The Princess's Proposal
"....."
Where the hell am I now?
I opened my eyes to an unfamiliar ceiling. Don't tell me I'd been dumped into yet another world?
Status window.
Name:Alan Han (Gibung-i)Lv.2 / ★
Race:Human (Male / Age 20)
Attribute:None
Trait:Fairy Master (Inactive)
Class:—
Skills (0/4):—
Gems Held:0
Just in case, I called up the status window in my head — and the familiar panel bloomed in front of my eyes.
"Whew..."
I let out a sigh of relief. If I had to live in another world, I was better off in one I actually knew something about.
"Anyway, why am I even here... ugh!"
I tried to sit up, and pain lanced through my solar plexus so hard I clutched my gut and grimaced. Why the hell does my chest hurt too, what the fu— oh. Right.
"That fucking bastard!"
A Fairy had appeared in front of me while I was wandering the streets. Just because his Master wanted to see me, the Fairy had hauled off and punched me square in the solar plexus. We were both 1-Star, but his stats and mine weren't even in the same universe. I blacked out on the spot.
Prisia Lily.
The Fairy's Master had definitely been Prisia Lily. Not Bison Trilly. Male Masters could only summon female Fairies, and female Masters could only summon male ones.
If Bison Trilly had sent a Fairy after me, it would have been a woman, not a man.
Which means this place is...
Most likely Prisia Lily's house. Or maybe a villa she owned.
Kidnapping me like this was clearly to keep it out of other people's sight.
Otherwise there was no reason to go about it this way. She'd had plenty of chances to just call me in.
Come to think of it, that guy showed up when there was nobody around, didn't he?
When the Fairy who wrecked my solar plexus appeared, there hadn't been a single person nearby. He might have been tailing me since I paid off the remaining balance, and only shown himself once the street was empty.
But why would that woman want to see me?
In my previous life I'd been a ranker in Fairy Masters. Naturally I knew a lot about this world — strategies for countless monsters, fast and efficient Fairy growth methods, all kinds of knowledge.
In this world, my value was greater than any treasure.
But the people here didn't know that yet. I'd only opened my eyes in this world for the first time today. Of course they wouldn't know what I was worth.
So why had Prisia Lily kidnapped me?
...Don't tell me it's human trafficking?!
A chill ran down my spine.
In Fairy Masters, Prisia Lily and Bison Trilly were the Chapter 1 bosses. If they showed up as bosses in the game, how much of a vicious villain must she be in reality?
This is no time to sit around!
I needed to get out of here before they harvested my organs.
"Guh!"
I scrambled off the bed and immediately crumpled to the floor, clutching my solar plexus. That Fairy bastard had hit me so hard the pain still made the hair on my arms stand up.
That was when it happened.
Creeeak—!
"You're awake."
Fuck.
A man opened the door and walked in. The same son of a bitch Fairy who'd punched me in the gut. He looked down at me with cold eyes.
"Master is waiting. Follow me."
With that, he turned and walked out without even waiting for an answer.
What the hell am I supposed to do, you bastard? Just because you say follow, I have to follow? A 1-Star Fairy daring to talk to me like that!
I cursed him out internally, but I had no choice but to scowl and trail after him. I'd been kidnapped. Choice wasn't a luxury I had.
I didn't know the geography of Indigo — the city that served as the stage for Chapters 1 and 2 of Fairy Masters — and I had no idea where this mansion even was.
Never mind all that. Even if I came back from the dead, I couldn't shake this arrogant Fairy and run.
I still remembered it. The way that Fairy had beaten goblins to death with his bare fists. If I tried to run, those fists might come for me next.
The fact that she said she was waiting for me... that means she clearly isn't planning to harvest my organs right away.
If she really wanted my organs, she wouldn't have bothered seeing me. She'd have just slapped me on an operating table.
Alright... stay calm. They say even if a tiger has you in its jaws, you can survive if you keep your wits about you.
I took a deep breath and tried to settle my racing heart. I hadn't even been dead a full day. I had zero interest in dying again.
...Though if a tiger actually bites you, you just die whether you keep your wits or not, don't you?
Thump-thump—
My barely settled heart started pounding all over again.
I followed the black-haired Fairy down a corridor of a mansion that looked like it belonged to nobility. Before long the Fairy opened a massive door, and inside I saw a woman seated at a dining table long enough to seat at least twenty people.
"I've brought him, Master."
"Well done, Kyle."
The Fairy bowed to the woman and took his place behind her.
"Please, come sit over here."
"....."
The woman gestured to the seat on her left. After reading both her and the Fairy's expressions, I sat where she'd indicated.
Whoa... she's actually gorgeous.
The woman I'd seen earlier and the one in front of me now had completely different auras. In that riding-suit-like outfit with a sword at her hip, she'd given off the vibe of a fierce female warrior. In a white dress, she radiated the air of a highborn noble daughter.
Especially her chest...
I snuck a sidelong glance at her breasts. Those full, jutting curves were making their presence known. On top of that, the dress was cut low enough that the upper swell of her chest was on full display. The milky-white skin looked as soft as marshmallows.
"....."
Motorboating... wait, shit!
I must have been staring a hole through her chest. Kyle, the Fairy standing behind her, was glaring at me with burning eyes. I hurriedly lifted my gaze to the woman herself.
She was watching me with languid, intrigued eyes.
Prisia Lily.
