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Terms used in this chapter:
Graduation item – a Korean gaming slang that refers to the very best of the top-tier items. If you collect this item, you might as well ‘graduate’ or stop collecting other items of the same type since it is the very best item of its type already. Nothing else can surpass it.
There were various types of fairies in Pleiades, but in general, they could be classified into eight types.
These were the seasonal fairies that symbolized the four seasons of spring, summer, fall, and winter, and the four types of elemental fairies that symbolized the elements of Feng Shui.
T/N: Feng Shui actually has five elements, not four, which are wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.
The wild fairies belonged to the elemental fairies, and they had the power of earth, which symbolized vitality.
These were the seasonal fairies that symbolized the four seasons of spring, summer, fall, and winter, and the four types of elemental fairies that symbolized the elements of Feng Shui.
‘In terms of physical ability, they’re the strongest among the fairies, I think?’
However, they were still fairies.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Your skin is so pretty. Can I touch it? Can I? I can? Okay, I’ll touch it.”
“Me too, me too.”
Seeing them behave as they pleased, they were undoubtedly fairies.
Cordelia then thought as she watched the fairies nuzzle her cheeks and shoulders.
‘Why did they appear here?’
Though it made sense for wild fairies to appear in the wild lands.
‘It is a fact that fairies are scattered everywhere.’
In order to meet the wild fairies in Legend of Heroes 2 originally, one had to go to the border between the Argon Empire and the wild land.
But like how the Fairy Queen was not a single individual, the wild fairies were also not a single group.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a pretty girl.”
“That’s right, that’s right. Except for us, only animals live here.”
“How’s the bathhouse? Do you like it? We managed it.”
As the fairies began to chatter, the tranquil bathhouse quickly became noisy.
Jude, who was trying to act natural and not pay attention to her as much as possible, also heard the voices.
“Cordelia? Are you okay? What’s the matter?”
“Eh? Uh
well
”
It was when Cordelia’s words trailed off in the end. The wild fairies turned their gazes towards Jude and opened their mouths almost simultaneously.
“Wow!”
“Handsome!”
“Who is he?”
“Let’s play with him too!”
“
Fairy?”
The last one was Jude.
Cordelia said after she deeply sighed as if she eventually gave up.
“It’s the wild fairies.”
“Oh! Wild fairies!”
The reason why Jude’s face became bright was simple.
The Great Protection of the Four Seasons could be obtained by collecting all the protections of the four types of seasonal fairies.
The Great Protection of the Four Elements could be obtained by collecting all the protections of the four types of elemental fairies.
And one more.
Only those who have collected the Great Protection of the Four Seasons and the Great Protection of the Four Elements could obtain one of the three strongest protections in the Legend of Heroes series, which is the ‘Fairy King’s Protection,’ a protection on the level of fantasy since no one had ever obtained it.
‘As expected of Kaplan!’
He never thought that they would meet the wild fairies here.
It was then that Jude remembered the words of Gentle Snow Breeze.
‘Didn’t she say that there were several mysterious races left in Raptor Canyon?’
Perhaps, besides the wild fairies, there were other pleasant surprises waiting for them.
“Do you know us?”
“Do you want to hang out with us?”
“Let’s take a bath together!”
“Should I do that?”
“Are you crazy?!”
When Jude grinned and responded to the fairies’ suggestion, Cordelia immediately reacted, and Jude clicked his tongue.
“It didn’t work.”
“Stop saying bullsh*t and just cover your eyes with a blindfold.”
“Why a blindfold?”
“Because I will continue to bathe. I just got in the water.”
Amidst the conversation between Jude and Cordelia, the wild fairies looked at each other and said.
“Why, why, why would he cover his eyes?”
“I’ve read something like this in a book.”
“Really? Was the cover red by any chance?”
At that moment, Cordelia wanted to refute it, but her opponent was a fairy.
Having already experienced how the fall and winter fairies acted, she simply waited instead of protesting, and soon, the blindfolded Jude slowly entered and arrived near the bathtub where Cordelia was in.
“He’s handsome even if his eyes are covered.”
“I like it.”
While the fairies were admiring Jude’s boyish face as if it was an exhibition, Cordelia soaked her head into the water and then resurfaced, before she wiped her entire body and opened her mouth.
“Fairies, let’s play together?”
“Yes, yes, we’ll invite you to the night banquet.”
“Ah! Also! It’s not just that.”
“Not just that?”
