Chapter 125: The World's Blessing (2)
Chapter 125: The World's Blessing (2)
What was so pretty about that fist-sized, mottled, mold-covered seed? So much so that he couldn't be bothered to even glance this way.
I get that it was his first time seeing a seed like that, but still. Damned gardener bastard.
At last, the Fairy King's gaze landed on me. His verdant green eyes gleamed as if intrigued.
"Right. The Mermaid Queen could see the future, after all... I saw you briefly before, and you are quite an interesting human, aren't you? You there, human, what is your name?"
"Deon Hart... it is."
Even as I murmured the reply, I snuck a glance at Hien, just in case.
He clearly hadn't heard. The Fairy King also nodded as if he had caught on to the situation.
"Hmm... Very well, I shall remember it."
'You really don't have to remember it. Please, feel free to forget it.'
Whatever my feelings on the matter, the Fairy King gave me a thorough once-over, as if appraising me, before turning his head to look at the Demon King. His voice, much softer now than before, called out to his counterpart.
"Demon King, why did you bring this human here? Was there something you insisted I had to hear?"
"The scenery in the Abyss is the finest from here."
"...What?"
"I brought him to help him achieve some mental stability."
"This is not a tourist attraction!"
His voice rose again.
...Was now really the time to be fighting over something like that? He had clearly heard that woman, the Mermaid Queen, speak of the Demon King's death. Why was there no reaction?
'Did I mishear?'
I subtly raised my head to look at the woman who still had a hold of my shoulder. As if sensing my gaze, she immediately looked down, her eyes meeting mine as she smiled softly.
I turned my head away at once, avoiding her eyes. An unfathomable goodwill was contained in those two eyes, which made me feel uncomfortable for some reason.
From behind me came that characteristically soft and elegant voice.
"It seems you have gravely displeased the World, Your Majesty the Demon King. This cycle's Hero is no laughing matter."
"Our very race has always been a thorn in the World's eye to begin with, so there's nothing to displease further. More importantly, isn't seeing the future different from a prophecy? Any future you see could be changed at any time."
"Well... this particular future I saw was a little special... If it could be changed, wouldn't that be a miracle?"
"You said it yourself. That the World is sharpening its blade."
These were the words spoken by the heads of two races. Even I could tell it wasn't something to be dismissed lightly, though I didn't fully understand the details.
And yet, the Demon King remained as serene as one who hadn't just heard a threatening statement. A smirk graced his smooth face, which was utterly devoid of disturbance.
"Shall I tell you one interesting fact?"
With that ever light and leisurely voice at his back, the Demon King's unique aura began to dominate the space.
Standing askew with his arms crossed, he wore a playful grin and waggled a finger, as if toying with the two tense leaders.
"Do you know what humans call the power we demon-race use?"
A giggling laugh echoed through the wide-open space.
At that laugh, small but clearly burrowing into the ear, not just I, but even the two leaders shut their mouths.
As if answering in place of the reply that didn't come, the Demon King paused a short moment and then personally provided the answer.
"'A miracle.'"
"... ... ."
"...How arrogant."
The Fairy King, who had lightly clicked his tongue after a silence, turned to look at me... Wait, why are you looking at me?
"You there, human. Your hand was injured, I see."
"Yes... well...."
"Due to the Demon King's ban on magic, you couldn't receive proper treatment and had it dealt with through primitive methods, it seems. I shall treat it myself."
"No, it's alrigh...."
"Follow me."
Yes....
I'd thought he'd been strangely interested in me for a while now, and it turned out I really had no choice in the matter. Somehow, I got the feeling that the wound treatment was just an excuse and that he wanted to observe me more... that's probably just my imagination, right?
I stared hesitantly at the man's back as he walked on ahead, then turned my head to look at the Demon King. As if blind to my eyes begging for help, he grinned brightly and waved his hand.
"Go on, then. I'll remain here and converse with this mermaid."
Damn it....
I turned to look at Hien with a sliver of hope, but....
'That guy's still at it.'
I'll just give up.
Leaving behind Hien, who looked ready to marry the seed, I meekly followed after the Fairy King.
* * *
Despite it being a night no different from the ones at the Demon Castle, the scenery here was remarkably beautiful.
