Disappearing with the Fairy
It was physically impossible to vanish alongside a fairy and escape the Great Forest from elven territory in a mere day.
She was just an eleven-year-old child at best. A nighttime path lit only by hazy moonlight. The frantic psychological state of being pursued.
Footprints, snapped branches, disturbed vines. There was no way she had the presence of mind to cover her tracks.
A casual scan revealed exactly where the intruder had passed and which way she was headed.
In the darkness, the direction the intruder had chosen was east. Toward the Sunflower Field cultivated by the elves.
The intruder was as good as caught.
Sunflowers weren't just used for fodder or food; they could be processed for honey and oil, or employed as medicine, making them versatile plants valuable not only to elves but to humans as well.
However, the mana-infused varieties could only be found near the heart of the Great Forest. This drew groups of humans known as adventurers to sneak into elven lands to steal them.
Most couldn't use magic, though, so they turned back empty-handed without even glimpsing the sunflowers, blocked by the large-scale concealment spells set up to protect them. But occasionally, like this time, a human group blessed with mana would infiltrate.
Humans blessed with mana were far more cunning and persistent than the average.
Their magic skills were pathetic enough that they couldn't breach even the spells elves had set up merely to ward off wild animals.
But like water wearing down a stone, humans would try dozens or hundreds of times until they achieved their goal.
No matter how much the spells' structures were altered, it was impossible to completely prevent human intrusions. So the elves didn't bother trying to stop them.
Instead, they inscribed new spells deeper inside the Sunflower Field.
Easy to enter, impossible to leave. Let human arrogance trap them instead.
The human group would spend several sleepless nights deciphering the elven spells. Finally entering the Sunflower Field, they would eagerly plunder the flowers.
Stuffing their backpacks full, and only when trying to leave would they sense something was wrong.
No matter how mana-blessed, few humans could decipher a genuine elven access-control spell in a single day.
Thus, having walked into the basket themselves, they would groan through the night and get caught by the elves arriving for work in the morning.
After confiscating the stolen sunflowers, the elves would make them do volunteer labor on the farm for a few months. A peaceful solution befitting peace-loving elves.
Even an A-rank adventurer party with some renown couldn't escape the elven automated sunflower farming method.
Much less an intruder who couldn't even neutralize the concealment spell and had brute-forced their way in. The rangers considered the capture as good as done the moment they learned the intruder had entered the Sunflower Field. However.
"Gone...?"
"...We'll expand the search radius and investigate again."
No sign of the intruder anywhere in the Sunflower Field.
"Any chance they broke the spells from the start and entered without going through the field?"
"The tracks suggest the intruder definitely entered the field and stayed around here for a while."
They double-checked for issues with the access-control spells. They even considered the possibility of an elf collaborator secretly aiding the intruder.
"The spells themselves seem to be functioning normally."
"If there was a collaborator, we wouldn't have tracked the princess's whereabouts this easily from the start."
"We wouldn't have let the intruder flee this way in the first place."
Either way, there wasn't enough evidence to be certain.
"The only clue left is those wolves..."
Ranger Captain Saria's gaze lingered briefly on the pack of wolves locked in the cage.
Eight wolves and their level-41 leader, the scarred Gray Dire Wolf. A pack this size would challenge even a trained ranger alone.
Entangling their legs with growing sunflowers wouldn't solve it. A child who knew only a few spells would be hunted in seconds.
Yet the only evidence here was that the intruder had briefly stayed and engaged the wolves in short combat. No corpse or even bloodstains anywhere in the field.
And it wasn't as if the wolves had been defeated by a stealthy intruder.
"Grrrr..."
"Yip! Yip! Yip!"
"Awooooo—!"
No. They were so unscathed that capturing the pack had been quite troublesome.
"...No magic detected on the forks."
"This... was held and stabbed directly."
Meanwhile, at the spot where the trail ended, a gray wolf's corpse lay, pierced through the eye by a silver fork.
"The princess's doing...?"
"If so, we wouldn't be agonizing over this."
Three uniform holes. The method matched those on multiple small animal corpses found during the pursuit.
Those had been in locations not overlapping the princess's path, so they'd dismissed them as a new monster's work. But...
"...This makes it even more baffling."
"Still, it seems connected to the intruder somehow."
If the traces led here, they couldn't ignore the link. Perhaps this creature wasn't newly born but a familiar raised by the princess.
"...Why would they act separately, though?"
At her subordinate's question, Saria closed her eyes briefly.
Rumors she'd dismissed as ugly human power struggles flashed through her mind—tales of the queen contracting with demons, the princess learning black magic.
'Did she really learn black magic?'
When she'd met the princess before, there'd been no stench unique to black mages.
