Fairy Tree (1)
Fairy Tree (1)
The headmaster's mansion was spacious.
It was hard to even list all the facilities inside.
Though quite some time had passed since I started living here, there were far more facilities I hadn't used than ones I had.
"Then I shall begin what may be the... umpteenth meeting."
- tap tap tap
The same was true of this room, where the meeting was jokingly mentioned. In the spacious room, many sofas were arranged for conversation.
Yeon-hwa, who had made the tapping sound with her mouth, looked around.
The sofas were nearly full, and the participants were diverse.
A colorful human. Tiny fairies and Seo-yul. Spirits in animal and human forms... even a baby unicorn that had boldly claimed a seat.
Everyone wore outwardly serious expressions. Yeon-hwa nodded and spoke.
"First, let's gather opinions. Please share your thoughts."
"Confinement."
"Incarceration."
"Imprisonment."
[We must keep him in the mansion and make him rest]
- I agree
- That's right! The King needs to rest!
"Let's keep him at home for a while so he can't cause trouble. Ah, and from the video, he was flying around with a doppelganger too, so restrict the doppelganger as well."
"Hmm, they all mean the same thing. Let's just go with 'confinement.' Anyway, it's settled. Effective today, the sentence of mansion confinement is imposed upon Lee Ha-yul."
- tap tap tap...
The meeting was adjourned.
It had been about an hour since my exit from the Tower of Growth and my subsequent restraint and escort. From the back-and-forth of opinions to the conclusion, it took less than a minute.
For the record, my defense wasn't even considered in that punishment. My face grew bewildered as my sentence was decided within a minute.
"But..."
"What 'but'? What's the 'but'?"
"Grrk..."
[Gwaaak]
I had opened my mouth for nothing; my lips were lightly pinched. Yeon-hwa glared down at me.
"I'm going to scold you for real. Is your body a toy? You just take it apart, put it back together, cut it up, and sprout new things?"
"Mmph..."
[I've been wronged...]
"Wronged? W-r-o-n-g-e-d?"
"I think his sentence should be extended."
"I agree."
Jeers came from all around.
Baek A-rin and Ellia narrowed their eyes sharply. Professor Liana and my teacher spoke in stern voices, too.
Even those who didn't speak aloud didn't exactly look at me kindly. Realizing there was no one on my side, I felt unreasonably hurt and pouted.
"You little... what's there to be so wronged about?"
Yeon-hwa let out an incredulous laugh, touching my pouting lips as she asked. Sharp gazes pierced me from all around.
My body reflexively curled up, but I definitely had things I felt wronged about.
[I didn't know it would turn out like this either...]
I added Gale and Heavenly Thunder to Three Ends. My intuition had been blaring like a siren when I tried to gauge the combination, but I couldn't measure it precisely.
The danger and output were unknown variables. I had to figure them out, right?
But since I might be in danger, I waited until I could enter the Tower, where injuries and death are nullified.
In fact, it was the right choice. I learned the danger and output, grew, and suffered no aftereffects whatsoever...
"That feature isn't for self-harm. Should I have tested my body's limits by stabbing myself, or verified how hot I can make my Calamity Flame?"
[No]
[Nonononononono]
[I hate it, don't, please never do that—hic!]
"Shit, you scared me."
A hand roughly grabbed my buttocks, cutting off the voice. Yeon-hwa blinked and then adjusted her hold on my trembling body.
"Miss Hong Yeon-hwa. Did you really have to grab Daddy's butt just now?"
"...Ahem. Anyway, look. You have that kind of reaction too. It's called putting yourself in someone else's shoes. Didn't I tell you that last time?"
"That... I have no excuse..."
"Then obviously you shouldn't have one."
Yeon-hwa snorted and slowly stroked my back.
"Ha-yul, I'm taking into account that it was inside the Tower of Growth. If you'd used that outside... honestly..."
"Eep..."
Yeon-hwa's Calamity Flame flickered low.