“The Queen said so. If you find someone that can help us, bring them.”
“That’s right, that’s right. I remember.”
Someone who could help.
The silent Jude immediately cut in.
“What do you need help with?”
“Yes! We have an old problem, and we can’t solve it.”
“The Queen said she’d give a prize to the one who brought someone who’ll help.”
“Then the prize is mine?”
“It’s mine, why is it yours?”
As the fairies began bickering and quarreling, a fairy with rabbit ears stealthily approached Cordelia and said.
“Let’s go quickly while they’re fighting, okay?”
“
You’re just like humans.”
“What do you mean?”
Cordelia bitterly smiled at the rabbit-eared fairy who asked innocently, and after getting out of the bathtub, she used magic to dry her head and body.
“Uh
I want to wear new clothes.”
But she had no choice. She didn’t have time to launder her clothes.
She picked up and wore her clothes that were scattered before she approached Jude, who was sitting on the floor nearby with his eyes blindfolded.
“You can take it off now.”
“Eh? We’ll take a bath together?”
“Stop with your lame jokes. You’re like an uncle when you keep saying that.”
“Ahem, ahem.”
Jude cleared his throat before he took off the blindfold and faced the wild fairies.
“I’ve heard your story well. Me and Cordelia will come to help you. Please let us meet the Queen.”
“Yes! All right!”
“Let’s go!”
“Wait!”
The last one was Cordelia.
When the fairies and Jude looked at Cordelia together, she pointed towards the low entrance.
“We have to bring Kaplan.”
Kaplan was stretched out on the floor in a fainted state. There was a possibility that something might happen if they left him as it is.
“You’re right, we need to bring Kaplan.”
Jude got up from his seat and placed the wild fairies on his shoulder, but as soon as the wild fairies saw Kaplan, they disapproved.
“We can’t do that.”
“That’s right, that’s unreasonable.”
“Why?”
“He’s bald.”
The other fairies nodded at the words of the rabbit-eared fairy, and Jude was troubled and speechless.
“Anyway, we can’t do that.”
The wild fairies were quite resolute.
‘Can you make it possible?’
‘Aren’t you familiar with the fairies? They’re impossible to persuade.’
If it was the Fairy Queen, it would be possible to persuade her, but it was impossible for the fairies themselves who were completely like kids.
After they finished the conversation with their eyes, Jude and Cordelia thought for a moment on what to do before they immediately began to act.
“What’s going on, what’s going on. Why are they tying up the bald head?”
“It’s called restraint play.”
“Restraint play?”
“Yes, that’s what it is
”
“OMG.”
“Why haven’t they said anything yet?”
“Do it quickly.”
Cordelia was tormented by the fairies’ conversation, while Jude tied Kaplan tightly with a rope from Kaplan’s luggage and laid him down inside the bathhouse.
“This is our territory, so the animals won’t come in.”
“Yes, yes, so that won’t work.”
Jude had also thought of that. He hadn’t seen a single animal hair inside the bathhouse.
The reason why he tied up Kaplan now was because he was afraid that Kaplan would go out of the bathhouse once he woke up.
‘We haven’t picked the mulberries yet.’
T/N: This is actually based on the Korean proverb, ‘meet one’s loved one as well as pick mulberries.’ It is an expression which means that two things can be achieved at the same time. An English equivalent would be ‘to kill two birds with one stone.’ So what Jude meant is that they had met the loved one (the fairies), but not picked the mulberries yet (they haven’t achieved their other purpose yet).
Thanks to him, they met the wild fairies, but they had yet to reach the ruins of the magic kingdom.
It was impossible for them to just let go of Kaplan, who would be a lot useful in the future.
“You’re wicked as expected.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Jude said and bowed as if he was in a play, and then used a pencil he found in Kaplan’s luggage to write down in a piece of paper.
It was full of aristocratic and posh words, but in the end, it could be summarized into one line as follows:
‘We saved you. So don’t be afraid and just wait. We’ll be right back.’
“Wouldn’t he think that he was kidnapped?”
“But we have no choice.”
Because they had to resolve the wild fairies’ problem first.
Jude tied a new rope to the ankle of the tightly bound Kaplan and then tied the other end of the rope to the bathhouse column.
“Okay, let’s go now.”
“But Jude. Why are you so good in tying ropes?”
“I learned it from the Boy Scouts.”
