Ch.23Let’s Go, Let’s Go to the Fairy Kingdom, to Fairy Tale! (1)

“Hey, that’s… Is that even possible? No, fuck, huh, seriously? That’s impossible.”

The cowboy keeps talking to Rob beside him in confusion, but Rob is just as bewildered.

To think that the Slayer Knights, who had faced an Adamantium-class sniper and disaster-level monsters multiple times, would be defeated.

Though they’d only been here for five years, they’d heard stories about those who dealt with disaster-level monsters from various countries until their ears grew calluses.

Disaster-level monsters were usually orcs and goblins, but occasionally trolls or ogres would appear as powerful disaster-level threats.

According to records, a drake had once appeared as a disaster-level threat in this Sylphin Kingdom. The knight commander who just got defeated, along with the tower master and three Adamantium adventurers, had managed to defeat it—his skills were beyond question.

But for him to die while hunting a disaster-level minotaur? Of course, the fact that the creature was a participant had something to do with it, but that old man was practically a professional in both human combat and monster battles—someone the two of them would barely have a chance against if they fought together.

That man and 49 knights. They were skilled fighters who supported the master commander, and three of them together could take down a troll. It was said that the top ten could each defeat a troll single-handedly.

Then there was Keil, an Adamantium-class fighter. He was famous for piercing a drake’s skull with a single shot—a super-elite rookie of the royal family expected to advance to the next Orichalcon class in the Sylphin Kingdom.

This subjugation team must have been supported by the royal family to boost his achievements and reputation… Though his final moments weren’t properly observed, given his thoroughness in confirming kills, he was likely dead.

“That… I don’t think we can handle that. The fairy that just appeared seems to be his weakness, but when the fairy was attacked, he immediately grew larger and all his abilities increased. Only one or two people in the kingdom—heroes called Orichalcon-class—could defeat a monster of that caliber.”

At those words, the cowboy ruffled his hair in frustration and spoke dejectedly.

“Hah, it would be nice if we could strike the final blow when that beast is weakened… But after seeing what just happened, that seems impossible. Ah, this time was a waste. Let’s retreat.”

Despite spending nearly a month and a fortune, they had nothing to show for it. They didn’t like such unprofitable ventures, but what could they do? High risk often meant high returns.

Deciding there was nothing they could do, they finally gave up on the minotaur and left the plains.

* * * * *

*Huff… huff…*

After my rampage, I belatedly checked on Mary’s condition. She’d been hit by someone who looked like a master—I wondered if she was okay. Even while I was unconscious and rampaging, I’d carefully held her to prevent injury, but… she might have been hurt from being shaken violently during the battle.

When I opened my left hand, there was Mary, sleeping peacefully. Fortunately, whether the master had held back or not, she only had a slightly swollen cheek and didn’t appear to be injured elsewhere.

But to hit our cute Mary hard enough to swell her cheek! I should have torn him limb from limb and played with the pieces instead of swallowing him whole. Unfortunately, that Frenzy ability activated and I lost consciousness.

Speaking of which, I should check what that Frenzy alert was about.

『Species: Minotaur

Status: Healthy

Abilities: Strength – S

Agility – A

Endurance – A

Intelligence – C

Wisdom – B

Unique Trait: Predator Ratel

Traits: Beast Senses

Elements[Thunder]

Monstrous Strength

Indomitable

Sloth “Greatly Weakened”

Basic Elements Manipulation

Magic Resistance (Small)

Frenzy ⇦ New!!』

【Frenzy】: Some monsters can significantly boost their physical abilities by losing their reason. This trait causes you to lose rationality and the ability to think, acting only on instinct. If this state persists for too long, you will eventually destroy even yourself with that tremendous power.

*You possess the unique trait 【Predator Ratel】. Even when you lose your reason, you instinctively target your opponent’s vital points and can remember everything you did even while in a frenzied state.

Hmm… In other words, I become a berserk warrior who loses reason, and the longer it lasts, the more damage it does to my body. This seems like what a Berserker would be… Still, I was satisfied since it was like a comeback technique for desperate situations.

And checking now, I see that Sloth has been “greatly weakened,” so the penalty has significantly decreased. At this rate, I wonder if it will change into a new trait or disappear altogether? Feeling better at that thought, I picked up Mary and moved to a safer location.

