Chapter 58

Elves and dwarves, quintessential stereotypes of fantasy, actually share a common origin, both stemming from Western fairy tales.

The person credited with creating the early models of elves and dwarves familiar to us today is none other than the literary giant JRR Tolkien.

When Tolkien crafted the races of elves and dwarves—or rather, the Legendarium—he drew much of his inspiration from Norse mythology, incorporating elements like runes, elves, and dwarves.

In Norse mythology, dwarves were renowned for their exceptional craftsmanship, producing items that even gods marveled at.

This attribute of craftsmanship was absorbed into the dwarf stereotype, culminating in the notion that "dwarves are a race of skilled artisans."

But, to get to the point, it was not odd for the fairies before Ian to bring up the topic of weaving.

"Our fairies domesticate silkworms. We weave fabric imbued with the power of the sun and moon from silkworm threads, which we call 'True Pattern Silk.'"

"True... what?"

Ian scratched his head, puzzled by the sudden translation issue.

This was not some martial arts fantasy.

The imperial language of the fairies had an ancient feel to it.

"Ah. You mean Fairy Silk."

Inglan chimed in, a welcome clarification.

This was much easier to understand.

It meant silk made by fairies.

"What's that?"

"It's fabric woven by fairies, enchanted with magic."

"Magic?"

"It's cool in summer and warm in winter... I've only seen it a few times myself. It's so valuable that just naming it is expensive,"

Inglan explained kindly.

Fairy Silk was a fantastical scam item that one might only find in a fantasy world.

It was beautiful, soft, and protected the wearer from annoying temperature changes.

Naturally, it was a high-grade item that only the monarch of a prosperous nation might touch.

Yet, here were the fairies before Ian, artisans who crafted such expensive and valuable items.

The fairies bowed their heads humbly.

"When the weather was bad, we wove the fabric with that sword you possess. You may not know, but that sword was created long ago by our queen in collaboration with great artisans! It was lent to humans for a time, but it is a sword that has been passed down in our race!"

The fairies shouted in unison.

"Please return the sword!"

"Return it!"

"Return it!"

Ian had a headache watching the fairies collectively plead.

This damn sword had too many stories attached to it.

To cut to the chase, Ian had no intention of handing over the sword.

It was rightfully obtained as a reward for helping Lucy.

The usefulness of the sword to the fairies was irrelevant to Ian.

"I'd rather not."

As Ian expressed his refusal, one of the fairies timidly protested.

"If you're planning to take our item like that, we won't just sit back and do nothing."

Ian frowned at the protesting fairy.

"Really?"

Sensing Ian's irritation, a fierce owl screeched loudly.

"Screech!"

"Eeeeek!"

The fairies collectively ducked and trembled, due to their small size, viewing the large predatory bird as a natural enemy.

"Just stay put. If you're bored, do you want some more meat?"

Ian fed the owl pieces of meat while casually observing the fairies, noting their fear of the bird.

The owl could serve as a sort of intimidation tool.

However, he had no immediate intention of scaring them.

As seen in the tomb of the fairy queen, fairies are a race that wields strange powers.

There was no need to provoke a fight to the death unnecessarily.

Ian decided to try persuading the fairies first.

"Let me ask you one thing. Why is the magic sword yours?"

A fairy confidently responded,

"Because it was our item to begin with!"

Their logic was as follows: The magic of the magic sword was unstable, and without the fairies' maintenance, the magic could have faded, similar to a battery running out.

However, since the fairies had been using and maintaining the sword, even if the nominal owner was human, the fairies considered themselves the true owners.

"But isn't the owner Baron Talian?"

"That, that's..."

When Ian presented his argument, the fairies stumbled over their words.

Yet, one sharp fairy exclaimed, "But the descendants of the Baron have neglected the sword for hundreds of years! In contrast, we have consistently entered the tomb to use the sword!"

"..."

That's theft, you idiot.

Not something to be proud of.

"And you still claim to be the owner of this magic sword!"

The fairies' point was somewhat understandable.

Humans, who had not looked for or shown interest in the item for ages, suddenly appeared, wanting to take away the item the fairies had been using happily.

It was a matter of nominal versus actual ownership, a complicated category even in modern law, not easily sided with.

But Ian couldn't just step back.

How could he hand over a magic sword he had obtained, just like that, to the fairies?

"Let me say it again, this sword was a gift from the fairy queen to Baron Talian. Naturally, the owner is the Baron."

"..."

"You know that humans pass down items to their descendants, right? I legally received the ownership from Talian's descendant. So, this sword is mine."

You want to take back a sword that your queen gave away?

The fairies knew what Ian was getting at, hence their hesitation to attack.

