Chapter 921 – The Witch of Fairy Incense

000

The adventure that three fairies and one human went on could be said to be full of events.

Starting from the outer forest where they live, all the way to the upside-down castle on the lake where the fairy king lives.

While traveling for about three months, Dorothea was able to learn what kind of place Fairy Village was by meeting the numerous fairies and resolving the personal problems that arose in their lives.

The three fairies, who were usually reluctant to get involved with other fairies due to their uniqueness, eventually became accepted by the other fairies as they helped them.

A journey towards the castle with an irreplaceable companion.

In it, Dorothea and her fairies could feel their own growth, albeit small.

A scarecrow that was considered foolish because it had no brain.

A lion who was busy running away in the face of trials and difficulties.

The Tin Woodman has no emotions and only considers probability and efficiency.

And, a human girl who knew nothing about fairies.

After an adventure that was truly something out of a fairy tale, difficult but brilliant when looking back, the group’s steps finally stopped in front of the fairy king’s throne.

The fairy king of the time is a powerful wizard and beautiful fairy who has ruled this fairy village peacefully for over 500 years.

There was a rumor that the lake fairy was wiser than anyone else in Fairy Village, more beautiful than anyone else, stronger than anyone else, and had a warmer heart than anyone else.

She warmly welcomed the three fairies and the young but courageous girl who had recently been rumored among the fairies.

The Fairy King praised their achievements, reciting one by one the small achievements they had made during their adventure.

“Is there something you wish for?”

At the fairy king’s words, the group turned to each other.

With the power of the Fairy King, they might be able to make up for what they lacked.

The scarecrow wanted wisdom.

The lion wanted courage.

The Tin Woodman wanted a heart.

After hearing the three fairies’ wishes, the fairy king smiled slightly and gave some of the things he had to the three.

As a result, the Scarecrow no longer stuttered her words.

The lion no longer runs away from its enemies.

The Tin Woodman acquired the heart to care for his friends.

Lastly, Dorothea.

Her companions thought that she would finally ask to return to the original world in front of the fairy king, who was the purpose of their trip.

However, once Dorothea made eye contact with the other fairies, she smiled and spoke.

“Obviously… Fairy Village is not my hometown, nor is it the world I originally lived in. However, although I was just an ordinary person in the human world, I was able to have precious friends in Fairy Village.”

As if she had decided on something, she raised her head and spoke to the fairy king.

“Please allow me to live with them in this fairy village.”

The Fairy King granted Dorothea her wish and granted her a lifespan to live the same time as her fairies.

And, just as she has helped other fairies while traveling to the fairy king’s castle, she has been given the role of freely traveling around this fairy village and helping fairies in trouble.

Dorothea, who was given the same lifespan and role as a fairy, was now a full-fledged resident of Fairy Village.

Her companion was delighted, and she thanked the fairy king for the fact that she would be able to adventure with Dorothea in the future.

And they lived happily ever after…

001

＂Eradication of witches?＂

“Huh. I happened to hear a story… I heard that witches have been living in Fairy Village for a long time.”

Care Claw looked surprised at Dorothea’s words and almost dropped the teacup while enjoying tea time with her.

Of course, as Dorothea said, witches who had suddenly appeared in this fairy village were living in hiding in the forests of the east, west, south, and north, and were repeatedly conducting suspicious magic experiments on the fairies.

It is said that before the lake fairy became the fairy king, it was so severe that a war broke out between fairies and witches.

However, after the lake fairy became the new fairy king, thanks to her powerful magic and the powerful knights who protected her, her witches gradually reduced their activities.

Now, they had locked themselves in their cabin in the forest and rarely came out.

There were some fairies who questioned why they didn’t kill the witches, but the Fairy King said that witches were immortal and that even if they lost their current body, there was a possibility that they could be revived in another body, so he preferred to keep them in their current state, with their faces and names known. It is said that it was better to suppress it.

In fact, the witches were so afraid of the power of the fairy king and knight that they had weakened to the point where they were grumpy at the nearby fairies.

