grin, then thrust her open left hand out at me. “Five times.” “For what?” “If you’ll let me experiment on you five times without complaining, I’ll help you out.” “Isn’t that too many?! Hold up! You never give me a chance to complain anyway!” “And promise you won’t keep whining about it after it’s over.” “Ghk. Uhhh…” As you’d expect, I couldn’t really give her an immediate answer. So I faltered. You see, Sucy had gotten me so many times already. She’d turned my hair into a plant and dosed me with a numbing potion while I was asleep. I’d grown a horse tail once and developed an abnormal appetite for carrots. Another time, I’d lost the ability to say anything except ha-hi-hu-he-ho… There were so many things, I really couldn’t count them all. I refused! Or at least, I almost refused. But then I saw Sifla, looking as if she might burst into tears at any moment. Waaah. This deal is so unfair! “…Fine. But just one time!” “Four times.” “Two!” “…………” “Argh, okay, fine, three times! I really can’t handle any more than that!” “Well, all right. But remember, you promised. No running away.” “It’s just three lousy times. Bring it on!” “You said it.” Sucy’s eyes were usually drowsy, but they were suddenly wide and lively in quiet anticipation. Augh. Why is this happening? Sucy nodded as she brushed fallen leaves off her knees. “Okay. I’ll help. I’m Sucy Manbavaran. Nice to meet you, Sifla.” She smirked as she suddenly turned to Sifla, who flinched and trembled in fear. “I-it’s nice to meet you…” “Oh, that’s right. I do have one request.” “Huh? What is it?” “If we manage to find those two, I’d like some elderflowers from the trees, not the ones on the ground.” “Oh, that’s all?” Sifla probably assumed she’d have to be a lab rat, too, but her shoulders relaxed when she realized that wasn’t the case. “They told me you’re the one who collects poisons, Sucy. Yeah, that’s right. And elderflowers neutralize poison, so it makes sense that you’d want some. Besides, the elder tree has the greatest power of them all, you know.” “Really?” I asked. Sifla nodded with the air of a teacher. “It’s a very important tree to us, presiding over death and rebirth and perfect for breaking wicked curses.” “Huh! Wow, Sifla. You’re really smart!” “…Even if she’s the guardian of the hill, you’re still getting schooled by a six-year-old. I dunno, but I think you should be a little more ashamed of that.” Sucy shrugged. “If you find those two, I’ll give you as much as you want of anything you like. I could even give you leaves from all the sacred trees.” “That’s real generous of you.” Sucy snickered. “That’s just how important Feoras and Alan are to me. But in exchange, please make sure you find them for me.” “I’ll do my best.” Lotte exhaled sharply. “The two of you just decide these things without really thinking them through.” But she smiled as she handed her pot of herbal tea to Sifla. “Hold on to this for me, okay? When we get back, we’ll drink it together.” “Okay. Thank you.” Everyone else looked satisfied, but I tilted my head, thinking hard. Hey. Maybe, just maybe… If Sifla was giving Sucy a thank-you present, maybe I didn’t need to be her guinea pig after all. Right? As I glanced over at her, Sucy spoke coolly. “Nope. You already promised.” “Why?!” “It’s called negotiating. If I’d made that deal with Sifla first, you never would’ve agreed to it.” “Y-you planned that…!” “Well, it doesn’t really matter. Promise or no promise, you’d still be my lab rat anyway.” “Gnrrrrrrrrgh!” Listening to Sucy, Sifla burst out laughing for the first time. I was glad she was finally laughing, but this really didn’t sit right with me!! “A-and? To start with, can you tell us what happened before they disappeared?” At Lotte’s question, Sifla’s laughter froze as she came back to herself. “It happened a few hours ago,” she said, beginning her story. It was after sunset, just as the full moon was beginning to shine in the night sky. As usual, Sifla had gotten Feoras’s milk ready. He was a big eater, it seemed, so he’d usually pester her for dinner as soon as night fell. But for some reason, he hadn’t so much as glanced at his milk today. He’d wanted to go outside, scratching at the front door so much, she thought something was out there. But when she’d opened the door to check, he dashed away, heading straight for the crown of the hill. She hadn’t even had time to scream: Where are you going?! Alan also bolted, sprinting away as fast as he could, even though he’d been curled up in a corner of the room a moment before. By the time she’d dashed out of the hut in a panic, it was already too late. The two boys—er, animals—had vanished into the night. “Could they have run away from the hill?” Sifla shot down my idea firmly. “Absolutely not. When they disappeared, I immediately cast a barrier, so I’d know the moment they tried to cross it.” “Hrmm,” I hemmed. According to her, Feoras and Alan were bigger than your ordinary cat and dog. But if that were true, you’d think one of the students would have spotted them and tried