Chapter 59
“Whoa!”
Turning to close the door, Leo was startled to see Lune standing there without a sound.
“Have you been talking with Eiran all this time?”
“Yes, I have.”
“Ooooh…!”
Lune’s face filled with emotion as he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his tears.
“It’s been so long since that child talked with anyone for this long! I heard she couldn’t even make real friends at school!”
Watching Lune, moved to tears in his grandfatherly way, Leo clicked his tongue.
“I know you’re busy, but you should really pay more attention to your granddaughter.”
“I want to, but my work keeps me so busy… My son and daughter-in-law both died in an accident, so I haven’t been able to take care of my granddaughter the way I should.”
Lune gave a bittersweet smile, then brightened up.
“I wanted to inspire her, but it seems she’s really opened up to you. That’s it! I want to reward you somehow! I’ll do anything for you!”
“…Is it really okay for the head of the national council to make promises like that?”
“Why wouldn’t it be!”
‘This elf really dotes on his granddaughter.’
“I don’t really need anything. It’s not like I did something great.”
“Such a humble young man! And modest, too! I like you!”
Lune patted Leo heartily on the shoulder.
“But as her grandfather, I really want to thank you. If you don’t want anything, I’d at least like to give you a magical item that might help you. And one more thing, Leo—in elf society, refusing a gift is considered rude.”
“Then I’ll gratefully accept.”
Lune smiled brightly, clearly delighted.
“Let’s go to our family’s treasure vault.”
‘This feels like getting a gift from a rich friend’s grandpa.’
Leo, looking a little dumbfounded, followed after Lune.
Lune led Leo to the mansion’s basement, opened a magic door, and guided him inside.
As expected of the most prestigious elf family, the inside of the vault was luxurious.
“I can’t give you the heirloom items since they’re the keys to the Hero Record, but… these items I can give you as gifts.”
Lune pointed at the display cases near the entrance filled with magical items.
They were all impressive objects.
Leo admired them as he browsed one by one.
He stopped in front of a blue gem the size of a fist.
‘This is…’
“That was acquired by the previous head of the family a thousand years ago. It’s a jewel imbued with fairy power. It’s rare, but we don’t know what it’s for. Do you like it?”
Lune looked slightly puzzled.
“It’s very beautiful.”
“Yes, the little fairy inside the gem is beautiful, isn’t it?”
Just as Lune said, inside the jewel, a tiny fairy was curled up, hugging its knees with its eyes closed.
It looked as if it were asleep.
“I’ll take this one.”
Lune was surprised by that.
“Are you sure? It’s rare, but it doesn’t really have any other use…”
“It’s fine. I really like this one.”
“If you like it, then that’s good enough for me.”
Lune nodded, took out a jewel box, and handed it to Leo.
Leo accepted it and fiddled with the gem.
‘No doubt about it. That’s not a statue.’
Leo grinned to himself.
‘That’s a real fairy.’
—
After returning from the Ersar family, Leo had dinner.
‘If I break the seal on this jewel, I should be able to make a contract with the fairy.’
His mind was preoccupied with the idea of a fairy contract.
After dinner, Professor Harrid and Assistant Professor Sena visited the inn to deliver an announcement.
“Listen up. As you all know, the school trip is still part of your education.”
Professor Harrid swept his gaze over the students.
“I trust there are no students here who think we simply came to have fun.”
A few students looked sheepish at those words.
“From tomorrow, wake-up time is six a.m. After getting up, have your breakfast and take care of your personal grooming, then at seven-thirty we’ll go to the Fairy Forest for personal training.”
“Personal training?”
“But we already do that at school.”
Some students looked confused.
“I know you all do personal training according to your course work. But during the school trip, we’ll focus on areas where you each need improvement. The Fairy Forest has monsters, so you’ll be able to train in real combat.”
“Oh.”
“In that case…”
“After morning training, in the afternoon you’ll participate in mission practice.”
“Mission practice?”
“Yes. You’ll help solve problems for Velkia residents.”
“Ooh!”
“That’s all for now.”
With the students fired up, Professor Harrid called Leo and Nella over.
“Take care of the others.”
“Yes.”
“Understood, Professor Harrid.”
After that, Professor Harrid and Assistant Professor Sena left the inn.
“Nella, sorry, but I’m a little tired, so I’m going up early tonight, okay?”
“Huh? Alright.”
Leo got Nella’s okay, then went up to his room.
At that moment, Carr followed him.
“Leo, going to bed early?”
“Yeah. Did you need something?”
Carr grinned and showed him something from his coat.
“Tada! Look at this, it’s elf mead.”
Carr whispered, “I mean, we came all the way here—what’s wrong with having a drink?”
Watching Carr ask in a sly tone, Leo held out his hand.
“No. I’ll keep that for you.”
“Huh?”
