Ch.109Fairy Kingdom (3)

“Frey! Look over there, it’s our Fairy Kingdom. Isn’t it beautiful?”

“…Yes, it’s really beautiful.”

Lilly spoke with an excited voice, seemingly in a good mood at the sight of the kingdom appearing in the distance.

It was understandable that she would be excited after the long journey. While Luna had been fine, the travel time had increased because the earth warriors weren’t superhuman.

However, Faur and I could only look at Lilly’s back with cold eyes.

“…I apologize for our princess’s behavior every time.”

“No, Faur, you must have had a hard time because of Lilly.”

“I never imagined she would be this shameless… I feel like I’m seeing yet another new side of the princess.”

“I’m a bit sad that this new side doesn’t seem to be a good one…”

* * *

Some time had passed since our reunion with Lilly and our departure for the Fairy Kingdom.

Unfortunately, Lilly remembered about the contract with me, which she had temporarily forgotten while being lectured by Faur.

“Pleeeease! Make a contract with me, I can be good to you!”

“When you say it like that, it makes me feel like I’ll become a magical girl after contracting with you, so I don’t want to.”

“Even if you say that, I don’t understand what you mean!”

I tried to express my refusal in my own way, but Lilly didn’t seem like she would back down at all.

Normally, Lilly would have been a bit dejected but would have given up quietly. However, it seemed that Luna’s presence had given Lilly a sense of crisis.

[Luna is my daughter, you know.]

[I don’t understand why Lilly feels threatened by Luna who’s just minding her own business.]

‘It’s because I made a contract with Luna. Making a contract means becoming partners.’

Since I had no interest in romance at the moment, it seemed Lilly wanted to be by my side as a partner first.

That’s why she kept clinging to me asking for a contract throughout our journey to the Fairy Kingdom.

“You don’t need to worry about me! Frey, you know that my magic power is overflowing beyond comparison.”

“Since childhood, the princess has received not only the best education but also the finest food and accommodations. Everyone in the kingdom believed without doubt that she would become the greatest queen.”

Faur, who had been quietly listening to Lilly, spoke up as if she had something to say, telling us about Lilly’s past.

Although I had already heard this story through the game, hearing it in person gave it a fresh feeling, so I quietly listened.

Of course, I could predict what would come next from Faur’s mouth.

“Of course, that belief was shattered when you declared you wouldn’t become queen and ran away. Thanks to that, the queen became angry and winter came to the kingdom for a while…”

“Ugh… Faur, shut up! That has nothing to do with this…!”

“The contract isn’t ordinary either. I’d like your friend to know what they should know. There’s much more I could tell.”

From Faur’s perspective, she was probably trying to tell Lilly to be patient with some consideration.

The problem was that Lilly still wouldn’t change her mind after hearing this.

In the end, I gave up completely to Lilly’s stubbornness, and the matter was resolved by me agreeing to make a contract with her as she wished.

* * *

“I’m a bit worried that you might have been forced into an unwanted contract because of our princess. If necessary, I could ask the queen directly…”

“I didn’t do something I didn’t want to do, so don’t worry too much. I was just concerned about Lilly.”

After all, the reason I had avoided the contract was because I was worried about the negative effects it might have on Lilly.

There was no particular reason to break a contract that had already been made with the help of the Fairy Queen.

“And anyway, I don’t think I’ll have to fight or do anything special now that we’ve come to the Fairy Kingdom.”

“That’s… true. The kingdom is protected by the queen herself. The princess must have said that because she trusts the queen.”

“Pfft, but still. I didn’t expect her to ask for a contract when there’s no need to fight.”

That was also the reason I finally decided to make a contract with Lilly.

At the same time, it clearly revealed Lilly’s true feelings of wanting to be by my side regardless of necessity.

As we talked while watching Lilly’s back, we soon moved our feet again at the call of Lilly and Luna who were waiting for us a little ahead.

“Frey~ Faur~ Aren’t you coming~?”

“Kuoong!!”

“Ah, we’re coming now!”

Seeing Lilly and Luna walking ahead and playing together, Lumia made a comment as if surprised.

