Fairy (3)
Fairy (3)
-Piiing... Pii... Piyaa.......
Exactly two hours.
The Fairy trapped in the glass jar began to cry, shedding tear-like orbs.
"Professor... I think that's enough now. Please stop...."
"Very well."
Left to my own devices, I would have waited until it collapsed from sheer exhaustion, but Claire's constant fidgeting beside me made me decide to let it out at that moment.
The jar had rolled some distance away, and the creature was facing away from us while crying, so even if we showed ourselves now, it wouldn't notice right away.
"Follow me."
"......Yes."
After positioning myself beside Claire with my back to the door, I withdrew my mana and shoved it open with one hand.
Creeeeak—
The long-neglected hinges screamed as the door slid back, and the Fairy, who had been slumped inside the jar sniffling, shot into the air.
-Pii...?
It turned its head toward us, letting out that chick-like sound it always makes.
Emerald hair that reached its shoulders, with matching green eyes.
Perhaps because it had cried so much, its eyelids were slightly puffy, giving it a cuter impression rather than a purely beautiful one.
-Pi, pii!!
The moment it spotted Claire and me, the creature's eyes flew wide with surprise and it flapped its tiny wings with all its might.
-Ppyak?!
"Ah...."
The Fairy slammed its head against the glass and dropped, and Claire let out a small sigh of sympathy. She'd always adored small, cute things, so this was a perfectly natural reaction.
"I think... it's passed out."
"So it seems."
The Fairy toppled onto the bottom of the jar and stopped moving entirely. Looking at the slight bump already swelling on its crown, it must have flapped harder than I'd expected.
'Good.'
While it's unconscious, we can examine it freely, which saves time in several ways.
There was no longer any reason to hold hands, so I released Claire's—her palm was far too warm—and moved toward the jar. Claire hesitated for a second, then quickly followed and stood beside me.
"May I... heal it?"
She must have been concerned about the bump on the Fairy's head, because she asked permission the instant we reached the jar.
"Wait a moment."
"......Yes."
At my reply, she nodded. At the same time, the corners of her eyes, normally so cold, softened slightly.
During lectures or whenever she moves about outside, those icy eyes always seemed to glare down any student or faculty member who dared approach her. Yet now she looked utterly dejected, like a puppy scolded by its owner.
"......Professor?"
She'd been looking down at the Fairy, but then she turned her head and slowly blinked at me. Having spent a long time together, it seemed she could now sense my gaze to some extent.
"What is it?"
"...No. It's nothing...."
She shook her head after a brief glance at me and returned her attention to the Fairy. These cumbersome glasses proved useful once in a while.
'I'll need to be careful.'
Maybe the same long familiarity is at work here.
Just as she's become aware of my gaze, I sometimes find my own eyes stolen by her. Mostly when she does something that reminds me of Baek Ha-na as a child, but still....
I averted my eyes and lowered my stance.
I placed my hand over the spot where the unconscious Fairy lay sprawled. Unlike sleeping, a knockout meant I didn't have to worry about it suddenly waking up, so I could examine the tiny thing freely.
I moved my mana and covered its small body. The mana settled over it, then seeped slowly inward.
I closed my eyes and focused.
To measure the time remaining for this creature that would become the cornerstone of my plan.
**
Only the sound of soft breathing filled the warehouse.
Baek Woo-jin knelt on one knee before the glass jar, completely focused.
Claire sat demurely beside him, watching.
'What is he trying to do?'
The mana around the jar was moving incredibly delicately.
Thanks to her innate eyes, she could see the flow and movement of mana, so she knew he was doing something.
But unlike other ability-type Awakened, he didn't require formulas or mediums; he manifested magic directly, so she couldn't tell what kind it was.
"Claire."
After inspecting the Fairy without so much as a twitch for a long while, Baek Woo-jin opened his eyes and spoke quietly.
"Heal it after it wakes up."
"...So that it will befriend us?"
Baek Woo-jin gave a single nod and rose. He moved a short distance away from the jar and sat down, then gestured with his hand to summon the basket he'd left farther off.
Claire watched him study her from behind the basket for a moment, then turned and looked down at the unconscious Fairy.
-Pi.......
Time passed.
The Fairy, which had lain as if dead, wriggled, let out a chick-like sound, and lifted its head.
-Pi...?
"......."
Claire locked eyes with the tiny Fairy gazing up at her through sleepy, blinking eyes.
-Pi, pii...!!
Its hazy eyes grew perfectly round, and the Fairy scrambled toward the necklace—the only thing left inside the jar—and buried its face in it.
"......."
The sight was so small and adorable that Claire had to forcibly keep the corners of her mouth from curling upward.
-Pii, piii....
The minuscule Fairy hid its face and trembled.
Claire gently laid her hand over the same spot Baek Woo-jin had touched a moment before. A soft light bloomed from her palm.
-Piii...?
The Fairy slowly lifted its head. Then it looked up at the warm light flowing above it.
-Piya.
Eyes full of curiosity, the Fairy reached its tiny hands toward the light. At that, Claire's lips finally curved upward just a little.
"Open it when you're done."
"......Yes."
Baek Woo-jin's voice from behind brought her back to her senses, and Claire withdrew her holy power.
-Pi?
The Fairy, which had been reaching up, blinked and looked at her, tilting its head. If Baek Woo-jin hadn't been there to restrain her, she would have spent hours playing with the Fairy, pouring out her holy power.
