A Tiny Fairy Joins the Territory

The aftereffects of the grilled meat and spicy stir-fry we had for lunch meant that a simple dinner of boiled pork was more than enough. Not that it mattered. The curry would only taste better if left to sit overnight, and the pork cutlets were already prepped. I could store them in the status window and fry them later.

“I’ll leave the rice in this warmer. Whenever you get hungry, just come scoop out however much you want, cover it with curry, and mix it up.”

I bought a thermal warmer—the counterpart to the magic stone-powered refrigerator—and stored the rice and curry inside. That way, it would always stay warm and ready to eat. After that, I told everyone to spend their time however they wanted.

Most of the snow leopard tribe said they were going to check out the rice paddies. A few had wanted to look after the baby sea orcs, so when I suggested keeping them near the fields instead, they were delighted. I purchased a sturdy iron pen, set it up beside the paddies, and moved the little sea orcs inside.

“Do you like it that much?”

“Yes, Hyung-nim. It’s wonderful.”

The snow leopards were excited about the crops they’d be able to grow on such fertile land. I kept the thought to myself—that if they’d listened to Miya and left the snowy mountains earlier, things might have turned out differently. I understood Mino’s desire to stay hidden and avoid human raids. Even though they’d been attacked anyway, descending the mountain any sooner might have led to an even quicker disaster. It wasn’t about whose choice was right; the world itself had been unreasonably cruel.

“Oh, we can’t use the paddies yet. Want to try tending some fields instead?”

“Fields… you mean?”

“Yeah. There are crops you can plant even in winter. I saw several spots that used to be fields. We can start there, then later each household can make their own little kitchen gardens out front.”

“Ooh… Kitchen gardens right in front of our houses… That sounds fantastic!”

“Then let’s start by clearing that field over there.”

The snow leopards, who had been eavesdropping with perked ears, immediately dashed off. A streak of pure white shot toward the field I’d pointed at like a meteor. In the blink of an eye, the plot was spotless.

While they worked, I searched the internet for crops that could be planted right now. I bought the appropriate seeds and showed the snow leopards how to sow them. They caught on instantly, divided up the plots, and got right to work. Smiles never left their faces.

They must really love this.

Watching those beautiful, handsome, and adorable snow leopards happily planting crops filled my chest with a warm ache. They were thinking about the territory’s future, after all. Of course they had personal desires to grow food too, but that only helped the territory. Feeling content, I quietly slipped away. Having the lord hovering around would probably just make them uncomfortable.

By the time I returned home, the sky was completely black. This place was wonderful in many ways, but the lack of streetlights made it pitch dark at night. Thankfully, one of Miya, Asne, Lei, or Ruin was always by my side, so it wasn’t dangerous. Otherwise, I probably would’ve been trembling in fear all by myself.

“Thanks. Let’s take it easy for a bit.”

“My Lord, there’s no need to thank me. Just being by your side brings me joy.”

“That’s a relief. I’ll see you in a little while, then.”

“Yes.”

I had decided to summon a new resident at midnight. After arranging to meet then, I went inside, showered, and lay down. With nothing particular to do, I browsed random things on my phone, and time flew by. Around 11:50, I got dressed and stepped outside.

Maybe because I’d given them advance notice, all six of them were there: Mino, Diya, Miya, Asne, Lei, and Ruin. The snow leopard family stuck close together in perfect harmony, the two black-winged women did the same, and Asne stood by herself. As soon as I appeared, everyone greeted me.

“I was going to come find you all, but you’re already gathered here.”

“Haha! Hyung-nim, we just took a little family night stroll.”

“Hehe, spending time with my fully grown daughter is a different kind of fun.”

“Uuuu… You still see me as a baby…”

“To parents, no matter how old their child gets, they’ll always be their baby.”

The warm snow leopard family. Beside them, the black-winged pair were being lovey-dovey as usual.

“Asne, don’t you ever miss your own kind?”

“Hmm… My people aren’t really the type to socialize much, so I don’t feel particularly lonely.”

She was all alone, which should have been lonesome, yet Asne seemed perfectly fine. It didn’t look like she was just pretending, either—she genuinely felt okay. We chatted like that until midnight came and went.

“I want to summon a dwarf. Where would be the best spot?”

“If it’s a dwarf… then definitely the mountains, right?”

Everyone gave similar answers. So we decided to do the summoning on the mountain. The island had plenty of low hills, so it wasn’t difficult to reach one. The only real difference now was that before the snow leopards arrived, everyone had been female. Now there was a man among us.

“Hyung-nim, is this uncomfortable for you?”

