Fairy Theft — Oralisa (1)
"I like grape juice. Wine's too bitter. I hate it."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. And I like apple juice too. I wanna just drink juice instead of eating meals."
"You can't do that. If you skip your meals and only drink juice, you won't grow big and strong, you know?"
"Hmph! I'm a Fairy, so I'm not getting any bigger anyway. Don't you even know that, Teresa? Teresa, you dummy."
"And you've been brushing your teeth regularly, right? If you drink juice and don't brush, your teeth will rot. And if your teeth rot, Prince Pazniri won't like it. He won't even kiss you, you know?"
"Hmph! Master doesn't kiss me anyway! He only ever kisses Pikupikuni and Hina. And he hasn't come to see me in days! Master's mea— ...I'm not mad. I'm just sad."
"Aww, is that riiight? Did that make you upset? There, there..."
What the hell are those two doing?
Teresa, the Request Office clerk, soothed Oralisa with the practiced ease of someone who'd done this a hundred times — the Fairy whining and sulking like a child, Teresa cooing right back at her. Oralisa didn't seem the least bit offended by being treated like a toddler, either. Thanks to their little private moment, I was the only one left standing there like an idiot, having come all this way to report on the Snake Bandits.
He's neglecting her? Sure, her mental age seemed a little low, but she wasn't a kid.
Judging by Oralisa's complaint about not getting kissed, her Master — Prince Pazniri — had probably never even taken her to his bed. From where I stood, that made no sense at all.
Oralisa talked like a child, but one look at her was enough to know she was anything but. Judging by her seated height, she stood somewhere around five-five or five-six, and while her chest was smaller than Aquaril's, it was still a solid, full B-cup at the very least. True to her nature as a Fairy, her skin was as white and fine as freshly fallen snow. And those black stockings she wore lent her a strangely alluring air.
And he still hadn't touched her.
As someone who spent nearly every night tangled up with Aquaril, I couldn't understand that Pazniri prince even a little.
Still, it's not like he has no affection for her.
One glance at Oralisa's status window was enough to tell that Prince Pazniri had poured considerable effort into raising her.
"Ah, I'm so sorry, Master Han."
The cooing session finally wrapped up, and Teresa turned to face me. Guilt was written all over her face.
"Lady Oralisa. This gentleman is a Master named Alan Han."
"Alan Han? Like Warm-Han, Awkward-Han, Cringe-Han?"
"That's completely different!"
"Really?"
Oralisa tilted her head, her face utterly blank, then turned to look at me. Apparently determined to show off how haughty she could be, she thrust her chin high into the air.
"Lady Oralisa. If you tilt your head up like that, you can't see Master Han."
"Yeah, you're right. I can't see. Why didn't you tell me sooner, Teresa. My eyes hurt. Dummy Teresa!"
She'd tipped her chin so far back she was staring straight at the ceiling, and from that position she was straining her eyes downward, trying to get a look at me. Teresa gently corrected her posture, at which point Oralisa immediately started whining that her eyes hurt.
...Is she just an idiot?
Suddenly I understood perfectly why Prince Pazniri had never laid a hand on her.
"S-she may not look it, but Lady Oralisa is an extremely intelligent Fairy. If you tell her what you need to say, she'll pass it along to Prince Pazniri."
"That's right. I'm a super smart Fairy. So if you've got something to say to me, you can tell me everything, Smart-Han."
"Lady Oralisa? It's not 'Smart-Han,' it's Master Alan Han."
"Hmm... that's too hard."
"....."
Teresa did her best to salvage Oralisa's image, but it was a lost cause.
"Anyway, I'll just step out. Please call me when you're finished talking."
"No — I think it would be better if you stayed, Miss Teresa."
The moment she made to leave, I grabbed her. There was no way I could handle Oralisa alone, no matter how I looked at it. More than that, I had serious doubts this girl would relay my words to Prince Pazniri with any accuracy.
"A-are you sure that's all right? I'm just a regular clerk, and you said this was a matter that concerns the very fate of Baidu..."
"Please stay anyway. I'm asking you."
"Ah... hahaha..."
Teresa let out an awkward laugh at my earnest plea. In the end, she remained in the room.
"Okay, go ahead and talk, Awkward-Han. If you wanna lick my feet, you can lick them."
"Lady Oralisa!"
"....."
Yeah... suddenly I don't want her anymore.
My desire for her evaporated on the spot.
We'd taken a few detours along the way, but I managed to get the information about the Snake Bandits across to both Oralisa and Teresa.
"I-is that really true? B-but according to our intelligence..."
"Hmm... good job, Perfect-Han. I understood everything perfectly. So now you can lick my feet."
Teresa was thrown into a panic by what I'd said. Oralisa, on the other hand, kept insisting I lick her feet, as if she had some kind of grudge against them. She claimed she'd understood everything perfectly. I was pretty sure she hadn't understood a single word.
"It's the truth, Miss Teresa. The people of Jert village actually attacked me and my party members. And when the attack failed, they ran."
So I tuned Oralisa out entirely and spoke only to Teresa.
"I also captured two of the Snake Bandits, and they told me their target is Baidu."
"Th-that can't be... Did you happen to bring the captured bandits with you?"
"They bit their tongues and killed themselves. Vicious bastards, the lot of them."