My body shivered from the coldly flickering flames. And the gazes flying at me from all around were sharp as daggers.
Unable to withstand the stares, my body instinctively crumpled and burrowed into Yeon-hwa's arms...
'I'm wronged...'
But I wasn't fully convinced. Of course, I wasn't saying I hadn't done anything wrong, but still, the only place to test Three Ends safely was the Tower of Growth...
"What, is confinement not enough? Should I confiscate your chest too?"
[Absolutely not...]
But since they were holding my meals hostage, I had no choice but to submit to this tyranny...
.
.
.
Two days had passed since the first semester's tower entry ended.
During that time, I truly couldn't leave the mansion. Fortunately, it was the weekend after the tower entry, so I didn't have to go to lectures.
Escape? I had no intention of it, nor could I.
Wherever I went, the winged garments that weren't my own were always wrapped around me.
'I didn't make them to be used like this...'
The way the winged garments bound me like ropes was truly ridiculous.
I'd made them myself, so I couldn't understand why they were restraining me...
"Complaining to me about that..."
[Grwaaaak...]
The creaky necklace emitted a weird sound.
As I squirmed like a caterpillar, Lee Ji-yeon, who was holding me in her arms, smiled bitterly and stroked my head.
...At the moment, my waist was tied with a green winged garment.
"You did do wrong, Junior. You treated your body recklessly... and you even promised you wouldn't anymore."
[Grrr...]
"You may not be able to keep every promise absolutely, but isn't it proper to try your best to keep them?"
[Grrk...]
I had no words to refute Lee Ji-yeon's gentle but firm logic. I shut my mouth and buried my face in her chest.
My face sank deep into her voluptuous chest. A warm and stable embrace. Lee Ji-yeon flinched slightly, then gently patted my shoulder.
'Mmm...'
...The two days of confinement hadn't been uncomfortable.
I wasn't the type to wander outside when I had nothing to do, after all.
Nor was I unable to train. I could train on the mansion grounds or in the training hall, just like now. Of course, there was a companion to prevent me from doing anything weird.
I wasn't tormented, either. I got petted just the same, fell asleep in someone's arms, got scolded and lectured about the tower incident now and then, and ate my meals to my heart's content—meals that had nearly been taken away...
'Bliss...'
In fact, it couldn't even be called a punishment. It was an utterly happy period...
"...Ahem. Anyway, let's start again, shall we?"
Lee Ji-yeon, who had been looking down at me with an odd expression, cleared her throat slightly and spoke. I peeked up and she tapped the floor.
"Shall we start with the basic operation, as you just learned?"
[Yes]
I placed my foot on the ground and activated Taesan.
- Rumble...
A tremor ran through the earth and a small pillar rose up. Lee Ji-yeon stroked the earthen pillar.
"You said these engraved patterns appear unconsciously, right?"
[Yep]
The pillar faintly revealed various patterns. The patterns formed by carved grooves felt quite antique in appearance.
"Is this influenced by your unique ability, Junior?"
[Considering the Calamity Flame... I think so]
I nodded and summoned the Calamity Flame in my hand.
A flame close to orange and yellow. Its beautifully flickering form seemed to dance as it approached.
"...Seeing how pretty this is, I think so too."
Lee Ji-yeon touched the Calamity Flame with a look of wonder.
Normally it would be a very dangerous action, but my flame instead clung to Lee Ji-yeon's hand as if acting cute.
'It's probably the influence of All-Rounder.'
It must be affecting not only my essential appearance but also the Calamity Flame and Taesan.
"Other than that... the output has increased."
[Yep]
Taesan's functions were broadly threefold.
Earth manipulation. And derived from it, vitality manipulation and necromancy.
Not only earth manipulation but also those two functions had greatly improved in level.
Vitality manipulation was now perceived more broadly and in detail, and the range of manipulation had become freer and easier.
'And for necromancy...'
I lightly tapped the ground with my toe. Rumble! The earth split beside the pillar and Aerus rose up.
