84.5. Don’t ask; just trust your instincts.

The Rodmar Empire.

After fleeing in tears out of fear, it felt like that foolish monarch, Magnus, truly could follow through on his words, transforming into a green meteor, flying all the way back to the Rodmar Empire.

The order given by the master to “destroy the self-disciplined fairy” was a complete failure, not to mention that along the way, I didn’t encounter Ludwig, who was supposed to be chasing after me. Could it be that the fairy didn’t even fight Kephir and just ran away? What a coward!

But… if Ludwig also managed to escape, wouldn’t that mean I failed the master’s command to “keep an eye on Ludwig”? Oh no, the master wouldn’t really tear me apart in a fit of rage, would he!?

With such a fearful heart, I flew back among the fairies and indeed saw the master’s top fairy, the old hag Claudilus. Upon realizing I had “brought nothing back,” her gaze was one that seemed ready to tear me apart. However, before I could kneel and beg for mercy, I noticed that the master didn’t seem as angry about my obvious failure as I had expected.

“Master! I’m sorry! Although I found the fairy from Prulus, I… couldn’t destroy her…”

“If apologies were useful, then what’s the point of calling you ‘Master’!?”

Compared to the Master, Magnus always felt that the old fairy Claudilus beside her was the one truly displeased. It’s just like the saying: the emperor isn’t anxious, but the eunuch is. Tch—this old hag failed too, and almost shattered her own body in the process.

“Magnus, do you think I can’t see what you’re thinking just by looking into your eyes? Want to go ‘prove’ it to me alone?”

The chaos fairy Claudilus, who seemed to have been completely restored by the Master, was now confronting Magnus, making her hurriedly avert her gaze. Fighting? Of course, no one could win against this old hag. There was no need to explain anything to her, but she had to properly report her failure to the Master; otherwise, it felt like the Master might really tear her apart.

With that thought, Magnus immediately dropped from mid-air, kneeling before her Master—Nilu, and within a second, she was already in tears!

“But Master, oh Master! It’s not that I didn’t try hard; it’s just that our king is a foolish ruler! Wuwuwu… he actually used you to threaten me, and with all sorts of unexpected events, I had no chance to deal with that self-disciplined fairy! It’s so unfair, Master!”

This wasn’t just her being dramatic; Magnus truly had the following genuine experiences.

After hurriedly telling her Master everything that had happened with the fairies and orcs, Magnus lifted her head, cautiously watching Nilu’s every move.

Not having destroyed the self-disciplined fairy as the Master wished would surely upset her, but soon Magnus realized: the Master didn’t seem as angry as she had imagined; rather… she looked a bit happy?

What in the world had she done that would make the Master happy…?

“Stop crying already.”

Nilu sighed, “Sigh… I didn’t really expect you to succeed. To be honest, the king not tearing you apart directly is already a sign of his generosity. And you… now you’re saying the king is a foolish ruler?”

“But he threatened me with ‘wanting to sleep with you’!!”

Ah! As soon as the words left her mouth, Magnus felt as if she had just awakened from a dream!

Oh! No wonder the Master was so happy just now; it was because of this…

“Little treasure fairy, you’re still talking back to the Master!”

Magnus’s head was quickly pressed down by the displeased Claudilus.

At this moment, all the fairies who had been more or less injured earlier had been fully restored, surrounding Nilu. At least from this moment, it seemed as if the former glory of the Rodma Empire had briefly returned.

Nilu looked around at her fairies, whether it was the recently restored chaos fairy Claudilus, the previous dark fairy Ignis, or the current wind fairy Magnus…

“Perhaps it’s not just my illusion; the king won’t harm you…”

“However, my master, I was almost destroyed…”

Claudia immediately defended herself, but was met with Nilu’s cold gaze: “At that time, the one who wanted to destroy you was not the king, but that woman, Kephiel, right? Ignis, has the king ever wanted to destroy you?”

Ignis shook her head.

Nilu continued, “From the very beginning, I did indeed want to eliminate those traitors, but… I understand the power of the self-disciplined fairies. Since Ignis’s time, I have been more focused on verifying some doubts.”

“The king… perhaps has some connection with us. Don’t you all feel the same as I do? Even though we have returned here and rebuilt our Rodmar Empire, there seems to be something still ‘covered’ in our thoughts. For instance, even though I remember much of the past, there remains a void regarding certain matters. The trivialities no longer matter, but… the part concerning Euclid and the ‘king’ has always troubled me. It feels as if I have been trapped in a deep dream, and even now, we are still caught between dreams and reality.”

“This must be related to the king, because every instinct and lingering feeling in my body tells me so!”

