Editor : Amethyst00



Eliza was sitting on the bed with her arms crossed and legs crossed, wearing a grim expression.

In front of her sat Carl.

Carl could feel the presence of a fragile creature trembling above his head.

'Wait. Is she really that fragile?'

The being hiding in his hair was a fairy, known as one of the three great mythical beasts.

Because of Leo and their friendship, fairies were a familiar concept to Carl, but in truth, they were extremely rare beings that most people would never encounter in their lives.

Anyway, Carl spoke up.

"Okay, Eliza, let's calm down first."

"Hmph!"

"Uh, Miss Fairy? Maybe you should calm down a little too?"

At his words, the fairy fluttered down from Carl's head and cautiously landed on the floor.

She met Eliza's fierce gaze and let out a squeak before hurriedly hiding behind Carl.

Carl scratched his head as he watched and said, "Try not to be too scared and introduce yourself."

Taking courage from his words, the fairy girl stepped forward cautiously.

She lifted the hem of her dress slightly and gave a small greeting.

["H-Hello. I'm the Fairy Princess Kiya."]

"Fairy Princess?"

Carl's eyes widened, and Eliza narrowed hers.

"Then you must know Kiran?"

["Yes."]

Kiya responded with her big eyes blinking.

["I hate to admit it, but that bastard is my older brother."]

Despite her timid appearance, foul language flew from her mouth.

Moments later, tears welled up in her big eyes.

"Why are you crying?"

Carl asked, flustered. Kiya replied in a tearful voice,

["I had forgotten that bastard was my brother, and suddenly remembering it made me so ashamed…"]

"If you've seen how that fairy usually behaves, it's understandable."

Eliza said with a cold smile, and Kiya clapped her hands together with sparkling eyes.

["You must know a thing or two!"]

Then, locking eyes with Eliza again, she instantly recoiled in fear.

Carl looked on with fascination.

"So, you two don't get along, huh?"

["Of course not."]

"But everyone I know with siblings seems to have a good relationship."

Like Chelsea and Abad, for example.

Celia also got along well with her brother Rhys, and Eliza was close to her sister Freyna.

At Carl's comment, Kiya said,

["If they were really that close, one of them must've been adopted."]

"……"

Carl glanced at Eliza.

She looked completely uninterested.

"So? Where's my letter?"

Crackle—

A white bolt of lightning sparked from Eliza's body.

It was Pegasus's lightning.

Seeing how anxious she was getting, Carl said,

"Kiya."

["Yes."]

"Was it you who stole all the food from Lumene?"

["……."]

At that, Kiya lowered her head.

["I-I'm sorry."]

"Why did you do it? Actually, before that… did you also go into Eliza's room?"

["Yes. I went there last night."]

Watching Kiya glance nervously at Eliza, Eliza's eyes widened even further.

"Did you take the letter from there too?"

Carl spoke calmly, trying to reassure her.

At his question, Kiya tilted her head, then opened a dimensional pocket and reached in.

Moments later,

She pulled out an envelope containing Eliza's letter.

["This one?"]

At that, Eliza snatched the envelope with a whoosh.

"Well, that solves this case, right?"

Carl grinned.

Eliza narrowed her eyes.

"Solve the case? Nothing's solved. We still don't know why this fairy stole all the food."

"Well, if we ask, she'll probably tell us. But first."

Carl held out his hand with a smile.

"What?"

"Can I read what's in the letter?"

"No."

"Come on, don't be like that. Please? Please?"

"Stop acting cute. It's disgusting."

"……"

Carl sat down on the floor, scratching at it with his finger.

Eliza sighed and handed him the letter.

Carl chuckled to himself as he opened the envelope in a corner of the lab.

Eliza sat down in front of Kiya.

"So? Why did you come to Lumene, and why did you steal food?"

Kiya's face darkened slightly at that question.

["I came to meet Leo Plov."]

"Why?"

["Something terrible has happened in Fairyland."]

"Something terrible?"

["Yes. My royal father… the Fairy King… doesn't have much time left."]

Carl and Eliza both showed shocked expressions.

The Fairy King, Sylord.

For 5,000 years, he had never appeared in historical records. Veiled in mystery, he was the last remaining king of the mythical beasts and a living symbol.

He was part of the very era of heroes.

And the news that this king, who once saved the world with legendary heroes of the past, was near death was a monumental revelation.

"Are you sure?"

["Yes. That's why my father said he wanted to see the Nameless Hero, Leo Plov. So I came to Lumene to find him."]

At her words, Carl looked puzzled.

"Nameless Hero? But Leo now has the title 'King of Beginnings'."

["What?"]

Kiya's eyes widened.

["Ah, I didn't know. It's been a while since Fairyland was cut off from the outside world."]

"Fairyland is cut off?"

Eliza looked puzzled.

["Yes. Because of my father's barrier, even coming here wasn't easy."]

"That's strange. Why would he need a barrier?"

Eliza fell into thought.

"I get it. I know where Leo went."

