#111
Jin-ha unconsciously embraced the Queen’s back. Noticing that Jin-ha’s guard had somewhat relaxed for some reason, the Queen whispered in his ear.
“Ah, I wish our grandchild would give me a kiss on the cheek.”
Jin-ha unconsciously smiled. He kissed the Queen’s cheek, which was full of expectation, and then stepped back. Looking down, he saw the Queen holding her hands tightly in front of her chest, smiling brightly. Her cheeks, flushed with joy, were surprisingly red.
“It was really nice meeting you today. If you ever want to see me, just call me in my garden or your office.”
“…Yes. I will visit you again.”
“Okay!”
Jin-ha opened the attic floor door and lowered the ladder. The Queen seemed to want to watch until he completely disappeared.
As he descended about three steps of the ladder, Jin-ha suddenly remembered a piece of information.
‘The Fairy Queen likes caramel!’
It was one of the pieces of information he had read when he first found the portal to this place. He happened to have a snack bag that Bennis had given him.
Jin-ha rummaged through the bag and took out some caramels.
“Queen.”
When Jin-ha offered the caramel, the Queen took it with a dazed look.
“Oh my… Are you giving this to me to eat?”
“Yes. I… heard you like it.”
“Thank you. I’ll eat it well. I’m really happy…”
The Queen held the caramel, about three or four pieces, as if it were a treasure, and smiled brightly. Jin-ha smiled awkwardly back at her and then continued down the stairs.
As he reached the bottom, the Queen waved her hand and raised the ladder.
“Then I’ll wait for the day we meet again.”
As the door in the ceiling closed, its trace was perfectly hidden. It was so finely made that there was not a single misaligned part. It was no wonder no one noticed the existence of the door.
Jin-ha looked at the sunflower he had been carrying around and was immersed in a strange feeling. It was just a small and short memory that came to mind, but strangely, the Fairy Queen felt familiar.
Now the problem was Riyekan. Since the fairy was targeting him, he had been told to be careful. If he knew that he had spent time with the Queen, he might get very angry.
“What should I say to Riyekan…”
“You don’t have to explain.”
A hand that suddenly appeared from behind grabbed Jin-ha’s waist. Next, a hand that grabbed below his knees lifted him up.
“Riyekan…!”
Jin-ha called out in surprise, but Riyekan said nothing and started walking down the stairs. He didn’t even make eye contact. The wizards who had followed him from below the stairs were looking at him with anxious eyes, but Riyekan ignored them and headed to the couple’s bedroom.
Jin-ha, who couldn’t find the courage to open his mouth, unconsciously gripped the sunflower tightly.
“No, explain.”
When he looked up, Riyekan was looking down at him with a cold gaze.
“Why is the Fairy Queen’s sunflower in Hunter Jin-ha’s hand?”
“This is…”
“Ah, yes. The Fairy Queen gave it to you, right?”
“That’s right…”
“But why did Hunter Jin-ha meet the Fairy Queen?”
“That’s…”
“The Queen came unilaterally? But I clearly told you not to follow even if the fairy lures you.”
“The Queen…”
“Of course, Hunter Jin-ha couldn’t resist the Fairy Queen’s recklessness. But even so…”
Without giving him a chance to speak, Riyekan’s pressing attitude made Jin-ha bite the back of his neck.
“What are you doing now…”
Riyekan, who was flustered by Jin-ha’s sudden action, trailed off. Perhaps his excitement had subsided a little, and his gaze, which had been crooked, returned. Jin-ha grabbed his cheek and matched his gaze as he spoke.
“Let me speak too. If you want to preach, not have a conversation, bring your wizards.”
“…Go ahead.”
Riyekan replied with a sullen face. He was clearly reluctant and dissatisfied, but since Jin-ha was determined to argue, he didn’t push his uncomfortable feelings recklessly. Of course, that didn’t mean he cooperated comfortably and seriously in the conversation. Riyekan rather put strength in his arms holding Jin-ha and pretended to listen to Jin-ha’s story.
It wasn’t a suitable posture for conversation. Jin-ha was inwardly dissatisfied, but he was worried that if he said something, the story would go elsewhere, so he opened his mouth while being held by the man.
