Hea?ring
Hea?ring
The day after we had thoroughly enjoyed the hot springs.
With A-rin's problem resolved, we decided to return to Siyoram.
"You've only stayed a few days... Won't you stay a bit longer?"
We were in the wide yard we'd come to for the gate. Seo-yul, A-rin, and I were tidying our luggage when Kim Yu-yeon, who'd come to see us off, voiced her regret.
- The new term at Siyoram is almost here. I've got a lot to prepare, so... Next time I'll definitely stay longer.
"Next time I'll prepare a more thorough welcome."
Kim Yu-yeon smiled brightly, as if she'd been waiting for that, and handed over a bundle.
"It's modest, but I've prepared a gift. It's woefully insufficient compared to the kindness we've received, but please accept it."
- Ah, thank you...!
The bundle was a subspace pouch with spatial magic built in, stuffed with top-grade nutritional supplements and materials rare even in the Changhae territory.
'It even has two Heaven Snow Flowers.'
Heaven Snow Flowers grow on the remote peaks of high mountains, steadily absorbing cold energy over decades. They're precious materials that don't grow naturally anywhere but the Demon Realm or the Changhae territory.
Of course, given my abilities and status, I could easily obtain such things, but I couldn't ignore the sincerity behind the gift.
'I can put them in the elixir I'll give Seo-yul.'
I gave a polite smile and bowed my head.
- Thank you very much. Next time I visit, I'll definitely bring a gift too!
"We've received so much from you already—and it's been entirely one-sided. If we keep exchanging gifts, we'll never truly repay you."
Baek Wol-seon, who had also come out to see us off, chimed in lightly.
I let out an awkward laugh and hugged the bundle tightly.
- Ahaha... If we're keeping score, I've received a ton myself...
"Whatever we gave, it can't compare to our daughter's life and the safety of the territory."
Baek Wol-seon murmured that and then looked at Baek A-rin with a worried expression.
"Must you really leave? I know the new term is soon, but how about resting at home for a while?"
"I'm worried too."
Kim Yu-yeon revealed her hidden concern as well. A-rin chuckled lightly and rested her elbow on my head.
Then she looked down at me with a mischievous grin.
"A certain someone gave me a very effective remedy, you see... Yes, strong enough to make me completely lose my head."
I cut in with a strained cough and shot back a sound transmission.
- Ahem... A-rin, your arm is heavy...
- What are you talking about?
"Oh my, my head's buzzing inside and out~"
Smirking, A-rin pulled me against her shoulder.
"Anyway, I'm really fine. And there's a family meeting at Siyoram I absolutely have to attend."
"A family meeting... Ah."
Kim Yu-yeon blinked. Then, seeing me in A-rin's arms, she let out an admiring sigh and chuckled.
"Well, if that's the case, it can't be helped."
"Ahem... well, we haven't even held a ceremony yet..."
"Dear, young people these days don't split hairs over that."
That was a difficult remark for me to react to.
I rolled my eyes uselessly before finally lowering my head. A-rin, still looking down at me, smiled with her eyes.
- Um... I'll really be going now.
Unable to endure it any longer, I pressed my palms together and formed hand seals. Authority and mana intertwined smoothly, creating a blue vortex behind us.
The farewells were done.
I took Seo-yul's and A-rin's hands and was about to turn around when A-rin suddenly glanced back.
"What's the matter?"
Baek Wol-seon and Kim Yu-yeon, who had been seeing us off, blinked.
A-rin studied the two of them for a moment, then a smile bloomed on her face.
"I'm heading out now."
It was a natural, gentle smile. A-rin had always worn a smile, but the one she wore now was different from before.
Perhaps sharing the same impression, Baek Wol-seon and Kim Yu-yeon's eyes went wide.
"Dad. And Mom."
"...Right, take care of your health at Siyoram..."
Kim Yu-yeon's reply trailed off.
"W-Wh... M-Mom?"
"I'm really leaving now!"
Giggling, A-rin tugged me and Seo-yul along.
"Wait, A-rin...!?"
Kim Yu-yeon, her eyes welling with emotion, reached out, but we had already plunged into the gate.
.
.
.
The gate was connected to the Fairy Tree I'd planted at Siyoram.
- Bwooom!
As I took a few steps forward through the disorientation of crossing space, cool, rich air wrapped around me.
"Hooah..."
Seo-yul, who was gripping my hand tightly, took a deep breath. Without her armor, she looked truly comfortable.
"Phew... this really is the easiest place to breathe."
- There's a Fairy Tree right beside us. It's the best place to live, for people and fairies alike, isn't it?
"Yes, that's right. Home is the best."
Seo-yul smiled softly, and her five-colored wings unfurled from her back.
I stroked Seo-yul's hand lightly and glanced behind us.
The place we'd emerged from was the blue vortex that had formed among the Fairy Tree's roots.
'Normally I would've used a spatial leap.'
A gate and a spatial leap are both space-type techniques, but the biggest difference is their sustainment. A gate connects coordinates and opens space to maintain it. Spatial leap is when only me and a few other entities cross space to reach a destination.
A gate takes more effort and mana. That's why I never used one unless it was for mass transport.
But if you specify a Fairy Tree as the coordinates, things change.
'It functions like a relay, I suppose. The cost of opening a gate becomes much lower.'
The drain drops to the point where I can freely use a gate instead of a spatial leap. Thanks to that, using a Fairy Tree as a medium lets me tear open a gate without any real burden.
"A gate feels so much smoother on the senses... Huh?"
A-rin, who had been stretching lightly, looked around and blinked.
"...Ha-yul, what's all this?"
- Well... it just sort of happened...
