5 Chapter 5: We Spotted a Suspicious Person

<"Soar. Target sighted, northwest,"> Mist informed me through telepathy.

{I see it. That's a good-looking deer. Any potential threats?}

<"No danger sighted. Safe.">

{Breezy, you ready?}

<"Whenever you are, Soar.">

{Hit me.}

The Wind Fairy, Breezy, focused on lending her power to my own, the green gemstone on her chest illuminated as I visualized a compressed, thin area of pressure to the size and shape of a needle while my eyes were on the unsuspecting deer eating the grass. Just as he was in a good position for me to lock onto a target, I let my Wind Needle spell loose, piercing one side of the deer's head and out the other while blood was spurted. The deer fell limp on his side without uttering a single noise.

<"Target down. Mist repeat, target down,"> Mist confirmed with a tone of pride.

"Yahoo! And that makes 10 of them!" I exclaimed while jumping up in glee.

"Amazing control as always, Soar! You've harnessed the wind well!"

"Very happy for you. Congratulations," Breezy and Mist praised respectively as they approached the deer game along with me and I put it away in my Dark Space, the equivalent of an 'item box' one would see in RPGs thanks to my Darkness Magic. It's actually one of the basics for a Darkness Magician that's easy to learn even without a fairy, and so many seek out these types to take along for hunter parties and merchants when transporting goods or carry belongings.

"I couldn't have gotten this far without you all, of course. Thanks again for your hard work today."

"Goodness, making us bashful as always with your sweet talk. I might turn into a Fire Fairy with this heat," Breezy said with hands on her reddened cheeks.

"Mist feel like she didn't do much for Soar, though," Mist said while looking slightly deflated.

"Aw, come on, don't be like that. To be able to hide your presence while reporting what's ahead from a distance through telepathy, you fairies can be wonderful scouts, the greatest, even. You're also so serious and dutiful about your work, too, and that really helps us with our efficiency. I couldn't possibly ask for a better teammate."

"W-Well, Mist not want lose Soar. C-Course, Mist must work hard," Mist twiddled her fingers while her face reddened as well.

I planted a kiss on my fingertip before gently placing it on Mist's cheek with a smirk, surprising her. "And I'm grateful to your hard work, Mist. I hope you'll stick by my side for eternity."

"Et-t-ternity …" Mist stuttered before her entire head turned red.

"Would you humor this unworthy young man the selfish desire for a kiss as well, Lady Mist?" I asked with a bow like a gentleman.

"Be Mist's pleasure!"

"Make some room for me as well! Here I come, Soar~," Breezy cooed before she and Mist each zoomed in and gave me a peck on my cheeks.

It had been 5 years since I made a contract with my fairies and we had grown close enough to share exchanges like those. I previously thought that first kiss they gave me was just part of the ritual fairies did to form contracts, but it apparently went deeper than that. It not only showed me worthy to make a contract with, but the bond I made with them through this unique skinship helped make our cooperation stronger.

There was that, and I guess a fairy asking someone to become their Chaperone was the same as a marriage proposal. Fairies have watched over the residents in this land for countless years, and like people such as us humans and other races, even if they never officially met first, being enamored by one's magical prowess and other traits enough to form a contract is like love at first sight for them. They were also very committed to the Chaperones they form contracts with, never to leave them for another. There are exceptions to this tradition when the conditions of certain circumstances are met, but those are just between Companion(s) and Chaperone alone.

Fairies were apparently also very polyamorous with each other when a contract doesn't bind them or when their Chaperones aren't nearby. When I was able to see through their spell that hid them from others' eyes, I've had the unfortunate case of walking into their lovemaking more than once. I had even seen Dew and Tyra 'mingling' that way from time to time in our own home, probably thinking they had their hide detection spell on high enough to think others wouldn't see them, and fairies consisted of females only. Any fan of yuri back on Earth would pretty much call this a paradise, but it was difficult for me to pretend I didn't see anything and played dumb.

Moreover, just the fact that fairies were just as lustful, or perhaps more so than humans kind of crushed my child-like fantasies for a while, but I've seen and experienced worse from the dark forbidden depths of the internet, so I got over it not too long later.

And before you ask, yes, I had walked into my own Companions making out more than once. While I had no problems with this, it made restraining myself hard to do at my physical age. It seemed that even though my mind was mature, the effects of my body going through puberty again made those moments awkward.

Anyway, perhaps it's to follow their 'example' that polygamy was allowed in marriages in this continent, but from as far as I had heard, you'd usually see that from wealthy merchants and nobles. Monogamous marriages were the norm in Lunargrove, but it wasn't like guys wouldn't fantasize of having a harem of their own now and then. That aside, I couldn't really pursue that kind of dream around that time as I was still physically a kid.

