Anyway, you really can’t predict how someone’s life will turn out. Before my reincarnation, not only was I an F-rank Hunter, I’d never once imagined I would end up living as a fraud.
'Should I try lying less from now on?'
While the archmage was lost in belated remorse, the next prey had already drawn near.
Thump, thump.
This forest was the territory of those giant creatures.
.
.
.
How many minutes had passed?
"Uh, um."
"Hmm."
To put it simply, we completed the entire search without much trouble. The giants in this forest were weak enough for Seonwoo Yeon to wipe them out single-handedly, so there was never any real danger.
"The treasure hunters who came in first were a team that specialized in EX-rank gates, which meant their awakening levels were relatively low. That's probably why they were defeated."
Then, since we'd already killed all the enemies, shouldn't we just leave?
"That's ridiculous."
I raised my head and stared once more at the gate before me.
I never imagined the escape route the fairy had mentioned would turn out to be something like this.
The magical passage was so narrow that I would have to crouch to enter, and the entire area around it was smothered in thick thorny vines.
If they had been ordinary thorny vines, I wouldn't have been this irritated.
But whatever this thing had been feeding on to grow here, its stems were so thick and sturdy that they wouldn't budge even under B-rank strength. 𝐑ã𝐍ȫᛒĚṢ
'At this level of toughness, even Hydra's blade probably couldn't cut through them.'
I pretended to inspect the thorny vines with my hand, then quickly drew back.
When I turned toward the fairy with a look of disbelief, it finally spoke.
"Well, this plant shrinks every dawn. There are about 20,000 seconds left."
"Why are you only telling us that now?!"
"Are you angry? Why? I kept my promise."
The fairy had only promised to show us the path. It had never said the passage would actually be usable.
But an explanation like that wasn't enough to ease our frustration.
It felt exactly like being assigned another task just as you were about to clock out.
"Damn it."
We were suddenly forced to wait until dawn in the fairy kingdom.
At that moment, the wingless fairy shifted its demeanor and floated into the Earthlings' line of sight.
"Everyone, it's damp and uncomfortable to camp here. Would you like to come back to my house and rest until dawn?"
"What?"
"The giants are all dead now, so it's safe. They won't come back! And don't worry about the fairy dust. It'll keep working as long as you don't wash it off."
Well, sleeping outdoors wasn't exactly appealing.
"Wait. When you say your house, you mean that tiny place that's about the size of my palm, right? How are we supposed to rest there...?"
For a moment, I thought of Apa's little dwelling and wondered how that was supposed to work.
But one of the other party members quickly clarified.
"Ah, Hunter-nim. Another fairy offered us the same thing during the festival, so we know how it works. They don't actually let you inside the house. They give you somewhere to sleep nearby."
"Somewhere to sleep?"
"Well... she'll probably give us large, furry leaves to use as bedding. They're surprisingly warm. That's how we managed to sleep on the first night."
"Ah."
So that's how it worked.
"I wonder what kind of plant those leaves come from."
Curious about the fairies' peculiar hospitality, I lifted my gaze.
But before I could say anything else, one of the Hunters shouted sharply.
"I, I'm fine! I'd rather stay awake here and wait. I don't trust anything that fairy says!"
It was the C-rank Hunter who had passed the tagger role on to me.
Perhaps because of how badly the dungeon's inhabitants had tormented him, he had become openly hostile toward the fairy.
Once the C-rank Hunter made his position clear, the others began agreeing with him one after another.
"You're not coming to my house?"
"I, I'm not! You monster!"
"Even though I invited you?"
In the end, however, the fairy made our decision remarkably easy.
"What should I do? Guests who refuse an invitation have to be punished. That's the law of the kingdom..."
Sob.
Apa pretended to be sad in her cute little voice.
Then, in the next instant, her expression flipped, revealing all three rows of teeth.
The moment we saw the red interior of the fairy's mouth, we reached a unanimous decision.
"Let's go."
"Probably better not to complain."
"Ah, now that you mention it, I'm suddenly exhausted."
If only discussions in the outside world were this easy.
***
"Everyone, you are my ■■."
A few minutes later.
Following the fairy's suggestion, we headed back toward the hill where the kingdom stood.
But throughout the journey, the fairy talked without pause.
"What?"
"■■. You defeated the blue giant I told you about!"
Like a broken speaker, parts of her speech were swallowed by static and impossible to make out.
Judging from the context, though, she was probably saying something like 'benefactor' or 'hero.'
"Right. Why had everything sounded so natural until now?"
I decided to ignore the creature's apparent malfunction.
The fairy hovering in the air continued speaking, as though eager to fill the silence herself.
"Did you know? Actually, the blue giant you killed ate my family."
"What?"
"Our kingdom decided to offer one fairy to the giant every year. That's how my family was eaten. But you killed my enemy. All of them!"
She drifted through the air, leaving a sparkling trail behind her.
"Now no one has to tremble in fear anymore. It's all thanks to you! Wow, if you stayed in the kingdom, we'd be grateful to you for generations..."
"Hmm."
"But it must have been hard, right? You probably all want to go home as soon as possible, don't you? Then I'll keep it a secret. I'll make sure none of the kingdom's citizens try to keep you here for another festival."
The wingless fairy's cheeks were flushed red as she showered us with praise.
As she continued, the others gradually seemed to warm to her, and their expressions softened.
"Maybe she's actually a little cute?"
"She really is cute."
Just remembering those three rows of teeth still sends a chill down my spine...
"~?"
