'Children disappeared into the Fairy Forest? Could it be that the guards went looking for those children?'
He lost four dogs1, but it wasn't a major loss to his power.
The spirit stones in them were weak and he didn't know when they would die anyways. But in order not to leave a trail, he would have to go back and collect them.
"Louin2," Buford called his subordinate's name in a low voice.
A man, who had hidden his presence, stepped out from the darkness.
"I'm bored. Shall we go for a walk?"
"…to the Fairy Forest?"
"Yes, to test Lirik's3 new child," He spoke lightly, straightening his body and spreading his palms.
His right arm was covered with black tattoos. He gently swept a small knife over the palm of his hand and subsequently, something crawled out of the pale, bloody wound.
Watching it take shape, Buford casually commanded, "You tell Dimon to protect these children. If they pull any nonsense, cut off their hands and feet."
He chuckled, his cruelly-smiling eyes looked at the shivering little spirits and curved into crescents, as if to mock their fears.
Suddenly, the one summoned from the wound on his palm appeared, raising his empty eyes to look at Buford. With the man in black robes trailing him, Buford went down to the city where the festival was in full swing.
***
-Let's go together.-
Gaia continued to hold on to Kalia, and cling to her.
-Come with me, please. We have to go together.-
Even without speaking aloud, her will was conveyed to Kalia. Kalia looked at Gaia's father, the king of fairies. He stood looking at Gaia and Kalia with an indescribable look.
"Gaia," With a sad voice, the father called out to his daughter.
Gaia looked at her father at the sound of her name. Her hesitant lips shook as she pleaded with him.
-I have to protect her. The baby, soon. That's why, we need, to be, together!-
"Why are you so obsessed with this kid?"
Gaia seemed confused by the king's question. Her expression revealed everything.
She also doesn't know why. She shook her head and begged earnestly, holding onto Kalia's hand tightly.
-I can just tell. You'll need me. Baby4, when you give birth, you'll need me.-
Kalia was also confused.
Why would this fairy be needed when giving birth to a child?
Feeling as if her head was stuffed with fog, Kalia's frustration was almost tangible.
"If you leave this forest, it will be dangerous to you. You know that, don't you?"
-But…-
The king gently comforted his daughter. He couldn't figure out what was causing his daughter to be so confused.
Is it because of the baby in the human's stomach?
That said, his daughter was clinging to a human woman of her own accord. Even though his daughter understood the fragility of her own existence, she still eagerly wanted to follow the human woman. 5 As a father who had already lost his daughter once, he could not allow her to accompany the human.
-….But.-
Seeing her daughter weep like that, the king agonized for a moment and then took out a bracelet he had brought as a gift, intended for his daughter, and held it toward Kalia.
"This is a bracelet that contains the soul of the ancient spirit Amuntia."
Kalia looked at him as he gave her the bracelet.
"Take it. If a fairy imprints on this bracelet, you can summon the fairy anytime you want, even if you don't have a contract with the fairy."
Of course, an ancient spirit was more powerful than just being used to summon a fairy, but the king did not say unnecessary things.
"As Gaia says, when the moment comes when you need her, you can summon us. We're only lending this to you, so don't be so surprised. We'll take it back when it's used up."
Kalia wondered whether to thank the Fairy King for giving it to her.
They don't need to give it to me so should I say thank you?
She didn't even ask for it…
Looking at the sullen eyes she received the bracelet with, the king grinned, "You have an honest face."
"But why 'us'?"6
"Just as you don't trust us, I can't trust you blindly."
'…Well, he's not wrong.'
Satisfied with his explanation, Kalia gently accepted the bracelet with a little bit more peace of mind, and put the bracelet on her wrist. The bracelet seemed to glow 5 different colours beneath the moonlight and even against her rough, scarred hands, it gave off a noble feeling. Gaia, looking at Kalia with regret, grabbed the Amuntia's bracelet she wore and whispered her name in fairy language into it. A faint light flashed from the bracelet before absorbing it into itself. -Gaia. Gaia.-
Gaia told Kalia her name several times. Kalia nodded, looking at the fairy with complicated eyes.
– Tell me. My name.-
"Gaia."
At Kalia's reply, Gaia smiled brightly as if satisfied. The king had been watching the scene unfold with strange eyes when his head suddenly snapped up.
He murmured under his breath, his profound eyes glistening with interest, "Intruders, those who enter the forest of the Night Fairy carelessly… Hm…"
Kalia, who had heard him, also stared in the direction he was looking at. There weren't many who would fearlessly enter the Fairy Forest at this hour.
"Gaia, you and Liella lead these children out. Don't come out of the tree until she calls you, alright?"7
Gaia nodded firmly, took Kalia's hand and followed Liella's back.
Kalia unconsciously turned her head back to look at the remaining Fairy King. Their eyes met. Though unlikely, somehow, the king seemed to be smiling affectionately at me.
