Chapter 920 – Misaligned Gears

000

The internal structure of the building she called her laboratory and invited her group to be simpler than expected.

If you go inside the door she opened, there is a straight dark passage, and since there is no light source in that passage, there is a door that takes you to the next room if you walk 10 steps.

When Chopper puts her hand on the door, it squeaks. It opens to both sides while making a sound.

And, it ends there.

The huge tofu-shaped building I saw from the outside was an extremely divided space, divided into just two areas: the passageway and the huge room in front of me.

＂Wow.＂

Cleon and Cuon said the same thing almost at the same time.

The reason was simple.

Because that room was similar to Lila’s room.

Of course, in the sense that it is a mess.

In other words, there are miscellaneous things rolling here and there on the floor of an entire room the size of an ordinary cabin where people live.

There was no desk or chair in sight.

Something made of wood, something made of metal, something made of paper, something made of stone.

They all look like mechanical parts of some kind, and are wandering around aimlessly without any rules, as if the loss of interest from their owner, Chopper, is the end of their lifespan.

＂Sit properly.＂

Chopper said that, but her companions, including Cleon, looked troubled.

In a place that was uncomfortable to walk around, it was clear that there was no place to sit.

＂Can I use this?＂

Except for one person, Sasha.

After Chopper finished speaking, she looked around, and among the wooden parts she was rolling around, she found an object in the shape of a relatively decent-sized box, and she asked Chopper.

＂That’s… Ah. You can use it. The experiment was already completed a long time ago.”

“That’s right! Then, Mr. Kuon, please sit down!”

Sasha smiled and handed the box she found to Kuon.

＂Oh, thank you…＂

Kuon looks at the box handed to him and Sasha in turn, then places the box on the floor and rests his butt on top of it.

＂I will stand and listen.＂

While Sasha was walking across to her companions in search of something to sit on, when Cleon said that, Chopper tilted her head.

“Okay? It’s going to be quite a long story. What. If you’re okay with that.”

Chopper said so, and without hesitation, she moved through the mountain of junk.

Then, in a corner of the room, the clean cloth was removed in a somewhat unnatural way, to the extent that you could tell that it had been covered a little while ago.

Then, a fox demon was seen sitting quietly inside a small cage.

＂Kung!＂

＂Nagi…＂

Cleon sighed, raising his hand to his chest as if relieved.

“This kid is quiet. Its nature is very different from that of other magical beasts. Is it because it is a demonic beast created based on humans?”

＂…! Did you know!? “

Cleon reacted as if surprised by Chopper’s words, but Chopper spoke quietly without showing any emotional change.

“That’s right. The execution stand is something I made. If the result is different from usual, it is natural to find the cause.”

＂… Could it be that you took her with you to investigate her? ＂

A feeling similar to that of Artis in her.

For the sake of his own curiosity, if he is the type of person who walks a tightrope on a thin line – he will do something inhumane to Nagi –

“No. Not really.”

But she answered neatly, took out her fox from inside the cage, and carefully brought it to Cleon.

“The reason you had this child. To meet you in a place where I can talk to you without interruption.”

＂… Our department? … We’ll check, but… This is our first meeting, right?”

“Speaking directly is like that. I was also at the circus performance while the accident happened. Your performance was quite impressive.”

She answers Cleon’s question.

Contrary to what she said was impressive, she did not show any emotional fluctuations or changes, making me feel like she might not have any emotions at all.

“So? What do you want to talk about by bringing us here? If it’s a story that’s better left unheard by other fairies, I don’t think it’s a very good story.”

Lyla sat on her box and spoke to her Chopper, who turned to her and nodded.

＂As you said. What I’m going to tell you now is… A story that should not be told to any other fairies.”

＂…＂

At Chopper’s response, Lila didn’t look embarrassed, but just sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.

＂Before that… One thing. Let me ask questions. This is a question for all of you.”

＂…?＂

“Humans. … How did you feel about the current state of this Fairy Village?”

Chopper asks, standing still upright and tilting his head as if he’s really curious.

