Ch.25Let’s Go, Let’s Go to the Fairy Kingdom, to Fairy Tale (3)

As the Alraune’s territory ended, the forest gradually began to brighten. Unlike the Alraune’s domain where sunlight rarely penetrated, this area was well-lit with sunlight, creating a remarkable landscape.

As I moved deeper into the bright forest with heavy footsteps—thud, thud—creatures that normally fled at my approach now tried to block my path. The inhabitants of this place—orcs, goblins, gnolls and other common monsters, along with trolls, wolf demonic beasts, deer, and horses made of water.

Creatures that wouldn’t normally associate with each other united with a single purpose: to block my way. I could have played with them for a while, but… I was here to bring Mary to this place.

I raised both hands to show I had no intention to fight, then woke Mary who was sleeping on my head.

“Moo-moo moo-moo.” (Mary, wake up.)

“Kyaa! Wh-what!? What’s happening?”

Mary woke up startled since I rarely disturbed her sleep. Thinking it must be an emergency, she spread her wings and took flight.

“Who is it?! Who’s bullying our Khan again?!”

After calming down Mary who was swinging her fists and breathing heavily, I showed her to the creatures blocking my path.

Immediately, all the monsters that had been in my way returned to their places. Wolves, orcs, gnolls, trolls—they all disappeared as soon as they saw her.

“Moo-moo-moo.” (That’s interesting.)

“Huh? What is? The monsters disappearing as soon as they see me?”

I nodded at her words, and Mary puffed out her chest proudly with a “hmph!” I caught her and placed her back on my head, then headed toward Fairy Tail.

* * * * *

In a dark forest where little light penetrated, a man and woman were walking.

“Is this the right way? I can’t believe there was a participant in this forest. Was it a monster?”

“Hmm, that seems likely. Why would a participant be in a place like this? We can’t say it’s for training either, since the strongest monsters in this forest are just trolls or ogres. It doesn’t make sense that a participant who survived for over five years would live here just to hunt such creatures.”

“That’s true. Oh, turn right here. The footprints suddenly change direction.”

“A minotaur and a forest monster… which do you think won?”

The red-haired woman pondered his question. Without information, it was uncertain, but…

“I’d bet on the minotaur.”

“May I ask why?”

“The minotaur is an outside invader. A bull that abandons its territory does so for one of two reasons: either it’s very strong, or it’s been driven out.”

“Hmm.”

“But this minotaur is presumed to be a participant, and would such a creature be weak? I don’t think so. It obviously picked fights because it was confident, and the result…”

Where they followed the minotaur’s trail, they found a devastated forest.

The destruction was so severe that the ground all around had been torn up, and the trees that once blocked the sunlight were shattered and lying everywhere.

“This is it. It seems the minotaur fought something of similar size? The damage is quite extensive.”

“Hmm. To damage the forest like this… Are they not afraid of nature’s wrath…?”

“Hahaha! What are you saying, you arsonist? You, a cleric who burns down entire villages after finishing your work, are concerned about this?”

The cleric scratched his head, having nothing to say in response. He wanted to explain that he was merely burning away humans who destroyed nature to return it to its natural state, but knowing he’d only be mocked further, he kept quiet.

“So… what do you want to do? Should we follow? Or look for someone else?”

“Hmm, you know large species better than I do anyway. I’ll follow your opinion.”

“Excellent! Then let’s make some churrasco out of this minotaur!”

With those words, they continued following the minotaur’s tracks deeper into the forest.

* * * * *

It had been about 30 minutes since I left the forest where the monsters had disappeared.

I thought I’d arrive quickly since monsters had blocked the entrance, but no matter how far I walked, the fairy kingdom of Fairy Tail didn’t appear.

“Moo-moo moo-moo-moo.” (Hey, when are we going to reach Fairy Tail?)

“Hmm?”

Hearing my words, she tilted her head as if she’d heard something strange. What? Did I say something weird? I just asked when we’d arrive…

“Hahaha! What are you saying! We’ve been in Fairy Tail this whole time!”

We’ve… already arrived? But… looking around, all I could see were trees, trees, trees, and large rocks.

It looked no different from an ordinary forest. Why was this the fairy kingdom? Just as I was thinking this…

Suddenly, the forest rippled. Everything before my eyes wavered, and fairies wearing dresses made of leaves appeared.

“Welcome!”

“Welcome, bull!”

“Mary, you worked hard! We thought you’d disappeared and been captured by humans! I’m so glad you returned safely!”

“So the bull saved you? Thank you, bull!”

