episode_0028

After parting ways with Anya and her sisters, agreeing to meet again at the abandoned communal cemetery the following Sunday, they returned to the Rat’s Breeze Inn with nothing else to do.

The hall of the Rat’s Breeze Inn was bustling with people. Vine, who disliked crowds, went up to the next floor first, while Eliza ordered a simple sandwich to share with Vine from the friendly bartender.

“Have you heard about the owner of the Star Pavilion? They say he had a falling out with a mutant. He kneeled down and begged for forgiveness, causing quite a scene.”

“There have been strange rumors lately about people in black robes wandering around the village wearing peculiar bronze masks. Who are these people?”

“Do you know about the mutant staying in the special room on the second floor here? It’s horrifying. Even the innkeeper seems odd. Can he recognize abnormalities?”

“What is the security force doing? Why are they letting mutants like that into Libreville?”

“I heard there’s a woman accompanying that new white mutant who is actually a man. What’s going on?”

“They say Victor and Maia have started dating. Someone overheard a confession in Maia’s hospital room.”

“Doesn’t Cantaloupe look happier these days? He used to be so stern, but now he smiles often. Could it be because of someone he likes?”

The inn was a hub of various rumors, some of which were rather unsettling.

Eliza listened to all the rumors circulating about Vine. Since she didn’t hold a high opinion of Vine herself, she let them pass without much thought.

“Maia seems fine. Seeing her confess to Victor… I would have genuinely congratulated them if I hadn’t known about the fairy hidden deep within Maia.”

The rumor about Maia and Victor dating did bother her slightly. They seemed so close already that she had assumed they were together, but to find out it was just the first day today truly surprised Eliza.

(Although it’s just Vine’s claim) If she hadn’t known about the fairy essence deep within Maia, she would have wholeheartedly congratulated the two.

“Sandwiches are ready.”

The bartender brought the two sandwiches Eliza had ordered on a plate. They were ham sandwiches with thick slices of ham, cabbage, cheese on bread, topped generously with mustard sauce.

“Thank you. Mrs. Cantaloupe said not to worry about the payment, so please enjoy without any concerns.”

“I feel a bit guilty… Thank you.”

“We are the ones grateful. We’ve never seen Mrs. Cantaloupe so happy before. Thanks to her, our workload has eased a bit. It’s all thanks to everyone here.”

“Ahaha….”

Smiling modestly, Eliza carried the sandwiches and headed up to the special room where Vine was waiting.

“Vine? I brought dinner for tonight.”

Vine was fiddling with the radio brought to the table. Either changing the frequency or switching channels, the radio kept shifting.

“…Today, let’s talk about Edgar Allan Poe. Poe is widely known as a master of macabre fiction. Yes, that’s right. While other writers of his time churned out stories with monsters, ghosts, and ancient gods, Poe made human madness the object of terror. Of course, there were many others writing on similar themes back then, but Poe stood out in this field…”

“Karen looked up at the sky with her body torn to shreds. ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ Gasping, Karen, with her flesh and pride torn apart by sharp tools wielded by foolish mobs who misunderstood her words, failed to comprehend her plea, mistaking her for insulting their idol Elijah, and hurled stones at her….”

The channel played classical music all day long, and Vina had tuned the frequency to the classical channel, wondering if Elza liked classical music.

“Elza. This machine is really amazing. I just touched it here and there, and I can hear vivid voices and singing. Are the people inside the machine talking?”

“That’s called a ‘radio.’ I understand that it works by receiving something called ‘waves’ to produce sound. There isn’t actually a person inside.”

“That’s a shame. I thought it was a great opportunity since I’ve never tasted small people before.”

“Why does everything lead to eating… And they say fairies only exist in fairy tales.”

“From a human perspective, weren’t fairies creatures that only existed in fairy tales? But they actually exist. So maybe there are small people somewhere.”

“There are too many differences between fairies created by human imagination and real fairies.”

“Human imagination is indeed disgusting.”

