Chapter 45

Яėɑԁ​ ｏｎ​ ​ǨаţṚεａ​đıոɡĊ​ɑｆе

The potato stew Lux had cooked was incredibly delicious.

For Lucy, the fact that it didn’t contain mushrooms was already a win.

However, it was laced with poison.

As soon as Lucy ate the potato stew, a skill activated.

Poison Resist.

A passive skill that nullifies all poisons.

Not only that, but she could also identify the type of poison.

The poison she had consumed caused a powerful paralyzing effect.

Even though it was poisoned, Lucy ended up eating two more bowls of the potato stew.

After all, the poison had no effect on her, and the stew was delicious.

After finishing the stew, Lucy quietly observed Lux.

Lux seemed slightly anxious.

“It doesn’t work on me.”

When Lucy said that, Lux’s eyes widened.

“It was delicious, the potato stew.”

Lux glared at Lucy, then opened his mouth with a murderous expression.

“Ice…”

But he soon stopped speaking, coughing up blood and collapsing.

“Cough!”

He had fallen victim to the poison skill Lucy had cast earlier.

“S-save me…”

Lux writhed in agony as he died.

“…”

After a moment, when he stopped moving completely, Lucy turned her attention to his carriage.

Now, it was a carriage without an owner.

Lucy walked over and untied the horses pulling the carriage.

Then, she rummaged through the items in the carriage.

She thought she might find some money or food to take with her.

Thud.

At that moment, she felt something move inside the cargo.

Lucy tilted her head and looked at the spot where the movement had come from.

There was a cloth covering something.

Carefully, Lucy removed the cloth.

“…?”

Underneath was a cage-like object.

Inside the cage, a small creature she had never seen before was struggling, tightly bound with rope.

The thud sound must have been the creature thrashing around.

Lucy narrowed her eyes and examined the creature closely.

It looked like a person.

A very small person.

It had wings on its back, and its face…

‘Cute.’

It was incredibly cute.

It had blue hair that reached its waist, round, sparkling eyes, a tiny nose, and red lips.

It looked like a fairy.

No, if it’s a small human with wings, it must be a fairy.

The fairy was looking at Lucy with teary eyes, pleading for help.

Lucy reached out to open the cage.

But the cage wouldn’t open.

It felt like there was some kind of magical resistance.

Lucy cast a skill.

With a wave of her hand, the entrance of the cage was engulfed in black flames.

Whoosh!

The fairy inside widened its eyes in surprise, but Lucy’s black flames only melted the entrance of the cage.

Once the entrance was gone, Lucy reached in and pulled the fairy out.

She then used the same method to burn away the ropes binding the fairy’s body.

Finally, she untied the cloth gagging the fairy’s mouth.

“Let go, you idiot!”

The fairy bit Lucy’s hand.

“!”

Startled, Lucy immediately let go of the fairy.

The fairy flapped her wings and clung to Lucy’s face, biting her cheek this time.

Lucy instinctively raised her hand to swat her away but stopped herself.

Even though she had been bitten, it didn’t really hurt.

As Lucy stood there, stunned, the fairy flapped its wings and flew back.

“Hmph! How dare a human touch me!”

The fairy glared at Lucy, hands on her hips.

Lucy smiled slightly.

In contrast, the fairy’s face twisted in anger.

“What? Why are you smiling? Are you mocking me?”

“You’re cute.”

“?!”

The fairy’s face turned bright red.

“C-cute…? Well, I am cute, but… you’re not bad yourself… No, but you’re still just a human! You idiot!”

The fairy screamed, flapped her wings, and flew away.

Lucy watched it for a moment, then turned her attention back to the carriage.

She wondered if there were more fairies like that, so she searched the carriage, but all she found was a pouch of gold coins, some strange potions, and the mushrooms Lux had tried to cook earlier.

Lucy took the pouch of gold coins and burned everything else.

Whoosh!

After burning the carriage, she summoned Death Mount.

It was a shame the fairy had left, but there was nothing she could do. If fate allowed, they might meet again.

Now that her stomach was full, Lucy decided it was time to set off again.

At that moment,

“Ahhh! Help me!”

A scream echoed.

“?”

Looking up, Lucy saw a large bird flying away.

In its talons was the fairy she had just freed.

The fairy waved its hands desperately at Lucy.

“S-save me, human! Ahhh!”

“…”

Lucy immediately cast a skill.

Shadow Bind.

Shadows extended from her hand and caught the bird mid-air.

“!”

The startled bird twisted and struggled, allowing the fairy to break free from its talons and fly back to Lucy at high speed.

Thud—

The fairy clung to Lucy’s cheek, panting heavily.

“Huff, huff… I almost died, I was almost eaten…!”

She seemed really frightened.