At that moment, Carl spoke with a serious expression.

Eliza and Kiya looked at him.

"He realized something was wrong and went to Fairyland."

"He noticed trouble before even hearing about it?"

"Kiran, who's contracted to Leo, is supposed to be the successor to the Fairy King."

["I hate to admit it, but yes. Ah… If Leo Plov is already in Fairyland, that's a relief."]

"So this was a wasted trip."

Eliza said, but Kiya shook her head.

["Not at all."]

"Why not?"

["Because I gained something."]

Eliza looked puzzled, but Carl understood exactly what that gain was.

"Is Fairyland in such bad shape? Are you that desperate for food?"

Carl asked with a serious face.

If Fairyland was cut off from the world, the fairies might be suffering from a food shortage.

Carl suspected that Kiya had stolen food in Lumene because of that.

Kiya replied,

["No, fairies can live off just dew."]

"Then why did you steal the food?"

["It was for my snacks."]

"……"

Carl looked dumbfounded.

["I eat a lot."]

Eliza clicked her tongue at Kiya's sudden shamelessness.

"Now you really sound like that scoundrel fairy's sister."

["Excuse me?! I won't stand for that! Apologize!"]

Kiya flared up, and Eliza's eyes gleamed.

["Eek!"]

Kiya shrank back in fear.

"Okay, okay, let's all calm down."

Carl tried to mediate.

"She's a first-time offender and not even human, but a mythical beast. As long as she returns what she stole, we won't press charges."

["Th-That was hard-earned food I worked for!"]

Looking at the shameless Kiya, Carl said, "If you got it through labor, then you can pay it back through labor."

Carl smiled slyly.

"Eliza, grab her."

Crackle—!

At his words, Eliza summoned her aura.

Pegasus's lightning restrained Kiya.

["W-What are you planning to do to me?"]

Kiya asked in a trembling voice, and Carl said,

"There's a professor named Tina Tingel in the Lumene Department of Magic."

Tina still taught magical engineering as a guest professor at Lumene.

"Her hobby is dissection, and she's always wanted to dissect a fairy."

Kiya's face turned white.

"It's fine. She promised to sew you back up nicely."

["Eek! I-I'll return everything! I will!"]

Carl smiled at the terrified Kiya.

Watching this, Eliza remarked, "You're surprisingly good at threats."

"Well, you know who my best friend is."

"Leo Plov?"

"Yep. I learned a lot from him."

"……"

Hearing that, Eliza muttered to herself.

"Just don't learn the weird stuff."

"Hm? What was that?"

"Nothing."

The Leo she knew was a sadist skilled in tormenting others.

'Well, Carl wouldn't learn that from him…'

As Eliza thought to herself,

Carl, having let go of Kiya, began thinking about Leo.

'…If one of the last friends from that era is dying, Leo must be feeling terrible.'

It wasn't just any friend.

They were comrades who survived the Age of Calamity together.

Of course, through the Hero Record, Leo had met his past companions multiple times.

But in the end…

'They were all beings of the past.'

Fragments of miracles.

Different from Sylord, who lived in the present.

'If the Fairy King dies… Leo will be the only one left who remembers that time.'

Carl couldn't even imagine how that must feel.

He briefly wore a bitter expression, then another question popped into his mind.

'But… Fairyland being cut off from the world…'

Something was wrong.

'Come to think of it, Professor Mel isn't around either, is she?'

The Dragon Queen.

Melina wasn't in Lumene either.

Which meant she was likely with Leo.

Thinking that far, Carl's face turned grim.

'…Could something huge be happening that we don't know about?'

bl

The food shortage crisis in Lumene was resolved in just one day.

"How little faith do the students have in my brother?"

Lyl shook her head.

She had insisted Leo would never start such a crisis.

"Leo would do something like that,"

Elena replied. Though she felt it was odd, she understood why the students suspected Leo.

"So?"

Currently, Elena and Lyl were in the student council president's office.

Elena smiled slyly.

"Why would our acting student council president call both me, the vice president, and Lyl at this late hour?"

"You seem upset, Elena."

"Hmm? Of course not."

"Please don't be. You know the acting president has authority when the president is absent."

Carl was able to leave the dorm after curfew and come to the council room because of that.

"Would I have used that authority lightly?"

"Oh? Do you think I'm mad because of that?"

"You're not?"

Carl tilted his head, and Elena asked, "Carl."

"Yes?"

"What's your type?"

"Huh? That's kind of sudden…"

"I was wondering if you liked strong women."

"Haha. Well…"

'She found me out.'

Carl laughed awkwardly, sweat beading on his forehead.

Watching him with a gentle smile, Elena said, "Anyway, back to the point. The case is solved, so why did you call me and Lyl here so late?"

Now getting serious, Carl put on a solemn expression.

"I'm issuing a mission under the authority of the acting student council president."

At that, Elena paused, and Lyl looked grave.

Elena crossed her arms and sat up straighter.

"What's the mission?"

"To support Leo in Fairyland."