/
As expected, everything came to this. Gyuri had come to me for help, and to be honest, I was not surprised.
The strawberry field was a crucial part of my estate, and it wouldn’t have been possible to maintain it without the diligent beast people and fairies who tended to it. I held Gyuri in the palm of my hand and reassured her, “Okay, I’ll help you.”
“Will you really help me, Popi?” she asked, her voice trembling with emotion.
“Of course,” I replied. “I owe a lot to you and your friends. If there’s anything I can do to help, I will do it. I promise to bring your friends back to the strawberry field.”
My words seemed to bring Gyuri some comfort, and a bright smile spread across her face, despite the tears in her eyes. “Yay! As expected of Sihyeon! Popi!” she exclaimed.
Gyuri’s excitement was contagious, and she rushed to my cheek, peppering it with kisses. Her joy was infectious, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
Once she had expressed her joy to her heart’s content, I asked Gyuri how I could help her.
“Gyuri, how can I help you?”
“First, we need to go where the queen is! We have to go to the ‘Fairy Realm’, Popi!”
The Fairy Realm? I was confused, but Lilia, who had been listening, spoke up on my behalf.
“I’ve heard of it before. It’s like a homeland where all fairies are born, right?”
“That’s right, Popi! I was born there too!” Gyuri exclaimed.
“But I heard that the fairy world is a place where only fairies can enter. Not to mention demons, but also Sihyeon, who is a human being, can’t go in there, right?” Lilia asked, concerned.
“Usually, that’s true, but it’s possible for Sihyeon to enter, Popi!” Gyuri said confidently.
“

?”
“Sihyeon, you have received our blessing, so you can enter the Fairy Realm, Popi!”
I was surprised. I had received the fairies’ blessing a long time ago, but I never thought it would be used like this.
“So, can Brother Sihyeon go straight to the Fairy Realm?” Lilia asked, hopeful.
Gyuri shook her head, “No, Popi! Sihyeon is not a fairy, so cannot go straight to the fairy world, Popi! You have to find the hidden entrance to enter the fairy realm. Popi!”
My heart sank. “Where is the entrance?” I asked.
“I don’t know, Popi! Without an entrance, I can freely come and go to the Fairy Realm, so I’ve never seen the entrance, Popi!” Gyuri explained.
Lilia spoke up again, sounding frustrated. “What’s the point then? It’s useless.”
But Gyuri was quick to reassure us. “No, Popi! I know people who know where the entrance is. The demons who live in the ‘Forest of Silence’ know where the entrance is, Popi!”
Late at night, we all gathered in one place on the farm, except for Speranza who had fallen asleep while playing with Gyuri.
Ashmir, Urki, and Andras had returned from their respective activities, including Andras who had just finished his date with Amy. I shared with everyone the conversation I had with Gyuri in Vision world.
Lia, anticipating a long story, had prepared tea and distributed it to everyone, including me.
As she handed me my cup, she asked, “Is it okay for Gyuri to be here now? Won’t she be taken away by the fairy queen again?”
I reassured her, “It should be okay if she’s near me. It seems like she can avoid the fairy queen’s ability because of the influence of Vision world.”
“That’s a relief. She just got back. If she were to disappear again, Speranza will be really sad.”
“I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen.”
I reassured Lia, who was worried about Speranza and thanked her with my eyes.
When the warm tea was ready in front of everyone, Kaneff, ever the pragmatist, summarized our situation perfectly.
“So to sum it up. You don’t know why, but the fairy queen took the fairies from the strawberry field. Do you mean you have to head to the entrance in the Forest of Silence to save them?”
I nodded in agreement. Kaneff then asked with annoyance,
“Do you have to save those fairies? Even if we find the entrance to the ‘Forest of Silence’ and reach the fairy realm, there’s no guarantee that the fairy queen will release the fairies she has taken, right?”
It was a very realistic response.
At his words, Ashmir and Urki nodded and agreed. On the other hand, Andras immediately emphasized the importance of rescuing the fairies.
“The fairies helped create a strawberry field here. Without them, we wouldn’t have been able to grow the strawberry field like this.”
“Do we really need a strawberry field? You and Sihyeon are struggling because of it.”
“It’s a place worth as much as we’ve suffered. Not only is it a major source of income for the Cardis estate, but also a valuable workplace for the residents of Elden Village. If the strawberry field disappears right away, we won’t be able to easily recover from the impact.”
“Hmm
”
The Cardis estate was heavily dependent on strawberry exports, and while the income from honey beer was increasing, strawberries and strawberry jam were still the main source of income.
Maintaining the strawberry field is critical for the residents of Elden village to keep their jobs and livelihoods.
If the field is abandoned, not only will the villagers suffer, but also the visits from the giant merchants will stop, making it hard to obtain affordable and quality products.
In the current situation where self-sufficiency is still challenging, this would be a devastating blow.
Andras knew this better than anyone and spoke up first in response to Kaneff’s suggestion.
“Andras is right. Everyone worked hard to cultivate the strawberry field, and we can’t give up on it so easily.”
“I agree with him. Mr. Kaneff, you also like to eat strawberries every time we harvest them.”
Alfred and Lia also expressed agreement with Andras. If Speranza were here, she would have used her cuteness to convince Kaneff.
Most of the farm members, including me, took pride in the strawberry field. It is considered the best in both taste and popularity in the demon world. Kaneff frowned slightly at our response.
“I know how important the strawberry field is, and I like strawberries, but do you know what the ‘Forest of Silence’ is like?”
The people’s reactions were mixed, with some looking confused and others with hardened expressions.
Kaneff continued, “If you make noise in the Forest of Silence, you’ll end up in a place where you have to be quiet, even in death. The demons living there, probably referred to as the ‘Shadow Clan,’ are dangerous. They rarely leave their closed-off territory, and if anyone trespasses, they will be killed without hesitation. They are so skilled at assassination that people living around the forest call them ‘the assassins’ of the forest.”
His description of the Forest of Silence was chilling, and the atmosphere turned icy.
I looked at Andras with a fed-up look on my face. He noticed my gaze and nodded quietly.
“As Mr. Kaneff said, it is not a safe place. I have never visited there myself, but according to the senior members of the Black Hawk Unit, it is a place where you cannot let your guard down for even a moment.”
The Forest of Silence seemed to be a much more dangerous place than I expected.
Kaneff looked at me with an expressionless face and asked.
“So, are you still going to ‘Forest of Silence’?” Kaneff asked me, looking at me with an expressionless face.
I hesitated to answer for a moment, but I didn’t back down from my original idea. “
I have to go,” I said firmly.
“

