"And... it's a nostalgic feeling I haven't felt in a very long time."
The fairy's eyes as he looked down at me were warm, filled with an affection one might reserve for a close friend or family.
He gazed at me like that for a long moment, then his eyes widened in sudden realization, and he broke into a wide smile.
"I see... so you were still here."
"What was...? Mmph!"
Just as I started to ask, he squished my cheeks between his fingers, cutting off my words. My lips puckered out like a fish's. I glared daggers at him.
I had the distinct feeling he was just toying with me. As if proving my point, he continued to poke and squish my cheeks playfully.
"Amusing child. Do you know the name of the chief god?"
Then didn't he suddenly ask such an out-of-the-blue question? I couldn't help but be bewildered. And for good reason...
"The chief god doesn't have a name. What are you talking about?"
Asking for a name that didn't exist—of course, I'd say that. The fairy gave a slightly hollow laugh at my response. He muttered something like, "I thought as much," but his demeanor gave me a peculiar feeling.
'It's almost as if he thinks the chief god does have a name.'
"Speaking in your head doesn't help; I hear everything," he reminded me.
"Gulp."
Caught having such a potentially blasphemous thought, I snapped my mouth shut, but his expression clearly said, 'Did you really think that flimsy tactic would work?'
Anyway, so a fairy realm does exist after all. I'd thought that Miskit fellow was just a con artist, but perhaps he was telling the truth.
'Still, for a whole country... there don't seem to be many fairies around.'
Not just few, apart from the one in front of me, there was no one.
'Can a country even function like this?'
As I pondered this, the fairy clicked his tongue disapprovingly, then abruptly grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and lifted me, just like one might pick up a kitten.
"Wh— H-Hey!"
I started to protest, but the scenery around us began to peel away, like curtains drawing back on a stage. And the landscape revealed was otherworldly. No, this was the land of the fairies.
Unlike the strangely dim and unsettling forest of glass trees, this place truly felt like a fairy realm.
Flowers drifted lazily through a sky swirled with yellow and pale coral instead of clouds. Giant red mushrooms with white spots stood tall like trees.
Their caps looked as soft and yielding as marshmallows; I imagined they'd make incredibly comfortable beds.
A ball of light bounced *thump!* on one of the caps, sending a shower of iridescent spores raining down from underneath.
Ripples of cheerful giggling spread through the air – whether from joy or amusement, I couldn't tell.
It was, quite literally, a scene from a fairytale. As I stood there, mouth agape, utterly speechless at the wonder, the fairy spoke.
"I said I invited you into my world. I never said I invited you into the realm, you foolish child."
Now he was openly calling me foolish. I didn't quite understand, but apparently, the two were different things.
'Is a 'world' a more personal space, perhaps?'
Like the difference between receiving a guest in the formal drawing-room versus inviting them into your private study? Trying to equate it to concepts I understood seemed to make some sense.
As I nodded slowly, the fairy slapped his forehead.
"Truly, have I slept too long? For someone not to even grasp the significance of being invited into a fairy's personal world?"
'Hmm... is it really such a big deal?'
I wasn't trying to be difficult; I genuinely didn't know. As I simply blinked at him, the fairy's expression soured.
"A fairy's world 'is' the fairy itself. Inviting you into my world means I have brought you within myself."
If this world were damaged, he himself would be harmed. In short, he was saying he had trusted me with his very essence, his life force.
He explained that for a fairy to do this for someone they'd just met was extraordinary, an incredible honor I should be overjoyed to receive.
'Okay, so what? Did I ask him to bring me here?'
Even hearing his explanation, I remained unimpressed. He'd arbitrarily kidnapped me while I was minding my own business, and now he expected gratitude for bestowing some great honor...
Given the circumstances, anger seemed more appropriate than awe.
"About that... I apologize. I thought you were in danger."
According to him, he'd been asleep for a very long time, but was awakened by a disturbing presence – the monster at the entrance to the realm.
"What about my companions, then? Are they alright?"
"They should be fine. The monster was only targeting you."
He assured me it hadn't paid the others any attention, so they'd be safe.
While relieved, I also felt a flicker of worry. Why on earth would a monster be targeting me...?
I started to wonder if this whole trip was a mistake. It had landed me with a peculiar fairy and apparently put a target on my back. So far, it seemed like more trouble than it was worth.
"Hey, I said I was sorry!" he snapped defensively.
I just stared sullenly back at him, unimpressed by his apology-that-wasn't-really-an-apology.
His raised voice attracted the attention of the other fairies who had been playing nearby.
Looking like dandelion seeds drifting on the breeze, they suddenly swarmed towards us, like fluff drawn by static.
- It's the King!
