Chapter 190 – Chapter 190 ― Yeon (3)
Episode 190 ― Yeon (3)
The biggest tree Roan had ever seen was there.
A size comparable to an apartment among modern buildings.
The light-green leaves rustling in the spring breeze reflected the setting sunlight like sparkling waves.
The wind moved the leaves like the hair of a living animal, and the trees looked like huge animals sitting still.
“It’s as if it’s alive and breathing.”
At Roan’s impression, Aina smiled proudly.
“When the flowers bloom after a while, they are really pretty. Because golden flowers bloom.”
The serene forest elf’s abode was centered around huge trees.
Buildings are built on balustrades surrounding a conspicuously gigantic tree. The giant tree is connected to other trees of that size by a bridge, and the forest fairy’s house is placed around it.
The elegantly curved antique roof is an exotic architectural style that Roan has never seen before in Evirzio or Merde.
To enter the building, you have to climb a steep spiral staircase that climbs up a tree trunk.
“Is everything up there a residence?”
“Something like a meeting hall or a restaurant is built on top. Oh, over there is where I lived as a child.”
It looks like they are at least 10m away from the ground, but can you let them out of the house when they start crawling or walking?
When Roan looked at her surroundings with a different expression, Aina was excited. It was not often seen that Roan was interested and surprised.
“To be able to show His Majesty the way here.”
A childlike smile appeared on Aina’s face. She saw her in the castle, her face brighter than ever.
She is also a forest fairy. Was it too much for me to stay in the castle?
Feeling sympathetic, Roan stroked her cheek. Then she heard a small click of her tongue.
“Chit.”
I suddenly looked back,
Iris was staring at Roan with burning eyes. The one holding her wrist is none other than her partner.
“… I didn’t come here to flirt. The king of demons.”
Iris almost chewed her words out and started walking across the quiet town.
“I have prepared a place for guests, so please wait there for a while.”
Roan nodded his head,
Iris, who guided the two to a small building located halfway up the giant tree, said to them.
“Report to the elder and come back. Kouran, wait here.”
“Okay.”
Roan looked around the room.
A space where furniture necessary for accommodation is neatly arranged. I felt the years in the wooden bed or chair, but the build quality is solid.
What you see outside the window are bridges and tree branches that connect the structures built next to the trees.
Below I could see a forest full of bright green grass and flowers blooming in spring.
“Your Majesty, how are you… ?”
Aina looked at Roan’s face as if her heart was pounding. It was because he had a look of interest the whole time he was coming up.
“It is an honor to be invited to a place like this. I wish I could go back properly.”
“Nothing will happen, King of the Demons.”
The answer was Kouran.
“I called an outsider under the name of the elder. This kind of thing happens once in decades. We’re not close enough to welcome demons, but the elder’s guests are precious.”
“Is this place always this quiet? I haven’t seen anyone past the watchtowers guarding the outskirts of town.”
When Roan asked, Kouran smiled leisurely.
“While we passed the watchtower, the guards must have notified everyone with magic. No matter how much the elder’s guests are, there aren’t many people who have good feelings for the demons. You won’t want to leave the house.”
Roan’s brow twisted slightly.
“You don’t want to leave the house, do you mean you don’t want to see me?”
Are you hated that much?
However, Aina corrected Roan’s misunderstanding.
“Because you could make a mistake with the customer, you block the problem from the source. If he doesn’t go outside, he won’t cause trouble.”
“Hmm.”
With his arms crossed, Roan tilted his head. What if this happened to humans or demons? If it was a human, they might protest, and if it was a demon, they would suppress it with force.
The forest fairy thinks differently.
When Roan looked lost in thought, Kouran spoke as if he hadn’t thought of it.
“Come to think of it, I didn’t treat the guests properly. Could you wait a moment? Bring me something to drink.”
After a while he brought out a light meal and a drink. It is quite different from the meal he used to eat in Basel. It was grilled and steamed with unknown meat and fruit.
“… It’s a little different than I thought.”
“Did you know you could only eat grass?”
The forest fairy smiled and sat around the table together. Aina put on a look that she missed her, and she offered her food to Roan.
“Kouran, you seem to know a lot about us too.”
“I wandered around the edge of the woods.”
Surprisingly, Kouran, who was eating with chopsticks, responded.
“Were you on the perimeter ranger?”
At those words, Aina asked. Because Roan has no knowledge about the world of forest fairies.
Roan looked at Aina and Kouran alternately as if asking for an explanation, and Kouran replied.
“Hmm. As Aina said, I was the person in charge of the outskirts of the Dark Forest. It checks whether there are humans or demons entering the dark forest, and takes care of exchanges if necessary. I am staying at the residence right now.”
“The perimeter patrols are very few in number. Since they only go around the edge of the forest, you don’t have to meet them at the residence. It’s the first time I’ve ever had a conversation like this.”
“Hmm.”
You are the person in charge of communication with the outside world.
Even Aina, a fellow forest fairy, is said to have rarely been seen, so it seems that she is a precious existence.
