Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: The Yandere Fairy's Gaze is Strange
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"Silver Fairy, be honest with me."
"...Huh?"
The living room was enveloped in deep silence.
Faint moonlight filtered hazily through the window, while the indoor lights cast a soft, warm glow.
However, the atmosphere filling this space was anything but comfortable.
"I already saw what you did at the front door. Who the hell was that woman?"
An inexplicable tension hung in the air.
The Silver Fairy sat with her hands neatly folded on her lap, unable to lift her deeply bowed head.
Tears soon quietly traced down her cheeks.
"I wasn't trying to deceive you, Haeseong... It was another fairy I dragged away."
Her voice came out like the tiniest whisper, piercing the stillness.
I set my soju glass down on the table and straightened up.
"Another fairy?"
The Silver Fairy bit her lip hard.
Her slender shoulders trembled faintly, and she gripped her hands tighter, as if swallowing back sobs.
"Word must have spread that the pond here is nice... So she came, and I chased her off."
It wasn't incomprehensible.
There were already three fairies using the rooftop bath at our place.
Plus, with even King Yama dipping in, it was no wonder rumors had spread in the fairy realm.
'If it really was another fairy, I'm grateful she chased her off for me... but...'
I looked at the Silver Fairy.
Fear and remorse swirled in her eyes, and a fine tension crept into her fingertips.
"Then why lie to me about it?"
"I lied because... I didn't want you worrying over nothing, Haeseong."
As soon as the words left her mouth, more tears spilled down her cheeks. She hurriedly covered her face with her hands and continued.
"I'm really sorry..."
The Silver Fairy looked pure and fragile, like a child who'd been punished.
But in that moment, the chilling expression from the video flashed in my mind.
I'd seen it clearly.
How cold and emotionless her gaze had been.
'Hmm...'
To sum it up, she did it for my sake—but something felt off about fully buying her story.
A strange suspicion bubbled up from deep inside.
Her expression in that video had been downright eerie.
'Is this why the Gold Fairy and Fairy of Fables are scared of the Silver Fairy?'
Yet her trembling fingertips and the endless stream of tears.
It all seemed too genuine to dismiss as fake.
'Are fairies just like humans?'
Don't humans have those types too?
The ones who never get mad usually, but when they do, it's terrifying.
That seemed to be the Silver Fairy.
"Thank you for chasing her off for me."
"N-no, it's nothing."
"But what if another fairy shows up when you're not around?"
It was just a casual question born of simple worry.
But the Silver Fairy's face changed in an instant.
The sorrowful expression she'd worn moments ago vanished like a lie, replaced by icy detachment.
In stark contrast to the tear-streaked cheeks, her gaze deepened into something distant—the exact same look from the video.
"S-Silver Fairy?"
Sweat trickled down my back unbidden.
The Silver Fairy blinked, as if realizing her slip, and softened her expression again.
She forced an awkward smile.
"Th-that won't happen."
Watching her face shift so rapidly filled me with sudden unease.
What if the Gold Fairy or Fairy of Fables found out about the bath?
'Would she let it slide since they're family?'
Ha...
She'd said last time she hated anyone taking her things...
Who knew her possessiveness over the bath ran this deep.
'Or maybe...'
Does she have feelings for me?
Is that why she hates other fairies using our bath?
It wasn't an unreasonable theory.
I didn't know how fairies judged men, but my looks weren't bad by human standards.
I poured myself a full glass of soju and sipped it slowly.
"Silver Fairy, what do you think of me?"
"...Huh?"
The Silver Fairy froze mid-sip, her glass in hand, and stared at me.
Her eyes widened like a startled rabbit's, unblinking for a long moment.
"Wh-what do you mean by that...?"
I wanted to know her true feelings for sure.
Only then could I seriously consider things—or stop deluding myself if not.
"What do you think of this human right here!"
I raised my voice like a man, and her face flushed beet red.
Not just her cheeks—her earlobes turned crimson too.
She bit her lip lightly, glanced at me, then put on a pouty expression.
She tucked her hands into her sleeves and pulled out a Heavenly Peach, offering it to me.
