Kant Kepri (1)
The door opened, and a middle-aged man in pristine white robes stepped out, a beautiful woman with short orange hair lingering awkwardly in his wake.
"Fortunately, the treatment went well."
"Will there be any lasting aftereffects?"
"Heh heh heh. The grace bestowed by God has no flaws. Had you arrived even a little later, she would never have recovered."
"Whew... that's a relief. Thank you so much for treating my Fairy."
"Think nothing of it. I merely did what I ought to do."
I let out a sigh of relief and offered my thanks. The middle-aged monk smiled and shook his head. I held out a pouch filled with gold.
"For the treatment."
"Pardon? Hmm... I believe you've put in far too much. The fee is only..."
"I'm grateful, that's all. There's a donation included as well, so please — accept it."
"Well... if you insist... Very well. I shall put Mr. Han's donation to good use."
"Thank you again for treating my Fairy."
"Hahaha. Then take care on your way back."
The monk shook my hand, offered a kindly smile, and took his leave. That left only me and the fidgeting beauty.
"....."
"Ah, um... I, well..."
When I just stared at her, the woman who hadn't known what to do with herself suddenly dropped to her knees.
"I'm sorry, Master! I've committed an unforgivable sin!"
"...Hah. That's enough."
"I'm truly sorry!"
"I said that's enough. People are watching — get up already."
"Yes!"
I waved her off, and she scrambled to her feet. There was no point hiding it. The woman was Rina — the Fairy who had become mine just this morning.
Before she became my Fairy, Rina had shown just how vicious she could be, going so far as to bite through her own tongue to kill herself. But in the Rina who now belonged to me, not a shred of that venom remained.
Of course it didn't. The blade of Rina's viciousness was meant for her enemies, not her master.
That was too damn close.
The instant I felt myself about to come, I didn't hold back for even a second — I just let it all out. Whether it was the terror that Rina might spend the rest of her life disabled, my cock had pumped out every drop of semen the moment it was produced. Thanks to that, I'd filled the nine-ejaculation quota at a pace that would put a premature ejaculator to shame, and the whole thing had taken far less time than when I'd made Aila my Fairy.
The instant I confirmed through the status window that Rina was mine, I grabbed her and ran straight to the temple in Kenveli where the monks were. The temples dedicated to the Nameless God — known as the creator of this world — doubled as hospitals.
It really had been too close. I don't think my heart and my dick have ever clenched that hard in my entire life.
"Let's go."
"...Yes, Master."
Rina, reading my mood, hung her head with a gloomy face and trailed after me. Making her Master worry like that was as good as a grave sin for a Fairy.
Damn it. I didn't even get to enjoy her properly. What a waste.
When Rina bit her tongue, she hadn't been my Fairy yet, so I could call it self-defense. But from my perspective — having failed to properly savor that delicious body of hers — I was nothing but bitter and pissed off. There was only ever going to be one chance in my entire life to enjoy Rina's body while she still belonged to someone else. And I'd thrown that one chance away so pointlessly. Of course I was bitter.
...Ah, hell. What's the point of taking it out on her?
Part of me wanted to give her a hard time, but Rina was trembling at the thought that I might abandon her. How hard had she had it after losing her Master? Then, miraculously, she'd found a new one. And if that new Master discarded her and she ended up alone again? She'd have clawed her way out of hell only to step straight into a new one. For Rina, that would mean losing every reason she had left to keep living.
It hadn't exactly been hard work, but I'd put in the effort to acquire her, so I had no intention of holding this against her now. More than anything, I was a kind master who simply couldn't bring himself to get angry at his Fairies.
"Rina."
"Yes, Master!"
Rina, who'd been trailing behind me with that gloomy face, came trotting over at my call. Half fear, half excitement — those were the emotions swimming in the brown eyes that looked up at me.
"Don't ever do that again. Understood?"
"Huh? Ah, yes. I won't do it again."
"Good. Even if some bastard forces himself on you, that's fine. No matter what happens, I'll come save you — and I'll make sure the son of a bitch who touched you meets the most horrific end this world has to offer. And biting your tongue won't kill you, you know. Got it?"
"...Yes, Master. I'm sorry for making you worry again."
Rina bowed her head at my words. But she couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from lifting. She'd realized that I cared about her that much — and that I wasn't going to abandon her.
"I'd love to stop by an inn right now and properly show you that I'm your Master, but... unfortunately, we're short on time."
"Huh? Ah... yes."
Rina's face had lit up at the mention of an inn, only to fall into deep disappointment when I said we didn't have time. She'd thrown herself at me, yes — but that had been before she became my Fairy.
"I heard Kant's coming back to the sanctuary today."
"Kant is?"
"Yeah. And I'm going to kill him. We don't have much time if we're going to get ready."
"...What? Master, what did you just...?"
Rina's eyes went wide. She looked thoroughly shaken that I'd just casually announced I was going to kill Kant.
"I'll explain the details once we're back at the sanctuary. The others need to hear it too."
"Yes, Master."
She was still flustered, but Rina nodded.
Back at the sanctuary with Rina, I gathered my Fairies and laid out the plan.
"Yes, I'll prepare immediately."
"Heni — I mean, Kant's Fairy — is currently in my room."
