"Uh, is there something wrong with us?"
Seeing the expression on Morgan's face, the leader of the Wing Clan couldn't help but ask curiously.
"It's nothing."
Morgan replied indifferently.
She couldn't very well say that during the coronation ceremony for the Fairy King, someone was busy having indecent thoughts.
Damn husband of hers.
Morgan gritted her teeth secretly, glaring at Lot, who was still lost in his own imaginings, as she pondered how best to deal with him.
However, now was not the time to show it.
"Come, let the other fairies see me."
With that, Morgan gripped her staff and slowly walked outside.
The fairies outside all turned their eyes toward her, eager to see what she looked like.
Morgan stepped out, meeting the gazes of the crowd.
Her expression remained calm and unreadable.
The fairies, seeing that the Savior who emerged from the Inner Sea of the Planet showed not the slightest hint of intimidation despite the massive crowd, nodded inwardly in approval.
Impressive.
Of course, they had no idea that this number of people was nothing to Morgan.
Was Camelot's population not far larger?
Though the population of Western Europe in this era was much smaller than that of the East, compared to the fairies, the agrarian human population still vastly outnumbered them.
The fairies' advantage lay in the fact that every single one of them could serve as a soldier.
"From this moment onward, I am the Fairy King."
Morgan declared.
The fairies present remained silent.
Then, she continued:
"The actions of the Fang Clan and the Wind Clan have brought tremendous losses to all of us. These losses should never have been ours to bear. Thus, from now on, we must change this."
Hearing her words, the fairies exchanged confused glances.
"You're not planning to surrender to the humans, are you?"
The Earth Clan's leader spoke up skeptically.
Morgan's expression didn't waver.
"Of course not."
Though inwardly, she was cursing.
If everything had gone smoothly, of course I would have!
But you idiots just had to ruin it!
I gave you a chance, and you blew it!
"What I mean is do we really need to rush into an all-out war with humanity?" Morgan addressed the crowd.
"Do we need their land? Do we need their food?"
At this, the fairies all shook their heads.
"Then do we need to negotiate peace with them?"
Absolutely not!
That was the unanimous thought among the fairies.
Meanwhile, down below, Lot was thinking:
[Hah, isn't this simple? If we can't conquer them by force, then we'll just culturally assimilate them!]
Hearing this, Morgan's eyes lit up.
After a moment's consideration, she spoke again:
"I know you're still unconvinced. So, I'll let my companion explain our plan to you."
Then, she turned her gaze toward Lot.
"...???"
Seeing Morgan's expectant look, Lot blinked in confusion.
Wait, what?
Why me?
I was just here to watch the show!
Ah, whatever. Fine, I'll explain it myself. Might as well make things easier.
With that, Lot stepped forward, standing before the assembled fairies.
All eyes were now fixed on him.
Clad in his full-face helmet, Lot had undoubtedly become the center of attention.
He took a moment to gather his thoughts, then spoke:
"What is it that we fairies truly need from humans?"
"We need their spirit."
The fairies answered in unison.
This was common knowledge among their kind hence the immediate, collective response.
Seeing that the four major clans were in agreement, Lot raised a hand and continued:
"Exactly. What we need is only their spirit. So, why must we compete with them in the one area where we're weakest warfare?"
"Not to mention, as we are now, our clans stand little chance against humanity."
The four clan leaders frowned at his blunt words, but…
He wasn't wrong.
Facts were facts.
No one could deny that.
"Then what do you propose?"
The Earth Clan's leader asked skeptically.
"We defeat them using our strengths."
Lot had already prepared his deception his plan to trick the fairies.
"The Earth Clan excels in construction. The Wing Clan and the Rain Clan each have their own specialties. These are our true advantages."
Hearing this, the Mirror Clan's leader shot him a resentful look.
What about us?
You mentioned the others, but when it comes to the Mirror Clan, you just skip over us?
If Lot could hear his thoughts, he'd nod in agreement.
Yeah.
Your clan's usefulness is pretty much nonexistent at this point.
Your most vital ability prophecy has been completely nullified because of me.
Otherwise, I'd have set you up as fortune-tellers under a bridge or something.
But now? Aside from that, what do you even have left? A few petty spells?
Pathetic.
Of course, he didn't say this aloud.
"Next, we must deal the humans a devastating blow one severe enough to force them to the negotiating table. Once peace talks begin, we'll propose coexistence, demanding that they provide us with their cultural texts and knowledge as spiritual nourishment. Then, using our innate advantages, we'll gradually influence them."
He continued his explanation.
But in his mind
[Losing the war is not an option. We'll just make it look like we've dealt them a heavy blow. Once negotiations begin, that's when the real trap springs. Fairies may be intelligent, but they lack creativity. They're inherently fascinated by human culture. We'll make them dependent on our society eating our food, wearing our clothes, reading our books, absorbing our ideologies. And once they do, they'll become our vassals.]
