The fairy that had appeared in response to Rei's words.
Whether it was because he claimed to know Nielson, one of the fairies, or whether the word "snacks" he had mentioned had done the trick—he wasn't sure exactly which it was. Either way, Rei was relieved that a fairy had shown itself.
Also likely related to the fairy's appearance, the wolves that had been surrounding Rei and Seto while cowering backed off, no longer showing any signs of attacking or trying to intimidate them.
Even though the wolf pack had surrounded Rei and Seto, they probably understood that they had no chance of winning if they attacked.
That was precisely why the fairy's appearance was undoubtedly a relief for the wolf pack as well.
"You're Nielson's...? Are you sure about that?"
Even after seeing Rei and Seto, the fairy that had revealed itself showed no change in its suspicious demeanor. Still, the fact that it had actually shown itself after hiding until now meant it must believe Rei's words at least a little.
It was a small fairy—small enough to be easily caught in the palm of a hand—but for some reason it maintained an inherently haughty attitude.
Rei nodded to the fairy as if that were only natural.
"If you bring Nielson here, I think you'll understand. ...Besides, if you live there too, didn't you see me and Seto when I went to visit the Fairy Chief before?"
When Rei had visited the fairies' home, he had seen many of them. He hadn't had the time to observe them carefully back then, so he couldn't distinguish individual fairies from one another. But to the fairies, Rei and Seto were special existences in various ways. Given that, it wouldn't be strange for them to know who Rei was.
And yet, the fairy currently before him was acting as though they were meeting for the first time.
It was only natural for Rei to find that strange. However...
"I don't know you!"
The fairy casually dismissed Rei's question. It didn't seem like she was forcing herself to pretend not to know him—rather, her attitude suggested she genuinely didn't recognize him.
What's going on? Was she really not there when I came? ...Or maybe she's simply forgotten.
Fairies had, in a way, hedonistic personalities, playing pranks on humans that were no laughing matter. Given that, it wouldn't be strange for them to have completely forgotten about Rei, whom they hadn't seen in a while.
...From Rei's perspective, he couldn't help but think seriously?
As he was thinking about that...
"Ah—! Hey, isn't that Rei! It's been a while! Have you been well!?"
Suddenly, that voice rang out through the surroundings.
Hearing a familiar voice, Rei finally felt relieved. That was because it was the voice of the fairy he had just been thinking about... Nielson.
Nielson came flying through the air, charging straight toward Rei. Her speed seemed even faster than the last time he had seen her. It seemed that way, but even so, it wasn't so fast that Rei couldn't track her with his eyes.
He reached out his hand and caught Nielson as she came hurtling toward him.
"Kyah! Hey—wait, what's with this reaction?! Normally at a time like this, you just let someone hug you quietly!"
Perhaps displeased that Rei had caught her in his palm rather than letting her tackle him, Nielson squawked in dissatisfaction.
Rei pulled a Dwa Fruit from his Misty Ring. He had already eaten quite a few of the fruits purchased in Egginis, but he still had a fair amount remaining.
"Eh? What's this? Are you giving it to me?"
"Yeah, just eat this for now and calm down."
Saying that, Rei handed over the Dwa Fruit... but it turned out to be a mistake, as became clear a few seconds later.
"Wha... what is this! Sweet, sweet, sweet, delicious! This is amazing!"
Nielson shrieked, drenching her face—no, her entire body—in the Dwa Fruit's juice.
Watching Nielson's state, the fairy who had first appeared before Rei and Seto still hadn't fully dropped her guard, but she was staring at the Dwa Fruit Nielson was eating with a look of curiosity.
...No, rather than curiosity, "envious" would be a more fitting description.
Given that reaction, Rei took out another Dwa Fruit and held it out toward the fairy.
"Wh... what. Are you planning to show it off to me and eat it while bragging?"
Seeing the Dwa Fruit offered to her, the fairy spoke in a displeased tone.
Rei opened his mouth with an exasperated expression.
"Why would I go out of my way to do something like that? This is for you. You were jealous watching Nielson eat it, weren't you?"
"Ugh... th-that's not true! I wasn't actually thinking anything like that, for your information!"
"Is that so? For someone who wasn't, you were staring pretty intently. But... fine. If you won't eat it, I will. Too bad. This Dwa Fruit isn't something you can easily get your hands on. If you miss this chance here, probably... no, I'm certain you won't ever get to eat one again."
Too bad, he said. As Rei started bringing the Dwa Fruit in his hand toward his own mouth...
"I-if you're going to go that far, then I'll eat it! For the record, this is to confirm whether it's really safe for Nielson to eat this thing called a Dwa Fruit!"
The fairy shouted as she dove in and snatched the Dwa Fruit from Rei's hand.
If Rei had wanted to, he could have easily protected the Dwa Fruit from the fairy. But he hadn't been thinking anything like absolutely refusing to hand it over. On the contrary, he had deliberately put on that little act precisely to give the fairy the Dwa Fruit. Given that, there was no way he would try to stop the fairy from taking it.
He nodded to the fairy who had snatched the Dwa Fruit.
"Yeah. That's fine. ...Well, even if you do eat it, I'd suggest not eating it in a way that gets juice all over your entire body like Nielson did."
"Eh? What? Did you say something? Anyway, this is delicious. It's way sweeter than any old snacks! Hey, do you have any more?"
Having eaten the entire Dwa Fruit she was given, Nielson demanded more from Rei.
