Ch.181EP.42 – When Spring Blossoms Come (1)

……Just because Ihan and the others had saved a fairy, they never thought they could ‘dare’ to have a conversation with one.

To reiterate, fairies are sacred and magnificent beings that humans dare not covet.

Infinitely beautiful, ethereal beings created by the mysteries of nature.

They have lived for unimaginable ages, and occasionally reach out to pure babies or young children who haven’t yet been tainted by the world and harbor no dark intentions. But beyond that, common knowledge dictates that humans shouldn’t even dream of conversing with them.

‘…Those spellcaster bastards must be insane. How mentally deranged do you have to be to kidnap a fairy? Seriously.’

There are stories that those who disturb fairies will never find peace, even in death.

Even now, he thought those guys had some nerve.

…Of course, according to legend, when the Knight King, the founding king of Pendragon, was alive, both he and his brother, known as the Knight of the Lake, shared friendship and love with such fairies.

But the problem is.

‘…That’s just a legend, isn’t it?’

The issue is that it’s too ancient to be believable.

There are fairies with physical forms, but such fairies are closer to pointy-eared elves than true fairies, and are considered mere fallen fairies according to academic consensus.

Just as a cat and a tiger cannot be the same despite both being felines…

Although the magic chick is a ‘half-fairy,’ it would be fortunate if even 0.0002% of fairy DNA existed in it, and it’s nowhere near comparable to a 100% pure fairy.

To make it easier to understand:

‘In military terms, a real fairy would be like the Minister of Defense or a three-star general, a fallen fairy would be a lieutenant, and a half-fairy would be a non-commissioned officer?’

…For reference, humans would just be regular soldiers.

So, the fact that this fairy was speaking to them now was like…

[Hehe, don’t be so stiff. I’m grateful to you, and I have no intention of making you uncomfortable!]

“……”

It was no different than the Minister of Defense telling a private who had just started his military service, “I’m not an uncomfortable person. Relax, just relax, ho ho” – a complete “absurdity.”

As if to prove this:

“……”

…Far from being relaxed, Ihan and his companions were frozen stiff with awkwardness.

Because they knew any misstep could bring about disaster.

‘W-what should we do?’

‘J-just stay still, Lady. Silence is best!’

‘If we suffer from [Fairy’s Prank], our entire lives will be ruined….’

Sensing danger, the three of them quietly averted their eyes and took small steps backward.

Perhaps it would be better for the kids to step aside and leave this to the adults.

‘These brats….’

If nothing else, he had to laugh at how impressively keen his disciples’ survival instincts were.

…Wonder who taught them that.

‘They’ve learned well.’

Heh heh….

Ihan broke out in a cold sweat.

* * *

[You’re quite a handsome human.]

“You flatter me…”

Fortunately, the Spring Fairy wasn’t interested in Ihan alone.

She also showed interest in Lac, the knight with striking blue-green hair and eyes.

For reference….

[Ah, you’re handsome too, so don’t be jealous.]

“…Um, that’s a bit…”

[Hmm?]

“I, I do have some conscience…”

The fairy genuinely thought Ihan was handsome, and Ihan, having some conscience, awkwardly objected.

It was insubordination, practically treason, for a mere private to contradict the Minister of Defense, but.

[You look great to my eyes! So you’re handsome!]

“…Ah, y-yes…”

…It wasn’t that fairies were petty enough to punish humans for contradicting them.

The Spring Fairy still maintained her warm, gentle smile, while Ihan continued to sweat.

What an incredibly burdensome gaze….

‘…I see that a fairy’s aesthetic sense isn’t to be trusted.’

Ihan felt strange at discovering one of the hidden secrets about fairies, but remained vigilant.

Because he didn’t know what she might say next.

And the fairy’s next words were…

[I want to express my gratitude again. For saving me, and ‘us’.]

“……”

It was a statement full of gratitude, and the two knights wore subtle expressions.

Somehow, it felt like dealing with an ordinary woman.

Like interacting with a considerate person who sincerely expresses gratitude after being rescued from danger…

They couldn’t help but feel a strange sensation, and both knights could only respond in a sensible manner.

“W-well… we had our own reasons for saving you, so there’s no need to thank us.”

“Y-yes, Spring Fairy. Please withdraw your gracious words.”

Ihan simply used formal speech, while Lac, who served a family associated with fairies, responded with a flustered face.

These were their respective ways of responding, and the fairy…

[Hehe, such honest knights. I like that.]

Whoosh.

As the Spring Fairy’s mood improved, a warm spring breeze blew around them.

[Still, gratitude is gratitude. As you know, we cannot directly harm humans. At most, we can make ‘requests’ or play ‘pranks,’ but that’s our limit. So no matter how hateful or wicked a human might be, we couldn’t punish them. But you punished those wicked wizards on our behalf, so we’re truly grateful.]

Swish!

[Kyahaha!]

[Woaaah!]

Mischievous, chattering beams of light circled around them, showing their affection.

[See? ‘We’ really like you. We’re grateful to you. Unfortunately, the others haven’t learned human language like I have, so they can’t express their gratitude in words. Please understand that.]

…Of course, who wouldn’t understand?

The knights silently bowed their heads.

More importantly-

‘So this is what they meant by fairies being [One yet Many]…’

One yet many.

It was a statement from a scholar who studied fairies, and it was said that only humans fortunate enough to meet fairies directly could understand this statement.

