Side Story Inari POV: A Small Request (2)

I quickly inform the fairies to move the behemoth to the mouth of the Guardian's cave while I inspect the area for any traces of blood. Once I'm sure the area is clear, I follow after them. Over fifty fairies are required to undertake this tremendous relocation. I'm pretty annoyed how much time we've wasted as the guardian could have easily moved the body itself. We return to the village by late afternoon. Everyone is exhausted. I make a quick meal for the tribe and have them line up for their food

The usual scuffles occur, and an order is created. Normally, things calm down at this point but not today.

"I have nicer-looking clothes than you, so I should have your place in line."

"No, that's not fair."

"If you were as important as me, then you'd have clothes too."

I feel my eye twitch. So much of what I've been avoiding comes down to commodity scarcity, and with only a single commodity, classes have already begun to form.

[I knew it. Everything in the human world is poison. He spread the clothes out so smoothly that I didn't even think about the consequences. Now that they've had a taste of clothing, they'll always want more. The commodity is the root of human greed. The best option would be to eliminate them, but that would come at a cost.]

I imagine the dejected looks on the faces of so many fairies and my rage tempers. I decide to gather the tribe later for a discussion. While lost in thought, the fairy at the front of the line approaches for their share of food. I ladle out a helping of vegetable gruel using magic, but they don't leave. I look back and forth between them and the bowl of food in their hands.

"Mooboo? What do you want? You already have some food." Mooboo squirms around uncomfortably. I can tell he wants to say something but is too afraid to speak.

"Spit it out. You're holding up the line."

"Cookie?" I blink twice in confusion. Mooboo waits a moment and then asks again. "Cookie?"

My eye twitches again. I feel something snap inside of me.

[These fucking Bastards!]

"You want a cookie?" Mooboo nods. "Well, you're not getting one! In fact, you're never getting any cookies ever again! Got it!?"

All the fairies tremble as my rage pours forth. I knock the bowl out of Mooboo's hand and throw the gruel to the ground.

"I think you all forgot how things work around here!" The forest shakes as if it can feel the tension in the air. "I give you everything! I decide whether you live or die! I own everything in this village!"

Some of the younger fairies have started crying. It's not often I get this upset, so I need to implant the fear while I can.

"Everyone strip! Put all your clothes on the ground in front of me!" Everyone scrambles to complete my orders, placing their clothes neatly lined up on the ground. I scan the area and confirm one hundred six naked bodies. "Get on your knees!"

While on the ground, I can see several fairies begin to shiver. While we have a natural resistance to the cold, the damp ground is enough to suck the heat out of anything. I wait for about ten minutes while they all suffer. Seeing their sad expressions, my heart aches, but I know it's for their own good.

"All these clothes belong to me, understand?"

"""Yes, leader."""

"Everything in this village belongs to me, understand?"

"""Yes, leader."""

"Everything you get is because I say so. You don't eat unless I give you the word. You don't sleep unless I tell you, understand?"

"""Yes, leader."""

I've been considering the possibility for a while now, but it may be time to change our goals in this forest. The humans are beginning to move, and they haven't lost a war to us in a few hundred years, so I'm sure they've forgotten how it went the last several times. We need to start preparing for the upcoming battle, and now is as good a time as any.

"Oog." The still naked fairy flies up instantly. Without clothes, the dark tone of his skin is even more striking. "I want you to randomly hand out clothes to everyone. No one gets to choose. Make sure Woohee gets leaves and bring the clothes Nick made for her to me. She will only wear those clothes when she visits the humans. Are we clear?"

"Yes." Oog looks at me with the same determined eyes as always. Even in the face of my wrath, he remains unperturbed.

"No food tonight. If I catch anyone eating, there will be consequences." I don't even need to keep watch. None of them would even consider sneaking around for food. I leave the tribe to Oog and travel to the edge of the village. The moonlight shines lightly through the leaves overhead, leaving behind a gloomy air. My rage has subsided, but I'm still stuck trying to figure out what to do next. My purpose has always been to allow the fairies to live as freely as possible. Free from inequality, free from labor, free from envy, free from all the things that make humans miserable. I've been watching over them for so many years, but the odds are that many will die during the war. I'm not concerned about our chances of winning, but the death toll will certainly be high.

[If only they could live free from war.]

The gloomy air seeps into my bones, and my mood plummets. I close my eyes and fall asleep on the tree branch. I need to wake up early and confront Nick tomorrow.

The next day begins just as poorly as I thought it would. The stunned look on Nick's face when he sees that the lizard is gone is etched into my mind. I know he saw me at least once, but I wasn't really trying to hide my presence, so I don't mind.

He and the group of humans who came with him sense the danger and sprint back to town. I follow a short distance behind. Once they reach the treeline, I hear a blue-haired human arguing with Nick.

'Crack!'

"Drop the act!" She shouts as she slams him against a tree.

"If the fairies wanted us dead, we wouldn't be talking right now."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Is there something in this forest? Something we don't know about? Something that even the fairies can't control?" Nick weaves through the conversation without directly involving us. I can tell he's walking a thin line. On one hand, the woman before him could easily take his life; on the other, he doesn't want to dump blame onto us despite the fact that he probably knows it was me who stole his prey.

Unable to bear watching any longer, I fly back to the ruined fort and wait for Nick to arrive.