- He woke up?
- Sleepyhead!
- A human!
- There's a human too!
- I like her somehow.
- Pretty!
- King's a dummy!
The last one got flicked sharply on the head for its cheekiness.
'I sensed he was important, but I didn't realize he was actually the King.'
The fairies called my kidnapper 'King'. Watching him gently interact with the swarming fairies, he seemed less like royalty and more like a playful older brother.
Having gotten their attention from the King, the fairies, perhaps satisfied, now turned their focus to me.
They swarmed towards my face, apparently wanting a closer look. It felt like being mobbed by a pack of puppies with tiny propellers attached to their tails.
- Aaah! Scary!
Suddenly, one of the fairies burst into tears and fled. As if fear were contagious, the others instantly scattered like dandelion fluff again.
'Do I... look scary?'
I wondered, flustered and unsure what to do. Then the King raised his finger, pointing at something on me.
"That. What is it?"
"That? ...Oh."
His finger pointed towards the hairpin Ray had given me – the pearl flower pin that had become my number one treasure.
The King frowned and reached out as if to touch it, but I quickly covered the pin protectively with both hands.
"No! This is important!"
He hadn't actually threatened to break it, but the words flew out of my mouth anyway. There was just something in the air that made me feel like he was about to destroy it.
Faced with my firm refusal, the King paused his outstretched hand, his expression conflicted. He looked like he was genuinely debating whether to ignore me and destroy the pin or leave it be. Seeing this, I glared fiercely and yelled,
"What is wrong with you! Kidnapping me like this and then trying to take away something precious to me!"
'Are you a fairy or a common thief?!'
As I flew into a rage, the King lowered his hand, seemingly lost for words.
"Alright. I apologize. If you truly don't want me to..."
The King stopped mid-apology, flinched, and stared intently towards a specific spot.
CRRAAAAACK—!
As if on cue, a tremendous crashing sound echoed from that direction. I jumped, startled, but the smaller fairies shrieked in terror, scattering before huddling fearfully behind the King, as if he were their only refuge.
A corner of the sky in that direction had shattered like glass. Something dark and indistinct writhed within the crack. Then, as if trying to peer through the opening, a massive eyeball rolled into view and fixed its gaze.
Gasp! I recoiled at the grotesque sight. Strangely, I didn't feel fear, no sense that it would harm me, but the image of that giant eyeball rolling through some murky, black substance was deeply unsettling.
'Isn't this what the demons from the old creation myths looked like?'
'Described as unspeakably grotesque and terrifying...'
'Ah, maybe that's the monster the King said was targeting me?'
Now I finally understood the 'favor' the Fairy King thought he was doing me. If that thing was after me, it was definitely cause for concern.
Seeing my expression shift from annoyance to something closer to respect, the King gave a small smirk.
He seemed utterly unfazed by the monstrous sight.
"This place is where truth and illusion intersect," he stated calmly.
Illusion, okay, but truth? Can those two really coexist?
"One's true form is revealed here. Just as I revealed my larger self. Of course," he added, "one can also conceal the truth with illusion."
As he spoke, the King shrank back down to the tiny size he'd been in the flower field.
Seeing him become no different in stature from them, the fairies hiding behind him erupted in panicked cries.
Their frantic demands for him to quickly grow large again and shield them made it seem like they were the rulers and he their subject.
As if reading my thoughts, the King returned to his larger form and chuckled.
"Insolent creatures," he murmured fondly. "Regardless, you will be fine."
How can he be so sure? If that thing targeted me strongly enough to breach the fairy realm, isn't that inherently dangerous?
"Because I will protect you. Besides, looking closely... it's not aiming for your life."
Then... what? Confused by his words, I looked back up at the cracked sky. The massive eye, which had been rolling about as if scanning the area, froze instantly as its gaze locked with mine.
'Uh, oh... That probably isn't a good sign,' was my immediate thought.
From the darkness surrounding the eye, a long, tendril-like appendage shot out, its end splaying open like a hand reaching out to grab something.
The smaller fairies shrieked and vanished completely. Now, only the King and I remained. The King finished his earlier thought,
"Because what it wants... is you."
"Ack!"
No sooner had the words left his lips than the hand-shaped darkness was upon me. Caught! The thought barely formed before darkness enveloped my body.
'You... rotten liar.'
'You said you'd protect me!'
The King merely watched, his expression unreadable, as the darkness consumed me.
Filled with a sense of betrayal, I glared as his figure receded, swallowed by the encroaching void.
Or rather, I was completely submerged in darkness. It was a bewildering, first-time experience, yet the darkness felt surprisingly... comforting.
And from somewhere, I caught the faint, refreshing scent of mint.