Avalon's Fairies (1)

The earth had caved in along the entire stretch of the vast Paniotipa Granary. The pit plunged so deep I couldn't even begin to guess how far it went — the bottom was nowhere in sight.

It was as if a god had taken a spoon to a pudding cup. Only the Paniotipa Granary had vanished beneath the earth, scooped out clean.

Staring into that bottomless hole, I clenched my fist. Worry for Nemea wouldn't let me settle down.

"Damn it...! Nemea, Nemea, Nemea!"

"Did you call?"

"Ugh... I can hear your voice so clearly in my ear... Where the hell are you, Nemea..."

"??? Am I not standing right beside you?"

"Yeah. Your voice sounds so vivid, like you're talking right next to me... Wait? Oh, what the fuck?"

"?????"

"You, you, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you, youuu...!"

The Nemea I'd been so desperately worrying about just moments ago was standing right next to me, staring at me with a blank look on her face. I had no idea when she'd even gotten there.

"What is the matter? You've gone pale as though you've seen a ghost."

"Are you... really Nemea?"

"Who else would I be, if not Nemea? Granted, there may well be another who shares my name somewhere in this world, but I am the Nemea you know."

"...Come here."

"Hm?"

I spread both arms wide.

"Let me hug you. Just once. Hurry up and get over here."

"Hmph... You grow stranger with each passing day."

"Ah, just hurry!"

"Very well."

Nemea trotted over and nestled into my arms. The distinctive softness of a woman's body and the warm scent of her skin washed over me.

"Haa... Thank god."

Only then could I let out a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sigh of relief. The moment I realized Nemea was safe, the tightness that had been crushing my chest vanished as if it had been washed away. I pulled her in tight.

"How stifling."

Nemea squirmed in my arms, complaining she couldn't breathe.

"I'm so glad. I'm so glad you're okay, Nemea."

"...Even when we were apart, I could feel your emotions."

But she soon smiled and settled down, wrapping her own arms around my waist.

"So what happened? How did you get out of there?"

"Tha... I can' talk if you knead my cheekth like tha..."

"Ah, sorry. Your cheeks are just so doughy I couldn't help myself."

Nemea glared up at me, her face full of complaint after I'd been squishing her cheeks. I gave them one last squeeze, then nodded for her to go on.

Nemea opened her mouth again.

"It was after you left the four fairies in my care and departed."

"Ah, right. Avalon's fairies! What happened to them? Don't tell me... they died?"

"No. They are all alive."

"All of them? Wait, how?"

I'd figured I'd be lucky if I even salvaged one of them. Hearing that they'd all survived genuinely shocked me.

"I shall explain in detail, so do not interrupt from this point on. Interrupt me once more and I will say nothing further."

"Ah, sorry. I'll just listen. Go on."

"So then..."

Nemea's explanation unfolded.

Originally, she hadn't planned on leaving her post at all. It wasn't that she lacked the strength — she just found it too much of a hassle to haul four fairies around. But she couldn't stay put.

Boom! Boom! KRA-KOOM!

The thunderous roar of what sounded like exploding bombs, and the screams of people along with it, had been drawing closer and closer to where she stood. Nemea felt it instinctively. People she could not defeat in her current state were fighting their way toward her.

They were Falcones, Montblanc's fairy, who had been drawing aggro like a madwoman to pull the enemy's attention, and the fairy of Hawk, the Eastern Administrator who had stayed behind to defend the granary.

If she just sat there, she was going to get swept up in the fighting. Swallowing her irritation, Nemea gathered up the unconscious fairies and moved. They hadn't arranged a meeting place, but she figured that once she got out of there, they'd find each other one way or another.

And so Nemea managed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to extract herself before the massive earthquake that swallowed the entire Paniotipa Granary struck. After the quake, she followed my scent all the way to where I was.

"Wow..."

I couldn't help but be impressed.

"You really got lucky."

"Perhaps so."

Nemea nodded at that.

If those two hadn't shifted the battlefield all the way to where Nemea was waiting, she would have stayed right where we'd parted. And then she never would have made it out when the earthquake hit. Thanks to those powerful 8-Star fairies moving around, Nemea hadn't needed to run her ass off the way we had.

Did they all die?

Hawk's fairy, and Montblanc's fairies too — they would have been caught in the earthquake. No matter how high their Agility stats were, they would have had to flee from the very heart of the granary. Getting out of the quake's range wouldn't have been easy.

The best-case scenario for me would be if Hawk's fairy and Montblanc's fairies all died down there...

Yeah, right.

Fairies who'd grown all the way to 8-Star, level 160, weren't going to die that easily.

