Chapter 189
(We still don't have the means to suppress the Dragon Veins, or a viable procedure to extract the power of god from an intangible fairy)
The Fairies are messengers of the god who usurped this world.
They have the role of strengthening the power of god, as well as managing the Dragon Veins of this planet. Exactly because it is a special magical body, it can wield part of the power of god, the original administrator, and suppress the Dragon Veins.
If those guys disappear and the dragon veins are disrupted, there could be a blast of magic power drifting all over the world.
The result would be, large flood of demons, the emergence of powerful individuals, and consequently, areas with abnormal weather will develop.
Should that happen, mayhem will be inevitable. So, my condolences to the inhabitants of this town because even though I am aware of what they are up to, I cannot afford them to be exterminated.
Above all, one of the very few clues to god. What's more, there is mutual understanding, and even its whereabouts is ascertained.
(Following the scenario of god described in the legend*, the battle between the demons led by the demon king and the human race led by the hero has started in our generation as well)
There is not much time left at this point.
(It seems that the kingdom has chosen a man who received blessing from within its own country as a hero, but it's most likely a false information. As long as the demon king is genuine, the hero too has to be genuine, if the legend is true, it should be a human who has come to our world possessing the power of god from another world)
And still, the hero of the kingdom is yet to be accessible. Apparently this person wears a silver full-plated armor, but their identity is completely unknown. Whether they are a male or female is also yet to be ascertained.
Princess Alesia is constantly beside this person at all times so we were unable to gather any information.
I can't afford to lose the fairies, a critical source of information at this junction.
Even if they eventually turn hostile, I need them to keep the status quo for the time being.
「Sorry for the trouble. If you will excuse me」
As I stepped out of the guild, I instructed my subordinates to proceed to the battlefield, while I headed alone to the forest.
「This is...」
Came out of a sandy ground, and step into the thick forest that has grown distorted due to the magic power of the land.
While I was going deeper and deeper into the forest in hopes of having an audience with the Fairy Queen who is most likely to be in the spring located in the deepest part of the forest, that sense of unease suddenly intensified greatly out of nowhere.
「Something is definitely wrong」
Although the outer periphery of the forest of fairies is sandy ground, as you go deeper, the ground gradually changes to ordinary soil except that it contains rich magical power, so if you exclude the sporadic magical herbs that's all over the place, and the appearance of the trees that grew from the intense magic power, it is no different from any other forest.
At first glance, the appearance of the forest seems to be the same as when I came here before.
However, my intuition as a beastkin perceived the abnormality of the forest so sensitively.
(On my way to this point, I haven't seen a single fairy)
Fairies are fundamentally impossible to perceive.
It is a different story if they choose to reveal themselves, but in order to detect a fairy that is hiding its appearance, you must either possess the power of god or possess some kind of special sensing skills.
In my case, I am the former when using the fragment of power I obtained when I was young, and the latter when I am not.
With my 『Absolute Olfactory Perception』 skill, I can trace the position of a fairy by scent. However, Olfactory Perception was unable to detect the presence of any fairy.
The power of god poses a high risk to me, and I don't think the situation will improve if I use it indiscriminately.
「Moreover, this smell that occasionally lingers..., is similar to that of a fairy, but it's definitely something different entirely」
The smell irritating my nose has the scent of a flower like that of a fairy. However, if the smell of a fairy is the smell of a poisonous flower's nectar, this smell is like a perfume made out of the poisonous flower.
Whatever it is, it can't be good.
(But, now that it has come to this, it is such bad timing that Lilia, a magic theory genius, have just left town together with the Demon King)
It's quite obvious that something was wrong, but olfactory perception is insufficient to investigate the cause. Even if I release the power of god, I can not maintain that state for a long time.
It is a shame that my girlfriend who has such deep knowledge and insight into magic power itself and possesses the unique skill of 『Profound Magic Eyes』, is not here.
(Besides, these past few days, my body has been feeling unstable..., it might be prudent to retreat for now?)
I began deliberating without relaxing my vigilance.
Recently, the waves of good and bad physical condition has been fluctuating greatly.
There are days where I randomly feel great, just as there are days where I feel not so much. Dangerous times such as in the midst of battle or inside a dungeon, I usually feel superb so there's no cause for alarm, but when I was in the private residence of the nobles surrounded by gold and silver treasures, my body randomly became stiff.
Until now, such a thing has never happened, so I have been struggling with the hazy uneasiness recently.
「...No, what am I thinking. First of all, I am good condition right now, so it will be strange if I just turned back without so much as a clue」
In reality. I feel like my body is feeling even better the more I dive deeper into the forest and further away from town.
It appears I may have been overwhelmed by impatience and dissatisfaction without even realizing it myself.
I shook my head, and continued onward as I ceased the increased level of vigilance.
And when the light of the crimson sunset gradually began to turn bluish. I arrived at the deepest part of the forest, where the magic power concentration is highest, and the magic power melts into the fountain where the altered water gushes out.
At the center of the fountain is a tree called fairy tree with leaves of various colors, red, blue, green, yellow, white and black.
This place was called the Fairy Village.
The first time I came here was six years ago. I had analogical reasoning from the books, so I came to ascertain the existence of the fairies and whether fairies were truly messengers who possesses the power of god.
At that time, the Fairy Queen Berrybell had a smile as if she was dozing off and sat on a thrown woven with flowers of magical herbs floating in front of the fairy tree.
I immediately realized the evil nature of the fairies.
「Yo, good evening. It's such a beautiful twilight isn't it, Leon」
「......I see, seems like I have been set up quite nicely」
A man was sitting on that throne.
A man who killed a dragon in a dungeon, and became a S-rank adventurer with the merit of selling the materials.
On both sides of the throne were two of his party members.
And behind them, are hideous monsters lined up like knights waiting on their king.
No matter how I look at it, I feel the tingling atmosphere of a battlefield rather than an atmosphere where we are about to have a peaceful conversation.
I readjusted my favorite weapon, knuckles made of magic alloy, a combination of Adamantite and Mithril which I had already equipped before entering the forest.
The man who called himself Kaito, suddenly stood up and spread his arms widely, as if he was drunk on something.
「Now then, shall we begin Leon! Here is your final destination, the bottom of hell where you can't go anywhere!!」
Saying that, the evil king whom the monsters obey, laughed out euphorically as if he was looking down on the very world itself.
「I guess those monsters over there are your underlings huh. Let me ask just for the record, who in the world are you people. What have you done to the fairies in this forest」
「Beats me, what do you think?」