The Fairies
Lelitia needed to see the prince's true side if she was going to make a final decision. Her time observing Kenneth would be the biggest consideration for Lelitia in choosing between killing Kenneth or letting him live.
"Fay, after he wakes up, you can show him the house near the waterfall. I'll leave the task of teaching him how to live in this place to you. Then, about the humans that broke through to the outer part of the Audoran Forest... I'll go back to take care of them after this."
Fay might have been a little disappointed that Lelitia avoided her question. However, Fay chose not to show her feelings and nodded obediently to agree to Lelitia's request. Fay saw that Lelitia was about to leave again after that. The fairy hurriedly flew in front of Lelitia, then looked at her good friend worriedly.
"Will you be okay? Although I'm reluctant to admit it, those humans are different from the enemies we've fought so far, Lelitia. They even have devices that can disrupt the natural mana. That's what caused me to lose when I fought them before."
"I'll be fine, Fay. I'll come up with a plan before fighting them."
Fay still looked worried. However, Lelitia was the strongest creature in the Audoran Forest. In the end, Fay still gave in. The fairy stepped forward to hug Lelitia, who was returned by the beautiful elf.
"Promise me that you will return safely."
Lelitia smiled slightly. "I promise I will not die by their hands, Fay," she replied confidently. Their embrace was broken after that. Fay watched as Lelitia quickly disappeared, but she did not leave the place immediately.
"May safety always be with you, Lelitia," Fay whispered earnestly.
***
"Kegan, Gaia, Aqua, I need your help."
Once Lelitia was far enough away from Fay, the elf stopped jumping and waited for the fairies to answer her call. With Lelitia's power, no matter how far they went, the fairies would immediately hear her voice if she called them.
Sure enough. Not long after, a small red, yellow, and blue light flew quickly and stopped near Lelitia. The point of light slowly took on a shape that was almost the same as Fay's. The red dot turned into a small man with short red hair whom Lelitia called Kegan. The yellow dot turned into a girl with bright yellow hair in a ponytail who was called Gaia. The last one, the blue dot, turned into a girl with long blue hair who kept covering her face in embarrassment.
"We answered your call, Lelitia. Did our Fay cause trouble again?"
Unlike Kegan, who preferred to remain silent, or Aqua, who was too shy to ask, Gaia, who looked more excited, immediately circled Lelitia after she took her fairy form. Fay was the youngest and most innocent fairy among the elemental fairies. Since Lelitia usually called them to clean up the mess that Fay made, they assumed that Lelitia called them for the same thing this time.
Lelitia shook her head slowly to answer Gaia's question. "This time, I need your help to deal with the people who invaded Audoran Forest," she informed. The three fairies' expressions immediately turned serious after hearing Lelitia's answer. Kegan, who previously seemed uninterested, finally turned to look at Lelitia after that. While Aqua, who had previously kept her face covered, finally looked at Lelitia properly after that.
"They came in large numbers, with countless experienced adventurers. I will lure them into three groups that are far apart. Then, after they are far apart... I hope you can help me deal with them."
"One of us will fight one of their groups, right?"
Lelitia nodded in response to Kegan's question. "I apologize for having to entrust this task to you. However, I have no other choice. They have managed to capture some magical beasts, and I cannot let the humans take them. Once I have finished rescuing the creatures they have captured and evacuating everyone on the borders of the Audoran Forest, I promise to help you immediately."
"Don't feel bad, Lelitia. Your decision was correct. No matter what happens, we must not let them take anyone to human territory."
"Besides, as we said before, you can count on us to help you protect the Audoran Forest."
Lelitia smiled because she was grateful to befriend elemental fairies like Fay and the others. Sometimes, protecting such a large territory by herself was overwhelming, even though she had everything under control. Lelitia did need the help of the elemental fairies if she wanted to be able to attack while protecting those living in the Audoran Forest.
"Then, I'll be counting on you guys. You can come with me first before we discuss the plan. Before fighting, I want you to know who you're going to fight first."
"Lelitia, you're not going to drag Fay into this fight, are you?"
Lelitia turned to look at Aqua when it was the fairy's turn to ask her. The other elemental fairies had always been worried about Fay, who was the youngest among them. Even if the elemental fairies were born stronger than the other fairies, Fay didn't have as good control over her powers as the others. Fay was also much younger than the other fairies, so it was only natural that the others were overly worried about the wind fairy.
"I won't take her. Right now, she's tasked with watching over the humans living in the Audoran Forest."
"Human?"
"He's kind. I can be sure that he won't cause chaos in the Audoran Forest."
When Lelitia saw that the fairies were shocked after hearing that she allowed a human to live in the Audoran Forest, the elf immediately continued her words again. The fairies looked confused by Lelitia's unusual decision. Even if someone was a resident of Celeste Village, which was beloved by the Audoran Forest, Lelitia would usually not let them stay in the Audoran Forest for too long.
But this time, Lelitia allowed a human to stay in the most sacred area of the Avalanche Continent.
"I will personally guarantee him. Please trust me, Kegan, Aqua, Gaia."
But when Lelitia begged the fairies this hard, they finally decided to just trust her decision. On behalf of the others, Gaia took a deep breath and smiled helplessly. "Alright. We will trust you, Lelitia," she said informingly.