Fairies Who Reclaimed Their Souls (5)

Last night, I succeeded in making even Aila my fairy. Truth be told, it wasn't anything impressive enough to warrant calling it a success. Aila was a 4-star just like me, but she was far weaker in every respect — if I felt like it, I could have claimed her whenever I wanted. It was such a foregone conclusion that even after making her mine, I felt no real sense of accomplishment. Besides, the experience I got was pitiful.

Of the eleven fairies at the Fairy Sanctuary, I had used Temptation (Mythic) to make a full nine of them mine. Stealing another master's fairy with Temptation raised the level of my Uroboros's Avatar (Mythic) class. Nine fairies should have meant a mountain of experience... but in reality, it was a hollow haul.

Status window.

Nine fairies, and my class level had gone up by a measly one. Even that only ticked over once I made Aila mine. The rest were all 3-star or below, so they'd barely fed me any experience at all.

I wasn't exactly thrilled, but it wasn't a total loss. I'd picked up a Light attribute I'd never had before, every stat had risen by a point, and a new skill slot had opened up.

And if I get Rina on top of that...

If I made Rina my fairy as well, the class level would probably climb one more. Unlike the others, Aila had been the real deal.

Still. This is genuinely pathetic.

I pulled up my status window for the first time in a while and gave a bitter smile. Thanks to Molt, I was sitting on stats no 4-star character had any business having. Numbers like these would put me on the stronger side even among 5-stars. But my traits and skill levels left a sour taste in my mouth.

If I'd raised a character the proper way in Fairy Masters, I should have had at least three traits by the time I hit 4-star. Setting aside the Fairy Master (Inactive) I'd started with, I only had two. And not a single one of my skills had broken level 20. If I posted this status window on the Fairy Masters forums, people would tell me to reroll and raise a different character on the spot.

Reality and the game were different in a lot of ways. But the fact that I — someone who'd worn a ranker's title — had raised myself this poorly was, honestly, just disappointing.

A pair of light taps landed on my back.

"Hm?"

"Hehehe. What are you doing out here, Master?"

"Ah. Jenny."

Someone had been poking me from behind. I turned, and there she was — looking up at me with a big, dopey grin, like a puppy.

"Something good happen?"

"Not really. I'm just... so happy. Being here with you like this, Master — it feels like a dream."

"That so?"

"Yes!"

Watching her nod with such force, I felt a twinge of pity. How hard must it have been for her since her former master died? And it wasn't just Jenny. Rina, Aila, Loshuka, Tria... every fairy here except Heni, who still belonged to Kant, had been through hell.

And this world was full of fairies who lost their souls and drifted like ghosts until they finally died. So many beautiful women, dying of grief after losing their partners.

Maybe the reason I was sent to this world was God's will — to save the fairies drowning in sorrow.

In this entire world, I was the only one who could save fairies who had lost their masters. That kind of fate had clearly been assigned to me.

That's right. The purpose of my life isn't becoming something like an emperor! It's saving every last fairy in this world!

Not that I was giving up on becoming emperor, mind you. I would become emperor and save them all — the ones who'd lost their masters, the ones who'd met the wrong one, every fairy there was. That was the mission bestowed upon Gibung-i. No — upon the man called Alan Han.

"Hmm... Jenny."

"Yes, Master?"

"Where are Heni and Rina right now?"

"Those two went for a walk on the hill out back with Aila."

"Did they?"

Aila had become my fairy, but she hadn't slacked off on her duties. Her job was to stay at Rina's side so the girl couldn't kill herself. She used to do it as a favor to Kant. Now she was doing it as a favor to me, and she was doing it well.

"Out for a walk, huh? So that means I can fuck you right here and now, no problem?"

"...Yes, that's right, Master."

Jenny's face went red at the crude words. And then, as naturally as breathing, she slid her panties down beneath her skirt and braced herself against a tree.

"Heh heh heh heh."

I gave that soft, springy ass of hers a sharp smack, then pushed my cock into her pussy. The moment I grabbed her slender waist and started thrusting, Jenny spilled out a lewd little moan.

"Haaahn~!"

And it wasn't long before the fairies who'd heard those sounds came looking for me, their faces saying they couldn't take it anymore.

"U-um... Master..."

"I-I can't hold it in either..."

"Looks like I've got my work cut out for me."

If I wanted to pump a load into every last one of their pussies before Heni and Rina got back, I was going to have to move fast.

"Alan! So this is where you were!"

"Ah — Heni. What can I do for you?"

"It's nothing much, I just... hm? Alan, why are you sweating so much?"

"Hahaha. I've been sitting still so much lately that my body was killing me. Just did a bit of light exercise. Oof — my back."

I gave my lower back a hearty pat and grinned through it. Heni tilted her head, then broke into a bright smile and got to the reason she'd come looking for me.

"Oh, and Master is coming back tomorrow!"

"...Kant is coming back tomorrow?"

"Yes!"

"....."

