CH 102

Chapter 102

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : The Fairy And Great Beasts Of The Prairie, Part 12 — Flame Beast's Longing

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

＊＊＊

It was the evening of the 16th day after the Storm Season began. The conversation began when Alfiris asked Phalanx a casual question.

「Come to think of it, why are you so kind to humans, Phalanx? I thought humans were like suitable bait for a strong magical beast like Phalanx.」

「Hmmm…」

Phalanx seemed to be searching for a few words, but everyone else was frozen except Aerial and Alfiris. It’s a question that all of them had thought about at one time or another, but had let it slide. If Phalanx takes the trouble to rehash the situation, and then thinks,「Well, let’s eat, then,」there is no way for Alfiris and the others to resist.

Miranda looks over to Alfiris, but Alfiris notices but ignores her and waits for Phalanx’s response.

「Let’s see. If we follow the law of the jungle, I am acting strangely.」

「I know, that’s why it’s stuck with me all this time. From what I’ve heard about Aerial, you’ve rarely attacked humans, right?」

「Yes. Except when it excessively disturbs the order of this prairie.」

「But other magical beasts feed on them.」

「That’s right.」

「Why is that?」

Phalanx and Alfiris stare at each other. The other members look at each other flabbergasted, but suddenly Phalanx looks at Miranda and smiles.

「In the past… I have been saved by humans. Yes, by sisters like Miranda there.」

「Eh, like me?」

Miranda is surprised to be asked to speak out of the blue.

「Yes… It was still early days of the my life, and I was a predator on this prairie. With all of my flock wiped out and my life on the line, this sister suddenly appeared in front of me and my enemies.」

「…」

「In an instant, she captured the magical beasts with sacred magic and instantly healed me, who was so badly wounded that his internal organs were popping out of his body. I was truly astonished.」

「What is the name of this Sister?」

Alfiris asked. But Phalanx just shook his head.

「Unfortunately, I don’t know, because I didn’t understand human language at that time. However, the Sister seemed to be of a very high status, and many people, including knights and monks, followed her around. That’s all I needed to know that she wasn’t just some nobody. The Sister took me in and took care of me until my wounds were completely healed. You could say that she was like a mother to me.」

「That’s why you don’t attack people?」

「Yes, and the people around that Sister are good too. They used to play with me… we played in the prairie, we slept together… even though they knew I didn’t understand the language, they tried their best to talk to me. After that experience, I wanted to know the human language. I wanted to at least say thank you to them. But it was not to be, and they left the prairie. Then I tried to help humans as much as I could, and I made an effort to learn their language by making many opportunities to come in contact with them. It took me about 200 years, actually.」

「I see…」

「The Sister is no longer alive. That is the only regret I have in my life…」

「…Do you remember what that Sister looked like?」

Miranda enters the conversation. Everyone looked at Miranda in surprise, but Lisa seemed to sense her intentions.

「She had golden hair and green eyes. She was beautiful… very beautiful. It’s strange that I, a magical beast, praises the appearance of a human being. But I thought so… she was as beautiful as if she was not human. I suppose a saint is someone like that. But what does it matter?」

「Not in particular…（I’m sure it was Master!）」

Only Miranda and Lisa would have come up with that. And although nothing was said at that time, Miranda visited Phalanx again after dinner and when they had gone to sleep.

＊＊＊

「Phalanx.」

「I knew you’d come…」

「I have something to tell you, did you get the hint?」

「Yes, because you seemed to know something about it.」

「That’s right, and… perhaps the Sister in your story is still alive.」

The eyes of Phalanx turned surprised. He almost leans forward, but stops himself and, after a moment, regains his composure.

「Why is that… No, if there were circumstances you could talk about, you would’ve told me right there. Is it better not to tell me there?」

「You are really smart. Don’t worry, she might come to you if I let her know you’re there.」

「That’s good news. I appreciate it, human girl.」

「No problem, I just wanted to say that because Phalanx has taken care of us. You don’t have a very long life expectancy, do you?」

Once again, Phalanx’s eyes take on a startled look, but this time he quickly return to normal.

