Chapter: 558
The queen of the fairies slowly opened her eyes, intoxicated by the fragrance of flowers wafting around her, and let out a laugh.
– Your Majesty!
– You look beautiful today!
– I brought flowers!
As soon as the queen opened her eyes, the fairies who had been waiting for who knows how long rushed around her, each boasting the flowers they brought, each claiming to be the best.
Used to such pouting, the queen soothed them by saying they were all beautiful, but then tilted her head as she heard a commotion in the distance.
“Did we have guests from outside?”
– Yes! There are wonderful people!
– They’re all really amazing!
– That’s right! Incredible!
Seeing the fairies praise them like this, it certainly must be heroes quite close to the divine visiting from outside.
Speaking of which, she had heard news not long ago that a party of heroes from another forest was coming here; could it be that the illustrious Lord Jushin personally chose these heroes?
“Everyone, just to be sure, are you playing tricks on those visitors?”
– Yes!
– Nothing works on them!
– Everyone tried their best but failed!
– What if we try just a little more?
Feeling her lips tremble, the fairy queen spoke words of praise to the fairies who asked if they did well, then hurried towards the source of the commotion.
Those esteemed heroes were allowed by the illustrious Lord Jushin to enter the fairy forest! They must not trouble them!
The fairy queen dashed with a desperation she had never felt before, and before long, she discovered the party of heroes caught up in the fairies’ antics.
“…It seems that only the most virtuous are chosen by the Lord.”
The praises that flowed from the fairy queen spread out of her as awe, unfolding into the darkened forest.
Yet, no one in the forest would heed the queen’s mumblings.
The fairies, consumed by darkness, had lost their senses long ago, and the life that should have formed the forest couldn’t even sprout from the parched land, while the Evil God’s Energy filling the barrier simply obeyed its new master.
“…My lord.”
The call that flowed with the queen’s content smile reached no one.
Not even the great wizard who would hear her last words. Not even the young child who had appeared suddenly and was willing to risk their life for her.
“I…”
Her uneasy tossing and turning grew over time as she lived out her happy dreams she had dreamt hundreds, if not thousands, of times.
The fairies, having lost their senses and entirely dependent on the queen, instinctively knew it.
They realized that the queen’s dream would soon come to an end.
*
“Damn it. Was it a misstep to approach near the barrier directly?”
As the fairy queen, or rather, the chunk of her consciousness relayed the story she had heard, Erginius cursed out loud.
“If the piece awakens enough to interfere with the forest, it’s just a matter of time before she wakes up. We don’t have the luxury of time.”
“Then we can launch an offense on the forest as soon as the magic is ready, can’t we?”
Benedict, who was listening to Erginius, asked, and Erginius shook his head.
“I’d like to do that, but there’s a prerequisite that must be cleared first. We must enter before the barrier collapses and concentrate the Evil God’s Energy inside. Otherwise, the dark power of the Evil God will spread into the world.”
“Well, it should be doable, right? How many great minds are gathered here? That much should be manageable.”
“The problem is, if the uninvited ones enter the barrier, the fairy queen will most likely wake up.”
If one uninvited intruder trespasses into the barrier, the fairy queen would wake from her slumber out of displeasure.
Then the long-nurtured fairy queen in the forest would directly shatter the unstable barrier, and her existence would venture forth as a disaster into the world.
“Are you referring to the ones Lucy was searching for yesterday and today?”
“Exactly.”
“…That means the only ones who can enter are Lucy and her friends who visited there today.”
“I originally planned to follow them, but now that I know my presence disrupts the queen’s slumber, I can’t do that.”
Benedict’s and Erginius’s eyes turned to me. Erginius’s carried a hint of unease.
Perhaps he doubts whether we can succeed at the most crucial part of the plan alone.
On the other hand, Benedict’s eyes held an ironic mix of worry and faith.
He thought about whether Lucy and her friends would be alright while also believing that if anyone could create a miracle, it would surely be me. Probably because he witnessed me performing miracles with his own eyes in the past.
“Lucy Allen.”
“What?”
“Do you think it’s possible?”
After a while of contemplation, Erginius blurted out the question, and I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Is it possible? Are you serious asking that in this situation?”
“I know the situation is tricky. But…”
Ah, this guy really talks too much. Did he act like this when he was my companion, too? If so, I would have surely wanted to bite my chin every day.
