A cold and gloomy night fell on Kalden.

The trio—only three, because Gen had not fully recovered yet, so he went to receive further treatment—had been led back to the treetop shack. Understandably, they were grim and silent. They had just agreed to fight for Kalden against an army of monsters sent by the Gods, after all.

It seemed like suicide, but refusing it would be suicide as well. At least they had some shelter in the meanwhile and a potential to turn it all for the better, if they survived. In a way this result was not as worse as they feared, but that didn’t serve to cheer them up too much.

“Are you actually going to do this?” asked Shaya, a mix of worry and anger in her voice.

Roah looked back at her, surprised, as if he was confused it took her so long to say that. “Did you see any other choice there?” he said coldly.

“I don’t know," Shaya said, “it’s just that… what are you scheming, Roah?”

“How to keep us alive here,” Roah replied curtly. Shaya looked like she wanted to say more but ended up closing her mouth and hanging her head.

Instead, Niu was the one who gazed at Roah, but after seeing her do that he merely averted his eyes. At times he was brutally direct, and at times he was mysteriously evasive just like this. If she could, she would continue to question him, but she didn’t have her slate right now.

So she couldn’t help but keep wondering: why had Roah done that?

A mere hour before, there was tense silence in the throne room.

Hearing about the situation, the quartet was obviously distressed and distraught. Roah, however, was the first to calm down. He took a deep breath. As expected, he remained the most rational of the group.

“I want to ask—what does Acrus expect us to do, exactly?” he turned to ask Seele. “Surely he… they know we’re no warriors.”

Seele briefly posed this question to the Ruler, and received an answer which they promptly translated back.

“You are not going to fight on the front,” said Seele. A huge wave of relief washed over Niu, and even Seele seemed happy. Opposing the monsters again was definitely not something they wanted to do. “But for what you will do… the Ruler didn’t decide yet.”

Roah nodded. “Glad they're being fair. If you’re expecting us to help and you’re going to ‘repay’ us by getting in touch with Plainland… then sure, we’ll do that. Now for my next question. You have an army. Surely you conduct meeting to discuss strategy and whatnot? Especially when you know that there’s a definite threat coming? If so, I want to participate in that meeting.”

“…You what?” Gen spat in disbelief.

Roah wants to be part of their planning? Niu was confused as well. Yes, he was that type of boy—always thinking, scheming and using his brain—but wasn’t that a bit too much to ask of them?

“You really think they’d let someone like you into their—"

“Shut up,” Roah interjected, much to Gen’s annoyance. “I’m sure I can do something. If nothing else, I’ll bring them a fresh perspective. And unlike you, I do know a bit about wars from our lessons.”

Gen mumbled something under his breath and winced; once again, it was probably mainly his pain right now that prevented him from lashing out at Roah.

“Seele?” Roah turned to them again. “Ask them, please.” Seele themselves also seemed hesitant about this idea, but did as they were told.

Acrus let leak a laugh. What a joke. And not a very good one at that. “Did that insolent faerie actually say that?” Acrus focused their gaze on Roah, who returned a one-eyed gaze of his own. “A mere child thinking they can hang with adults…? How presumptuous. I will—”

But at that point something that neither side expected happened; probably sensing the derision from Acrus and the incoming rejection, Roah decided to take a completely different approach.

“I do help! Please.”

Acrus widened their eyes. The other faeries were also completely stunned. Both sides were surprised senseless for different reasons: Acrus’s guards and attendants were probably shocked because the faerie directly addressed the Ruler like that, while his friends were probably shocked because they couldn’t understand his words.

Yes. Roah had spoken in Acrus’s native language.

The boy gritted his teeth, still glaring at Acrus. It was clear that he was unsure if he used the right words, and indeed it was not grammatically correct. Perhaps he meant to say “I can help you” or something of the sort. The faerie was an alien, but even so he managed to learn some of this foreign vocabulary. The general meaning of his words passed. Yes, he definitely showed that he was willing to make, and was making, an effort.

Acrus wore a strange expression that combined their conflicted feelings of rage, shock, or both. At length they spoke again.

“Such sheer cheek,” Acrus mumbled incredulously, perhaps showing that their expression held more of the latter than the former. “Can you understand my words, insolent faerie? No, obviously not. And yet… how very interesting.” They turned to Seele. “What is the meaning of this? I’d have asked the child, but they don't seem to actually speak our language.”

“Ah,” said Seele, “the Ruler wants to know how you learned to use our words.”

