At the Northern Fort V4C17: Mysterious Fairy (1)
In order to catch the ‘something’ that was hiding in Sharon’s shadow, Kugalg jumped atop the low table and dashed towards it while avoiding the tea cups and cutlery.
On the other hand, I had reservations about jumping on the table, so I ran through everyone’s feet. And then, midway through, I attempted to jump on top of His Highness Aske’s lap so that I could cut around to Sharon’s back, who was sitting next to him, but I slipped up on my attempt to get onto his lap.
I did not have as much jumping ability as Kugalg, so even if my forepaws could reach His Highness’ lap, my behind and rear paws couldn’t reach it.
While I desperately tried to clamber onto His Highness Aske’s lap, Kugalg jumped from the table to Sharon’s lap.
“Kyaa!”
Giving a sidelong glance to the surprised Sharon, Kugalg swiftly went around to her back.
When he did so, the ‘something’ hastily flew out into the air.
“You want to get on my lap?”
As His Highness Aske helped me onto his lap, I managed to get a complete view on the ‘something’ that had flown out.
It was a black ball of light, about the size of a smallish daifuku.
“……a fairy?”
A fairy is a handy familiar that spirits create. If you give it more power, then it can take upon an animal form resembling its creator, but if you give it less, then it just becomes a ball of light.
Noticing that everyone’s attention had fallen upon it, the black fairy quickly hid itself in the gap underneath the sofa.
“What was that just now?”
The King and everyone else made perplexed expressions.
“It went that way! Underneath Bwanch Captain-san’s Papa!”
I descended from His Highness Aske’s lap that I had finally just managed to get on, and chased after the black fairy. Kugalg lunged underneath the sofa faster than I could, but the gap was so narrow, only his forepaws could enter.
“It’s not here! It ran somewhere again!”
Kugalg thrust his right forepaw underneath the sofa, making a rustling noise as he spoke in a frustrated manner. Despite the fact that Kugalg was causing a ruckus at his feet, Branch Captain-san’s Papa simply watched Kugalg with a smile.
I crouched down alongside Kugalg with my butt high in the air and my head lowered as much as possible to peek underneath the sofa.
If the fairy hasn’t come out, then I think that it should definitely still be underneath this sofa that the three members of Branch Captain-san’s family are sitting on.
But the underside of the sofa was covered in shadows, so I couldn’t really see the black fairy.
“Is there something there?”
“It’s not a bug, is it?”
Branch Captain-san’s Older Brother also peeked underfoot, while the Queen seemed anxious.
And then, Branch Captain-san calmly spoke.
“I don’t believe it is a bug. It appeared to be a fairy created by a spirit, but in any case, it seems like Mil and Kugalg will catch it for us.”
My butt remained high up in the air as I continued to peek under the sofa, while Kugalg’s tail was swaying back and forth next to me, clearly in his prey-seeking mode.
But in that instant-
“……”
I sensed some sort of gaze and turned around to find Branch Captain-san staring fixedly at us while standing. His voice earlier sounded calm, but when I looked at his face, he was for some reason holding a handkerchief to his nose.
Is his nose dripping? No…a nosebleed……?
What? Is he okay?
Branch Captain-san worried me since he would sometimes suddenly get nosebleeds. Maybe the blood vessels in his nose are fragile, poor thing.
“Cromwell? Are you okay?”
“It’s nothing, I’m fine.”
The Queen also seemed worried, but Branch Captain-san simply continued to press down on his nose while replying in an indifferent manner.
On the other hand, Branch Captain-san’s family and the Prince were smiling knowingly as they looked at Branch Captain-san. As expected of his family and childhood friend. They seemed used to his sudden nosebleeds.
While still concerned about Branch Captain-san, whose handkerchief had started to turn red, I returned to my search for the fairy.
Straining my eyes, I stared carefully at the underbelly of the sofa. When I did so, I seemed to see some kind of faint black object just around the middle of it. Just that centre bit looked a bit blacker.
