Chapter 109
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: The Fairy Chancellor's Visit
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“What’s the matter?”
After heaving out a long sigh that carried all my worries away, I shot a glare at the new chancellor.
Her sparkling eyes held an innocent, childlike quality, but in reality, she was a fairy well over a hundred years old.
As one of the long-lived races, alongside elves, her appearance had settled somewhere near her twenties. However, fairies possessed several unique traits that set them apart from humans.
Retaining youth until death was likely one of those features.
As was their distinctive personality.
Even as I openly showed my displeasure, the chancellor casually invaded my personal space without a second thought.
“I’m, like, a huge fan!”
I naturally stepped back from her sudden lean-in.
“I see. Noted. Now get lost.”
“Aw, c’mon, give me a little welcome?”
“No. And don’t you think you’re being awfully rude right from the start?”
“Oh.”
Only then did the chancellor cover her mouth, as if realizing her mistake.
“You’re right. I forgot to introduce myself. Ahem. You might’ve seen it on the banner, but I’m Amelia. No family name—just Amelia will do. In imperial terms, that makes me a commoner.”
The issue wasn’t the introduction.
I swallowed those words and politely declined.
“I have no intention of fitting fairies into the empire’s class system.”
If elves were said to live in harmony with nature, fairies were more like the spirit folk’s distant cousins—nature incarnate.
In other words, mistreating a fairy without cause would not endear you to the spirits.
‘Spirits don’t even know the word “forgiveness” in the first place. Best not to get on their bad side.’
That was why they weren’t incorporated into the class system at all.
It was easier to think of them as supernatural beings who took on human form.
Even though fairies occasionally appeared as human domains expanded and pushed them into corners, they had been shrouded in mystery just two hundred years ago, so it wasn’t all that surprising.
‘The problem is…’
Fairies who mingled in human society were oddballs among oddballs.
“Is that so? What a relief.”
She let out a genuine sigh of relief, patting her chest, then beamed at me with bright eyes.
By Aiden’s temper, he would’ve already told her to scram, fairy or not…
“With all these eyes on us, focus on the inauguration for now. I’ll look into you later.”
“No! I’ll come to Professor Aiden’s lab!”
“Do as you like.”
Folks like Elin, who handled spirits, or Arion could use help from a fairy like Amelia.
She was already set to shower the protagonists with all sorts of benefits, so I couldn’t treat her lightly.
“See you later, then!”
After blurting that out, she spun away without a hint of lingering, leaving Elin stunned.
“It’s like a storm blew through.”
“Tell me about it.”
For once, we agreed and sighed in unison.
* * *
Having successfully completed her inauguration, Amelia sat demurely… no, a bit mischievously on the guest sofa, peering around curiously.
Several pairs of eyes had watched her, but I’d just shooed them off.
I’d handed a reluctant Elin over to Radia, even tossing in some cash to send them to a nearby café.
I hadn’t expected her to barge into my lab with the new chancellor and start nesting like a beaver.
Snacks and drinks within reach, pillows and blankets, even novels scattered everywhere—it nearly short-circuited my brain.
Isel, who should’ve stopped her, was already there too.
I pressed my temples.
‘I hope this isn’t contagious.’
“You’ve seen quite the sight.”
“Ahaha, it’s fine. It looks comfy—kinda nice, actually?”
“…Too comfy, that’s the problem.”
As I said that, I portioned out some tea leaves from the shelf.
Fairies, being spirit kin akin to nature itself, probably wouldn’t care for processed drinks like coffee, so I opted for tea.
The new chancellor watched with a grin, then suddenly tossed out a comment.
“Professor Aiden really is well-liked.”
“Even if your earlier behavior leaves me at a loss for words, you’re the only one bold enough to say it to my face.”
Not that I should be the one saying it, but as Princess Lilian put it, Aiden had quite the radical side.
The rumor of his icy, ruthless nature—like finely shaved ice—was no idle gossip from some chatty madam.
Aiden had truly earned that notoriety in the past.
Whether Amelia knew it or not, her expression didn’t flicker as she gazed at me with gentle eyes.
“Sorry for my rudeness this morning. I knew humans aren’t like us, but I keep forgetting. That half-elf beside you seems the type too.”
“If you know it’s rude, show some restraint.”
Even as I said it, knowing it was a futile wish, I set the teacups on the desk instead of sighing.
“You committed that level of rudeness assuming I’d let it slide?”
“Huh? You know? That I can see people’s true essence.”
“At my level, you end up knowing all sorts of things whether you like it or not. Including about you, of course.”
One of the scant ten archmages in existence, and an eccentric fairy mingling in human society.
Catching my gaze, Amelia bashfully grinned it off.
“So, ‘fan’ is just for show. What really caught your interest enough to seek me out?”
“Oh, that?”
Amelia fidgeted, debating whether to say it, then stomped her feet in frustration.
