Rischel (3)
Rischel Kingdom was an island nation surrounded by the sea on all sides.
The island where Rischel was located was a volcanic island formed when an undersea volcano erupted. According to legend, it was the island of Rischel that the goddess had bestowed upon the fairies, who had no place to call home, out of pity.
Thanks to that legend, the people of Rischel had inherited thick fairy blood over generations, boasting exceptional beauty. They carried the trait unique to fairies, who consisted solely of females, making it a famous island where no males were born.
Yes, an island of women, where the vast majority of the population was female.
That was the true nature of Rischel Kingdom.
"The island of fairies composed entirely of women. Among them, Rischel's Maiden Queen is the strongest queen in history, having inherited the thickest fairy blood."
"Hold on a second. If all the citizens are women, then how do they even... have children?"
"Well, I hear there's a pond treated as a top secret within Rischel. If two people who are compatible enter it together, a child is born."
Of course, it was also possible to have children with men.
Rischel had a concept called plunder marriage, where they would occasionally kidnap men who visited their villages and force a union upon them.
Well, even so, given the high standards of beauty among Rischel's people, ordinary men probably wouldn't catch their eye...
In fact, there had been incidents where men, puffed up with dreams of snagging a stunning beauty, visited Rischel to hunt for partners among the locals only to get tossed into the sea.
Even then, only men of truly exceptional handsomeness—levels that met the villagers' standards—were very rarely kidnapped by them.
"Given the situation, very few residents pair with men, and most form bonds among themselves."
"You know quite a bit about it."
"I heard it from an acquaintance."
After all, it was information straight from someone directly involved there, so most of it was accurate.
Of course, the existence of that top-secret pond was real too.
The pond, blessed by the goddess and graced by fairy blessings, was practically a national treasure of Rischel.
It was a sanctuary held especially sacred even within Rischel.
{B-Beau...tiful man...!}
"......"
I flinched for a moment at the fleeting memory from the past, then turned to look at the woman standing beside me as her voice reached my ears.
"Anyway, it's definitely slow. No teleportation magic circle means it's taking longer than expected."
"Rischel has barriers that block external interference. Teleportation goes without saying."
That was why Rischel rarely used modern communication and relied on mail instead.
Exchanging letters via seagull air mail or dolphin sea mail had become a unique cultural staple of Rischel.
Of course, it had the drawback of taking time for logistics, but the advantage of thoroughly blocking invaders meant the people of Rischel didn't seem to mind much.
It probably helped that Rischel was close to the Ma Continent.
The Avalon barriers repelled the demons that visited all too frequently.
"In any case, Rischel is a bit of an odd nation. Its culture, politics, society—everything has a distinct flavor different from the continent."
"I'm looking forward to it. I've only heard about Rischel in stories; this is my first time going there myself."
You've visited once before, right, President?
I nodded, breaking into a cold sweat inwardly at Tatiana's innocent gaze fixed on me.
"Yeah, I went there once a long time ago."
And that was exactly why I had been avoiding Rischel.
The time was about five years ago.
It was around my second year after taking office as president.
Back then, I was in the midst of gathering hidden pieces while waiting for the protagonist to arrive soon. My first visit to Rischel happened right around that time.
Aiming for a hidden piece obtainable only in Rischel, I headed there and began searching based on the knowledge in my head.
The search for the hidden piece went smoothly.
I narrowed down candidates from locals' testimonies and scoured likely locations.
The residents were surprisingly friendly and approachable, but at the time, I didn't sense anything off about it.
The problem arose when it came to actually obtaining the hidden piece.
As expected, hidden pieces in the game were always tucked away in hard-to-reach spots.
And the place I found was no exception.
A vast lake surrounded by dense blue trees on all sides.
All I had to do was get the item Fairy's Tear from the fairy living there—a relatively simple task.
That hidden piece from the previous season was popular among players because it was easy to obtain by completing a simple quest. But that's where things went wrong.
"Fairies' Tear? Of course! I can give you as many as you want."
"Huh? What do I need to do? Ahaha! Nothing like that."
"Just stay with me instead!"
Who would've thought.
