2.8 The Fairy

'It was naive of me to think that demons and monsters are the only problems this world has. I am glad that everyone else wasn't there.'

"Lucy, what are you planning to do now. I don't think the villagers are going to come back," I said looking towards her.

The sun wasn't up yet but it had started getting brighter. I couldn't sleep much last night, but the cold morning breeze was making me feel refreshed.

"I don't know," Lucy replied, looking a bit sad. Her eyes were watery and it felt like she was almost about to cry.

'Man, it's hard watching someone active and cheerful about to cry.'

"Why don't you come with us then?" I said trying to put it as casually as I could.

"Really? You have finally decided to serve me?" she said looking towards me with eyes full of expectation.

'Huh? That again?'

"No. Me and my friends are going on a journey to the Labyrinth of Panacea. They are a group of really good people, so if you want, you can join us," I replied.

She looked a bit disappointed at the start, but she had a little smile on her face when she said, "Okay, but why do you want to go to the Labyrinth?"

"One of my friends got injured by a demon. They say that there is a medicine that can cure him," I replied.

"Alright. This great me will guide you there then," she said turning back to her prideful self.

"Huh? Do you know that place or something?" I asked in confusion.

"Heh heh! I know I am cool, right? I once used to live near the place," said Lucy folding her arm.

"Really? Did you ever go inside the Labyrinth?" I asked in surprise.

"No. But It's not like I was scared or anything," said Lucy in a hasty tone.

"Ah okay. Our camp is in the plains ahead. I will introduce you to everyone there," I said with a smile. It was cute to see her act like that.

I then walked towards our camp while Lucy just sat on my shoulder telling me stories of her greatness. The sun was already up, and Flare was soaring in the sky above when we reached near the camp.

[Master, your presence suddenly disappeared from the tent. What happened?] asked Flare telepathically when she saw me.

'So, she found out.'

[Few things happened, but don't worry, I am fine. I would have called you if I was at danger.]

[Okay but let me know if something like that ever happens again. And who's that?]

'Is she angry or something?'

[I will try. For now, come down, I will introduce you to her.]

Flare came down and sat on my other shoulder. Lucy was almost blown away when Flare flapped her wings--she barely managed to stay there by holding onto my overcoat.

'Did she do that on purpose?'

When I reached the camp, Marina had already woken up and was preparing breakfast outside. The others were probably still sleeping inside the tents.

She looked surprised when she saw me coming from the opposite direction and said, "G-good morning. I thought you were still aslee-". She paused when she saw Lucy. Her eyes became wide in surprise and a single word came out of her mouth, "beautiful".

"Hehehe! I know I am, right?" said Lucy in a proud tone.

"She can speak too," said Marina in an excited tone, unlike her usual shy self.

"Duh? Obviously, I can," replied Lucy.

"A-are you a fairy?" asked Marina composing herself.

Lucy nodded saying, "Yes, I am" and flew to Marina's shoulder. It looked like she had taken a liking to Marina.

While we were talking, everyone else woke up and came outside.

"Is that a fairy?" asked Princess Eliane when she saw Lucy on Marina's shoulder.

"Yes. Everyone, she is Lucy. I found her near the pond in the woods," I said introducing her. I wanted to avoid telling them everything that had happened in the forest.

"She looks cute," said Princess Anna, taking a closer look.

"Of course, I do," replied Lucy in a proud tone.

"I thought fairies would be a bit bigger, isn't she a bit too small," said Arica looking towards Lucy.

"Hmph! We fairy have always been like this," said Lucy, looking annoyed at what Arica just said.

"Lucy knows the area around the Labyrinth so she will be traveling with us as our guide," I said continuing the introduction.

I then introduced everyone else by saying, "This is Princess Anna, Princess Eliane, Arica and the one on whose shoulder you are sitting is Marina" while pointing my hand to whoever's name I said.

After the introductions were finished, I helped Marina in making breakfast. We then folded the camps and sat around for breakfast.

"Nara you told us that you found Lucy near the pond in the woods. So, how did you get there?" asked Princess Anna. Even though she had a smile on her face, her eyes were telling me that she was doubting me.

"Gulp... I carried him there using 'Earth Golem'," said Lucy gulping the food she was chewing.

"And why did you carry him?" asked princess Anna looking towards Lucy. The smile was still in her face, but it was starting to look a little scary.

"That's because I needed his help in dealing with some stupid guys... humph," said Lucy taking another bite of the bread that she was eating.

"And what happened then?" asked Princess Anna looking towards me.

"Amm... I just helped her... a little bit," I replied.

"Really?" she asked, coming closer.

'Scary!'

I knew that she wouldn't be convinced unless I told her everything that had happened. In my previous world, I once met a frustrated husband on a train who told me that 'once the seed of doubt enters a girl's heart, it will never leave until they are fully convinced'.

"Y-yes. I only helped you a little bit, right?" I asked, looking towards Lucy.

"Yes, he only helped me a little bit. The other guy that he summoned did most of the job," said Lucy taking another bite.

'Come on! At least help me out a little bit.'

Princess Anna came even closer and said, "Another guy? What's she talking about Nara?"

I looked around to see if there was any way to avoid this scenario. But then I realized that the eyes of all the girls were fixed on me. Even Flare was glaring at me.

'Guys, give me a break!'

"Now now honey. No secrets," Arica said in a sweet tone with a smile.

'What's with the promotion to honey?'

"Y-yeah, I never thought you would keep a secret," said Marina.

'Why do you look so disappointed?"

"Nara, what's going on?" asked princess Eliane.

'Thank god, at least you only look confused.'

I took a long breath in and said, "Okay, okay. I have a familiar called Zagan that I didn't tell you about."

Right when I said Zagan, a crimson magic circle appeared on the floor and Zagan appeared out of it.

"Hey ladies. The one he is talking about is me," Zagan said with a smile.

"Is he really a dark summon?" asked princess Anna in a surprised tone. She also had a familiar so she knew that this was not how the familiars were summoned.

"No. He is a demon. But there is no need to be worried, he is completely harmless," I replied trying to put it as casually as I could.

"What do you mean? I don't sense anything like that from him," Princess Anna said in disbelief.

"He is probably suppressing his aura like Miss Lilith. The way he appeared, he is probably one," Princess Eliane explained even though she herself had a surprised reaction on her face.

"B-b-but aren't demons supposed to be evil?" Marina asked in a surprised tone.

"Huh?" Zagan said looking towards Marina.

"I-I-I mean, d-don't you feel like breaking things and killing people?" Marina said when she saw a confused look in Zagan's face.

"Huh? Why would I do something pointless like that?" Zagan said in a confused tone.

"I think it's fine guys. If he was really harmful, he wouldn't just be talking to us like this," Arica who had calmed down after hearing the conversation until now said.

"That's true," Princess Eliane said.

"Well kid, I need to go. I will leave the rest to you," Zagan said and disappeared.

Everyone was looking a little more convinced than before. Marina was still having difficulty in accepting a harmless demon, but we could deal with that later.

"Okay, Nara. There is one last thing to do before we resume our journey," Princess Anna said looking towards me with a grin.

'Aren't we done yet?'

"What?" I asked.

"Hehe… You will get some punishments for keeping secrets from us," said Arica in a teasing tone.

Next Chapter: Punishment or Reward