Chapter 110. The Refused Reward
A pixie's eyes widened in delight.
"Does that mean we're about to be set free?"
Duncan smiled and nodded.
"Of course.
When the Christmas holiday comes, I'll take you to Cornwall.
Then you can do whatever you like, with no one to restrain you.
But before that, you still need to be a little patient."
"Do whatever we like?
That sounds absolutely brilliant!"
Several pixies scrambled to fly over to Duncan, eager to take the round shield from his hand.
"Wait!"
Nofi suddenly spread out his hands and blocked the pixies, frowning.
"What's wrong, Nofi?" a pixie asked blankly, and Duncan also looked at Nofi in puzzlement.
"Duncan, wait here a moment.
We have something to discuss.
You lot, a few of you come with me."
Nofi waved and led the still-confused pixies behind the trunk of a thick tree.
"Nofi, what do you want to tell us?"
One pixie asked as he prodded a greenish caterpillar climbing up the bark, startling it into curling into a little ball and dropping straight to the ground.
The pixie darted after it, squinted to aim, and gave the insect a resounding slap, sending it flying.
The other pixies didn't sit idle either.
Within seconds they had each found some activity they fancied and busied themselves with great enthusiasm.
They were forever brimming with energy, always hunting for fun in everyday life, and getting them to sit still was harder than reaching the sky.
"Listen to me!"
Nofi crossed his arms and raised his voice.
The pixies' movements slowed a little, and some of their attention shifted to Nofi.
"What do you think of life here?" Nofi asked, sweeping his gaze around the group.
"It's very comfortable!"
A slightly plumper pixie jumped in first.
"Duncan brings us tasty treats from time to time."
"And there's something new and curious every day!" another pixie chimed in.
"It's just a pity we can't go to the castle.
If we could prank those little wizards, it would be even more fun."
"Why don't we talk it over with Duncan?
Ask him to let us go into the castle and play once in a while?"
"Good idea, but will Duncan agree?"
...
Seeing the topic drift off course, Nofi raised his voice again.
"But we've now gathered all the round shields!
Do you know what that means?"
"Doesn't it mean we're about to be completely free?" the pixies said.
From Duncan's words, that was the only part they had seized on.
"That's only part of it," Nofi said, looking at them.
"Once we've gathered the round shields, Duncan will send us back.
We'll leave here.
And all those things you've been talking about will be gone."
"What?"
The chubby pixie's eyes bulged as though he'd heard something terrifying.
"You mean… Duncan won't bring us food any more?"
"He won't come and play with us either?" the other pixies said, equally shocked.
Although Duncan was strict with them, they had also had plenty of fun with him—experiences they'd never had before.
At first they were overjoyed at the thought of freedom, but now, thinking about leaving Duncan, a faint sadness crept into their hearts.
"I think so," Nofi said, his tone low.
"Once we leave here, it may be very hard to see Duncan again."
Tears welled at the corners of the chubby pixie's eyes.
"No, please—my tasty jerky, those delicious biscuits..."
"So do you still want to leave?"
Nofi turned his head, letting his gaze pass over each of them in turn.
"We don't!" several pixies said at once, shaking their heads quickly.
"But we've already got enough round shields.
Will Duncan force us out and send us back?"
"Who says we've got enough round shields?" Nofi said.
"Aren't we still missing the last piece?"
The pixies looked up at Nofi in confusion, not immediately grasping what he meant.
"By our agreement with Duncan, we have to defeat him to earn a round shield," Nofi said.
"We didn't defeat him just now, so that round shield was against the rules.
We can refuse it.
If we refuse it, we won't have to leave!"
"Ha, right!
Why didn't we think of that?"
The other pixies brightened.
"Nofi, you're brilliant!"
Basking in their praise, Nofi lifted his chin proudly.
"Have you all decided?
No one's leaving?"
"Of course.
Cornwall won't be as comfortable as here, and we might get bullied!" the other pixies replied.
"Good.
Let's go and tell Duncan."
Nofi led the pixies back.
Duncan was at that moment making a chunk of meat dance through the air, tempting the troll to leap as high as it could for exercise.
Catching the pixies' voices out of the corner of his ear, he put away his wand, and the meat plummeted into the troll's mouth, drawing a delighted roar.
"Have you finished discussing it?" Duncan said with a smile, tossing the round shield to Nofi.
But Nofi had barely caught it before he hurriedly threw it back, as if it were a scalding hot potato.
"We don't want that round shield!"
"Oh?
Why?" Duncan asked, looking at Nofi.
Nofi drew himself up proudly.
"Because we want to defeat you by our own strength and then earn that round shield!"
Duncan raised his eyebrows in surprise.
He hadn't expected these little fellows to be so ambitious.
He smiled and nodded.
"All right.
We'll do it your way.
With how well you cooperate now, it's only a matter of time before you beat me again."
The pixies watched eagerly as Duncan slipped the round shield back into his pocket.
They erupted in cheers, high-fived one another, and grew even more excited than before.
Duncan looked on, baffled by their jubilation, not sure what they were up to this time.
But so long as they didn't overdo it, he would let them be.
"Off you go and play," Duncan said.
"I'll bring you some food this evening.
What do you want to eat?"
"The jerky from last time!"
The chubby pixie flitted right up to Duncan, repeating himself several times in his excitement, afraid Duncan hadn't heard.
"All right, all right.
I'll bring you extra," Duncan said.
The troll also hopped in place anxiously, clapping hard and pointing at its mouth from time to time, reminding Duncan not to forget it.
"Don't worry, you'll get your share too—so long as you don't rush out of the forest to make trouble," Duncan said, waving a hand.
For a while after that, Duncan wandered the forest twice with the pixies and his troll bodyguard.
The ecology ravaged by that frenzy of Acromantulas was gradually recovering, and in a few months the forest ought to return to normal.
Finding nothing out of the ordinary, Duncan took his leave of the pixies and the troll and went back to the castle to prepare their supper for the day.
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