The Underground Village of the Fallen Fairy Clan(2)

“This is… really mysterious.”

“Indeed. It’s quite a spectacle.”

A fairy flying while fluttering two pairs of grayish wings like dragonfly wings, about the size of my palm.

Walking along the ashen path following the fairy and Seol in front, I answered like that to Neon’s whispered mutter.

When Seol first entered an utterly ordinary alley in the 7th District, I wondered if there was anything special, but who would have thought that alley would lead to such a mysterious village.

As Seol had said before we departed, this village where the Fallen Fairy Clan lived was like looking at a well-carved dark cloud.

The Fallen Fairies’ village, which seemed to create a mysterious cloud interior with mana stone lights embedded here and there.

“Fairies are indeed mysterious beings.”

“Certainly, Western yokai are good at creating this kind of atmosphere. Like that succubus called Lavina from before.”

“Oh, what? I thought you were all-capable, but it seems you unexpectedly can’t do this?”

“……Of course I can create a similar atmosphere like a night parade of a hundred demons in the mist.”

I immediately answered grumpily, pushing out my lips at Neon’s sudden question.

Then a small laugh burst out from Neon.

No matter what, I couldn’t say that my abilities were inferior to Western yokai, if only out of pride.

Who am I? I’m none other than the great leader of the goblin clan.

I wanted to take off this stuffy mask and explain to Neon all sorts of advantages of goblins, but unfortunately, I couldn’t do that because Seol had made a request before we entered here.

“It’s so stuffy being wrapped up like this, I’m dying……”

“Ahahah, just bear with it a little longer.”

Seol’s request not to show even a bit of my appearance or reveal my identity here at all.

She had pleaded so desperately with a look of concern for me, how could I disobey?

Therefore, I was enduring this minor stuffiness and wrapped up in this mask and cloak, and while conversing with Neon like this, how long had we walked?

Flap flap flap—!

“W-we’ve arrived! Please wait comfortably on the sofa inside!”

Pixie, who had been flying with stiff wing flaps, stopped in front of a room door in the corridor.

Then Pixie entered first through the door that opened with a clunk.

And following her inside, we were greeted by an interior scene similar to the General Management Team’s laboratory.

The only difference from the laboratory might be that instead of being full of drugs and mana stones like the laboratory, this place was full of unknown mana spheres.

“……It doesn’t look like they were made ordinarily.”

Those mana spheres piled up like marbles were clearly not ordinary creations at first glance.

Spheres that looked like they were crafted with the Fallen Fairy Clan’s own technique, though I didn’t know what method was used.

As Neon and I looked curiously at those mana spheres and sat down on the sofa provided in the room, Seol walked to a chair not far away and placed Tae-hyun, Ju-ri, and the shop owner she had brought on the wind onto it.

And as Seol was fixing the postures of the three seated on the chair, Pixie came from a corner of the room carrying colorless mana spheres.

“Oh, are those used for the procedure?”

“It seems so.”

Apparently, they use those spheres we found interesting directly in the procedure.

Of course, if they weren’t used for the procedure, there wouldn’t be so many piled up in the room, but I still couldn’t guess how they were used.

So after struggling with the curiosity that had risen for a moment, I cleared my throat softly to draw Pixie and Seol’s attention.

“Ahem!”

“Ah, do you have something to say? Ancestor.”

“Eek?! I-is there a problem?! I’m sorry! I’ll fix it!!”

“……”

For some reason, Pixie reacted while shrinking her body more than necessary, but anyway, their gazes were drawn to me.

At that, I glanced at both of them and asked carefully.

“If it’s alright, could I watch the procedure? I’m interested in this memory procedure thing.”

Tampering with a living being’s memory was something only a few of the yokai I knew could do.

Moreover, even those didn’t tamper with it in detail, but just swallowed it whole like eating humans, so I couldn’t help but be interested in the Fallen Fairies’ procedure that changed memories as they pleased.

Besides, as I just said, I was also curious about how those unknown mana spheres were used.

“……Pixie, it’s fine, of course?”

So when I made this careful request, Seol turned to Pixie and asked like that at my words, and Pixie opened her convulsing mouth and barely managed to answer.

“Y-yes! Of course! As long as you don’t touch the subjects during the procedure, there’s no problem with watching right next to them?”

“That’s a relief. I was worried that my watching might interfere with the procedure.”

“……………Ahaha, how could that be?”

Had her throat been blocked? Pixie answered with a cheerful laugh after quite a long silence.

And for some reason, Neon sitting next to me looked at me as if I was too much and said:

“You really…… You’re so perceptive elsewhere, why are you so oblivious to this?”

“……What are you talking about?”

Pixie’s expression brightened for a moment as if receiving support from Neon’s words.

But for me, it was a completely incomprehensible statement, so rather than taking it in deeply, I chose to ask Neon a new question.

“By the way, Neon, do you want to watch together? You said you were interested too, right?”

“……Hmm, that’s true. I was interested.”

At my words, Neon seemed to ponder for a moment before getting up and sticking close to my side.

I headed towards Pixie, who was about to start the procedure, taking Neon with her face full of interest like mine.

And for some reason, Pixie’s face looking half-dead at Neon’s accompaniment… was probably my imagination.

Probably.

