Our business in the Fairy Realm was finally wrapped up, but when I tried to head back, I ran into a problem.
"Wait, how exactly do we get out of here?"
When we first entered the Fairy Realm, we had been greeted by a field of flowers stretching as far as the eye could see. There hadn't been anything resembling a clear entrance or exit, so I had no idea how to leave. Surprisingly, Allen was the one with the answer. He hopped down from my shoulder and thumped his chest as if telling me to leave it to him.
After Allen gave some instructions to the other Petit Golems, he closed his eyes and thrust both hands forward. The other three followed his lead, striking the same pose.
“It looks like having the Divine Protection of the Fairy Queen allows us to create an exit,” Shiroru explained.
It seemed the Queen's blessing was necessary not just for entering the Fairy Realm, but for leaving it as well. After waiting for a moment, we were enveloped in light just as we had been upon arrival. When the glow faded, we found ourselves back in the middle of that eerie forest—specifically, the small clearing on the 20th Floor.
"It’s getting dark," Halfa noted, glancing around.
I hadn't realized it while we were in the Fairy Realm, but the light was indeed beginning to fade. We’d spent quite a while serving soft serve, so it couldn't be helped.
The Teleportation Door wasn't far from here, so we could have returned to Aingurna easily enough, but I decided we should spend the night here. We still hadn't gathered enough wood from the Fear Trents. If we were going to stay overnight anyway, we probably should have just stayed in the Fairy Realm, I thought.
I set up the Magic House and started preparing dinner, only to find Pino in the kitchen space for some reason. I could’ve sworn I’d asked the Petit Golems to keep watch outside.
Wondering what she was up to, I peeked in secretly. Pino didn't seem to realize I was there; she was staring at something in her hand with a wide smile on her face. Was that... a scrap of bread? Even if it was just a fragment to me, it was plenty large enough for someone of Pino's size.
She looked around restlessly, her eyes eventually landing on me. Startled, she tried to hide the bread, but with nowhere to put it, she ended up stuffing the whole thing into her mouth. Actually, she didn't just hide it—she started chewing! She was eating it!
"Wh-What?! Pino, did you just eat that bread?!"
I was so surprised that I reflexively shouted. Startled by my outburst, Pino hopped in place and began to pace around, looking flustered.
"No, I'm not angry! I was just a little shocked."
After I managed to calm her down, I asked for an explanation. Since there were limits to communicating through gestures, I naturally asked Shiroru-sensei to interpret.
“She says they’ve been able to eat ever since they received the Divine Protection of the Fairy Queen!” Shiroru explained happily, her tail wagging.
Perhaps because she had gained a new foodie comrade, she seemed delighted as she spoke. Depending on how things went, they might end up being rivals rather than comrades... but I supposed I’d find that out eventually.
Apparently, the urge to eat had first hit the Petit Golems while we were handing out soft serve to the fairies. I would have happily prepared portions for them if they’d told me then, but it seemed Allen had stopped them, arguing that the food was the fairies' payment. As the group’s leader, Allen was quite the serious fellow. He and Lowell would probably get along well.
Setting aside Allen's personality for a moment, while the whole group had endured the hunger earlier, hearing that we were about to have dinner was finally too much for Pino. She had slipped away from guard duty and attempted to steal a snack, leading to the current situation.
The Fairy Queen's divine protection was certainly exerting some unexpected effects. I wondered if this was a common trait for all golems now, or if it was unique to the Petit Golems. Regardless, now that they were capable of eating, it felt cruel to leave them outside on watch. I decided to ask the egoless golems to handle guard duty and called Allen and the others inside.
And that was how the Petit Golems ended up joining us for dinner.
"Allen and the others sure can eat, can't they?"
"Even though they're so tiny..."
Just as Halfa and Spira noted, the Petit Golems had massive appetites. They were clearly eating far more than their own body volume. I wondered where it was all going, but apparently, the food was being decomposed and converted directly into mana. The conversion efficiency wasn't great, though—which was probably why they didn't mind eating so much. The fact that the fairies could devour mountains of soft serve likely operated on the same principle.
"I never thought I'd see the day a golem started eating. Well, if Tort’s involved, I suppose anything is possible," Lowell muttered to himself, nodding in resignation.
Personally, I thought this one was the Fairy Queen’s fault. Though I couldn't rule out the possibility that Allen and his crew were just special to begin with.
“Nuwaah! That’s my meat! Give it back!”
Shiroru was currently wrestling with Pino over the last piece of karaage. It looked like the two were indeed going to be rivals for side dishes rather than just eating buddies. I’d have to make sure to prepare enough so they both stayed satisfied.
At any rate, now that we knew the Petit Golems could enjoy a meal, we decided they’d be joining us from tomorrow onwards. I might have to make sure they replenish their mana through other means before dinner, though. If they eat this much every single time, keeping them fed is going to be a lot of work.