'I'm mistaken, aren't I?' Kalia thought as the king's figure faded into the forest.
***
When they reached the edge of the forest Gaia hugged Kalia tightly.
-Gaia. Make sure you call me.-
Her embrace was warm even though she had no physical form. Kalia replied she would and left the forest with the fairy waving her hand until she was out of sight.
Perhaps because they were exhausted, but the children had long fallen asleep and had not awakened. Occasionally, she would hear one of them calling out for their mother, so it seemed like there's nothing immediately mentally or physically wrong.
Kalia came to a stop when she spotted Mrs. McCanna, who stood near the edge of the forest, waiting tirelessly for her child. Hiding in the shadow of a nearby tree, she woke the children up.
"Guys. Guys, wake up."
"...Uhhhhh-huh."
Sage opened her eyes first at the gentle shaking. Her half-closed eyes slowly widened as she looked around.
"Eek! M-monster!
Kalia wrapped her arms around the trembling child's shoulder to comfort her, "Shhh. It's all right now."
"I'm sure I was in the woods, but how did I get out there…? Wait, John? What about John?"
"John is here with me."
"Uh, how?"
Seeing Sage in shock, Kalia smiled in an attempt to soothe her and stroked the child's cheek.
"I don't know the details but, fortunately, it seems like a good fairy sent you out. Now, it looks like your mother is looking for you over there… Shouldn't you go see her?"
"Oh, yes, yes!"
Bewildered but unable to hide her joy, the child shook her friend's shoulder to wake him.
"John! Wake up, get up!"
The child tossed and turned a bit at his friend's shaking but soon raised his head with a dazed look under Sage's incessant shaking.
Sage grabbed her friend's hand and pulled him up, shouting, "We got out of there. Let's go to my mom. Come on!"
"Huh… out? I, obviously, was in toy land…"
"Stop talking nonsense, let's go! To my mother!"
The child, who was still murmuring as if he were asleep in dreamland, ran toward the group of adults, dragged by Sage.
"Mommy!"
At the sound of the child's loud voice, Mrs.McCanna, who had been walking back and forth along the border of the forest, turned with a whimper.
Her eyes widened in an instant and she called her daughter's name in a voice filled with tears, "Oh my God! Sage!"
"Mom!"
Mrs. McCanna's fingers trembled as she rushed forwards to hug her child. She gathered her child in her arms and for a long moment, embraced her youngest daughter with all her might without checking whether she was sick in her overwhelming relief. Watching from the shadows, Kalia quietly turned around and returned home.
The child, who had been babbling to her mother, turned around and pointed under the big tree where Kalia had stood. But it was already empty.
***
Kalua and Humming went straight home. In Humming's arms was the dragon egg, neatly covered with clothes.
Standing outside their door, Humming and Kalia made eye contact and took a deep breath. It was already long past the time she had promised Allen. The two patted each other on the back, preparing for his terrifying nagging.
'Let's go in.'
As soon as they opened the door and entered the house, they came face-to-face with Allen, who was standing and waiting anxiously in the living room.
"Uh… we're here."
"I'm back, Allen."
Funnily enough, he had all kinds of weapons in his hands, and was even wearing a dark, tattered leather armor that he got from who knows where. Upon close inspection, it looked like the old leather armor Charles, their neighbour, used to wear when he was young… Perhaps he couldn't borrow his helmet but he had put a strange pot on his head. He looked as if he was about to go out looking for the two in that mess of a getup right now.
"I'm sorry I'm late."
Allen's eyes shook as he looked at the two people before him. His chest swelled as he took a shaky, hasty breath.
".....you two!" With his fierce eyes shining, he came running toward the two in an instant.
With every step he took though, the armour that didn't fit his body and the pot on his head shook and rattled. To be honest, it was a bit funny, but Humming couldn't even laugh. Even Kalia, who had never dozed off in front of the emperor, had to shrink back a little in front of Allen, who was approaching with a big step, because his eyes were so fierce.
'Ugh, that's right.'
Humming subtly hid behind Kalia and closed her eyes while Kalia gently avoided his gaze and looked away. Allen, who was almost running, came to a stop in front of the two and hugged them both together at once.
"Really, you, troublemakers…"
They could feel Allen's chest, which had swelled greatly, go down when he let out a big sigh. After those three words, the nagging that Humming and Kalia were worried about didn't come. He only tightened his grip on them and sighed several times in relief. The pot that had been hanging on his head fell to the floor, hit the ground and rolled to a stop not far away with a thud. At the sound, Allen's shoulders, which had been stiff with tension, trembled. He had always been a decent man8, but right now, he was neither decent nor tidy at all.
"I was going to go look for you because it was dark and you two hadn't come back yet," He muttered in a drained voice, as if vomiting out everything that had been trapped in his anxious and desperate heart.