The Queen's Request

The Queen's request for popcorn had sparked a full-blown syndrome across the fairy village. At first, they felt nothing but suspicion toward the unfamiliar food. It was something brought from the human world, after all, and these fairies had every reason to be wary after the harsh treatment they'd suffered at human hands long ago. But then—

"Om nom nom! It's delicious dayo! Really delicious dayo!!"

Watching Hobuhobu tear open the sack and shove popcorn into his mouth with hands smaller than ferns, everyone felt their mouths water. The savory scent of popcorn filled the entire village.

"Is… is it really that good dayo…?"

"It's delicious dayo!"

"Hobuhobu, the Queen said we mustn't carelessly eat food given by humans dayo."

Gulp.

Everyone was drooling now. The rich aroma combined with the sight of Hobuhobu happily devouring the snack was enough to paralyze their reason.

'H-Hobuhobu, what if that wicked human smeared some strange drug on it?'

'That could be the case dayo.'

Look at Hobuhobu. He was always gluttonous, but this was beyond the pale. Surely a treacherous human wouldn't have coated such tempting food with something suspicious… ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The doubt was only natural. Yet—

"Forget it dayo! It looks way too good dayo!!"

Unable to hold back any longer, one fairy rushed forward and began stuffing popcorn into his mouth. As he crunched away, his body suddenly trembled.

"Mmm!"

"Hoguhogu! What's wrong dayo!"

"As expected, that wicked human must have drugged the delicious-looking food dayo!?"

The fairy called Hoguhogu shed tears even as he reached for the next piece of popcorn.

"It's so… delicious dayo… I've never eaten anything this good in my entire life dayo!!"

"Om nom nom!!"

The two of them began devouring popcorn like madmen, and that became the trigger for the rest of the fairies to join in. The unique savory-salty flavor of popcorn combined with its crisp texture! A revolutionary popcorn syndrome swept through the fairy village.

"So… you came here just to eat popcorn dayo?"

"That's right dayo!!"

"Popcorn! It's the best dayo!!"

Having heard the story, Elena wore an incredulous expression as she looked at the line of fairies queuing up in front of her to receive popcorn. Fairies who hadn't shown themselves to humans for at least several hundred years had broken their seclusion for the sake of popcorn.

'What is popcorn even supposed to be…'

After enduring such a terrible disaster, they had abandoned their seclusion for a single snack.

'Did Big Brother really smear something strange on the popcorn?'

A reasonable suspicion. Yesterday, the way Albert had looked at Hobuhobu had been far from normal. It was the exact face of a villain plotting some wicked scheme. As his sister, Elena wanted to trust Albert, but the things he did sometimes went far beyond common sense. Kidnapping dwarves. Beating up a dragon and using it as a taxi. Charging into the Carnival family estate and smashing everything. The Merchant Guild, the Alchemist Guild, even the Assassin Guild…

'……Did he really smear something on it?'

The doubt came from the karma he had accumulated so far.

"The Queen?"

"That's right dayo!"

Hobuhobu had come to find Albert, who was training with Grating in the training grounds. Though calling it training was generous—it was really just Albert one-sidedly rolling Grating around. Albert had no need to train in the first place. He was a completed EX-rank Hunter. There was nowhere left for him to grow stronger. That was why he was called the Strongest Hunter.

"The Fairy Queen wants to see me…"

"The Queen said dayo! If you have something you want, come in person dayo!"

'What do you mean, what will I do?'

"There's no such thing as retreat in my life, only charging forward. If she wants to meet, I'll meet her."

"Then take this dayo!"

Hobuhobu handed over a very small piece of paper.

"What's this?"

"It's the Queen's invitation dayo!"

The next moment, an enormous light erupted from the invitation, engulfing the surroundings. At the same time—

"Huh? Lord Albert, this is…"

Grating, who had just entered the training grounds on an errand, was also caught in the light.

The light flashed, and the skills were applied to Albert. Normally the System would have analyzed and resisted, but considering the situation, Albert accepted it without resistance this time. When the light that had engulfed the surroundings finally faded, the two of them had been transported to a different space.

"Is this the Fairy Castle?"

Albert looked around. Unlike a human castle, this one gave off a dreamy, mystical atmosphere.

"W-Where is this!?"

"So you got dragged along too?"

Turning around, Albert saw Grating standing there as well.

'Well, nothing to be done about it.'

"A-Albert, sir, where on earth is this? I… where am I…"

"Welcome to the land of illusions, the Fairy Castle."

"F-Fairies? Aren't those beings that only exist in legends?"

"Ah, well… they exist."

Albert suddenly felt too bothered to explain. Explaining would mean going over everything from the popcorn to meeting the fairies, which was far too troublesome.

"Forget it. Just stay still."

"Eh?"

"If you move, you might die. Stand right there and don't move."

In that instant, the sound of something cutting through the air came from all directions. Invisible attacks poured toward them at tremendous speed.