[Hmm… Luna and Lilly seem to have become quite close.]

[I thought Lilly would reject Luna completely.]

‘Well, they say children get along quickly with animals. And while Lilly may be jealous, she’s actually quite nice by nature.’

[Um, but isn’t Lilly a bit old to be called a child?]

‘Well, she does have childlike aspects, don’t you think?’

Since it wasn’t really based on proper evidence, I wouldn’t have had much to say if Lumia had refuted me.

Considering Lilly’s age, the premise of “child” itself was a bit twisted.

Still, since it was better to see them getting along than not, Lumia and I decided to let it go.

Step. Step.

The Fairy Kingdom we entered was incredibly beautiful, befitting a kingdom where fairies lived.

As if there were no threats of war, there were no checkpoints, and open walls welcomed us.

While the well-paved road that welcomed me was far from being nature itself, nature wasn’t completely excluded either.

Modern cities also had trees beside roads, but the trees here existed more naturally and harmoniously.

‘Is it because cars don’t drive here… or because they didn’t lay down roads first and then plant trees on top?’

I naturally found myself wondering where this subtle feeling came from—something I couldn’t have experienced through a monitor.

Thanks to that, I was able to gaze at the beautiful Fairy Kingdom in a daze.

Seeing me like this, Lilly smiled with satisfaction and asked me a question.

“How is it? Our Fairy Kingdom is incredibly beautiful, right?”

“Yes, I might want to live here someday if I get the chance.”

“Heheheh.”

I answered Lilly’s question sincerely, and she responded happily as if her own appearance had been complimented.

“This is all thanks to our queen’s efforts. There have been many developments since the current queen’s coronation.”

“That’s right, it’s all thanks to the queen. When I was young, it wasn’t like this. It was rather difficult…”

Saying that, Lilly seemed to recall some unpleasant past.

Of course, it didn’t continue for long as Faur gave her a look from the side.

“Ahem, anyway… if Frey wants, I could get you a house here!”

“I’ll just accept your kind thought. It’s beautiful, but isn’t everything a bit too small for me to live in?”

“Hmm, I didn’t think about that practical issue…”

Lilly tried to change the mood by subtly expressing her true feelings, but unfortunately, her offer was blocked by practical problems.

It seemed that because fairies were small, the houses and buildings themselves weren’t very large.

While dwarves could be described as simply being short, this was a problem caused by the extreme difference in size.

Of course, they seemed a bit larger than what one might expect for fairy-sized.

[Hmm… but isn’t the royal palace too big?]

[The buildings are a bit large, but only that place seems to be built to human size.]

‘Ah, there’s a reason for that. You’ll understand when you see it later.’

Lumia’s question was quite perceptive, but since we would soon find out anyway, I didn’t bother to answer.

“Hmm, but there should be room in the royal palace, so I could ask mother…”

“Lilly, don’t think strange thoughts and let’s go. The queen is probably waiting for us by now.”

“The queen has likely paused her work to wait for us.”

Lilly seemed to be thinking something strange, but she started moving again reluctantly at my and Faur’s words.

The royal palace was in the center of the kingdom, built on a large lake and accessible via a bridge connecting to it.

‘Is the magic of the lake still intact? Fortunately, it seems there are no major problems in the fairy realm.’

If anything had happened, the magic of the lake would certainly have been used in various ways, so this was a relief.

As we crossed the bridge checking various things, a huge door welcomed us.

It seemed like a door that might be difficult to open with a small fairy body, but there was no need to worry about that.

The firmly closed door opened wide like an automatic door as we arrived.

“Kuoong!”

“Hehe, how about that~ Isn’t it amazing?”

Luna seemed quite surprised by the door that opened wide on its own.

While Luna’s reaction was understandable, there were actually others who should have been surprised by this sight.

‘Wow… it’s impressive every time I see it.’

It was those who could sense how this door opened.

After all, not just this door but the entire kingdom was essentially being maintained by the Fairy Queen alone.

‘Lilly didn’t refuse the queen’s position without reason.’

In truth, there was no need to do all these tasks, but being compared to the current queen was inevitable.