The news that her master was returning had Heni glowing like a child on Christmas morning. I smiled along with her, but I couldn't bring myself to welcome Kant's return in any honest sense.

Kant, who had left on a long business trip to settle some affair or other, was coming back.

So you're coming back after all, Kant.

Privately, I had been hoping he wouldn't. Kant had been running the Fairy Sanctuary out of his own pocket all this time. The only reason this many fairies were still alive after losing their masters was Kant's devotion, start to finish.

He was a good man. That was exactly why I didn't want to kill him.

But if Kant returned to the sanctuary, I would have ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no choice. Montblanc had ordered me to kill him, and I had to carry that order out. It wasn't time to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠show Montblanc my true face. I needed to keep my head down, bow, and wait. So I was sorry, Kant — but he was going to have to die by my hand.

It's about time this came to an end.

The time to return to my family was drawing near.

"It's a relief to hear Kant is coming back. But how did you come to know that, Heni?"

I asked her with my real thoughts tucked neatly out of sight.

This world was a strange one. True to its fantasy setting, there were monsters, and people brought them down with swords, spears, bows, and magic instead of anything as superior as a gun. Stop there and you'd picture a perfectly ordinary medieval fantasy. Except the buildings were modern, and the food tugged at memories of the world I'd come from. In short, it was a hybrid — medieval and modern mashed together.

And this world had no cell phones. There was no way to reach Kant at a distance. So how did Heni know he was coming back tomorrow?

She beamed and held up what was in her hand.

"A merchant from the trading company delivered Master's letter!"

"Ah... a letter."

Right. Those existed. I still hadn't fully shaken my previous life's habits — I'd forgotten people could communicate by mail.

"Did he say the matter he left to handle was resolved?"

"Yes. Hehe. Master's coming back — I'm so happy! Aren't you, Alan?"

"...Yes. I'm very glad as well. Especially to hear that he's safe — that's a weight off my mind."

I nodded.

The news that Kant was coming back tomorrow had Heni's heart fluttering so hard she could barely stand it. She had to hide how happy she was out of consideration for the other fairies, but she couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from climbing.

"Good night, then!"

"Yes. You sleep well too, Heni."

"....."

After a cheerful goodnight to Aila and Rina, Heni lay down in bed. She didn't stay there long.

A knock sounded at the door.

"Hm? Who could that be? I'll get it."

Someone was knocking, and Heni was first on her feet to open it.

"Who... Jenny? What are you doing here at this hour?"

"I think you need to come with me, Heni."

There was an urgency in Jenny's face that made Heni's own expression turn grave.

"Did something happen?"

"You know Peter, right? They say he's very sick. His father came up from the village."

Peter was a boy from the village. He used to come by the sanctuary with his friends and play with the fairies. Heni was a Healer-class, so when the villagers fell ill, they came to her.

"Really? Is it serious?"

"I don't know the exact condition. They said his whole body is burning up."

"All right. I'll be ready in a moment."

At the word that Peter was sick, Heni told Aila and Rina, packed her things, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and followed Jenny out of the sanctuary.

"Jenny? This isn't the way to Peter's house."

Heni, who'd been running after her, realized something was off and called out. Peter's house was near the inn — and Jenny was leading her toward the hill out back.

"Peter collapsed while he was playing on the hill. They said he looked so bad they couldn't even bring him home."

"Oh, is that so? Then we'd better hurry."

Whether she was simply that innocent, or whether she trusted Jenny that much, Heni didn't doubt a word of it.

The two fairies kept climbing the back hill. But the sick child was nowhere to be seen.

"Jenny? Where is Pet—"

"I'm sorry I lied to you, Heni."

"What? Why would you suddenly—"

A rush of black magic came flying from a distance and struck Heni square on.

Heni spun toward the direction the magic had come from, startled. Standing there was Ricaca, a Darkness-attribute mage.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Ricaca? Why would you... ah..."

The question died on Heni's lips. She lost consciousness and crumpled. The spell that had hit her was Sleep.

These days, everyone had gotten past their masters' deaths and was doing all right — but it hadn't always been that way. There had been fairies who woke screaming from nightmares every night, fairies who flew into fits. A great many of them had been in truly bad shape. And the one who had stepped in then was Ricaca.

She had two skills. One was Silence (Lv. 13 / Normal), which kept sound from leaking out. The other was Sleep (Lv. 11 / Normal). The shock of losing their masters had left those fairies out of their minds, so she had used magic to force them under.

"Nice work, Ricaca."

"You did the hard part, Jenny. Shall we head back?"

"Yeah."

The two fairies gathered up the sleeping Heni and started back toward the sanctuary.

Meanwhile, at that same hour, the door to the room Heni had left creaked open, and a man stepped inside.

"You've come, Master?"

"Yeah."

Aila rose from her seat and received him with perfect courtesy. The midnight visitor to the room was, of course, Alan.

He motioned behind him. Aila closed the door and went out. With Heni gone and now Aila as well, the only one left in the room was Rina, lying on the bed.

Alan walked toward her.