I hadn't brought the bandits. If word got out that I'd killed the people of Jert village, it would only work against me — and I had no reason to volunteer information that put me at a disadvantage. The part about the bandits being dead was true, though. They just hadn't committed suicide.
"These are people who built up that kind of power right under Baidu's nose. That means they're extremely calculating and thorough. There's no way they could have assembled a force of that size on their own, so someone has to be backing them from the shadows."
"A-a backer...? Th-then what should we do about this?"
Is she seriously asking because she doesn't know?
I stared at Teresa with dead, flat eyes as she panicked and tossed the question back at me. What should we do? What do you think we should do? Report it to your superiors, woman!
"I apologize for saying this, but I would like you to speak to Prince Pazniri directly, Miss Teresa."
"M-me? But..."
"I'm asking you, Miss Teresa. Lady Oralisa is here, but... well. Please."
I glanced at Oralisa, who had grown bored enough to start fidgeting with her hands, then pleaded with Teresa in earnest. She hesitated for a moment, then let out a sigh and nodded.
"Hah... all right. I'll try talking to him. But it's going to take some time. The truth is, Prince Pazniri hasn't visited the Request Office in quite a while..."
"That's fine. Those bandits aren't going to attack Baidu immediately."
I nodded at her words.
Once I was outside, I turned back and looked at the Request Office.
My gaze settled on the highest floor of the three-story building — the room where Oralisa, Fairy of a prince I knew only by name, made her home.
There was definitely a bed in there.
Childish as Oralisa was, that room was still an official workplace. A cheap folding cot would have been one thing, but a lavish bed you'd expect to find in a luxury hotel was another matter entirely. It even had a black canopy hanging from the ceiling.
And then there were the things she said.
"Hmph! Master doesn't kiss me anyway! He only ever kisses Pikupikuni and Hina... And he hasn't come to see me in days! Master's mea— ...I'm not mad. I'm just sad."
She'd said it clearly — he hadn't come to see her in days. Which meant Oralisa was living in that room at the Request Office.
Pazniri or Pizniri or whatever-the-hell that prince's name was, I didn't know what kind of bastard he was, but one thing was obvious: he'd stuffed Oralisa in the Request Office and left her there to rot.
So what do I do...
I licked my lips, staring up at the Request Office.
She had a vacant, almost dim-witted quality about her, and her way of thinking was more than a little unique — but looked at another way, that was just another kind of charm. And more than anything, she was a beauty, the way a Fairy ought to be. A beautiful woman could be forgiven for having a flaw or two. That was just how it worked.
Besides, I've already accomplished my primary objective.
I'd told Teresa — a Request Office clerk — that the intelligence they had on the Snake Bandits was wrong, and that an unknown force was supporting the bandits from behind the scenes. She'd said she would report my words to the prince, but that was never going to happen.
I didn't know Teresa's exact rank, but judging by the fact that she worked the front desk, it couldn't have been very high. Would a report from someone like her even reach Prince Pazniri? Especially with no evidence to back up a word I'd said?
Everything I'd done today was nothing more than groundwork for later.
I'll be seeing you, Oralisa.
I licked my lips again. After staring at the third-floor window of the Request Office for a long while, I headed back to the inn where my party was staying.
Aquaril and I stepped outside and ran straight into Kanisia, her face soft and freshly washed, as if she'd just gotten out of the bath.
"Hm? Where are you two going?"
"On a date."
"....."
I slung an arm around Aquaril's shoulder as I answered. We'd done far more intimate things than this, and yet her ears burned scarlet with embarrassment.
"Ooooh, a date~ So you two actually take breaks, huh?"
"What, you think we're robots that just grind dungeons nonstop? Anyway, we're sleeping out tonight, so don't wait up. We're gonna go all night long!"
"Wow! Our Aquaril's gonna have a hard time showing her face tomorrow, huh?"
"....."
Kanisia and I kept the teasing going, and Aquaril's already-flushed face turned a shade so deep it looked ready to burst. Every drop of blood in her body seemed to have rushed to her cheeks.
"Get some rest. See you tomorrow."
"Mm~ Have fun on your date~"
We parted ways with Kanisia and slipped out of the inn.
"....."
As if the whole thing had been an act, the red drained from Aquaril's face and her complexion returned to normal. I gave her shoulder a couple of light pats.
"Sorry, Aquaril. Next time we've got a free moment, I promise we'll go on a real date."
"I'm fine, Master. For me, simply being by your side like this is no different from a date."
I'd tried to console her, thinking she'd be disappointed — and instead, she was the one consoling me. A thoroughly Aquaril answer.
A mischievous impulse took hold, and I put on a deliberately serious face.
"You sure? Then I guess I don't need to take you on dates anymore. I can just go out with Kanisia and the other Fairies, right?"
"Th-that's...!"
Aquaril panicked. Her eyes darted left and right — the little habit she had whenever she knew she needed to answer but couldn't find the words.
I smiled at the sight and took her hand.
"I'm kidding. Once this job is done and we've got time, let's go on a date. All right?"
"...Yes, Master."
Aquaril realized a beat too late that I'd been teasing her. We hadn't set a date yet, but the fact that one was now a certainty was enough to draw a shy, blooming smile onto her face.
"Let's go, Aquaril."
"Yes, Master."
The jokes ended there. Serious once more, we melted into the stream of people moving through the streets.