As I was about to ask Grandpa, I suddenly remembered the severely extreme punishment of the sloppy fox I just inflicted on him.
If I had known it would end up like this, I would have postponed the punishment a little. Regrettably, I had no choice but to handle it myself.
With a face full of irritation, I approached Erginius, ignoring his questioning expression, and punched him in the gut.
“It’s pointless. After all, my body is just a disguise… cough!?”
Caught off guard by my blow filled with divine energy, Erginius desperately rolled on the floor.
“Didn’t I tell you in a cute voice? You shouldn’t be asking; you should be begging. Looks like you’re a bug who can’t even remember what happened recently, Erginius.”
Sitting down on the chair Erginius was using, I patted his trembling head, urging him to answer.
“You little brat!”
“Yes, yes. I’m a little brat. You, on the other hand, are a bug who should bow down to that little brat.”
Shut down by my mocking tone, Erginius eventually seemed to have made a resolution as he lifted his head.
“…The queen’s piece said time is running out?”
“If we believe the words of that chicken-brained auntie, then we’ve got just about a week left?”
“In that case, let’s set a preparation period of 5 days and execute on the 6th. Benedict Allen, when will the military be organized?”
“Recruitment is nearly complete, we can have everything perfectly arranged in about three days.”
“Get it ready immediately. We’ll do our best on our side too.”
While I laughed mockingly at Erginius, who was still pretending to be great while crawling around like a little girl, I gathered my friends after collecting Grandpa, who was chattering about the sloppy fox.
“Joy was called by Erginius. Apparently, she has a mountain of attributes to learn.”
Checking on everyone except for Joy, who would be staying up all night to learn magic, I took off my outer clothes to showcase my new armor.
“Y-young Lady! Why are you wearing such embarrassing armor!?”
Phoebe’s face turned bright red as she frantically covered her nose and looked away.
“What are you thinking, Lucy Allen! Hurry up and put on your outer clothes!”
Arthur, who had been staring at me blankly a moment ago, was now covering his eyes with both hands in horror.
“Looks like you chose that armor after all.”
Karl sighed, having seen that armor countless times.
“It’s a splendid armor, but it seems too easy to cut through.”
Frey voiced her complaints regarding the armor purely from a practicality perspective.
I knew the complaints would come as soon as I put on this armor.
Yet the reason I wore this armor—though it doesn’t look much like armor—was precisely because it was necessary.
“Shoddy perverts. Is that all you can think about at a time like this? It’s truly terrifying to have to drag these kinds of people along as companions.”
“A-are you saying you have some sort of intention? Right? If not, there’s no way the Young Lady would wear such atrocious armor!”
“Reason? What for?”
“It’s training. If we’re to not be seduced by the bugs dwelling in the forest, we must get used to this sort of thing.”
If my hypothesis is correct, the dungeon the fairy queen’s piece had presented to me would be a miniature version of what would unfold in the barrier.
Having been stuck inside for hundreds of years, it’s unlikely she could come up with anything else.
When I imagine how much creativity that miserable piece of hers might possess, I’d say my conclusion has a high chance of being right.
Thus, I need to prepare for the fairy’s seduction. Otherwise, who knows what ridiculous things I might do, charmed by the dance of the fairies?
“No bug in the barrier will be prettier than me anyway, right? So if I adapt to this, I’ll be able to look at those bugs no matter how much they cause a ruckus with nothing but disdain.”
I had already seen the effects of the fairy’s dance during the previous duel with the First Knights.
If I could withstand that enchantment, which even the kingdom’s elites couldn’t, then I wouldn’t have to worry about the fairies’ tricks.
“I’ll give you tons of rewards, so cheer up and be trampled on. Shoddy folks.”
As I said that playfully, the three who still had their heads up nodded slowly, excluding Arthur, who was still sulking.
Why is Arthur acting so pathetic? Time is of the essence.
Annoyed, I walked over to Arthur, who had his head down, and locked eyes with him.
His face was flushed. Blood dripped from his hand covering his mouth. His eyes were aimlessly wandering.
“Hmm.”
This is awkward. We haven’t even started properly, and he’s already in this state. I guess I might as well give him an extreme prescription.
“Pervert~♡ It’s disgusting~♡”
I provoked him in an attempt to crank up the heat so he couldn’t think about anything else, but my choice was not wise.
Arthur, who had been grinning at me, staggered back and eventually collapsed backward.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.