# 62
* * *
The conquest ended in an instant. With every step Riyekan took, frost spread, preventing even a single spore from reaching the lake, and as a result, not a single lizard could hatch. The two of them walked lightly across the frozen lake into the temple and simply destroyed the idol to complete the dungeon conquest.
“Ah…!”
The moment the idol shattered, the ground beneath them collapsed.
“Don’t worry. It’s nothing.”
While everything around them was crumbling, only Riyekan and Jin-ha maintained their form. The two descended slowly and soon reached a certain place.
A dizzying path stretched before them, so disorienting it made their heads spin. It was brilliant, as if light, darkness, and all the colors of the world had been scattered everywhere.
Jin-ha didn’t dare attempt to open his Information Eye. He had a premonition that this was a place beyond the reach of his abilities. A chilling intuition swept down his spine that if he opened his Information Eye, he might learn information beyond his qualification and something unpredictable might happen.
The view before him rippled like a heat haze, then scattered like mist, then gathered again like clouds, repeating this pattern.
“It’s just what happens after completing the conquest.”
The place was filled with the fairies’ bewildering power, making it impossible for Jin-ha, who had no resistance to it, to walk alone.
This must have been why Riyekan had insisted on holding his hand.
“There’s actually a gap between the space woven by fairies and real space. We’ve fallen into that space now. The contaminated extraterrestrial land—that is, this always happens after conquering a dungeon that fairies have transferred to the tower with their power, so don’t worry.”
Whenever Jin-ha felt like collapsing from dizziness due to the wavering vision, Riyekan’s stories kept him grounded. An intense desire not to miss a single piece of information helped him withstand the fairies’ bewildering power.
“We just need to walk a little more. In the meantime, let me tell you some interesting stories. Are you interested in the history of the Noon Moon Tower?”
“…Yes…”
He thought he had answered briefly, but the sound that came from his throat was closer to a weak moan. Riyekan, unfazed, began to elaborate.
“Actually, the tower is divided into before and after Master Senistry. It’s because she borrowed the power of fairies and made that contract continue afterward, which is essentially why the tower exists as it is now.”
“She had… such a big… influence…?”
“Yes. Once it became possible to weave space freely within the tower, it also became possible to hide the power the tower possessed.”
Riyekan whispered the story of Senistry, the previous Master, and her fairy contractor in a consistent rhythm, as if reciting poetry.
It was while listening to the story of how Senistry, who had committed all sorts of eccentricities at risk to protect herself as a princess, ultimately brought prosperity to the tower, that it happened.
Jin-ha realized that fairies were walking around them, matching their pace and looking at him. When the fairies, who had been watching him with curious expressions, noticed that Jin-ha was aware of them, they excitedly waved their hands, eager to get his attention.
“Legas says I made the Noon Moon Tower what it is today, but in truth, it would have been impossible without Master Senistry.”
The fairies jumped up and down like doing a wave whenever Jin-ha’s gaze shifted.
“After all, the reason I came to the Noon Moon Tower in the first place was thanks to Master Senistry’s recommendation.”
Among the increasingly numerous fairies, one that Jin-ha had met before appeared. It was the fairy he had encountered in front of Master Senistry’s report.
The fairy with a mischievous expression put a finger to its lips and whispered, “Shhh.”
The timing and situation were peculiar. Jin-ha repeatedly squeezed Riyekan’s hand tightly to send a signal instead of using his voice, which wouldn’t come out, but Riyekan didn’t notice at all. Riyekan simply continued walking while firmly holding his hand.
Jin-ha anxiously observed the movements of the surrounding fairies.
Seeing this, some fairies laughed gleefully, while others tried to soothe Jin-ha, not knowing what to do. Some fairies made funny faces like playing peekaboo with a newborn baby.
“This place is also called the ‘Fairy Path.’ Fairies pass through here when jumping between spaces. Even so, it’s such a vast space that encountering fairies is rare.”
Rare?
Jin-ha broke out in a cold sweat as he visually confirmed what must have been dozens of fairies.
“Even if you do meet them, it’s usually just one or two passing by in the distance.”
Hearing this, the fairies covered their mouths and giggled. Everyone shared the same reaction that the current situation was simply fun and enjoyable.
