Chapter 655 - 372: Fairies should be drop kicked

[Realm: álfheimr]

[Location: The Great Forest]

Something Gretel had come to terms with long ago was that she was never going to have an easy life.

It was not a conclusion she had reached overnight, nor was it something she had accepted without reason. Rather, it was an understanding that had came into life over the course of her existence, made by experiences that had left little room for optimism. There had been too many unpleasant surprises, too many circumstances beyond her control, and far too many occasions when a situation that should have been simple had somehow become considerably more complicated.

Perhaps she had reached that conclusion when revenge became her primary goal. When she had decided that, no matter what it cost her, she would pursue the one responsible for what had happened to her. It was not the sort of ambition that promised a peaceful or uncomplicated existence. Revenge demanded persistence, and persistence often required sacrifices that most people would never willingly make.

Or perhaps it had happened earlier, when she first discovered that she was a Nil.

That revelation alone had been enough to complicate her understanding of herself and her place in the world. It had changed the way she perceived her own existence and, in turn, the way others might perceive her. Whatever the precise moment had been, the conclusion remained the same.

Her life was never going to follow an easy path.

And, as time went on, that understanding had only become more firmly established.

Things had hardly improved after meeting Mikoto, either. The boy was strange in more ways than one, not least because he possessed a beauty so striking that anyone unfamiliar with him might have struggled to believe he was a boy at all. His appearance was almost disarming, but the person beneath it was considerably more difficult to understand. Associating herself with him had introduced Gretel to an entirely new collection of problems, most of which seemed to emerge without warning.

Then there was the company she had somehow accumulated along the way.

She was now associated with a Great Monster, a supposedly terrible Oni, and a thief. Somehow, that assortment of individuals had become the people with whom she found herself travelling. Along the way, she had fought a princess, stolen from a Duke, and joined a quest to find dragons capable of destroying entire realms.

It was difficult to imagine a more troublesome collection of circumstances.

Suffice to say, there was very little about this journey that could be described as easy.

And that particular point was being reinforced once again.

Gretel found herself in the middle of a vibrant forest, surrounded by tall trees whose branches extended high overhead. Their leaves were thick and healthy, and the vegetation was remarkably abundant, with lush greenery covering almost every available stretch of ground. Even the air seemed different here, carrying the fresh scent of leaves and growing plants.

It was a striking difference to many of the places she had encountered recently.

She had not even realized that forests this lush still existed in such abundance. There was something refreshing about the scenery, and under different circumstances, she might have taken a moment to appreciate it properly.

Unfortunately, she did not have that luxury.

"Crap!"

Gretel abruptly lowered her body.

A bolt of violet energy swept over her head, passing close enough that she could feel the disturbance in the air before it struck a nearby bush. The moment it made contact, a burst of violet light engulfed the vegetation. The transformation happened almost instantly. The bush shriveled, its leaves and branches vanishing as its entire form changed into a thin, feeble-looking stick.

Gretel remained crouched for a moment, watching the result with her silver eyes.

Her expression held a mixture of nervousness and exasperation. She was relieved that the attack had missed, naturally, but that did little to make the situation any less irritating. She had already seen what those strange bolts could do, and the fact that they were capable of transforming ordinary things into entirely different objects was not something she wanted to experience firsthand.

Her gaze quickly snapped upwards.

There were three individuals responsible.

"Aww, she dodged again? That’s not fair!"

"Ooh, but she’s really quick!"

"But this is getting so boring."

The three small figures floated in the air above her, their tiny, translucent wings fluttering behind them. Each possessed a small head of golden hair and a pair of bright green eyes, while their bodies were dressed in green robes that hung loosely around their diminutive frames. Their features were rather similar, and their appearances offered little indication of whether they were male or female. In fact, their androgynous nature made it difficult for Gretel to distinguish their genders at all.

Fairies.

That was what they were.