“As do we,” said Gen, raising a brow. “When’d you learn that?”

"I, for one, pay close attention to my surroundings,” Roah replied. “It’s nothing too complicated… I just listened and made some connections. Obviously I only understand a few words here and there, mostly by context. However, with time I noticed that our languages are actually very much alike.”

“They are?” asked Shaya.

Roah nodded. Most people would probably dismiss it since it was just a language they couldn’t understand, but Roah listened. He found patterns, links and surprising similarities. The fairy language at times sounded like an old dialect or perhaps an offshoot of their own language. And so he was able to decode it ever so slightly.

“Anyway,” he said to Seele, “tell them I also have other surprises in store.” He smiled and pointed his eye at Acrus again while hearing Seele translate the gist of his words. Acrus returned that glare, their expression severe, and finally they sighed and replied something. Roah recognized a handful of words, but not enough to fully understand the intent.

“The Ruler allows it,” Seele translated, sounding surprised themselves. “For now, at least.”

Roah clenched his fist. So far so good. “Thank you, Ruler,” Roah spoke to the Ruler directly—and in Fairland language yet again.

Not much was added after this. Since the exact details of their arrangements would need some considering, they were told that for now they’d be taken care of and were sent on their way.

“That was a near disaster,” Aisbroom said quietly, their back to the throne.

This happened not long after the faeries had left the palace. A few guards remained stationed near the doors, but the room was empty except for Acrus and their head knight. It was finally time to discuss the meeting that took place there.

“Oh? Is that what you think?” Acrus asked disinterestedly. They were probably not even looking at Aisbroom as they said this.

Aisbroom turned around. “You know fully well how fast rumors travel through Kalden,” they said. “Rumors that you do not have full control on. You should have waited with the news about the incoming wave, like we have already discussed.”

“Nonsense. It was the perfect moment to reveal it. It shocked the faeries into helping us and riled up the populace.”

Aisbroom furrowed their brows. “The populace?” They spat. "These are only guards and servants. Who knows what sort of twisted story the actual populace is going to hear?”

“One that is exaggerated to a great extent, of course.” Acrus wore a wide grin. “About me securing our victory against our nemesis. Was it not perfect, my improvised speech there? I think I really outdid myself.”

“Perhaps,” Aisbroom said, not a speck of emotion in their voice. Such a response, if uttered by almost any other person, would possibly grant its speaker a swift and painful execution. In this case, however, Acrus merely looked bored. “You have given them hope… and hope is dangerous. You cannot even get rid of the faeries now.”

“Oh, there are always ways,” said Acrus.

“Well, never mind that; what’s done is done. However, your acceptance of the faerie child is incomprehensible to me. Do you really intend to let them participate in our strategy meetings? Was that another part of your improvisation?”

“I liked the child’s attitude; that is all,” Acrus replied. “And who knows? Perhaps something good can come out of it. You always bemoan that I never take enough risks, do you not?”

No, thought Aisbroom, the problem is that you take too many risks, and never act decisively enough with them even when you do. Just like back then. Just like right now. However, they kept this inside their heart.

“Well, I suppose it wouldn’t really cause any issues for us… even if I still do not like it,” they finally said. “But if you are intent on doing it, may I offer something?”

“Yes?”

“Assign Seele as an interpreter for this meeting. It has to be someone, right? They are already familiar with the faeries and in fact seem quite fond of them. Not to mention that Seele had been part of the project at the time—and obviously admires me.”

“Hmm. They seem somewhat dull, but are they trustworthy?” wondered Acrus.

Aisbroom nodded, “Very much so. We even threw them to that dingy old base with nary a complaint. I think that employing them during the meeting could be useful. They are a pawn with many possible uses.”

“Now that, I like.” Acrus smiled again. “A useful tool is one that can be used for different purposes. Much like you.”

A tool that you don’t know how to use, thought Aisbroom glumly while suppressing a scowl. You delude yourself into thinking it’s merely “useful” without ever finding its proper usage and functions.

“Anyway," Acrus continued, “did those faeries say anything interesting? They seemed to debate a lot between themselves.”

“Nothing much. They mostly bickered, conversing on nonsense. The two 'males' seemed antagonistic toward one another,” Aisbroom replied.

“Males, huh… I still do not understand that,” mused Acrus.

“There is no need to understand.”

“Hah. Let faeries retain their mysterious charm, you say? Very well. Is that all?”