The only person in Indigo that Kyle would call Master was Prisia Lily. She opened her mouth, still looking at me with that interested gaze.
"Have you eaten?"
"Huh? Ah, no. Not yet..."
"Oh my... then you must be terribly hungry. We have all the time in the world to talk, so why don't you eat first?"
Clap-clap!
She clapped her hands before I could even answer. A side door opened and maids rolled in carts laden with food, setting the dishes out across the table. It was a considerable amount for just the two of us.
"Please, eat."
"Then I won't refuse..."
I hadn't had a single meal since opening my eyes in this world, and I was starving. The moment the words left her mouth I grabbed a spoon and scooped up a mouthful of steaming soup.
"Hngh?!"
The flavor that hit my tongue made my eyes fly wide. Holy shit... this is insanely good!
After that first taste of soup, I have no memory of what happened. I inhaled the food like a man possessed.
Too much food for two people, I'd thought?
Scratch that. I could have eaten the whole spread by myself!
A soft, amused laugh escaped her.
"Ah... I'm sorry. It was so delicious I made a disgrace of myself."
"Not at all. I'm actually happier that you enjoyed it so much."
Her laugh snapped me back to my senses, and I put on an embarrassed face. Getting so absorbed in food right in the middle of enemy territory! I'd almost blown it.
Get a grip, Gibung-i! No — Alan Han!
After that I continued the meal with some dignity. Every so often Prisia Lily asked about "my" past, and I improvised on the spot, running my mouth as needed. I didn't remember a single thing about the life this body had lived for the past twenty years.
When the meal was over, Prisia Lily led me to the drawing room. Kyle, her Fairy, still stood guard at her back. What a loyal dog.
"Mr. Han."
"Yes."
"During the battle earlier..."
Prisia Lily let the words trail off. In an instant, those languid eyes sharpened like a bird of prey's. She was looking straight into mine.
"...What?"
What kind of ghost-story nonsense was this? Chosen by God?
"I happened to see you on the battlefield. You were staring blankly at empty air. You even poked at nothing with your finger."
"Uh..."
She saw my reaction when the status window popped up?
The status window was only visible to me, so to anyone else I would have looked exactly like she described — staring blankly into space.
"At that moment, weren't you looking at the blessing God had bestowed upon you?"
Blessing? Is she talking about the status window?
The blessing she was referring to seemed to mean the status window. How should I answer?
"...Yes, that's right."
"I knew it!"
I nodded after looking into her eyes. Those were the eyes of someone already certain I'd been looking at a status window.
Lying rashly was dangerous.
Don't forget.
I was still the lowest-tier prey in this world.
If she decided to kill me right here, I would die. We were both 1-Star (★), but Kyle was far stronger than me. And Prisia Lily herself was a 2-Star (★★).
"Let me make you a proposal."
"A proposal...?"
"Yes. Become my vassal."
"...What?"
Vassal? As in, a retainer?
"As you know, Indigo is under Hwaryongwang's control. That vile, cowardly man has locked down every dungeon around Indigo to prevent more princes and princesses who could threaten him from appearing. The only ones allowed into the dungeons are Hwaryongwang's Fairies. Even Prince Trilly and I have to pay an enormous price just for a chance to raid one."
What the hell would I know?
As I'd said more than once, I'd only opened my eyes in this world today. I was a newborn, basically.
I might have been an expert on Fairy Masters, but I didn't know all the circumstances here. Hell, I didn't know most of them. That was only natural — Indigo was the stage for Chapters 1 and 2, a place you could clear in about two hours. From Chapter 3 onward you left Indigo and operated in other regions.
More importantly, she just said Hwaryongwang, didn't she?
Hwaryongwang was the Chapter 2 boss. He was also the ruler of Indigo. Unlike Prisia Lily and Bison Trilly, who only had two Fairies each, Hwaryongwang had a full six.
Though from what I remembered, aside from Hwaryongwang himself and one Fairy, the rest were all just 1-Star (★).
What's that bastard doing? Controlling the dungeons?
My expression soured at those words.
Dungeons were the core content of Fairy Masters. You had to raid them to get the Growth Stones needed to raise Fairies.
People even used to say you had to keep raiding dungeons until the day you quit the game.
And controlling the dungeons was as good as saying I couldn't grow.
Then...
If I couldn't raid dungeons, there was nothing I could do. Using the information I had to succeed in this world was premised on one condition: raiding dungeons.
"...Then wouldn't it be pointless even if I became Lady Prisia Lily's subordinate — no, your vassal? I was only chosen by God today. I'm weak."
"Don't worry about that. I'll help you become a powerful Master."
"How, exactly? Didn't you just say Hwaryongwang controls the dungeons, Lady Prisia Lily?"
She nodded at my question.
"Yes, that's right. Hwaryongwang controls every dungeon. The ones around Indigo, that is."
"...Meaning?"
"I will become Queen. No matter what. So I need the power to take down Hwaryongwang somehow, don't I? I know of an ownerless dungeon, a bit far from Indigo. No — since I'm the only one raiding it, I suppose I can call it my dungeon. I'll let you raid that dungeon. Then you'll grow stronger, and eventually you'll be able to summon a Fairy."
"So after I get stronger that way, I help you take down Hwaryongwang and become Queen. That's what you mean?"
"Exactly."
"....."
After thinking it over for a moment, I stood and dropped to one knee before Prisia Lily.
I accepted her proposal.