When the plot-skips players into the game world

Chapter 757: 140 Chapter What the Fairy Deprived of Chapter 757: 140 Chapter What the Fairy Deprived of “If Miss Nilim were still here, hearing Yunus call himself a fairy would certainly have sent her storming over in a rage to scold him.”

But as Yunus finished speaking, nothing happened at all.

The room was empty as if the little creature that had been hiding under Aiwass’s hair had never appeared.

“Why is this?”

Yunus stared in shock.

“It’s because the sense of death about you was so strong that it drove Miss Nilim away.”

Aiwass’s mouth curved upwards ever so slightly, his tone mocking and malicious as he joked.

“…Really?”

“—Obviously not.”

Sherlock’s indifferent voice came from outside the door: “Open the door.”

Aiwass walked over to open the door and let him in.

Yunus’s smile was somewhat forced and tense as he returned to his previous, smooth chant-like tone, “Respected Mr.

Sherlock, I have a doubt…”

“—You want to know when I arrived.”

Sherlock cut Yunus off directly, skipping the lengthy courtesies: “I have only just arrived, but I have heard what I needed to hear.”

“…In that case, it is indeed a pity; the fine wine has already been drained by us…”

“—I have also long known who you are, Your Royal Highness the Prince.

Aiwass told me.

Yes, from the very beginning.

I stand on Her Majesty’s side—whichever queen that may be.

So I am quite angry at how you have acted.”@@novelbin@@

Like a player speeding through dialogue, Sherlock quickly preempted the doubts Yunus had yet to voice.

As Yunus stood speechless, Sherlock slightly tilted his head and calmly asked, “Any other questions?”

Though he seemed quiet and rational, Aiwass felt that he was a little angry.

“I think…”

Thus, Aiwass pulled Sherlock to find a place to sit, and with a smile said beside him: “What Mr.

Yunus is curious about is probably…

how did you realize what the problem was?”

“…Are you asking for my praise, Aiwass?”

“Do tell.”

“It’s the secret knowledge you shared with me—those bits about fairies.”

Sherlock chuckled lightly, no longer looking at Yunus but turning back to Aiwass: “The things said in Eagle Cape Village.”

“…Eagle Cape Village.”

Yunus mumbled, “You mean Eagle Cape Village in Shepherd Bay County?”

“I’m guessing that is where you met Anastasia.”

Standing by Sherlock, Aiwass looked at him and declared directly: “And yes, she was alone.”

“That is indeed the case…

but what exactly is going on?” Yunus still did not quite understand the situation.

“We’re coming to the habits of fairies,” replied Sherlock, not intentionally ignoring him.

“Have you heard of the Fairy Forest?”

“…Fairy Forest?”

“Well, I guess you haven’t.

Simply put, if in those deep, dark, and thick forests you suddenly find a clean little path with few fallen leaves, it means you are in the Fairy Forest—it opens a tunnel to the Fairy Kingdom from time to time.”

Sherlock said.

Yunus frowned deeply: “Of course I know of the ‘Land of Joy’!

That is the dream fairyland that bards yearn for!

But there were leaves here…”

“—That’s because it isn’t time for it to open yet.

The sacred number for the Gemini Mirror is two, and the pathway to the Fairy Kingdom often opens at two in the morning.”

The one responding was Aiwass.

He looked at Sherlock and smiled: “You noticed too.”

“Of course I knew, as I was a witness.

But how about you—how did you find out?”

Sherlock asked in return.

Aiwass answered, “Because Miss Nilim is too small.”

“…Wait, wait, I’m a bit confused.

Is there something wrong with Miss Nilim?

Or is she Anastasia?”

Yunus was getting muddled.

Sherlock raised an eyebrow and continued with the riddle’s hint, “Have you seen Miss Nilim before?”

“Certainly not!

I met her for the first time today too…”

“But she said she was here to find you.”

“But that…

oh…”

Yunus started to speak, then abruptly his expression changed as if he had just realized or remembered something.

He stopped mid-sentence.

Sherlock said, “An underage fairy would definitely reside in Fairyland.

Fairies don’t possess the ability to teleport instantly.

And that melancholic folk song—that’s the one you played on the piano last night—if you haven’t sung it much before, I think she’s here because of that song.”

Yunus fell silent for a moment.

“That is…

a new song I wrote after coming to the Holy Nation.

Last night wasn’t the first time I sang it, but the first time was just a week ago…”

Aiwass, sitting nearby, tapped on the back of Sherlock’s chair, drawing the attention of both men.

He said with a light laugh, “How ironic.

