A beautiful place filled with light was indeed more fitting to be called a part of a magical forest. Unlike the lightless place Kenneth had passed through before, the original area of Audoran Forest seemed like a place that never had nighttime. The light produced in the forest came from a giant tree in the center of the place. The tree was so big and tall that Kenneth could see it from a distance. And from its trunk that spread in all directions, there were hundreds of shining fruits that became the main source of light in that place.
When Kenneth looked around, the prince found that Audoran Forest was filled with plants of various sizes and colored with colorful flowers of various shapes. From a distance, Kenneth could also see a large waterfall that refracted sunlight. Of course. What was most different, unlike the previous place that looked so quiet and gloomy, the bright place was inhabited by various beautiful creatures that Kenneth had never seen before.
When Kenneth looked up, the prince could see hundreds of winged creatures flying freely despite not having a sky like he usually saw. The creatures did not seem to be of the same species, but they moved harmoniously as they maneuvered above Kenneth's head.
CRACK!
As soon as Kenneth reacted to the rustling sound coming from behind him, the prince was immediately stunned when he saw a deer with glowing antlers. The deer did not run away even though Kenneth was a foreign creature that had just entered the Audoran Forest. Its shiny white fur made Kenneth want to reach out to touch it. Kenneth was petrified for a moment until Fay's voice brought him back to his senses.
"He seems to like you, Kenneth. Try touching him. I'm sure he's waiting for you to touch him."
Fay unconsciously softened her words when the fairy talked to Kenneth about the deer. Other than Lelitia, the deer had never wanted to get close to anyone. That was the first time Fay had seen the deer take the initiative to approach someone, and the sight was enough to make Fay like Kenneth even more.
"I... can touch him?" Kenneth asked uncertainly. The prince didn't understand. He had come to destroy the Audoran Forest. But from the beginning, everyone had been nice to him.
"Oh!"
Kenneth's pupils shrank as the deer brought its antlers closer to Kenneth. As soon as Kenneth's fingers touched the shining antlers, the light flowed into Kenneth and earned a gasp of admiration from Fay. Kenneth could feel a warm feeling flowing from the light that entered his body. Kenneth was too shocked to do anything, so he remained silent even after the deer had left.
"Wow! I can't believe he was willing to give you a blessing of protection, Kenneth! I've never seen how his protection works. But from what Lelitia said, his protection will be useful to you someday."
Kenneth's gaze became more complicated as he could also feel that something warm was protecting his body after that. Kenneth secretly clenched his fists. His eyes stared at the direction the deer had left. Kenneth fell silent before he finally whispered.
"I haven't even thanked him yet."
"Don't worry. You have plenty of time to meet him in the future. Now, let's go to Lelitia's place first."
Kenneth nodded, then decided that he would not immediately kill the monster of Audoran Forest. In his heart, Kenneth tried to convince himself that he did so because he did not yet know the full power of the elf called Lelitia. But more than anyone else, Kenneth knew that he simply did not want the peace in Audoran Forest to be lost.
Under Fey's guidance, Kenneth finally arrived under the large tree that served as both the sky and the source of light in Audoran Forest. Once Kenneth was close enough, he could see that the roots of the tree had formed hills in the forest. Kenneth felt like he had turned into a small human as he climbed the roots to arrive at the place Fey had mentioned.
"We've arrived, Kenneth! Sigh... Coming back home after a long time is such a relief!"
Even though Fay was still injured from her previous fight, the little fairy still jumped up excitedly to get off Kenneth's shoulder. The fairy placed her hand on the trunk of the giant tree. After that, a strange pattern appeared and spread into a door to enter the tree.
"What are you waiting for? Come in, Kenneth! Since Lelitia said that she would recharge her energy, she should be at the top of this tree."
Kenneth followed Fay's words and entered the tree. As soon as Kenneth set foot in that place, the prince was immediately greeted by a dazzling light that illuminated every place inside the tree.
Even though Kenneth was sure that he was currently inside a giant tree trunk, the interior of the place was no different from a luxurious palace filled with everything made of wood. The place even had a large table and rows of beautifully carved chairs. If elves did have palaces like humans, the place he entered might be a palace belonging to the elf race.
"Kenneth, please take me up to the top of this tree!"
