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“Let’s go, Sapi,”
The beetle guard unfurled his wings with a resounding buzz and lifted off into the air.
I called out to him in a flustered voice, feeling a mix of wonder and confusion.
“Wait a minute, are we supposed to fly?”
“Yes, why, Sapi?”
He responded to my query with a dismissive air, as if it were obvious that I could fly, causing me to momentarily question whether I too possessed such an innate ability.
“I’m just an ordinary human being. I don’t have wings, so I don’t think I can fly,”
“…… Oh! I’m sorry, Sapi.”
The beetle guard soon realized his blunder, however, and promptly folded his wings before me, offering an apology.
I laughed off his mistake, thinking it was a small matter.
“In that case, I’ll give you a ride. Hop on.”
“Excuse me?”
“Since you can’t fly, I’ll carry you myself, Sapi. Get on my back, Sapi.”
The long-horned beetle escort gestured for me to climb upon his back, but I hesitated, feeling a bit out of sorts. The fairies nearby, however, expressed their envy at the opportunity, which gave me pause.
“Wow… the guard gave him a ride, Bapi!”
“I’m jealous, Byopi!”
‘Was this truly something to be coveted?’
“I would have loved to give you a ride, but it’s probably better if we ask the guard, Popi.”
Gyuri seemed crestfallen that she couldn’t take me herself, though she was similar in size to the beetle guard.
It appeared that carrying me along would be no easy feat.
‘Ah…’
Despite my reservations, I found myself pushed to accept the offer by the guard’s urging and the surrounding reactions. It felt quite peculiar to clamber onto the back of a beetle.
“Okay, hold on tight. We’re about to take off,”
“Um, okay,”
When the guard instructed me to hold on tight, I momentarily hesitated before spotting the pointed horn protruding from his forehead, which I instinctively grasped with both hands.
-Wrrrrrr!
The guard’s wings began to move, and we lifted off into the air, slower than before, which I took as a considerate gesture towards me. Gyuri and the other escorts followed behind us in formation, and soon we were soaring high above the fairy world.
“Thank you for your help, Pipi!”
“Take care, Byopi!”
“I will definitely go back to the strawberry field later, Tapi.”
The village fairies’ greetings were soon lost in the rushing wind, but I managed to force my stiff body to wave back at them.
The long-legged beetle carrying me ascended quickly, and soon the fairies below appeared as tiny, moving dots.
Though I felt anxious at first, the flight became increasingly steady as we gained altitude, the wind brushing gently against my face, and the beetle’s wings flapping rhythmically.
‘Hmm…it’s not that bad?’
The fairy world’s breathtaking scenery soon came into view, with large flowers and mushrooms and tiny trees dotting the landscape.
However, I also noticed abnormal phenomena that were invisible from the ground: small rifts appearing in the sky all around us.
Though they didn’t seem to be expanding or emitting threatening energy, their presence was cause for concern.
I wondered if the crisis in the fairy world was direr than I had realized.
“Are you uncomfortable, Sapi?”
“I’m okay. Actually…um, no.”
I quickly suppressed the urge to talk about taking the beetles to my farm and giving Speranza a ride, as the escorts didn’t seem curious about my words.
“We’ll be arriving at the Queen’s place soon, Sapi,”
Soon, a grand structure appeared before us: a beautiful castle nestled amidst a large wooden pillar, with sturdy plant stems enveloping it.
The beetle guard expertly guided us to land in front of the castle gate, and I alighted from the beetle with some trepidation.
“Thank you for the ride.”
“No problem, Sapi. Please go inside. The Queen is waiting for you, Sapi.”
Gyuri and I exchanged brief greetings with the guards before making our way toward the castle’s entrance, which was tangled with plant stems.
‘Should I ring the doorbell?’
-Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
As I was contemplating something rather foolish, the gates began to open of their own accord, as if anticipating our arrival.
I passed through the mysterious gate and stepped inside, my curiosity piqued.
-BRRRRR!
-BRRRRRR!
As we entered through the door, we were suddenly greeted by the most unexpected of visitors: little fairies with plump cheeks and bright, curious eyes.
They appeared out of nowhere, fluttering their delicate wings as they greeted us with open arms.
“Hello, Pyori!”