"S-sorry. I forgot to give you the Heavenly Peach last time because of my hangover."
That day, I knew for sure.
How the Silver Fairy felt about me.
Thick steam filled the hot bath.
King Yama soaked in the new wooden tub we'd commissioned from a supplier.
He draped his muscular arms over the edge, sighing in admiration with a relaxed expression.
"Ahh... Nothing beats soaking in hot water."
King Yama let out a satisfied breath.
His thick brows lifted slightly, exuding leisure, and his sharp eyes looked faintly drowsy.
His whole body glistened with sweat from the heat, his flushed face showing how much he was enjoying it.
I watched from the side, quietly mopping up the water splashing onto the rooftop floor.
'Damn it... Of all times, he shows up during the deep clean.'
Every time King Yama shifted in the tub, water splashed out, making the floor slippery.
I sighed and set the mop aside.
Better to do it all at once for efficiency.
Anyway.
Am I just some guy to the Silver Fairy who lusts after Heavenly Peaches?
Makes sense, I guess.
She always had an agenda whenever she visited.
"Ahem!"
As I mulled over my conversation with her a few days back, King Yama cleared his throat behind me.
I whipped around and bowed reflexively.
"Yes, King Yama? Do you need anything?"
Still submerged in the tub, he cracked open his half-closed eyes and glared at me.
"What's troubling you?"
"Uh, nothing."
I denied it hastily at the sudden question, but he snorted, clearly unconvinced.
"Ahem! Lies. Your face screams deep worries!"
He couldn't read my mind, but he could read my expression?
I let out a short sigh and spoke up.
"Actually, I do have some worries."
"What kind?"
I wanted to be honest, but explaining would drag in the Silver Fairy.
I racked my brain and pulled out another issue instead.
"My ex-wife keeps showing up at my house."
"Ex-wife?"
"Someone I promised to spend my life with, but we split because our personalities clashed."
"I know. Humans legally recognize marriages, right? And you can dissolve that with divorce."
"Yes, exactly."
"...So what's the problem?"
"I don't want to live with her again."
King Yama stroked his beard and clicked his tongue.
"Humans' hearts are like reeds in the wind—today's match becomes tomorrow's mismatch."
"...Yeah."
"It's your decision, your fate. Navigate it wisely."
He looked the type to just yell, but surprisingly, he listened seriously.
I sneaked in another worry.
"And lately, a girl named Soeun seems to like me."
"Oh ho."
"But her way of showing it is way different from normal people."
"How so?"
"She doesn't express it directly—instead, she does creepy stuff behind my back."
"Cough! Cough!!"
King Yama suddenly choked, coughing repeatedly, his thick brows twitching.
"Wh-what's wrong?"
"That human who likes you must have her reasons too, no?"
"...That's not the way I want it."
"Hmph! Humans who barely live long enough, yet so full of worries..."
"Haha! Sometimes I just wanna vanish."
"Vanish?"
"Don't you ever feel like that, King Yama? Just poof, disappear somewhere, or slip away without a trace."
"It's not impossible."
"...What!?"
I stared in shock, and he raised his voice confidently.
"Is there anything impossible before my omnipotence?"
Lots of things are impossible, or you wouldn't be trading sweat-absorbing clothes with me and the Gold Fairy, I thought, but the mood called for a nod.
"R-really!?"
King Yama swirled the hot water once, then slowly stood.
Water cascaded off him as steam rose from his massive frame.
"Hmph!"
He stepped out of the tub, his huge manhood swinging freely, grabbed a towel, and dried off vigorously.
Once dry, he snatched his robe from the clothesline.
"You want to hide, right?"
"You can hide my big body?"
"Only for a day, though. Satisfied?"
King Yama swirled on his pristine white robe, adjusted the sleeves, and slowly raised one hand.
He slipped his large hand into the sleeve and pulled out a Heavenly Peach Pill.
Swish.
I gulped dryly as the luminous pill floated into the air before dropping into my palm.
'No way... the Heavenly Peach Pill that makes you invisible!?'