Steadying her expression again, Claire carefully opened the lid of the jar that Baek Woo-jin had sealed.
-.......
The Fairy glanced at the open mouth of the jar, clutched the necklace it had been hiding behind, and cautiously stepped out. Then it fluttered its small wings and vanished onto the loft in an instant.
As Claire felt a twinge of disappointment, Baek Woo-jin called for her.
"Claire."
"......Yes?"
When she turned, a small container came floating slowly toward her, and she caught it with ease.
"If you open that and wait, it'll come down on its own."
"......."
She opened her palm. The container in it had the same design as the one that had held the slime essence. Claire glanced upward.
-Pii.
The Fairy had returned at some point and was peering down at her, only its tiny face visible.
'Open this....'
Following Baek Woo-jin's instructions, Claire unsealed the small container. A bright yellow liquid was the first thing she noticed, and then a sweet scent tickled her nose.
'Honey...?'
It didn't appear to be ordinary honey, but its appearance and fragrance were close to the honey she knew well. She rested the container, which was now giving off a sweet aroma, on her palm and waited quietly for the Fairy to approach.
-Piii.
A little chick sound came from the loft, and before long, the Fairy cautiously emerged and landed on Claire's palm.
-Pii...?
It looked back and forth between her hand and the container resting on it, then crept slowly closer until it finally plunged its tiny arms into the container with a plop!
-Pii!! Piya!!
After tasting the honey-like substance on its fingers, the Fairy beamed and started scooping it up joyfully. Despite its small frame, the Fairy was an incredible glutton, and the container was emptied in no time.
-Piya~
Licking its lips, the Fairy wore a satisfied expression and peered at Claire's face with bright, sparkling eyes.
-Piya!!
Smack! Smack!
Then, without warning, it began slapping Claire's palm.
Claire was taken aback by the Fairy's sudden behavior. Baek Woo-jin spoke to her.
"It seems to like your holy power."
"Ah...!!"
With that explanation, she understood and immediately began releasing holy power carefully.
-Piii.
The agitated Fairy went instantly calm. It kneaded Claire's softly glowing palm with its tiny hands, green eyes sparkling.
-Pii.
After fiddling with Claire's hand for a long while, a bright light suddenly burst from the Fairy's body.
-Piya.
The light immediately coalesced into a small sphere and settled into the Fairy's two tiny hands.
The Fairy turned around and held the sphere out toward Claire.
-Piya!!
It was beaming as it offered the orb. Anyone could see it wanted her to take it. But Claire couldn't move.
The moment the light from the Fairy's body had become a sphere, the Fairy's presence had grown fainter.
"It seems you've made a good impression, fortunately. That's a gift asking to be friends. Take it."
"But, this is...."
For the first time, Claire hesitated even after hearing Baek Woo-jin's words.
She had a vague sense of what the sphere in the Fairy's hands was made of. That was why she couldn't help but hesitate.
"Once it's drawn out, there is no way to return it. So accept it. Otherwise, the little one will be sad."
-Pii.......
No sooner had Baek Woo-jin finished speaking than the Fairy, which had been smiling brightly, looked up at Claire with eyes that seemed about to fill with tears.
Ultimately, the choice was narrowed down to one, and Claire had no choice but to accept the sphere from the Fairy's hands.
-Piya!!
When its gift was accepted, the Fairy smiled brightly again, delighted.
But Claire could not smile at all.
"The purest, the most curious, the most cowardly, and lonelier than anyone... that is what a Fairy is."
-Pii?
The joyful Fairy blinked, then used its small wings to fly up onto Claire's shoulder. Using her hair as a wall, it peeked out and looked at Baek Woo-jin.
Baek Woo-jin met the Fairy's steady gaze and continued.
"From the moment it was born, it would have been alone. And because of that, it would have been lonely."
-Pii.......
The Fairy glared at Baek Woo-jin's glasses, eyes glinting.
"Unable to learn anything, with nothing of its own—the one and only thing it could give. It gave that to the very first friend it ever made. And whoever received it would have been happy. Seeing that, the creature... well, I don't need to spell out the rest."
-Piii.
Ultimately unable to hold back, the Fairy flew at Baek Woo-jin, grabbed his large glasses, and pulled backward with all its might.
-Piiik?!
The glasses were far heavier than it expected, and the Fairy tumbled down along with them.
-Ppyak!!
Landing on Baek Woo-jin's shin, the Fairy was pinned under the heavy, wide lenses and flailed.
-PiyAAAK!!
As he watched the Fairy screaming to be rescued, Baek Woo-jin reached out and lifted the glasses.
-PiyAaa.......
The Fairy rose up along with them, dangling from the nose pads. Baek Woo-jin settled the glasses back onto his face, the Fairy still clinging to them, and slid his palm beneath its dangling feet.
-Pii.
The Fairy collapsed onto Baek Woo-jin's palm as if exhausted. Yet its gaze remained fixed on his large glasses.
Baek Woo-jin met the Fairy's infinitely curious eyes.
"So if this one comes looking for you, make time for it whenever you can."
-Piya!!
The Fairy stretched both arms out to grab Baek Woo-jin's glasses, but he pulled his head back. Watching the Fairy chirp like a chick in his palm, he looked toward Claire, who was still sitting with her back to them, and spoke.
"Claire. You will be this one's first friend this year, after all."
"......."
Claire nodded once.
Her gaze remained bound to the sphere in her hand, unable to look away for a long time.