As Rei stroked Seto, the quality of the fairies' gazes shifted slightly.
Until moments ago, they had been staring at Rei with brimming curiosity. But now, they directed the same look toward Seto, who was clearly enjoying being petted.
Was being petted by Rei truly that pleasant? If it felt that good, they wanted to be petted too.
The fairies cast their gazes with such thoughts, yet even so, none of them actually acted on the impulse.
About ten minutes passed in this manner... and eventually, Bob appeared, led by Nielson.
For two days, Bob had been forbidden from entering the Fairy Dwelling.
Being able to see the inside of the Fairy Dwelling with his own eyes at last seemed to thrill him, and he looked around with an expression full of curiosity.
That said, the Fairy Dwelling was a place that deserved to be called such precisely because fairies lived there.
The fact that so many of those fairies—in reality, every fairy currently in the Fairy Dwelling aside from the Chief—had gathered here meant that Bob, having seen the Fairy Dwelling, had not truly seen it in the fullest sense.
...However, upon arriving at this plaza and seeing the massive number of fairies gathered, he was finally convinced that this was indeed the Fairy Dwelling.
"Rei-san, what's going to happen now?"
Bob, having come to Rei's side while Rei continued to pet Seto, asked him that.
Nielson was sitting atop Bob's head, perhaps tired of flying.
"Don't ask me. I don't know anything about that either. You'd be better off asking Nielson."
At Rei's words, Bob turned his gaze toward Nielson.
But Nielson, upon receiving that look, hastily shook her head.
"I don't know the details either. I only heard that the Chief would do something about the defilement or whatever it's called inside you."
"Is that so? I thought you'd know what was going to happen."
At Nielson's words, Bob showed a slightly—truly only slightly—disappointed look.
For Bob, the fact that his current situation remained unclear likely caused him some anxiety.
...However, that anxiety also seemed to have considerably faded now that he had been allowed to enter the Fairy Dwelling, at least from Rei's perspective.
"Gruu?"
As Rei talked with Bob and Nielson, Seto suddenly let out a purr.
It wasn't a sound demanding attention, but rather one that seemed to question something.
A few seconds after Seto, Rei too understood what had prompted the reaction.
Some kind of power had covered the plaza where they stood.
Seeing it form a dome shape, Rei didn't seem particularly bothered.
This dome... no, more precisely, this barrier would not harm him—or so he understood.
"Have I kept you waiting?"
When Rei turned his gaze toward the voice, the Chief was there.
"Whoa... Rei-san, that fairy is?"
Even from Bob's perspective, the Chief apparently didn't seem like an ordinary fairy.
Normal fairies were about the size of a palm, but the Chief was a full size larger... perhaps even a bit more, so it was only natural.
When the Chief appeared, Nielson moved from atop Bob's head to join the other fairies.
"That's the Chief. She governs this Fairy Dwelling. She's also the one who'll be dealing with Bob's defilement, so show some gratitude."
"Is that so? ...Um, please take care of me."
"Yes. Even if you say you don't want it, we will handle the defilement on our end. Having this defilement here brings nothing but disadvantages to the Fairy Dwelling."
The Chief's words to Bob were considerably colder than when she spoke with Rei.
It was only natural. Under normal circumstances, the Chief had no reason to feel any goodwill toward Bob, who had brought defilement into the Fairy Dwelling.
It was precisely because he had been traveling with Rei and Nielson that she was going to such lengths of time and effort to do something about the defilement. If Bob had been someone who had simply wandered in by chance, she would have killed him on the spot... no, since killing him would leave the defilement at the scene, it wouldn't have been strange for her to take him somewhere else entirely.
Bob didn't understand the Chief's circumstances, but he apparently realized that he was by no means welcomed.
Showing a slightly bewildered look, he opened his mouth.
"I'm sorry, but... please take care of me."
It was the same line as a few seconds ago, but the emotion and intensity behind it were different.
From the Chief's attitude, he must have understood that his current situation was far from good.
Given that, he judged that honestly relying on the Chief was the best course of action.
The Chief, sensing from Bob's demeanor that his attitude had shifted, did not smile, but she relaxed her stance just slightly and nodded.
"Very well. Even without you telling me, I shall deal with the defilement here. ...Nielson."
"Eh? Y-yes, me?"
Perhaps not expecting to be called in this situation, Nielson answered hastily.
From Nielson's perspective, she knew nothing about the defilement and couldn't sense it either.
In fact, she had been completely unaware that defilement clung to Bob until the Chief had explained the circumstances to her.
She wondered why she was being called upon at this moment.
That said, the reason she answered despite her doubts was probably because she had no intention of defying the Chief.
(Nielson probably doesn't even realize she's the Chief's successor... or a successor candidate.)
Watching Nielson's flustered reaction, Rei thought to himself.
In truth, he could have said something here, but doing so might lead to various troublesome outcomes.
If so, it was better to simply watch in silence. He refrained from interjecting in the exchange between the Chief and Nielson.
"The light you have become able to release. It is effective against the defilement as well."
Those who heard this—including Nielson, who had been directly addressed—did not understand why such a thing was the case.
However, considering the current situation, there was no reason for the Chief to lie here. Nielson accepted it, thinking that if her new power could be of use, then so be it.
"Understood."
Nielson often joked around, but she clearly understood what would happen to her if she acted foolishly toward the Chief in this situation.
She nodded to the Chief with a serious expression.
"Then, from this point, the defilement will emerge from his—Bob's—body. However, the defilement that emerges will not yet be in a weakened state. Use your light to weaken it, Nielson. Once you do, I will seal that defilement."
