Chapter 73: The Fairy Forest
“Well then, shall we get going?”
Elwin urged the still-bewildered group.
“We’ve been granted an invitation—arriving late as guests would be rude, don’t you think? Especially when our host is known to be sensitive and prickly.”
“Hold on, hold on! What invitation? What the hell are you talking about? When did we get invited?”
“Just now. That’s why the entrance to the forest, normally hidden from all eyes, has opened up, no?”
“What? …Ugh!”
Gale clutched the back of his neck, as though the sheer absurdity of it all gave him whiplash.
“Ahahaha! Gale’s face right now—totally red like a boiled octopus!”
“You little—!”
Gale, usually the one catching others off guard with his antics, found himself at a rare loss. It was an aggravatingly fresh experience.
He reflected… briefly. Maybe for a second or so.
His conscience had long since gone missing, making genuine introspection impossible.
‘Past me… was that really the best decision?’
Still, when he found himself dragged into insane situations under a child superior, this thought always resurfaced—and tears welled up in his eyes.
It irked him more than anything that his choice back then had been both the best and worst one he could’ve made.
“…So who’s this mysterious host who sent the invite, huh? Enemy? You can at least tell us that much.”
Gale asked again, tone calm but wary. His hand subtly drifted to his waist—ready to draw a blade or gun at a moment’s notice.
Behind him, Sercia and Calix stared silently at Elwin, silently demanding an answer.
“They’re not an enemy. That I can say for certain. Rather… they might be an unexpected stroke of luck.”
“Luck, huh? Then…”
“You want to know who they are? Hmmm, I’d love to tell you, honestly.”
Elwin gave a light smile.
Objectively, it was picture-perfect—handsome even. But to the members of Spero, it was deeply unsettling.
The kind of smile that hinted at plans within plans…
“Ugh.”
The three shuddered in unison.
Experience had taught them that whenever Elwin wore that smile, some convoluted, troublesome task was about to be foisted upon them.
“Haha! Your expressions are so honest! If you all grimace like that, I might get hurt, you know?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Feigning a hurt expression, Elwin watched as Gale cringed like he was witnessing something grotesque.
Though their time together had been short, they already knew—Elwin wasn’t someone who got hurt by such trivial things.
“See? You’re not falling for it anymore. Tragic.”
As expected, he followed up with a mischievous grin.
“Our host doesn’t seem to want their identity revealed just yet. So… it’s a secret!”
“Yeah, figures.”
“If you say so, Sir Lewin, then I trust there’s a reason.”
“Will we find out eventually? I’m starting to get a bit curious about all this.”
With that, Gale sighed quietly. The others, too, gave up on pressing further.
None of them had the verbal skills to pry information out of their sly, monstrous superior.
“Alright, alright. You secretive little brat. Well, whatever—if you’re around, I guess we’ll manage. Whether it’s soup or bread, let’s get going.”
“A forest so carefully hidden from everyone… I wonder what’s hidden inside. I’m intrigued.”
“…Shall we head out?”
Instead of questioning further, they checked their gear—readying themselves.
Each had their own thoughts.
‘Something’s definitely going to happen in that forest. Ugh, what a pain.’
‘Doesn’t seem like Depicio’s doing… but best be careful.’
‘I don’t care who it is, as long as I get to fight someone strong.’
They were almost certain.
Elwin keeping things under wraps usually meant the situation would turn out better this way, or that something far more beneficial awaited them later.
“Looks like everyone’s ready. What about you, Aajen?”
“N-No problem!”
Even in their short time together, Elwin’s consistent approach had made a clear impact.
What once seemed like cryptic intentions would, sooner or later, be proven as the best course—with optimal results.
And so, the Spero members were able to trust and follow their leader.
Though originally bound by mutual interests, somewhere along the way, they had begun to place real trust in Elwin—and even in one another.
“Alright then. Let’s go!”
Even without words, Elwin’s actions spoke volumes.
He prepared artifacts perfectly suited to each of them, though he didn’t have to.
He helped with their training with genuine dedication, though he wasn’t obligated to.
That quiet kindness was enough to break down walls built tall and strong.
Strong enough to ripple through each of them.
“To retrieve Red Clover.”
And so, Elwin and his team began walking deeper into the forest. As their shadows vanished into the fog—
Shooo—
A strange, mystical energy began to rise from the quiet forest. As though it welcomed visitors after a long, long time.
And then… the stones arranged in a perfect circle where they had stood began to emit a faint light.
Giggle-giggle-giggle!
Heehee!
Kyah-kyah-kyah!
Something small and transparent danced freely in the empty space, twirling through the air.