“Ah, let me tell you a story that Hunter Lee Jin-ha might be most curious about. The fairies you heard about here might be a bit different from the fairies you know. Right?”
The fairies Jin-ha originally knew were beings who pursued only pleasure, laughed incessantly, and played dangerous pranks. They were extremely dangerous beings who would enchant people, play with them, leave them to die in dangerous pranks, or abandon them anywhere when they got bored.
But here, there were beings different from the fairies Jin-ha knew.
There were quite a few of them, but especially the fairy he had encountered in front of Master Senistry’s report.
“Fairies are inherently mischievous beings. But they’re not without reason. Originally, they know how to control their desires and can empathize with humans. What I’m saying is, they’re not beings who harm humans without reason.”
If that was the case, then what was the identity of the fairies that appeared in gates or dungeons and enchanted humans?
“The fairies who have lost self-control and reason that Hunter Lee Jin-ha knows about are those who lost their mates and went mad. Only such fairies leave the fairy realm to go out and play, wanting to play with humans.”
Jin-ha had been blankly staring at the fairies who had been laughing as if they were having fun, regardless of his fear, when he shifted his gaze to the fairy he had met in front of Senistry’s report.
As if responding, that fairy nodded and then patted the shoulder of a fairy beside it. As if to say, despite appearances, this one isn’t a bad child.
Then it showed its palm and made a gesture as if taking something out of it.
What does that mean?
“…Jin-ha?”
“Yes?”
“You suddenly stopped moving. If it’s hard to walk, shall I carry you?”
When Jin-ha looked up at Riyekan’s concerned voice, there were no fairies left around. Jin-ha unconsciously shook his head.
“No, I’m fine. Just… I was startled because a fairy passed by.”
“A fairy passed by?”
Riyekan did carefully look around with puzzlement, but not noticing anything unusual, he started walking ahead again.
“This isn’t a good place to stay for long. Let’s get out first.”
Following the quickened pace, Jin-ha confusedly looked around.
He had just lied to Riyekan. He could have said that fairies had gathered around, but he didn’t know why he had lied. Truly, truly incomprehensible, but he felt a strange affinity with the fairies and thought he should protect them. Perhaps he had been enchanted in the meantime?
Just as Jin-ha opened his mouth to confess his lie to Riyekan, he suddenly realized:
Riyekan hadn’t noticed the existence of the fairies that had gathered so noisily.
Rather than all fairies possessing such powerful abilities, it seemed more reasonable to interpret that one fairy had protected the others from Riyekan’s senses.
Yes, that fairy he had met in front of Master Senistry’s report.
* * *
“I’m fine, really. Why did we come here anyway?”
Jin-ha asked in a hushed voice, checking his surroundings. Despite repeatedly saying he was fine, Riyekan was looking into Jin-ha’s eyes, directing him to look here and there, meticulously checking with his own eyes.
That was one thing. The problem was the location. If they had been somewhere outside, it wouldn’t have mattered, but Riyekan had deliberately brought him to the communal dining hall, seated him in a chair, and was doing this.
Jin-ha, remembering the time he had eaten here covered in Riyekan’s pheromones, was fidgeting uncomfortably, conscious of others.
As if that wasn’t uncomfortable enough, Riyekan, disregarding the stares of the magicians, turned Jin-ha’s body this way and that, checked him further, and only then nodded.
“Good. It doesn’t seem like you’ve been enchanted by fairies.”
“I’ve told you so many times that I’m not enchanted.”
“I need to be able to trust that. Looking at it, Hunter Lee Jin-ha seems to have a tendency to hide his physical condition.”
“When have I ever…”
“You always sleep late and wake up at dawn, don’t you? You must be tired, but you never show it.”
“…That’s normal on Earth.”
“That Seo Ji-seop man doesn’t do that.”
Jin-ha closed his mouth, unable to make more excuses under the gaze asking for an explanation. He felt wronged, as if this situation had somehow arisen because of Ji-seop’s laziness, but it was difficult to complain since the Guild Leader’s working hours now far exceeded eight hours a day.
It’s common for Hunters to spend the equivalent of twenty-four-hour shifts when entering gates, but that usually lasts only a few days. He couldn’t insist on working overtime indefinitely, not knowing how long their duty within this portal would last.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