“You know first and second years aren’t allowed to drink, right?”
“You’re no fun! How can a student follow all the rules? Sometimes you have to break them!”
Leo laughed at Carr’s sulking.
“It’s still early in the trip—save it. If you get caught on the first day, what do you think will happen? I’ll keep it until the last day. We can have it then.”
If he held onto it and got caught by Professor Harrid, it’d be a disaster.
Even before departure, Professor Harrid had inspected several students’ belongings.
Carr was on that list, too.
Leo had only avoided the inspection because Professor Harrid trusted him.
“Tch, guess I have no choice. But you have to drink with me on the last day, okay?”
“Sure.”
Looking disappointed, Carr handed the mead over to Leo.
Leo went straight back to his room.
He took out the jewel he got from Lune and sent spirit power into it.
Voom—! The jewel shone gold, and Leo narrowed his eyes.
‘Sealed by fairy king magic.’
That was why the Ersar family only thought of it as a jewel imbued with fairy power.
Fairy king magic.
After the Age of Calamity, the fairy king’s contractors disappeared.
Elves had lost the chance to encounter fairy king magic, and eventually it vanished from records.
‘Fairy magic and fairy king magic are different.’
Fairy magic is just one branch that derived from fairy king magic.
‘There’s a reason the Fairy King, Phoenix Lord, and Elder Pegasus are called the three greatest spirit beasts.’
And the power emanating from the jewel was all too familiar to Leo.
‘Silload’s magic.’
A fairy who had been heir to the fairy king during the Age of Calamity.
He was Luna’s sworn companion, and Leo had met him several times.
Even now, he still held the position of fairy king.
‘But why is this fairy sealed without wings?’
Leo wondered about the sealed fairy.
If the fairy king himself had sealed him, there must have been a reason.
The only guess that came to mind was ‘a criminal.’
Frowning, Leo sent even more spirit power into the jewel.
He focused, channeling his energy to work at the seal on the jewel.
Just like unlocking a lock.
Leo began unraveling Silload’s magic with spirit power.
It was something only Leo, who knew about fairy king magic, could do.
A little while later…
Voom—!
A magic circle appeared on the jewel’s surface.
‘I’ve broken through the first stage.’
Seeing the magic circle, Leo clicked his tongue.
‘With my current power, it looks like I can’t break the seal completely.’
He had the knowledge, but lacked the strength to break the seal.
While he was lamenting, Leo noticed his right hand glowing.
Looking in surprise, he saw a summoning circle written in fairy language on the back of his hand.
‘The fairy king’s oath?’
At the entrance exam, he had received the fairy king’s oath as a reward for conquering the Hero Record.
Fwoosh—!
The jewel radiated a powerful golden light.
“Ugh?”
Leo instinctively closed his eyes and stepped back from the glare.
When the light faded, Leo opened his eyes and looked at the jewel.
Crack—!
Just like an egg hatching, the jewel’s surface began to crack.
“The seal’s broken?”
Bzzzz—!
The jewel floated up into the air.
The shards continued to fall away from the split.
Shatter—!
Like a glass bead breaking, the jewel shattered.
The fairy who had been curled up inside slowly stretched.
Looking like a boy a little younger than Leo, the fairy stretched and yawned.
Then he opened his golden eyes and looked around.
[Has Father finally released my seal?]
With a mischievous voice, the fairy spotted Leo and folded his arms.
[Why is some random human standing before me?]
“What are you?”
[Me?]
The fairy sneered at Leo’s question.
[Hmph. You insignificant human. To try to learn my identity, how insolent. But since I’m in a good mood after being freed, I’ll tell you. Once you know who I am, you’ll faint from shock.]
“What is your identity?”
[I am the first son of the great golden Fairy King Silload and the heir to the fairy king! The silver fairy, Kirran!]
With a solemn face, Kirran lifted his chin.
[You look surprised. Of course! Since you’re just a mere human. To see the face of the fairy king’s heir in an era where even elves can’t see the fairy king… you must be…!]
Whack—!
[Guh!]
“Even Silload treated me politely. Why is his son so arrogant?”
Leo frowned and slapped Kirran like swatting a fly.
Kirran crashed pitifully onto the table and glared.
[How dare you strike the heir of the fairy king! I won’t stand for this…!]
Whack—!
[Gah!]
This time, Leo whacked him with the textbook he’d left out—a summoning textbook.
“Are you going to keep talking back?”
[You! You! You hit the fairy prince twice…!]
Whack—!
[The fairies will never forgive…!]
Whack—!
[You’ll regret this…!]
Whack—!
[I won’t let this…!]
Whack—! Whack—! Whack—! Whack—!
Before long, Kirran foamed at the mouth and passed out.
“How is this kid so full of himself? Is he really Silload’s son?”
Leo looked down at the unconscious Kirran, utterly dumbfounded.
