The relief on the fairies' faces froze completely as they turned back to see their homes reduced to rubble. Then they rounded on the demon before them, shouting in anger.
"We already told you!"
"They're the ones who did it! What does that have to do with us?"
"Go after Pixie and the others! Why are you picking on us?"
Samael blinked and spread his hands innocently.
"I told you. It only counts if they step forward and admit it themselves. You weren't the ones who did it, so what good does it do for you to accuse them?"
"Then why did you drag us into this and destroy our houses?"
"Because I wanted to..."
What the hell...
Faced with such an utterly shameless excuse, along with the mockery and obvious enjoyment on the demon's face, the fairies were furious and aggrieved, yet none of them dared speak out.
You three bastards! Why did you have to provoke this monster?!
Under countless murderous glares, the three culprits who had brought disaster upon the village were too frightened to even breathe. As Samael approached, their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
"Nice to see you again. You did this?"
As the restless crowd parted, three familiar faces appeared before Samael.
By sheer coincidence, they were the same three little creatures the Ancient Serpent had taught a lesson near the flower field.
They had never suffered a loss before, much less at the hands of Freya, who had always been their favorite target.
Naturally, after returning to the village, they had taken their resentment out on her house.
Pixies were relatively notorious troublemakers around Cornwall, a branch of the Winged Fairies, and there happened to be only three Pixies present.
"...Yes..."
The smiling question sounded like a demon's roar in the ears of the three culprits. Their faces went deathly pale as they nodded fearfully.
"Why did you do it?"
"We were just... a little... upset about what happened..."
Their teeth chattered. With nowhere to run, the three culprits could only force out an answer.
"Oh, so that was all. You should've said so sooner. If you'd just stepped forward and admitted it, why would the village have ended up like this?"
Samael raised a hand and lightly patted the three fairies on the shoulders, answering with a smile.
The punishment and condemnation they had expected never came. Instead, he sounded regretful and displayed an almost absurd degree of generosity.
"Forget it. It was only a little prank. I forgive you. Look, everyone else's houses may be gone, but yours are still standing."
The Ancient Serpent clapped his hands cheerfully and pointed through the settling dust.
Only then did the three little creatures notice that their homes were completely untouched, standing conspicuously amid the surrounding ruins. Relief at having escaped disaster, combined with the joy of recovering something they had thought lost, sent them into delighted smiles.
"Why?!"
The fairies who had suffered for no reason stared in disbelief before erupting in fury.
"I already told you. As long as they admitted it themselves, I promised I wouldn't pursue the matter. I'm a man of my word!"
Samael looked perfectly innocent as he made the solemn declaration.
Then why the hell did you leave the culprits alone and screw us over instead?!
The fairies' rage soared, but they had nowhere to vent their frustration.
"Of course, I'm not going to pursue it. Whether you do is none of my business."
The Ancient Serpent narrowed his eyes slightly, his smile becoming positively radiant.
"After all, if they hadn't insisted on pulling that prank, ruining my visit, then refused to admit it afterward and dragged the entire village into this, I wouldn't have had any reason to get angry at all of you. If you want to blame someone, blame those three walking disasters."
With that, Samael took Freya, who had stood there dumbfounded throughout the entire exchange, by the hand and leisurely strolled out of the village.
Only after the demon's figure disappeared completely into the hazy white mist between the trees did the pressure restraining the fairies vanish.
Then one gaze turned toward them.
Then two.
Then three.
Hundreds of eyes converged from every direction.
A dark, suffocating fury surged like a raging river.
The three Pixies felt their hearts tighten. Surrounded by companions closing in from every side, they stood stiffly beneath those hostile gazes, their faces drained of color.
Along the forest path, Samael stopped and tilted his head to listen.
"Disasters!"
"Curses!"
"Cowards! Why didn't you admit what you did?!"
"Why do you still have houses when ours are gone?! This is all your fault!"
Curses, screams, and sobbing drifted faintly from the village.
Samael leaned against a nearby tree, the corners of his lips curling upward in amusement.
Social creatures often shared one particular habit. The majority liked to band together against a small minority.
In this village, the one who had previously been labeled an outsider and ostracized was Freya.
Now that she was leaving, that convenient position would be vacant. Without someone to fill it, wouldn't the others lose much of their entertainment?
A prank hardly deserved death. Fighting and killing would be far too barbaric, and far less interesting.
