Chapter 118: Mev!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 118: Mev!
“Chieftain, the one with wings or the one without! Which is your preference!”
Her expression was incredibly confident, her gestures bold.
Just as I thought. She had clearly gained an opportunity to evolve. The Goblin Three Sisters and the other Orc swordsmen had already completed their evolutions. Mev and Jung Hayeon needed less experience to evolve than I did, so it was impossible they hadn't received the system message.
Seeing as she was asking about a winged side and a wingless side, it seemed she had quite a variety of choices. It seemed to be a similar situation to when I first evolved into a Demon.
“Hmm…”
Before I could even think about Mev getting bigger, I had to consider which choice would be more beneficial for her and our clan. There surely wouldn't be a race like a ‘Twin-Headed Fairy.’ Even if there were, the Mev of today, who knew my preferences so well, would never have chosen such a race. The winged option was likely a higher species of Fairy, while the wingless one could be a Demon or some other race entirely.
Mev's current class was Spirit Archer, which naturally had good synergy with the Fairy path. If she needlessly evolved into some strange race for the sake of having a child, it would undoubtedly be a huge blow to the entire clan.
For now, the winged option was the only way to go. Her current wings were small, making it very difficult for her to fly freely, but if she evolved into a higher Fairy species like a High Fairy or a Fairy Queen, she would surely be able to handle high altitudes.
In the first place, a pair of wings on an archer is an enormous advantage. The choice was made.
I opened my mouth, speaking a little cautiously to Mev.
“The one with wings.”
The moment I spoke, Mev broke into a huge grin. A smile so bright it could shatter the world. It seemed to be the brightest smile I had ever seen, among all the humans and Green Skins I'd witnessed. After all, Mev was the one and only member of this clan with wings. She clearly thought I had chosen her. The other women who had been listening began to murmur amongst themselves.
“As expected, Mev is… the true mistress… Plants don't have wings!”
“Blood Dagger likes wings!”
“Mev has wings on her back!”
“Chieftain Ragia doesn't have wings either!”
“Only Mev has wings!”
It seemed a strange rumor was forming, but watching Mev came first. If the others started looking for wings too, it could lead to an awkward situation, so I figured I'd have to clear up the misunderstanding later.
Soon, Mev nodded and began to crouch, as if selecting the option in her mind. A bold choice, to evolve in front of everyone. I wondered if it was an act to reclaim her lost authority, but I thought that probably wasn't it.
“Eek!”
Letting out a short scream, Mev clutched her chest. Sprouting from her back were giant fairy wings.
‘High Fairy.’
It wasn't just a single pair like before. Another pair was sprouting from where the original ones were. Her body, which had been like a little kid's, began to grow. She didn't seem to be changing into a voluptuous body like Jung Hayeon's or Ragia's, but she was definitely growing. Her bone structure was changing bit by bit. There seemed to be a limit, but she was definitely shedding her childlike appearance. She was still short, but overall, it wasn't bad.
Her skin turned a little paler, and her wings became much larger. Wings that looked even bigger than her body.
The last thing to appear was a crown that gently settled upon her head.
‘Fairy Queen?’
That was clearly an item, not a part of her body. This proved that one could receive items through racial evolution. Even at a glance, it was radiating light and looked like a decent item. I briefly wondered if I, too, might receive an item if I evolved into a higher species. Meanwhile, I watched Mev with a fascinated expression. Whether it was because of her many unseen contributions in the recent battle, or because the system was compensating her for not evolving for so long, she had managed to skip an entire stage in her evolution. The sight of Mev standing firm, her silver hair fluttering, truly made her look like a fairy queen from some old novel.
She had only grown about ten centimeters taller, but she definitely no longer felt like a child. If I had to describe it, she looked like an adult woman with an incredibly youthful face. To be honest, she was beautiful enough to make my heart flutter a little.
In conclusion, she had grown stronger. Until now, I had considered Gark to be the tribe's second-in-command in terms of raw power, but this evolution changed my internal assessment slightly. If she awakens a unique ability, she'll probably grow even faster.
It was a good evolution. No, an evolution close to perfection. My choice had not been wrong.
“Hic… sob…”
But it seemed she herself didn't think so.
The sight of Mev looking around with a confident expression was nowhere to be found. Her expression began to distort as she looked down at her own arms and legs.
“Ugh… sob… uuuugh…”
She was desperately holding back tears.
‘She's disappointed.’
She was clearly disappointed in her evolved form. Mev had probably wanted a dramatic change, like Jung Hayeon or Ragia. To put it simply, she had undoubtedly wanted a body with all the right curves in all the right places.
From my perspective, she had clearly changed, but from her own, it must have seemed like nothing had. Short arms, unlike Ragia's long ones; short legs, unlike Jung Hayeon's. Her chest and butt couldn't even be compared.