Jude tactfully dismissed her question and then approached the wild fairies, who were having an intense and heated conversation. When they saw Jude and Cordelia, they all squealed.
“Don’t ask me what they talked about.”
Jude nodded at the words of Cordelia, who seemed to be exhausted already, and then asked the wild fairies.
“Would you take us to the Queen?”
“Yes! Let’s go!”
The wild fairies flapped their wings and gathered around Jude and Cordelia, and afterwards, it was the same experience as before.
When they closed and opened their eyes, they were standing in a completely different place.
“Oh
did we arrive here right away this time?”
It was not the living place where the ordinary fairies lived.
They were in the Queen’s residence.
If the Fall Fairy Queen’s abode was elegant and the Winter Fairy Queen’s home was refined, the Wild Fairy Queen’s residence was overflowing with life.
‘It’s just random if you put it in a bad way.’
There were various kinds of flowers and trees that were randomly placed inside.
But still, she was the Fairy Queen.
The countless flowers and trees seemed to be in harmony of each other, so it didn’t look disordered.
“Human children. Nice to meet you.”
Jude and Cordelia looked at the place where the deep and profound voice that was different from the other fairies came.
Seated in a large sunflower was the Fairy Queen with a lioness’ ears and tail.
“Jude Bayer greets the Wild Fairy Queen.”
“Cordelia Chase greets the Wild Fairy Queen.”
A smile spread over the Fairy Queen’s face when Jude and Cordelia courteously greeted her.
With voluminous red hair and impressive fangs, she was wearing a short mini dress that was comfortable and looked easy to move in, unlike the other Fairy Queens who wore stylish dresses.
But she was still a Fairy Queen.
Instead of having a mischievous girl’s face, her face was full of maturity and benevolence.
“You are not ordinary humans. You’re very powerful. So children, I have a favor to ask of you. Please solve our problem.”
It was a slightly different pattern than before.
But it wasn’t a bad pattern.
The story might change a little depending on what their problem was, but it was much easier to sponge off them in this current situation.
‘Your eyes look evil.’
‘Aren’t yours the same too?’
Jude and Cordelia quickly exchanged glances before they looked back at the Fairy Queen almost at the same time, and the Fairy Queen spoke in a serious tone.
“Human children, a monster with an evil power appeared on the road connecting our Wild Fairy’s residence and the High Elves’ kingdom. Can you get rid of the monster and reopen the road?”
The fairies could cross time and space, but that did not mean they could freely jump over space anytime and anywhere.
As the means to leap a long distance was limited, the physical road was also important, but a monster seemed to be blocking that road.
“Can you tell us what kind of monster it is?”
At Cordelia’s question, the Fairy Queen chanted a short spell. Then something like a video played in the minds of Jude and Cordelia.
It had a bull’s head and giant back wings, and its body was pitch-black from head to toe.
It was evidently Lacto, a lower-class demon species from hell.
‘Just as I thought.’
‘It’s understandable why the fairies are asking for help.’
Even though it was a lower-class species, Lacto was still a demon from hell.
Even if it wasn’t, for the fairies who rarely fought in battles, it was an opponent they had no way of defeating.
“Can you do it?”
When the Fairy Queen asked with a nervous face, Jude and Cordelia unhesitatingly nodded.
“We can do it.”
“We’ll try.”
“Oh
thank you very much.”
The Fairy Queen was relieved, and Jude and Cordelia looked at each other before Jude spoke first.
“By the way, Fairy Queen.”
“You can tell me.”
“We need help too.”
“Help?”
“Yes, help.”
A smile deepened on Jude’s face, and Cordelia’s eyes slightly narrowed.
Jude continued his words.
“Fairy Queen, may we ask you for the Earth Protection?”
“No problem. I will give you the Protection.”
After the Fairy Queen generously spoke, Jude and Cordelia immediately held out the Fairy’s Bonds.
“Thank you very much.”
“My goodness, it’s the Fairy’s Bonds. I haven’t seen it for a long time.”
The Fairy Queen innocently smiled and gave the Earth Protection.
It was a protection that strengthened the overall physical ability and also granted its user a weak regenerative power.
“Are you ready now?”
“Yes, we need the next help now.”
“Okay, good
next help?”
“Yes, next help.”
Jude instantly answered to the Fairy Queen who blinked her eyes, and then continued his words.
“Fairy Queen, we need weapons to fight the monster.”
“Uh
don’t you already have weapons?”
