Chapter 170: Prepare Yourself, All Right?
Thinking about it, I had felt something strange from the very beginning.
If the secret agents were supposed to not reveal their presence or appearance, they should have quietly surrounded me.
If my guesses or speculations were needed, they should have been a step ahead every time I moved.
There was no need at all to contact me or build any connection.
Moreover, they deliberately revealed that they were subordinates of the King and even used contract magic...
I met Sharle and the others right before I was drafted into war, during the chaotic period when many people entered and left the capital.
Although it was a memory from when I hadn’t yet been reborn as Raide, from my perspective—having inherited both memories and emotions—Raide at that time was still me.
Even if he had already been reborn, I was confident I would have taken the exact same action.
The Sharle group, who lived in the nearby forest, had been caught by humans and pursued.
Because the Kingdom was reforming with a friendly policy toward other races, they strictly punished anyone who humiliated them, as they had done in the past... but such fools existed everywhere.
When those fools found Sharle and the others, they had fled into the capital by hiding among humans.
Raide had happened to spot them and protected them, then arranged for them to escape to the Northern Forest in a region where the war hadn’t yet reached.
At that time, to build absolute trust, the Sharle group made a "promise" with Raide.
A promise that they had never encountered a fairy and had never seen one.
Just a verbal promise wasn’t enough. Raide, who was making the toy ring out of wood at that time, gave one to each of the eleven members.
That was why I couldn’t honestly answer when Sharle asked me last night.
A fairy’s "promise" is the most important thing in building trust.
In simple terms, it’s the same as a contract magic that doesn’t activate—if you break it, you can never regain the fairy’s trust.
Even if you hide the fact, it’s useless because the Spirit Tree will tell the fairies.
Even if you’re far from the fairy village, a traveling fairy will let them know.
I don’t know the exact method, but... if you go to the fairy village, you’ll hear the explanation.
The reason those fools were chasing Sharle and the others was because they believed fairies’ wings were a high-grade material for medicine, and records showed that large-scale poaching had happened long ago.
When asked if the wings could actually become medicine, I had no idea—since I was playing games, such items didn’t exist.
I had never seen anything called "fairy wings."
Instead, there was an item called "rainbow wings," which belonged to the dragon race living at the very edge of the unexplored lands.
I thought they might free the person after taking the wings, but I imagined they’d treat them worse than slaves.
Fairies have a nature where they grow their bodies according to the amount of magic power absorbed. When I first met Sharle and the others, they were around eight years old.
It was disgusting and made me want to kill them, so I won’t go into detail, but basically they didn’t want to let them go because they wanted to grow them up and use them as comfort.
If you look at Sharle and the others, you’ll understand—fairies are all beautiful.
Those fools must have been desperate to chase them... Records say even nobles joyfully poached them back then, so I can’t laugh.
That’s why the Kingdom, which noticed the poaching of fairies, created strict punishment rules. Records say a considerable number of nobles were purged by the Kingdom.
By the way, the rules are known, but the records from that time haven’t been passed down to today’s nobles or commoners.
Or rather, the Kingdom carried out such thorough purges that no one was left to tell the story.
The only reason I know about it is because I read literature left in ruins around the lands while playing free play.
Well, the content was quite extreme... The opponent management must have given a lot of okay.
"When I left the capital, the girls who were already in the secret agents had invited me to join them."
Sharle smiled and said, then turned around and looked at the wavy-haired black-haired fairy with yellow wings standing just behind King Adom.
She looked like an older sister; she smiled at me happily and waved one hand lightly.
Fairies had different races, and they could be distinguished by their wings. I hadn’t remembered the actual race names, but...
Then I looked around and thought only maids were standing there, but I realized quite a few fairies were lined up along the wall.
Their gentle smiles were a relief—records said they didn’t express emotions.
"She invited us, and we joined the secret agents. We made a ’promise’ of protection with the royal family."
"I see. I was worried. I was hoping I’d get to see you again in my life."
"We started looking for Raide-sama when we learned our jobs and grew a year older. But all I remember is the appearance..."
"I’m sorry. I couldn’t bring myself to tell you my name because you were just doing something ordinary."
"No, it’s fine. It’s good that we’re meeting again like this."
"...So you started looking around the time I wasn’t in the capital because of the war. And... you’ve been searching for me ever since?"
"You know, right? We’re a loyal race. I feel even more indebted to you."
Sharle smiled gently and glanced sideways at Tetrin, who was laughing happily.
Seeing Sharle’s behavior, I smiled wryly and rubbed the back of my neck with one hand.
I had only left Tetrin alone because he looked so lonely.
When I gently stroked my cheek, I looked up and saw Sharle smiling at me with affectionate eyes.
It felt embarrassing when she touched my cheek the same way she always did.
...If a fairy who was told not to show emotions could make such an expression, it was no wonder I was surprised.
After gently stroking my cheek, Sharle turned to King Adom, bowed, and took her place behind my left.
I smiled playfully and rubbed my chin with one hand while looking at King Adom, then deeply bowed to him with gratitude.
"Thank you for rescuing Sharle and the others."
"No need. I only invited them to strengthen the small secret agent team. It’s good that we could save them, isn’t it?"
"...Yes."
If the Kingdom had acted on King Adom’s personal whim, they would have prepared words like that for the problem.
Is this the King who protects the nation...? Seeing King Adom’s face, I realized nobles were too heavy for me.
When I looked at him with a bitter smile, King Adom had a mischievous smile as if his prank had succeeded. Sharle then handed me the scroll from the side.
"You should keep it. Don’t worry, it’s a copy. I have the original."
"Understood."
"I also know this... Now that you can see Sharle and the others, you’ve become almost family from the royal family’s perspective. Try to soften your words a bit—I can’t stand the tension."
"...It’s hard to do right away."
"Hah... that’s fine later on."
"Hah."
I smiled smugly at King Adom, and he must have read my thoughts because he smiled wryly and waved one hand.
If you hated being looked up to, I’d return the favor with a little payback.
King Adom smiled satisfied, turned, and walked toward the round table that had been set up near the Fairy Tree with Queen 2.
...Wow, Tetrin is giving me an amazing smile and beckoning.
When I glanced at Felica’s situation, I saw her talking with Sharle’s companions and, unusually, spinning her eyes around in panic.
Karinal seemed completely frozen, unable to catch up with the situation... Poor thing.
Roy was smiling wryly, perhaps past surprise, while watching Felica.
Just as I was thinking that, both arms were wrapped around me by the two princesses.
"We can talk like the first time we met, right?"
"Fufu, it’s nice to hear Raide-sama’s unfamiliar way of speaking, but as sisters, we want to talk like back then?"
"But..."
"Raide, I forgot to mention this... Don’t give up. You look a lot like a husband to us, and you won’t let us go?"
When I looked up at King Adom’s words, King Adom sitting near Tetrin smiled wryly.
No, saying something like that... Ah, the two queens pressed close to him on both sides...
...Could it be?
Were the two queens not letting King Adom leave?
Even though I knew it was more than that, it was still... even royal women are strong.
Just looking at the princesses with my eyes, they smiled happily at me, then whispered gently near my ear.
"It’s as King Adom said. Prepare yourself? We won’t let you go again, won’t separate, and definitely won’t let you escape."
I smiled wryly at Sharle’s whisper.
She just wanted me to feel at ease. I had already made up my mind, and... I had no intention of letting you go either.
While watching Sharle’s companions lead her to the table, I was led by the two princesses toward the table with both my arms pulled.