Chapter 157
Chapter 157
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 157
Chapter Title: Fairy Lover #2
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Elf Professor Stella was the younger sister of Opal von Belhock, who had been hailed as a hero of the Demon King subjugation.
While her brother Opal was spilling blood on the battlefield alongside heroes from other families, Stella had spent lazy days in the safe house prepared by her family.
As everyone knew, the final battle against the Demon King had been extremely brutal and fierce, leaving massive scars across the world.
Even the Belhock family, composed of elves excelling in magic, archery, and commerce, couldn't escape the aftermath, suffering numerous casualties and significant material losses.
However, for Stella, the problem wasn't the war itself, but what came after it ended.
"Everyone was out there bleeding, and I was just playing around at home. How jealous they must have been of me. That's why I ended up practically kicked out of the family and stuck here at Ark."
"I see."
"Why are you acting like it's the first time you're hearing this? Theo, you must already know all about it."
"Even I don't know everything."
There wasn't much mention of the Belhock family in the original novel either.
Perhaps due to the elves' insular nature. They didn't show up much even during the main story's events.
That hadn't changed even after I became Theo, so I didn't know what I didn't know. There were plenty of things I didn't know about the woman right in front of me.
"Still, my undergraduate days were fun. We went on adventures together. Anyway, what were we talking about?"
"Why Solomon created the imps."
"Oh, right. I don't know either. But according to my brother, it was the last shred of conscience the Demon King possessed."
"Last shred of conscience?"
"Solomon Angmar was surrounded by quite a few nymphs. Nymphs are generally innocent and pure. And they have great empathy, so having one around keeps things from getting boring."
"Is that so?"
"You didn't know? Kings busy with politics and dealing with people usually kept nymphs as secretaries to find some peace. It's all in the Angmar royal chronicles. Check out my paper, 'Kings and Nymphs.'"
"I see."
Using innocent nymphs as secretaries to relieve stress.
It had the nuance of keeping pets.
Thinking about it, someone came to mind: Aira, the current queen of Angmar.
Had Aira kept me around in a similar way?
Not that I could blame her—I looked at Marmar with a similar gaze.
Not exactly like a pet, but Marmar never lied to me and was genuinely kind without any pretense. Being with her brought peace of mind, something like that.
Stella continued.
"But Solomon loved nymphs more than anyone in the Angmar dynasty. He founded the Nymph Relief Foundation, enacted the Nymph Relief Act, nymph preferential points, nymph quotas, nymph anti-discrimination laws, nymph— Anyway, he made a ton of them."
How much did he love nymphs?
It didn't fit the image of a brutal Demon King. Of course, even Hitler, the nightmare of World War II, was the first to enact animal protection laws, so...
"But that became a problem."
"A problem?"
"When Solomon was still a young king, a nymph he cherished died. To resurrect that fairy, he delved into necromancy, dark magic, forbidden spells, and space-time magic. Well, the result is something everyone knows..."
This was new to me.
I'd devoured many history books in this world, but I only knew he'd gone mad with his exceptional magical prowess. There was nothing about why he'd sought to increase his magic power.
Later generations must have deliberately erased it to wipe out the Angmar line.
But elves were long-lived.
As living witnesses to history, Stella seemed to know all sorts of things.
"The lesson is simple: even a Demon King who reached the 10th Circle couldn't fully resurrect the dead. And time can't be turned back."
I see.
The Demon King, who had only felt like a distant figure in my imagination, suddenly came into clearer focus in my mind. Had he tried to defy the world's rules of life and death through his specialty, magic?
What would I have done?
If I had magic power reaching the 10th Circle.
If a friend or family member I'd cherished and grown close to died, could I avoid making the same choice as the Demon King?
I couldn't say for sure since I'd never been in that situation. It was tough. Suddenly, I felt depressed. Was it my half-fairy sensitivity?
As both Stella and I fell silent, she lightly broke the awkward quiet.
"You seem really interested. Big fan of Demon King Angmar?"
"Not particularly."
I answered Stella's question as casually as possible. But it felt like that alone might make her suspicious, so I added a bit more.
"I'm half-fairy too. Just interested in nymph stories."
"Right, you are half-fairy. Fascinating existence. Nymphs can't have children, so how do half-fairies even come to be? Weird, right?"
"Nymphs can't have children?"
"Yeah. They all look like girls just hitting puberty. According to the church, it's to protect them from men who might do wicked things."
I'd heard that before.
The reason nymphs eternally resembled young girls was that the god of light and salt made them remain children forever to shield them from the world.
So they could live innocently and purely forever.
Of course, that's just the church's claim; no one knows the truth.
Stella went on.
"Nymphs are similar to human or elf girls who haven't had their first period yet. That's why they can't have kids."
"Then how are half-fairies born?"
"That's why I want to study you. Half-fairies are incredibly rare in the world. No one's figured out where or how they come to be."
"I see."