“Actually…” Aisbroom muttered. There was a certain detail they had noticed during these talks, or rather noticed the lack of. “One of the faeries never spoke a single word. Well, I did hear from the reports that they are mute, but still. I have to wonder if that is true.”

Aisbroom remembered how that very faerie looked at them, terrified. Yes, Aisbroom had that effect on people many times, but something about this time seemed much more… genuine. And different.

What was the faerie hiding beneath 'her' silence? Aisbroom had actually set up their sights on Roah as a problematic element, but could it be this Niu, instead?

“Hmm.” Acrus leaned back on the throne and closed their eyes as if about to fall asleep. “Not very interesting, I have to admit. Actions speak louder than words, but this also means that inaction never speaks. If so, it is as though they don’t exist at all.”

Or they’re hiding something, thought Aisbroom. Just as expected, the new visitors caused nothing but troubles and worries. Yet it was Aisbroom’s job—and hope—to take care of those.

The next morning came with some pleasant surprises.

First of all, the trio were led by Seele back to Kalden, the largest tree—except not to the throne room they had seen the day before, but a few floors down. It was still located inside the same colossal trunk, only much lower. According to Seele, these were the guest quarters for important people of all kinds, now arranged for their use. Seele seemed excited as well, as they had never been there.

The place was just as ornate as the main palace, with polished wooden floors and a faint sweet smell constantly wafting in the air. If that wasn’t luxurious enough, apparently the four of them all received a room of their own. It was actually a bit weird for them to sleep together since coming to this world, but they’d already gotten used to it, and now they had their separate rooms again.

Each room wasn’t actually that large, by royal standards, but at least for Niu it was about three times larger than her room back home. Almost as large as the classrooms in their school.

Seele even handed Niu another surprise: a new writing slate. The previous one had practically been a random stone picked from the ground compared to this one. It was smooth and compact, made of thin, clean stone with a wooden frame; perfect for writing purposes. Well, Niu would have preferred paper, but she assumed that the people of Kalden, spending their lives on trees, would spare its usage. Nevertheless, it was finally a way for Niu to express herself again, so she hugged it with joy and scribbled a quick Thank you.

A bit later Gen appeared again. He was already looking much better, physically. He walked straighter and his complexion was warmer. In fact, if not for some bandages he almost looked completely healed, if a bit tired.

“Hehe, I told you not to worry,” said Seele, “luckily seems that our herbs work on faeries too. We can’t use it on really bad conditions, but once that’s stable it makes all the difference.”

Seele worded it a bit poorly, but apparently those healing herbs of theirs accelerated the body’s natural healing. They also fatigued it, however, so they couldn’t be used on those who were dying or in grievous condition as it would likely just cause them to die. Gen was apparently on the way to make a full recovery.

“Anyway, starting now I’m officially your amb… amba, ah… what was it?”

“Ambassador,” TriX assisted.

“Yes, that! I’m so excited. I never thought I will come back to Kalden like this,” said Seele, smiling.

Meanwhile, now that Niu could express herself she decided to ask something she’d been wondering about. By the way, she wrote, are you alright after what happened that night, TriX?

“Oh… that was pretty bad, wasn’t it,” said Seele, slightly nodding.

“I am fine,” TriX replied, “I was found and fixed. My body is less, vulnerable than yours.”

“Hmm… were you fixed using that fungus whatever?” asked Roah.

“Yes. My body absorbed the material to fix itself,” the laborer explained. Sounded like quite the incredible process.

What about DuA, then? Niu asked.

But at that point the smile on Seele’s face went off. “From what I heard, he was destroyed in the battle. It was very rough… I’m sorry I wasn’t there with you.” According to Seele, they’d gotten lost in the chaos and just barely avoided the fight, opting to get help from Kalden instead.

“DuA…” mumbled Shaya weakly. Niu realized her sadness; DuA did so much to help them right to the very end. “So it can’t be fixed?”

Seele shook her head. “And he was one of our battle models too. It’s bad,” they said sadly.

Thinking about it, TriX was felled pretty easily, but DuA not only survived until the very end but even managed to successfully fend off many attackers. Being a “battle model” probably meant that it was trained to fight. This probably also led to it taking more damage, however.

“Battle model… like a soldier?” Roah asked.

“Yes. Every laborer was builded different. TriX is for information gathering. That’s why he knows how to speak with you.”

“Yeah, about that,” said Gen, “I forgot to ask, but what exactly were you doing during that project of yours?”