“Hehehe, thank you all for welcoming me!”

Numerous fairies chattered around me, so many that they almost blocked my vision.

“Ah! It’s the Queen!”

“Your Majesty! The bull is here! The big bull!”

“It’s a black bull! A black bull with red mixed in!”

At the mention of the Queen’s arrival, the fairies surrounding me dispersed, and a fairy larger than the others appeared. Unlike the other fairies, the Queen didn’t wear clothes made of leaves, but rather something resembling human attire.

She held a staff in her hand and wore a white dress that complemented her green hair well. Her green eyes revealed something mysterious… The Queen, with the height of a 5-year-old child, stood at about 60-70 centimeters while the other fairies were only 20-30 centimeters tall.

Her wings were so beautiful that when fully spread, they were large enough to cover her entire body, with patterns that looked as if they had been meticulously crafted by a master artisan.

“Welcome to this place, Minotauroso Khan. And welcome back, Mary. You’ve been through a lot.”

The Queen’s words raised my vigilance to the highest level. My appearance is indeed that of a minotaur, but to be precise, I’m a Minotauroso—a hybrid between a minotaur and a Mad Bull demonic beast.

No one had ever recognized this, and I thought no one ever would… But there was someone who did. And immediately upon meeting me.

As my eyes filled with wariness at this impossible situation, the Queen, seeming to read this, explained:

“Oh, I’m sorry for startling you. I just have… good eyes, shall we say? I can see things that shouldn’t be visible. You don’t need to be so wary.”

“That’s right! That’s why she’s our Queen! You don’t need to be so scared!”

As I gradually lowered my guard at Mary’s words, the Queen, who seemed relieved, sighed and smiled at Mary.

“Mary, you’ve been through so much. I wanted to stop that human and get you back, but… the power that was activated at the beginning was too strong for me to break the brainwashing. I’m truly sorry, Mary. You’ve suffered greatly.”

At the Queen’s words, Mary, who had been smiling since arriving here, frowned for the first time. And… tears began to form in her large eyes, falling drop by drop.

“Your Majesty… I… I stabbed a child who was only trying to protect me according to our pact… with my own hands… And I even laughed while stabbing repeatedly… Despite my attacks, those children only tried to protect me…”

Mary began to cry loudly. The fairies surrounding the Queen seemed to empathize with her emotions, as they too began to shed tears one by one, and the Queen embraced the crying Mary.

“Mary… my poor child… You weren’t in your right mind, so it couldn’t be helped… But if you feel guilty, live for those children too. Since we can’t apologize to those who have already died, remember them and live earnestly for their sake as well. That’s the only atonement you can offer them.”

“Hic… ugh… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

The Queen simply stroked her silently. Just as Mary began to calm down and her crying subsided…

“Y-Your Majesty!! Something terrible has happened!”

A fairy flew toward us. He was in such a hurry that he flew straight through the fairies surrounding the Queen.

“Ouch!”

“What the?!”

“That hurts!”

Though other fairies complained of pain from colliding with him, he ignored them all and flew straight to the Queen.

“Your Majesty!!! Humans! Humans are slaughtering monsters to enter this forest!!”

At these words, the Queen dropped Mary, whom she had been comforting, and cast a spell to display the outside situation on a screen.

There were…

Corpses burning with green fire, burning wheels, and a blonde man and a red-haired woman killing the demonic beasts and monsters protecting the fairies’ forest.

“Prepare to counterattack outside! Mary, and Minotauroso Khan. I’m sorry, but would it be alright to ask for your help in protecting this forest?”

“Moo-moo-moo moo-moo.” (They’re probably looking for me… I’ll handle this, so stay here.)

“Then… I’ll trust you. Please protect this place.”

At the Queen’s words, I gave a thumbs up and left Fairy Tail.

* * * * *

Whoosh!

Yelp! Yip!

Swish!!!

“Ugh, what’s with this place? Demonic beasts and monsters working together? Hey, cleric! This is annoying, let’s just burn everything!”

The red-haired woman shouted, but the blonde man called a cleric merely clutched the rosary around his neck and muttered to himself.

“Ugh, that crazy bastard. It would be easier to just set everything on fire, but he’s ignoring that. Yet he’s quick to burn down villages and cities!”

She pulled out her saw and swung it toward the monsters ahead. The saw moved like a snake, beginning to slaughter the enemies.

As they continued this seemingly endless monster defense, the monsters gradually began to disappear. They fled as if terrified of something, which puzzled her.

Moo-ooooo———

A low bovine voice began to echo through the forest.