Ch.98Age of Tribulation (1)

How long had it been since we finished viewing the statues, left Gagap, and set out on our journey?

It was probably about half a day since we started walking.

Since our departure, Lilly, who had been anxious about going to the Fairy Kingdom, carefully grabbed my hair and stopped me.

“Um, what’s wrong? Do you have something to say?”

“Ugh… Frey, do we really have to go? Wouldn’t it be better to go to the Magic Tower first…? The situation there is serious too…”

In response to my question, Lilly trailed off and gave me the most desperate look I’d ever seen from her.

Lilly really seemed like she would do anything if it meant not having to go.

And I gave her a kind smile as I reiterated our upcoming plans.

“Of course we have to go. Even if you try to manipulate me, we’re still going to the Fairy Kingdom.”

“Waaah, I don’t want to go! I don’t!”

At my firm words, Lilly lay down and started throwing a tantrum.

No, let me correct myself.

She wasn’t on the ground.

Knowing she wouldn’t be visible if she were on the ground, she was throwing her tantrum in mid-air right in front of me where I could see her clearly.

“Sigh… You don’t want to go because you’re afraid the Fairy Queen will be angry about you running away before, right?”

“That’s right… If I go back, I’ll definitely get lectured for a long time about running away! So until her anger subsides, absolutely not…!”

“When will her anger subside?”

At my question, Lilly looked at me with a hint of hope and specified a timeframe.

“Um… Maybe if we don’t see her for a few years…?”

“Surely you don’t think we can just wait that long doing nothing?”

“I guess not… Boo-hoo.”

At my question about whether she was serious, Lilly made a sad face as if she knew it was impossible.

Probably, Lilly wasn’t genuinely refusing to go.

She was just anxious about meeting the Fairy Queen soon and wanted to express it somehow.

‘I guess it’s like a student who doesn’t want to go to school.’

In Lilly’s case, it wasn’t school but returning home, though the feeling was probably similar.

Since she seemed to have calmed down after expressing her anxiety, I asked Lilly about the way.

“Anyway, which direction is the nearest portal?”

“Hmm… Just a moment, I’ll check now.”

No matter how much of a veteran gamer I was, I couldn’t find a portal to the Fairy Kingdom on my own.

No, not just me—probably no one in this world could find a portal to the Fairy Kingdom by themselves.

These portals appeared and disappeared irregularly.

‘And the only ones who can find them are fairies.’

In some playthroughs, magic to find portals had been developed, but I neither knew how to use it nor needed to.

We had Lilly, who was a fairy.

“Ah, found it. It’s that way. Fortunately for you… unfortunately for me, it’s not too far. We should be able to get there in about two days of walking.”

“Two days… It’s not close, but thankfully it’s not too far either.”

Though the probability was low, there were times when portals appeared on the opposite side of the continent, so this was a relatively good situation.

If that had been the case, we really would have had to deal with the Magic Tower’s problem first, as Lilly suggested.

“Then there’s no reason to waste time, so shall we get moving?”

“I have a reason, boo-hoo…”

* * *

Our journey toward the Fairy Kingdom was extremely smooth.

Thanks to good preparation, we weren’t bothered by insects during camping, and no monsters like the Ogre we met before jumped out at us.

As a result, the two days until we reached the portal were leisurely and peaceful.

Eventually, we arrived at a passage that emitted blue light, looking more like a hole than a door.

“Look, I can see the portal to the Fairy Kingdom.”

“Yeah, I was hoping it might disappear while we were coming… How disappointing…”

“Don’t hope for such things.”

Despite Lilly’s grumbling, the portal to the Fairy Kingdom remained in its original position.

And Kitsune, who was watching the portal, spoke as if worried that the journey had been too peaceful so far.

“It’s been so peaceful that I’m actually worried something might happen…”

“Are you thinking of me as someone who only causes trouble?”

“I can’t help it since my first meeting with you was in the mine. I was suddenly dragged along and experienced the most dramatic events of my life…”

“Even before the mine, Frey was always causing trouble. When she’s with you, as soon as things get a little peaceful, another incident happens.”

I wanted to object, but since there had been incidents, I had to quietly acknowledge Lilly and Kitsune’s words.

Still, at least for now, I had no intention of causing trouble in the Fairy Kingdom.

While it’s true that I had caused incidents that worried them, all those incidents had their reasons.

“And this time, I have no reason or intention to cause trouble, so don’t worry too much~”

“Hmm… That’s good, but…”

“Even hearing that, I’m still worried…”

Lilly and Kitsune looked at me worriedly despite my words.

They didn’t distrust me. It’s just that incidents can happen regardless of intention.

“Well then, shall we enter?”

“Ugh… Let’s do it, there doesn’t seem to be anything strange…”

“Alright. Um… it feels ominous, but if you two are okay with it…”

“Huh…?”

Yes, just like that.

When I regained consciousness, I was standing alone in the Fairy Kingdom.

“Hello~ Is anyone there?”

[No, there isn’t.]

“Be quiet… Tsk… What am I going to do about this…?”

Thinking that maybe we had just landed in slightly different locations, I searched for the two of them, but with no success.

After wandering around for a while, I realized I was the only one who had landed in this area.

Perhaps… though the probability was low, in the worst case, this might not even be the Fairy Kingdom.

“It’s dangerous to wander alone in the immaterial realm in my current state…”

I examined my body to check my current condition.

I could feel more abundant magical power than before, but in exchange, my physical body felt much weaker.

It was such a dramatic change that it was hard to imagine it was my body, but it was a change I had anticipated before heading to the Fairy Kingdom.

“The immaterial realm penalty seems to be fully applied. They didn’t need to be so thorough about this…”

Creatures from immaterial realms like the Fairy Kingdom or Spirit Realm become weaker when they come to the material realm.

‘There are some exceptions, but they’re extremely rare.’

This was a rule that affected Lilly, who was a fairy, and was also why other spirits sought contractors.

And this rule applied equally in the reverse situation—when beings from the material realm entered the immaterial realm.

[How much weaker are you now?]

“In my current state, I could barely handle an Ogre…? The weakening will get better as I get used to it, but I think it’ll be hard to fight for long.”

In my current state, I doubted I could fight properly for even 15 minutes at full power.

And I had no idea how many hours it would take to recover after those 15 minutes.

“Lilly fought well in this condition…”

[Well, Lilly is more used to it than us and she’s special.]

[It’s difficult to use her as a point of comparison.]

“And there aren’t any other fairies to compare with. Spirits are ambiguous since I’ve never actually seen one.”

In any case, my current state was extremely unsuitable for combat.

If I had to fight the same battle as during our recent picnic, I wouldn’t even be able to run away and would likely be torn apart.

“This is why I originally planned to leave all potential battles to Lilly…”

[It seems the world is saying absolutely no freeloading.]

Rustle.

“Hmm… That seems to be true.”

I could only sigh at the unwelcome presence behind me.

When I turned around, dozens of Imps with small devil-like appearances were sitting on a tree standing tall behind me.

“”””Kekekeke.””””

“I’d like to decline your welcome greeting…”

Come to think of it, Imps and Succubi could be considered relatives.

Consider their basic appearance.

Horns on their heads, wings on their backs, and long tails.

Aren’t there many similarities?

“So could you please cut me some slack..!?”

[Stop saying weird things and run away first.]

[If you get surrounded, you could really die.]