She's not going to destroy it?
Listening to the Chief's words, Rei found himself wondering about that.
Considering the Chief's personality, he had expected her to destroy it rather than seal it—defeat it, purify it... there were various ways to phrase it, but in any case, he had thought she would dispose of the defilement entirely.
However, the Chief had said "seal."
Given that, Rei had no choice but to accept that this was simply how things were done.
"Understood. I just need to shine light on the defilement that comes out of Bob, right? ...So, what form does the defilement take?"
"I do not know. I have seen defilement several times before, but it was different each time. However... it often appears in a form resembling fog or smoke. But that is merely one possibility. Depending on the case, it has also emerged as cubes or spheres."
"In other words, don't be surprised by whatever comes out."
The Chief gave a small nod at those words... and then took out a certain object from her bosom.
It was an instrument shaped similarly to an ocarina, one Rei recognized.
That said, it wasn't actually an ocarina; it was undoubtedly some other instrument.
Holding the instrument in hand, the Chief looked around at the fairies who had gathered in the plaza—the fairies who lived in this Fairy Dwelling—with a serious expression.
"What is about to happen must not be missed, for it holds great meaning for fairies as well."
Likely no one truly understood the Chief's words.
However, seeing her like this, they could well grasp that her words were the truth.
And so the other fairies, thinking that if the Chief said so then it must be important, also adopted serious expressions out of curiosity.
Rei and Seto likewise judged that if the Chief was saying such things, there must be some meaning behind it, and they too wore serious expressions.
Once the Chief confirmed that the gazes of everyone in the plaza had gathered on her, she brought the ocarina-like flute to her lips.
At first, individual notes that seemed to be testing the sound echoed through the area, and eventually that melody transformed into a single piece of music.
Unfortunately, Rei was not at all knowledgeable about music.
Even when he was in Japan, he could only name one or two popular singers.
He was by no means gifted in the realm of music. Even listening to the singing voice of a singer performing under the banner of a century-defining diva, he had never thought it was particularly impressive—he simply thought, "So that's how it is."
Yet even to Rei's ears, the music the Chief played was undeniably wonderful.
The possibility that his hearing had become sharper from the transition from Reiji Saiki's body to Rei's body couldn't be entirely ruled out either.
Rei was not the only one immersed in the Chief's playing.
Seto, beside him, was the same, as were the fairies gathered in the plaza—and above all, Bob, who carried the defilement within his body, was similarly affected.
They closed their eyes and surrendered to the melody, finding themselves instinctively lost in its beauty.
Thus, several minutes of listening to the music passed... and honestly, for Rei, it was a time in which he found himself thinking he could listen to this sound forever.
"Ugh... urgh..."
Into the ears of Rei, who had been enjoying the music, such a voice suddenly reached him.
A groan-like voice that seemed to interrupt the music.
Hearing it, Rei turned his gaze toward its source with a flicker of irritation...
"Nnh!?"
At the sight before him, he let out a gasp of surprise.
The one who had made the sound was Bob.
If that had been all, Rei would have simply thought, "Don't make weird noises," and left it at that.
But... seeing a massive amount of black fog pouring out of Bob's body, he understood this was no ordinary matter.
"Is this... the defilement?"
Seeing the black fog, Rei muttered.
Naturally, Bob, who was groaning, had drawn the attention of the other fairies—the ones who had been enjoying the Chief's music.
The fairies, who had been intoxicated by the music just like Rei, were about to turn their gazes toward the source of the voice—Bob—with looks that said "Don't interrupt"—when they saw the black fog and froze.
However, the Chief's music did not stop even upon seeing the black fog.
If anything, seeing the black fog emerge, the music she played grew even more intense.
Many of the fairies watching this scene could not understand what was happening.
Although the defilement had been explained to them before the music began, the fairies—whose ears and consciousness had been captivated by the Chief's playing—had probably completely forgotten about it.
Amidst all this, Rei turned his gaze toward Nielson.
Toward Nielson, who had been told to attack the defilement with the light generated by her newly acquired power.
But Nielson, like the other fairies, had her ears captivated by the Chief's music, and showed no sign of attacking the defilement.
(What should I do? Should I call out to her? No, but if the defilement is suffering from this music, would it be all right to do something that interrupts it?)
Seeing Bob, who housed the defilement, suffering from the Chief's music, it was impossible to predict what would happen if someone interrupted it.
There was no denying the possibility that a careless action could harm Bob... or that the defilement might go on a genuine rampage.
(Snap out of it!)
Ultimately, the only thing Rei could do was glare intensely at Nielson, reminding her of her duty.
Under normal circumstances, Nielson would never fail to notice Rei's intense glare.
However, right now, Nielson too was intoxicated by the Chief's music and simultaneously had her eyes glued to the black fog emerging from Bob's body.
As a result, she apparently didn't know what she was supposed to do.
Even so, after Rei kept his intense glare fixed on her for about ten seconds, she finally noticed.
Nielson immediately remembered what she was supposed to do and began to concentrate.
(Ah, the Chief's face—)
The Chief had been playing music on the ocarina-like flute, but as Nielson concentrated, her stern expression relaxed slightly.
From the Chief's perspective, Nielson had done nothing even after the defilement had appeared, despite being instructed beforehand.
It would have been unreasonable to expect her not to be angry at that.
As Nielson concentrated and pointed at the black fog around Bob, light shot forth from her fingertip...
「OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo！」
Not a physical voice, but a cry of anguish that resonated directly in the mind reached everyone present, including Rei.