Chapter 48

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Among Lucy’s necromancer skills, there was a powerful curse that could transform a target into an animal.

The transformed target would retain their original intelligence and consciousness and could even speak human language.

The transformation would last until Lucy dispelled it.

So, currently, Estelle and Derrick had been transformed into animals by Lucy’s skill.

Estelle was a small, white rabbit.

Derrick was a jet-black crow.

In this state, no matter how skilled the assassins were, they wouldn’t be able to recognize Estelle.

Thus, kidnapping her would be impossible.

They could enjoy the Moonlight Festival to their hearts’ content.

…That was Lucy’s reasoning.

Derrick hesitated slightly at Lucy’s plan.

For one, he had already figured out that Lucy was a witch, given her ability to use such bizarre curse magic, and he wasn’t exactly thrilled about becoming an animal.

However, since Estelle was so desperate to see the Moonlight Festival, he had no choice but to agree.

Besides, Lucy had already saved both his and Estelle’s lives, so he figured nothing too bad would happen.

“Hehe, it suits you.”

Finn poked Derrick’s crow body with her finger.

“Why don’t you just stay like this forever? Being a crow is better than being a human, right?”

“…Be quiet, fairy.”

Derrick frowned as he retorted.

Though, since he was a crow, his facial expressions weren’t very expressive.

At most, he could narrow his eyes slightly.

Currently, Derrick was perched on Lucy’s shoulder.

Meanwhile, Estelle, transformed into a rabbit, was cradled in Lucy’s arms.

“P-please don’t drop me… If I fall to the ground like this… I might get stepped on by people…”

Estelle trembled as she spoke.

Her appearance was so cute and pitiful that Lucy hugged her tightly.

At that moment, Derrick spoke.

“Don’t worry, Miss. I’ll protect you.”

“Pfft.”

Finn burst out laughing beside him.

“What can you do in that crow body? Peck at them with your beak?”

“…”

In any case, Lucy headed toward the square where the Moonlight Festival was being held.

With Finn and Derrick on her shoulders and Estelle cradled in her arms.

However, there was a problem.

Since Lucy had already been seen by the assassins, walking around like this might cause trouble.

So, upon arriving at the square, Lucy bought a wig.

Lucy’s most distinctive feature was her white hair.

Changing that alone would help her avoid the assassins’ eyes.

The wig Lucy bought was short and red, matching the color of her eyes.

“Whoa, it looks great on you!”

Finn exclaimed as she looked at Lucy.

“You look completely different! It’s really cute!”

“Hmm.”

Derrick cleared his throat, and Estelle, with her rabbit eyes sparkling, said, “It’s pretty.”

Lucy just gave an awkward smile and began walking through the square.

Now, it was time to fully enjoy the festival.

◈

Under the moonlight, the square sparkled with the lights of the festival.

“Wow.”

Estelle perked up her rabbit ears and looked around.

Magic lanterns hung everywhere, making it seem as if stars had descended, and the streets were lined with various stalls.

“Being able to see the festival… It’s like a dream…”

As Estelle whispered softly, Lucy stroked her body and smiled proudly.

At that moment,

A group of children came running up, shouting, “It’s a rabbit!”

Lucy stepped back in surprise, while Estelle trembled and curled up into a small ball.

Derrick puffed up his feathers, on guard.

“It’s so cute!”

“Miss, can I pet the rabbit?”

When one of the children asked, Lucy looked down at Estelle.

Estelle hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

It was okay to pet her.

Lucy told the children,

“But you have to be gentle.”

“Hehe, okay.”

The children began gently stroking Estelle’s head.

“Wow, it’s so pretty, and its fur is so soft.”

“I want to keep it.”

Then, one of the children held out a carrot to Estelle.

“Here, eat this!”

Estelle looked up at Lucy in panic.

Lucy hugged Estelle tighter and said to the child,

“This rabbit doesn’t eat carrots.”

“Why not? Rabbits love carrots…”

“She just doesn’t.”

“…?”

The child tilted their head, looking puzzled.

Bang!

At that moment, a large firework exploded in the night sky.

Colors spread across the heavens, scattering like stars, and red, blue, and silver fireworks bloomed brilliantly in the darkness.

“Wow!”

The children clapped their hands and cheered, then ran off toward where the fireworks were being launched.

Estelle, with her small white paws held close to her chest, looked up at the sky with sparkling rabbit eyes.

“It’s… so pretty…”

Bang! Bang!

As the fireworks lit up the sky one after another, the square was bathed in bright light.

Estelle smiled happily in Lucy’s arms, wishing this moment would last forever.

Derrick also stared up at the sky with wide crow eyes.

“…It’s amazing.”

Then, he suddenly tilted his head.

“Huh? Speaking of which, where’s that fairy?”

At Derrick’s words, Lucy turned her gaze.

Finn, who had been sitting on her shoulder when she bought the wig, was nowhere to be seen.