[The Americans used this tactic all the time. Now, we're just applying it to Britain. Consider it my contribution to the Anglosphere.]
Beside him, Morgan couldn't help but gasp at the sheer audacity of his plan.
This is how you handle fairies?!
What kind of country is this "America" to come up with such a ruthless strategy?!
Damn, that's evil.
They deserve to be wiped off the map.
If Lot had known what she was thinking, he'd have wholeheartedly agreed.
The North American bandits absolutely deserve annihilation.
"Moreover, we can specialize in producing exquisite fairy-made goods to trade with humans, reducing unnecessary labor on our part."
The fairies, unaware of Lot's true intentions, found his reasoning sound.
What they didn't consider was this:
Once they became dependent on human goods, the fate of the fairy race would no longer be in their own hands.
But this wasn't entirely their fault after all, even in later eras, many educated scholars fell for the same trick.
"But how do we inflict such heavy losses on the humans?"
The Wing Clan's leader pressed.
"Well, don't we have ready-made soldiers? The Fang Clan prisoners. We'll just drive them into battle as cannon fodder."
Lot gestured dismissively.
"Hmm."
The fairies all nodded in agreement.
As long as they weren't the ones dying, anything was fine.
Back in the tent,
Lot and Morgan embraced excitedly.
Poor Agravain, not even born yet, was subjected to a crushing squeeze.
Once they were done, Lot smirked coldly.
"Those fairies… Let's see how they become our puppets."
Though the four major clans were slightly better than the Fang and Wind Clans, their behavior today had made one thing clear to Morgan:
They're all the same.
"Right. Now it's up to our officials to ensure the fairies become dependent on humanity."
"Mm. The next step belongs to them."
Morgan stretched lazily, then turned to Lot.
The path was laid out.
If they still failed, that was on the officials.
The incompetent would be purged.
The useless would be removed.
Morgan mused that the literacy campaigns she and that husband of hers had conducted were quite effective. Many now possessed basic education.
If the current officials couldn't handle it, they'd simply be replaced by those who could.
"Yeah. It's time to weed out the dead weight."
Lot agreed.
Then, he glanced around the tent before pulling Morgan down onto the bedding.
"Let's cherish this last night. Tomorrow, we leave. From then on, Fairy Morgan will take over."
As they lay down, Lot murmured to her.
"Tch. Cherish? Hardly. I can't wait to get out of this dump."
Morgan scowled at their surroundings.
"I miss Camelot's royal bed."
This place, though well-constructed by the Earth Clan, was still the wilderness.
All sorts of creatures lurked about.
Snakes? Rats? Morgan could handle those.
But
There were bugs.
Fucking bugs.
She shuddered, recalling how a few nights ago, she'd nearly incinerated the ground with her magic upon spotting a crawling insect.
Thankfully, Lot had been there to eliminate it for her.
"Once we're back, we're sleeping for three days straight on that bed."
Seeing her disgust, Lot quickly agreed.
They definitely needed to unwind after this.
"Mm."
With that, the two drifted off, dreaming of their return.
The next day,
The four clans drove the Fang Clan prisoners into battle.
Empowered by the clans' magic and lacking their acting chieftain's leadership, the Fang fairies had no choice but to charge the human forces.
Camelot's army retaliated but they'd long been prepared, making short work of the assault.
Amid the chaos,
Morgan and Lot slipped away from the fairy side, blending into Camelot's ranks.
They rendezvoused with Gawain, Fairy Morgan, and the others.
"Father! Mother!"
Gawain, spotting them, immediately rushed over joyfully.
"Ah, little Gawain!"
Morgan spread her arms, eagerly awaiting her daughter's embrace.
But then
Gawain brushed past her, throwing herself at Lot instead.
Morgan's smile froze.
"Good… daughter."
She gritted out.
The murderous intent radiating from her was so intense that even Gawain, mid-hug with her father, felt a chill down her spine.
Was this… the gates of the underworld?
"M-Mother! I missed you too!"
Quickly, Gawain turned and hugged Morgan.
Only then did Morgan's expression soften.
Hmph.
Acceptable.
"Alright, you're a general now. Act like one."
Lot patted his daughter's head fondly.
"Mm."
Gawain nodded, stepping back.
Fairy Morgan, who'd been watching silently, finally approached.
"Judging by your expressions, your mission was a success?"
"Of course."
Morgan and Lot shared a smug look.
"What did you do?"
Fairy Morgan frowned.
"Well…" Lot drawled, grinning. "We got you a Fairy King title. You'll just need to handle the formalities and take over for us."
"Oh, and no refusing. If you do, the four clans will plunge into civil war."
Morgan added cheerfully.
"...WHAT?!"
Fairy Morgan stared at them in horror.
She'd specifically said she never wanted to be Fairy King again!
HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?!