Vina accepted the sandwich offered by Eliza and took a bite.

After finishing their meal, they went to a public bath near the inn to wash up. Naturally, Vina didn’t like crowded places, but Eliza persuaded her to go to the bathhouse (Don’t you want to bathe in warm water? The hot water comes out so nicely, you know?) and dragged her there.

The bathhouse was a place that reused the bathhouse from before the Day of Hardship. Supplied with water from the Loki River, thanks to the Libra water facility, residents of Libra and outsiders could enjoy abundant water resources.

Inns like the “Wind of the Mouse” only had simple shower facilities, so those who wanted to bathe visited the public bathhouse.

The bathhouse staff didn’t stop Vina, who looked like a stubborn mutant to those who didn’t know the details. The news that the owner of the “Star’s Love” had a falling out with Vina had spread throughout the town.

There were quite a few people in the bath, but no one made hostile remarks to Vina.

Some even looked at Vina’s voluptuous body with envy.

“When you turn this, water comes out. Be careful because if you turn the faucet all the way to the left, very hot water comes out.”

“Okay.”

“After turning on the water and holding the shower head… you can wash diligently.”

Eliza was teaching Vina how to use the shower.

“It seems like there was a similar item at the Oberon bathhouse. I remember taking a shower while water poured from holes fixed on the ceiling.”

“…Vina sounds like a wild child when she talks, but surprisingly, she seems to have enjoyed the benefits of civilization.”

“I didn’t particularly want to enjoy them, but I was forced to. Every time there was an important event in Oberon, I was taken there to bathe in hot water and wear clothes I didn’t even like.”

Vina turned the faucet to the right.

“And I prefer to wash with cold water.”

“…Then why did you pretend to give in to my persuasion? There’s a pond below the hill with the Muri-an house. Couldn’t you have just bathed there from the beginning?”

“Ugh.”

“Hahaha!”

When Eliza was hit square in the chest by Vina’s sudden baptism of cold water, she screamed.

“Mission accomplished, right? Elza thinks too much, it’s tiring.”

“Cold! It’s cold, Vina! Stop it! Stop!”

After washing off the soap and rinsing with cold water, the two entered the bath. The Libra public bath had a structure where the cold tub and hot tub were separated by a low wall, allowing one to move from one tub to the other by lifting their legs over.

Eliza took a seat at the right corner of the hot tub, while Vina settled in the left corner of the cold tub.

“Vina, can I ask you something?”

Eliza cautiously asked Vina, keeping her gaze fixed downward.

“I will answer within the limits of what I can say.”

“Is Vina under a curse that prevents her from revealing everything?”

Vina turned her head to the left and looked at Eliza.

“A curse… I suppose you could say that.”

“So, Vina, you intend to free your compatriots using the key, right? To do that, you need to go to Dina City mentioned in the diary read by Mr. Mulrian and activate Titania, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“Then shouldn’t we move quickly? Why did you agree to stay in a place like this without any objections?”

“I needed time to rest and regroup. That’s all.”

“But it’s strange to join the perilous Elenan expedition without explaining your plan! What if something goes wrong and I die?”

“What is your plan, Vina, that you refuse to explain everything to me if you want my help on your mission? Why do you keep hiding information?”

“And when will the expedition for the salvation of the fairies begin? I thought, given Vina’s nature, you would whisk me away to a distant place the very next day.”

Vina remained silent for a moment.

“Is it because of that curse that you can’t explain?”

“…”

“Vina?”

“Don’t rush me. I’m trying to answer within the boundaries that are not violated.”

“…”

Eliza quietly closed her mouth.

‘…My head is spinning.’

Over the past two days spent with Vina, Eliza organized the questions that arose and came up with her own answers.

‘Why did Vina try to hide the fact that she is a fairy princess? Perhaps she was concerned about the negative image associated with fairy princesses based on the diary Mr. Mulrian read, or maybe she simply didn’t think much of being a fairy princess? This also seems plausible.’