* * * * *

“Mmm…”

She had been sleeping soundly when the constant thudding sound and vibration of her bed woke her up. Wondering why her bed was shaking so much, she opened her eyes and looked around, only to see the forest moving—moving quickly.

Then she remembered why she was here. Clearly, she had…

‘I shouted at those bad humans who were harassing Khan to stop. And then… I got hit!’

“This is no time for that! Khan! Is Khan okay?!”

Rising from the bed and spreading her wings to fly, she checked her surroundings and saw a dark red rock. The rock seemed to be moving, and upon closer inspection…

“Khan!!”

It was Khan, whom she had tried to protect. Although the humans had rejected her contrary to what she’d thought, seeing Khan unharmed made her smile unconsciously.

Noticing her gaze, Khan looked down. When those large, round eyes turned toward her, she waved, and Khan blinked in response.

“I’m so glad you look okay! The last thing I remember is you being tied up and almost dying! I’m really glad to see you safe and sound again!”

“Mmuu- Mmmerrr- (That’s right. But don’t do that again.)”

At Khan’s words, which seemed to scold her, she realized something must have happened while she was unconscious. Though she didn’t know what she’d done wrong, she decided to apologize…

“Mmuu- Mmmerrrr- (I left my home to take you to safety, and it’s troublesome if you put yourself in danger.)”

She thought she was being scolded, but he was just worried about her! What a cute fellow! Thinking this, she flew up to Khan’s head and stroked him.

“Yes, but you looked like you were in danger… I think I’d do it again if something like that happened. Sorry?”

He just sighed at her words and warned her not to trust humans.

“Mmerr- Mmuuu- Muumumu (Humans lie all the time. Someone as innocent as you would be easily deceived, so don’t trust humans.)”

“Okay! I got it.”

This child is really cute. He may be big, but his face looks innocent… Thinking how adorable he was, she continued stroking his face. Then, something caught her eye.

A wound in the middle of his back. It wasn’t very large, but it didn’t seem to be healing properly as blood was slowly trickling out. Seeing this, she told him to stop for a moment and flew to the wounded area.

“Heal”

A wave of healing enveloped his back. Perhaps because of his size, it didn’t heal immediately despite using her mana, but gradually the hole in the middle of his back disappeared.

As the wound on his back vanished, he seemed to feel more comfortable and thanked her. I smiled back at him, and we continued our journey to Fairy Tail.

* * * * *

In an ornate room that appeared to be an office, the most striking feature was the massive golden dragon carving behind the chair. In this lavish office, a man raised his head.

“Failed?”

As if he had misheard, he tilted his head quizzically. The person who appeared to be his servant answered while sweating profusely.

“Yes… One of the people sent to subjugate the disaster-level minotaur has returned… but he reports that everyone except himself has perished.”

The man didn’t respond for a while after hearing this, then finally asked his servant again.

“Hearing it was a disaster-level minotaur, we sent the entire Slayer Knight Order, including their master commander and the Adamantium adventurer who took down a drake with one shot. After hearing it had strong poison resistance, we even had special restraints custom-made. And since it was reported to control lightning, we provided artifacts that grant electrical resistance to everyone.”

And yet they failed?

The loss of the knights was painful, but they could be somewhat restored in 1-2 years. However… the death of the master commander was a different story.

A Master wasn’t someone who could be cultivated—only the chosen few could reach that level beyond humanity. Only 20 existed in the kingdom, and among them, Krekton, the commander of the Slayer Knights, was the only Master who specialized in handling large monsters.

He had survived a battle with a disaster-level drake long ago, yet he died here.

“I want to hear about the situation. Bring the survivor here.”

At those words, the servant looked troubled. He would have liked to bring the survivor, but it was impossible!

“Your Majesty, I deeply regret to inform you… he died immediately after arriving here. We only briefly read his memories before death because of the Adamantium adventurer’s badge he wore around his neck.”

The Adamantium adventurer must have been Keil, a promising young man supported by the royal family. Furrowing his brow at the thought of how a moment’s mistake had cost the kingdom valuable military strength, he dismissed the servant.

The minotaur would already be moving somewhere else, and to catch it safely would require deploying at least five Masters.

But removing them could cause problems at the border with the Empire. Though things had been quiet recently, one never knew when they might start another conquest war.

The worries of Bright Sylphin, King of the Sylphin Kingdom, deepened.