39. A Little Peace and Fairy Plot's Past (2)

Before I could open my mouth to tell her to do whatever she pleased, I met Ellie's eyes.

Ellie, her face flushed red, was simply turning her head away with a low uuugh... as her only response.

So let me get this straight — if you were going to be this embarrassed about it, why did you even take the bet?

Technically it was Fairy who'd set the trap in the first place, so she's the one at fault here...

But she'd won the bet fair and square. What was there to do about it?

Of course, if we'd both gotten serious and said this made us uncomfortable, the whole bet could have been swept under the rug. But I had just seen Ellie and Fairy laughing together in a way I'd never witnessed before, and I didn't want to be the one to shatter a moment like that.

What do I do, what do I do. In the end, I raised the white flag.

"All the way to the end."

"....!!"

Khan and Fairy's eyes widened slightly.

Fairy's face, in particular, went several shades redder than before.

As for Ellie, she grew even more flustered and burrowed into my chest to hide her own.

With her wrapped tight in my arms, I could feel exactly how embarrassed she was.

Wow, she's a lot stronger than she looks... hmm.

Well, they asked me, so now it's my turn to ask them.

"And you two?"

".....uuuuh... we... we went all the way too..."

Fairy shuddered with embarrassment and buried herself against Khan, and the aftershock of that landed squarely on me and Khan.

...Is this really how it's supposed to go?

We soothed our two red-faced, mortified lovers and left the café behind.

A little while after we stepped outside, they apparently recovered, because Fairy and Ellie started sidling close to us again like nothing had happened.

"Thank you. For humoring Fairy's outrageous terms."

I turned my head and looked at Khan.

"Thanking me?"

"Yeah. And I'm sorry, too. The way Fairy turned out — a lot of that is on the old Plott family."

".....Are you sure you can tell me that?"

Khan nodded as he answered.

"You fought back to back with me. That's reason enough to trust you."

"We only fought together once."

"So what? Beyond that, I've come to know what kind of man you are — the absurdly, infuriatingly decent kind."

"Thank you. Truly."

"Not long after I was revealed as the Black Tortoise's Successor and joined the Plott family, they began Fairy's education. It was... brutal."

"Brutal how?"

At my question, Khan answered with a slow nod.

"How brutal? Every last shred of curiosity a child ought to have was stamped out of her. Root and branch."

Children, from the moment they begin to grow and open their eyes and speak, become endlessly curious. It's the age of why? why? why? carried around in their heads wherever they go.

But the Plott family had annihilated the very environment in which such questions could be asked.

To be precise, it wasn't the Plott family itself — it was the governess who had appointed herself Fairy's personal tutor.

At that time, the Plott family was buried in hectic days thanks to Khan's untimely arrival as Successor. Naturally, the attention paid to Fairy had dwindled.

"Into that widening gap of neglect, that damned woman was allowed to approach Fairy."

The woman in charge of Fairy's education had brazenly crammed her own twisted ideology into the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eldest daughter of the Plott family, brainwashing her — stripping away even the curiosity that any child should naturally possess, so that it would never resurface outside her influence.

".....If I'd known this would happen, I never would have joined the Plott family."

And so Fairy spent a full year — an entire year — under an "education" that was nothing more than brainwashing.

The governess filed false reports day after day, blinding the family head and his wife to what was happening.

Had they attended even a single observation lesson in person, they might have noticed. But they were far too busy to even think of visiting — and that lapse proved decisive.

Until the day Khan, having opened the wrong door, saw Fairy's "education" with his own eyes.

While Fairy was being tutored, Khan had been training at the sparring grounds, honing his martial skill as Successor under the captain of the Plott knights — a post assigned to him by the family head himself.

Then, having wandered to the wrong place by mistake, he opened a door he should never have opened.

And Khan found himself staring at a scene he could not possibly believe.

The governess was, quite literally, beating the eldest daughter of the Plott family and knocking her across the room.

