Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: The Yandere Fairy's Gaze is Strange
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Crunch. Crunch-!
The Fairy of Fables was munching away nicely on the snacks I'd brought down from the living room shelf to calm my startled nerves.
I pressed my fingers to my temples and spoke up.
"So, you're saying the Silver Fairy has multiple personalities?"
"...Yeah. White Fairy Sis is just another personality of Silver Fairy Sis."
It was truly shocking news.
Since the Silver Fairy and White Fairy looked so alike, I'd suspected they were twins...
But to think they were the same person.
"What about the hair color?"
"When Silver Fairy Sis's personality switches to White Fairy Sis, her hair color changes..."
Multiple personalities—dissociative identity disorder, in a nutshell.
In human terms, it was a mental illness.
I didn't know the exact details myself, but I was aware that it meant two or more distinct identities existing within one person.
...But the hair color changing is pretty bizarre.
I furrowed my brow deeply and continued.
"Hmm. Doesn't that usually manifest from severe trauma in childhood?"
"...I don't know the details either."
"How did you find out the Silver Fairy has multiple personalities?"
"Fifty years ago, when I was little, there was that big incident... That's when I first saw White Fairy Sis. She looked just like Silver Fairy Sis, but her personality was totally different."
If the Silver Fairy was an 'I' type, then White Fairy was a classic 'E'.
Even from that single encounter, I could tell their personalities were night and day.
That's why I'd mistaken them for different people despite the identical faces.
I let out a short sigh and cautiously lifted my head.
"What kind of incident was it?"
"The annihilation of five fairies..."
"...Annihilation? Aren't fairies immortal?"
"They are, but the Jade Emperor and Great King Yama can annihilate fairies who disrupt the order of the fairy realm with divine punishment."
Even the Jua Fairy, who kidnapped human men and committed vile acts, hadn't been annihilated but thrown into the pits of hell...
What on earth had those fairies done to deserve annihilation?
"So, back then, the Jade Emperor or Great King Yama annihilated those five fairies?"
"...It was our Silver Fairy Sis who annihilated them."
"What?!"
"Ah, no—I mean, precisely, it was her other personality."
How could the Silver Fairy have unleashed divine punishment—something only the Jade Emperor or Great King Yama could wield—on other fairies?
The more I learned, the more my head spun.
"Why did the Silver Fairy summon her other personality to annihilate those fairies?"
"Humans think all fairies are elegant and equal. But reality is different."
"...How so?"
"Even among fairies, there's a hierarchy."
"Hierarchy?"
"Yeah. Higher-ranking fairies monopolize certain domains and set rules among themselves."
"Why not rebel?"
At my words, the Fairy of Fables gave a bitter smile that didn't suit her childlike face.
"The laws of the fairy realm are strict, and direct violence brings punishment. But they can't stop covert bullying."
"...So the Silver Fairy was bullied and annihilated them?"
I tilted my head questioningly, and the Fairy of Fables bristled, raising her voice.
"I told you our Silver Fairy Sis didn't do it! Precisely, it was her other personality!"
"...Anyway, if she was bullied, couldn't she just report it to the Jade Emperor or Great King Yama?"
"The laws of the fairy realm govern the heavens, but neither the Jade Emperor nor Great King Yama can casually peek into fairies' memories. Our memories aren't under the gods' judgment."
Last time, I'd heard it straight from Great King Yama himself—he couldn't check the fairies' pasts.
I rubbed my chin thoughtfully.
"But why can't they see something that important? It seems essential for enforcing the fairy realm's order..."
"The Jade Emperor and Great King Yama believe we'll maintain our hierarchy ourselves. But that faith created a loophole. In the shadows, weak fairies were trampled unnoticed."
"...Fairies aren't so different from humans after all."
At that, the Fairy of Fables looked at me and smiled faintly.
"Everything I've told you happened fifty years ago. Now, there's still some seniority bullying from senior fairies, but the harassment has mostly vanished."
"Because of that incident?"
"Yes."
Her expression seemed a bit more settled now.
Seizing the chance, I straightened up to ask.
"Why wasn't the Silver Fairy punished for annihilating five fairies?"
"What did our Silver Fairy Sis do wrong?! The one who annihilated them was her other personality!"
I held out my palm to calm the Fairy of Fables, who was getting worked up again with veins bulging in her neck.
"Of course I think that way, but the Jade Emperor or Great King Yama might see it differently."
"...Back then, we were under the Jade Emperor's jurisdiction. And he made the decision: it wasn't Silver Fairy Sis who annihilated them."
Did the Jade Emperor clearly see the annihilator as a separate personality from the Silver Fairy?