There was that, and of course, seeing what would happen when I reached the mental age of 50 while I was still a virgin. To make that happen, I had to keep the contract with my fairies a secret and pretend I was still a regular boy … well, as 'regular' as one could get while still being incredibly smart, anyway.

I'm pretty sure I would be the most popular kid in class if I just unveiled my Companions, but then I'd have to worry about people making friends or getting intimate with me for ulterior motives; thus, I still remained as the 'Weird Teacher's Pet' throughout my education. Even so, just like how I was in my previous world, I persevered in studying my subjects, practicing magic on my own, conditioning my body with my own past experience and knowledge from Earth as a reference while under Dad's tutelage, and leveling us up from hunting animals and monsters in the wild. I would go to Ms. Renne to show her the fruits of my labor and check her inputs from time to time.

<"Soar, you should hurry! Your dad's getting worried over how long you've been taking out there!"> Shadina exclaimed through telepathy, an advanced non-elemental magic a Chaperone can do with their Companions if their aptitude is high enough. I had her wait back in town to keep watch just in case.

"Roger that, Shadina! Let's go, guys!"

""Yes!""

With 10 deer in tow, I cast the advanced Darkness spell, Dark Gate, opening a black void in space that allowed me to jump from one place to the next at an instant, but only to locations where I've been to before, of course. It's really similar to the portals one would see the antagonists use in that popular video game involving traversal between different 'family movie worlds.' This world thankfully doesn't associate light and darkness as good and evil, respectfully, but there are some who discriminate each other because of them being opposite sides.

Anyway, I moved just enough away from the forest borders where Dad and others waited before walking the rest of the way back.

~~

"My God, you managed to get all of these deer by yourself? Within the last few hours?"

"And they're such clean kills, too. One would make pelts with these skins no problem!"

"Not to mention he's able to use Dark Space, too! And he hasn't formed a contract with a fairy yet?!"

"Hahaha~! What did I tell ya?! Ain't my son great?!" Dad exclaimed while giving me a hard slap on the back. I swear, if it were anyone else in my place, they might've been left with an injury if they hadn't been put through his training like I had.

These new people with Dad happened to be members of his old hunting party before he left and married Mom. They would come and visit 2-3 times a year to check in on him while reminiscing and keeping everyone up to date on what was going on in the world.

I went to get more game than usual both so there would be enough food for our guests to eat during their stay and for Dad to show me off. Putting the soreness from him slapping my back aside, it felt kind of nice to be praised like that.

"Still, I feel a little humiliated," one of the older men who went by Sam said as he scratched his bald head with a wry grin. He was the main brawn and crowd control person in the hunting field using an ax as his weapon-of-choice. "Here we are to celebrate Soar's birthday, yet he's the one getting food for the feast of his own celebration when it should be us and his old man."

"Not to mention showing us up with what game he gathered at his age while we'd barely gather half of it back when I started out," the woman who went by Lilia said. She was the last person recruited in the party before Dad left later on, making her more youthful compared to the others.

"Speaking of age, don't you think it's about time you start settling down with a man as well, Lilia? I don't mean to brag, but I could squeeze you in for a date three days from now. Better act now before your age starts to show!" The cocky one who said that was Weiss, who was the newest addition that took Dad's place after he left. He filled Dad's previous role in a different way that he put his agility and quick wits to work, drawing 'aggro' and evade enemy attacks before countering cuts and stabs from a dagger while his comrades took advantage of their distraction.

Weiss was what I would call a 'light tank' that used his speed to dodge enemies attacks, while Dad was a 'heavy tank' who relied on his hard defenses to take them head-on. The party definitely didn't think Weiss would fill the shoes Dad left behind, but honestly, if it weren't for his specialty in Darkness Magic and being the group's 'bagboy' with his own Dark Space spell, I don't think they'd really acknowledge his existence when he first introduced himself.

"Ha ha ha~, you're so funny and cool, Weiss! Just as how you will be after I cast my Ice Prison on you!" The way she exclaimed that before putting a calm smile on her face would send shivers to anyone's soul. It certainly did for Weiss that time.

"Don't worry, Lilia! You're still beautiful enough to make any guy in this town swoon over you! I'm sure a good one will find you soon enough!" I exclaimed. While I added a child-like charm that would fit my physical age to act the part, what I said was certainly the truth.

Lilia looked like she couldn't bear to hold it in anymore before she collapsed to her knees and embraced me while rubbing her cheek against my own. "Ohh~, such a sweet young man, you are! I know I would be more than happy to date such a gentleman like yourself if you were just a little older!"