Fairy — sent flying — immediately locked her posture back into place, bowed her head, and begged the woman for forgiveness.

"I still haven't forgotten it. The words Fairy was sobbing out in there, the way she wept."

"I was wrong! I'm sorry! As the eldest daughter of the Plott family, I committed a wicked act! I'm sorry!!"

"Has the young lady still not come to her senses? I told you plainly, did I not — that idle, personal curiosity becomes evil in the end?"

"But but! I just wanted to know more about Khan! That's all! That's why!"

For no other reason than wanting to know more about someone, the eldest daughter of one of the Four Great Families had been struck across the face before his very eyes.

Any ordinary child would have cowered at the sight, trembling, and fled.

But I, in that moment, was different.

Sharp of mind, quick of body — and by now, I even possessed strength befitting the moment.

I was no longer a child.

My hand rose, quite naturally, and lifted the spear that had been entrusted to it.

It was the very first moment the Black Tortoise's Spear — his main weapon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠— had ever been taken up by its true master.

And that master was shaking with a fury that burned white-hot.

"You haven't finished your lesson yet, have you? Then there is still something you must do, yes?"

"Y... yes!"

Her soft skin was swollen red and angry where the blow had landed against her cheek, and a faint red stained her hair.

Probably bleeding, from the force with which she'd struck her head.

And right now she was down on all fours like a dog, lowering her tongue toward the woman's shoe.

The instant Khan saw it, he felt something snap inside his skull.

He smashed through the door of the tutoring room, the Black Tortoise's aura erupting unchecked around him, and strode forward step by deliberate step. Before that furious approach, the grown woman's legs buckled beneath her and she toppled backward.

"Th... the Successor of the Black Tortoise!!"

"Shut your mouth."

He walked past the crumpled woman, crouched down, and gently raised Fairy, who still lay frozen against the floor.

She was a wreck.

The hair the maids had so carefully braided hung in tangled ruin. Her cheek was swollen grotesquely. Her dress was smeared with filth, and her scalp had split under the impact, seeping blood where the skin could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no longer hold.

It must have hurt that much.

It must have been that unbearable.

And still she had endured it all without a word of complaint.

She had.

Clamping down on the tears that threatened to spill, Khan lifted his spear.

Before him, the woman was protesting that she had merely been mad, that it had all been wrong —

prostrating herself on hands and knees, exactly as Fairy had done moments before.

Pretending not to see her groveling and begging for forgiveness without pause, Khan took Fairy's hand, turned on his heel, and walked out of that room.

Where he arrived, straight from that chamber, was the family head's study — spear in his right hand, Fairy's hand clasped in his left, all the way down the corridor.

Guards ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stood posted before the study door.

Not one of them could stand against his aura.

What mere soldier could hope to withstand the wrath of the Black Tortoise made manifest?

He brushed past them and entered.

The family head, so buried in official duties that he hadn't even registered the intrusion, and the vassals beside him assisting his work, were all bent frantically over their paperwork.

The sight only stoked the fire hotter.

While his daughter was being beaten like this — what in the world had her father and mother been doing?

Khan drove his spear down into the floor and shouted.

"Family Head of Plott."

Hearing his name called in a child's voice, Plott Marin — head of the family, Fairy's father — seemed to finally sense that something had gone terribly wrong. He looked up at Khan.

"What... what is the meaning of this? Successor, why do you hold the Divine Beast's weapon in one hand and my daughter's hand in the other?"

"Look carefully, Family Head. While you were drowning in paperwork — do you have any idea what has been done to Fairy?"

"That is — the personal tutor—"

"What kind of tutor reduces a child to this?"

When Khan showed him the state of Fairy, who had been hiding behind his back, the family head's eyes went wide, and he hurried to her side as if he could not believe what he was seeing.

At once, hands trembling violently, he shoved the documents he'd been reviewing onto the vassals at his side and turned to Khan.