That’s why she seems to have a strangely different attitude from Iris, how she accepts my actions.
“You… Even in the eyes of the demons, Iris might think that Iris is unique. I know that that level of family love is rare, even by demonic or human standards.”
Kouran was out of luck.
Aina sighed lightly, and Roan smiled lightly and nodded at her.
“It is true. I think she cares for me a lot.”
“Of course, I love the uniqueness of Iris.”
Kouran indifferently spat out unfamiliar words. Seeing his figure, Aina made a strange expression.
Half relieved, half astonished, I felt like I didn’t know what kind of face to make.
“When I talk, they usually make that face.”
Kouran, who laughed lightly at her Aina, continued her words while playing with chopsticks.
“Iris’ affection is a bit excessive. I’ve had trouble with that attitude. But Aina is a very precious person to Iris.”
And he looked at Aina.
As if asking for permission.
He seemed to be asking if I could tell you more about it.
Aina nodded her head.
“I heard that Iris was like Aina’s mother. A strong attachment developed in the process, I think.”
“It’s a plausible guess.”
Aina agreed.
“My house… The family name is a bit… It is unique.”
Roan’s expression became strange, but
Kouran lightly affirmed as if he knew that fact.
“My father hasn’t met since I was little, and her mother has had a hard time raising me. Maybe Iris wasn’t taken care of by her mother either.”
“Are other forest fairies similar?”
“No. Like I said before, it’s because our family is unique.”
It’s an odd family.
What kind of family custom is it that it is naturally accepted that a mother cannot take care of her child?
“Anyway, I heard that Iris has been taking care of her child, me, since she was little. She’s like her own child in the process… No, I think she became more affectionate than a child. I don’t usually attach myself to a family that is this independent.”
Kouran explained.
“And Aina left the forest. She was a pretty big deal. She was something no one could have imagined. Even so, she was Iris who was sensitive about Aina, but after that incident, when the story of you, Iris, came into a huge conflict with the other forest fairies.”
“Ugh…”
Aina clutched her head, and Kouran added a small ‘you don’t have to feel guilty’.
“Even if we look rational in the eyes of humans and demons, even between us we have an instinct to reject others and make them gossip. Apparently, Aina and Iris came head-on, and since Aina left, Iris took it to herself.”
To sum up,
The families of Aina and Iris are a bit peculiar,
Because of that, Iris, who was not loved by her mother while facing the pressures around her, became obsessed with Aina…
Is that
“Whether it’s a demon or a human, it’s not easy to take on a big job alone when you’re different from other people. The job of being the head of the guard is to protect all residences… I heard it’s similar to the knight commander. It’s great to take on such a heavy responsibility.”
“Because you have that much ability.”
Kouran’s face, saying that, showed affection.
“Even when I left the forest, no one could catch up with me by force. Maybe I’m stronger now.”
After finishing her meal, Aina muttered as she hugged her lap.
“It’s very Iris-like in that if someone says something they don’t like, they will press it down with force.”
“Yes.”
Kouran and Aina met eyes and nodded. I guess I know what kind of person she is.
As we chatted and finished our meal,
Kouran stretched.
“Then, I’ll put it back in the kitchen, so you two can look around here.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
“It was nothing.”
Kouran shrugged his shoulders at Roan’s greeting and opened the door.
“Where are you going?”
However, as soon as he opened the door, what he encountered was Iris’ cold voice.
She was coming across a bridge connected to the tree across from her.
“It was posted as surveillance, so why are you leaving? If it was a meal, I could have asked the other members.”
“You have Aina. It’s a guest, so there’s no need to keep an eye on it, right?”
“It’s a problem with Aina.”
Iris snarled at Kouran’s reply. Then Aina restrained her with her shrill voice.
“… Sister Iris. Nothing will happen if you leave her alone with His Majesty.”
Then, Iris’s eyes became moist in an instant.
“What are you talking about, Aina? Something has already happened.”
Roan looked at Aina with a bitter smile.
Yeah, she did a lot of things.
Something like this.
But Aina couldn’t help but smile.
After staring at Roan for a moment with triangular eyes, Aina shook her head and said firmly to Iris.
“Iris. Her sister’s attitude puts me in so much trouble.”
And Aina’s words must have been a great shock to Iris.
“… Aina, how…”
The black eyes began to quiver. However, Aina has no intention of conceding.
“Every time I treat you like a child. She never thought her sister would be here. If only she knew this would happen…”
It was Roan who stopped Aina before she vented her anger. Roan held her by the shoulder gently.
“Aina. Stop.”
“…”
Aina also seems to have accumulated a lot.
Aina’s eyes, which had been glaring at Iris with her annoyed expression, softened a little as she turned to Roan.
Seeing that scene, Iris’ tears sparked in her young eyes.
“How… Out there, what happened… The child who always called me and followed me around, she was possessed by a man like this… What did you do to Aina…”
Oops.
Arrows bounced at Roan.
Iris cried and glared at Roan.