Not one of the ten Fairies showed the slightest objection to my announcement that I was going to kill Kant. This, even though he was the benefactor who had taken care of them all this time.
That was what it meant to be a Fairy. No matter how much of a benefactor someone was, a single word from their Master was enough for them to drive a dagger into that person's back without a moment's hesitation.
"Get ready, all of you. I'll be heading out shortly myself."
"Yes, Master."
After giving my Fairies their orders, I went to the room where Heni, Kant's Fairy, was sleeping. I collected her and headed up the hill behind the village.
The fight between me and Kant was going to get loud. Kant was far too strong an opponent to deal with quietly. If we fought at the sanctuary, the villagers might report it to the Red Flame Queen, the ruler of Kenveli. So I decided to set the battlefield on the back hill instead. That way, they wouldn't know what had happened, and they wouldn't be so quick to act.
"....."
Once I reached the hill, I tied Heni up with rope. I set her down at my feet and waited for Kant to arrive.
"Hm? Well, well! If it isn't Kant!"
"Hahaha. It's been a while."
Max, the innkeeper, spotted Kant on his way to the sanctuary and waved at him with obvious delight. Kant smiled and bowed his head in greeting.
"Kant! Long time no see!"
"Uncle Kant!"
"Well, well, Kant's back, is he?"
It wasn't just Max. Every villager who spotted Kant called out a greeting, and Kant answered each one in turn.
Kant was someone this village simply couldn't do without. Unlike the cities, which were encircled by high, solid walls, the only thing protecting the village was a wooden palisade. And a palisade like that couldn't keep monsters from getting in.
When a dungeon reached oversaturation, it spewed monsters out into the world. Once outside, those monsters followed their instincts — killing and devouring every living thing they laid eyes on. Whenever monsters invaded the village, Kant would lead the sanctuary's Fairies out to deal with them. To the villagers, Kant was an indispensable man, and naturally, there wasn't a soul who didn't know his face.
Receiving their greetings all the while, Kant finally returned to the sanctuary — the place he could call home. But the atmosphere there was anything but normal.
"What do we do?"
"Kant needs to get here soon..."
"Hm? Aila, Becca. What's going on?"
Kant spotted Aila and Becca fidgeting anxiously at the sanctuary entrance and approached them. Both Fairies' faces brightened at once.
"Kant!"
"Thank goodness! Ah, this is no time for that! It's an emergency, Kant!"
"What on earth has happened? Please, calm down and tell me slowly."
"First, please look at this."
"Hmm... wait. Th-this is...!"
Kant's eyes went wide as he read the letter Aila handed him.
If you want to save Heni, come to the back hill alone.
— Palos's Bird
The words Palos's Bird told Kant exactly what had happened to him. He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again with a look of transcendent calm.
There was no need to be shaken. The time had simply come.
"...Aila."
"Yes, Kant."
"Is Alan... at the sanctuary, by any chance?"
"Alan? Ah... now that you mention it, I haven't seen him either since earlier. C-could the person who kidnapped Heni have taken Alan too?"
"...I wouldn't know."
Kant shook his head with a bitter expression. He'd told Aila he didn't know, but the truth was he'd realized immediately that Alan had kidnapped Heni.
Palos's Bird had no reason to kidnap Alan as well. And if Alan was nowhere to be found, there was only one explanation: the assassin Palos's Bird had sent to deal with him was Alan himself.
"In any case, I'll head to the back hill. Please look after the sanctuary while I'm gone."
"I'll help. Let me come with you."
"No. It's all right. I'm the one the kidnappers want. And... even if you came, Aila, you wouldn't be of much help."
Palos's Bird had people stronger than him in numbers like grains of sand. Aila was only a 4-star Mage — her presence wouldn't make a difference.
"If I don't return... erase me, Heni, and everything related to this incident from your memory."
"What? Kant, what are you...?"
"Don't ask for the details. But if you wish to protect those precious lives, remember what I've said. You must wipe this incident from your memory. Understood?"
"Kant..."
"I leave the sanctuary — and everyone else — in your hands."
Kant bowed his head to Aila and turned away. Knowing full well that the hill would become his grave, he walked on in silence.
"I'm coming too."
That was when someone spoke up behind him.
"...Rina."
It was Rina. Her stats had dropped, but she was still a 5-star Fairy — the second strongest in the sanctuary after Kant himself. Kant shook his head at Rina as she approached.
"You can't. If you come, you'll..."
"Die? Do I look like someone who's afraid of dying?"
"....."
"I was as good as dead without you and Heni. If it weren't for what you said to me back then, I'd have taken my own life a long time ago. This life you two saved — I'll use it for you. So... you two remember my Master for me."
"Rina..."
"Even if you refuse, I'm going to that hill. If you don't want to waste your strength on me, just come along."
"...Thank you, Rina."
Kant couldn't bring himself to tell Rina to stay behind. Aila or the other Fairies were one thing, but Rina would actually be useful. Kant headed for the location written in the letter, Rina at his side.
And there, he came face to face with a familiar man.
"Haa... so you came after all. Believe it or not, I was hoping you wouldn't. You're a good person. I don't particularly want to kill someone like you."
"...Alan."
Watching Alan speak with that bitter look on his face, Kant gripped his mace.