Chapter 964: Where Did He Come From?
"Ahoge...!"
The golden-haired girl who had just entered the room was initially flustered by the number of strangers present, but the moment that piercing voice rang out, she froze completely.
She shot a hostile glare toward the direction of the voice.
A cloak, a mask, and some other indescribable accessories—the person had covered themselves so thoroughly they resembled someone with severe social anxiety.
What a weirdo!
She scrutinized the other person several times from head to toe.
How strange! Clearly human, yet they exuded an aura different from ordinary humans. Moreover, their magical energy was remarkably potent, even surpassing that of a typical high-ranking fairy!
Could they be some important figure she had never heard of before?
The golden-haired girl nervously speculated to herself.
"Um, are you... a high-ranking fairy, perhaps?"
"No, I'm human."
Seeing her cautious demeanor, Eiji couldn't help but laugh.
Who had ever seen the King of Knights looking so anxious?
"So you're human after all?"
The golden-haired girl visibly relaxed, then smiled and opened her mouth.
"Then what issue do you have with my ahoge?!"
Like an animated character, she bared a set of shark-like teeth, furiously shouting at Eiji.
Eiji was taken aback.
He truly hadn't expected the King of Knights to react like this.
"Actually, I am the newly appointed Royal Consort by Her Majesty the Queen."
"Please, I beg your forgiveness for my rudeness!"
With a thud, the golden-haired girl promptly knelt on the ground, prostrating herself as if terrified out of her wits.
"So you're His Highness the Royal Consort?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka was also startled, his expression growing somewhat reserved.
"Please stop teasing everyone, Mr. Eiji!"
Mash shot Eiji a reproachful look before hurriedly helping the golden-haired girl to her feet.
"Please don't mind him. This person just has that kind of personality—always saying strange things at odd moments... but he's not a bad person at heart!Mash's expression was subtle. After sharing a carriage ride with him and witnessing how Eiji constantly teased Habenyan, she had already figured out his character!
This person seemed reliable, but from time to time, he would crack jokes that made everyone's hearts stop—just like what had happened moments ago!
"So you were lying to me?!"
The golden-haired girl sprang up from the ground in an instant, her face flushed with anger as she yelled.
"...Miss Cast, was it really necessary to kneel so decisively?"
Tristan covered his eyes, his hand trembling over his harp as if he couldn't bear to watch.
My king!
"...!"
The golden-haired girl snapped back to reality. Bathed in the others' peculiar gazes, her cheeks flushed uncontrollably with embarrassment. She felt so ashamed she wished she could burrow into the ground.
She had knelt far too readily!
Even she herself thought she had been utterly spineless!
Grimm and Habenyan exchanged glances, both seeing surprise and understanding in each other's eyes.
They seemed to have realized something.
"Let me introduce her!"
Seeing the golden-haired girl's posture becoming increasingly hunched, as if she were turning into an ostrich, Fujimaru Ritsuka quickly stepped forward.
"This is Artoria Cast. She's a fairy I met in the Nameless Forest. She's been a great help to me and is a good person!"
The strange atmosphere gradually dissipated, leaving only Caster still covering her face with her hands.
I want to run away!
To a place where no one knows me!
"Senpai, you've met remarkable companions after we got separated! But what exactly happened after that?"
"Well..."
At Mash's inquiry, Gudako shared her experiences with everyone.
After getting separated in the cursed mist, Gudako and Tristan soon fell unconscious. Fortunately, they were rescued by fairies living in the Nameless Forest. Having lost their own names, the two managed to pass the fairies' questioning thanks to the name tags hanging on them.
It was during that time they encountered Caster. According to her, she had also wandered into the Nameless Forest by mistake and lost her memories. Naturally, the three of them banded together for warmth.
The three amnesiacs temporarily settled in the fairies' village. At first, the fairies were quite friendly, but when Gudako's identity was exposed, everything changed with the speed of a storm sweeping through, leaving no time to react.
The exposure came from hunger.
Fairies don't experience hunger - they eat merely for pleasure. When Gudako asked the fairies for food due to hunger, her identity as a human was unexpectedly revealed.
The inhabitants of the Nameless Forest were all exiled fairies - rejects and unwanted beings of the Fairy Kingdom.
To them, humans were precious existences they had never seen before.
Thus, predictably, the fairies began fighting among themselves to obtain Gudako, with some even planning to chop her into hundreds of pieces - one small piece per fairy... In this absurd manner, the fairies of the Nameless Forest started killing each other!
Eventually, with the help of a certain little fairy, they escaped the village.
"But that was just a trap. She did that only to monopolize me, and when she found it impossible, she... she..."
"Turned into a Mors?"
Eiji's interjection made Gudako pause briefly before she nodded with a bitter smile.
Once transformed into a Mors - an undead, purely cursed creature - there was no way to bring them back.
In the end, the little fairy died at the hands of a Heroic Spirit from Proper Human History who came to rescue them. Then the Heroic Spirit helped them leave the Nameless Forest. After several days of traveling, they entered Salisbury to gather information about Mash, where they encountered Little Da Vinci working part-time at the Michael Hotel.
Overall, it was a tortuous experience. Seeing beautiful things torn apart before her eyes, Gudako came to deeply understand what kind of beings the fairies of the Fairy Kingdom truly were.
"It's so late already. Why don't everyone rest at the hotel tonight? We can discuss any questions together tomorrow, how about that?"
Noticing the heavy atmosphere, Little Da Vinci stepped forward, suggesting this with her angelically cute smile.
"That works."
No one had any objections.
Having worked and traveled all day, they were all quite tired.
"Hey, Grimm, did you bring any money?"
"Do I look like that kind of person? I was just about to ask you!"
"Understood. Habetrot, what about you?"
"...Can't you two be more reliable?"
Habetrot sighed with visible exhaustion, then retrieved several Morgan pounds from her loom and handed them to the owner, Michael, to book several rooms.
"Alright, Mash, please properly introduce them to us again!"
After seeing the others out, only Da Vinci-chan, Gudao, and Mash remained in the room. Da Vinci-chan cast a soundproofing barrier and smiled at Mash.
"? I've already explained—Miss Habetrot and Mr. Grimm both..."
"No questions about that part, though Grimm being Odin's messenger did surprise me... The issue lies with the third person."
Da Vinci-chan shook her head, her expression turning serious.
"Though he claims to be a human from Proper Human History... where did he actually come from?"