Seele thought in silence for a while. “Hmm… it was a lot. I mean, most of it we just learned how to speak and read. I actually didn’t really participate too much… and everything shut down soon after we talked to your side.”

“Kind of hard to imagine that sort of system, even with the channel of communication,” said Roah. “Then again, the fact that we’re here is proof enough that it’s possible, I guess. Sending messages should be easier than transporting people.”

“Yes, they say it’s really amazing magic! I hope we’ll be able to fix that.”

Niu sank into her own thoughts. This mystery was pushed aside during everything that happened since then, but how exactly had they been transported to this world? The dark tentacles apparently brought monsters from Blissland, so had it just swept the four of them along with it all the way to Fairland?

Something still felt missing, but Niu wasn’t sure what. Regardless, it wasn’t like they could use it to go back home. If another attack came, perhaps another clue would show itself. So for now, Niu decided to forget about it. They had other worries now anyway.

Their conversation was cut short when a fairy arrived to the room and spoke shortly. “Oh, lunch is ready!” Seele explained to them.

Another privilege of living in these quarters was not only being served food yet again, but eating it in a designated dining room as well. Perhaps as part of their new role, Seele also sat down to eat with them, which was another new change.

After serving the dishes, the servants left them alone as Niu and the rest sat around the table. All of the plates were made from wood, but surprisingly the eating utensils here were metal.

“By the way,” Gen suddenly interjected, “when we were at your base there was this really good mushroom stew… honestly, I didn’t even notice how fantastic it is until we stopped eating it every day. Is it possible to get it here?”

“Ah… you mean the Lompha mushroom, I think? Unfortunately, no,” Seele replied with an apologetic smile. “Kalden grows some mushrooms, but less. It was actually something like our secret, haha.”

“Oh man,” Gen mumbled in disappointment, but Niu smiled a bit. In the start he would complain a lot about the lack of meat, but now he’d gotten himself addicted to mushrooms.

After a short while they finished their meal and servants arrived again to clear away their dishes. Gen probably felt right at home, but this lifestyle was completely foreign for Niu—but honestly, she could get used to it. At the very least she intended to enjoy it as long as she could, considering their circumstances.

“Well.” Seele was the first to rise from their seat. “Get ready, Roah—we will go out soon.”

“…Understood,” the boy replied after a short pause, ignoring Gen scowling at him. They were talking, of course, about the approaching strategy meeting that Roah had somehow finagled his way into. What was he planning on doing there? Nobody knew, and he wasn’t sharing.

“Umm, good luck,” Shaya said quietly. Roah slightly raised a brow, perhaps surprised at this gesture, but mumbled a soft Thanks.

“Alright, girls,” Gen said, passing his gaze between Shaya and Niu after Seele and Roah left, “let’s have a strategy meeting of our own now.”

Niu and Shaya exchanged puzzled glances.

The strategy meeting was being held in one of the palace’s side rooms, a few floors above the guest wing but still below the throne room. It was a circular room very likely located exactly in the middle of the gigantic tree. There were no adornments there; only a clean room with windows that let in whatever light they could, and a long, rectangular table with chairs around it.

Seated inside were about a dozen fairies. Roah would have expected to see such a meeting room filled with sly old men, but these faeries of course all looked extremely young—a fact which he was not yet used to. Still, even if their general appearance belied their true age, their expressions were rough and full of experience, with a few of them even sporting some scars. These were definitely not children like him.

Among these, Aisbroom’s outfit was of course the most conspicuous, with the others wearing more practical clothes and capes in dull colors. Aisbroom also sat at head of the table. Apparently Acrus themselves were not participating in the meeting.

Even Roah found himself somewhat nervous, especially now that the fairies’ venomous gazes bore through him. But he steeled his emotions; a mere nasty look would never be enough to make him lose heart. Never again.

After the slightest of pauses, he came to an empty seat, with Seele following him. At least she—they, he had to remind himself—also felt out of place there. They fidgeted around, themselves also subjected to the gazes of not very nice eyes.

“Let us begin,” Aisbroom announced after a bout of silence. Immediately all gazes focused on them instead. “You have all been made aware of the circumstances… most of you, at any rate.” Aisbroom cast a momentary glance at Roah and Seele. “We will not linger on that. Well, we can go over the information gathered about the monsters from their previous attack, but first I would like to hear your questions and suggestions, if you have any.”