It was hard to believe she was a fairy over a hundred.
‘No, is this even human standards?’
Elves could barely fit into human norms, but fairies were on a whole other level.
They didn’t really need sleep or meals.
They dismissed most of the seven emotions and six desires as trivial—or if they felt them, it was take it or leave it.
For this fairy, immersed in human society and its ups and downs, if she acted this way, then so be it.
I shouldn’t force fairies into the narrow human view of emotions.
“Whew. What’s the point of me bundling it all up when you already know, Professor.”
“What is it?”
“You can use runes, right, Professor?”
A chill crept up Amelia’s throat, making her want to swallow.
Even having shaped a human form and body, her mindset still mirrored the spirits’.
Fairies were half spirit, half human-like.
But their thought patterns inherited the spirits’ innate nature—that was the right way to see it.
Even after less than a century mingling with people.
Her head understood why to swallow or perform these vital functions, but mimicking “unnecessary acts” so rigidly didn’t sit well with her body.
For instance, humans had to blink every three seconds to keep their eyes moist, but this body didn’t dry out regardless.
It was an imitation of a human body, not an exact replica, after all.
But in this moment, Amelia felt her body hairs stand on end, just like any other person.
And the reason lay in those eerie blue eyes staring at her.
An indescribable, formless gloom settled in every corner of the room.
The bright atmosphere had vanished, replaced by a deep-sea flicker of dark blue irises.
Amelia, who could pierce people’s essences, felt it viscerally.
Those eyes dragged one down to the profound ocean depths.
And lurking there was an unbearable terror that made the skin crawl—as if it were lethal.
“Just a bit, let me, speak without the pressure…”
“Very well.”
With those stiff words, the heavy pressure eased.
Amelia consciously checked that her head was still attached, then took a deep breath.
“No need to silence me. My lips aren’t that loose.”
“You see essences. Is that it?”
“I got a few clues, but that’s not all.”
Professor Aiden eyed her askance.
Amelia steadied her quickening breath again.
‘A monster, this one.’
It felt like a jumble of everything.
An indefinable beastly aura in his body, serpentine vertical pupils like a sharp blade, incompatible elements mashed into one form.
If anything came to mind, a three-headed, six-armed monstrosity.
‘No wonder he reached master at that age.’
“Heresy mage, demon worshiper, spiritist bearing Lady Elise’s aura. With clues like that, not much else fits. I took a stab… and it’s correct, huh.”
Professor Aiden clicked his tongue.
He pondered something briefly, eyes distant, then opened them.
Amelia tensed, knowing her neck’s fate hung on his thoughts.
As an archmage herself, she wondered if she could escape if she focused on flight—but no chance.
‘Gone before I can react.’
Haa…
Professor Aiden’s heavy sigh descended.
“Tch, you really are full of surprises. If that’s what you are, then fine.”
“Huh? You believe me just like that?”
“I know a thing or two myself, so the gains outweigh any immediate risks. So, about that…”
I could’ve sworn he muttered something like “original work…”, but I got distracted and missed what Aiden said next.
“Are you listening?”
“Yes, yes! I am.”
“Could you look into this for me?”
Amelia recoiled in horror at what Aiden proffered, tumbling behind the sofa and holding her breath.
“Get that awayyyy!”
“…Shouldn’t you earn my trust before your head starts wobbling loose?”
“Eek. Still, that’s…”
What Aiden held was none other than an eye.
A red eye, perfectly preserved in formalin.
“Why is that in Professor Aiden’s hand!?”
“Tore it out after a scrap the other day.”
“No, but it’s a person’s eye—you can’t just say that so casually…!”
Anyone overhearing would think he’d plucked some grapes from a tree.
Reflexively horrified, but with her neck on the line, she tearfully inched closer.
“It’s really an apostle’s eye.”
“You know about the great demon sealed in the capital?”
“No, I didn’t know that…”
“I see. Then no need to worry about it. I’m swamped with that, so I could use your help.”
Before Amelia could puzzle over his casual trust, Aiden laid out his requests.
“The capital is cursed. Ever come across that rumor?”
“Oh, yes. It was weirdly pervasive, like someone spread it on purpose. Do you know?”
“Who knows…”
Instead of explaining, Aiden vaguely replied that it proved the calamity looming over the capital wasn’t over yet, ending the topic.
“So much to do, and too many eyes watching.”
Irritated, he tapped the desk, then his gaze sharpened.
“For now, get the academy running normally to draw their attention. Time’s short, tasks are plenty—handle it all before it runs out.”
The great demon seal, the cursed capital. All of it.
Professor Aiden planned to wipe it out in one go.
Mainly, the moment the rapier dropped on the soldiers surveilling him—Aiden calmly told Amelia he’d be away from the academy briefly.
“Investigate the Grace in the meantime.”