Magnus’s first impression was that she didn’t quite understand.

However, she agreed with her master. Even though she could indeed recall the glory and status her master once enjoyed, Magnus felt as if there was still something she couldn’t quite remember. This was definitely not due to the erosion of time; as a fairy under her master, she could never forget the brilliance of that period.

So… perhaps there was truly some reason that left her… and everyone, including her master, feeling… a little lacking.

That being said, her master’s demeanor was a bit… excessive.

“Perhaps it is the ‘king’s’ love for me, even if the king himself has already forgotten…”

Ah, ahaha… the king is just a genuine human, not some fairy! However, aside from nodding in agreement, it seemed there was no other choice for everyone.

Fortunately, her master’s emotions came and went quickly; she soon calmed down and summoned the fairies back to her side.

“Now, everything in the Rodmar Empire has stabilized as before, just waiting for the ‘king’s’ return. So, let’s leave this place to the other fairies for now; we will go to welcome our king.”

“But…”

“Don’t worry, I have already confirmed it.”

Nilu looked at Claudia and smiled, “Even if that woman harbors all kinds of hostility towards us, the king will never harm us. Since that is the case, all we need is the king’s concern; that woman… doesn’t matter.”

“The vague feelings I can barely perceive are telling me just that.”

Extra 1: The Bear and the Fox with Incompatible Worldviews

After staying in the Kingdom of Prussia for a few more days, due to various circumstances, Kfeier and I had reached the point where we had to set off back to the Great Ying Empire. Well, it wasn’t really a big deal; after all, with the advanced technology in the Kingdom of Prussia, we could contact the queen at any time to explain our situation.

The main issue was that the queen was dissatisfied with my prolonged absence and wanted me to return quickly. If that woman got serious, she held too much dirt on me, so reluctantly, I had to prioritize our return to the Great Ying Empire.

At this moment.

Before saying goodbye, I was packing my luggage with Kfeier, preparing to leave. Just then, a strange creature burst into my room.

“In our Austro-Hungarian tribe, it’s always the males who take the lead. You’re clearly a real man, yet you’re going to obediently listen to your wife and go back?”

With a bushy tail, a peace sign, and eyes that seemed perpetually half-closed, there was a glimmer in her gaze that I could only interpret as “mockery.”

Zelus, the bear fox who had barged into my room, seemed to have been at odds with me since the day we met.

“Enough of that. I was planning to return anyway, so don’t stir up trouble between us.”

And what do you mean by listening to my wife? At least use a nicer term—call her wife!

I stuffed my clothes into the suitcase and secured it, then looked up at the bear fox who had intruded.

True to her nasty and cunning nature, Zelus unfolded her identity before me like peeling layers off a zongzi. First, she was just an ordinary, ill-tempered bear fox; then she transformed into the chieftain of the Austro-Hungarian tribe; finally…

I suppose it could be considered “unavoidable.” At the moment I had to defeat Magnus, she revealed her final layer, her true identity—a self-disciplined fairy hidden within the Austro-Hungarian tribe, known as a shape-shifting fairy!

Though I had been forced into it, and in a daze, I had let this fairy “smack” a kiss on me to claim me as hers, still…

It seemed I was never meant to get along with this foul fox from the very beginning!

“So, what are you here for? If it’s about something related to fairies, I should have made it clear before: Kfeier and I came to the Kingdom of Prussia to find the self-disciplined fairy and search for clues about Ludwig. Now that our mission is complete, we naturally have to go back.”

“As for… your matter.”

I hesitated for a moment and said, “It was purely out of necessity and coincidence. Since that’s the case, I have no intention of using or taking your powers or anything, so you don’t need to do anything extra. By the way, this is the territory of the fairies; you, a fox, shouldn’t linger here. Hurry back to your tribe and play the part of your chieftain…”

“Hah? Are you looking down on me?”

Zelus’s expression seemed quite displeased. “I happen to be a self-disciplined fairy just like Icarus, you know.”

Damn, it’s precisely because I think highly of you that I didn’t plan to use any “master’s orders” to make you work like a beast for me. Just busy yourself with that! If I truly regarded you as my fairy, would you even dare to talk back to me? I would have already knocked you on the head with a divine punishment fist!

Seeing that I ignored her, the fox-eared girl flicked her ears and then… jumped up.

“Holy crap, you’re back again!”

This was already the start of my plan to “go back,” and this bear-fox had done this to me more than once recently! Almost every time, she would pounce on me like a wild beast, clawing at my clothes. And those things she had, which were more like claws than hands, were particularly sharp. Just a touch would leave five deep claw marks on my ordinary clothes.