---

Around the time Pixie started the procedure with spectators named Shin-yeon and Neon.

Several Fallen Fairies had gathered in front of the room where the procedure had begun.

“Who on earth are the guests inside that the village chief is personally performing the procedure?”

“At least the Five Pillars… since the village chief personally came out, could it be the General Management Team?”

“Huh? Even if it’s the General Management Team, they always left it to us. It was like that last month too, even if the General Management Team came, would that heavy-bottomed village chief personally perform the procedure?”

The topic of the fairies’ conversation was none other than who the guests in the room might be.

They could easily guess that it was at least the General Management Team, but they couldn’t guess at all who had come that made Pixie personally take on the procedure.

Therefore, while the fairies were chattering, each spitting out their thoughts, suddenly one fairy raised her hand and opened her mouth.

“Come to think of it, I heard from the kids changing shifts earlier that there was also a founding family member.”

“Ah, then it must be because of that.”

“Right, that’s for sure!”

At the single word ‘founding family member’, the fairies who had been searching for all sorts of reasons understood at once.

Usually, in the case of requests from the Five Pillars, they would send representatives or only related personnel, but occasionally founding family members or team leaders would come directly.

And if a founding family member had come directly… if it was a founding family member of the General Management Team, it wasn’t incomprehensible that Pixie had come out personally.

“Ugh…… Just thinking about it makes me not want to go in already.”

“If it had been assigned to me, I would have definitely run away……”

After all, being told to perform a procedure in front of founding family members was a task that required as much tension as being told to perform tricks with your life on the line.

Right now, even these veteran fairies of memory procedures gathered here were saying this, so who else would step up if Pixie didn’t?

Of course, if Pixie, who was currently performing the procedure inside, had heard this conversation, she would have been angry that it wasn’t just at that level, but sometimes it’s better not to know.

“Phew, it’s fortunate that the village chief stepped up.”

“Geez, why did a founding family member from the General Management Team come directly all of a sudden?”

“Hey! Be quiet! What if they hear inside by any chance?!”

If these people, who were trembling with tension just over a founding family member, were told that the one who came today was the Ancestor of the General Management Team, wouldn’t they faint just from hearing that fact?

Therefore, the Fallen Fairies who didn’t know the truth continued to chat and gossip while snickering.

It was a truth they would learn someday, but that was far in the future.

It was a happy conversation scene where worries didn’t exist.

---

Clang—

The colorless mana sphere that had sucked in Tae-hyun’s last memory falls onto the iron plate, absorbing a yellow light.

Red, green, and yellow mana spheres placed on the iron plate.

They were colorless mana spheres that had each sucked in the memories of Ju-ri, the shop owner, and Tae-hyun.

And Pixie, who had finished the procedure on Tae-hyun, the last procedure subject, descended with an exhausted face and collapsed on the floor.

“Oh my…… It’s tiring to perform a procedure after several years….. And to think it’s a memory procedure for such big shots……”

My lifespan must have shortened by 300 years just today.

Pixie added words mixed with half-joke and half-truth as she barely got up from where she had fallen, and Seol, who was holding the iron plate, lightly extended her finger to Pixie and passed her mana.

“You worked hard…. You say it’s been a while, but your skills haven’t died……”

“Even like this, I’m the village chief of our clan. If my memory procedure skills had died, I couldn’t call myself the village chief!”

Pixie answered like that while drinking the mana Seol passed through her finger.

Perhaps because she had been so focused on the procedure when dealing with us, Pixie no longer panicked like before when she saw me or Neon.

There was still a feeling of her body trembling a bit, but just that much.

Seeing Pixie now flapping her wings naturally, as if we had become quite comfortable compared to earlier, I parted my closed lips.

“I thought it was amazing before we started, but seeing it directly is even more so. It’s truly the epitome of mystery.”

“Hehehe! Thank you for the praise, Ancestor! It feels good to hear such praise after a long time!”

“Would it be alright if I come to watch occasionally when I have nothing to do?”

“Of course! If you bring subjects for memory procedures, I’ll even give you a discount!”

Indeed, it seemed that earlier stiff appearance was really just awkwardness, and this friendly demeanor appeared to be Pixie’s true self.

And I let out a smile, pfft, looking at Pixie who was taking a confident posture saying she would show treatment no less excellent than VIP treatment.

Since she said that much, maybe it would be alright to come and watch once in a while.

Or as Pixie said, I made a note in a corner of my mind to seek out Pixie if memory procedures were needed, and took a step back from where I was standing.

“Then shall we head back now? Neon, we haven’t bought your uniform yet, right?”

“That’s right. And if we want to look around freely, we’ll be tight on time even if we hurry.”

“Ah, then shall we go now? Ancestor.”

Today was originally a day for Neon to go out.

And to achieve that goal, we had to finish buying the uniform, which was the first task, right now.

So Neon and Seol also took steps, agreeing with my words to go back now.

“If you’re going back, I’ll escort you! Hoping that you’ll visit again next time!”

“Thank you, Pixie.”

“It’s nothing!”

And at our words that we were going back, Pixie fluttered her wings busily and flew in front of me.

I started walking following Pixie’s back like that, leading Neon and Seol.

It was a time that could be called a rare experience, though brief.

It was time to say goodbye to the village of the Fallen Fairies.