It was like when a child couldn’t resist his curiosity and asked an adult a question he shouldn’t have.

And, in response to Chopper’s question, her group would all remain silent.

When I first visited Fairy Village, I was thrilled by the fantastical world-like scenery from a fairy tale.

However, the internal situation was not like that.

The innocence of her fairies comes from being ‘brainwashed to know nothing’, and the Fairy Queen uses that state to wield her power solely for her own ‘pleasure’.

And, the nobles, including Careclaw, who encourage such behavior under such a queen.

Grand Guignol, created by misaligned gears spinning and creaking.

In this world, things that people with normal sensibilities could not endure happened every day.

＂… Nightmare.＂

Amelia muttered like that.

There is no other expression more appropriate than the one she put in her mouth.

Others must have turned their heads in agreement with that word, which has numerous meanings.

If possible, I wanted to restore Nagi to his original form right now and return to the human world.

The beautiful and fantastic story of Fairy Village that I heard from Lesia – as expected, it may have been exaggerated in some way.

＂… Human common sense – no, if you have normal sensibilities. It’s only natural to feel that way.”

And, Chopper, a member of the fairy nobles who create such a world, says so.

＂Chopper… You think so too?＂

Chopper answered Sasha’s question by quietly looking down and placing her hand on her chest.

＂Even after seeing this. I also have feelings. And that feeling tells me that the current Fairy Village and the Fairy King are wrong.”

And she speaks while looking at Cleon and his companions.

“Therefore. I called you to this lab. I want you to lend me your strength so that I can return this Fairy Incense to its original state.”

“Return Fairy Incense to its original state?”

Let Cleon express doubts about those words, which somehow sound like a grandiose plan.

Chopper nods her head.

And she herself dragged her suitably box-shaped object under her own buttocks and sat down there.

“That’s right. I will dethrone the current Fairy King – the self-proclaimed Festival Fairy Dorothea, and reinstate the Lake Fairy, who was the Fairy King of the past.”

“Wait a minute, that means…!”

When Amelia realized the meaning of her words, she couldn’t help but stand up from where she was sitting.

In other words, Chopper revealed it himself.

She is a ‘traitor’ who rebels against the current Fairy King, and is a person who is plotting a treason.

001

＂Someone… Help me… ＂

Approximately 200 years ago from the time of Fairy Village.

A human girl suddenly fell from the open fairy circle.

Severe burns all over my body, and my legs and arms were torn apart.

No matter where you look, the girl was dying to the point where it was impossible to figure out how she got through the Fairy Circle in a situation where she couldn’t survive.

In a forest far from the lake where the Fairy King’s castle was located, he was struggling to survive on the remains of a collapsed cabin.

1 minute… 10 minutes… 1 hour.

Consciousness becoming hazy, breath stopping.

Now, I heard the cries of that girl who seemed more appropriate to be called a moving corpse rather than a still human being.

They were three fairies who had defects from birth.

They were living in a forest where witches were said to live, and when they suddenly heard a loud sound, they came to find the cause.

When we arrived, the witch’s hut was completely collapsed, and we found a girl on top of it.

“Big, big problem, here, there’s a person… A human has fallen. I fell, did I?”

A scarecrow who stutters and walks unsteadily.

＂Hee! My whole body is completely black! “You’d better not get close!”

A cowardly and small lion cub.

＂Check the subject’s weak vital response. Chance of being revived by fairy treatment… About 24%. … It is recommended to wait until death before burying.”

The Tin Woodman does not have proper emotions because he was born from the concept of ‘machine’.

“Well, I’m not sure. If I treat it, it’s okay, right?”

The foolish Scarecrow did not understand what the Tin Woodman said.

Every time the big girl walked, she pulled the herbs that were stuck to her moving arms and handed them to the Tin Woodman.

＂Hey, make it into medicine…＂

＂It’s meaningless. However, since I received the command, I will execute it.”

The Tin Woodman turned the herbs he received into ointment using the tools he had.

Half of the ointment made is given to the lion.