“Kuglag, found it. Right there.”
I thrust my forepaw underneath the sofa and pointed out the position of the fairy. Kugalg also seemed to have found the fairy, but even after extending his forepaw as far as it would go, he couldn’t reach it. Even when he went around from the back of the sofa, it was the same. It didn’t seem like he’d be able to reach the fairy.
Even though we can see it, we can’t catch it! Getting frustrated and impatient, I instinctively began to bark, “Kyan kyan!”. I couldn’t really understand why, but the situation made me want to bark.
But even when I barked, the fairy wouldn’t come out, so my cries gradually began to grow sadder and sadder. I wanna catch the fairyyyy……
When I pitifully began to cry, “Hin hin” and “Kyun kyun”, Branch Captain-san and his whole family swiftly began to move.
“You want to catch the fairy that badly?”
Branch Captain-san asked.
“Shall we try moving the sofa?”
“Once the fairy comes out, I’ll catch it.”
“Work hard for Mil-chan’s sake, you two.”
Branch Captain-san’s Older Brother, Papa, and Mama, stood up in turn and began to try moving the sofa for us. Even though this ducal family should have absolutely zero connection to physical labour, didn’t they move far too easily from the tantrum of a baby fox?
“Count, may we move this sofa?”
“Yes, I don’t mind but…..please wait for a moment.”
Grandpa Lord then called for his subordinate knights and had them move the sofa in Branch Captain-san’s family’s stead.
However, the instant they moved the sofa, the black fairy rushed out from the gap, diving underneath the sofa that was on the other side of the low table. It only took an instant.
“This time it went underneath His Highness Aske’s sofa……”
It was the sofa that His Highness Aske, his wife, and Sharon were sitting on.
“The fairy’s…under there……”
When I looked at them with teary eyes, His Highness Aske and his family also stood up.
“I can’t oppose those eyes.”
“Even though…I was in the middle of eating.”
Sharon also grumbled while stepping back.
“Thank you.”
The knights once again moved the sofa, but the fairy then dove underneath the sofa that the King, Queen, and Prince were sitting on.
“Mr. King……”
“I will gladly move.”
The three royals stood up before I could even use my teary-eyed attack.
“To think that she could make even the Royal Highnesses stand.”
Branch Captain-san’s Papa smiled bitterly behind me. Thinking that it certainly wouldn’t be good to leave the Royal Family standing for too long, I decided to settle things now.
After Kugalg and I were in front of the sofa on standby, we had the knights lift up the sofa. All that was left was the sofa that Grandpa Lord was sitting on, so we would catch it as it ran there.
“We’re going to move it now. Ready, set, go!”
And as expected, as soon as the knights lifted the sofa, the fairy rushed out and flew straight for Grandpa Lord’s sofa.
I was a step slower than the fairy that was grazing the ground as it flew at an incredible speed, but Kugalg, with his good reflexes, immediately extended his forepaw and caught the fairy.
Rather, the fairy got caught on Kugalg’s claw.
……can fairies get caught on claws?
“I caught it!”
Kugalg held the fairy down between his forepaws. The fairy that was being squished between his paws gave up on running and grew obedient.
“Mil, is that really a fairy? It’s pitch black……”
Branch Captain-san asked, his nosebleed seeming to have safely stopped. It was true that my fairies were white, but that was because I was a snow spirit. I think that the colour of a fairy depends on the nature of the spirit creating it. Kugalg’s fairies were red, Father’s were the colour of water, and Hyllis’ were pea green after all.
In other words, the spirit that made this black fairy was…….
(Daphine-san?)
The only spirit I knew who could suit black was the earth spirit Daphine-san. But earth gave a more brown image rather than a pure black, plus Daphine-san’s hair and eyes were also dark brown.
And I couldn’t sense Daphine-san’s presence from this fairy.
(If that’s the case, then is it a spirit that I haven’t met yet?)
With the possibility that we were in conflict with an unknown spirit arising, I gulped nervously.
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