That I would be the fairies' perfect type.
Even I, who prided myself as a veteran player, was utterly shocked by this first-time experience.
And that's when my ordeal began.
Forget the item—I barely escaped hands trying to kidnap me forcibly, only to nearly get nabbed again at the next hidden piece location.
Even residents who had kindly offered me lodging tried to pounce on me.
Only then did I realize that it wasn't just the pure fairies; all of Rischel had me in their sights.
That's when I knew. That I was the fairies' perfect taste.
Luckily, I was strong enough back then. If I'd been even a little weaker, I would've been trapped in Rischel for good.
And it wasn't just the regular residents—the knights guarding the city were the same. Only after things escalated that far did I catch on that the developers had hidden some backstory for the fairy race.
No way... Do fairies instinctively crave life force?
There was a hidden setting even I didn't know about for fairies born from nature.
They had skyrocketing affinity toward beings brimming with life force.
Further investigation revealed that fairies and spirits born from nature were particularly vulnerable to the inner energy that constituted nature.
Fairies especially were drawn to ki.
Spirits to mana.
And by sheer coincidence, I had no mana but possessed ki of the continent's highest purity...
From their perspective, it was like pure life force was wandering right in front of them.
Having no idea, I'd walked into the tiger's den completely unprepared and paid the price dearly.
Moreover, when brute force failed, they started organizing systematically, even devising structured kidnapping plans.
I can confidently say that was the most hair-raising moment of my life.
An entire nation gunning for me? Get caught once, and it's over?
No game screws you over like that!
And the kidnappers even tried to force marriage on top of it. No escape.
I later heard from the Maiden Queen that my fairy affinity was absurdly high.
I hadn't noticed with spirits, but I had an innate constitution that made me easily compatible with fairies, worsening the situation.
Even Vivian, the lake fairy, or the Fairy Queen herself—the Maiden Queen—wouldn't have lost their reason despite my strong life force. But with my sky-high affinity on top, even those unparalleled powerhouses went berserk.
To make matters worse, Rischel's royal family, who should have calmed things down, didn't lift a finger!
Some Round Table members even aided the kidnappings!
I somehow managed to wrap it up in the end.
But in the end, it was nothing but a nightmare for me.
.
.
.
.
What? With all these beauties chasing you, wouldn't that be great?
You idiot! That would immediately spark an international incident!
Forming relations with another woman when I already have a fiancée?
The fiancée goes without saying, but even the emperor would flip out.
No, not would—he definitely would.
In the worst case, he might declare war on Rischel to get me back!
That's why I've been avoiding Rischel all this time...
Who would've thought the Hero Association would backstab me into going there...!
That bald association president...!
I'll get revenge someday, mark my words!
Having made that small vow in my heart, I sat down and gestured to the seat beside me.
"Sit down for now. We still have at least an hour to go anyway."
"Ah, yes."
Following the association's orders, I'd tearfully left Academy City and boarded a ship crossing the continent to Rischel.
Tatiana was accompanying me this time in the role of secretary.
I'd originally planned to go with Seon-hwa, but with field trip preparations nearing, we needed hands for that.
Fortunately, the accounting for the field trip was mostly done, so Tatiana—who had some free time—came along.
It worked out since I needed someone to assist with the talks anyway.
By the time I return from Rischel, the field trip will already be over.
What a shame. There were events to gain from the field trip too.
I hope Noah handles the events deftly.
"By the way, President. What exactly are we supposed to do in Rischel?"
"First, we'll meet the Maiden Queen and hear Divine Spear's dying words directly."
I'd heard the details from the association president, but maybe I'd get even more from her personally.
"Anything else?"
"No other plans. We just stay in Rischel until the Union delivers the new equipment."
It would take about two weeks for the Union's gear to arrive.
Just lay low in Rischel until then, and we're done.
—Or so the association president wrote.
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.
.
A short while later.
Rischel's entry port.
"Welcome, Supreme Student Council President Yeon Je-seong of Academy City! —All of Rischel"
...Yeah, no way it'd be that simple.
I let out a deep sigh as I gazed at the entry port packed to the brim with residents.