…And now, meeting a fairy, Ihan understood why the scholar had said such a thing.

‘They’re all connected to each other.’

Ihan’s senses had the extraordinary ability to see others’ ‘wavelengths,’ and thanks to this, he could feel that this fairy and all the other fairies were connected as one.

Probably that guy with the so-called <Third Eye> would have noticed this too, just like him.

‘…Is that why they were worshipped as gods in ancient times? Because they’re such mysterious beings?’

In human terms, it’s like having countless avatars, each with the power to control nature.

From the perspective of ancient people, it’s understandable why such beings would be seen as gods.

‘Well, looking at it this way, we can communicate, and they’re somewhat normal…’

[-Ah, here it comes now!]

“…?”

[It seems to be coming to fulfill our ‘request’!]

“……”

[Ah, don’t attack even if you see it. It’s just here to fulfill our request.]

“…Insane.”

Ihan couldn’t help but utter a harsh word.

That’s how unbelievable what he was seeing was.

Clop! Clop! Clop!

…Along with powerful hoofbeats, the “Reaper of Death” approached rapidly.

[—-.]

There was a knight riding a black horse in armor.

A knight wearing full black plate armor, whose mere presence was overwhelmingly intimidating.

…However, the two men focused on the knight’s ‘head’ rather than the intimidating black horse and armor.

“…He’s carrying his head.”

“Impressive horsemanship.”

“Is that really what’s important right now?”

“Well, it is impressive, isn’t it?”

“…I guess so?”

The knight was holding his own head tucked under his arm.

Though his face wasn’t clearly visible due to the helmet, the blue will-o’-wisp eyes glowing indicated that he was alive despite his head being separated like that.

Dullahan.

Among monsters, it was classified as Unknown grade, considered impossible to rank, and was famous as the “Grim Reaper,” the harvester of death.

…It was known to be extremely rare and, unlike most monsters, famous for not attacking humans.

However, there was something terrifying about the Dullahan, which was none other than:

“Didn’t they say it absolutely kills any life form it targets?”

“The famous tale of it breaking through an army of 100,000 to take the head of a tyrant king is well-known.”

It was this invincible knight who would definitely kill any living being it wanted to kill.

There was a reason it was called the Grim Reaper.

…What kind of day is this?

First seeing a 400-year-old archmage, then meeting a fairy who rules over spring, and now encountering a Dullahan, which is harder to meet than winning the lottery.

It feels like they’re meeting almost every legend there is.

Clop, clop.

“……”

Ihan and Lac hardened their expressions as they watched the approaching Dullahan, unconsciously raising their auras.

Gooooo─.

The ominous aura emanating from the Dullahan naturally stimulated the knights’ fighting instincts.

Clop….

[—–.]

The Dullahan also faced them, burning its blue will-o’-wisp.

Seeing skilled knights for the first time in a while, its fighting spirit was visibly stirring.

Behind the Dullahan, a massive claymore and an equally massive lance floated up.

The Dullahan, expecting to fight the knights at any moment, was about to-.

Thwack!

[—!]

[What are you doing? You’re not thinking of pointing weapons at our benefactors, are you?]

[–!–?!]

[Hmph, good. Know that you’ll be punished if you do it again!]

[—–.]

Clop….

…After receiving a flick on the head from the Spring Fairy, the Dullahan lowered its weapons with a somewhat deflated air, and the knights also blinked and released their tension, making their raised fighting spirit seem pointless.

[I’m sorry, he’s not usually like this, but seeing you made him want to fight. He gets like this when he sees strong knights, hehe.]

“…Did you summon this Dullahan, Fairy?”

[We made a request. There are some people we wanted punished.]

“A request, you say?”

[Yes, a ‘request’.]

“……”

The fairy smiled with a friendly eye-smile, and the two knights wondered what she meant, but…

Swooooosh!

…Through the series of events unfolding before them, they suddenly understood what the fairy had “requested.”

“…Souls, is it?”

“To my eyes, it looks like he’s harvesting ‘heads’.”

As Lac said, blue spheres resembling heads gradually rose around them, increasing in number.

There were easily hundreds of these spheres, and they were being captured by the Dullahan’s gestures.

Clink!

Chains emerging from the Dullahan’s torso pierced the blue spheres, stringing them together like a slave trader binding slaves with ropes.

It was a somewhat chilling sight.

The two knights’ expressions rapidly stiffened, and they swallowed hard as they predicted what those might be.

Could it be…

[They’re the souls of the wizards.]

“……”

…The Spring Fairy confirmed their suspicions, still wearing a warm smile like a spring day as she spoke.

[If they had only threatened us, we might have overlooked it to some extent, but they not only captured us using innocent children, but also brutally killed countless lives. Such wizards deserve punishment. That’s why we asked for that one’s help. That one is the ‘Guardian of the Netherworld.’ He’ll make sure those wizards pay for their crimes.]

“…I see.”

[Hmm, the duration of their punishment will vary according to the severity of their crimes. In terms of what humans call sentences, the least guilty will serve about 200 years, while the worst will serve about 10,000 years?]

“……”

[Sigh, it’s a shame the periods are so short.]

“……”

[Hmm? Why are you standing like that?]

“…J-just because it’s c-comfortable, comfortable, haha…”

“……”

The two knights stood at attention with their eyes lowered, and simultaneously made a decision.

…No matter what happens, never mess with a fairy.