“Then, as His Majesty the Fairy King said, there is no need to go to exorcise witches?”

“Huh. I thought so too, but it seems like witches’ activities have become more active again recently. “I hear that the fairies are in trouble, but I can’t sit still.”

＂Huh… Then are you going to scold me a little? Just like the driver did?

Dorothea nods at Careclaw’s words.

Surely, the now weakened witches might be able to be eradicated with just Dorothea and herself.

The fairy king and knights already have a lot of work to do in this fairy town, so they don’t have enough time to deal with the witches.

“Are you going to help me? Care Claw? “

“… Of course, Dorothea. Of course, Dande and Chopper will do the same.”

“Thank you! After all, you are my best friend!”

As Dorothea said this, she hugged Care Claw, and her rustling sound echoed throughout her garden.

It was the very next day that the four people once again set out on an adventure to exterminate witches.

After explaining her case to her fairy king, she out of concern lent some of her own magic to Dorothea.

After coming to her fairy scent, she is said to have been learning her magic from her, but Dorothea probably decided that her skills were not yet sufficient to overcome the witches’ magic.

But Dorothea didn’t seem to be afraid of the witches.

Rather, she was curious and wanted to meet the witches quickly.

That appearance made even Dandelion, who had gained courage and stopped being a coward, feel a little uncomfortable, but Dorothea was able to ignore it, thinking that she had always been like that.

Then, the four people started north, west, and visited witches in the south.

Exterminating witches wasn’t as difficult as you might think.

They invaded the hut where the witches were hiding, and while Dorothea was having a magical battle with her witch, the three other fairies took the items that were the source of her witch’s magic from the hut and delivered them to Dorothea.

In some ways, it was a bit of a cowardly method, but the witches who had their magic taken away lost their power and fell under Dorothea’s magic.

After that, it’s sermon time.

Dorothea dragged her witch into her hut and delivered a stinging sermon to the witches, who were hundreds of years older than her, so loudly that they could be heard outside.

Meanwhile, the other three fairies took on the task of restoring the forest around the cabin that had been disturbed by the fight between the witch and Dorothea.

Once Dorothea gets a promise from her witch not to do any more bad things, that’s the end of it.

The adventure of going around Fairy Village came to an end with less difficulty than expected.

After defeating the three witches, Dorothea returned to the capital of Fairy Village.

Dorothea’s popularity was sky-high among fairies who had suffered painful experiences from witches.

And, among the fairies, some began to say that if the time came for the lake fairies to decide on the next fairy king, it would be better to make Dorothea the next fairy.

Well, the fairy kings pass their thrones to the next fairy at the appropriate time, but-

Because Dorothea was human, it was unknown whether she could become a fairy king.

However, there was a person who felt something was strange, and it was the Fairy King’s knight.

She asked Dorothea shortly after she returned from her trip to exorcise the three witches.

“Dorothea. Why did you return without visiting the East Witch’s Forest?”

There are four witches who live in Fairy Village.

However, it was the three people, excluding the Witch of the East, who clearly saw Dorothea and took away her magic along with her sermon.

“But unlike the other three witches, the Witch of the East hasn’t been seen recently, right? So I thought there was no need to visit…”

Dorothea gave her knight a plausible reason, but the knight seemed not to understand and shook his head.

“No. In that case, we should have investigated the Witch of the East more deeply. Witches are evil beings and are good at using witchcraft to deceive people. When you don’t show up, it’s actually the time to be most alert.”

＂…＂

“I won’t say that I did a sloppy job. But… Your Majesty the Fairy King would have also checked the Witch’s Forest to the east.”

As the knight said that, he turned his back on Dorothea and walked away.

“What! He was in the castle… Don’t worry about it, Dorothea. We’re doing this because our popularity has increased these days.”

Careclaw spoke as if trying to comfort Dorothea, who had become speechless.

“Yes, that’s right. Dorothea. Because we worked for the fairies with all our might.”

Dandelion also agreed with Careclaw.

“You think so too, right? Chopper.”