So before leaving, Samael had thoughtfully created a new hierarchy for the fairies and given them a new group to turn against.
The three little troublemakers, now the only fairies in the entire village who still had houses and had even received his "forgiveness," were probably going to have very eventful lives from now on.
The Ancient Serpent glanced back toward the village, where the cries were already growing hoarse. Three thin columns of smoke began rising into the air, and amusement flickered in his eyes.
Rumble...
Within the ruined village, the frustrated and resentful fairies joined forces to set the last three houses ablaze.
As flames surged skyward and the buildings gradually collapsed into the surrounding wreckage, the fairies watched with vindictive satisfaction.
Now it was fair...
Back in the forest, Freya looked toward the red glow of the burning village, lowered her head, and timidly whispered,
"Wasn't that... a little too much?"
Silly girl. You feel sorry for them, but did they ever feel sorry for you?
Samael remembered the bruises on Freya's body and how worried she had been when she first saw the village on fire. A cold gleam flashed through his eyes, but he smiled cheerfully and shamelessly praised himself.
"Not at all! I kept my promise, and I was generous enough to forgive them on your behalf. What a wonderful person I am!"
There was, of course, something the fairies did not know.
In truth, Samael had already more or less identified the three culprits shortly after entering the village.
After all, three little creatures with an obvious motive for the crime who were bold enough to linger nearby and admire their own handiwork had practically announced their guilt. Someone as clever as Samael hardly needed to think about who had done it.
The so-called forgiveness and generosity had never mattered. From the moment he entered the village and saw how the fairies reacted, the ending of this little game had already been decided.
A leopard could not change its spots. Samael had already tried giving them a simple lesson. Not only had it been useless, it had also been boring.
Since fairies loved playing games and watching other people suffer so much, he was more than happy to play along.
Kindness and empathy had no place in a land like this.
So they could see who was more despicable.
Seeing that Freya still looked troubled, the Ancient Serpent raised a hand and ruffled the girl's hair, skillfully changing the subject.
"You can't go home anymore, and you probably can't stay in this village either. I'm not leaving you here. Come back to the city and live with me."
"But... I don't have any money..."
Freya was clearly tempted, but embarrassment quickly colored her small face.
Samael smiled, completely unconcerned.
"It's fine. Since Muryan is hosting us, she can host my friend too."
Freya hesitated as though she wanted to object, but under her good friend's firm insistence, she eventually nodded and obediently followed along.
As they walked, Samael held Freya's hand and looked up at the white mist covering the canopy of the Nameless Forest, his gaze turning thoughtful.
Come to think of it, after spending the entire day here, they still hadn't made much progress in Gloucester. He wondered how Morgan and Mari were doing.
...
Meanwhile, northeast of Gloucester, in a dilapidated village.
Creak...
A battered door was quietly pushed open by a pale hand. Beneath the moonlight, a cute pink-haired girl wearing red heels slipped carefully inside, a basket hanging from her left arm.
"Dinner's ready!"
The pink-haired girl set the basket on the table.
Hearing her call, the Witch emerged from the darkness. But before anything else, she caught the arm the girl was trying to hide inside her sleeve.
Under the cold moonlight, Morgan's gaze fell on the fresh scratches across the child's arm.
Her eyes instantly hardened, and her voice dropped.
"They bullied you again, Baobhan Sith..."
"No! I scratched myself by accident while looking for food!"
"Really?"
"Of course! I'm very popular in the village! I can make everyone smile! They all love me!"
The pink-haired girl insisted confidently, even showing a hint of pride on her face.
"All right, then."
Morgan studied her for a moment before saying nothing more. She simply pulled her little landlady over to the table so they could eat together.
"By the way, the Ether flow around here is unusual. I'm going to investigate the battlefield tomorrow. It'll be dangerous, so I can't take you with me."
"You're... leaving?"
Baobhan Sith's breath caught at the news, and disappointment filled her face.
Morgan raised a hand and gently smoothed Baobhan Sith's slightly messy pink hair. A trace of warmth appeared on her normally icy expression.
"Don't worry. I'll come back. Until I finish what I need to do, stay hidden at home."
"Mm-hmm!"
The pink-haired girl immediately brightened and nodded happily.
That night, she fell asleep with a contented smile, looking forward to the next time they would meet.
***
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