The moon cast a curtain of subtle light, beneath which green trees stretched up tall. Here and there were clearings where softly glowing flowers gathered, so even with the trees being fairly large, there was never a case where moonlight failed to reach the ground.
'So this is why the Demon King brought me here for no reason.'
This was the first time I'd learned that such pretty flowers could exist even in a place without a sun. How could that bastard Hien leave such beautiful flowers alone and raise those kinds of...?
'...Let's not even go there.'
Maybe they could only grow in the land of the Fairy Tribe.
I walked on, inwardly defending Hien. Thinking of Hien naturally brought to mind the monstrous plants of the Demon Castle, which made me flinch for a moment, but soon enough I became captivated by the surrounding scenery again and forgot all about it.
I think I must have let myself go beyond a simple change of pace and started looking around in a daze.
My senses only returned when the Fairy King, who had been walking in silence for a long while, snapped his fingers to summon someone.
"Bring some herbs for external wounds."
"Where are you injured?"
Gasp. My breath stopped for a moment. I thought my heart had ceased.
The wide-open view from just moments ago was veiled by a black shadow. A dark form, its face invisible with the moonlight at its back, appeared suddenly and was bowing with formality before the Fairy King.
Is that... a secret guard or an errand runner... or something?
I barely managed to calm my startled heart and slowly took in the figure that had appeared before me.
'His ears are pointy too. He seems to be of the same race; I guess the ear shape is a racial trait?'
The Demon King's 1st Legion Commander, Jeikar, had pointy ears as well.
I briefly toyed with the correlation between Jeikar and the Fairy Tribe before soon shaking my head.
'Let's stop the baseless speculation and focus a bit more on this side.'
For one thing, it looked like he had jumped down from a tree.
The trees here were quite tall, and yet he had landed without a single sound, let alone an injury. It really did show that they were a different race from humans, not just in appearance but in this aspect as well.
"Not me, but the guest here."
"A guest... I see. Understood."
The guy shot a sideways glance at me, then kicked off several times between the trees, leaping high up onto a tall branch, and in an instant he vanished, hopping from branch to branch as if crossing stepping stones.
It was a movement that naturally drew out admiration.
"I wonder if Jeikar could pull that off too...."
"Jeikar...?"
No matter how much that was the case, I shouldn't have let that kind of admiration slip out of my mouth.
The Fairy King's pointed ears twitched. He turned to look at me, his brow furrowing slightly as if doubting his ears, and soon scowled with his whole face, as if now certain he had heard me correctly.
There was no way he wouldn't know the name of the second-in-command who also served as the Demon King's proxy. Even if he didn't know, the context made it predictable that the person I was referring to was a demon.
Given I had dared to compare them to a demon, with whom the Fairy Tribe was not on good terms, how might he be feeling?
'Damn it....'
The situation was clearly my mistake. I was about to apologize for being rude when, before I could even begin to speak, a sharp voice came flying at me.
"Yes, that former warrior of our tribe who was corrupted by the Demon King's demonic energy. It has been a long time since I last heard that name. Has he been well?"
Whoa, there was an actual connection!
As I've said before, the Demon King's power doesn't just purely coalesce among themselves to create demons. Jeikar was apparently a demon born from the Fairy Tribe with the Demon King's power dwelling within him.
No wonder the Fairy King would hate the Demon King....
'And now he'll hate me too.'
His personality didn't seem all that great to begin with, and now I'd made a slip of the tongue that touched on a sensitive point....
Ignorance doesn't make for a very good excuse.
I couldn't bring myself to answer that he was doing well, nor could I say he wasn't. As I stood around awkwardly for a long moment, the Fairy King, who had been silently watching me, let out a shallow sigh and held out his hand.
"... ... ?"
"Your hand. I should treat it."
A softened voice called out, as if coaxing a child.
Reflexively, I laid my injured hand on top of his, then blinked and looked around. Hadn't that guy who went to fetch herbs come back yet? Surely, we wouldn't be standing around like this until he returned.
—The moment I thought that, I saw the Fairy King pick up a small box from beneath a nearby tree.
'...He already came and went, huh.'
And fast too, without a single trace of presence.