＂Ah, yes…＂

However, Chopper deep down thought that the knight’s words were correct.

In fact, Chopper had only said something like a knight to Dorothea.

After defeating the southern witch, why not go to the eastern witch’s forest and check it out first?

But Dorothea responded to Chopper’s words like this:

“There’s no need for that. Because it’s not there anyway.”

Chopper was speechless for a moment when she responded with a smile.

Attitude as if confident.

Apparently, the Witch of the East’s hut collapsed due to the impact of Dorothea falling, and the Witch of the East’s body was not there.

But… She was probably the only one who confirmed it.

Chopper wondered if she should have asked Dorothea why she thought so.

However, the reason I immediately shook my head was because I thought she wouldn’t answer even if I asked.

Recently, Dorothea seemed to be hiding something from herself.

But she thought she might lose her friend, and time passed without her even being able to pursue it.

Since returning from her journey to exorcise witches, Dorothea has been spending more time studying her things in her own room than learning her magic from her fairy king.

Only Chopper knew what she was researching.

These are the sources of magical power stolen from witches.

Because she had a plausible justification for using them to think of measures against witches, Chopper wasn’t too suspicious.

Until she brought the blueprint for ‘that tool’.

＂… Execution platform?＂

With her disturbing name in her mouth, Chopper looked at the blueprint drawn on the paper in her hand.

“Huh. Oh, it’s called execution, but it’s not really execution. It temporarily takes away your powers, appearance, and memories as a fairy. It’s a little punishment.”

Dorothea spoke lightly, but the content was not light at all.

The person who carried out the execution can decide when to return what was taken like this –

If you call it a minor punishment and never return what you took for the rest of your life, it is really no different from execution.

“Now that the witches are not active, I don’t think there are any fairies in this fairy village worthy of punishment like this…”

＂It may be so… But you never know when strange guys might appear in the world again.＂

As Dorothea said this, she held Chopper’s hand.

“What I felt when I came to Fairy Village is that fairies are not that different from humans. Feeling equally happy and sad at the same time. I also know how to turn the arrows of anger and hatred. However, the more pure it is, the more strongly it reacts to those feelings. It’s okay for now – but what if someone does? What if a fairy with ‘malice’ appears? In order to prevent that, there is a need to create a little bit of a ‘stingy punishment’.”

Human politicians effectively utilize the emotion of ‘fear’ to rule effectively.

If the essence of fairies is not much different from that of humans – that would also be an effective means.

Although there were various concerns, Chopper nodded his head at her words.

Although Chopper received emotions from the Fairy King, he had not yet obtained complete emotions.

So, if she thought what she said was reasonable, she prioritized her mechanical judgment over her anxiety.

I trusted Dorothea until now.

Based on Dorothea’s blueprint, Chopper created the device she requested.

Although Dorothea had knowledge, she did not have the dexterity to reproduce it.

It took a year to develop the scaffold, and in the meantime, Dorothea was still traveling around Fairy Village, helping fairies in trouble and increasing her popularity.

What the Fairy King thought of Dorothea – it is unknown at this time.

Because-

Shake!

A room where the fairy king’s throne is located, and the ceiling is open, so you can see the surface of the lake.

Inside the room, a loud sound echoed, and intense pressure pressed down on the bodies of the two people.

The lake nymph and her faithful servant, the knight.

Four people looking at two people who stumble and resist the pressure.

“Hehe, hehe…! Ahahahaha!!”

Looking at the two fairies kneeling before them, Dorothea raised her laughter like crazy.

Careclaw had a wry smile on his face, and Dandelion had a stern expression.

Only Chopper was looking at the situation without any expression.

“It’s really done! After all, it’s Chopper! You made the execution platform exactly as I had imagined!”

＂Road, Thea… Four years… Finally, true nature…!＂

The fairy king’s knight stumbles and tries to get up from his seat.

＂Care Claw. Increase the output of the execution platform further.”

＂Yes~＂

As Dorothea snapped her fingers while saying that, the magical pressure emanating from the huge magic tool in front of them became even stronger.

