Popcorn and the Fairies
“Ka, you commissioned the Carnival family to make a fur coat?”
“Yeah.”
Elena stared at Albert in disbelief as he answered with complete confidence. It was only natural. Albert had gone to the Carnival family and caused an uproar not long ago. Yet he had gone back to ask them to make a fur coat? How could he be so shameless?
“Why? Is there a problem?”
He even had the audacity to ask in return. Did he really not know?
“Brother, when you came back to this world, did you… happen to drop something?”
“No, I didn’t drop anything. I left some things behind, but I didn’t drop anything.”
“That can’t be right.”
It was as if he had dropped his conscience somewhere along the way. He must have left his conscience behind in the other world. Otherwise, there was no way he would have commissioned a fur coat from the very family he had caused trouble for.
‘He must have been incredibly flustered and bewildered.’
Delren’s dumbfounded expression came vividly to mind. She didn’t feel the least bit sorry for him. Considering all the atrocities he had committed in the territory, she actually found it rather satisfying. That was why she decided not to say anything more about it.
“By the way.” Elena looked at the snack Albert had brought. It was a kind of snack she had never seen before. It looked like small clumps of white snow, but it wasn’t cold—in fact, it was slightly warm. When she bit into it, it had a crisp texture and a strangely salty flavor that kept drawing her hand back for more.
“What on earth is this?”
“Popcorn.”
“Popcorn?”
“Yeah. It’s something I used to eat a lot in the other world. Nothing beats it when you’re watching a fight.”
Albert had recreated popcorn after crossing into this world. It was a simple snack he occasionally craved. The method was easy, and since they happened to be growing corn, he had used that to make it.
What a shame.
To make proper popcorn, popping corn is the best. I’ll look for something similar later.
The corn used for popcorn in movie theaters and such was popping corn, meant for frying. Popping corn had the property of expanding to thirty times its original volume when fried, which made it popular as a snack. Unfortunately, the corn they had grown this time was different, so the shape was a little off.
‘Still, it’s edible.’
With a bit of salt, the salty flavor wasn’t bad at all. Elena had initially hesitated, wondering what it was, but after watching him crunch away beside her, curiosity got the better of her. One bite later, she kept eating.
“Tastes decent, right?”
“It’s not just decent—it’s delicious. I’ve never had anything like this before.”
She couldn’t stop reaching for more. It wasn’t made with any particularly grand ingredients, yet such a simple method could produce something so tasty. The novel texture and flavor had completely captured the palate of Elena, a noble accustomed to fine dining. And it opened another possibility.
After thinking for a moment, Elena spoke while looking at the popcorn.
“We could sell this, couldn’t we?”
“This?”
“Yes. This thing called popcorn is easy to make, but if you don’t know how, you can’t make it, right?”
“True.”
“What if we sold it and made it a specialty product of our territory?”
“A specialty product, huh…”
Indeed. The territory’s funds were currently circulating only internally. The reason was simple—no one came to visit. It couldn’t be helped. Legrian Territory was in a remote location, adjacent to Monster Land. There was no reason for anyone to make a dangerous trip to a place with no specialty products.
“Not bad.”
“Right?”
Elena’s expression brightened at Albert’s approval. Nothing attracted people to a territory quite like good food.
“Yeah. If we do it right, we might draw in some visitors.”
Humans have always enjoyed fine dining.
They’ll drive for hours just to find a good restaurant.
‘In extreme cases, they’ll even wait for hours to eat. That’s just how humans are.’
More than anything, in a place like this where fine dining hadn’t developed much, popcorn would definitely sell. The other world had proven it—sometimes a single popular restaurant could revive an entire dying commercial district.
Albert, you once waited in line for two hours just to eat cheese pork cutlet, didn’t you?
‘Waiting was boring, but it was worth it.’
Good restaurants had a strange charm that made people willing to wait. If Legrian Territory, which had no specialty products, started selling popcorn, people would come just to eat it. That would bring tourists, travelers, and merchants—countless visitors to the territory.
‘Commerce will definitely pick up.’
“Not bad at all. If we make a proper plan…”
Just then, Albert stopped mid-sentence. Something had caught his senses. Elena tilted her head in confusion.
“Brother, why so suddenly…?”
“Shh.”
“Eh?”