Immediately and without a sliver of hesitation, Roah raised his hand to the air. Everyone including Seele was baffled by this. Roah, of course, had yet to learn the language. He had, however, made some very small practice with Seele, as he needed every advantage he could muster. “Suggestion” was one of the few words he’d learned already. He had actually planned on shouting this at some point to indicate he had something to say, but this opportunity was good enough if he understood it right.

Let them stare at him. Let them look down on him. His first move was everything—it would dictate everything from now on. And so he gambled on being bold and taking the initiative. This would either greatly reward him or blow up in his face, but he had to try.

“…Fine,” said Aisbroom after a pregnant pause. “Let us see what the faerie has to say.”

“Ah, you can speak,” Seele whispered from the side. Roah nodded and began. Seeing as Seele would have to translate his words anyway, he had no need to address the others, but he still did so. Again, it was all a matter of the impression he created. He had to be as assertive as he could.

“The approaching monsters are a threat, no doubt about that,” he said, “but I believe that they are not the real problem. After all, you have already made it through the first wave. I have no doubt that Kalden’s armies are strong enough to weather the assault.” He wasn’t actually completely certain about this, but after seeing a bit of the Capital, he came to the reasonable conclusion that there was no substantial damage done to their city or to their people. The next part was trickier, though. “However, I believe there is another threat that you need to take in mind—the presence of your enemies, the Stroba, nearby. They are sure to attack as well once we are occupied in battle. —Seele, pass this over.”

This was his major gamble. He only had tenuous information with which to arrive at that conclusion, yet he could feel he wasn’t wrong. The only question was their response. Seele looked surprised at his words, but started promptly translating. Roah was attentive to their words—they were obviously summarizing and rephrasing what he said, but it still served as a valuable reference for learning the language.

“That stupid child,” spat one of the fairies around as Seele finished speaking. They had a gruff face and somewhat of a darker complexion than most. “Do they really think we are not aware of that? Is this why they were brought here?”

Another fairy softly chuckled. Their eyes were large and blue and their smile generous. “Come now, Ariboh. You were surprised the most of all of us to learn of the Stroba presence the other night.”

Ariboh spoke angrily, “Which is why I’m mad about this faerie acting all high and mighty about it!”

“Ariboh, Sqore,” Aisbroom interjected. “Do no squabble. We are meant to have a civil, productive discussion here. The faerie probably does not understand most of your words, but they can surely surmise your intent.”

They all glanced at Roah, who scowled. As they said, he could understand their general sentiments about his suggestion just now. At least in that aspect both humans and fairies were not much different.

“Remember, friend,” added Sqore thoughtfully, “that they might be the faeries of legend.”

Ariboh clicked their tongue, yet said nothing. Instead, they glanced around to see if anyone had anything else to say.

Aisbroom spoke next. “Anyway, Seele—tell them we are already aware of that. However, judging from their words… I have the feeling that they have something else to say. Be patient,” the last words he directed at the rest of the crowd.

“…They already know what you’ve told them. Is there anything more?” Seele asked Roah.

As expected, Roah had to take it one step further. He was taking a gamble yet again. However, it was yet another gamble based on what he’d seen from the difference in their cultures, and especially the way of living on Kalden.

“First I would like to ask you a question—you, Seele. Has your base ever been attacked by the Stroba?”

Seele furrowed their brows, probably surprised by being asked a question instead of any of the more qualified fairies around. “Yes.”

“And did they attack from below ground or from above ground?”

“Above.”

Roah nodded. “Then I believe that this time they’d aim to attack from below.”

“…What?” Seele said, confused.

“Seele,” called Aisbroom, “please translate to the crowd.”

Hesitating a bit, Seele did as they said. Almost all of them, except Aisbroom, looked just as shocked. Roah smiled seeing this; this time he apparently hit the nail on its head.

“Anyway, this is about Roah.”

The moment the three of them gathered inside Gen’s room, this was what he said to the two girls. He was greeted with awkward silence; Shaya slightly furrowed her brows, while Niu sighed.

“W-what?” he asked, his voice rising.

“I guess we expected something more serious,” said Shaya. She exchanged a glance with the other girl, who proceeded to nod.

“This is serious. What that guy’s trying to do?”

“He’s trying to help us,” said Shaya.

Yet Gen shook his head while frowning. “I’m not so sure about that. I never understand what he’s thinking about. I dunno, I just have a bad feeling about this.”

Are you jealous? Niu wrote.