'As expected, the correction effect had gone up significantly.'
I gauged Aerus's aura and nodded. Even without directly touching it, its level had risen.
"This undead... it's the monster from Sipnaha."
Lee Ji-yeon furrowed her brows upon seeing Aerus. Then her green eyes, turning back to me, held a hint of concern.
"Are you sure it's okay to keep this by your side and operate it?"
[Huh? Yes, yes. Of course]
I nodded and kicked Aerus's leg. Aerus flinched and stepped back a few paces.
[I'm using it well even now. The control is perfect, so there's nothing to worry about]
It was a monster with the potential to reach the 3rd-Rank Alpha.
Though its head had burst and it died to become an undead, fixing its level, its potential hadn't gone anywhere.
'And...'
I lifted my head so Lee Ji-yeon could see. I didn't open my eyes, but my face would be brimming with anticipation.
[Now that Taesan has fully manifested, I can learn necromancy expansion abilities too, right?]
"That's true."
[Once I learn the expansion ability, it'll become much more useful]
Taesan's expansion abilities also touched upon necromancy. Among them, what I had my eye on was none other than.
'Growth of the Undead.'
Growth is impossible for an already dead corpse and soul. Life has stopped, so there's no way it could advance.
But if it's Taesan's expansion ability... if limited to a few individuals, it's possible.
That was the reason I had deliberately made Aerus into an undead and used it.
Monsters possessing 3rd-Rank Alpha-level potential were exceedingly rare.
If I can raise it to that level and control it... it would become a truly, truly great power.
"...Junior. Are you diligently practicing filling your body with vitality energy?"
[Of course.]
While I was looking forward to the future, Lee Ji-yeon, who had been looking down at my face, suddenly asked that.
She looked calm, but a hint of worry leaked through. I shut my mouth for a moment, then tapped the ground with my heel.
Whooong! A wave spread through the earth and vitality energy wriggled. Soon flowers bloomed among the fresh green grass.
A soft purple flower. It was an agapanthus.
'Why did this have to bloom, of all things?'
With a strange expression, I lightly touched the flower with my toe.
Then I drew up the vitality energy spread beneath the ground. The energy that surged up from my toes piled up neatly inside my body.
"...Yes, your manipulation is much smoother, as expected. And the absorption into your body... it's going well."
[Ticklish]
Lee Ji-yeon, with a complicated expression, gently rubbed my stomach.
I giggled and enjoyed the touch for a moment, then squirmed out of her embrace.
[Hehehe. Now that the final check is done, I'll try the real thing]
I cleared my throat slightly and fluttered my three pairs of wings. Whooong! The will-thought that started from my wings spread throughout the mansion.
A moment later, those I had summoned approached.
- Your Majesty, why did you call?
[You came quickly? Wait just a moment]
- Yeah, hehe...
- Ah! Your Majesty, me too! Pet me, please!
The fairies I had brought from the dungeon the other day.
As I petted one, the others rushed to stick their heads out for petting, and soon the last one arrived.
"Daddy, you called?"
[Yeah... you came. Well...]
I hid my face, which was about to flush.
Pure white hair reaching below the waist. Softly shimmering five-colored wings. Eyes as beautiful and innocent as snow.
...Now I couldn't deny it anymore. It was Seo-yul, who now stood slightly, ever so slightly, taller than me.
"Is your training going well?"
[Of course... it's going well, it is...]
"Hehe, I'm glad to hear that. By the way, what did you call me for?"
Seo-yul smiled brightly and tilted her head as she asked. I cleared my throat and traced a line in the air with my finger.
[I have something to try, so I gathered the fairies to show them]
"Only the fairies?"
[Yes, the fairies]
I rummaged through my subspace and nodded.
When I entered the dungeon with Lee Ji-yeon and brought the fairies out,
I had placed the dead fairy tree they had lived in into my subspace, just in case.
'Now that Taesan has manifested, I should give it a try.'
Today, I planned to revive the fairy tree.