"Th... this is... h... how could this—! Successor!!"

So the daughter was precious to him, after all. Precious enough for this — and yet not precious enough to notice until she'd been broken to this state.

"Be silent, Family Head. Until Fairy learns of this truth and, one day, finds it in herself to forgive you — I, the Successor of the Black Tortoise, will extend nothing to the Plott family. Not one scrap of protection."

".....Successor!"

"I will handle this matter myself."

And so, ten years old at the time, I began running myself ragged to set things right.

For me — the me that people had once shunned, the me that even adults had avoided — she had been the first to smile, welcome me in, and tell me I wasn't alone.

And yet I'd had no idea she'd been reduced to this. I'd simply assumed she'd been scolded. Gotten into some trouble. That was the extent of my thinking.

But it wasn't too late yet.

I would put everything back the way it belonged.

First, the culprit of it all. I carried Fairy to her room and went looking for the tutor — but the woman had already fled.

That, I would deal with separately.

For now, I devoted myself to caring for Fairy, who had been fed nothing but twisted common sense and false knowledge.

Thanks to that, Fairy forgot the governess ever existed, and the false teachings slowly unraveled.

The tutor had been the youngest daughter of some unremarkable noble house — nothing more than the runt of a family that had been leeching off the Plotts. And yet this trash, hoarding her greed and ambition behind a meek face, had appointed herself a child's teacher.

With the family head's cooperation, I wiped that house from existence without a hitch.

I had understood for a long time that strength existed to protect the people precious to you.

From then on, Fairy lived in my room.

When a year had passed, Fairy finally learned just how vile the things done to her had been — and for that entire year, she refused to show her parents her face.

Naturally. Of course she wouldn't.

But her parents came every single day, tending to her mood, her meals, everything else besides — and perhaps that devotion finally bore fruit, because after half a year she appeared before them again.

Two years on, when she finally knew the whole truth, Fairy forgave her parents with a swiftness that startled me.

If that was her choice, then it was mine to honor it.

We decided that everything Fairy hadn't been allowed to do — everything she'd ever wanted to try — she would simply ask, and we'd make it happen.

And if anything went wrong? I'd apologize and clean up the mess myself.

That was how we arrived at the present.

Though I'll admit, letting her drag her newly made friends into her whims felt like going a step too far.

"I'm sorry, Hyun."

At my words, my new friend Hyun spoke up quietly.

"Don't be. If that's the past you had, then fair enough. Still... maybe a little less... violence than earlier, if you can manage it..."

He looked thoroughly worn out.

I let a small smile slip.

We'd gotten along so well that we'd grown close fast. When we fought the demons, he was the one who drew his sword and pushed ahead of everyone else.

That was my new friend — Lee Hyun, Successor of the Azure Dragon.

Well. I'd call that a good thing.

Thinking so, I turned my gaze toward her — toward the girl with that lovely pink hair.

Everything about Fairy's past was new to me — Khan was the first to ever tell me any of it.

The game was notoriously stingy with information; players had to get out there and dig for everything themselves. Even a veteran like me had vast blind spots.

So the girl who'd been on track to grow up crooked — beaten, abused, and brainwashed in her earliest years — had been rescued just in time by Khan.

And the reason she'd transformed into that vibrant, energetic girl who asked everyone every question that had once been forbidden? That was his doing, too.

Me, I was fine.

I couldn't speak for anyone else, but watching her play with Ellie like that, those two clearly got along as well.

I thumped Khan on the ribs as he stood beside me.

"Good work."

At my gesture, Khan let out a soft snort of a laugh and quietly followed after the girls.

"Come on, hurry! We're doing this one next!!"

"After you, milady."

"That's more like it!"

Following their guidance, we found ourselves standing before the entrance of yet another café.

Except... something was off. Why did the interior look pitch-black?

The girls, in stark contrast, didn't seem to care in the slightest, and we could only watch as they marched boldly through the doors.