The pure laughter of a child echoed in the clearing.
Had anyone still been there—especially a mage—they would’ve collapsed in astonishment.
Kyah-kyahhh!
Because the dancing figures radiated a pure magical energy so natural, it could’ve been mistaken for nature itself.
Then suddenly, a strong wind swept through—
Clatter.
The stones in the circle scattered in all directions.
And the transparent figures vanished all at once—as though nothing had been there to begin with.
***
The fog-shrouded forest felt like another world—beautiful, mysterious, ethereal.
Snowy-white lilies, glittering like stars, bloomed across the landscape. Wisps of faint light floated in the air.
But more than anything, the atmosphere itself was heavy, yet enchanting—enough to make one instinctively tense up.
The strangest part was:
“Wasn’t it just… morning?”
The world around them was dark.
Just moments ago, the sun had been high, yet now it was pitch black.
“…The mana concentration in the air is abnormally high,” Sercia said, sniffing.
“And it smells… wonderful. I’ve never smelled anything so pleasant before.”
Unlike when she had immediately blocked her nose in the underground labyrinth, this time she wore a soft smile of contentment.
“Wait, why did it suddenly become night?!”
“What is this place…? Incredible.”
“This is amazing! I’ve never seen anything so beautiful!”
Gale rubbed his eyes. Calix and Aajen looked around in awe, unable to hide their amazement.
“Everyone, focus! We’re about to go deeper. Stick close. I’ll lead—grab onto the person in front of you so no one gets lost, okay?”
“We’re not kids, you know.”
Gale grumbled cynically, but he immediately ran to stand behind Elwin.
“Didn’t you just complain about being treated like a kid?”
“Well… y’know.”
Elwin gave him a questioning look.
“Gotta follow the boss’s orders, right? Not like I had any other reason. Seriously, where would you find a more obedient subordinate than me, huh?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Calix scoffed at the pathetic excuse.
“Shut up, you punk.”
Gale Garav, for all his bravado, did in fact believe in—and fear—ghosts.
To him, this forest was unnervingly radiant and spooky all at once—exactly the kind of place ghosts might appear.
So he clung to Elwin, who looked like he could banish any ghost in a flash.
“Alright, everyone hold onto the person in front of you and let’s go.”
With Elwin at the front, they followed in order: Gale, Sercia, Aajen, and Calix.
But the deeper they went, the thicker the fog became.
Soon, the surroundings blurred so much that the terrain disappeared entirely.
If they hadn’t been holding onto one another, they would’ve lost their way in seconds.
“Hey! You all keeping up?”
“Yes! We’re right behind you!”
“Shut up and walk.”
Then suddenly, a strong wind swept through, blowing away the fog.
But before they could celebrate, they were hit with shock.
“Oh, thank goodness—wait, what?”
“He’s gone?!”
Aajen Clover, who had been between Sercia and Calix, had vanished without a trace!
“D-Did someone just kidnap him?! Like Depicio or someone?!”
“…I’ll retrace our steps.”
“Wait! Let me use magic to scan—huh? M-My magic won’t activate!”
The group scrambled to search and use detection magic, but nothing worked.
Watching them panic, Elwin simply smiled.
And then, barely audible to himself, he murmured:
“This time… I really hope you trust me, Aajen.”
Now that he had been chosen—called—by her, whether they succeeded in obtaining Red Clover or not was entirely in Aajen Clover’s hands.
This was the one thing Elwin could not help him with.
Because this… was his true goal behind using Red Clover as a way to save the Clover Trade Company.
Fairies—beings said to have disappeared from the human world long ago after the Great War.
This forest was the place they would visit when they returned to the human world.
Elwin’s true purpose was to meet one of those fairies.
Though they rarely showed themselves unless visited in the Fairy Realm itself…
‘But now that Aajen Clover has entered, she has no choice but to appear.’
That’s why Elwin had arranged the stones into a perfect circle—a Fairy Ring.
─Fairy Ring.
A circle made of grass, mushrooms, or stones—said to mark the place where fairies danced.
In the world of LAMPAS, it was real.
‘You could use a fairy ring to communicate with fairies in the Fairy Realm.’
Surely, she had seen Aajen Clover arrive through it.
‘She must’ve gone to meet him first… I’ll wait for now.’
Curious as she was, she would surely come to Elwin too.
‘That’ll be my chance.’
Eyes briefly flashing with purpose, Elwin moved to calm his confused companions.
After all, Aajen Clover would be fine.
Meanwhile, Aajen Clover—
“Ughhh!”
“Just a little longer, young man.”
—had found himself in a bizarre situation!