Me, the Weakest Member of the Hero’s Party? I’m the Villain Though? - Chapter 121
“How much farther?”
Kyle, who was following behind, asked anxiously, snapping Kakaros out of his thoughts.
Lifting his head, Kakaros looked around at the dense birch trees surrounding them. It was so quiet that not even a single squirrel could be seen.
“Not much farther.”
The forest fairies were skilled at moving through the forest without leaving any traces. But they couldn’t escape Kakaros’s tracking ability.
“I hope nothing’s happened to Lysian.”
Last time in the snow mountains, Gerard had been the one making a fuss when Lysian disappeared, and now Kyle was the one getting impatient. It was almost strange how everyone in the party was so fixated on Lysian.
It was uncomfortable to meet the forest fairies again, the same ones who had abandoned the World Tree and fled. But Kakaros had made a promise to Kyle. They would not abandon a companion.
And if his own kind ended up harming Lysian, he would have no face left to show Kyle or Gerard.
‘Please be alive, Lysian.’
Kakaros muttered to himself and continued following the fairies’ trail.
“We’re going deeper into the forest.”
Just as Kyle said, the forest was growing denser. In a forest rarely touched by people, the trees and underbrush were so thick that it was difficult to take a proper step forward.
“Does anyone really live in a place like this?”
Gerard brushed aside the leaves hitting his face with an annoyed motion, knocking them away with his staff. Even with his magic, he couldn’t sense anything nearby.
“As Kakaros said, the forest fairies are cowards. They’ve set up all kinds of barriers, so human magic can’t even detect them.”
“Why do the forest fairies live hiding like that?”
Taking the chance, Gerard asked the question he had wanted to ask all along. Everyone had been curious, but no one had brought it up.
“The forest fairies receive the blessing of the World Tree, so they don’t fall ill and live long lives. They take such pride in that, it’s almost an obsession. That’s why avoiding external threats has become their nature.”
It was understandable, but not easy to accept. To be so obsessed with longevity that they hid from every possible danger and lived clustered together.
“I think I understand why you call them cowards.”
When Gerard muttered that, Elonen lightly punched his arm as a warning.
“I see. I understand. Everyone has their own culture. Then we just have to actively show them that we’re not a threat and try to persuade them.”
Kyle spoke more optimistically than usual, deliberately hiding his anxiety.
If Kakaros had agreed, it might have eased their minds, but he was someone who couldn’t even tell a well-meaning lie. He slowly shook his head.
“It won’t be easy. Prepare yourselves for an attack as soon as we enter their territory.”
“Will they attack even if we declare that we surrender first?”
Elonen asked worriedly, not yet mentally prepared.
“They would. Lysian may have already suffered the same.”
At Kakaros’s cold answer, Kyle, who had been trying to stay calm, quickened his pace in growing urgency.
* * *
The Fairy King looked exactly as I had imagined. True to the tall, slender build of the forest fairies, he was extremely tall, and he wore a crown woven from flower stems.
“The hero’s party?”
The Fairy King circled around me, who was tightly bound, muttering as if examining me. I had already said three times that I was with the hero’s party, but he still didn’t seem convinced.
“What about you makes you look like someone from the hero’s party? You don’t look particularly impressive.”
The Fairy King bent down and leaned his face close to mine, murmuring to himself.
Seeing him up close, his appearance truly went beyond the bounds of human beauty. I had thought Kyle looked handsome like a sculpture, but the forest fairy’s beauty was on a completely different level.
It was an androgynous elegance, delicate and graceful, like a flower blooming in spring.
“Do I need to write ‘hero’s party’ on my forehead for you to believe it?”
But I wasn’t about to be intimidated. I met the Fairy King’s gaze directly and spoke without hesitation.
“Let’s say what you’re saying is true. Your group is heading to the Land of the Dead to eliminate the Black Flame Dragon?”
I had already explained that twice. Tired of the repeated conversation, I let out a short sigh. I was starting to wonder if I should give up on persuading him and simply accept his judgment.
“Yes. The Black Flame Dragon is gathering the five sacred relics, and there’s a rumor that the last remaining relic is in that land.”
I had explained enough for him to understand by now. Starting from the Devotees of Darkness to the underground dwarven kingdom, the story had gotten so long that it almost turned into an epic.