“Originally, when you told me to be careful, you were talking about when entering the tower. When entering the tower, never be alone. That was your warning, right?”
“That’s… right.”
“If the Queen suddenly appears here and asks to talk, what could I have done?”
Even small fairies looked ridiculous, but they were by no means to be taken lightly. Their ‘charming power’ was something that could not be resisted unless one had a considerably high mental strength.
If it was the Queen, it was even more unrealistic to expect Jin-ha to resist. That was the reality.
At the appropriate point, Riyekan lowered his head and muttered.
“There’s nothing you could have done…”
“Does someone who knows that get angry like this?”
Riyekan silently lowered his head and opened his mouth hesitantly.
“I was worried that you might have been charmed and something strange happened in the meantime.”
“Something strange?”
“Becoming a little… a fairy.”
Jin-ha unconsciously rolled his eyes. It wasn’t because of the Queen, but he did feel a little like a fairy…
Sensing the meaning contained in the strange silence, Riyekan grabbed Jin-ha’s nape and forced him to make eye contact.
“Don’t tell me you really got caught by the Queen?”
“No, it wasn’t the Queen’s doing…”
“Then?”
Riyekan’s face turned fierce in an instant. Jin-ha quickly thought. He still had no intention of revealing his relationship with Master Senistry. To hide that story and talk about the fairy, he had to…
“That, I was originally a little fairy.”
“Originally?”
“Yes, I don’t know well, but I think I was a little fairy from birth…”
But as he spoke, he felt incredibly embarrassed. A grown man had to say that he was a fairy. Even knowing that the concept of fairies had changed and no longer meant a purely mystical and beautiful being, his cheeks turned red for some reason.
Then, as if it were strange, Riyekan frowned.
“Why are you embarrassed?”
“Being a fairy is… like that.”
“Is that something to be embarrassed about?”
Riyekan smirked. It seemed that for Riyekan, a person from another world, it wasn’t a particularly embarrassing story. It was fortunate that at least the person listening didn’t feel strange.
Rather, this cultural difference… no, the difference between worlds was a problem that Jin-ha had to bear alone.
Jin-ha took a deep breath to dispel the shame and continued explaining.
“Anyway, it seems I was originally a little fairy. But when the piece of your soul that you lost came into me and took its place, the fairy part overflowed.”
“…The part of my soul that illegally occupied Jin-ha and returned to me, the real owner has returned to the empty place.”
“That seems to be the case…”
Riyekan, frowning, lost in thought, moved and sat Jin-ha on the windowsill. Then, with both hands, he held the sides of Jin-ha’s hips. As if to confine him.
“But there’s one thing that feels strange.”
“What’s strange…?”
Jin-ha swallowed dryly and looked up at Riyekan.
“To be born with a fairy’s soul, there must have been a fairy among your ancestors. To be precise, you must be a descendant of the one who left the throne and became human for love.”
“Ah…”
“In fairy history, there have been three Queens, and only the second Queen abandoned the throne for love. She had a child in this world, not another.”
Only then did Jin-ha understand why he was telling this story. It was a question of how Jin-ha, a person from another world, Earth, could be born with a fairy’s soul.
Jin-ha realized that it was time to reveal his long-held secret to Riyekan.
“…Yes, as you may have already guessed, one of my parents is from the same world as you.”
“An Abon kingdom person?”
“Yes.”
When Jin-ha admitted it, Riyekan sighed.
“Why didn’t you tell me until now?”
“…”
“Jin-ha.”
The fact that his father was from another world had been Jin-ha’s secret for a long time. In fact, until he came here, it was just a suspicion, not a story he could be sure of. It was only after this man, Riyekan, called him and he learned about the country of Abon that his suspicion turned into certainty.
Jin-ha leaned his body towards Riyekan and rested his cheek on his shoulder. As if seeking warmth.
“On the day I awakened the Information Eye, my father passed away. I saw the letters ‘Abon-born’ on my father’s back, but there was no country called Abon on Earth. I lived thinking that I might have seen something that wasn’t there.”
“…I see.”
“It was only after I came to this world because of you that I knew there was a country called Abon, and that what I saw was not an illusion.”
Riyekan also rested his cheek on Jin-ha’s head. The two seemed to fit together perfectly.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