I scratched my cheek at A-rin's bewildered question and discreetly used Observation on my surroundings.
A fairy was sprawled over a nearby Fairy Tree root, sound asleep. It wasn't one of the children who stayed in the mansion.
- Huweng... weeng... weng... hua... hm...?
The child yawned leisurely, cracked its eyes open, and upon seeing my face, froze with its mouth hanging open.
With a soft laugh, I used my fingertip to gently close its mouth, then swept through the information from Observation.
The scenery A-rin had seen was relayed to me.
- It's so wonderful here... so warm...
- Sniff sniff, the grass even smells good!
- You can pick and eat the berries right here! But not those berries and flowers over there! The King and Queen Lee Ji-yeon manage that area specially!
Fairies and high-ranking spirits were flitting about over the field. A-rin, who'd been staring dazedly, let out a hollow laugh.
"...Hasn't your number of subjects grown way too much while I was away, Your Majesty?"
"They're children from Taesan Territory," Seo-yul supplied.
"And the spirits...? I mean... I'd heard, but they really are all high-ranking spirits."
After counting the number of high-ranking spirits, A-rin took a sharp breath as she roughly assessed their combat strength.
I swallowed a bitter smile and turned my head.
The gate we'd arrived through had vanished. But between the roots next to it, another gate was being maintained.
It was connected to the Fairy Tree in the Fairy District of Taesan Territory.
'If you link Fairy Trees with a gate, the already light burden on the gate becomes even more convenient to maintain.'
It's thanks to the Fairy Trees' nature. Fairy Trees link to other Fairy Trees and amplify their power through them. That link eased the gate's connection.
'Thanks to that, I can keep a gate connected with almost no drain.'
Even the slight drain that did exist was automatically covered by the Fairy Tree using earth-vein mana.
From my end, once a link was made, it practically cost me nothing. Considering the resources and personnel the Association spends to maintain a single gate, it was an incredible feat.
Of course, out of consideration for the Taesan family, I'd planned to avoid keeping the gate open. The Three Great Families won't accept gates for security reasons. And since Seoul, which they've designated a neutral zone, already has a gate, even if they did install one, they'd only put one or two on the territory's outskirts at most. Even though the Fairy District isn't near the main house, it's still squarely inside the territory, so I'd meant to refrain.
- It really doesn't matter. You can keep it open. No—if it isn't a strain for you, wouldn't it be better to leave it open so the children can come and go freely?
But Lee Ji-yeon gave me permission. She even persuaded me that keeping it connected would be mutually beneficial.
So fairies and spirits could now travel freely between Siyoram and Taesan Territory.
- ...Ah! Your Majesty!
Rio, the yellow-haired fairy who had been guiding newcomers, spotted me and her eyes sparkled.
- Your Majestyyy...!
Rio approached, waving her hands in circles. But Rio couldn't reach me.
- Your Majesty?
- Ah...! The King is here!
- What, the King has returned!
- Wai... guweck!
Close to a hundred fairies and spirits shoved past Rio and flew at me.
I had been expecting that, so I gave a wry smile and spread my arms.
- Master...! You're back!
The first to arrive was the high-ranking lightning spirit.
She literally flew like lightning, but unlike her speed, the way she embraced me was completely gentle.
- Ehehe... it's really been so long! I missed you!
- I'm really happy to see you too... Arkhiel, Arotra... did you just get back? Did you have any trouble in Taesan Territory?
- Uh-huh, uh-huh! The monsters and undead were total pushovers, no problem at all!
These were children who had been helping the Taesan family and had come back to Siyoram through the gate to rest.
She hugged me tightly and rubbed her cheek against me; her behavior, along with the fact that her coloring was similar, made her seem like a golden retriever.
- You really worked hard. Thank you for helping.
As I stroked the hair of the spirit holding me tightly—Arkhiel—I planted a kiss on her cheek with affection.
- Oooh, ehehehe...!
- Me too, me too! Do it for me too!
- Yes, just wait a moment... mmph
Soon enough, the rest of the spirits arrived. Fire, water, wind, earth... I was swept up in an unending wave of spirits and toppled backward.
Thanks to the wind that had pooled behind me like a mat, it didn't hurt at all.
"Wow... they're all high-ranking, and... they're all tall and curvaceous female forms...?"
"......."
While I was receiving the spirits' affection, my shoulders flinched at a chilly murmur that drifted my way.
The contractor has a major influence on a contracted spirit's ascension. In other words, these children's appearances had inevitably been shaped by my mindscape...
- I don't think it could be helped...
"I'm very curious exactly what couldn't be helped..."
A-rin shook her head back and forth, then turned her gaze toward the mansion.
- ...Ah!
At the same time, the spirits flinched. The fire spirits in particular jumped in surprise and hurriedly backed away.
"Ah."
I, still lying on the ground, blinked, then recognized the approaching presence and let out an admiring breath.
"Ha-yul, welcome back."
Yeon-hwa walked up through the path that had cleared on its own and smiled warmly.
She bent down, slipped her hands under my arms, and lifted me up.
Then she pulled me snugly into her embrace.
Held against a warm, soft chest, I found my eyes closing on their own.
- Yeah... I'm back.
"Good. You said you'd come back early, so I was a little surprised."
- Ehehe.
Yeon-hwa gently cupped my face and pressed a kiss to my lips. When I smiled softly at that, she smiled back.
"Then let's quickly unpack your things... Ah, and your body's back to normal? Should we go inside and... talk about a few things?"
- ...Yes.
Obviously, I couldn't avoid that conversation.
I briefly considered turning myself young, then quietly buried my face in Yeon-hwa's chest.