Chapter 112 – House Fairy Seraphina

“You’re not injured, are you?”

“…No.”

It seems she can speak. The fairy nodded while looking at my face.

Just to be sure, I examined her with Circulating Ki. She trembled for a moment, but the spirit… no, the fairy didn’t try to run away and remained calm.

It appears Circulating Ki is effective even on fairies. I could see that some Miasma still remained in her body. I neutralized it with Circulating Ki and expelled it outward.

…Or rather, I should be neutralizing it, but it feels like the Miasma is welling up from somewhere or clinging to her.

I landed on the ground. Marlene and Irmhild stopped their prayers and String Resonance, and the Barrier was lifted. Immediately, the Miasma’s intensity increased.

For now… it seems manageable as long as I suppress and disperse it with Circulating Ki. I should probably continue relying on Circulating Ki while working to eliminate the cause.

Still, this reaction. The fairy’s exhaustion was unusually rapid, likely because of their support.

“Are you injured?”

Ashley approached. I’m unharmed, but she had an unusually serious expression—ah. I see.

“I’m fine. If it looked like I was caught in an explosion, that’s just how that Magic works.”

“You surprised me,” Grace said, patting her chest in relief. Marlene also placed a hand on her chest and let out a deep breath. Not just them, but Sheila and Irmhild also appeared relieved.

“Mmm. Sorry for worrying you,” I said, scratching my cheek, and they all smiled at me.

As for Auria, she probably knew about Repel Burst. She didn’t seem worried at all and spoke with a look of exasperation.

“My, my. That fighting style. And it’s been a while since I’ve seen an 8th-class Magic like that. Using such Great Magic while holding back so precisely—you’re a frightening one, I must say.”

As she spoke, she peered at the fairy’s face.

“It seems like Miasma is welling up from somewhere.”

“That would be… due to some disturbance in her original dwelling, I suppose. Well then—” Auria addressed the fairy on my palm.

“Can you explain why you were suffering? We might be able to help.”

The fairy nodded and stood up.

“Please. Come with me,” she said in a somewhat unclear voice, standing up and attempting to fly from my hand—but perhaps due to the Miasma’s adverse effects, she seemed to slow down with a pained expression.

I caught the fairy in my palm and expelled the Miasma with Circulating Ki.

“Just stay on my hand. I’ll handle the Miasma.”

“O-okay.”

“Which way should we go?”

The fairy pointed into the night’s darkness—across the street.

“I’m relieved to see you’re safe, Ambassador,” said Mercedes, who had been directing the soldiers outside the Barrier.

Since she needed to witness the outcome to report to the Royal Castle, it was decided that she would serve as the driver and bring out a carriage.

The fairy on my palm seemed somewhat restless but climbed up my arm and settled on my shoulder… finally calming down. Since it doesn’t interfere with Circulating Ki, it’s fine if she prefers that. For some reason, she stroked my cheek and nodded as if satisfied.

“This house?”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

The fairy nodded. Our destination was a corner of the northern district. It was an old, abandoned house with boards nailed over the windows.

I don’t know what the Demon left behind, but… perhaps he thought hiding it in such a house would work? That a Brownie would be affected—whether that was the Demon’s miscalculation or part of his plan remains unclear.

I tried to enter the house, but it was locked.

“I’ll handle it,” Sheila said, inserting some tool into the keyhole. A clear unlocking sound followed.

“Hmm. You have good companions,” Auria remarked, sounding impressed. As the head of the Adventurer Guild, she seems tolerant of thieves.

“That way.”

The fairy pointed to the second floor. By this point, I could tell the location even without her guidance.

We entered a room on the second floor. There were no furnishings or furniture—but there was a fireplace. The fairy was pointing inside it.

I used Wind Magic to gather and remove the remaining ashes—and there it was.

“This is it, huh?”

The entrance had been locked. Probably thrown down the chimney, I suppose. It closely resembled the Orb that had been deep in the Spirit Hall.

Only in appearance, that is. If what that one housed was the power of spirits, this one was emitting rising Miasma. It seems… this is undoubtedly something the Demon brought.

“What will you do?” Grace asked, lightly lifting her Axe. Her meaning was clear.

