Chapter 99
The small, adorable fairy continued chattering endlessly.
She was so lovely that Roina wanted to let her finish, but it seemed the fairy had no intention of stopping on her own.
“Hey.”
“Kyaa! Even your voice is so beautiful, Master. Oh my, oh my! Could you say something again? That nightingale-like voice! I bet you’d sound amazing singing—do you know any lullabies? I can sing lots of them! I practiced really hard because I wanted to make people feel at ease. Would you like to hear one? Lullaby, lullaby~”
“Wait, just—stop for a moment.”
Gasp. The spirit immediately shut her mouth, gazing up at Roina with round, glistening eyes. This time, she looked as if she might burst into tears. Her expression changed astonishingly fast.
“Are you, by any chance, the primordial magic fragment that guards the north?”
“Yes! I’ve been doing the job you entrusted to me very well! I’m a model student!”
Giggling, she instantly switched back to laughter, as if she had never been on the verge of tears. She spun through the air, one hand on her waist and the other tapping her chest. Ahem!—even the sound of it was audible.
Her appearance alone made her seem like an incredibly cute fairy.
“You are…”
“Oh! I have a name! My future Master gave it to me. Since then, I’ve been Quies.”
‘Quies (quĭes), meaning rest, sleep. Another Latin name. Is she part of the same series as Fides, like a sibling? But… the future me?’
“The future me?”
“Yes! I was really, really doing my best! But I missed you so, so much, Master, so I took a tiny peek into the future, and you were saying, Quies, return! You called for me, Master!”
“I see, Quies. So—”
“Master!!! You said my name again! I’m so, so touched—oh!! Hngh!”
“I wasn’t finished yet. You need to wait.”
Roina firmly pressed a finger against the fairy’s forehead.
The problem wasn’t just that she added excessive commentary to everything—there was hardly a chance to get a word in at all.
“First of all, you’re the one who brought me here, right? And the girls sleeping here as well. Why did you do it?”
“I wanted to make them happy!”
Quies beamed with a pure, innocent smile. She fluttered into the air, cupping her cheeks as she grinned.
She looked so endearing, wrapped in petals, her tiny dress fluttering as her expressions and movements shifted constantly. She was overflowing with emotion.
“Make them happy?”
“Hehe, yes. They’re all resting peacefully now. I sing them lullabies every day so they can have sweet dreams. I’m sure they’re all dreaming happily—just look at those smiles.”
Roina fell silent.
The primordial magic fragments often had perspectives that were somehow misaligned. Was it because they were not fundamentally human? Or was it because they had endured a thousand years of solitude without her?
“Then why did you only capture young women?”
“Hmm, that’s a bit complicated.”
The fairy lifted a finger and began listing things off one by one.
“First, they exist in a time similar to yours, Master. Second, they are at their most beautiful and happiest. Once they pass this stage and get married, most of them become unhappy. Third…”
At this point, she hesitated slightly and glanced at Roina. It was a stark contrast to her confident demeanor up until now.
“There was a human who had been desperately making the same wish for a long time. That person begged me—saying there was a woman suffering terribly, and until a way was found to heal her, please, please stop her time. And I… I wanted to grant that wish.”
With a soft fluttering sound, the fairy floated into the air. Then, somewhat timidly, she added,
“So I just decided to make a contract. Um, I didn’t get your permission for this, Master. I’m sorry.”
If Quies had been Roina’s fully bound servant, then perhaps she would have had something to apologize for. But at some point, it seemed this fairy had gained the ability to make her own decisions. Roina couldn’t blame her for that.
“I took his time in exchange and stopped hers. For a long, long time—so that she could sleep peacefully, without suffering. And, um… that made me a little happy, so after that, I started helping other girls rest happily before they could experience pain.”
Hehe. Quies stuck out her tongue and laughed.
Roina didn’t even know where to begin addressing this. So this was the secret behind the disappearing girls? The reason was far more innocent and straightforward than she had expected.
“Wait, then where is that contractor now?”
“Oh! He’s coming in now! Luda!”
Quies let out a cheerful laugh and took to the air again. She spun in a tight, whirling motion—so much that Roina felt a little worried she might get dizzy.
And where Quies had so affectionately called out Luda, there stood—
The very yeti who had nearly taken Roina’s life before she arrived here.
“?!”
Roina’s jaw dropped in sheer shock.
But the yeti, unfazed by her reaction, walked in with steady steps. As if he were familiar with the place, he curled up and sat down. The fur on one side of his body was scorched black and shriveled—a clear remnant of the fireball she had hurled at him.
“Lu! Why are you so late today??”
“Uu.”
With that small sound, he slowly opened the hands he had been carefully cupping.
From within, a cascade of golden curls suddenly tumbled out.
“Oh dear, looks like there’s another young lady to sing a lullaby to!”
“Maili!”
Oh no, Maili had been captured too?!
Roina’s eyes widened in shock as she bolted out of the coffin.
“Oh, right. She was the one with you, Master? Lu! She was incredibly fast—how did you catch her?”
Roina quickly checked Maili’s breathing and pulse. Both were normal. It seemed she had only lost consciousness for a moment.
With a deep sigh of relief, Roina exhaled.
“What is this… Wait, Quies, don’t sing that lullaby.”
“Huh? Why not? Well, I guess since she’s already asleep, I can do it a little later!”
Listening to Roina, Quies fluttered up and perched above her head. Then, without hesitation, she began tidying Roina’s disheveled hair, braiding a section on the opposite side.
Roina let out a long sigh, giving up on the idea of keeping Quies still. Instead, she turned her attention back to the yeti in front of her.
Unlike the ferocious figure she had seen outside, he now appeared utterly docile.
The yeti sat curled up, staring blankly at a butterfly fluttering by.
“That guy is your contractor?”
“Yes! His name is Luda! He’s been protecting me for a long time. Thanks to Luda, I was able to take care of so many young ladies. He’s the best.”
He had made a wish, hadn’t he?
Could that yeti have once been human?
“Has he always looked like that?”
“Nope!”
With a final flourish, Quies deftly completed Roina’s braid and tucked a tiny daisy beside her ear.
“So he really was human, then?”
“Mm, yes! Luda used to be human.”
“…Then why does he look like this now?”
This time, Quies produced a clover ring from somewhere and slipped it onto Roina’s finger.
How could she move so ceaselessly, never focusing on just one thing?
Roina was truly baffled.
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