Fortunately, this bear-fox still retained a shred of basic etiquette and shame as a subhuman; she didn’t immediately start farting or peeing while clawing at me like those wild beasts. Otherwise, it would have truly cost me my life.

In the next moment, Zelus had already climbed onto me.

However, today she didn’t claw at my clothes. Although her claws still inevitably left a few marks on my outfit, the little fox herself seemed silent, as if she had something on her mind.

“What, what’s wrong?”

This sudden turn left me a bit unsure of how to respond.

After all, being clawed at by Zelus made me realize: from my angle, the little fox in front of me looked like I was hugging an oversized doll, and a super realistic one at that. After all, whether it was the pair of beast ears right in front of me or that big fox tail, they were all… genuinely valuable.

Even the suddenly silent Zelus seemed to have become quite a bit cuter.

Suddenly, she lifted her head, her ears twitching.

“You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”

“What?”

“That time, when you suddenly recognized me as your master…”

Zelus’s voice grew smaller and smaller, until in the end, I had to guess to understand her completely.

Did this fox suddenly take the wrong medicine?

I slightly averted my gaze.

“No, not really.”

Although it was indeed unexpected and forced, the matter of recognizing a master is different; others recognize me as their master, not as a slave. At least from the perspective of the master-servant relationship, it’s clear that I was the one taking advantage of Zelus, so I naturally had no reason to resent it.

And…

“Before you, two other fairies have already used similar methods to claim their masters, so I’ve gotten used to it.”

Glancing at the script, I began to understand why this little fox had been intentionally causing me trouble these past few days. Zelus seemed to be troubled by whether her act of “claiming a master without permission” had caused me any distress. This bear-like fox was unexpectedly sensitive in such matters.

“So, I don’t have any objections.”

As I thought this, I wrapped my arms around Zelus and lifted her up. “The existence of self-disciplined fairies can replenish their magic power on their own. Since you won’t ‘drain’ me or anything, I shouldn’t have to worry. Conversely, I don’t need you to do anything simply because I don’t have much use for fairy powers at the moment. Your status is special; staying in the Austro-Hungarian tribe without being forced to fulfill any fairy duties is perfectly fine.”

The little fox’s drooping ears finally perked up again.

Unfortunately, just when I thought this bear-like fox could be a little less “bear-like,” she…

Truly, her nature wouldn’t change.

“Other fairies came before me? What a scumbag!”

“Hah!?”

By the order of arrival, you’re the junior, okay? Not to mention, compared to the queen, her grand empire is wealthy and powerful, while you have nothing! You just cause trouble!

In the next moment, Zelus broke free from my grasp and darted out, finally poking her little head out before disappearing from sight.

“But, when you’re being chased to the brink of death, you can still come to the Austro-Hungarian tribe and be a turtle.”

“Not going! Scram, scram, scram!”

To correct my earlier statement, although I understand Zelus’s thoughts, I truly find that I don’t see eye to eye with this bear-like fox!

Extra 2: A Curved Path to Salvation (End of Volume)

The Kingdom of Plurist.

This is a kingdom built by elves, modern in culture, customs, and public safety, where visitors need not worry about safety issues arising from cultural and racial differences. As for the “orc problem” that everyone is concerned about, it is even less of a possibility. Under the leadership of His Majesty King Adev, the royal guard of the Kingdom of Plurist can completely keep those fearsome brutes at bay beyond the borders.

In the Kingdom of Prulith, any visitor can enjoy a VIP-level touring experience, along with the conveniences of life brought by the exclusive technology of Prulith that cannot be found in other countries. In this peaceful kingdom, where the crime rate is far lower than in other nations, your food, lodging, and travel are all fully guaranteed.

Now, those who come to the Kingdom of Prulith can receive a 20% discount voucher. While experiencing the bustling advancement of the capital, you can also visit the countryside of Prulith and appreciate the authentic beauty of the Elven lands! Her Majesty, King Adev of the Kingdom of Prulith, welcomes you on behalf of the kingdom!

“Well… that should be about it.”

The flickering image vanished, and Adev ran her fingers through her hair.

At this moment, it was shortly after Adev had acquired the territories of the old Elven nobles, strictly speaking, during the period of “Prulith’s recent expansion.” In an effort to make even a little use of the seemingly useless lands of those old Elven nobles, Adev set about creating this promotional video for the tourism industry.

Well, magic stones are something every country has, but to develop something that is merely used for communication into a medium for promotion—now that is exclusive to the Kingdom of Prulith.

That said, Adev quickly noticed something amiss and looked up at Icarus, who was seated at the control console in the core area.

“Wait, hold on, Icarus. Fast forward to the end of the promotional video, to the part where I’m standing with my subordinates.”