The moment we stepped into the entrance, an attendant greeted us, and I approached to ask.

"This café is awfully dark, isn't it?"

The attendant replied, "Yes. Our café is kept deliberately dark — a space designed to draw guests who visit together into a deeper connection."

"Connection?"

"Indeed. In total darkness you can't see a thing, so you naturally come to lean on the person beside you. For couples in particular, it's a wonderful way to deepen a relationship!"

The concept wasn't half bad, honestly. In the dark you can't see anything at all — you have to find each other by touch alone.

Granted, there was the small drawback of having to carry in your order and the drinks yourselves.

And so we plunged into the darkness, navigating purely by feel.

A fair number of guests had already claimed seats inside the gloom. Apparently plenty of couples sought this place out.

We settled onto a long bench paired with a long table. Ellie sat beside me; Fairy sat beside Khan, and we sipped our drinks and talked.

Of course, dark as it was, all four of us were trained warriors — superhuman ones, at that — so it didn't take long to grow accustomed to it.

And honestly, with everything black as ink, there was a strange comfort in it.

Nobody could see a thing anyway, so I could hold Ellie's hand without a trace of awkwardness.

Anything beyond that, of course, was strictly out of the question.

Fairy dredged up one of Khan's most embarrassing old stories and Ellie and I kept getting startled by each new revelation; Ellie told Fairy the story of how we'd gotten together — the confession I'd never gotten to hear at the banquet thanks to the attack — and our time slipped by faster and faster.

By the time our pleasant talk with Khan and Fairy wound down, both our cups stood empty.

That was our cue to leave.

Stepping from that darkness into the bright light took a moment for our eyes, but our footsteps on the way home couldn't have been lighter.

The road back to the Imperial Citadel.

Even on the way, Ellie and Fairy stayed glued to each other's sides — though once we'd passed the identity inspection and entered the citadel, we parted ways to rest.

Ellie still wore a happy smile, clearly delighted with the day.

"Did you have fun?"

"Mm. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed myself this much."

"Let's go out like this again sometime."

"Yes! Let's!"

Watching her reaction, I resolved to genuinely make time for dates with her now and then. We might not always have hours to spare, but shave a little here and there, and free time was bound to surface.

Back in my room, I washed up first, and while Ellie took her turn in the bath, I opened the Status Window I hadn't had a chance to check in ages.

Quite a lot had changed.

'Thunder Strike' had evolved into Thunderclap from a Clear Sky, and there was now a new domain of authority under the heavenly catalog — the Divine Wind Sword Domain.

And then, one thought cut straight through my skull.

'Oh, right. I got the Guardian Dragon hint, didn't I?'

Saving Sion and stopping the attack had cleared the main quest — but the aftermath had kept me so busy I'd never once checked the rewards.

Status Window open, I started with the main quest results.

Whoa... how far behind had I let this pile up?

Well. Check it, then. That's what checking is for.

My eyes flew wide open.

Yes. This is what it takes to hunt down and crush those demon bastards properly.

Then, the Guardian Dragon hint. When I read it, all I could do was tilt my head.

Huh? The Clock Tower?

Out of nowhere?

Well, fine, whatever — but the trial theme it handed down was even more of a gut-punch.

?????

There's a Guardian Dragon out there handing out quizzes as trials?

I called for Blaze and Brionic, and between the three of us we managed to piece together the third Guardian Dragon's identity.

"It would appear to be Crescent."

"Indeed. The trial's theme being a question-and-answer game, the way it makes you use your head — that one's handiwork, without a doubt."

I'd verify it tomorrow.

For tonight, first things first: get ready for bed with Ellie.

We'd played hard all day. Tomorrow, we'd have to push even harder.

The moment the thought settled, Ellie emerged from the bath, and we traded one last round of conversation before closing out the exhausting day — a quiet goodnight between us, and then we both drifted off to sleep.