◈

While Lucy was walking through the square, Finn was drawn to a sweet smell wafting from somewhere.

“Ah, this smell…”

Finn fluttered her wings and flew toward the sweet scent.

The smell was coming from the stalls lining the street.

Among them, a honey-coated pastry particularly caught Finn’s attention.

Finn picked up the pastry and took a bite.

“Whoa!”

Instantly, Finn’s eyes widened, and her wings fluttered excitedly.

“It’s so delicious!”

Finn closed her eyes, overwhelmed with happiness.

The sweetness filled its mouth.

It was the first time Finn had tasted something so sweet since leaving the fairy realm.

Enchanted by the flavor, Finn didn’t notice Lucy moving away and kept taking bites of the pastry.

Then, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

“Huh?”

Finn turned her head, her mouth still full of pastry.

The stall owner was looking at Finn with a displeased expression.

“Hey, do you have money?”

At the stall owner’s words, Finn was startled.

“Ah, well… Lucy will pay for it…”

“Lucy?”

The stall owner glanced around, but no one was nearby except Finn.

The stall owner’s face twisted into a frown.

“There’s no one here.”

“Uh, well…”

Finn grew even more flustered.

“I just got distracted for a moment… I’ll go get her right away…”

As Finn tried to sneak away, the stall owner quickly grabbed it.

“Where do you think you’re going, you little thief?!”

“L-let go! Lucy! Lucy!!”

Finn bit the stall owner’s hand and struggled.

“I told you, we have money! Lots of gold coins!”

“Hmph, fairies are known for lying.”

The stall owner’s eyes slowly filled with greed.

“Since it’s come to this, I’ll sell you to make up for the cost of the pastry. Hehe. This might turn out to be a profitable deal…”

Thud—!

At that moment, the stall owner stopped talking and widened his eyes.

A sharp dagger was now embedded in his neck.

“…?”

The stall owner’s mouth moved soundlessly as he turned his gaze.

Finn also turned her head in shock.

Beside them stood a masked man.

“I think I’ll be taking this fairy.”

With those words, a sack was thrown over Finn.

“Ah, let me go! Release me!”

Finn struggled, but there was nothing she could do inside the sack.

“Stay quiet. Unless you want your limbs torn off.”

A cold voice came from outside the sack.

“…”

Finn trembled in fear.

A while later, the sack was removed, and Finn was thrown to the ground.

“Ah!”

Finn shook her head and regained her senses.

The surroundings were dark.

And someone was staring at Finn from close by.

It was an old man with one eye missing and a grotesquely twisted face.

“Hehe, a fairy. A real fairy. This is the first time I’ve seen one up close. Huh? It’s a female, isn’t it? It looks like a female.”

“…That seems to be the case.”

“Hah, a female fairy. I want to keep this one. It’d be perfect as a decorative piece.”

The old man cackled.

Finn felt chills run down her spine as she looked at the old man.

“I-I have money… a lot of it…”

Finn’s voice trembled.

“Just… let me go…”

“Hehe, money? What money are you talking about?”

At the old man’s words, the masked man beside him answered.

“It seems to be talking about the cost of the pastry. It was caught stealing and eating pastries from a stall.”

“What? Stealing pastries? What a brazen little thing. It needs to be taught a lesson. Even if it’s just for decoration, I prefer well-behaved pets. Hmm, come to think of it, if it’s just for decoration, it doesn’t need wings, does it? Right? Isn’t that right?”

At the old man’s words, Finn paled and tucked her wings behind her back.

The old man let out another unpleasant laugh.

“Hehe, it’s looking better already. Good, you’ll have to behave from now on. I like it.”

The old man turned to the masked man.

“By the way, are you sure this fairy was with that girl, Estelle?”

“To be precise, it was with the girl who was with Estelle.”

“The girl with Estelle?”

“Yes. They seem to be friends. When we attacked the inn, she used some strange magic and escaped.”

“Strange magic?”

“It was a black smoke that suddenly spread everywhere. That’s how she got away.”

“Dark magic?”

The old man scratched his head.

“So, if we have this fairy, we can lure that girl, right?”

“That’s correct. Our people have already approached the girl. She’s wearing a wig, but it’s definitely her.”

“But what we need is the mayor’s daughter, not that dark magic girl.”

“I understand. First, we’ll let the girl know we have the fairy and then ask her about Estelle’s whereabouts. If she wants to save the fairy, she’ll tell us.”

“Make sure it’s done right. If this succeeds, our organization will easily take control of this city. Hehe, I’m looking forward to it… Ah!”

Suddenly, the old man screamed.

“Wh-what is that?! What is that?!”

He pointed to the side, shouting as if having a fit.

The masked man turned to look.

“Gasp!”

Beside them stood a massive shadowy figure.

Its body was pitch black like a shadow, and its eyes glowed red.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
I am dying to know if this dumb fairy is male or female… if it’s female…

…