The Fairy Queen’s gaze quickly moved back and forth towards the Eastern Warrior’s Sword on Jude’s waist and the Moonlight that Cordelia was holding.
However, Jude gave a firm answer again.
“This is not enough. Because the opponent is a demon.”
“He’s right. We need a stronger weapon.”
Cordelia followed up even if he didn’t ask her to.
The Fairy Queen said after a moment’s consideration.
“Hmm
I don’t know much about human weapons. So children, how about I show you the stuff left behind by the High Elves and you can choose your own weapon from there?”
“Thank you very much.”
“We’ve been waiting for those words.”
It was an immediate answer again.
At that moment, the Fairy Queen felt strange and hesitated for a while, but she soon crossed the space with Jude and Cordelia.
“You can open your eyes now.”
It was a stone building.
It was very old and dilapidated everywhere, but its elegance could not be erased by the passage of time, as it remained in every corner of the place, such as in the pillars, walls, ceiling, floor, and so on.
It was the architectural style of the High Elves, who were also known as the ancient elves.
The spacious room looked to be around 10 meters in height and width. The ceiling was also quite high, and it seemed to be 7 meters high, and all the columns were attached to the wall, making the space itself look completely open.
And the most important thing.
Various items were placed on the decorated cabinets located between the columns.
Now that they had seen it, it really seemed to be a place where the High Elves stored their collected items, rather than an armory.
“Take your time. Call me when you’re done choosing.”
Having said that, the Fairy Queen instantly crossed the space and disappeared.
So Jude and Cordelia were left in the end.
With no one to notice their inner thoughts anymore, or rather, no one noticed how they had acted until now, the two became much more relaxed and spoke simultaneously.
“I’m left.”
“I’m right.”
The division of labor began right away. And in the first display cabinet, Cordelia’s breath halted.
“No way.”
Why did this item appear here?
At the top section of the beautiful display cabinet was a golden brooch with a big red gem.
As an item of the High Elves, Cordelia could feel its magical power, and she already knew the name of this brooch.
“Spell’s Echo.”
Its effect was simple and powerful.
It repeatedly cast the spell used by the caster.
In other words, if Cordelia cast the while wearing the Spell’s Echo, two Spears of Calamity would be cast.
As a matter of course, it was an item that couldn’t be abused because the mana consumption was also doubled, but it was a huge advantage to be able to use two spells at the same time in an emergency.
“This is it, it’s absolutely this.”
She didn’t have to look at anything else.
The thrilled Cordelia picked up the Spell’s Echo with trembling hands and carefully attached it to her chest.
“Jude! I’ve decided! It’s the Spell’s Echo!”
As she turned around and shouted loudly, Jude immediately responded.
“What?! The Spell’s Echo?!”
Cordelia felt a thrilling pleasure at seeing Jude’s face in great shock.
“Yes, yes, it’s the Spell’s Echo. I choose this one. I don’t even need to look at anything else.”
Because it was impossible that an item better than this would appear.
Jude agreed.
Among the items currently available at Cordelia’s level, there were only one to two items that were better than the Spell’s Echo, even in the whole Legend of Heroes series.
Depending on the user’s disposition, the Spell’s Echo was even used as a graduation item.
But Jude soon shook his head.
“What are you talking about? You have to keep looking.”
“Huh? Ah
yes. I’ll look for something you can use.”
“No, it’s not that. You have to look for something YOU can use.”
“Eh? I already chose Spell’s Echo?”
“Are you going to take just that?”
“Eh?”
“Are you going to take only that?”
Cordelia blinked several times at Jude’s words and soon realized what he meant.
This was reality and not a game.
Moreover, the Fairy Queen never said that they could only choose one item.
“Aaah, aaaah!”
When Cordelia’s eyes reflected her enlightenment, Jude smiled and said.
“We’ll need a lot of weapons to fight the demon.”
“Yes, because the opponent is a demon!”
“That’s right, so let’s fully arm ourselves to fight the demon.”
“Yes, yes, a full set from head to toe. Full, full, set, set!”
Cordelia cheerfully shouted and ran back to the display cabinet, and Jude pleasantly watched Cordelia before looking back at the cabinets.
‘The Earth Protection and the High Elves’ armor.’
But that wasn’t all.
There were still some rewards left after they had defeated the monster.
‘Fairies are so nice.’
With a blissful smile, Jude stepped towards the right cabinet.
***
“Is that
all that you needed?”
“Yes, I need everything.”