I almost nodded at Stella's words.
* * *
In her lab, Stella handed me a few books.
「Introduction to Fairy Studies」 - by Stella Belhock.
「Fairies Know the Answers」 - by Stella Belhock.
「Honey. Water. Iron.」 - by Stella Belhock.
The titles didn't look particularly fun, but I figured the contents might help understand the fairy race.
"Here are my research books on fairies. They're normally lecture materials I sell for money, but I'll give them to you for free, Theo."
Stella said it like she was doing some grand favor. But I could see the stacks of boxes and unsold stock in the corner.
Embarrassed by my gaze, Stella kicked a box full of books aside.
"This is because we printed way too many at first. Tartar, put these away somewhere out of sight! And clean the lab!"
"It takes a lot of hands...!"
Tartar started cleaning diligently as Stella ordered. As I watched, Stella spoke to me in a sly whisper.
"So, you'll nominate me as your great warrior, right? I can tell you all sorts of things you don't know. All sorts."
"Hmm..."
Pretty blatant appeal. But it was effective.
Stella Belhock was an elf who'd lived quite a while, so she had a wealth of knowledge and experience. The professor title seemed legit.
"Forget what happened before and let's start fresh with a good relationship this time? Theo. If I solidify my position as head of the Belhock family, I can invest in you too."
Not a bad offer. If I pushed and pulled a bit more, she might come back with an even better deal.
But I had no intention of accepting Stella's proposal.
Because the conditions she offered were based solely on her winning the duel trial.
She seemed utterly convinced she'd win.
But could Stella really beat a hunter powerful enough to pierce Aira's mana barrier? No, in the original story, that hunter—Head Hunter—got utterly crushed by the protagonist's party.
Even if the hunter hadn't grown as much as in the original and this was a 1v1 duel instead of a group fight, I still couldn't imagine Stella Belhock beating her.
I didn't know her full strength.
Could anyone even beat that hunter in a duel?
Web novel protagonists always have to win.
That's what makes them protagonists. If I had to think of someone who could beat that hunter, it'd only be Aira.
Or maybe Elga, who's been rapidly powering up since acquiring the status window lately.
Picking a great warrior was turning out to be pretty tough.
"See you tomorrow in fairy exploration lecture, Theo."
"You're lecturing tomorrow?"
"Of course."
With that, my conversation with Stella Belhock ended.
"Take care."
"Yeah, bye. Tartar, see the guest off. Say goodbye."
"Theo comrade...! Cake was delicious...! I swear on my tail never to forget the help today...! Next time, party with donkatsu together with Gargarr, Purpur, Marmar...!"
"Yeah, stay out of trouble."
Creak, clunk.
Step, step.
Leaving Stella's shabby old lab, I had to admit she had more social savvy than I'd thought.
I'd pegged her as arrogant and tantrum-throwing, but when I took the reins, she showered me with goodwill to score points.
A subtle vibe you wouldn't get from other young ladies with rock-solid egos.
The Belhock family's merchant-honed survival skills?
She thoroughly understood the ever-shifting position of the one in power.
Meaning, the moment she had nothing left to gain from me, she'd treat me like cold leftover rice in the fridge.
Better squeeze all the benefits out before then.
That's when the 'Lothario' job trait whispered lewd thoughts into my head.
Use this position of power to go after her body?
Not impossible. I could even frame it as an academic experiment on half-fairy-elf hybrids.
"Nice."
I headed back to my dorm for now.
With a bit of free time, I skimmed through the books from Stella. They were packed with tough academic terms and hard to understand, but there were some helpful bits.
Nymphs get along well with unmarried young girls and like taking care of them like moms or big sisters sometimes.
「These are extremely fairy-friendly books...!
Gaining job experience for 'Half-Fairy'...! +50」
「Reading is food for the soul...! Sweet as honey in the mouth...!
Job: Half-Fairy level up...!
Half-Fairy Lv. 7 → Half-Fairy Lv. 8
Now even more fairy-friendly actions possible...!」
Reading absentmindedly leveled up my Half-Fairy job.
It used to gain exp from candy or honey chestnuts, but it'd felt stagnant lately. Leveling up felt novel.
Sss.
At the same time, I felt mana circulating more vigorously in my body.
Sniff, sniff.
My nose sharpened enough to smell the gum wrapper I'd pocketed for when sugar crashed—
Rustle, rustle.
━Woof woof...!
Even without straining, I could clearly hear Squirrel Kungkung spinning his wheel hard.
Letters that usually blurred now looked sharp and vivid, so my vision had improved too.
All thanks to Half-Fairy leveling up. I'd thought it was a dud job at first, but as levels rise, the perks stack up nicely.
A late-bloomer type job, huh.
Gazing at the books on nymphs, I suddenly wondered who Theo's mother was. Probably a nymph. Where could I find her? Was she even alive?
"Finding mother..."
Whether in my old world or here, some things never change.