Albert quietly pointed at the bowl of popcorn with his finger. Something incredible was happening. The popcorn in the bowl floated up and then—pop!—vanished into thin air.
“Doesn’t that seem strange?”
“What’s strange about it? It looks normal to me.”
“You didn’t see it?”
The popcorn had disappeared right in front of their eyes, and she claimed not to have seen it? Had her eyesight already started failing at such a young age?
“Eh? There’s nothing there. D-don’t tell me there’s a bug or something!?”
“No, that’s not it.”
Most likely, Lady Elena cannot see it.
The target is using perception interference and manipulation skills.
The skill level is quite high.
Only someone of Albert’s caliber would be able to perceive it.
‘Impressive.’
Albert possessed countless skills as an EX-rank Hunter. He was nearly immune to mental skills and magic. Yet even he couldn’t fully perceive the target—that meant the skill being used was on an entirely different level.
There doesn’t seem to be any killing intent.
It appears they came solely for the popcorn.
‘Can we catch it?’
It’s possible.
They’re only using perception interference and manipulation skills. That doesn’t mean their existence itself disappears.
They couldn’t be perceived, but the one using the skill was still right there. That was all that mattered.
Albert waited for the right moment. When the target reached for more popcorn again, his hand shot out like lightning and grabbed something. He felt a sensation in his palm. Though invisible, something was definitely there, and a strange tremor traveled through his hand.
“System.”
Analyzing.
The target is protected by an unknown blessing.
It will take some time to undo this.
Aw! This is frustrating! If my authority were higher, this would be easy to break!
“Never mind. It’s fine.”
There was no need for the System to analyze and undo it. If it was difficult to break from this side, he could simply make the target undo it themselves.
Albert applied just enough pressure with his grip. Then he began counting quietly.
“Ten, nine, eight, seven…”
“Brother, what on earth are you doing?”
Ignoring Elena’s question, Albert continued his dry countdown. Words were unnecessary. He simply needed to slowly tighten his grip. When only four seconds remained, the one who had been enduring finally revealed itself.
“S-stop it dayo!”
Elena couldn’t help but be startled as the being erased whatever had been hiding it, like wiping away with an eraser.
“A-a fairy…?”
It had yellow butterfly wings and was slightly larger than a human palm. With round, sparkling eyes and an adorable appearance, it had soft-looking yellow hair—the kind of legendary being one would only see in fairy tales.
“P-please spare me, human!”
It was a fairy.
* * *
Fairies were far rarer than elves or dwarves. They did not like humans. “Loathe” would be the more accurate term. It was a story from the hidden side of history, one not recorded in textbooks.
Long ago, fairies and humans had lived in harmony. Fairies possessed exceptional sewing and casting skills, so they had been of great help to humans. In return, humans provided them with delicious snacks that fairies couldn’t make themselves and helped them live comfortably. It was a mutually beneficial relationship.
But at some point, humans began to turn their attention elsewhere—specifically, to fairy wings. No one knew where the rumor started, but word spread that boiling fairy wings was good for the body and that they made valuable magical ingredients. That was when the tragedy began.
The eyes of neighbors who had been laughing and sharing meals just yesterday changed overnight. Hundreds, thousands of fairies were captured alive, their wings torn off while they screamed, all because they were deemed “precious.”
The fairies resisted, but the power gap was simply too great. They stood no chance. So the fairies made a decision.
‘We will hide dayo.’
‘We will never reveal ourselves before humans again dayo.’
They would hide from humans. They would never appear before them again.
Humans again…
Just how far does human greed go…
They did the same to elves and dwarves… and now to fairies too…
“How could they…”
Elena’s complexion darkened, overwhelmed by the shocking story. Both the System and Elena seemed to strongly empathize with the fairy’s tale. But Albert was different.
‘Exceptional sewing and casting skills?’
Nothing else registered. Regardless of past history or what humans had done to fairies, it was all tragedy from long ago. Tragedies should not be forgotten, but one shouldn’t be bound by them either.
‘It’s not like I did it, so why should I care?’
“So, why did a fairy like that suddenly reveal itself?”
“Ah, well, you see dayo.”
The fairy, Hobuhobu, spoke while holding the popcorn.
“It’s because of this dayo. I was going to just pass by, but the smell was too good dayo. I was going to sneak just one… hehe…”
Hobuhobu drooled while staring at the popcorn.