{It really is a wonder how she's still single up to now,} I thought. Indeed, with how her large chest is pressed against me and the silky smoothness of her face as she rubbed it on mine, calling her 'cute' would've been a crime. Not to mention, not only was she the most 'Magician-like' person in the group, she was considered one of the most talented with not 1, not 2, but 3 fairies, just like me. She even got recruited into Dad's former hunting party around my age. Depending on circumstances, people can register as hunters as young as 10 years old with 1 Fairy Companion at the minimum for qualifications; otherwise, people can register at 12 at the earliest without a fairy. Her aptitude for magic was the same as Ms. Renne, but for one being in her early to mid-20s back then, she would still be considered rather young and quite a catch back on Earth.

I really liked her. She warmed up to me quickly at first meeting and would actually go out of her way to get presents and souvenirs for me while showing me some awesome magic spells when she found out how high my aptitude was. I learned a lot about magic from her explanations and watching her in action alone. It was a shame we were a little over a decade apart. If she was truthful in what she said, I would've tried to win her over.

"Maybe you should take some pointers from the boy, Weiss. He's more of a gentleman and a bigger hit with Lilia than you are."

"Shut up, pretty boy."

The last of Dad's old hunting party who teased Weiss while patting his shoulder with pity, Seal, was a man who would perfectly fit into the eastern trope on Earth known as an 'ikemen.' He was next to Sam as the oldest of the new party, but his appearance would make him look like he was still in his mid-20's. With his intelligence, excellent swordsmanship, noble bloodline, and having 2 fairies at his side, he took the role as leader after Dad left. It didn't change much since then, considering he was second-in-command whenever Dad wasn't present, so putting him in charge wasn't something alien to the remaining members.

I envied his attractive looks and how popular he was with women, but like Lilia, he also saw enough potential and ability to absorb information from me to even teach me swordsmanship when I showed interest in it. Seal would only come to visit Lunargrove so many times, and so I tried perfecting what he taught me on my own, from basic sword swings to footwork, and everything in between to show him how hard I worked to improve. I was only left with a practice sword custom-made for my stature to be used in my sessions, and so I made sure to ingrain my techniques with it in my hand many times a day. I could only imagine what instructors had done to make him as capable as he was back then, and I was grateful he showed enough interest to pass down his teachings to me.

"All right, all right, break it up," Dad said while clapping his hands. "Let's get these babies back to my place and prepare them for tomorrow. We can do that much for my young man's birthday, right?" The others nodded in agreement.

Yes, that was the last day I would be 10 years old. I would be 11 the next day with this body, but my soul would be 50; in other words, if my guess with the Sage gift was right, it would evolve into the Great Sage gift by then. It may have been another birthday like every year for my family and their friends, but that was a huge deal for me.

~~

That said, I couldn't sleep that night. When I made sure my parents and Dad's friends were sound asleep, I changed clothes and summoned my fairies before I used Dark Gate to go back into the forest I was in earlier. I didn't have to worry about waking up for school the next morning because it was on holiday for a few weeks in the spring, so I could sleep in if I wanted to.

"How much time is left?" I asked.

"Just 9 more minutes!" Shadina exclaimed. The fairies in this world were like flying and talking clocks as they had an acute sense of time, which actually lasts a little longer in a day in Manara than there was on Earth.

To keep note, there were 28 hours a day, but the seconds and minutes were the same. While there was also 7 days in a week, with exactly 28 days in each of the 14 months in a year, I certainly had more time to train and grow to become the 'young man' I was back then.

"This is so exciting. I want to see it in action as soon as possible," Breez said.

"Well, we don't have a firm basis that this will happen, right? What if nothing appears?"

"Don't jinx it, Shadina."

"Would be very sad, indeed. Mist, much disappointed."

"… Even if nothing happens, so what?" I asked, gaining their attention. "It wasn't like we've been sitting on our thumbs waiting this whole time, right? We all trained and learned to cooperate as a team while getting stronger in mind, body, and magic. Not only that, spending time with all of you has been a blast. No matter what happens from here on out, I want all of us to be together to the very end. I couldn't be prouder as a Chaperone to have such wonderful fairies as my Companions, and I love every single one of you."

""Soaar~!"" they all cried happily as they clung themselves to my chest the best they could. From the outside, it would look like I got really popular with a bunch of butterflies fluttering on my body all of a sudden.

"Our love for you will always stay true!" [Shadina]

"Making a contract with Soar. Best decision of our lives." [Mist]

"We'll protect you no matter what happens, so let's continue to work hard and live together, forever." [Breezy]

I gave a light chuckle while being gentle to wrap them all in my arms the best I could. "I really love you guys," I said with my eyes closed before smiling.

Just as I was relishing that moment, something tickled my senses.

"Hey … did you guys feel that?" I asked.

"Yeah, I could feel it in the winds … it's another human with a fairy," Breezy answered.

"It's quite a distance from here, let alone the town, what could they be doing way out here?" Shadina asked.

"Let's go find out before we lose them. Let's hide our presence."

Keeping my fairies close by, we activated our advanced hide-detection spell that erases our presence, magical or otherwise. Sure, it's easy for fairies to cast it on themselves, but to put their Chaperone under that umbrella would require more magic and work. Not even other fairies would be able to see us with our combined powers.