“I'm… I'm ruined… sob…”
She whispered it quietly, but I heard it clearly. Whether they knew how Mev felt or not, the little ones were constantly shouting.
“M-Mev is crying!”
“You can't become a strong Green Skin if you cry!”
“Mev, don't cry!”
Even in a situation where you wouldn't normally cry, hearing things like that would naturally make you want to. Mev's large eyes were brimming with tears, but strangely, they weren't falling. She was holding on somehow through sheer grit.
Even…
She was desperately standing on her tiptoes, trying to look taller.
As if thinking that wasn't enough, she subtly moved her wings to float slightly in the air. The sight was enough to make even me chuckle. It was like watching an animal puffing up its body to look more threatening to an enemy.
“Sob… ugh… eek… Th-this is my new f-form.”
She had made such a confident entrance, so she was trying to salvage the mood, but the tribe's Green Skins were looking at her with slightly suspicious eyes. The ones who helped her were the Goblin Three Sisters.
“Her wings got bigger! Blood Dagger will definitely like it!”
“Finally, our tribe will have an heir!”
It was a perfectly timed diversion, coming just before Mev's tears could fall. Fortunately, the somewhat simple-minded Green Skins responded to the Goblin Three Sisters' shouts.
“Mev is different, as expected!”
“Those must be tears of joy!”
They had succeeded in turning the tribe members' opinions. But Mev wasn't paying attention to them. She was looking at me with an incredibly anxious expression. It seemed my past words—that she was too small and it wouldn't work—had been more traumatic than I thought. When I saw her drinking milk every day, I didn't think much of it, but seeing her so anxious now, I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her.
However, Mev's current body was now just a little smaller than Baek Ahyeon's. It was definitely different from her previous body, which had made me feel like I was committing a crime. I gave a slight nod, and the villagers roared.
“Blood Dagger nodded!”
Mev's face brightened in an instant. Just as the goblins had said, tears of joy burst forth, and she began to sob her heart out. The sight of her crying, with tears and snot running down her face, was quite impressive.
“Waaaaah… sob… uwaaaaaah!”
Of course, I thought it was proper etiquette to approach her at a time like this, so I walked over to Mev and patted her head.
It might sound obvious, but when I think about it, the one most dedicated to this clan was none other than Mev. From the moment we first met until now, Mev had always been the clan's mistress, and she was even the one who gave up her own position to save me. Ragia was the chieftain now, but it was Mev who had laid the foundation from the chieftain's seat in the beginning. Naturally, I couldn't help but feel grateful to her.
So, she immediately threw herself into my arms.
“Waaaaah.”
She must have been through a lot, because she kept shedding big, fat tears all over my shirt.
*
To get straight to the point, I had no choice but to spend the night with Mev. The atmosphere was certainly not one where I could say I didn't want an heir yet, and I felt some kind of performance was necessary to calm the overheated mood. It was embarrassing, but for a moment, I could somewhat understand how politicians feel when they go on tours to meet the common people.
Of course, Jung Hayeon and Baek Ahyeon, who had thought it was their turn, were staring at Mev with burning eyes, but it seemed they had accepted it.
I picked up a dagger inside the tent and idly tossed it into the air, letting it spin once. There wasn't much to do while waiting for Mev after the festival had mostly wound down.
The women of the tribe had made up their minds and were making a fuss, insisting on performing a special ritual, so I had no choice but to wait for Mev. I was worried they might be getting some unknown spell from Hakajin, but it seemed they were performing some kind of Green Skin ritual, like a folk belief.
Of course, agreeing to spend the night with Mev didn't mean I intended to produce an heir. Mev, who had been pretending we'd been sleeping together all this time, probably had a rough idea. However, I couldn't stop the mother goblins and the other women, who believed the earlier event was a decision to create an heir.
As a result, I had no choice but to slowly think about having a child once again. The Green Skins also cherished children, but as someone with a human mindset, it was a problem I had to think about a little more deeply than they did.
I'd never seen a Fairy child grow, but unlike human children, a Green Skin child's body is ready for battle in three years, and they are recognized as an adult in seven. In other words, my child would be standing on the battlefield with me in exactly seven years. Naturally, it wasn't a pleasant thought. For a slightly different reason, Choi Seulgi was also a problem. Our relationship hadn't started on normal terms, so there were no constraints on each other, but if I showed up with a child, she would definitely be furious.
From Blood Dagger's perspective, he wanted to have a child and further develop the tribe, but from the perspective of Kim Taesung, not Blood Dagger, it felt a little unsettling. It was then, as I was lost in my own thoughts.
“Ch-Chieftain.”
Mev's voice came from outside the tent.
The mother goblins had finished their preparations.