Chapter 9: Fairy (1)

Silence fell. Chloe’s breath, momentarily halted, slowly spread out.

She accepted the indescribable tension as bewilderment. She was surprised by Tehis Escalante’s unexpected action, but that was all. Without reason, she engaged in self-justification and consolation.

“…Darling, you’re quite sly. Who knew you’d have this side?”

Chloe took Tehis’s hand, kissed his thumb, and released it. She deliberately wore her usual smile and slyly maneuvered through the situation.

She worried that his keen senses might hear her heartbeat, but Tehis simply withdrew his hand without a word. Instead, his piercing gaze was burdensome, prompting Chloe to change the subject.

“If I leave now, we won’t see each other for two weeks, right?”

“Yes, Chloe. But you can visit sooner.”

“Aren’t you busy? It seemed like you barely made time today.”

“With you…”

Chloe silenced Tehis with her index finger on his lips. She didn’t need to hear the rest to know what he’d say.

He’d probably say something about always making time to be with her.

Having guessed correctly, she cleared her throat unnecessarily and spoke.

“I’m busy too. The Fairy’s hatching seems imminent, so I’ll be focusing on that for a while.”

“I see. In that case, it can’t be helped. I wish you success, Chloe.”

“Thank you, Tess. You work hard too. I’ll come show you when the Fairy awakens.”

“I look forward to it.”

At that moment, Chloe didn’t realize that her words intended to take a brief respite would have the opposite effect.

* * *

The next morning, Chloe yawned as she left her private room. Leaving the still-sleeping Ray behind, she entered her lab alone, only to be greeted by an unexpected sight.

“What…?”

Chloe stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the lab in complete disarray. It looked as if the artificial nature section had overflowed.

The water from the Lake of Life was brimming, lightly covering the floor. The blessed earth and Ptera roots had naturally extended beyond their original area.

‘What on earth happened?’

Fortunately, none of the experimental materials were damaged, but it was bewildering. While urgently using natural magic to tidy up, Chloe realized something.

The mischievous lights she had scattered were gone. The World Tree leaf she received from the Crown Prince was missing too.

And most importantly, the Fairy’s egg was cracked open.

“Ha.”

Chloe let out a hollow sigh. She had missed the Phoenix’s hatching, and now it seemed she had missed the Fairy’s birth as well.

‘This is a disqualification as a mage.’

Shaking her head, she finished cleaning up. Feeling more composed, she used magic to restore the lab to its original state and spoke.

「Are you here? Would you like to come out?」

Runic language is the language of nature. Though it takes the form of sound, it’s akin to communication through will. It’s not effective just by mimicking the pronunciation, so it can be considered another form of magic.

And the Fairy, known as a magical species, also uses runic language.

「No. Who?」

The entire space resonated softly rather than a specific location. It was closer to directly conveying intent than a clear language.

‘It certainly feels natural.’

Chloe silently marveled at the Fairy’s runic language. At this level, she had to read the will almost at the level of sensing mana.

Whether it was due to being a child or inherently unclear language expression, she decided to gradually find out.

「I’m Chloe. The mage who hatched you.」

「Chloe? Mage?」

The newly hatched Fairy made a curious sound. Even if it could communicate somehow, it lacked the knowledge to understand pronouns and specific races.

Realizing the situation, Chloe pondered briefly and changed her approach. She chose the simplest words possible, as if addressing an infant, and infused them with intent.

「Yes. I’m your friend.」

「Friend? Friend!」

The layers of Ptera roots wriggled and suddenly split open. Recognizing Chloe as an ally, the Fairy leapt out from there.

「Friend!」

For some reason, glittering light dust fell from its rapidly flapping wings. The child-like figure sparkled all over.

Small. Cute. Pure. Chloe tucked away the various impressions that flashed through her mind.

Cautiously extending a hand, the Fairy, about the size of a child’s fist, plopped down on her palm. After pressing the palm here and there, it smiled brightly and said.

「Friend, indeed. Familiar aura.」

「Oh my.」

Did it feel my mana from within the egg? 

Chloe, delighted by the good news, asked.

「Do you remember me?」

「Don’t know. But familiar.」

Even that was enough to make Chloe’s face bloom with a bright smile. She had been worried about how to become close with the Fairy, but some of that anxiety was alleviated.

It was then that the Fairy, looking around, stood up. Spreading its wings, it fluttered around the lab.

「What’s wrong?」

「Friend, where else?」

Chloe briefly didn’t understand the Fairy’s words. The unclear speech was confusing, but a figure vaguely came to mind.

「Want to go say hello together?」

「Okay!」

It was probably referring to Riel. Chloe took the Fairy, which had settled back on her palm, and left the lab.

Riel’s lab was right next door, so there was no need to go far.

Knock, knock.

“Riel, are you inside?”

“Uh-huh… just a moment.”

A sleepy voice answered.

Soon, a half-asleep Riel appeared beyond the open door. She looked as if she had stayed up all night.