“Ugh… Your back feels like solid rock. It’s tough…”

“Hahaha! I’ll take that as a compliment!”

I rode on Mino’s back up the mountain. If he hadn’t been here, Lei would have carried me while flying. Asne couldn’t exert much power on land, so that was out, but Miya could have given me a piggyback ride too. Things were different now, though. I was being carried at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠incredible speed on a back that was all muscle yet hard as stone.

Still, the mountain was low, so we reached the summit in less than a minute. That was a relief.

“Thank you for carrying me, Miya.”

“Hehe~ Miss Asne is so light I barely noticed!”

The snow leopards had bounded up effortlessly. Lei and Ruin could have flown straight here. Since Asne was a bit slower, Miya had carried her. And so we all arrived at the peak.

“Then I’ll begin the summoning.”

Because my rank had increased, I could now make a choice. It felt a little pointless to have climbed the mountain, but I decided to treat it as a sincere gesture and selected the mountainous terrain.

Can’t I find anyone else?

No, summon.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a dwarf. The target was a fairy who had fallen behind from their group. As far as I knew, there were a few types of fairies. One was the small, butterfly-winged girl called a pixie. Another was the elf—similar to humans but with long ears, and said to be composed entirely of beautiful men and women. There were others too, but I had been hoping for one of those two.

Well… they’ll probably just call an elf an elf… I guess I’ll find out when they appear.

While I was lost in those idle thoughts, a small light unlike anything I’d seen before appeared. It was about the size of both my fists together. The light shrank, and something of that same size materialized. I held out both hands and gently received the fairy.

The little ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one had their back turned to me as they settled onto my palms. No one was standing in the direction they were facing, so all I could see was their back. What I saw were four transparent, butterfly-shaped wings—roughly twenty to thirty centimeters across—sprouting from their back. They looked exactly like the wings of the pixies I had imagined.

“Oh my, My Lord. What a rare fairy.”

Everyone was staring at the tiny newcomer with curious eyes, but only Asne seemed to recognize what they were. At her words, the fairy turned their head—only to freeze at the sight of Mino gazing at them with sparkling fascination.

“Oho? So this is a fairy?”

“?!”

The fairy’s entire body stiffened in shock at Mino’s sudden appearance right in front of them. I could feel the tiny tremors traveling through my hands.

“Whoa, whoa. Mino, you can’t just pop up like that. You’re scaring the little one.”

“Aigoo… I’m sorry, Hyung-nim. It’s such a rare race that my body moved before I could think.”

When Mino stepped back, the trembling gradually subsided. I carefully shifted the fairy to one hand and turned them around to face me.

“I’m Kim Minsoo, the lord of this territory. And you are?”

Unlike with Mino, I didn’t sense any fear from them toward me. However, it seemed they couldn’t speak. The fairy tried to explain something through gestures. Their appearance was that of an adorable little girl—almost too cute.

“Fairies cannot speak. I’ve heard they communicate through telepathy. Shall I try?”

Asne pressed close to my side and looked at the fairy. Their eyes met. The fairy’s expression shifted to one of surprise, then cycled through a variety of emotions as if they were having a conversation. Asne remained serious, but I found myself strangely flustered by the soft sensation against my body. We had used the same shower products, yet I couldn’t understand why she smelled so incredibly good.

While I was quietly flustered, Asne turned back to me.

“My Lord, this child says they’ve been separated from their group for about ten days. Fairies grow lonely when alone and can wither away. They’ve become quite weak. If we don’t accept them as a resident, they probably won’t last much longer.”

At Asne’s words, the fairy turned their large, teary eyes toward me. Tears welled up in those enormous pupils. Sending them away now would be far too cruel. I decided to accept this fairy.

At the same time, I heard another sound. But there was one thing that caught my attention.

“If you want to become a resident, I’ll accept you. By the way, do fairies not have separate names? Asne, could you ask for me?”

“Of course.”

Asne relayed my question through ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠telepathy and gave me the answer. They said there was no need to call them by name. Since they communicated through telepathy and could simply designate their conversation partner, names weren’t necessary. When I asked if they could use telepathy with us as well, Asne said it was only possible with her. For anyone else, it was impossible.

“Interfering with another person’s mind is an advanced technique. Sirens do it frequently, so we’re able to.”

It made sense. Sirens could put intruders in their domain to sleep or even control them.

“Communication might be difficult… but since residents need to talk to each other, would you be interested in learning to read and write?”

When I asked the fairy, they nodded. At least they could understand spoken words. I’d teach them writing slowly.

“And I’d like to give you a name. Is that okay?”

The fairy nodded again. And so, a new resident had migrated to the territory.

She was an incredibly cute and adorable fairy.