“Once I ate one, I wanted another, and then another dayo.”
Hobuhobu’s eyes burned with intense desire as he gazed at the popcorn, unable to look away while speaking.
“This… what is the name of this food dayo…?”
“Popcorn.”
“Popcorn dayo!? Th-that’s a really cool name dayo… huff huff…”
Now drool was dripping steadily from his mouth. He looked just like a puppy staring at a delicious treat. His appetite was enormous.
“Can I… can I have more dayo?”
Watching him pant with anticipation, Albert quickly ran calculations in his head.
“This popcorn—do all fairies like it?”
“Of course dayo! Everyone has the same taste as me dayo! They’ll definitely like it dayo!”
“Good.”
Upon hearing Hobuhobu’s confirmation, Albert’s mental calculator produced an answer. Their exceptional sewing and casting skills were exactly what the territory needed.
‘Clothes made by fairies can’t be bought with money nowadays. I didn’t have anything to wear under the coat for the social party anyway.’
He had prepared the fur coat, but he still needed something to wear underneath.
‘System, fairy-made clothes are good, right?’
According to the information I obtained from books,
fairies create thread through a special method to make clothes.
It’s said that fairy clothes are imbued with special power…
Albert… you’re not thinking of…?
A wicked, villainous smile—the kind Albert often wore when plotting something sinister—spread across his lips.
‘The more specialty products, the better, right? Popcorn alone felt a bit lacking anyway…’
Are you planning to kidnap the fairies like you did with the dwarves?
‘No. They’ve already been hurt by humans. How could I do that?’
The fairies were hiding from humans. Given what had been done to them in the past, forcibly dragging them here like the dwarves would be wrong. So instead…
‘I’ll make them come of their own accord.’
“Om nom nom! This is so delicious dayo!!”
He smiled happily as he stuffed popcorn into his small mouth. His cheeks puffed up so much they looked ready to burst. Like a squirrel, he shoveled it in frantically, as if someone might take it away. Fairies were supposed to be mystical beings, yet…
All of that fits in there?
It’s amazing his cheeks don’t burst.
Crunch crunch! He chewed away happily, going “nom nom nom.”
“This is wonderful dayo! In all my hundreds of years, I’ve never eaten anything this delicious dayo! I’m so happy dayo!!”
“Yeah, I see.”
Albert watched Hobuhobu eat the popcorn with a pleased expression.
“Hoguhogu.”
“My name is Hobuhobu dayo. Hoguhogu is my friend’s name dayo.”
“……Right, I see.”
He hadn’t expected such a name to exist. Not that it mattered. Albert handed him a small pouch filled with popcorn.
“Sorry for grabbing you so hard earlier. This is an apology.”
“Oh my! This is amazing dayo! I’ve already forgotten what happened earlier dayo!!”
After checking the contents of the pouch, Hobuhobu drooled. It was a bit large, and he worried whether he could carry it, but fairies were indeed mystical beings. He managed to lift the heavy pouch with surprising ease.
“Take it and share it with your friends. By the way, this popcorn can only be made in our territory.”
“I know dayo! I’ve traveled across the continent, but nothing this delicious exists anywhere else dayo!!”
“Good. Enjoy it, then.”
“I will dayo! You’re a really kind human dayo! Thank you dayo!”
With that, Hobuhobu disappeared, pouch in hand. Rather than truly vanishing, he had become invisible through his perception interference and manipulation blessing.
He’s grunting as he leaves.
Ah, he’s gone.
Only the System could confirm Hobuhobu’s presence. Albert could have done so if he tried, but he didn’t bother exerting the effort.
Elena spoke beside him, sounding disappointed.
“Fairies are really cute. Do you think we’ll see them again?”
Looking at her, Albert smiled and replied.
“We’ll meet again.”
“Really?”
“Of course. We’ll definitely meet. I swear on my father’s honor.”
And the next day—
“This is where the popcorn is dayo!!”
“Give us some popcorn dayo!!”
Just as Albert had said, the fairies came. Drawn by a single snack, they had broken thousands of years of seclusion to reveal themselves.
Looking at the gathered fairies, Albert wore a sinister smile—the kind a slave trader might give while appraising new merchandise.
“The slaves are walking right into my hands.”
Albert, please don’t make that expression with your handsome face.
It’s scary……
( •́ ̯•̀ )
“Keh keh keh!!”