“Are these the people invited by the Queen, Pyoki?”
As much as I longed to hold these adorable creatures close, I remained composed.
“Yes, that’s right. The guards brought us here.”
“We will guide you from here, Pyori!
“Follow me, Pyoki!”
Gyuri and I were guided by the baby fairies and headed to the queen’s place.
Although it was not nearly as grandiose as the Demon Lord Castle, the fairy queen’s abode exuded an aura of freshness and mystery that left me spellbound.
As we made our way through the castle’s winding passageways, we were met by yet another guard, who was quickly swayed by the persuasive whispers of our little fairy guides.
“The Queen is waiting inside, Pyori!”
The door to the queen’s chamber opened slowly, and we stepped inside to find ourselves engulfed in the sweet fragrance of flowers.
At the center of the room stood a captivating woman, bathed in sunlight that shone through an open ceiling.
The woman’s face lit up with a smile when she saw us.
Her smile was gentle, yet radiant enough to make it seem as if flowers were blooming all around us.
“Are you the Fairy Queen?”
“Yes, I am the queen who leads the fairies.”
I watched in awe as she exchanged calm, knowing glances with Gyuri, who maintained an unusual composure in her presence.
“My name is Lim Sihyeon. While working on a farm, I happened to have a connection with fairies…”
“No need to explain, I already heard from the other fairies about you and your bond with them.”
“Oh, I see.”
“So, you came here because the fairies vanished from the strawberry field, right?”
I nodded slightly with a dazed expression.
“I heard you took great care of them while they were there.”
“Yeah, I did. But truth be told, the fairies actually helped me out.”
“Also, you helped those young cubs in the forest of silence, didn’t you?”
“Oh. You knew about that too?”
“Thanks for doing what needed to be done. Because of you, we could save those little guys from disappearing without a trace.”
The queen bowed her head in gratitude toward me, and I awkwardly scratched my head in response.
“So, you came here to bring the fairies back to the strawberry field, right?”
“Well, I did start this journey with the intention of bringing the fairies back… But after entering the fairy world myself, I could see that the situation here doesn’t seem to be good.”
She nodded her head sadly.
“Bringing the fairies back to the fairy world from the strawberry field was unavoidable. I needed their help to prevent the crisis.”
“Is that matter related to the Rifts?”
“Yes, it is. The rifts you saw in the fairy village are the ones that caused this crisis.”
“What caused the sudden occurrence of these rifts in the fairy world?”
“Can’t say for sure. In the past, there were small rifts that occurred, and I could handle them on my own. But at some point, they grew too big for me to control…”
“Hmm…”
“All the fairies are trying to stop the Rifts from spreading, but we don’t know how long we can keep it up…”
The fairy queen trailed off with a desolate expression. Gyri and the baby fairies listening to the story also turned somber.
The danger of the rifts seemed more serious than I had originally thought.
Just by seeing the fairies exhausted earlier, I could tell they were barely holding on.
As I listened to the queen’s story, I suddenly remembered what Judge Ark had told me: that the rifts on Earth were caused by an imbalance of dimensions. The same might be true for the fairy world, but with far more dire consequences.
If the balance could not be restored, the rifts would only continue to worsen. Even the angels who claimed to be the guardians of dimensions were powerless to halt their progress. I felt a sense of helplessness wash over me as I realized the enormity of the crisis.
If we couldn’t solve the fundamental problem of the imbalance of dimensions…the rifts that were happening in the fairy world would only get worse.
Even now, they were barely holding it together. If the situation worsened, the future was predictable.
“Your Majesty, do you have a plan, Popi?”
Gyuri spoke up, hoping for a solution, but the fairy queen shook her head sorrowfully.
“Then then, if we can’t hold on anymore, can’t we move somewhere else, Popi?”
“No, that won’t work. If the fairy world disappears, we’ll all lose our powers and vanish.”
It seemed as though there was no way to save the fairy world from its impending doom. My frustration mounted as I pondered the situation, muttering under my breath, “Well, it’s not like we can just create a new fairy world or something…”
“Huh? That’s it, Popi!”
“. . . . . . ?”
Gyuri, who was listening to my words, suddenly shouted.  “We can just create a new fairy world, Popi!”