Under different circumstances, Gretel might have found herself fascinated by the sight. Fairies were not exactly creatures one encountered every day, and it was unusual seeing three of them hovering so casually among the trees.

Perhaps she might even have felt a sense of wonder.

Unfortunately, annoyance had thoroughly displaced any such sentiment.

("Of course. As though the mishap with the teleportation device wasn’t enough, I had to end up dealing with this as well.")

Gretel released a quiet sigh.

She was beginning to suspect that the circumstances surrounding their arrival had been considerably worse than she had initially thought. Being separated from the others was already troublesome, and the last thing she needed was to spend her time dealing with a group of mischievous fairies who apparently considered attacking her a form of entertainment.

She shifted her weight and leaned backwards.

Another violet bolt shot towards her.

Gretel moved just enough to avoid it, allowing the attack to pass in front of her before it struck a tree behind her. A flash of light followed, spreading briefly across the trunk and surrounding branches. When it faded, the tree was gone, replaced by a large mushroom with a bright red cap.

She stared at it for a brief moment.

Then her eyes returned to the fairies.

("He’s taking his time...")

Her thoughts drifted towards Robert.

He was supposed to be helping her deal with the situation, but she had been left to fend for herself while the three fairies continued their little game. She could only hope he was preparing something useful, because she was rapidly losing patience.

The fairies, meanwhile, seemed to be growing increasingly frustrated with her continued evasion.

"Hey! Stop moving around so much!" one of them cried, flapping its wings more vigorously as it pointed towards her.

"Yeah, yeah! Just let one hit you!" another insisted. "It’s not going to hurt, promise! You don’t have to keep dodging every single one!"

The third hovered nearby, looking rather unimpressed by the lack of progress.

Gretel stared at them.

("I don’t think I’ve ever been so tempted to hurt something so small.")

Her expression remained the same, but the thought was accompanied by a tightening around her eyes. She had dealt with dangerous creatures, unpleasant people, and situations that could have ended considerably worse than they had. Yet somehow, these three tiny nuisances were managing to test her patience in a way that few others had.

Still, just as she was considering how much longer she could tolerate their antics, something caught her attention.

A glint.

It was small at first, a small flash of reflected light high above the trees. Gretel’s eyes shifted towards it, following the movement as it travelled through the air. She narrowed her gaze, trying to make out its shape.

An arrow.

It was descending towards the fairies, travelling at a steady angle. Something small had been attached to its base, and the added weight was making its trajectory noticeably heavier. As it drew closer, Gretel could make out a little pouch secured to the arrow’s shaft.

Her expression changed slightly.

("Well, he certainly took his time.")

She lowered herself briefly, bringing one hand towards the ground. Her fingers searched through the grass until they found a small pebble. She picked it up, weighed it between her fingers for an instant, and then straightened just enough to throw.

Her arm moved upwards, and the pebble left her fingers with surprising speed. Rather than travelling directly towards the fairies, it shot through the air along a carefully judged trajectory, passing them by as though she had missed her target entirely.

"Hahah! You missed!"

One of the fairies laughed, clearly convinced that Gretel’s attempt had failed.

But the pebble had never been intended for them.

It continued onwards and struck the small pouch attached to the arrow.

The impact tore through the fabric.

For a moment, the pouch remained caught against the shaft, its contents beginning to spill through the damaged opening. Then the arrow passed beyond the fairies, and a thick cloud of purple powder poured out from the torn pouch, spreading through the air directly around their tiny bodies.

Their laughter stopped.

The powder enveloped all three of them, obscuring their forms beneath a dense violet haze. Their wings fluttered erratically as they attempted to move away, but whatever substance had been released began taking effect almost immediately.

Gretel watched carefully.

One by one, the fairies’ movements slowed. Their wings became less responsive, their bodies gradually losing the ability to remain suspended in the air. Their little heads dipped, their eyes began to close, and the last traces of their frantic movements gave way to silence.

They fell gently.