Lucy gently stroked the fairy’s back with her fingertip to calm it down.

“You’re safe now.”

Then, she released the bird she had caught with Shadow Bind.

The bird flapped its wings and flew away.

“…Thank you, human.”

The fairy, now a bit calmer, spoke.

“You’ve saved me twice already. What’s your name?”

“Lucy.”

“I see.”

The fairy fluttered his wings and circled around Lucy.

“I’m Finn.”

She introduced himself.

“As you can see, I’m a fairy.”

◈

Fairies, while cute and pretty on the outside, were an incredibly fragile race.

All they could do was create powder from their wings to heal or put others to sleep.

Because of this, fairies were easy prey for other species the moment they left their homeland.

They could be caught and eaten by birds, like what had just happened, or snatched by fish while fluttering over lakes, or even captured by humans and kept in cages.

That’s why fairies rarely left their homeland.

The fairy homeland was a place where other species couldn’t intrude, and as long as they stayed there, they could live safely.

However, despite this, there were still fairies who ventured out.

Some wanted to see beautiful flowers, while others were just crazy enough to seek adventure.

Finn would click her tongue at such fairies.

Do they have a death wish?

Finn’s older brother was one of them.

Finn’s brother had left the homeland to go on adventures and didn’t return for a long time.

Finn thought her brother had died.

Either eaten by monsters or captured and tortured to death by humans.

But one day, Finn’s brother returned, safe and sound.

Not just safe—he seemed to have thrived.

He had gone on many exciting adventures and even wrote a book about them, becoming a famous author among humans.

Finn didn’t think much of it at first.

She wasn’t interested in adventures or becoming an author.

What Finn envied, however, were the friends her brother had made.

Finn’s brother had befriended various species.

Among them were elves, humans, and even dragons.

Finn was shocked.

A fairy could be friends with other species?

Finn’s understanding was that other species saw fairies as either prey, creatures to capture for their powder, or ornamental pets.

Finn cautiously asked her brother,

“Brother, if I go out, can I make friends with other species like you did?”

“Hmm…”

His brother was skeptical.

He said he had just been lucky, and if it weren’t for the elf friend he had met, he would have died shortly after starting his adventures.

Finn was disappointed by this, but she still mustered the courage to leave.

To make friends with other species, like her brother had.

If my brother could do it, so can I.

That was Finn’s thought.

“Oh, it’s a fairy!”

“Catch it!”

But just a day after leaving, Finn was captured by humans.

They locked Finn in a cage and began trading it among themselves.

That’s how Finn ended up here.

“By the way, I’m from a distant continent. A place very far from here.”

Finn explained to Lucy.

“So, I’m planning to go back. My brother isn’t here, and neither are his friends.”

Of course, going back wouldn’t be easy.

When Finn came to this continent, she had traveled by ship across the sea for a very long time.

She had come from a continent far, far away.

Flying across such a vast ocean alone was impossible for Finn.

She would need to find a way.

“Well, it’s not urgent, but…”

She could make friends with other species here.

In fact, that might be better.

Finn could make friends here, then with their help, cross the ocean and return to her original continent.

After that, Finn wanted to show off her friends to her brother.

‘Brother, this is my friend. See? I have friends too!’

“If I’m going to brag about them, they can’t be ordinary.”

Finn said.

“At the very least, they should be a dragon. Or an elf would be nice too. A powerful, beautiful, and cute elf. If it’s a human, they should at least be a hero or a saint…”

Finn’s gaze turned to Lucy.

“You seem to know how to use magic, but it’s a bit disappointing that you’re human. Your looks are passable, though… What’s your status?”

“I’m a commoner.”

“…Really?”

Disappointment spread across Finn’s face.

A human commoner wasn’t suitable as a friend.

Still, Finn forced a smile.

“But, well, you did save me twice. Even if we’re not friends, it’s fine to travel together for a while. So, where are you headed?”

Lucy was currently riding Death Mount, moving slowly.

Finn, unfazed by the fact that Death Mount was undead, perched on his head and looked down at Lucy.

“I’m heading to a city called Cressia.”

When Lucy answered, Finn tilted her head.

“Why are you going there?”

“To meet my mom.”

“Your mom?”

A faint smile appeared on Finn’s lips.

“You’re really just a kid, huh? Alright, fine, I’ll help you. I’ll stay with you until you meet your mom. But only until then!”

And so, Lucy set off for Cressia with the newly met fairy, Finn.

“Remember! I’m just helping you out! Got it? We’re definitely not friends!”

At Finn’s words, Lucy nodded indifferently.

Truthfully, Lucy didn’t really need Finn’s help…

But the way she puffed herself up in her tiny body was cute, so she decided to let it be.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Idiot acquired.