＂Why, why to me too!?＂

＂The subject’s vital reactions are rapidly disappearing. For treatment, it is reasonable for two people to apply this ointment to their entire body at the same time.”

＂I hate it, I hate it! It’s gross and sticky!”

＂Such sentiments are unnecessary.＂

The Tin Woodman forced the lion she hated into treatment and then applied therapeutic ointment to the entire body of the fallen girl.

＂G, take me home, let’s go.＂

After confirming that all the ointment had been applied to her, the scarecrow took the fainted girl with her large body and headed to the cabin in the forest where the three were staying.

And the foolish Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, and the emotionless Tin Woodman nursed the girl.

In any case, she would be lucky if she survives.

The Tin Woodman, who was the wisest of the three, thought so and only acted as the Scarecrow asked.

As a result.

The girl survived.

Was it a good connection, was she lucky, or was there something else?

The exact cause was unknown. All the original burns on her body were healed, and her broken bones in her arms and legs were restored to the point where she was able to walk.

When she first came to her senses, she was surprised to see the scary face of the scarecrow and her lion.

When I saw the two people panicking and hiding behind the furniture, I relaxed my guard.

Moreover, since he knew that they had treated him, he could not say anything bad to them.

When she was finally able to get out of her bed, the Scarecrow spoke to her.

“Okay, that’s good. Well, now I can walk.”

＂Yes… Thank you, Mr. Scarecrow.＂

＂Ooh, heehee…＂

The girl looked at herself in the mirror that the Tin Woodman had brought.

＂… Somehow, my skin seems to have improved compared to before the treatment… Has the hair color also changed? Originally it was only black, but now it’s mixed with white.”

“Well, fairy herbs are different from those in the human world. Boo, maybe it’s a side effect?”

When the lion, who was still hiding behind the large furniture and only showing her face, spoke like that, the girl thought, ‘Hmm…’ And then returned the mirror to the Tin Woodman as if it was okay.

The woodcutter, who returned her mirror, looks at her and talks.

＂Request your entity identifier.＂

＂Dog, entity identification name? You’re talking about your name… Right?”

The girl was a little taken aback by her woodcutter’s choice of words, but she answered by tying up her hair with her braid.

“I am Dorothea. Dorothea Storm. Originally, I was an ordinary human being who lived with my mother.”

Dorothea smiles and answers.

Her face, treated with herbs, seemed to glow even though she was just smiling.

The Scarecrow was a little jealous of Dorothea.

Her own face is just her face made by attaching soot to straw.

“Question. There are still unanswered questions about why you were hurt so badly and why you were on the witch’s hut.”

The Tin Woodman asked questions to get more information from Dorothea.

“Hut…? I don’t really remember what happened after I fell, but…”

Dorothea looks a little like she’s reminiscing about her old days, and then her complexion darkens.

“… The village I lived in was plundered by the lord’s soldiers.”

“Why, why did you do that? Soldiers’ job is to protect people! I’m scared!”

When she spoke as if the Cowardly Lion could not understand, Dorothea answered with a bitter expression.

＂Because I couldn’t pay taxes… The village I lived in was poor. Every year, the taxes that must be paid to the lord increase, and in addition, there is a drought…”

The lord’s soldiers have been putting pressure on such villages.

If you don’t have grain or gold coins, give something else.

However, in the process, he ended up touching a man’s woman, which was the beginning of the tragedy.

The farmer who had insulted his wife cut the soldier’s throat with a sickle, resulting in the death of one of the soldiers.

The lord’s soldiers, in revenge, killed the farmer and beheaded him.

It would have been nice if that had quieted things down-

Once a gear was out of alignment, it caused work to run out of control.

As the hostility between the villagers and the soldiers intensified, the lord decided to manage the village more strongly.

Dissatisfaction is piling up, and people’s lives are getting worse.

If you are looking for a solution in such a situation-

Now the only thing left for them was to leave the village and move to another place.

Of course, there was no way the lord would let that happen, so the attack that Dorothea mentioned took place.