"Ugh..."

"But..."

However, the fairies were not ready to give up easily.

They had thoroughly enjoyed the benefits of the magic sword.

Right then, a voice called out,

"Stop this at once!"

A fairy flew swiftly from the forest.

The fairies exclaimed in surprise,

"The Queen!"

She was the current Fairy Queen.

After casting a sharp glance at the fairies, the Fairy Queen bowed her head in apology to Ian.

"Our fairies have been rude. I sincerely apologize."

"It wasn't really rude."

Pulling out a sword would be rude.

The fairies had done nothing more than show up and perform a sort of prostration show.

Ian wasn't particularly bothered.

"Thank you for saying so," the Queen responded, then immediately scolded the fairies, "You lot! How dare you be rude to the descendant of our benefactor! Did you intend to steal the item gifted by the past queen?"

"But, Your Majesty!" a fairy protested.

"This human is not a descendant of the benefactor, and they do not need the sword as much as we do!"

"How dare you make such judgments! Did I teach you to act so rashly?"

"...We apologize, Your Majesty."

The Fairy Queen then gently asked Ian,

"May I ask your relation to our benefactor?"

"A friend."

"I see. Could you introduce me to the benefactor then?"

Ian got the gist of what the Queen was after.

She suspected him of being a tomb robber, claiming to be friends with Baron Talian as a cover.

If that were the case, the Queen would not hesitate to attack him.

"If you wish."

Ian instructed Belenka to bring Lucy.

Belenka appeared not only with Lucy but also with a priest in tow.

"Don't we need a witness?"

It was a medieval attitude familiar with contracts.

Ian explained the situation to Lucy.

"Do you understand what's going on?"

"Uh-huh... I just need to prove I'm the real Talian, right?"

The priest promptly produced documents proving Lucy's legitimate claim to the baronage and that the Fairy Queen had transferred the ownership of the magic sword to the Baron Talian.

The Queen nodded after verifying the documents.

"This is indeed the queen's seal. It's genuine."

"So..."

"Yes. The magic sword belongs toIan here," declared the Fairy Queen.

Now, the fairies could no longer object to Ian's ownership.

But the Queen had more to say.

"On behalf of the fairies, I formally request of you, Ian."

"What is it?"

"We would like to borrow your magic sword. If you wish, you may also sell it to us."

In any case, they wanted to continue using the magic sword.

"What will you give me?"

"We will offer you True Pattern Silk."

Inglan and the priest were shocked by the Fairy Queen's offer.

True Pattern Silk, or Fairy Silk, was an item not even imperial dukes could easily access.

And she was willing to offer it as payment!

"Ian, what's True Pattern Silk?"

"I don't know. It's called Fairy Silk."

"What?!"

Lucy was startled, finally grasping the situation and exclaiming in surprise.

She, being a noble of the Empire, knew what Fairy Silk was.

It's said to be more expensive than an equivalent area of gold!

Imagine how much she could fund her domain's operations if she sold it...

Ian's going to be rich. How envious.

That's what Lucy was thinking when,

"I don't really want to lend it..."

"Why not!"

The one shouting at the Fairy Queen was Lucy, not Ian.

Ian looked at Lucy in disbelief.

"Why are you getting heated?"

"What do you mean 'why'? It's Fairy Silk! And you're not going to take it?"

"Yeah. It's just silk, right? I'm not that interested."

"..."

Lucy was at a loss for words at Ian's indifference, calling Fairy Silk 'just silk.'

Wow... Ian's a true wizard.

In Lucy's eyes, there was no crazier person.

"I'd rather study the magic sword more?"

"Wow... You're... really something... Wow..."

To Lucy, Ian seemed like a Buddha who had severed all attachments and delusions of the world.

But that was a misunderstanding on Lucy's part.

To Ian, a modern person, the luxuries of this world weren't that appealing.

What?

There's fabric that's cool in summer and warm in winter?

Sounds nice. But why not just turn on the air conditioning?

What? There's no air conditioning?

Barbarians.

That was roughly his train of thought.

Knowing the comforts of modern amenities, Ian found it hard to be as enchanted by Fairy Silk as the medieval folks were.

He found the magic sword much more fascinating and worthy of research.

Then, the Fairy Queen said,

"What you seek, Ian, is to explore the wonders of the sun and moon, right?"

"Indeed."

The Queen slowly opened her eyes and said,

"What if we were to assist you in that exploration?"

"Hmm..."

That was somewhat enticing.

"In return, lend us the power of Anor-lsil. In exchange, we will aid in your research and provide you with True Pattern Silk every month."

"Lend you power?"

"Yes. Not the sword itself. You would keep the sword, just share the power imbued within it."