to play with them already, right? Like, there were only a few places to hide on this hill, behind the rocks and trees. “We should obviously cast a locating spell first. Do you want to try the one we learned in class the other day?” suggested Lotte. “No, let’s use a spell that traces scents,” insisted Sucy. “Though it might be difficult with all these Luna Nova students around.” “Ooh, what about summoning a giant catnip plant? Like, one that’s even bigger than Stone Doras!” They all ignored my idea. Hey! Everyone knows cats and catnip go together! As we tossed around some ideas, I noticed Sifla was fidgeting. “What’s the matter?” Lotte peered into her face. She hesitated for a moment, clearly mulling something over and gathering her thoughts. “It’s possible…they’ve gone to the Country of the Fairies.” “““The Country of the Fairies?””” the three of us chorused. “Grandmother once told me those two aren’t ordinary pets. I think they’re fairies, and they’d been with her since she was a child. She told me I’d be a proper ‘Sifla’ once I was able to hear them speak, but…” She cast her eyes down forlornly. “But I couldn’t understand a single thing they said. I could guess from their body language, but that was all. You know, I bet they got fed up with me. I promised I’d become a fine guardian like Grandmother, but I’ll always be a failure of a witch.” Her voice was getting dark and super-gloomy. I guess she might have seemed mature, but she really was just a six-year-old girl… Wait, that wasn’t the point. The end of her sentence was garbled with sobs, but I knew what she was trying to say. I really, reeeeeally understood how she felt. I mean, think about it. She was a lot like me. Like, I couldn’t even ride a broom, and the professors were constantly yelling at me. Whenever I made a mistake in class, everyone snorted and snickered at me. Every time that happened, I’d think about how I’d show them all, but even I got discouraged sometimes. But here’s the thing: Wouldn’t you want the people by your side to believe in you? Even if you were attempting the impossible? “Let’s go!” I shouted. “We’ll head to the Country of the Fairies to look for them! Then we’ll ask the two of them what they really think!” “…We can’t.” Sifla shook her head in the same melancholy way. “Not even the guardian is allowed to enter the Country of the Fairies without permission from the fairy king. We can’t just open their gates, especially when we don’t know if my friends are actually there. If I did that, I’d really be disqualified as their protector.” “Then I’ll go there for you!” “…Huh?” Sifla’s big eyes lifted toward me with a blank stare. “Because, like, I don’t have anything to lose! I mean, they might get a little mad if they see me, but what can they do?” “B-but it’s dangerous. There are all sorts of fairies! In fact, Grandmother told me some of them are violent—” “It’s okay! It’s totally fine! I’ll be okay as long as they don’t find me, right?” Okay, I might have been thinking she might teach me a special spell, or that my cleverness might leave the professors speechless. I was a little ashamed of myself. Right now, all I want to do is help Sifla get her self-confidence back! “A believing heart is your magic, Sifla!” I exclaimed, thumping my own chest. “In order to start your story, you gotta reach your hand out. Whatever you do, you can’t give up! You gotta believe in yourself! Listen, I believe in you, okay?!” Sifla looked taken aback, kind of just standing there with her eyes wide. “Got it?!” Totally overwhelmed by my energetic spirit, she could only nod in response. But hey—my smile must’ve been infectious, because Sifla’s lips relaxed into a grin, too. “In that case, take this as my proxy.” She slipped a bracelet woven from thin twigs onto my wrist. “What’s this?” “It’s an amulet made from willow branches. See? We match.” Sifla had an identical bracelet on her own wrist. “It’s said when willows are exposed to moonlight, they make our magic stronger. I have a feeling it might be useful somehow. It’ll connect us together, Akko.” She smiled and talked with a dignity far beyond her years. I found myself standing a little taller in response. “Okay, I’m gonna head to the Country of the Fairies and find her cat and dog! Be right back!” I casually promised, standing in front of Stone Doras. For starters, I just had to circle this thing nine times, right? I was rarin’ to go, but Lotte and Sucy both looked seriously glum. “…Isn’t this a little too dangerous?” Of course, Lotte was full of fear. Sucy tried to threaten me out of it. “Remember what Diana said? The fairies won’t forgive anybody who enters without their permission.” I mean, yeah, it was scary. I really had no idea what might happen, and no one was gonna be there to save me. I didn’t want to get caught by the professors and expelled, or worse—get caught by the fairies and die. But I really, reeeally didn’t want to leave Sifla so sad! When I didn’t say anything, they could probably tell I had made up my mind, and they heaved