Chapter 171. Scenario Gate (5)
Anyway, you can’t predict a person’s fate even the slightest bit. Before reincarnation, I certainly had no intention of living as a F-Class Hunter, let alone as a fraud.
‘Should I try to lie less from now on?’
As that Great Mage was drowning in late remorse, the next prey had already approached close by.
Thud, thud.
This forest was the territory of that giant creature.
.
.
.
How many minutes had passed?
“Uh, um.”
“Hmm.”
To put it simply, we had wrapped up all our searches in record time.
The giants in this forest were weak enough that Seonwoo-yeon could sweep them all away, leaving us without any crisis.
‘The Treasure Hunters who went in first were taken down because they were a team aiming only for EX-Class, and their awakening levels were low.’
So, with the enemies dead, couldn’t we just head out now?
“This is ridiculous.”
I looked up again at the gate in front of me.
I never dreamed the exit the fairy spoke of would be something like this.
That magical passage was so narrow I had to bend down to enter, and the surrounding area was completely overrun with thick thorny vines.
If they had been ordinary thorny vines, I wouldn’t have been as angry.
But this was some heavy-duty plant that didn’t even budge against B-Class strength.
‘At this point, even the blade of a Hydra wouldn’t slice through it.’
I pretended to touch the thorny vines and then sharply jerked my head back.
Staring at me as if I was being ridiculous, the fairy finally spoke.
“Oh, this plant shrinks every dawn. About 20,000 seconds left.”
“Why didn’t you say that earlier!”
“Are you angry? Why? I kept my promise!”
She only said she would tell us where the path was. She never confirmed whether that passage was immediately usable.
But our anger couldn’t be soothed by such words.
It was akin to the moment right before leaving work when suddenly additional duties come in.
Damn.
We found ourselves waiting for dawn in the Fairy Kingdom.
At that moment, the wingless fairy adjusted her height and came into the view of us Earthlings.
“Everyone, it’s damp and uncomfortable here for camping. Would you like to go back to my house and rest until dawn?”
“What?”
“Now that the giants are all dead, it should be fine. They won’t appear again! Don’t worry about the fairy powder; it will last as long as you don’t wash it off.”
Sure, camping was a bit much.
“Wait, your so-called house is just that little structure! How are we supposed to rest in a place like that…?”
I recalled Apa’s place and briefly wondered, but soon another explorer explained this part.
“Oh, Hunter, we’ve had the same proposal from other fairies during festivals, so we know. She isn’t saying she’ll let us into her house; she’s just offering a place to sleep.”
“A place to sleep?”
“Uh… she’ll probably give us large, hairy leaves as bedding, and they’re quite warm. Thanks to those, we managed to get some sleep on the first night.”
“Oh.”
If that’s the case, then sure.
‘I wonder what kind of plant it will be.’
I became interested in the fairy’s hospitality. But just as I was about to speak, one of the hunters shouted out quicker.
“N-No way! I’d rather wait here than sleep there! I can’t trust the fairy’s words!”
That C-Class Hunter who had passed the tag to me.
Had his grudge against the dungeon’s residents fueled his hostility towards the fairy?
As the C-Class became adamant, one after another in our party voiced their agreement.
“You’re not coming to our house?”
“No, I’m not! You monster!”
“I invited you, though!”
Amid this, we found it easy to reach a consensus due to one action of the fairy’s.
“What do we do? We have to punish the guest who declined the invitation. That’s the kingdom’s rule…”
Sniffle.
Apa pouted cutely, looking sad, then suddenly revealed her three layers of teeth.
We quickly reached an agreement at the sight of the fairy’s red insides.
“Let’s go.”
“Best not to talk back.”
“Oh, suddenly feeling so sleepy.”
If only discussions in the outside world were this easy.
*
“Aren’t you my ■■?”
A few minutes later.
We headed toward the kingdom’s hill per the proposal from the other party.
But throughout the journey, the fairy continuously chattered.
“What?”
“■■! You helped me defeat that blue giant!”
She was mixing in static like a broken speaker, making it difficult to understand. However, context clues would suggest she was speaking of benevolence or heroism.
‘Yeah. It does seem suspiciously natural.’
I shrugged off a mistake in the ki-simche.
The wingless fairy kept babbling as if she wanted to speak for my portion of silence.
“Did you know? In fact, the blue giant you killed had eaten my family.”
“What?”
“Our kingdom had to sacrifice one fairy to the giant each year. So my family was eaten by him. But you guys killed my enemy! All of them!”
That floated around in the air, leaving a shimmering afterimage.
“Now, everyone doesn’t have to tremble in fear anymore. Thanks to you! Wow, if you stay in our kingdom, we’d be eternally grateful…”
“Hmm.”
“It must be tough, right? You guests probably want to go home quickly? Then I’ll keep this secret. I’ll make sure the kingdom’s people can’t hold you up during the festival.”
The wingless fairy was blushing, eager to commend us, but the others, perhaps sensing her demeanor, gradually relaxed their expressions.
“It’s kind of cute, isn’t it?”
“For sure, she is cute.”
I still feel chills just thinking about those three layers of teeth…
“-?”
Nod.
Noticing the humans’ attention turned toward her, the fairy fluttered closer to land on Seonwoo-yeon’s shoulder.