Albert moved like lightning. He swung his hands and deflected the incoming attacks with incredible speed. Grating couldn't move a muscle—not because of Albert's warning, but because even though he was still inexperienced, he was a knight and could tell that Albert was striking away something invisible.

'Invisible attacks… I can't even sense them.'

Clang. The sound of metal hitting the floor rang out. Turning his head, Grating saw a sharply honed sword lying there. More swords began piling up around them. Only now could he see with his own eyes the true form of the attacks that had been invisible until now.

"Invisible swords…"

A chill ran down his spine. Goosebumps rose all over his body. If it hadn't been Albert, he would have been stabbed to death without even knowing what happened. It was a terrifying attack.

"Is it over now?"

The attacks had stopped. Albert lightly dusted off his hands. He had deflected hundreds of flying swords with his bare hands, yet not a single scratch remained.

'Incredible… How can someone be that strong?'

Grating couldn't help but feel deep admiration. The swords were clearly masterpieces, sharp enough to cut flesh even from a distance. Yet Albert had blocked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠such deadly blades with his bare hands without a single injury.

'He said he protected himself with mana… but still, he's truly powerful…'

Grating had known Albert was strong, but today he felt that strength anew.

Albert turned his gaze. Where his eyes landed, an endless corridor stretched out. But that was only what Grating saw—Albert was looking at something entirely different.

"That's enough of the test. Why don't you come out now?"

"My apologies for the rudeness."

At that moment, the endless corridor vanished as if erased by an eraser, revealing what had been hidden beneath. A beautiful, dreamy throne. Seated upon it was a woman wearing a dress that gave off an indescribable mystical aura. Small silver wings fluttered gently on her back. Her posture and expression were flawless, radiating dignity, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and her overall presence carried a soft yet elegant sophistication.

The Fairy Queen had appeared.

"I apologize for subjecting you to such a test. I am—"

Thud!

At that moment, one of the swords beside Albert shot forward like lightning and embedded itself in the throne right next to the Fairy Queen. If she hadn't tilted her head aside, it would have been a fatal strike. Anger flashed across the Queen's face.

"What is the meaning of this!"

"Oh, you dodged that? My, my, I seem to have been terribly rude by testing you like that."

"What do you mean…"

"Why? You were going to brush it off by saying it was just a test, weren't you? You can do it, but I can't? That's the pinnacle of double standards."

"……"

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. The attack carried a strong will to return exactly what had been done to him.

"Still, I'm quite considerate, aren't I? You attacked me with hundreds of swords, but I only used one."

He even praised his own thoughtfulness. At this point, the Queen had nothing to say. After all, she had been the one to act first.

"……I was indeed rude."

"If you knew it was rude, you shouldn't have done it in the first place."

For some reason, the Queen felt a strange emotion she hadn't experienced in hundreds of years welling up from deep in her chest. It was anger. A fresh sensation that the always-peaceful fairy race had never known.

"……I see."

"Enough. Let's get to business."

Albert cut straight to the point. The Queen couldn't hide the feeling that she had been outmaneuvered. That had been his intention. He had seized the initiative with a show of force, and now he was maintaining that momentum by moving directly to the main topic.

'I'm a noble, though?'

'Well, that's true.'

"Very well…… First, allow me to introduce myself. I am Humihumi, Queen of the fairies."

"I'm Albert Regrian."

"A-Ah, I-I'm! M-My name is Grating!"

Grating stammered his introduction, swept up in the overwhelming atmosphere between the two. Once the brief introductions were over, Humihumi fixed her gaze on Albert and spoke.

"There is something I would like your help with."

"Help? With what?"

"I want you to eliminate someone."

"You want me to kill them?"

Albert's eyes widened slightly. He had known she would ask something of him, but he hadn't expected it to be a request for assassination.

"Yes."

She answered with a steady, heavy gaze. Albert let out a small chuckle.

"Fine. In exchange……"

"I know. You want our brewing ability and sewing techniques, correct?"

"How did you know?"

"I am the Queen. I can tell that much."

"Is that so? Then we can skip the small talk."

Albert pulled out a contract from his robes—one he had prepared just in case. "Let's sign this, then."

"……I am a fairy. I do not lie. Even without signing such a contract……"

"You're a fairy, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but I'm human. I trust written contracts on paper more than verbal agreements."

"Haa…… Understood. May I read it first?"

"Of course."

Humihumi read through the contract Albert handed her. There was nothing particularly strange about it. In exchange for fulfilling her request, the fairies would provide Albert with their labor. It was essentially a labor contract.

"I don't like this part."

"What about it?"

"The wages."

"Why? Is 22 gold too little?"

The contract listed the "fairy race" rather than an "individual." That meant the entire fairy race would only receive 22 gold.

"……Why don't you like it?"

"We have no interest in human money. Just give us popcorn instead."

"What?"

"Give us popcorn. That… that will be enough."

"……"

Albert stared at Humihumi as she said this. More precisely, he stared at her glossy lips and the popcorn crumbs stuck beside them.

'She ate some.'

Albert, the System, and Grating all thought the exact same thing. Even though she was the Queen, she was still a fairy at heart.