I pried the thing off my face. It was a tiny humanoid creature, roughly the same size as Allen and the other Petit Golems. The only real difference was the pair of transparent, butterfly-like wings sprouting from its back. By all appearances, it was a fairy, but—
"Wait, are fairies considered monsters?"
"Hey! Of course not! What on earth do you think fairies are?!"
"Oh? Uh, sorry."
She retorted with incredible vigor. I suppose it made sense for her to be offended; being treated like a monster would be an insult to anyone.
"But didn't the Attraction Slip pull in monsters at random?" I asked.
"I’m pretty sure that’s what it said," Halfa replied with a vague nod. The others seemed to share her confusion.
Just to be safe, I checked again with the Appraisal Loupe. Yeah, as I thought. It only mentions the effect of attracting monsters.
"The description definitely said it attracts monsters," I confirmed.
"Then that means she's...?"
"W-what?! There is no way! More importantly, where even is this? This place is creepy..."
The self-proclaimed fairy gave a visible shiver. Whether she was a monster or not, she clearly didn't recognize her surroundings. But that raised several questions. The effective range of an Attraction Slip wasn't that wide; it shouldn't be able to pull things across different floors, let alone transcend spatial walls. At least, that was my understanding.
"This is the Aingurna Dungeon," I explained.
"A dungeon...? Why?!"
"So you really did come from outside. Where were you before this?"
"Where? The Fairy Realm, of course!"
The Fairy Realm was a world where fairies were said to reside. It was less of a physical place and more of a separate dimension. Although they lived in a different space, they were undoubtedly inhabitants of our world.
"Regardless, return me to where I was this instant!"
"Even if you say that..."
If I really had dragged her here with the Attraction Slip, I couldn't complain if she held me responsible. Still, knowing I was at fault didn't mean I knew how to fix it.
"Now, just calm down a bit."
As I stood there, overwhelmed by the frantic fairy girl, Spira spoke up, unable to watch the awkwardness any longer. The fairy girl threw her hands up and let out a startled cry.
"B-by any chance, are you a Spirit-sama?"
"Yeah, that's right. I'm Spira. Nice to meet you."
"Oh! P-please forgive my rudeness! I am a Flower Fairy called Roro."
The moment she realized Spira was a spirit, Roro became as quiet as a mouse. It was clear she held Spira in high regard.
Apparently, fairies and spirits were closely related races, both living under the protection of the Spirit God. In that sense, they were technically equals—but only if they were of similar ranks. A Flower Fairy was a low-ranking fairy, equivalent to a low-level spirit. On the other hand, spirits who could manifest in human form like Spira were generally considered high-level spirits. In human terms, the difference in status was comparable to a commoner standing before a high-ranking noble.
"Listen, I only recently became a spirit. I used to be a Forestfolk, so you really don't need to be so formal with me," Spira said.
"No! That is quite unthinkable!"
Spira seemed uncomfortable being revered when she felt like a newcomer to the spirit world. She tried to get Roro to act naturally, but from Roro's perspective, that was a tall order. The fairy girl kept bowing her head, looking incredibly out of place.
"Roro, do you have any idea why you might have been drawn into the dungeon?" Lowell asked, trying to move the conversation along. Roro shook her head with a bewildered expression.
"I was just chatting in a flower field. And then, suddenly..."
『A flower field? You mean like that thing behind us?』
"Wah! The dog talked!"
『I am not a dog! I am a Holy Beast!』
When Shiroru interjected, the classic exchange played out yet again. I guess even to a fairy, Shiroru looked like a dog.
Setting that aside, I asked Roro to look at the flowerbed surrounded by stone pillars. I didn't think it was related, but it was worth a shot.
"It’s a small but beautiful flowerbed with so many lovely blooms! But it has nothing to do with the field I was in. Wait... actually..."
Roro started to say something, then shot a glance at Spira. Spira nodded in return.
"I can feel a faint flow of Spirit Essence coming from here. It wasn't like this until just a moment ago."
The presence of Spirit Essence instead of Malice inside a dungeon was highly unusual. Given that Roro had been pulled here, there had to be some sort of connection to the Fairy Realm.
With that in mind, I tried touching the flowerbed, and we even had Roro try flying inside it, but nothing happened. Roro, who had been quite energetic at first, began to look more and more despondent as the reality of her situation set in.
"Hmm. It’s my last one, but I guess I have no choice but to try it."
My last resort in times of trouble was the Pandora Gift. It felt like a waste to use it when we weren't in immediate danger, but I felt responsible for Roro's plight. The only problem was that I couldn't count on any direct intervention from Ren-kun this time... but I opened it anyway, praying for a miracle.
"Wait, a letter?"
Inside was a single envelope. It wasn't the usual instruction manual Ren-kun included; it was a formal-looking letter sealed with wax. When I appraised it, the item was identified as the 'Fairy Queen's Invitation.' According to the description, opening the seal in a location connected to the Fairy Realm would allow travel to that world. If one was lucky, they might even receive the Divine Protection of the Fairy Queen.
Divine protection aside, it looked like this was exactly what we needed to get Roro back home.