We quickly moved to where the visitor was with the activated search magic as our guide. One could do this by themselves, but how far they would see would depend on their aptitude, and having their fairies nearby could increase its output dramatically. We had this up just as we stepped into those woods in case there were any dangerous animals or monsters nearby.

I also had my vision enhanced to see in the dark as well as my hearing to pick up subtler noises in the distance. This was also thanks to concentrating my mana to those specific senses with Dad's teachings on the experience as a foundation.

We spotted two figures when we got close enough. One was small and circling around the larger other, making her a fairy. The second person looked rugged and ragged with dirtied, roughed-up clothing as he walked and checked his surroundings that screamed 'suspicious.'

<"Soar, could that guy be … ?"> Breezy asked through telepathy.

{Let's follow him and confirm it for ourselves just to make sure.}

Some minutes later, we watched the suspicious guy and his Companion step out into a small clearing where another man wearing a bandana and a fairy were sitting on one side of a cave with dim lights flickering from the inside.

"You got it all out there? You weren't followed, were you?" the bandana man asked.

"Nah, we're clear."

"You're sure? The boss put you out here on watch duty for a reason with how you've been slacking lately."

"We didn't find anything, okay?! My search spell is pretty accurate, you know, and Blue here knows it as well!"

"Um, yeah, there wasn't anybody out there, really …" she responded with little confidence.

{Pft. That's what they think. Also, wow, 'Blue?' how very creative,} I thought sarcastically as the first man with Blue went to the other side of the cave's entrance and sat on the ground with a sigh.

"What a day, right? We caught quite a haul."

"Speak for yourself, and if I catch you sleeping, I'll make sure your cut of the pay is smaller than the rest of us."

"Still, though, the cute beastmen were one thing, but a family of dark elves? We're gonna be hitting it good once we turn them in," he continued speaking despite his partner's subtle threat.

<"Soar …"> Shadina said with a hint of anger in her voice.

{Yeah, there's no doubt now. Those guys are bandits, and they're trafficking people to be sold off as slaves.}

After I confirmed the situation, I focused on my search magic to scan what I could find in the cave.

{Judging by the positions of the people inside, there are a total of 5 bandits with 6 fairies alongside them. That means one of them has 2 contracted, that probably makes him the leader. With that, there are 5 victims separated into two groups, probably by race, that look to be bound, and 3 fairies stuck together in a sort of cage. That must be a Null Cage.}

Dad had told me of these from his experience as a hunter. Null Cages are small travel-sized metal boxes with bars specifically designed and enchanted to trap fairies and cut them off of the Chaperones' magic they're bound to. These were mainly issued for military purposes, but it is possible for thugs to steal them or make their very own if they have the skills and aptitude to pull it off.

Alongside that, there are non-elemental spells and things called Null Cuffs the military uses for the criminals, designed to render one's use of magic altogether. They give off a different magical signature compared to regular spells, and I could sense that much with my search spell as I scanned the caves.

{Going by this, the victims were overwhelmed by numbers and power before they got captured, likely at different times since those of the elf race are usually talented with magic. These bandits … were likely former soldiers from the military gone rogue,} I concluded after assessing the circumstances.

<"Soar, what do we do?"> Shadina asked. <"If these guys really are former soldiers, you're going against them 5 to 1. Even their number of fairies would overwhelm us 3.">

<"Should we go back to town and get back-up?"> Breezy asked.

{I'm pretty sure I'll be exposed to what I'm capable of if I told any of them, and I'm sure Mom and Dad would kill me if they knew I stepped out this late at night.}

<"Is that really something you should be worried about right now?"> Shadina asked.

<"Soar, Mist not like these bandits. Mist see bandits' fairies unhappy, too. Makes her mad. Mist think we take them ourselves,"> Mist said.

{I understand your feelings, Mist, and we—}

Just as I was thinking, a great influence surged through me in my mind and body.

<Conditions met. Great Sage gift has evolved from Sage and is now activated.>

{W-What the? What's this strange new voice in my head?}

<"W-Whoa! Soar, what happened?! I feel an incredible amount of magic coming from you!"> [Shadina]

<"Mist feels stronger, unbelievable. Mist feel she can do anything with Soar's magic now,"> [Mist]

<"The time! It's midnight! Soar just turned 11 now, or 50 in his soul age! It happened! Just as Soar said it would! He really is a genius! Like Mist said, I feel like we can do anything!"> [Breezy]

<"Let's not get too cocky. We need to take this one step at a time. Soar, how should we handle these thugs?"> Shadina asked me.

I pondered for a bit before I recalled a conversation I had with Dad while we relaxed on the field outside of town. It was about his previous line of work when I brought up a heavy subject: the act of taking one's life.