the biggest, greatest sighs of the year. Then they grabbed my shoulders, one on each side. “Oh, Akko, you never stop surprising me.” “Well, it certainly keeps things from getting boring.” Lotte was on my right. Sucy was on my left. As I saw their weary smiles at close range, my face lit up. “Really? You’re coming with me?!” “I mean, it would be so annoying to lose my guinea pig.” “And I don’t think you’ll be able to do anything on your own, Akko.” “Thank you! I love you both so much!” I put my arms around them and pulled them close, holding tight. “Gweh!!” “Akko, you’re hurting me…!” “Oh! Sorry!” I zipped my lips shut. Lotte raised her shoulders. “We’ll come with you on one condition: Don’t do anything reckless.” “I won’t! Thanks, Lotte!” “I said be quiet!” “…I don’t see this ending well.” The two of them looked grim, but I just couldn’t stop beaming. Taking both their arms at once, I took a firm step forward with newfound excitement. One round. Two rounds. Three. We walked around Stone Doras at a glacial pace so we wouldn’t get spotted by the teachers—or Diana’s sharp-eyed group. At times, we even got down on our hands and knees to pretend to search for something in the wildflowers. Four. Five. Six. They’d get suspicious if we hurried, so we sat down on the ground from time to time, pretending to chat casually. But we were actually scooting on our rears ever so slowly to the finish line. Seven. Eight. And then. “…That makes nine times, I think?” I gulped as I drew myself up to my full height and menacingly glared at Stone Doras. Would lightning strike? Would we hear bone-chilling moans and groans? Would a stone fortress fly up out of the ground in a rumble? I’d hoped for something extraordinary, but nothing happened. Oh, come on! What gives? “Say, is it getting mistier?” Lotte shrank back. Was it? Nothing seemed different to me… Well, hmm, I guess she’s right. Yeah. Our surroundings were a little hazier than before. And the other students seemed more distant and kinda fuzzy. “Akko. There’s something over there.” “Huh?!” Sucy was pointing at the ground between the two towering boulders. Right in the middle of them was a square hole that hadn’t been there a minute ago. “Yesss! It’s the entrance!” I sprang forward, peering down inside. It looked like a long, looong stairway headed underground, and it was so pitch-black, I couldn’t see anything else. …Hmm. I guess we just have to go down. “Akko, this is dangerous!” “Oh, it’ll be fine. It’s just stairs.” My chest was swelling with more excitement than fear. I mean, this was the entrance to the Country of the Fairies. To think we’d actually find something like that! Nervously, Lotte peeked over my shoulder into the hole, and Sucy had taken a flask out of her robe to bottle up some of the white fog. Did, uh, did she carry that around with her all the time? “Lotte, Sucy, are you ready? ’Cause I’m heading down.” “…Um, I guess there’s no point in turning back now.” “I hope I can find some poisonous plants or mushrooms at the very least.” “I’m sure they’ve got those! After all, it’s the Country of the Fairies!” I bounded down the stairs. They were a little narrow, so we had to go single file. I went first, then Lotte, then Sucy. Or that was how it was supposed to go. “Oh no. I can’t see a thing…” As we went farther and farther down, our surroundings became so dark, even I started to feel a little jumpy. Thankfully, I heard Lotte singing softly, and a gentle green light illuminated the stairwell. When I looked back, the lantern in her hand was glowing. Well, the spirit sitting quietly inside, to be exact. Now that I could finally see Lotte’s and Sucy’s faces again, I was back in full swing. “We’ll be safe now that we can see where we’re walking, huh?! Thanks a bunch, Lotte!” “Safe… Oh, are we really ‘safe’?” Yeah, Lotte was still in low spirits, but I think she cheered up just a little, too. I continued to boldly descend one step at a time, down the stairs made of cool, rugged rock. It was pretty misty down there. From time to time, a breeze carried the smell of damp earth and grassy leaves, tickling our noses. All this reminded me that we were really going underground. When we finally reached the bottom of the stairs, there was a narrow tunnel just wide enough for one person. Well, there was nowhere else for us to go, so we timidly trudged on. Lotte hid behind me and slunk forward nervously, and behind her, Sucy felt her way along the wall. She was probably gathering moss or something. At a time like this. I swear, she really does march to the beat of her own drum. Anyway, the tunnel was much longer than I’d thought it would be. We walked and walked and walked some more, and we still couldn’t see the end of it. But it gradually grew wider. At first, we had to go in single file, but as we went on, it became wide enough for us to walk side by side, holding hands. We continued on another ten minutes or so when a shrill voice echoed down the tunnel to reach our ears. “Now let the king’s coronation ceremony begin!”