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“…….”
-Shake, shake
“……Popi!”
My consciousness gradually returned to me, accompanied by a faint sensation of my body trembling.
“Sihyeon, Popi!”
“Umm… Gyuri?”
“Wake up, Popi!”
Gyuri’s voice pierced through the fog of my senses, ringing clear in my ear.
Perhaps due to the fact that I had just woken up, her voice sounded louder than usual…
Lying down still, I opened my eyes slowly. My gaze was first met by the sight of a cloudless sky, which, inexplicably, was not blue but a delicate shade of pink.
Is this the sky of the fairy world?
Lost in the otherworldly ambiance, I gazed up at the sky, a blank expression etched on my features. Suddenly, a fairy with vibrant orange hair shoved her face into my field of vision, disrupting my reverie.
“How much longer are you gonna lie down, Popi!”
“Fine, fine. I’m going to get up now…hmm?”
Realizing that something even stranger than the pink sky was happening, I blinked my eyes rapidly. I rubbed my eyes with both hands, wondering if my vision was impaired, but the phenomenon before me remained unchanged.
Slowly rising to a sitting position, I opened my mouth to speak.
“Umm… Gyuri?”
“What, Popi?”
“When did you grow so big?”
Gyuri sat beside me, gazing directly into my eyes.
Under normal circumstances, she would have flown directly in front of me to make eye contact. But now, save for the presence of her wings, she appeared as an ordinary girl.
“Haha, what do you mean, Popi?”
“……?”
“I didn’t grow, it’s just Sihyeon shrunk, Popi!”
“I shrunk?!”
I glanced around, perplexed, searching for anything different from when I was in the Forest of Silence. Yet, I could not identify any disparities.
At present, I could not discern if I had shrunk or if Gyuri had grown larger.
“Come on, let’s stop wasting time and get going, Popi! I wanna see my friends and the Queen as soon as possible, Popi!”
“Um…okay.”
With an eager expression, Gyuri urged me forward. Still feeling somewhat dazed, I nodded my head, my emotions in disarray.
She was a fairy who had always been small. As she pulled me by the arm, leading me forward, I experienced a sense of strangeness. Would it feel this way when Speranza grew up?
Nonetheless, I followed behind Gyuri as she led the way.
Whenever I found myself with a moment’s respite, I looked around, scanning the landscape back and forth. Much like the pink sky I had observed earlier, the scenery around me was shrouded in an inexplicable mystery.
Countless towering flowers dotted the landscape, their size several times that of my own. In the midst of the floral array, mushrooms and nuts were abundant, accentuating the feeling of my diminished stature.
The fragrance of the flowers was potent, and simply passing beneath their blooming petals, inhaling their sweet perfume, was sufficient to ease my mind.
The tranquil ambiance that enveloped me seemed to tickle my heart, evoking a sense of warmth and comfort. It truly felt as if I had been transported to a realm inhabited solely by fairies.
But so far, there doesn’t seem to be any problem.
Thus far, I could identify no issues or sources of concern. Indeed, it was so peaceful that I yearned to visit this place time and again.
“If we go a little further, we’ll reach the village, Popi!”
“Got it, let’s hurry up.”
In order to gain a better understanding of the situation, I knew that I had to speak with the fairies residing in this village.
“Is this the fairy village?”
“That’s right, Popi!”
“Wow…”
As soon as my eyes caught sight of the fairy village, my mouth instinctively fell agape.
The village was a magnificent display of houses constructed from an array of colorful petals, large leaves, hard acorns, and small tree branches. It was a picturesque scene straight out of a fairytale book. The playful and delightful atmosphere matched perfectly with the sound of the fairies’ laughter.
I was completely entranced as I scanned my surroundings.
– Swoosh… Swoosh…
Suddenly, fairies began to emerge from all corners of the village, whispering and approaching me with caution.
“Oh? I think that’s Sihyeon. Pipo!”
“SIHYEON? Where? Bupi”
“Wow, it really is Sihyun! Bypo!”
“Really, Topi?”
“Sihyeon, Bipi!”
Several fairies spotted me and ran towards me with delight.
-Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
“Uh…Uh! You guys?”
Despite their newfound larger size, I was able to easily recognize them as the fairies who had aided me in tending to the strawberry field alongside Gyuri.
“Argh! I missed you, Pipo!”
“What about the strawberry field? Is the strawberry safe, Bypi?”
“Why did you come now, Topi!”
“Argh! Guys, come on, wait!”
If they had been their usual small size, I wouldn’t have been fazed. However, now that they were almost the same size as me, I had to endure a tremendous shock as they all rushed toward me at once.
“Who is that, Kypi?”
“I don’t know, Bbi!”
The commotion caught the attention of the other curious fairies in the village, who soon gathered around me.
“Yeah, I missed you too. The strawberry field is still fine. The people of Elden Village are taking good care of it. So everyone, calm down a bit.”