'...But nothing's absolute.'
She might have contracted a demon last night. The focus on rodents made sense if she needed multiple souls of specific creatures for black magic sacrifices.
'...This is getting serious.'
Saria frowned slightly, rubbing her nape. Her original goal had been to punish those insolent enough to tread the Sanctuary with filthy feet.
But if a black mage was involved, this was beyond the rangers' authority.
In the uneasy silence, several rangers paled, reaching the same conclusion.
"Captain, this..."
"Suspicious."
"We should alert the Elder Council—"
"No."
Saria cut her subordinate off firmly. Right before they could apprehend the intruders, the Elder Council had interfered.
'At least one, possibly the entire council already compromised.'
Contacting them rashly would only give the black mage time to destroy evidence. So...
"...First, scour this sunflower garden for traces of black magic."
Secure concrete proof of black magic involvement. With her decision made, Saria issued solemn orders to her subordinates.
Crisis is just opportunity.
Right before the wolf pack could chew, tear, taste, and savor Veronica, I recalled succeeding in Analysis on her language, leveling up the skill.
'Analysis.'
Attempting to interpret Mystery with [Analysis lv.3].
...
* Failed to interpret Mystery. (Level up Analysis and try again!)
Regrettably, the message said my level was still insufficient for the [Mystery] trait.
* Successfully interpreted [Guide]!
* Reward for interpreting [Guide] trait: Skill [Dimension Corridor] unlocked!
The Analysis of [Guide] succeeded smoothly. And the revealed [Guide] trait was...
[Guide]
- I know the way! Guides the lost to the right path. (50% chance to lead completely elsewhere.)
- Additional Effect: Homing Instinct: Open a [Dimension Corridor] to the Fairy Realm anytime, anywhere.
'...What the hell is this?'
Even setting aside the unhelpful description, what was with the 50% condition? True to its gacha-game roots, it slapped random probability even on useless details.
From the description alone, [Guide] seemed middling at best.
'Still better than nothing.'
Even if the trait itself was meh, the add-on Homing Instinct was a jackpot.
'Honestly, isn't this the real star...?'
I didn't know what or where this Fairy Realm was.
But anything beat getting limbs torn off by wolves.
'Dimension Corridor.'
Decision made, I swiftly extended my hand into the air and activated the new skill.
Crack—
"Let's go!"
「Y-Yes?」
The instant a black rift like shattered glass appeared right in front of Veronica,
"Hurry!"
"Wh-What...?"
I urgently yanked her sleeve. By a hair's breadth.
"Grrr... Yip!"
"Yap! Yap!"
We dodged the groggy wolves charging again and threw ourselves into the rift. The moment Veronica and I fully entered,
Shhkk...
Like time rewinding, the shattered space seamlessly restored itself. Relief washed over me.
"Phew..."
Feeling my heart pounding wildly, I calmly surveyed the space called the Fairy Realm.
The Fairy Realm in one word: modest.
A space enclosed by dense bamboo thickets. The only clearing was a single thatched hut and a small yard.
Despite the name, not a fairy in sight—no insects buzzing either.
In fact, the only living beings here seemed to be me and Veronica.
'At least there's sunlight, and a stream-like flow in the corner...'
Not spacious, but just right for two to kick off a leisurely rural life.
I'd even picked up some sunflower seeds on the way.
'That spot should work.'
As I eyed a suitable plot for planting,
「Where... is this place?」
Veronica, who'd stumbled in on my invitation, looked around curiously.
Yeah, no idea—wouldn't look good to admit that.
"Fairy Realm."
I recited what was in my status window.
「Fairy Realm...? Is this the space where you reside, Lady Fairy?」
Strictly speaking, my current home was a rotten stump, but...
Thinking about it, this was a space I could access anytime, anywhere. Did I even need another residence?
"Naí."
From now on, this was fairy territory. With my residency relocated on the spot, I nodded.
「I-is that so...」
"Fairy Realm. Veronica's space to stay."
I added an explanation mimicking her pronunciation, and she stared blankly.
'Yeah, not easy to accept.'
Her clothes were filthy, but no ordinary child's dress. And her full name—Veronica something Versailles Versace-ish—suggested nobility.
To highborn Veronica, the humble thatched hut ahead might not even register as a "home."
Hmm. How to explain this...
Ah!
"You're kidnapped."
「Um...? I don't quite understand what you're saying...」
Communication wasn't smooth yet, but that'd be fixed once I taught her Korean later.
For now, I placed the sunflower seeds I'd gathered onto her palms and arms.
Then,
"Here. Plant them over there."
"...?"
Pointing by the stream, I flashed a dashing smile at my bewildered magic mentor.