I obediently entrusted my hand to him. The bandage wrapped around my fingertip was unfurled, revealing a small wound.
"...You nearly cut your finger halfway off. It's narrow in width, but the wound is deep."
If he put it that way, it didn't sound like a small wound at all...?
Feeling sheepish, I smiled awkwardly as the Fairy King opened the box, took out an herb, crushed it, and spoke up.
"He said you came to find mental stability, was it?"
'No. That's just an excuse the Demon King made up on his own.'
"Our tribe's domain is no tourist attraction, but since this is the first time a human has set foot here, and since you're already here, as a special commemorative gesture, I will personally guide you around once your treatment is finished."
What? No, wait, it's really not necessary...!
Just as I flinched to refuse, he pressed the crushed herb onto my fingertip and pressed down firmly. My body froze, startled by the unannounced action.
Ah! It hur... it... doesn't hurt?
'...Is this a dream?'
It was completely healed. I blinked for a moment, unable to grasp what had just happened.
He removed the herb, and I carefully fiddled with the exposed finger. It was so spotless, anyone would think I'd just gotten stitches on bare skin and wondered when the wound had even occurred.
...That herb was extremely tempting.
As if noticing my greedy eyes, the Fairy King snapped his fingers in front of me as I stared blankly at the herb box.
"Deon Hart."
"I'm sorry."
"...What?"
Ah, so that's the expression the demons must have seen on my face when they suddenly apologized for no reason.
I learned a fact I had no curiosity about. I averted my gaze from the Fairy King with an awkward expression.
"It's nothing. More than that, please just call me Deon."
"...Very well, Deon. My goodwill seemed to make you uncomfortable."
He had been scrutinizing me with suspicious eyes, and now he took my hand back, removing the stitches as he casually spoke.
So he knew and did it anyway? This bastard....
'...Wait. He knew I was uncomfortable and yet pretended not to, bringing me all the way to this secluded place....'
Is he going to kill me...?!
No, but, he just healed me. There was no way he'd make a point of healing me just to kill me. What on earth was it?
...I didn't know what it was, but it would be best not to offend him in this place where we were alone. I answered with a straight face.
"No."
"No need to lie. It wasn't just me; even the representative of the mermaids seemed to make you uncomfortable."
My act didn't work.
As if in retaliation, he undid the stitches, placed the crushed herb again on the spot where a little blood seeped out, and pressed down hard. The force was stronger than before, and my body flinched.
He let go of my pristinely healed hand as if tossing it aside, then reached for the other hand, the one wrapped in bandages.
"An unearned favor makes you uncomfortable, doesn't it?"
"... ... ."
"Hmm... the bone-related herb...."
He rummaged through the box, took out a different herb, crushed it, and smirked as he plastered it thick onto my fractured hand, the bandage of which I hadn't even noticed being unwound. His flowing golden hair swayed with his movements.
"This treatment I'm giving you now must also be uncomfortable. And I imagine you'd also prefer to refuse my offer to guide you around."
'He knows me well.'
"In that case, I suppose I should just tell you the reason."
My hand felt cool. The constant, irritating throbbing had vanished.
This time, he muttered 'muscle herb' and rummaged through the box. As if asking whether I'd eaten yet, a monotonous voice flowed out, dressed in the clothing of an everyday tone.
"Because the World is taking note of you."
"...Pardon?"
"I don't know why the Mermaid Queen shows you goodwill, but that one thing is the reason I am showing you goodwill."
Even reconsidering it, that wasn't something you said while plastering muscle herb all the way up to someone's wrist.
—Because, the World, is, watching you with keen interest.
That's what he said.
"As the head of the tribe that most respects the World's will, I can't very well not show you goodwill."
...I thought my physical condition had been more or less okay lately, but apparently, the abnormality had moved to my ears.
Yeah, no matter how I thought about it, my ears must have gone bad. Otherwise, there was no way I kept hearing nonsense. The World was taking note of whom? For what?
I forcibly calmed my heart and carefully asked again.
"Could you... say that again? I think I may have misheard."
I'd opened my ears wide this time and focused, so I'd be able to hear properly.
The fact that my voice was shaking, I decided to let that go for now.