Chapter 181

Ihan and his group had never dared to imagine they could actually have a conversation with a fairy, even after rescuing one.

To reiterate, fairies were considered holy and grand beings beyond the reach of humans. Ethereal entities of boundless beauty, crafted by the mysteries of nature itself. They lived for ages beyond human comprehension, and even then, they only occasionally extended their hand to pure and untainted beings—babies or young children free of corruption or malicious intent. For anyone else, speaking to a fairy was nothing more than a fanciful dream.

"…Those damned spell-slingers must’ve been insane. Seriously, how far gone do you have to be to think kidnapping a fairy is a good idea?"

There was a saying that those who dared to harm a fairy would find no peace, even in death. Even now, Ihan marveled at the audacity of such individuals.

Of course, according to legend, the founder of Pendragon, the Knight King, and his siblings—referred to as the Knights of the Lake—were said to have shared friendships and even love with fairies.

The problem was—

"…That’s just a legend, though."

It was too ancient a tale to take seriously.

While there were fairies with physical forms, they were often closer to elves—pointy-eared creatures considered lesser versions of fairies. Scholars widely regarded them as fallen fairies.

The relationship between fairies and these beings was like that between a tiger and a house cat: same family, but vastly different.

Even the mage chick, a so-called "half-fairy," likely had only about 0.0002% fairy DNA at best. There was no comparison to a pure fairy.

To put it simply:

"In military terms, a true fairy would be like the Minister of Defense or a three-star general. A fallen fairy might be a second lieutenant, and a half-fairy? Maybe a sergeant."

Meanwhile, humans were just privates.

In other words, for this fairy to deign to speak to them—

[Hehe, don’t be so stiff. I’m grateful to you, not upset, so relax! Relax!]

"……."

—was akin to a three-star general patting a lowly private on the back and saying, "Don’t worry, I’m not that scary. Take it easy."

As if to illustrate this—

"……."

Ihan and his group were frozen in place, their expressions stiff.

No one dared to risk offending the fairy and inviting potential disaster.

"What do we do?"

"Just stay quiet, Your Grace. Silence is golden!"

"If we end up on the receiving end of a [Fairy’s Prank], we’re doomed…"

Feeling the weight of the situation, the three slowly began to retreat, leaving the adults to handle the matter.

"Those little…"

While Ihan couldn’t fault their survival instincts, their sheer quick-wittedness elicited a wry smile.

"…Well learned."

He let out a dry laugh, beads of sweat forming on his brow.

*****

[You’re quite a handsome human.]

"That’s too kind of you…"

Fortunately, the Spring Spirit wasn’t only interested in Ihan. She also turned her attention to the knight with striking green hair and eyes, Raq.

Incidentally—

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

"Uh, about that…"

[Hmm?]

"Well, I… do have some sense of humility…"

The fairy genuinely believed Ihan to be handsome, but Ihan, with at least a modicum of modesty, felt compelled to disagree.

This amounted to insubordination, akin to a lowly private arguing with the Minister of Defense.

[You look wonderful to me! So that means you’re handsome!]

"…Y-Yes, ma’am…"

Fortunately, fairies weren’t the petty sort to punish people for contradicting them.

The Spring Spirit continued to smile warmly, her gaze fixed on Ihan. The intensity of her attention made him sweat profusely.

"…Well, at least I’ve learned not to trust a fairy’s sense of aesthetics."

Despite the overwhelming pressure, Ihan remained on guard, uncertain of what the fairy might say next.

Her following words were—

[Once again, thank you. For saving me and ‘us.’]

"……."

Her voice carried genuine gratitude. Both knights wore complicated expressions, feeling as though they were speaking to a gracious woman expressing her thanks.

It was like interacting with an elegant and thoughtful lady, deeply appreciative of being rescued.

Feeling somewhat flustered, they responded as respectfully as they could.

"Well, we only acted to achieve our goals, so there’s no need for your gratitude."

"Indeed, Lady Spring Spirit. Your kind words are far too gracious."

Ihan kept his tone formal, while Raq, serving a family tied to the fairy, appeared visibly flustered.

Each handled the situation in their own way, and the fairy—

[Hehe, you knights are so straightforward. I like that.]

Whoosh.

As her mood improved, a warm spring breeze swirled around them.

[Even so, gratitude is gratitude. As you know, we fairies cannot directly harm humans. At most, we can make ‘requests’ or play harmless ‘pranks.’ That’s our limit. No matter how despicable a human may be, we cannot punish them. But you… you punished those awful mages on our behalf, and for that, we’re sincerely thankful.]

The playful lights that danced around her sparkled brightly.

[See? ‘We’ truly like you and are grateful. Unfortunately, they can’t speak human languages like I can, so they can’t express it verbally. I hope you can understand that.]

Of course, who wouldn’t?

The knights quietly bowed their heads.

More importantly—

"So that’s what it means for a fairy to be [one but many]…"

The phrase, spoken by a scholar who studied fairies, had only been understood by those fortunate enough to encounter them directly.