”
“Not because I need them in the strawberry field. It’s because I can’t betray the grace I received from the fairies. If they didn’t leave on their own, I’d love to bring them back.”
Sometimes they played pranks to the point of being annoying and made a noise that could hurt your ears, but they could also be considered part of this place.
Pretending not to know when things get difficult was not the right thing to do.
“Moreover, I already made a promise to Gyuri. Making sure that I would bring her friends.”
Kaneff shook his head at my decision.
“Ugh, you’re such a pushover
 I was hoping to scare you off with some threats, but I should have known better.”
“As expected, you lied to scare me about the Forest of Silence, right?”
“No. It’s true that the forest is dangerous. Didn’t you see Andras’s face?”
“

.”
The hope I had briefly held was shattered.
Kannef sighed and looked towards Andras.
“Hey, Andras.”
“Yes, Mr. Kaneff.”
“Preparing to take Sihyeon to the Forest of Silence, you take charge of it yourself and make it right. I want to go by myself, but I can’t help it because those horrible guys will make more fuss whenever they see me.”
Andras answered reliably, bowing deeply.
“Yes. I’ll do my best to prepare.”
“Andras, are you okay with this? You must be busy with Amy and other things these days
”
“I’m fine. If it’s to help Sihyeon, I’m sure she will understand.”
“Thank you, Andras.”
Andras smiled calmly at my words which were filled with gratitude and sorry.
Kaneff gave Andras additional instructions.
“If you’re going to meet the Shadow Clan, ask ‘that girl’ for help. Even though it’s been a long time since she left her hometown, still it’s better than nothing. She’s resourceful. With Ryan’s help, you should be able to find out about her whereabouts easily.”
“Yes.”
Despite the ambiguous reference of “that girl,” Andras easily understood and answered.
“Oh! Take Locus and Kroc with you too. They’ve experienced the Forest of Silence, so they’ll be helpful.”
“Um
 if ‘that person’ is coming, I don’t think Locus will join
”
“I heard he’s having fun and eating comfortably at the finance officer position. Since he’s been playing around that much, he should work hard now. Tell him to join on this task, or else I’ll personally kick him out of the territory.”
Andras nodded and muttered quietly.
“Hmm. Poor Locus.”
As I wondered who ‘that girl’ is, my eyes sparkled curiously at the mysterious existence that Kaneff and Andras mentioned.
They discussed plans and necessities for going into the Forest of Silence until dawn arrived that day.