‘Joyful Yunus,’ a renowned bard, drew fairies with his first song, and it turned out to be a sad ballad of homesickness.”

“Probably because in that song he spoke the truth for the first time.”

Sherlock retorted sharply.

“—Anyway, the fact that Miss Nilim could come here indicates one thing.”

Aiwass answered: “Nearby, there must be an entrance to the Fairy Kingdom.

“As a bard, you should be well-acquainted with fairies.

Only those invited by fairies can see the invisible pathways in the dense forest, allowing them to enter the Fairy Forest.

But it’s also possible for fairies to venture into the Material Realm and lure away naive, lively, attractive, and multi-talented children.”

At this point, Aiwass spoke with significant implication, “And if these children enter the Fairy Forest and play with the fairies…”

“…they will forget time.”

Yunus murmured to himself, then continued.

A flash of realization crossed his eyes, clearly understanding, “I remember, those children who enter Fairyland…

by the time they return, their former playmates could have become old, or even died of old age.”

Sherlock nodded, “That’s right, for humans, this is a painful matter.

Especially when you come out of Fairyland and find that not a single familiar person is around.

The things you’ve learned are no longer applicable in the new era; the elders you once relied upon have turned to dust; your former companions, friends who’d said goodbye just a short while ago, now see you as a stranger.

“Unable to find a place for yourself in the new world.

No talents, no family, no friends, no home…

alone, wandering outside.

You might even forget the human language, or become so accustomed to the fairy kingdom that you lose the ability to survive in the Material Realm…

“For them, death becomes a release.

And a better choice would be to forsake their human identity and become a fairy.”

“…Become a fairy?”

Yunus’s eyes widened.

Could Nilim be…

Miss Anastasia?

“I know what you’re thinking, but, unfortunately, it’s probably not her.

Or, it could be…

but either way, it doesn’t matter.”

Aiwass interrupted Yunus’s thoughts ruthlessly: “You think too highly of fairies.

“Fairies are indeed innocent creatures, even willing to sacrifice their own lives for happiness…

Do you think a human could ever become a true fairy?

To fairies, a human soul is simply too dull.

“In fact, fairy transformation magic is more akin to the transformation ritual of the Son of the Moon.

“A human who lives in Fairyland and eats fairy food for a long time will gradually lose all traces of humanity.

If they become afraid and insist on going home at once, they might only miss a few years, a decade; if they heed the entreaties and continue to stay, perhaps forty or fifty years could pass.

“If at that time they are persuaded again to share a meal with the fairies…

then they are almost certain never to return.

Because after having the fairy’s dinner, they would have forgotten human language.

If they continue to stay, they will lose human common sense, completely forget their parents and family, thus losing the desire to return home.

Then they’ll lose the rich emotions that come with being human, and, at the very end, they will forget their human memories as well.

“By then, can they still be called the same person they were?

Their souls’ color and shape would have changed too, I guess.

“But this is the case only for humans.

Staying in Fairyland for a long time equates to death.

So…”

Aiwass said with deep meaning, “What about for an elf?”

An elf’s perception of time is five to seven times that of a human.

Even if fifty years pass in a blink, for an elf…

it’s hardly more than a decade.

—And in these “brief fifty years,” an elf’s attributes are frozen.

And even if they lose Elvish Language, for the children of long-lived elves, relearning language is not a terrifying thing.

After all, their parents and friends are still alive, and the world hasn’t changed much.

Even if they lose their emotions, it’s not a big problem—it’s precisely a way to prevent Amberficate.

The intense immersion in the Path of Beauty also stops the infiltration from the Path of Dusk…

fighting poison with poison.

“—Reflect on it now.”

Aiwass said with deep meaning, “Mage Maxim clearly loved his daughter dearly.

That hairband inscribed with ‘Anastasia, I wish you well-being’ was crafted by the mage.

It must have been made by Maxim himself…

“Such a man, when we mentioned Anastasia, didn’t show sadness over her departure, nor pride at her going to The Great Tree.

No matter how I steered the conversation, he shared no stories of Anastasia’s childhood—does he really not miss Anastasia?

“Or let’s put it this way, Mr.

Yunus.

When you showed him the hairband, did he show a complex expression of deep longing?”

“…No.”

Yunus slowly shook his head: “He quickly handed the hairband to me and told me…

Anastasia had died over twenty years ago, but I met her only a few years ago.

And Mr.

Maxim also told me she never went to Avalon…

because she turned into a tree when she was very young.”

“—Exactly, here lies the crux.”

Sherlock interjected with narrowed eyes.