And now, standing before the fairy, Ihan finally grasped its meaning.

"They’re all connected."

Thanks to his extraordinary ability to perceive "resonances," Ihan could sense how the fairy and her kin were intricately linked.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Perhaps the one with the would also recognize this.

"…Such a mystical existence. No wonder people once worshiped them as gods."

From a human perspective, a fairy was akin to an entity with countless avatars, each wielding the power to command nature itself.

It was only natural for ancient people to view them as divine beings.

"Still, seeing her like this, she seems quite… normal…"

[Ah, they’re coming now!]

"…?"

[I guess they’re here to grant ‘our request.’]

"……."

[Oh, don’t attack when you see them. They’re just here to help us with a small favor.]

"…What the hell."

Ihan couldn’t stop the rough words from slipping out of his mouth.

What he saw defied belief.

Thud, thud, thud!

The rhythmic pounding of hooves heralded the swift approach of the "Reaper of Death."

[----.]

Riding a black horse clad in armor was a knight. This knight wore full black plate armor, exuding an overwhelming and oppressive presence.

…However, what drew the two knights' attention wasn’t the intimidating horse or armor but rather the knight’s "head."

"He’s carrying his head."

"That’s some impressive horsemanship."

"Is that what you’re focusing on right now?"

"Well, it’s impressive, isn’t it?"

"…I guess?"

The knight was clutching his own head under one arm. Though his face was obscured by the helmet, the faint glow of blue ghostly flames in his eyes indicated that he was alive despite being headless.

A Dullahan.

Among magical creatures, it was classified as "Unknown," a category beyond conventional rankings. Known as the "Reaper," it was infamous for its association with death.

…Rarely seen, the Dullahan was famous for not attacking humans.

Yet, the truly terrifying aspect of the Dullahan was—

"They say it never fails to kill its chosen target."

"There’s a famous story of it cutting through 100,000 soldiers to claim the head of a tyrant king."

Once it chose a target, it would inevitably claim their life. That unrelenting nature earned it the title of the Reaper.

…What kind of day was this?

First, they encountered a 400-year-old Grand Mage, then a Spring Spirit, and now a Dullahan, a creature so rare that meeting one was likened to winning the lottery.

It was as though they were meeting every legend imaginable.

Thud, thud, thud.

"……."

Ihan and Raq watched the Dullahan approach, their expressions hardening as they instinctively raised their auras.

Hummm!

The ominous energy radiating from the Dullahan stirred the knights’ battle instincts.

Thud…

[----.]

The Dullahan’s ghostly flames flared as it locked eyes with the knights. The sight of capable opponents seemed to ignite its fighting spirit. Behind the Dullahan, a massive claymore and an equally massive lance floated into the air, ready for combat.

It was clearly prepared to clash with the knights—

Smack!

[---?!]

[What are you doing? You weren’t about to point your weapons at our benefactors, were you?]

[--!--?!]

[Hmph, good. Remember that. Try it again, and you’ll be in trouble.]

[-----.]

The Spring Spirit landed a playful flick on the Dullahan’s head. Dejected, it lowered its weapons and stood down. The knights, who had been bracing themselves for a fight, blinked in disbelief and slowly relaxed.

[Sorry about that. It’s not usually like this, but I guess seeing strong knights made it want to fight. Hehe.]

"…Did you summon that Dullahan, Spring Spirit?"

[We asked for its help. There are some people who need a little lesson.]

"A lesson, you say?"

[Yes, a ‘favor.’]

"……."

The Spring Spirit smiled warmly, leaving the knights baffled.

Then—

Swaaaa…

—an eerie sight unfolded, revealing exactly what the "favor" entailed.

"…Spirits of the dead."

"To me, it looks like it’s harvesting heads."

As Raq noted, blue orbs resembling heads floated upward, their numbers rapidly growing. Hundreds of them gathered, guided by the Dullahan’s gesture.

Clink!

Chains emerged from the Dullahan’s body, piercing the orbs and binding them together like a string of captives.

It was a chilling sight.

The knights’ faces turned pale as they swallowed dryly, their minds racing to identify what they were witnessing.

Surely not—

[They’re the souls of the mages.]

"……."

The Spring Spirit confirmed their fears, still wearing a warm, spring-like smile.

[If they’d only threatened us, we might’ve let it slide. But they used pure-hearted children to capture us and massacred countless lives. They deserve punishment. That’s why we called on this one. It’s the ‘Guardian of the Underworld.’ It’ll ensure the mages pay for their crimes.]

"…I see."

[Hmm, the duration of their punishment will depend on their sins. By human standards, the lightest sentence is 200 years, while the worst offenders will face 10,000 years.]

"……."

[Sigh, it feels too short, honestly.]

"……."

[Hm? What’s with those faces?]

"…Oh, nothing. This is… comforting. Yes, comforting. Haha…"

"……."

The knights stood at attention, lowering their gazes, and made a silent vow.

No matter what, they would never mess with a fairy.