“And everyone, I have a very small favor to ask. Can you grant it?”
The one who had caused such chaos with a single wish just hours ago, now made such a request?
“I want to know your names.”
But this time, the situation felt a bit different. She revealed her wish first.
“I won’t forget this meeting for my whole life. I’ll remember the tales of your bravery defeating the giant.”
“Oh.”
“And… and… if I become the first friend to hear your names, I can brag to the village fairies!”
“Brag.”
“No?”
What’s the big deal about that?
Most of the explorers obliged the fairy’s sincere request.
“N-Name? I’m…”
“You’re called Name!”
“No, that’s not it!”
“Yes. I’m listening. Name, sir.”
In this process, Seonwoo-yeon failed the registration for a small problem.
“Guest, what’s your name?”
“Why should I tell you?”
“Oh, you’re called Why should I tell you, sir?”
I just wouldn’t say it.
Anyway.
That’s how we finished our introductions and lightly ascended the hill. Afterward, we received a generous hospitality from fairy Apa.
‘The fruit here is tasty.’
Well, I should feel full and warm; now all that’s left is to wait for dawn while resting.
“…Mr. Gi-ryeo.”
Finally, as darkness fell.
“Mr. Gi-ryeo, Mr. Gi-ryeo?”
I opened my eyelids to the call of my name.
I had only been pretending to sleep, so I wasn’t annoyed at being jolted awake.
“Has my watch already turned?”
I rolled my eyes while lying down, gazing at the other person’s face.
“No, that’s not it… the situation is strange. That fairy suddenly disappeared.”
“Disappeared?”
“Yes! No one saw her leave from here. The analyst who stayed awake with me said she doesn’t feel the magic in the cabin. The fairy is gone.”
Maybe it was because we were in the dungeon; Seonwoo-yeon exhibited immense unease over even the slightest change.
“What should we do? Should we use Seocher skill?”
I begrudgingly sat up at her urging, but at that moment, an unknown light burst from the dark void above.
It was a light spreading from the plaza.
‘Blue…?’
When I examined the shadow cast by the light, it oddly looked like quite a few fairies had gathered there now.
‘Wait, hold on.’
But just then, I felt a familiar magical presence, sharp from rummaging through the cabin.
This was the wingless fairy’s magic. And the current location was…
“Ms. Seonwoo-yeon, stay here.”
“Yes?”
“It should be fine, but just to be safe. I’ll check for a moment and return.”
I jumped up from my spot and headed to the plaza. As I neared, a warm heat resonated against my skin.
A central flame roaring. Many fairies sat around holding hands.
It looked just like those daytime festivals.
Tap, tap.
The identity of the campfire in the center was a bit distanced from a warm festival.
What was blazing there was none other than that wingless fairy.
“Oh? A guest. Still in the kingdom, huh?”
Soon, one fairy, noticing my presence, came closer.
“We’re currently holding a execution ceremony.”
“Why?”
“She did something bad.”
The fairy flapped her wings, puffing up in displeasure.
“Seriously, she went into the forest this afternoon? You know, right? You were guided by that fairy!”
“…”
“You can ignore it because you’re guests. But that fairy can’t. Apa was this year’s sacrifice.”
Tap. Tap.
While we were talking, the creature in the bonfire had its cute face covered in soot.
“How could a flightless ■ forget its role and venture into the forest? If she were caught and eaten by giants, what would we do?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah!”
“To prevent an unnecessary incident, we should kill her today. Let’s burn the sacrifices and preserve them until next winter!”
So that’s it.
“You foolish fairy. Always spinning absurd lies about how the giants all died now that it’s punishment time!”
“According to her, you all killed the giants.”
“Is that true? That sounds good, then.”
At this moment, I understood a portion of the dungeon’s structure.
Apa must have been designed to ensure she got executed once she led the explorers into the forest.
So that’s why the Apa we met couldn’t remember the advanced party.
‘The previous entity must have died.’
Then why does this dungeon repeat execution ceremonies by supplying new wingless fairies?
The answer could be discerned from their expressions.
“Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter! What the hell is happening here… hu!”
As Seonwoo-yeon and her group entered when the S-Class had not returned for quite a while, they looked anxious and soon stepped into the plaza.
They spotted the wingless fairy burning in the center and gasped.
“Oh? A guest. Still in the kingdom, huh?”
Following that, the fairies in the plaza explained the execution ceremony again.
And the sentences that flowed through the plaza’s air were much the same as before, but the people’s reactions were different.
“Oh my.”
“Ugh…”
Despite the crude manner, some of the explorers couldn’t help but have their emotions shift due to the situation.
‘Sadness or perhaps anger,’
Everything has a reason.
That fairy had been notably affectionate.
That the only escape route opens precisely at dawn.
Seonwoo-yeon, oblivious to the fact that she was artificially induced, wore a troubled expression, while I looked disdainfully at the fairies.
“Oh! By the way, that sacrifice said she had something to reward you with before she died.”
But thankfully, it seemed I wouldn’t end up humbling myself.
“I have a gift that I kept for you. Do you want to check it out?”
Quietly waiting, the plaza fairy mentioned the topic we had long awaited.