Noticing the humans staring at her, the fairy fluttered sideways and landed lightly on Seonwoo Yeon's shoulder.
Then she spoke.
"Everyone, I have one small wish now. Would you grant it?"
Just a few hours ago, one wish from this thing had caused all that chaos.
And now she was asking for another?
"I want to know your names."
But this time was slightly different.
She had told us what she wanted before asking us to agree.
"I'll never forget this meeting. I'll remember the heroic story of how you bravely defeated the giants."
"Ah."
"And... and... if I'm the first friend to learn your names, I'll get to brag about it to all the fairies in the village!"
"Brag?"
"Can I?"
Well, what harm could there be in that?
Most of the adventurers agreed to the fairy's earnest request.
"My name is..."
"Ah, so the guest is called 'My Name Is.'"
"No, that's not it!"
"Yes, I'm listening, My Name Is."
During this process, Seonwoo Yeon failed to register her name because of a minor problem.
"Guest, what's your name?"
"Call me whatever you want."
"So your name is Call Me Whatever You Want."
I said nothing.
Anyway, once the introductions were over, we made our way lightly up the hill.
Afterward, Apa gave us a warm welcome.
"The fruit here is delicious."
With our stomachs full and warm bedding beneath us, all that remained was to relax and wait for dawn.
"Giryeo-ssi."
Before long, deep darkness settled over the kingdom.
"Giryeo-ssi, Giryeo-ssi?"
At the sound of my name, I opened my eyes.
Since I had only been pretending to sleep in the first place, being suddenly woken didn't irritate me.
"Is it already my turn to stand watch?"
Still lying down, I rolled my eyes toward the person beside me.
"No. That's not it...... Something's strange. The fairy suddenly disappeared."
"Disappeared?"
"Yes! No one saw her leave. And the appraiser who was keeping watch with me said there isn't any mana coming from the hut anymore. The fairy's gone."
Maybe it was because we were inside a dungeon, but Seonwoo Yeon became visibly anxious at even the slightest change.
"What should we do? Should I use the Searcher skill?"
At her urging, I reluctantly began to sit up.
And at that very moment, an unfamiliar light flared in the darkness beyond us.
It was coming from the direction of the plaza.
"Blue...?"
Judging by the silhouettes cast by the light, it seemed as though a number of fairies had gathered there.
"No, wait."
But just then, my senses—already sharpened from searching around the cabin—picked up a familiar trace of mana.
It belonged to the wingless fairy.
And its current location was...
"Seonwoo Yeon-ssi, stay here."
"Yes?"
"It should be fine, but just in case. I'll go check quickly and come right back."
I immediately rose and headed toward the square.
As I drew closer, the heat of the flames began to brush against my skin.
A blazing fire burned in the center, surrounded by numerous fairies sitting in pairs, their hands clasped together.
At first glance, it looked almost identical to the festival from earlier that day.
Tak, tak.
But the bonfire in the center of the square carried none of the warmth or cheerfulness of a festival.
The thing burning inside it was none other than the wingless fairy herself.
"Huh? A guest. You're still in the kingdom?"
One of the fairies noticed me and soon fluttered closer.
"We're in the middle of an execution."
"Why?"
"This child did something bad."
It flapped its wings, sending out a soft breeze as though expressing annoyance.
"You know that fairy went into the forest this afternoon, right? You know it too. You're the guests she guided there!"
"~?"
"You're guests, so it doesn't matter for you. But that fairy isn't allowed to do that. She was this year's sacrifice."
Tak, tak.
While we spoke, the small creature lying among the burning logs had already had its cute face badly scorched.
"How dare that wingless ■■ forget its role and enter the forest? What were we supposed to do if the giants ate it?"
"That's right."
"That's right!"
"We should kill it today before it causes any unnecessary trouble. Let's burn the sacrifice now and preserve it for next winter!"
I see.
"Stupid fairy. Now that it's time to be punished, it's babbling nonsense about how all the giants are dead."
"Is that true? That would be nice."
At that moment, I began to understand part of how this dungeon worked.
Apa appeared to have been programmed to guide explorers into the forest, only to be burned at the stake afterward.
That was probably why the Apa we met had no memory of the advance party.
"The previous one must have died."
Then why did this dungeon repeatedly create new wingless fairies only to reenact the same execution ceremony?
The answer could be found on the raiders' faces.
"Hunter Kim Giryeo! What on earth is going on here... Ugh."
When the S-rank Hunter failed to return for some time, Seonwoo Yeon's group apparently grew worried and eventually came to the square themselves.
The moment they saw the wingless fairy burning in the center of the plaza, they collectively sucked in their breath.
"Huh? A guest. You're still in the kingdom?"
After that, the fairies in the square began explaining the ritual all over again.
The exact same sentences as before reached the group's ears.
But this time, the humans reacted differently.
"Oh my God."
"Ugh..."
Crude as the method was, the situation ultimately succeeded in manipulating some of the raiders' emotions.
"Sadness, or anger."
There was a reason for everything.
The fairy's unusually warm behavior.
The fact that the only escape route opened at dawn.
Seonwoo Yeon stood there with a troubled expression, completely unaware that she had been subtly manipulated.
Meanwhile, I coldly surveyed the fairies, my expression the exact opposite of theirs.
"Right! Now that I think about it, before the sacrifice died, she said she had something to give you as a reward."
Fortunately, it seemed I wouldn't have to lower my head and ask for it myself.
"I kept the gift for you. It's yours. Would you like to see it?"
After I waited in silence, one of the fairies in the square brought up the very subject I had been waiting to hear.