Rei smiled and spoke.
"If you take me to where you live... the Fairy Dwelling, I'll give you one more."
"To where we live? Well, you've been there before, so I think it's fine, but... what for?"
"I've run into a bit of trouble, so I was hoping to lay low there. Also, I was wondering whether the Magic Item I requested before... the Fog Sound, was about done. If it's already finished, I'd like to receive it."
Hearing Rei's words, Nielson thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Alright. There shouldn't be any problems with you, so I'll take you there. In exchange, you'll give me more of that fruit... the Dwa Fruit, right? Give me some later."
"Hey—, Nielson!? Are you really sure!?"
The fairy who had been eating the Dwa Fruit she received from Rei shouted in a panic at Nielson's words.
For Nielson, Rei was an acquaintance of hers who was on friendly terms with the Chief, so she probably thought it was fine to bring him to the Fairy Dwelling.
"It's fine, it's fine. Rei is recognized by the Chief too. We were told to let him through if he came."
Of course, Nielson probably also wanted to eat more Dwa Fruits, but the fact that the Chief and Rei were on friendly terms was the bigger factor.
At Nielson's words, Rei showed a hint of relief. After all that, he had been wondering what he would do if they said he couldn't enter the Fairy Dwelling. Though in that case, he probably would have come up with another approach.
"Hmph... fine then. I'll leave this to Nielson!"
Saying that, the fairy flew off, still clutching the Dwa Fruit. Since there was still a considerable amount of Dwa Fruit left, her flying speed was quite slow.
Seeing that, Rei recalled that a mosquito that had sucked blood to its limit looked something like that. And when you crushed a sluggish mosquito, your hand would end up covered in blood.
Well, if it was just your hand, that was still manageable. But if it was a mosquito resting on a wall in a room—especially if that wall happened to be white—it would definitely become a disaster.
"Hey, Rei. What's wrong? Don't tell me... the Dwa Fruit, was it? That wasn't the last one, was it!?"
She didn't need to be that desperate. That was what Rei thought looking at Nielson's attitude, but for Nielson, whether or not she could eat more Dwa Fruits was probably an important matter.
"Don't worry. I still have a fair amount of Dwa Fruits. That said, it's not like I have an infinite supply."
He had purchased all the Dwa Fruits available at a shop in Egginis, but even so, it was ultimately just the amount one shop had been selling. Moreover, since Dwa Fruits were fairly expensive, he had apparently bought a considerable quantity from the shop, but even so, a single shop's stock wasn't that large.
The shop's "large quantity" and Rei's "large quantity" used the same word, but their meanings were vastly different. Normally, a shop's large quantity would obviously be greater than an individual's, but with Rei and Seto both being big eaters, and with the Misty Ring allowing him to store as much as he could get his hands on, the meaning of "large" between Rei and the shop was reversed.
In fact, Rei's magic had raised the temperature, making the fruits quite sweet, and both Rei and Seto had been eating a fair amount of them. Given that, it was certain that the Dwa Fruits would run out before too long.
"Alright, then that's fine. Well then... shall we go? Oh, you're all dismissed too. Good work."
"Woof!"
At Nielson's words, the wolf leading the pack let out a bark, and the wolf pack ran off in the direction the earlier fairy had gone.
"Come to think of it... I know it's a bit late to ask, but you ended up taming wolves again, huh."
"Eh? Ah, yeah. Or rather, it's more accurate to say that after we hired the wolf that survived back then, similar wolves started gathering around it... I think."
When Rei had first begun associating with the fairies, there had been a wolf pack that was tamed by the fairies to protect the Fairy Dwelling—though "hired" was a more accurate description. That wolf pack had been through a lot with Rei as well, but most of them had caused trouble with him... and were then killed by adventurers who had tried to capture the fairies.
That was why seeing wolves protecting the Fairy Dwelling again probably stirred something in him.
"I see. So the survivor from back then... oh, the fog is starting to appear. Guide us through properly."
"Gururu."
"No, not you. I mean Nielson."
For some reason, Seto had responded to Rei's request for guidance, but Rei told him that while stroking him.
It must have felt good to be petted by Rei. Seto purred and narrowed his eyes happily.
Nielson was flying just ahead of Rei and Seto. The fog that protected the Fairy Dwelling had appeared, but Nielson showed no signs of hesitation as she guided them forward.
And after advancing for a while... they passed through the fog.
"Whoa!"
A surprised voice slipped from Rei's mouth as they emerged from the fog and arrived at the Fairy Dwelling.
That was because a large number of fairies were waiting there—dozens of them.
For a moment, he wondered if he was going to be attacked, but the fairies showed no sign of attacking even upon seeing Rei. Instead, they were directing expectant looks at him.
"Umm... what is this?"
Rei wouldn't have been frightened if he were fighting a horde of monsters, but being surrounded without being attacked, just gathered in front of him like this, left even him a bit bewildered.
As Rei asked in his bewilderment, one of the fairies directing expectant gazes at him pointed in a certain direction.
There, they could see the fairy Rei had given the Dwa Fruit to earlier.
She was clutching a large fruit, eating it while a sweet fragrance drifted through the surrounding area.
Seeing that, it was obvious what these fairies wanted.
"Ah—! Hey... wait! That was supposed to be mine!"
Nielson cried out upon realizing what the fairies were demanding, but the fairies remained silent and simply directed their gazes toward Rei.