＂… The soldiers who were killing the villagers who resisted set fire to the village in order to erase what happened in the village… I was hiding in the closet in the house as my mother told me to do, and I couldn’t even go out of the house. . Then the ceiling collapsed…”

＂S-Stop! Ah, okay! Okay, so stop telling scary stories…!”

Covering his ears with both hands, the lion crouched down.

He, who was trembling, must have imagined the scene from Dorothea’s words.

“And then I came to Fairy Village through the Fairy Circle that appeared afterward. I checked your history.”

Dorothea nodded at the Tin Woodman’s words.

And for a moment, the group was enveloped in silence.

Thanks to Hero Lesia, who visited Fairy Village 100 years ago, the severed relationship between humans and fairies was restored through the Fairy Circle.

However, Fairy Village was a somewhat alien space for humans to live in, so it was also the duty of the fairies who discovered the humans to send them back after they crossed over through the Fairy Circle.

Her problem is – will she have a place to return to?

Even the Scarecrow thought so in her poor head, and the Cowardly Lion found her pitiful.

Only the Tin Woodman, without her feelings, was talking to her.

“Dorothea. You can return to the original world.”

＂Eh…?＂

＂Humans who came to Fairy Village through the Fairy Circle first go to the lake castle and have an audience with His Majesty the Fairy King, and then decide on their further treatment. If you wish, you can return to the world of humans.

＂Your Majesty the Fairy King…＂

Dorothea seems to think about the Tin Woodman’s words for a moment, then nods her head again.

“Okay. Anyway, I need to meet His Majesty the Fairy King.”

“I will guide you. The distance is considerable here.”

When the Tin Woodman said that he would serve as her guide, the Scarecrow carefully lifted her hand.

“Now, wait a minute. Me too, together. I want to go.”

“Two, if you two go away, I’ll be left alone! “I’m going too!”

And, together with the lion who was afraid of being left alone.

“Good! Then the four of us will go together to meet His Majesty the Fairy King! We’ll be together for a while… So tell me the names of the three!”

＂Name…＂

At Dorothea’s words, the Scarecrow mutters.

They had nothing worth calling a name.

They just call them scarecrow, lion, and woodcutter.

The fairies living in the city are different, though.

＂No name?＂

When Dorothea asked cautiously, the Tin Woodman shook his head.

“We do not have a unique entity name.”

“Ugh… But, it’s also strange to call them Mr. Scarecrow, Mr. Lion, and Mr. Woodcutter…”

Dorothea looks a little worried, but then she smiles.

＂Mr. Scarecrow, Careclaw! She used to call me Scar Claw, but that’s because she took care of me!”

＂Ke, Careclaw…＂

The scarecrow nods as if he likes it.

“Mr. Lion… I’m not scared. ‘Dandelion’!”

“I’m a lion, so don’t be afraid!”

A lion gets angry when told it is not scary.

“And Mr. Woodcutter… ‘Chopper’?”

＂… This entity accepts the corresponding identifier.＂

The Tin Woodman accepts his new name without much sentiment.

＂I am Dorothea… Ahaha. Didn’t we talk about this earlier?”

Finally, Dorothea said her name again and scratched her head sheepishly.

“Good! Then, the four of us will go to meet His Majesty the Fairy King!”

Dorothea vigorously raises her hand.

The group went on an adventure like that.

However, there was one thing that bothered the Tin Woodman.

The witch who originally lived in the cabin where Dorothea fell – where did she go?

While Dorothea was still in her hospital bed, the woodcutter, who was concerned about this, went to the hut again and cleaned up the debris.

However, the witch’s body that was supposed to be underneath it was nowhere to be found.

She is a devilish old woman with white hair and a mysterious atmosphere.

If it had disappeared – that would have been fortunate for the fairies.

Maybe Chopper should have thought about it more properly and found the cause.

Thanks to you for not doing that-

Thanks to the start of the adventure to the Fairy King with Dorothea here.

Before I regret that the misaligned gears were created in Fairy Village as well.