I swallowed dryly and spoke.
"How did that other personality inside the Silver Fairy have the power to annihilate fairies?"
"We can't know that. Only the Jade Emperor and Great King Yama would."
"You fear the Silver Fairy because of that other personality?"
"...When talking to Silver Fairy Sis, that other personality would pop out unpredictably. I was young back then, so it scared me a lot."
"You still afraid now?"
At my question, the Fairy of Fables hesitated before answering.
"...It's not fear exactly... Just awkwardness from that trauma. But..."
She trailed off, then tilted her head.
"It's weird... The Jade Emperor said no body can hold two souls in the fairy realm's order, and he mended the crack in Silver Fairy Sis's personalities... So how did it come back?"
"What?!"
"The last time I saw White Fairy Sis was forty years ago. Not a short time, even in the fairy realm."
So.
The personality that vanished for forty years due to the Jade Emperor had revived?
Why?
Did new trauma trigger it?
"You're sure the one I saw is the White Fairy Sis you mentioned?"
"If she has the exact same face as Silver Fairy Sis but with white hair, it's probably White Fairy Sis."
"Couldn't it be someone who just looks similar?"
"What are you saying...? There's no fairy in the realm as beautiful as our Silver Fairy Sis!"
"Then why disappear for forty years and suddenly reappear?"
"...I don't know."
"You could just tell Great King Yama or the Jade Emperor. Say the Silver Fairy's other personality has revived."
I crossed my arms firmly as I spoke, and the Fairy of Fables stared at me, her pupils trembling.
"N-No, I can't!"
"Why not?"
"Silver Fairy Sis suffered so much pain trying to annihilate her own personalities..."
Talking with her pieced together the puzzle, even if roughly.
I still couldn't unravel the source of the power she'd used to annihilate the other fairies, but my questions were mostly answered.
"Fine, it's your family, so you decide."
"...Got it."
For me, whether Silver Fairy or White Fairy, as long as I got the Heavenly Peach, that was it.
I didn't want to meddle in someone else's family drama.
Besides.
If I reported this to Great King Yama, it might be a bit mischievous, but it'd mean killing off the bold, lively White Fairy.
Even if it was just the Silver Fairy's alternate personality, not a real separate person, it left a bad taste.
I leaned toward the Fairy of Fables carefully.
"You're afraid that other personality might annihilate you?"
It was a casual question, but I surprisingly wanted to hear the answer.
She flinched slightly and nodded.
"Of course. Existence itself would vanish."
"Then why do you want to bond with me?"
If she got caught bonding with a human, she'd become one and lose her immortality.
She had to know that.
"...Well, if I die as a human, I'd become a departed soul and cross the Bridge of Forgetfulness. In a way, it's no different from annihilation."
"Bridge of Forgetfulness?"
"The place that erases a human's memories of their life. Crossing it brings you closer to reincarnation."
"Anyway, aren't you scared?"
The Fairy of Fables gazed at my face quietly.
Her eyes were purer, clearer, and more transparent than ever.
"As long as you're with me, it doesn't matter."
"...Huh?"
"Even if I become human, as long as you remember me."
"I'm human too, so I'll die. Didn't you just say departed souls lose their life's memories crossing the Bridge of Forgetfulness?"
I made a face full of question marks, and after a brief hesitation, she smiled faintly again.
"...Then our children will remember us."
Hearing her answer blanked my mind.
It was such a simple, straightforward reason.
Her innocent smile was so pure that I couldn't respond.
This feels so strange.
When I lived with Kang Jua, if I received something, I had to repay double—no exceptions.
Yet here was the Fairy of Fables, terrified of annihilation but wanting me without asking for anything in return.
"......"
"......"
The mood sank into an odd silence.
I tried to break it with forced words, but nothing came to mind.
Finally, I cleared my throat and stood.
"Ahem! I'll wash my face quick."
"Okay."
I bolted to the bathroom, turned on the water, and splashed my face.
I knew the Fairy of Fables liked me, but I hadn't realized it was this deep.
Like a schoolgirl crushing on her teacher back in my student days?
Even though she'd lived longer than me, her youthful appearance amplified it.
Creeeak.
After a few deep breaths and plastering on a smile, I stepped out.
"Sorry, it got hot all of a sudden, so I—"
My words caught in my throat.
The Fairy of Fables who'd been on the sofa was gone, replaced by a completely different woman sitting there.
And naked, no less.
My mind went white.
Hallucinating? I rubbed my eyes and looked up again.
Smooth.
No, it definitely wasn't the Fairy of Fables on the sofa.
She stared right at me, tilting her head.
I leaned forward cautiously.
"Um, who are you?"