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Vol 02 Chapter 56-1: Fairy

「Putting it modestly, that man doesn’t seem to have the makings of an Emperor… Could there be a mistake?」

King Rosais made quite a harsh statement.

I agree with him, though.

Is the [Blessing of The Emperor] actually not that rare? Am I not as special as I thought? Can just anyone, even someone like that, receive it?

It’s a bit disheartening…

「Yes. My  [Blessing of Insight] is almost always accurate. It’s similar to Almus’s ability… The more people recognize themselves as his subjects, the greater his physical abilities grow. And it also benefits those with high loyalty towards him by enhancing their physical capabilities in the same way. It’s the same.」

「Could it be that we just don’t understand, and Rigal Dibel is actually a great person?」

If that’s the case, it would mean my judgment is lacking.

「Hmm, I wonder. At least the people of Dibel territory seem to fear Rigal as their ruler to a certain extent, so I think his physical abilities are high. Remember, about three years ago, he boasted about killing a bear?」

I see, so as long as one is recognized as a ruler, their actual merit doesn’t matter. Well, it’s not like the subjects know about their ruler’s character. Makes sense.

「Even so, why would someone like Rigal Dibel receive such a blessing?」

「Who knows? But fairies are capricious, you know.」

Fairies?

「Hey Julia, when you say fairies… you mean those mischievous fairies?」

In the Adernian Peninsula, there are folk tales about fairies. Fairies are known for their love of mischief, playing various tricks on humans.

A day of peculiar bad luck, or good fortune, is the work of fairies. If it suddenly starts raining, it’s the work of fairies.

That’s what the tales say about them.

「Exactly. I’ve done some research, and there’s a theory that the blessings are given by the fairies. This theory is based on several accounts of people with blessings hearing a burst of laughter. Have you ever heard it? The laughter of children. When receiving the blessing.」

The laughter of children, huh… I’m not sure. I may remember something like that…

I realized years ago that I had this blessing and have since forgotten such details.

「I see. Almus doesn’t know, huh? I’ve heard it several times. I even heard it a bit when I first met you. Maybe it’s easier for some people to hear than others. Anyway, I think the identity of the children’s laughter is fairies. When you think of fairies, you think of children.」

So, they’re essentially labeling those voices as ‘fairies’ for easy recognition. Come to think of it, Griffon-sama often referred to them as ‘those brats.’

It seems they are, without a doubt, child-like beings.

「Fairies have quite a lot of ruthless episodes, don’t they?」

「Indeed… That’s true as well.」

There are as many tales of fairies as there are stars in the sky. All of them involve fairies playing tricks on humans.

Fairy episodes can be classified into four types.

First, there are heartwarming tales; second, stories where humans are deceived and suffer losses but eventually come to realize something important, such as the value of family, serving as a moral lesson. Third, there are stories where humans face harsh consequences for their actions or interactions with fairies.

And lastly… stories where humans die because of fairy mischief.

Let’s illustrate this with a specific example:

◇

Long, long ago, there was a man. He was hopelessly in love with a childhood friend who lived in his village, but she ended up marrying the village chief’s son.

In his despair, a fairy appeared in his dreams and said,

「Tomorrow night, go into the forest and shoot an arrow at the great tree on the mountaintop at the same time the sun rises.」

At first, the man ignored the dream, but it kept recurring daily. Eventually, he decided to follow the fairy’s instructions.

As the sun rose, he shot an arrow at the great tree. Just as he did, a rabbit leaped out, and the arrow struck it.

From then on, the man followed the fairy’s instructions. Thanks to the fairy, he became increasingly wealthy and popular.

But his heart still belonged to his childhood friend.

One day, the fairy told him,

「Your childhood friend was forced to become the village chief’s son’s wife. You must kill the village chief’s son. Then, just run away. A bag of gold coins is buried under the grapevine in the back. With that money, you can escape.」

The man followed the instructions, killing the village chief’s son and the witnesses, the village chief and his wife. He then proposed to elope with his childhood friend.

However, she resisted. In the struggle, a blade accidentally struck the childhood friend, killing her.

Panicked, the man fled back and dug under the grapevine. A bag emerged.

But instead of gold coins, it was filled with cow dung…

◇

The story ends here. Essentially, it’s a lesson that there are no easy ways out in life, warning against being deceived… But is it necessary to be this cruel?

What’s terrifying is that the fairy in this story gains nothing from these events, suggesting that the fairy made a human kill others merely for its own amusement.

「Fairy motives are incomprehensible. For some reason, I don’t know why, but I’m incredibly popular with them.」

That reminds me, Julia possesses many blessings.

「We don’t need to be overly cautious about his blessing. Almus’s blessing is sufficient to counter it. For now, let’s not dwell on the fairies. It’s all hypothetical, right?」

King Rosais said, ending the conversation.

The conversation strayed from the main topic, so let’s continue this discussion another time.

「I’ll be heading back for now. Let’s discuss the strategy later, including Bartolo and the others.」

「That makes sense. Come back here in three days, and make sure no one knows.」

I bowed to King Rosais and was about to leave when Julia stopped me.

「Wait! Take me with you.」

「Hmm? That could be problematic.」

Even if we take every precaution, Julia’s absence from the palace will be quickly noticed. It could cause a commotion.

「I know, but… I want to talk to Tetra about the future…」

Julia said, looking at King Rosais.

「I’ll say ‘Julia is out of the palace for a special ceremony. The location is a royal secret and cannot be disclosed.’ So, do as you please.」

So, it’s okay to take her with me.

「Really… Could we perhaps borrow a carriage, King Rosais?」

「Yes. It would be hard to explain if you were seen riding a horse together. One more thing.」

King Rosais called out to me.

「It’s fine to scheme, but don’t openly antagonize Rigal Dibel yet. At least not until the battle with King Domorgal is over. Start a civil war only after all preparations are complete and avoid unnecessary provocations. Thinking back, I appreciate your willingness to compromise at that time. If it had escalated to a full-scale war, our country might not exist today.」

「I understand. I’ve bowed my head once, and I plan to keep it lowered for a while.」

Civil war is tragic; no matter who wins, the damage to the country will be tremendous. It’s essential, therefore, to conclude matters swiftly and prevent Rigal from catching on until it’s over.

◇

「Well, we’ve arrived… Julia, for now, just wear this bag over your head.」

I covered Julia’s head with a bag.

This way, she absolutely won’t be recognized.

I grasped Julia’s hand and carefully helped her down from the carriage.

Without time to make eye holes in the bag, Julia was left unable to see anything

「Ah, Almus-san! Where have you been? Tetra-san has been worried… Julia-san?」

How did Lulu realize it was her?!

「Because her hair is sticking out…」

Ah, right. I forgot that Julia is the only woman I know with lavender-colored hair. But there wasn’t a bag big enough to cover all of her hair…

「Why have you brought Julia-san?」

「We’ll talk about it later. For now, let’s get inside the mansion.」

Most of the mansion’s servants probably haven’t seen Julia’s face, so they might not recognize her just by her hair. But just to be safe.

We need to hurry. Before anyone sees us, we should get into a room in the back.

「So, please stay still.」

「Eh, ah! Wait a moment…」

I lifted Julia and dashed off at full speed.

「This looks like a kidnapping scene.」

「Quiet.」