As she spoke, Adev pointed at her image on the screen. “You… need to touch up this part of me in the video a bit.”

“Invalid command. May I ask what adjustments you would like to make to your chest in the video?”

“Make it bigger! Why can’t you understand such a subtle request?”

Adev began to complain. When the promotional video was being filmed, she hadn’t felt much surrounded by her subordinates, but now, viewing the video from a third-person perspective, Adev suddenly realized: surrounded by a bunch of elves, especially Melna in her uniform, she was… utterly overshadowed by the “turbulent waves” beneath her. Although it wasn’t entirely absent, it appeared very… flat.

To be honest, it was a bit frustrating, as Adev could easily connect this matter to some unpleasant thoughts, such as… could it be that the lack of appeal in this area was what made her seem less attractive?

The period when elves’ appearances and bodies stop growing varies from person to person, and here she was, still stuck in this youthful phase—how embarrassing!

“Objection. If you continue to enlarge it, it will look very strange in proportion to your body type.”

“Just do it for me!”

“…”

In the next moment, Icarus began to write and draw on the screen. Then, when everything was finished, the moment Adev looked over…

Adev rubbed her forehead and sighed, “Forget it, just erase me from it entirely. Even if this promotional video gets sent out, it will only make me feel inferior.”

“Understood.”

I originally thought about sending this promotional video to the Great Ying Empire, but now it seems that it’s better not to show this kind of thing to Oujili De. Otherwise, my already limited appeal would probably be buried among a bunch of my subordinates, each with a large mass of fat on their chests.

And next, there’s another important matter.

“Ikaros, has the channel specifically for ‘viewing’ been fully established?”

The “core” of the Prussian Kingdom, the insightful fairy Ikaros, had previously entered into a contract with Kephir, and this decision was made with the agreement of both Aidefu and Ikaros.

Of course, the one they sought was Ikaros, and giving them a favor was one aspect; more importantly, the established contract would inevitably come with a connection. As long as there was a link to Kephir, Ikaros could accomplish certain tasks in the quickest and most convenient manner.

For example…

“It’s all set up; we can start displaying the images now.”

Being able to monitor Oujili De’s actions throughout, heh heh heh~ There’s nothing in this world that the Prussian Kingdom cannot see.

Ahem, of course, Aidefu had already decided to keep these matters secret from anyone other than herself and Ikaros.

Soon, in response to Ikaros, a screen in the newly repaired core area flickered to life after a burst of white noise, revealing a clear image.

Ikaros, following the contract with Kephir, was able to conveniently observe Oujili De. Naturally, the actions displayed on the screen were exactly what Oujili De was doing at that moment.

In the image, after a moment of hesitation, he suddenly turned towards the camera…

【Click】

“Hey! Ikaros, why did the image suddenly cut out!”

Aidefu hurriedly asked, feeling anxious. By the way, Oujili De’s earlier action was indeed strange, but the angle he aimed at was even stranger, almost as if he were…

“…Experiencing a malfunction, currently being repaired. Tch.”

It seemed that Ikaros suddenly emitted a very casual tone; was this fairy alright?

When the image resumed, it had transformed into the third-person perspective that Aidefu was familiar with. In it, Kephir appeared to be getting very close to Oujili De, which made Aidefu feel quite displeased.

Though even if she was displeased, she could only watch.

Aidefu glanced at Ikaros: “Ikaros, do you… not like this human woman?”

“……”

After a moment of hesitation, Icarus shook his head. “It’s your illusion. The contract is complete; I have no reason to dislike her.”

“But I always feel… that you’ve intentionally or unintentionally given me a perspective where I can’t see Kephir’s face at all.”

“It’s your illusion, Adev.”

“And besides, in this image… you’ve blurred Kephir out, haven’t you? Do you really not want to see her?”

“It’s simply a normal occurrence of visual distortion and jaggedness due to the target being too far away. Don’t panic.”

Adev rubbed her forehead.

This fairy, don’t think that just because you speak in a mechanical tone with a blank expression, you can deceive me at will, right?

“… You’re not trying to get close to Euclid by taking a roundabout way to acknowledge Kephir, are you?”

“… I need to recharge my magic, Adev. Please leave.”

Damn, I guessed it! Icarus, I didn’t expect you to be this kind of fairy!

——

Everyone, Volume 9 ends here. After this, due to some important parts that need to begin, I will write them as a separate volume. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time—the upcoming plot between the male and female leads. Please stay tuned.

And also, I’m preparing to dig a pit, so I need to get ready.

Remember to cast more monthly votes, everyone~

9.5, From now on, please don’t leave