＂Ugh… Ugh…!＂

The body of the knight, who tried to somehow stretch his legs and get up, sinks again.

“Your majesty…! Are you okay!? “

The Fairy King could not properly respond to the knight’s words.

＂Huh? Your condition looks very bad. … That’s it too! A great king who solves state affairs by himself without sleeping properly at night for several years. There, by giving us some of his power, he has weakened himself. Is it natural that I’m not feeling well~”

＂Dorothea…!＂

The knight was enraged by Dorothea’s voice mocking the fairy king, but he was unable to move his body.

“Why are you doing this! His Majesty the Fairy King truly cared for you all…!”

In response to the knight’s question, Dorothea wrapped the ends of her hair around her fingers.

“Yes, I also like His Majesty the Fairy King. I respect you. Well, you’re stronger, more beautiful, wiser… And more merciful than anyone else in Fairy Village, right? A kind of transcendent person who transcends the realm of ordinary existence… There’s no way you wouldn’t like a person like that.”

＂What…?＂

When the knight looked confused by Dorothea’s contradictory words and actions, she continued speaking.

“But. Isn’t it a little shameful to have it all to myself? We don’t have any of them… It’s natural to be envious, right?”

＂For that reason…!＂

“Are you okay. I’m not planning on doing anything to Fairy Hyang. It’s just… I wanted to taste it too. It is the power and position of His Majesty the Fairy King. So, she took everything from her – we’ll share it.”

Dorothea’s eyes lit up.

A pattern that had never existed before appeared in her eyes.

“That pattern is a witch’s…!? No way, Dorothea, you-!”

＂Ahaha! It’s too late to realize it now! It’s a check-make situation!”

The knight grunted at Dorothea’s words and scratched her floor with her gauntleted hand.

＂Road… Thea…! This witch!”

Next moment, boom! With a sound, the body of the knight that had been crushed popped out like a spring.

＂Huh?＂

The knight unleashed all of her remaining magical energy and turned it into her own driving force, and rushed towards Dorothea, prepared to destroy her.

Her frozen sword swings, aiming for Dorothea’s neck.

＂Ah.＂

Dorothea may have prepared for her own death there.

You can’t avoid it, you’ll be cut down.
Her neck will fall off.

Even Dandelion, Careclaw, and Chopper who were next to him couldn’t react to that speed.

For a moment, four people were caught up in the feeling that time had stopped.

However-

Before the sword reached Dorothea’s neck, the knight’s appearance disappeared along with the sword.

No, saying it disappeared would be the wrong expression.

‘It has changed.’

The originally majestic and beautiful appearance of the female knight was gone, and what was left in its place was a small animal.

Power, memories, and name were all taken away by the execution squad.

Looking at the unconscious knight who had fallen to the ground, Dorothea’s expression changed from cold sweat to a smile.

“Under-. … Haha. Haha!! Ahahaha!! “I really thought I was going to die!”

It was as if a screw had fallen off somewhere in her head, and endless laughter burst out of her mouth, dominated by adrenaline.

＂Hi… Haa…! Ah, my stomach feels like it’s turning…”

She laughed for a while, and then it seemed like her stamina was running low.

And, Careclaw talks to Dorothea.

“Then. Will His Majesty the Fairy King finish it?”

“Okay. Have you all decided what you want?”

Beyond being wise, the arrogant Scarecrow even wanted her beauty.

Beyond being brave, the brave lion wanted her strength.

The girl who obtained the life of a fairy wanted the fairy scent itself.

And, the Tin Woodman-

I wanted a feeling that I still didn’t understand.

And-

The lake fairy and the knight disappeared just like that.

Everything was taken away by four usurpers.

The name, abilities, roles, memories, everything.

And – the Tin Woodman, who had finally achieved the emotions he had longed for, despaired.

It was only after they had achieved the emotions they so desperately wanted that they realized the foolishness of what they had done.

The thing that caused the gears of Fairy Hyang to shift.

It was none other than himself.