My surroundings became crowded with fairies of all kinds, but despite their increased size, their pure and kind personalities remained unchanged.
I calmly reassured the strawberry field fairies with a gentle voice, and as I watched their smiles return, I couldn’t help but smile brightly myself. It warmed my heart to know that the fairies still cherished the strawberry field.
As the strawberry field fairies began to calm down, I wasted no time in asking the most pressing question.
“You guys, why did you suddenly disappear from the strawberry field? Did you leave on the orders of the fairy queen, as Gyuri said?”
“Yes! The Queen called us. Bipo!
“We wanted to stay in the strawberry field. But we couldn’t help it, Topi!
“All the other fairies have also returned, Bypi!”
Everything seemed to be going according to Gyuri’s explanation,
“Then why did the queen bring you here all of a sudden?”
“Well, that’s…”
Just as one of the strawberry field fairies was about to reveal the most important answer,
“Kyaaaaaah!”
A piercing scream shattered the tranquility of the village.
“There’s another collapse, Byopi!”
“We have to stop it quickly, Bbi!”
“Let’s hurry up and go, Bapi.”
Startled by the scream, the fairies frantically took to the sky. Even the strawberry field fairies around me followed suit.
“What’s going on all of a sudden?”
“SIHYEON! Look over there, Popi!”
Prompted by Gyuri’s frantic gestures, I turned to follow her pointed finger and was met with an astonishing sight.
Crack… Creek!
A cracking echoed through the sky.
A tearing sound reverberated through the normally tranquil fairy world, as the pink sky split open.
“Is that… a Rift?”
It was a jarring, alien occurrence that seemed entirely out of place in this magical realm. It was a surreal scene, similar to the rifts that had been observed on Earth.
Swiftly, hordes of fairies swarmed around the rift, emanating a glittering aura that pushed back the ominous energy that seeped from the crevice.
“I think I have to go, Popi!”
Gyuri flew up to join the ranks of the defenders, alongside the rest of the fairy populace.
Creek… Creek!
“Just a little more, Bapi!”
“The rift is shrinking, Kyopi!”
The tension in the air was palpable as they engaged in a fierce struggle, attempting to stem the growth of the rift.
After a protracted struggle, the fairies ultimately prevailed. The rift vanished, leaving behind a small cluster of light that signaled the return of tranquility to the fairy sky.
But the relief was short-lived. Within moments, I noticed that the fairies who had put a stop to the rift were now falling helplessly from the sky.
Even the slightest breeze made them falter, as they struggled to maintain their balance. Some came perilously close to crashing to the ground.
“Are you guys okay?”
“Y e s… Po pi”
At least, Gyuri nodded and answered with difficulty. The rest of the fairies were lying on the floor and were busy taking a rest.
“Gyuri, do rifts like that usually appear in the fairy world?”
“I’ve never seen anything like that before, Popi! It’s my first time seeing it, Popi!”
Gyuri shook her head in denial, barely managing to answer my question.
However, the other fairies reacted quickly as soon as the rift occurred. Moreover, the fairies in the village looked much more exhausted than Gyuri.
Based on the situation, it seemed that this was not the first time such a rift had occurred in the fairy world, and the fairies had blocked multiple ones before.
‘The fairy queen gathers the fairies together. The sudden appearance of the rift.’
It felt like the pieces of the confusing puzzle were slowly coming together.
‘Let’s put off any further speculation.’
Gyuri and I began to care for the exhausted fairies, checking for injuries and providing them with water.
“Gulp, gulp, gulp! Thank you, Bapi!
“I don’t know who you are, but thank you so much, Kyopi.”
Their weak, pitiful smiles broke my heart, but with our help, they slowly began to stand up once more.
“Buzzzzz.”
“Buzzzzz.”
Suddenly, I heard a more solid and loud sound of flapping wings above me, different from the soft flutter of the fairies’ wings.
Looking up, I saw a group of beetles descending in front of me, wearing armor and armed with swords and shields.
“A beetle?”
Gyuri approached me and whispered in a small voice, “They’re the queen’s bodyguards, Popi!”
Among them, the biggest beetle stepped forward.
“Are you the human who passed through the entrance to the fairy world, Sapi?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“The fairy queen wants to meet you, Sapi. Come with us, Sapi.”
The beetle guard suggested in a rather polite manner.
I answered with hesitation, “What about the fairies here? I can’t leave them like this.”
“Don’t worry about them, Sapi. The Queen’s support will arrive soon, Sapi.”
“Oh… I see.”
I frowned slightly, but the beetle guard seemed to expect my reaction and gave me an answer that made me nod with a sense of awkwardness.
“I want to go with Sihyeon, Popi!”
“It’s fine, Sapi. The queen said to bring you along as well, Sapi.”
Gyuri remained close to me, her duty evident in her unwavering support. I smiled slightly, grateful for her desire to help.
“Then, both of you come along, Sapi. I’ll guide you to where the queen is, Sapi.”