At the Northern Fort V4C18: Mysterious Fairy (2)
“I’m sure this is a fairy, but I don’t know whose. I think it was made by a spirit I don’t know.”
I explained this to Branch Captain-san and the rest. And then, I got a bit anxious as I continued.
“With just Kugalg and I, we’re not sure what to do, so I’ll go call Mother.”
“That’ll help if you could do that for us. A fairy is something that we can’t meddle with so easily.”
“Yup. Then, I’ll be off. Kugalg, keep a hold on it.”
After speaking to Kugalg, I used the transfer technique to fly to Mother’s side.
Mother, in her large vixen form, was in the middle of patrolling Snowlea Mountain. This seemed to be the area around the summit, as there was a layer of snow covering the surroundings.
“Wow, snow really is nice.”
The area around Grandpa Lord’s mansion was hotter than here, so as soon as I arrived, I began to roll atop the snow.
“Oh, Milfiria. You’ve returned. It must’ve been hot down below.”
“Yup.”
Rolling onto my back on the snow, I began swaying left and right when I went, “Ah” and remembered my purpose for coming here.
I hastily stood up and looked up at Mother.
“No no, I came to call Mohter. Kugalg is still holding down the fairy and waiting for us.”
“What? What is this about a fairy?”
“Right now, the King and everyone have come to vacation, and Sharon was kidnapped……in any case, come with me!”
Explaining had become troublesome, so I used the transfer technique with Kugalg set as my destination. Mother was dragged with me as her body transformed into snow, and when we next returned to our physical forms, we had arrived at Grandpa Lord’s mansion.
“I brought Mother!”
“Just what in the world is going on?”
I spoke triumphantly, while Mother surveyed the room doubtfully. Even though Mother should have been in her vixen form, the moment we arrived here, she had already transformed into her human form.
“My! How beautiful! She is as beautiful as a doll!”
The ever lover of beauty, Sharon, gave Mother a spellbound gaze.
Mother did not pay any heed to Sharon, and brushed back her long silver hair as her gaze turned from the Royal Family, to the inner furnishings of the room, to the outside of the window.
“This isn’t the castle in the Capital, is it?”
“Snowlea. Sorry for making you take the time to come here.”
The King greeted Mother, and then began to explain how they had come to this region to escape the heat, that Sharon had been kidnapped and then returned, and then the fact that there was a fairy here for some reason.
“A black fairy, huh……”
After Mother finished listening to his explanation, she pinched the fairy that Kugalg had caught and lifted it up.
It’s as if she’s holding a dirty rag……
“I’ll go get Father.”
Saying that, Kugalg transformed into flames and disappeared.
On the other hand, the fairy somehow managed to escape from Mother’s grasp and once again hid behind Sharon, who was still standing.
“Ah, even though it took so much trouble to catch it.”
Even in my disappointment, I suddenly recalled something and continued.
“Now that I think of it, the fairy was behind Sharon before, right? Was it coincidental? Or does it maybe like Sharon?”
“Rather, just when did the fairy come here?”
Branch Captain-san placed a hand on his chin and pondered.
“It could have wandered in here by accident, or it could’ve come to this mansion with some goal in mind. It also could have followed Sharon-sama here from the Capital, or……it returned with Sharon after her disappearance.”
“I don’t know, but I do not believe it is possible that a fairy would have wandered in here by accident.”
Mother said.
“When a fairy is created by a spirit, it is made with some duty in mind. It is impossible for it to abandon its duty and wander around aimlessly. And no matter how far it goes, a fairy should be able to return to a spirit’s main body without getting lost.”
“Then, what duty made that fairy come here…….?”
“We will not know that without asking the spirit’s main body.”
As she said that, Mother produced her own fairy. Five white fairies emerged from her palm. As Mother ordered those fairies to catch the black fairy, the white fairies flew towards it, one after the other.
The black fairy that was behind Sharon quickly attempted to run away, but no matter how swiftly it flew, or how many sofas it dove under, Mother’s fairies continued to follow it without fail.
“With everything being as it is, I’m not sure what’s going on anymore……”
Grandpa Lord appeared to be taken aback as he gazed at the fairies whooshing around the inside of the room.