Kenneth looked down at Fay, who was pointing up at them excitedly, then picked up the little fairy to sit back on Kenneth's shoulder. The prince looked up to see how tall the tree was, then laughed dryly when he realized that he had no idea how many thousands of spiral stairs he had to climb to reach the top of the tree, as Fay had told him.
Even so, Kenneth knew that he would never reach the top of the tree if he continued to ponder down there. After taking a deep breath, Kenneth started to step on the first step. After Kenneth made sure that everything was okay, the prince started to step on the next step. This continued to be done until the entrance that Kenneth had passed through before began to look like a small dot that was almost invisible.
"Kenneth, are you tired?"
Maybe because Kenneth had been walking for quite some time, Fay, who was sitting on his shoulder, began to notice that Kenneth's breath was getting short. "I'm fine." Unfortunately, Kenneth preferred to lie rather than tell Fay the truth. Although the stairs almost seemed endless, Kenneth had learned a lot from the cave he had passed through earlier. As long as she didn't give up, they would reach their destination sooner or later.
Fay looked up to find that their journey was still long, but Kenneth chose not to stop walking. The little fairy looked sad. Fay lowered her head, then apologized in a somber voice.
"I'm sorry, Kenneth. If I were in my normal state, I would have been able to make you fly using my wind magic."
Kenneth had seen how Fay was suffering from using her powers while injured, then shook his head slowly. "It's okay. Even if I can't carry you quickly, I will bring you to the top of this tree, Fay," he replied confidently. Fay looked at the sweat dripping down Kenneth's face, then asked once more.
"Kenneth, have you ever flown before? I heard from Niel that humans can also fly with their wind magic."
Kenneth turned to look at Fay, then shook his head honestly. Although Kenneth knew that flying was not uncommon for wizards with wind as their primary attribute, he did not know any wind wizards, so Kenneth had naturally never experienced what it was like to fly with the wind.
Kenneth could see that Fay looked sad again because of his answer, then quickly made another promise to the prince. "Then, I will fly you anywhere once I recover," she said seriously. Kenneth chuckled when he heard Fay's words. "Then, you must recover as soon as possible, Fay," Kenneth replied earnestly.
After Kenneth realizes Fay's concern for him, the man begins to regain his spirit and climbs the spiral staircase with greater energy. A look of relief was written on Kenneth's face when he finally saw the end of the thousands of stairs he had climbed. Kenneth quickened his pace, then closed his eyes as a strong wind hit his body once he reached the top of the giant tree.
"Kenneth, you can open your eyes now."
After Kenneth heard Fay's voice, the prince's eyes opened again so he could finally see the beautiful scenery in that place.
The place turned out to be a wide, flat area. Above Kenneth's head, the tree branches were still up and covered the land like a roof, and only left a small circle to let a golden light in and fill the small lake in the middle of the place.
Around them, there were branches coiled around each other that seemed to build a wall between them. The branches prevented the strong wind from hitting the place, so the atmosphere there remained calm, even though they were hundreds of feet above the ground.
"Hm... this is strange. Lelitia should be here to recharge her energy. We didn't meet her below, and I'm also sure that Lelitia hasn't come out of Audoran Forest. So, where is she now?"
Kenneth turned to Fay as the fairy talked to herself. After Fay brought it up, Kenneth finally realized that he hadn't seen a single elf since he arrived in Audoran Forest. A new question arose in Kenneth's heart. But just this once, Kenneth decided that he shouldn't ask Fay, who was busy thinking while sitting on one of his shoulders.
"Um... should we wait for her here?"
But after a while, Kenneth, who couldn't stand the silence between them, finally suggested Fay. Kenneth could hear that Fay let out a long sigh. The elf looked regretful, then turned to Kenneth with an unpleasant look.
"I'm sorry, Kenneth. Before, I was so sure that Lelitia was here that I didn't think about the possibility that she might have woken up and gone somewhere else. Actually... we shouldn't stay here for too long. I apologize, but we should go back downstairs if we have to wait for Lelitia to come."
Kenneth didn't know whether he should be sad or angry because of Fay's words. But in the end, Kenneth could only nod in resignation. Kenneth felt that he had no right to protest. Just being allowed to enter and go to the place where the monster was located was already a great blessing for the prince.
"Alright. Going down shouldn't be as bad as going up earlier."
Although Kenneth was tired, he had no choice but to go down and wait until he could finally meet Lelitia.