「… You’re a perceptive girl.」

「Does Aerial knows that?」

「I haven’t said this directly, but I am sure she was aware of it. She’s a smart girl, too… and I’m nearing the end of my life.」

「I see… If you have any message for the Sister in question, you can pass it to me, you know?」

「Is that so… But tell her I’d like to thank her myself, and I visit her sometime soon. Hmmm, I will still be around for another dozen years or so.」

「When you come to town, all hell will break loose.」

「Kukuku, that too. Life is not always as it seems.」

「Ahh, it seemed so… what about other things?」

「Just one thing… what is that Sister’s name?」

「I don’t know if this is her real name or not, but… her name is Miliazar.」

「Miliazar… A good name. Powerful and gentle.」

「Yeah, that’s who she is.」

「Is that so…」

Phalanx closed his eyes as it was. Miranda quietly left so as not to disturb his sleep. Phalanx will surely have good dreams tonight.

＊＊＊

Next day. Kazas and Euthy had no time to do anything these days. They had nothing to do because everyone was busy training. Having heard most of what Phalanx had to say, the two were left with nothing to do in earnest. Two of them had to say that it was unhealthy, both physically and mentally, to spend days just watching others training.

With that in mind, they decided to explore where Phalanx lived. Of course, the two had permission from Phalanx. The back of the cavern is quite spacious, and there was no problem at all in riding a horse. In fact, Kazas had a borrowed horse, not Aerial’s beloved Sylphide, but one of her secondary horses.

「Now, what do we have here?」

「But it’s still huge! I wonder how far it goes?」

「I’ll take guess. But just imagining that is exciting. I wouldn’t mind a dead end in about half an hour.」

「Yeah–yeah! It’s all about this excitement, right?」

「We’re on the same page, Euthy.」

「Not at all. It’s Nia that Kazas is interested in, isn’t it?」

Euthy laughed meanly. But Kazas was unfazed and handled the situation with aplomb.

「Yes, I like Nia-san.」

「Well…! How can you say that so unabashedly～?」

「Because it’s true.」

「…You’re not worth teasing! I’m going to tell that to everyone.」

「How helpful of you. You can tell them, but in that case, I’ll also tell them that when Euthy saw Phalanx for the first time, you were so surprised that you chickened out a bit.」

「Ugeh, why did you mention that…」

The Kazas proceeded on horseback with such idle talk. Surprisingly, the two hit it off in a private moment. Perhaps it was the solidarity of being a non-combatant, but as a fairy, Euthy’s knowledge, which was not found in books, was novel to Kazas, and Kazas’s ability to think was also interesting to Euthy.

But Kazas was not interested in the stories of Euthy, who loved to talk about love and was very human, but he still kept quiet and listened to her. He was still one of the most popular and approachable people in a university full of eccentric professors who were difficult to approach back home. Miranda and others would have been outraged if they had heard this.

「…So, what do you like about Nia～?」

「Everything.」

「That answer is not interesting. What in particular do you like about her?」

「No, she’s lovely and feminine in her gestures and so on. She has a straightforward personality. And she has a lot of things I don’t have.」

「Hmmm, so why it’s not Miranda?」

「She is beautiful and kind at heart, but she has a strong temper and a bad mouth, so she and I will probably fight every day.」

「You guys still do, though… what about Fenna?」

「That young lady doesn’t suit me. After all, I come from a rather poor commoner background.」

「Then what about Alfiris and the like?」

「She’s a lovely lady, too, but I might get in her way.」

「How does that…」

「Aside from that,」

Euthy’s question was interrupted by Kazas’ strong words. When Euthy looked at Kazas, his expression changed to a grim one. Then Kazas jumped off his horse and began to examine the wall.

「What’s wrong, Kazas?」

「Don’t you think it’s strange, Euthy? We’ve been riding horses for more than a tick now, don’t you think?」

「Eh, it’s been that long?」

「Yes, I was measuring it. And yet the cave is not narrowing at all, in fact, branches are appearing more and more… I guess this is a bigger cave than expected. …which, if done poorly, could spread across the entire prairie…」

「Don’t tell me!?」

Euthy looks incredulous, but Kazas folds his arms and takes it seriously.

「I certainly don’t know the details… but if so, this is not a natural cave.」

「What is it then?」

「It must be some kind of archaeological site.」

「Who the hell is going to build such a big ruin!?」

「That’s… Nhn?」

It was then that Kazas, who was probing the wall, noticed something.