“Why?”

“The Fairy…”

「Friend!」

Chloe didn’t have time to introduce. As soon as Riel came closer, the Fairy, perched on her tiptoes, vigorously flapped its wings.

Seeing a fist-sized creature sparkling and flying around, Riel reacted blankly.

“Fairy?”

「Friend, definitely. The blood who awakened me.」

“Huh?”

Chloe expressed doubt at the strange words. Before Riel could say anything, the Fairy, with a voice full of confidence, shouted loudly.

「Mom!」

“No.”

Riel, who rarely showed facial expressions, frowned slightly. Chloe, who had almost never seen her eyebrows knit, was inwardly amazed.

‘This is complete dislike, isn’t it?’

Riel, who usually let most things pass with a blank face, surprisingly didn’t ignore the Fairy’s nonsense.

As Chloe watched with interest, Riel sighed.

「Just call me a friend.」

「But no! You’re mom!」

「…I don’t like you.」

「But I like mom!」

What was this? 

Chloe stifled a laugh at the childish exchange in runic language.

Though Riel played a crucial role in the Fairy’s hatching, calling her mom wasn’t entirely wrong…

‘It doesn’t suit her, though.’

Riel, rubbing her forehead as if troubled, looked like someone caught between adolescence and adulthood. At most, she appeared to be in her late teens.

Chloe found it fascinating how little Riel aged compared to the years they had known each other. Though she knew Riel was much older than she appeared, her behavior suggested she might remain youthful forever.

‘She’s certainly not someone who’d become a mom.’

While Chloe chuckled to herself, the verbal tussle between the two continued.

「Go away.」

「No! I like mom!」

「Your friend is waiting over there.」

「I like friends! But I like mom more.」

The Fairy, clinging to Riel’s crown, threw a tantrum. Having learned something in the meantime, its communication became more natural.

Riel, half resigned to the Fairy that wouldn’t detach, looked at Chloe. Her eyes, back to their usual hazy state, offered a straightforward apology.

“Sorry. I didn’t expect this.”

“It’s fine. Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to hatch it.”

Chloe shrugged and stated the fact. Before Riel’s help, she hadn’t been able to induce any change in the Fairy egg, so she was just grateful it had hatched somehow.

“But what did you put in the potion to make the Fairy react this way? Your blood?”

Chloe recalled Riel’s mention of vitality being in it. Considering the Fairy’s mention of blood, it was a plausible assumption.

Riel glanced at the ceiling briefly, sighed, and nodded. The tangled situation was becoming increasingly bothersome.

“Yes. It had to be my blood.”

“Why?”

Chloe asked curiously. If it needed a mage’s blood, she wondered why Riel went to such lengths instead of asking her.

Riel, leaving her hair to become a nest for the Fairy’s touch, rubbed her sleepy eyes. Her voice, as she answered, was languid.

“Because I’m a half-blood.”

“Half-blood?”

Chloe blinked, puzzled as to why the topic of mixed blood came up. Beyond the rarity of mages marrying non-mages, she couldn’t find a connection to the Fairy.

‘It’s not even genetically determined to become a mage.’

Even if the probability increased slightly, being chosen by mana was a rare occurrence for humans. Since it was difficult to keep a child in the Mage Tower unless they were a mage, the marriage rate naturally decreased.

Chloe herself was an example of someone who grew up as an orphan on the continent, manifested magic, and came to the Mage Tower. Unfortunately, she had endured many hardships in an isolated mountain village with little knowledge of mages.

‘It’s a story that doesn’t matter now.’

While Chloe pondered various thoughts, Riel yawned and casually dropped a bombshell. What she said nonchalantly was beyond imagination.

“I have Fairy blood mixed in me.”

“…What?”

Chloe’s jaw dropped at the absurd statement. Seeing her stunned gaze, Riel confirmed it.

“I have Fairy blood mixed in me. Magically.”

* * *

Chloe looked down at the pink vial in her hand with a troubled expression. It was a potion Riel had given her, saying she made an extra just in case.

‘To think Riel wasn’t human…’

The secret of a friend she had known for the longest time in the Mage Tower, along with Isrion, was shocking. Though Riel sometimes felt peculiar, Chloe never thought she wasn’t purely human.

Chirp! Chirp!

「Mine!」

Chloe turned her gaze to the sound of the Phoenix and Fairy bickering. They were noisily tussling over the mana stone she had given Ray to play with.

“Ray, let Elle have that. I’ll give you something else.”

Elle. The fairy, having learned about names, had begged for one, and Riel had casually thrown out the word. Though it was obviously given without much thought, Elle seemed satisfied, which was a relief.

「Elle, you and I are going to meet someone.」

「Mom?」

「No.」

Chloe carefully packed the potion and stood up. Having promised the day before, she knew where she needed to go.

Black hair, blue eyes. She recalled the face of the man who had looked at her directly.

「My lover.」