The first landed upon the grass, followed by the second and then the third. None appeared to have sustained any serious injury from the fall. They simply lay there, their small bodies motionless and their eyes shut.

All three were unconscious.

Gretel remained where she was for another moment, making certain that the powder had done its job. Only once she was satisfied that the fairies were no longer capable of attacking her did she allow her shoulders to relax.

"Apologies for the wait."

A familiar voice drifted down from above.

Gretel looked upwards.

Robert was perched atop a thick tree branch, his crooked wooden bow held in one hand. He had evidently been waiting for the right moment to intervene, and the arrow that had delivered the powder had been his work.

He shifted his weight and stepped off the branch.

His body dropped towards the ground, and he landed with a solid thud. He straightened and slung his bow across his torso, securing it in place before turning his attention towards the unconscious fairies.

Gretel regarded him for a moment.

"While I appreciate the assistance, would it not have been better to simply knock them unconscious from the beginning?" she asked. "I understand that violence isn’t your first approach, but we have just spent the better part of our time here being attacked by three fairies who seem to think turning people into mushrooms is an amusing pastime. Surely there was a simpler way to deal with them than allowing them to chase me around the forest."

"We would risk inciting the wrath of Elfame’s Hēafodmann."

Robert shook his head as he answered.

His tone was matter-of-fact, though there was a certain caution in the way he spoke of the title. He glanced briefly towards the unconscious fairies, as though making sure that none of them were beginning to stir.

"Hēafodmann?" Gretel repeated.

She tilted her head slightly, unfamiliar with the term.

Robert noticed her confusion and quickly clarified.

"You could equate the title to that of a Guard Commander, or something along those lines. Someone responsible for maintaining order and ensuring that the rules are followed. Though the position carries a little more importance than that, given the nature of the people she oversees."

He folded his arms.

"She is also one of the Fairy Queen’s attendants."

"She?"

"Yes. Cobweb."

Robert’s expression shifted, and he released a small sigh.

"She’s a rather grouchy fairy and about as stern as they come. If there is one thing you can rely on, it is that she takes her responsibilities seriously. Perhaps a little too seriously, depending on whom you ask."

He glanced down at the unconscious fairies again.

"She’s not particularly fond of disorder, either. And while these three might not have been doing anything especially malicious by their own standards, knocking them around without considering the consequences could have attracted her attention. I would rather avoid having to explain ourselves to Cobweb if we can help it."

He paused briefly, then allowed a weary smirk to form.

"She’s a tad different from the other fairies, though. Not nearly as blindly devoted to their Queen. Most of them seem perfectly content to follow whatever they are told, without giving much thought to the reasons behind it. Cobweb is more willing to question things, even when doing so puts her at odds with the others. I can respect that, in its own way."

Gretel regarded him with renewed interest.

"You really have a lot of history with the fairies, don’t you?"

Her tone was curious rather than accusatory. The way Robert spoke about them suggested that his knowledge extended considerably beyond what he might have picked up through casual encounters. He knew their titles, their positions, and even the personalities of individuals who apparently held authority among them.

It was not the sort of familiarity one developed without spending a fair amount of time around their society.

"Yes, well..."

Robert’s expression became somewhat more reserved.

"Whether that history is going to help us today remains to be seen."

He shifted his attention towards the forest ahead, his gaze moving between the trees as he considered the distance they still needed to cover. Their little encounter had delayed them, and there was no guarantee that the rest of their journey would be any less troublesome.

"Now, come. We still have some ground to cover, and I would rather not waste any more time than we already have. We have no idea where the others ended up, and I doubt they are going to simply fall out of the sky and join us."

With that, Robert began moving forward.

Gretel gave the unconscious fairies one final glance before turning to follow him. The forest remained just as vibrant as before, its tall trees and healthy vegetation offering a rather peaceful appearance. Yet, after what had just happened, she found it difficult to appreciate the scenery.