Eventually, Mother’s fairies caught the black fairy and the five of them—or rather, the five balls—encircled the black fairy and brought it back to Mother.
“Good work.”
This time, Mother grasped the black fairy strongly so it wouldn’t be able to escape so easily.
And, it was in that instant. Simultaneous with the disappearance of the white fairies, whose duties had been fulfilled, Mother furrowed her brow as she glanced at the centre of the room.
“Hmph…….he has come.”
Then, a large flame appeared in the middle of the room, and Hilg-papa and Kugalg landed on the low table, of all places.
Hilg-papa was in his human form, in his Arabian-like clothing with his upper half left bare, and a tattoo around his collarbone area. His hair was a flaming red.
“You’re having a real party here! Snowlea’s even here!”
As Hilg-papa appeared with a loud voice, the inside of the room instantly grew oppressively hot. His fire ‘energy’ was stronger than that of a child like Kugalg’s, and put together with it being summer, Hilg-papa was truly a threat.
“Don’t come any closer.”
Turning towards Hilg-papa, who had descended from the table and begun to approach, Mother waved him away with a hand going, “Shoo, shoo”.
However, even then Hilg-papa was too close, so Mother hugged me up and moved to a corner of the room as though she were running away.
“Snowlea! What’s this gathering about?”
“Hilg, I apologise for making you also have to come all this way. Allow me to explain the situation.”
The King once again began to speak as he explained the sequence of events to Hilg-papa.
When he had finished, Hilg-papa crossed his arms and glanced at the black fairy that was in Mother’s grasp.
“By black fairy, you mean that one? Whose is it?”
“It does not seem to be made by any spirit that I know of. Hilg, what about you? Do you have any idea?”
“Nope! It doesn’t appear to be from any spirits I know of!”
There, I licked Mother’s cheek to draw her attention, and then asked.
“That fairy is pure black. What kind of spirit would match with a black colour?”
“Let’s see……”
Mother looked down upon the black fairy, which was held with the hand opposite to the one hugging me.
“I can sense the presence of a quiet night from this fairy. It was probably created by a spirit of darkness.”
“A spirit of darkness……why would that spirit send a fairy here?”
At Branch Captain-san’s question, Mother shook her head and responded, “I do not know”.
“I know of the spirit of darkness, but I am not acquainted with a dark spirit. I do not know what kind of personality that spirit has, so I cannot make any guesses as to their intentions when they sent a fairy here.”
“I’ve also never met a spirit of darkness.”
Hilg-papa crossed his arms as he spoke.
Thereupon, Branch Captain-san began to explain the incidents of children disappearing and then being mysteriously returned unharmed that had been occurring throughout the country. Then, he continued.
“Do you think that the spirit of darkness may be involved in these strange incidents? All of the children that were taken away keep saying that the culprit was ‘beautiful’, and there have been no sightings in any of the incidents. It’s as if the children were magicked away.”
This world does not have magic, but spirits can use a magic-like power. For example, the transfer technique. If you used the transfer technique, then it would have been possible for them to steal into Sharon’s bedroom and kidnap her without being seen.
Child spirits like Kugalg and I could only transfer using familiar people or spirits as our goals, but adult spirits were capable of transferring to people that they were unfamiliar with. They should also be able to transfer with locations as the goal as well.
Hearing Branch Captain-san’s words, Sharon’s eyes sparkled as she testified,
“The beautiful person who kidnapped me may truly have been a spirit. Because their beauty was just as otherworldly as that Snow Spirit over there.”
I also began to think that a spirit might be the culprit in the strange incidents. But as usual, I had absolutely no clue as to what their motive might be.
“If the spirit of darkness is the culprit, then did the fairy come together with Sharon?”
There’s no mistaking that the spirit of darkness had the fairy follow Sharon after returning her here.
“That may be the case, but as expected, unless we ask the person in question, we will not know of their true intentions.”
Mother murmured while still holding onto the darkness fairy.
Um, Mother. You’re holding it so tightly that bits of the darkness fairy are starting to squeeze out from between your fingers like mochi……
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