"Incidentally, do you intend to remain here? Linger too long and the enemy may find us."

"You're right. Let's get down first."

Nemea's words snapped me back to my senses. I climbed down from the tree with her. The moment we landed, four pairs of eyes locked onto me — everyone except Sonic.

"Alan? Who's that little girl?"

"....."

Kanisia's gaze was downright murderous.

After confirming that Nemea and Avalon's fairies were all safe, I introduced Nemea to the party. Then we left the Paniotipa Granary behind and arrived at the rally point together.

"Nobody showed up, huh."

I looked around, but there wasn't a soul at the rally point. Montblanc's fairies — who were essentially the commanders of this operation — were nowhere to be seen, and neither were any of the other masters and fairies who'd taken part. Same for Avalon, who'd gotten cleaned out by me and fled into the sky.

I'd been secretly hoping Avalon would be here, but that was too much to ask.

"Let's rest here for a bit. We'll move to another city once morning comes."

It was too late. The sun would be up soon.

I considered heading to Merligan to rest for a few days, but quickly scrapped the idea. By the time morning broke, word of what happened today would have reached the ears of Merligan's ruler, the Blood King Agan Tapoa.

According to Zoldik, the Paniotipa Granary wasn't just important to the Blood King — it was a critical stronghold for Hawk, the Eastern Administrator that Montblanc was after. Hawk would be desperate to find whoever attacked one of his vaults. If we lingered in Merligan and got caught, we could be captured.

So even if it was exhausting, we needed to move to another city as fast as possible. Of course, for now, we were going to rest.

I pulled tents from my inventory and handed them out to the party.

"I'll take watch. So everyone get some sleep."

I decided to take the night watch alone again. With my Stamina stat packed to the brim, I'd been running around all night and fighting enemies, but I only felt a little tired. I was fine. The rest of the party, whose Stamina stats were much lower, were completely wiped. They needed rest.

"I'm fine, Master. You stood watch last time as well, did you not? I'll take it tonight, so please rest."

Aquaril, ever the hopelessly Master-devoted one, stepped up to take the watch in my place.

"Mhm, Master! Aqua-chan's taking watch, so Master should rest!"

"?????"

Oralisa chimed in from the side to back Aquaril up. But isn't the usual move here to volunteer yourself when you're backing someone up? She's just so cute.

"A fairy... talking back?!"

"M-Master! That's not talking back!"

I playfully dropped a meme that had been popular in my previous life, but Aquaril, who had no idea it was a meme, was thoroughly flustered. Aqua-chan, you're adorable!

"As your Master and the leader of this party, I order you: get in those tents and rest right now. Talk back again like Aqua-chan and I'll kick you out of the party. So no more arguing. Get in there and sleep."

"...Yes, Master."

"Hiiing! Oralisa wanted to sleep with Master!"

"Heheh. Understood, Master."

"Then I'll leave it to you, Alan. I'd normally insist on taking watch myself, but... I'm genuinely about to collapse. If I stood watch I'd be asleep in seconds."

"Yeah. Go in and get some rest. Hurry up."

I gave Kanisia's springy ass a couple of pats and sent her into the tent. Abraham followed in after her. I patted the fairies' asses too as I herded them into their tents, and that left just me, Nemea, and Avalon's four unconscious fairies.

"Let's see, the time is... ah, only five minutes left?"

Checking Nemea's remaining summon duration, I couldn't hide my disappointment. Nemea could stay summoned for up to five hours a day, and we'd already used four hours and fifty-five minutes.

For reference, Nemea's summon duration increases with my star rank. Since I was currently 5-Star, she could stay out for five hours. Each time my rank went up, the duration increased by one hour.

"You worked hard today, Nemea. Go rest up. See you tomorrow."

"Likewise. You did well yourself."

Nemea nodded. Since there were only five minutes left anyway, I just unsummoned her. Nemea vanished.

Status window.

Sitting on a rock, I checked my status window.

Gained four levels, and my skill levels went up a bit? Tch... a little disappointing.

I hadn't killed many strong ones like Klaxon. That's why, even after fighting for so long, I'd only gone up four levels.

On the plus side, there was going to be a fat side income. I'd carefully collected all the items used by the masters and fairies that my party and I had killed.

"Hmm-hmm-hmm~"

I dismissed the status window and hummed as I set traps all around the tents. I laid down the magic trap scrolls I'd bought in Merligan, and used a thief-exclusive trap kit as well.

Then I pulled out a tent for myself from my inventory and set it up. I put Avalon's fairies — Izabella, Kanna, Raizel, and Hisoka — inside the tent.

Now it was time to collect the real rewards.