“That judgment might be a bit hasty.”

“I agree with that.”

We don’t know how much power such items have stored inside. At the very least, it contains Miasma with an influence comparable to a Magical Energy Pool.

If we break it and a large amount of Miasma spills out, we’ll be back to square one. That would be the mild outcome; it could even create a crater in part of the city. In short, we don’t know what effects it might have.

Well then… what was the Demon’s goal? Leaving it in enemy territory and leaving it at that. Does that mean they don’t care how we dispose of it?

Did they not mind if it was found? Is the chaos it causes itself the goal? Or is it to have whoever finds it destroy it, or keep it in their possession for use at an appropriate time?

If that’s the case, even if we discard it somewhere far from Termwills, the Demons might have a way to locate it. Simply removing it from surveillance leaves me uneasy.

What’s the best way to handle this—we have too little information to decide.

“For now… if we take it from here, the effect on the fairy should stop, right?”

“Since the fairy is being affected by the object left here, that would be best. That’s just how Brownies are.”

Brownies, huh. There are many spirits and fairies associated with homes, like Kikimora, and Banshees mourning the death of a homeowner could be considered part of that lineage. Or perhaps their nature changed due to Miasma or human emotions.

For now, we’ll postpone disposing of Luceriage’s parting gift. I used Levitation to float it and carried it out of the house.

The moment we left the property, the Miasma clinging to the fairy dissipated. That seems to have done the trick.

“We’ll need to create a place to store this, set up a Barrier around it… neutralize any leaking Miasma, and then investigate what this is. Until we know its true nature, we have to proceed cautiously.”

“Understood.”

Grace closed her eyes and stood by quietly.

Honestly. Luceriage left us with quite the dangerous item.

However, this is also evidence left by the Demons. It might become a clue to unravel their objectives.

The item brought by the Demon—provisionally named the Demon’s Orb—was temporarily placed in an underground section of the Tower where the Mage Corps is stationed, within the Royal Castle.

It was sealed with a strict Barrier. While it won’t affect the outside, the Demon’s Orb itself remains intact.

There’s a possibility they might use the Demon’s Orb to set up some Mechanism.

Keeping it in the Royal Castle or Temple is also dangerous. After discussions with King Melvin, it was decided to temporarily place it in the most heavily defended part of the Royal Castle while constructing a facility on the outskirts of the city to store it.

Well, that settles the matter of the Demon’s Orb for now.

“It seems you’ve been taken a liking to,” Auria said as we were returning after reporting to the Royal Castle.

That’s right. The fairy didn’t stay in that house but flew around us, refusing to leave.

She also seems to have a good impression of Marlene and Irmhild. She touched Marlene’s fingertip, and they smiled at each other. As expected—Marlene seems to have a good affinity with fairies and the like.

“Can’t I stay with you?”

She looked at me and asked that.

“Well, it’s not that you can’t, but… isn’t your home that old house?”

When I asked, she shook her head with a mischievous smile.

“Brownies choose a master and live in that house. She probably intends to move into your home. They’re considered symbols of Luck and don’t require food expenses, so it should be fine, right? Of course, they won’t harm the household members either,” Auria added as an explanation.

Symbol of Luck, huh. Interpreting it in a Kagehisa-like way, it’s probably something like a Zashiki-warashi.

“…What about everyone? Is that okay with you?”

“A symbol of luck… that sounds nice.”

“A house with a fairy sounds wonderful.”

When I asked Grace and the others, they had no particular objections. The mood was generally welcoming.

“Alright. Then you can come to my house.”

When I said that, the fairy made a happy expression and flew around in the air, leaving behind a blue shimmer matching her wings.

“In that case, the homeowner should give her a name, don’t you think? Since she’s been greatly influenced by others, there might be some lingering aftereffects. It would be more stable if you strengthen your bond and solidify her nature.”

Is that how it works? Well, it would be odd to keep calling her “fairy” forever.

“…How about Seraphina?”

“Mmm… yeah.”

After thinking for a moment, I said that, and the fairy also seemed to ponder a bit before nodding and smiling. It seems she liked it.

Still… compared to before, she gives the impression of having become as childlike as her appearance suggests.