Chapter 120

Several days had passed since we left the Elf Village.

The regret of leaving the Elf Village and the excitement of being able to eat meat after a long time had both cooled down, and the days of our journey had become peaceful and relaxed.

Basking in the sunlight filtering through the trees, I suddenly had a thought and opened my mouth.

“Come to think of it, since we don’t need to take a detour on the way back, we won’t be passing through the Dwarven Village.”

“Ah. Is that so? Hmm. That’s a bit disappointing. I thought it would be nice to see familiar faces again on the way.”

“True. I was also planning to buy some distilled liquor on the way.”

“Thinking about it, the Dwarven Village wasn’t originally part of the plan, but we ended up going there because Kurt spent all his money, right? And yet, he spent all his money again…”

“Ahem…! But thanks to that, we were able to defeat the Vampire that had infiltrated the Dwarven Village, so it turned out to be a good thing in the end.”

“That’s true. I wish the money spent on rice cakes had also gone to something good.”

“….”

At Mari’s pointed remark, I found myself at a loss for words and quietly averted my gaze, avoiding a response. Karina, sensing the awkward atmosphere, spoke up to lighten the mood.

“Uh, by the way, Miss Marisia! If we’re not stopping by the Dwarven Village, where will we be stopping next?”

“The next village we’ll visit?”

“Yeah. The next village we’ll visit! Surely we’re not going straight to Astram without passing through any villages, right?”

“Hmm… The next village we’ll visit… Let me check the map for a moment. If we keep going straight ahead, it looks like we’ll reach the Vera Flower Plains. And in those plains…”

As Serena also urged for an answer, Mari finally stopped glaring at me and began rummaging through her bag to find the map.

However, I somehow felt that I already knew the name of the next village we would arrive at, even without Mari looking at the map.

“By any chance, are the humans living in those plains Fairies?”

“Huh? Ah… Yes! That’s right! But since Fairies are said to be exclusive towards other races, we should probably ignore their kingdom and move on. But how did you know?”

“I think they came out to greet us.”

“Greet us…?”

At Mari’s question, I gestured with my chin towards the front of the carriage, and Mari’s gaze naturally followed in that direction.

The front of the carriage.

Far ahead, a heavily armed army of Fairies was waiting for us.

It looked less like an intimidating army and more like a row of figurines themed around an army, giving off a cute and charming appearance.

But the cuteness was only in their appearance.

Thinking of them as merely cute would be a huge mistake.

Each Fairy is a Mage without needing special training, and if they were a fully trained military force, they would be nothing less than moving strategic weapons.

I don’t know why there was a fully armed Fairy army ahead on our path, but it certainly didn’t seem like a welcoming party for ordinary travelers.

Whether it was a coincidence that we arrived at the same time or they were wary of us, I couldn’t tell, but I could feel their vigilance from a distance.

Not just me, but the rest of the party also sensed something unusual and stiffened their expressions.

They weren’t in immediate combat stance, but they were on guard, ready to enter combat at any moment.

As the carriage slowly advanced in this tense atmosphere, we soon faced the Fairy army waiting for us. As the carriage slowed to a stop, a Fairy in armor, who seemed to be their leader, flew up to us and shouted.

“Hey, travelers! You have been invited to the Tea Party of Vivian, the Queen of our Fairy Kingdom, Arciel! Be grateful!”

“….”

“….”

“….”

“….”

At the leader Fairy’s sudden declaration, we were all left speechless and stared at the Fairy.

However, the Fairy, perhaps sensing that our reaction wasn’t what she expected, looked unsure and cautiously asked us again.

“…Why aren’t you bowing your heads?”

.

.

.

And so, we were guided by the Fairy army into the interior of the Fairy Kingdom.

Dagdag dagdag.

Inside the Fairy Kingdom.

A carriage pulled by two horses leisurely passed through the dedicated road usually used to welcome Dwarves from neighboring villages.

The Fairies chatted among themselves as they watched us.

Their conversation was quite distant and in voices so small that an ordinary person wouldn’t even be able to tell they were talking, let alone hear them.

But to me, who is not an ordinary person, it sounded as if they were speaking right next to me.

As I drove the carriage, I began to listen carefully to their conversation, hoping to gather any information that might help us understand the current situation.

“Wow. Look at those horses! They’re so big!”

“Judging by their massive size and ferocious appearance, those creatures must be carnivores that eat dripping, bloody meat!”

“Eek! Scary!”

The young Fairies, hiding behind grass and flowers, chattered excitedly as they watched the carriage pass by.

It seemed like it was their first time seeing horses, as they pointed at them and made various speculations, causing a commotion.

But their excitement was still better.

At least their attention was focused on the horses pulling the carriage, not on us.

“Hey. Is that carriage the one the guards were talking about?”

“I heard they eat foods every day that even the Queen in the palace has never tasted?”

“No way. How could ordinary travelers eat such foods every day? Especially while traveling!”

“I heard that carriage is an incredibly powerful Artifact that endlessly produces delicious food inside!”

“No, I heard that their appearance as ordinary travelers is just a disguise, and they’re actually royalty who fled from a distant human kingdom. That’s why they eat delicious meals every day.”

“That’s not what I heard. I heard that dragon-like person is actually a legendary giant Chef who was cursed by an evil demon to have his body transformed into a dragon, and he’s on a journey to break the curse.”

“Oh my. That sounds about right. How else could a person look like a dragon? He must definitely be cursed.”

“Or maybe it’s not that, but a cursed Dwarf Chef and a fallen kingdom’s royalty eloping for love?”

“Ahhh! That must be it!”

“Sniff… Such a sad story.”

The adult Fairies, peeking at us from inside their miniature-like houses, exchanged various stories about us.

I had no idea what rumors were circulating about us, but it was clear that our image was being distorted in real-time.

Their conversation was utterly devoid of any nutritional value…

But by eavesdropping, I learned one thing.

“…They knew about us before we arrived.”

At my words, the leader Fairy flinched as if struck by lightning and fluttered her wings nervously.

“H-how did you know that… Ah, no! We didn’t know! Meeting you was just a coincidence!”

No, at least make your lies believable.

I already had a rough idea of the Fairies’ intentions from their chatter.

“If you didn’t know about us, there would be no reason to wait for us or invite us to a Tea Party.”

“Th-that’s… Ah! You are the one-millionth travelers to visit our Fairy Kingdom, so you’ve been specially invited to the Queen’s Tea Party!”

It was clearly a hastily made-up lie, but the leader Fairy puffed out her chest confidently, as if she thought her lie was brilliant.

This is the kind of lie even a child wouldn’t fall for.

“Is that really true!? The one-millionth travelers? That’s so lucky!”

“Be more grateful! Giant Elf!”

“Wow! Thank you! Mr. Kurt! We’re so lucky!”

…And here’s the fool who fell for a lie even a child wouldn’t believe.

“…Mr. Kurt. I need to talk to you…”

I was about to sigh at Mari’s foolishness when Karina suddenly spoke to me in a tense voice.

Turning around, I saw that not only Karina but also Serena was looking at me with a tense expression.

Right. At least the two of them, being veteran Adventurers, didn’t seem to fall for such a stupid lie.

Still, I had a rough idea of the Fairies’ intentions, so I was about to reassure the two of them.

“What should we do? This is our first time meeting the Queen!”

“Ku, Kurt! My clothes aren’t wrinkled, are they?”

…Is there some kind of pollen in the Fairy Kingdom that lowers your intelligence when you breathe it in?

As we talked, the carriage arrived in front of the lavishly decorated palace (small) where the Fairy Queen lived.