‘Why isn’t Vina starting the expedition to save the fairies? Is she really staying in Libra to prepare for the expedition? However, it doesn’t seem like Vina is doing anything here…’

‘Why is Vina keeping so much information from me? I just don’t understand. If she wants cooperation, shouldn’t she tell me more than she is now?’

‘How did Vina escape from that place called Hell? Did someone help her? If someone did help her, could that person be the one preventing Vina from disclosing information?’

While Eliza struggled with various questions swirling in her head, Vina recalled the words of the ageless stranger from Hell.

-“Don’t reveal too much to ‘the Key.’ At least until she realizes that the transformation has begun herself.”

-That’s right. It wouldn’t be fun if she knew everything from the start, right? I want to see ‘the Key’ gradually succumb to an inevitable fate. Even in the Book of Lamentations, they praise the taste of despair, saying, ‘Nubgath Nebzal drank in the despair of Laja, sweeter than any honey.’”

-Princess Fairy isn’t particularly interested in that kind of thing? What should I do? I’m really interested in that kind of thing.

It wasn’t a very cheerful remark.

Of course, Vina initially wanted to explain everything and seek Elza’s cooperation. However, the relentless determination of the ageless stranger thwarted everything.

“In fact, I don’t care if the Fairy Princess fails. I have sown seeds of massacre not only for ‘the Key’ but also for others, especially I have high hopes for Saint Lethang and her zealots who are rising prominently from the south.”

Of course, I will be by the Fairy Princess’s side until she meets the ‘key.’ However, after that, it will be tough for me too. From Prada’s dark bodies to Blanca’s masses, even the machines of Satra that I am currently serving will try to stop you. When the fairies return, it will be the end of humanity. If they lose the humans they feed on, they will be at a loss.

No matter how almighty the “wings” may be, it is difficult to resist the will of the stars themselves.

Furthermore, now there was no hope even in the support of the well-preserved foreigner. The foreigner didn’t care whether Vine succeeded or failed. Vine thought he might even enjoy it as a game.

Without the protection of the foreigner, Vine realized that overcoming all obstacles posed by humans and the kin of the “wings,” and rescuing all the fairies from hell purely with Vine and Elsa’s power, would be nearly impossible.

“It’s okay. It’s okay to fail. It’s okay to be brutally killed by those who stand in your way.”

Dying miserably while fighting for compatriots could be a form of atonement in its own right.

(Then what about Elsa?)

(You brought her in, didn’t you?)

(Are you going to leave her to die recklessly?)

“I have no intention of showing more kindness than necessary to humans.”

(She’s not just a human, though.)

(Elsa is not a mere ‘key.’ She’s like a caterpillar about to transform into a great ancestor.)

(You’ve tasted that nectar, haven’t you? The taste that all fairies instinctively crave…)

“…Elsa.”

“……”

Lost in thought, Eliza slowly turned her head towards Vine upon hearing his call.

And she waited.

“You’ll naturally understand as time passes.”

“…Isn’t that too irresponsible of an answer?”

“For now, it’s the best I can offer. I’m sorry. I’ll protect Elsa until the time comes.”

“After everything is over, whether dead or alive, you won’t care…”

Though she said that, Eliza’s words lacked malice.

“….”

Vine remained silent.

“Well, they say if you can’t avoid it, you might as well enjoy it. Personally, I think it’s nonsense, but hey.”

With those words, Eliza got up from the tub.

“I’m about to leave now. Would you like to come with me? The taste of bathing and drinking milk is amazing. Let me introduce you to that taste… Oh…”

Realizing she had spoken unnecessarily, Eliza looked down at her chest with stiff pink nipples. A chest full of milk eager to burst out, filled with tempting breasts.

“Yeah. I’m curious about that.”

Vine licked his lips as he gazed at her chest.

“…I spoke unnecessarily…”

After leaving the public bathhouse, in a dim corner of an alley, Eliza receiving Vine’s insatiable and unmatched greed was a fate she could never resist.