“What? No!” he burst. “This has nothing to do with—oh, forget it then. I can see you don’t agree with me, so just… just watch yourself around him, okay?”

“It’s… it’s fine not to like someone," said Shaya weakly. “I often find him rude as well, but maybe you should—”

“No,” Gen cut her short. “This has nothing to do with that! Crap. I just feel like he’s going to end up burning all of Kalden or something. I don’t know. Maybe we should have gone to that meeting too, but I was too surprised to say anything back then.”

Gen, it’s been a year already—will you stop grudging him for what happened?

“No, Niu, I won’t.” Gen looked serious. “He could have badly hurt Shaya back then when he tried to channel a fucking fire—he’s crazy, I’m telling you. I don’t know what he’s suggesting there, but it’s definitely nothing good."

“Gen, that’s enough!” Shaya begged, averting her gaze. “I told you to let what happened go already… please.”

“I…” Gen fell silent. He groaned. “Alright. I guess I’m only now realizing how powerless we all are here, and it seems like that guy’s one step ahead of anyone… so maybe that’s why I’m so annoyed."

He wouldn’t do anything to hurt us, Niu added.

Gen shrugged and rose from his bed. “Whatever. Don’t worry—even if something does happen, I’m here for you.” He looked straight at the girls, smiling. “So I’ll let this go for now.”

As they dispersed and chatted about how to keep spending their time until Roah returned, Niu bit her lips and focused her eyes on the floor. Gen was here for her, he said, but why? Did she even deserve it?

Everyone in the meeting room fell momentarily silent.

“That… is a worrying proposition,” Sqore said, scratching their cheek.

“…Is that possible?” even Ariboh lost some of their usual vigor.

“That would explain the attack the other night,” mumbled yet another fairy.

“Just so we are clear,” Aisbroom said coolly, “I have already considered this possibility. It does seem likely. I would have raised this topic myself soon… perhaps I underestimated the faerie child. Never thought they would bring that up right at the beginning.” Their eyes focused on Roah.

“Honestly, with all the preparations for the wave I haven’t really spared those damn Stroba much thought,” admitted Ariboh. “But what is the basis for that theory?”

“Why don’t we let the faerie explain it to us?” suggested Sqore with a smile.

“Let us see if they truly are that competent,” spat another person.

“At this point, I suppose we might as well. Perhaps there will be other surprises in store, though I doubt it,” said Aisbroom, then gestured at Seele. “Seele.”

“Ah, they want to hear why you think that,” they told the boy.

He was already prepared for this question. “First there’s Kalden itself. I couldn't rule out there being any facilities underground, but since there’s almost nothing on ground… it seemed reasonable to assume everything here is located on the trees. This is in contrast to your other bases—or at least the one Seele here came from—where they not only live underground but even have certain other uses for this environment. Such as growing mushrooms. Well, but I actually came upon this idea during the night we came here, when the Stroba tried to restrain and capture us. You surely know that they attacked us from underground. That’s when I had my first suspicions. I assume that might be a blind spot for you and why they chose it in the first place,” he explained, then took a breath. “Well, that’s pretty much it.”

“Wah,” Seele mumbled in a low voice, laughing awkwardly. “I’m not even sure how to start summarizing that…” But after a while of thinking they started speaking. Aisbroom’s eyes grew dangerously narrow.

“Really?” said Sqore. “They figured out all of this after spending so short a time here? Are we sure they are not some sort of spy?”

“A faerie spy? I doubt that,” said Ariboh, scowling. “Too bold for one. And I hate to admit it, but everything they said is correct. Aisbroom? What d’you think?”

Aisbroom was calm and collected as always in their response. “A mere conjecture,” they concluded. “A good one, but only a guess. By combining several small pieces, they seem to have assembled the entire puzzle, but that faerie merely leapt to several conclusions as if jumping from a treetop. Although they have landed on a cover of soft leaves, it is not as though they placed them there in the first place.” Aisbroom paused, letting their words sink. “Besides, like I said before—I have already figured out this much. This child gave no new information here; nothing at all. I shall now demonstrate to you that while clever, the child’s game isn’t worth that much. Seele! Ask them what they suggest to do about everything they’ve told us of.”

When he heard the question translated back at him, Roah scowled as well. From the beginning to the end, Aisbroom was, perhaps, a bit surprised—but not impressed. Honestly, Roah didn’t think he’d be able to impress them in the first place, but he had to at least try.

“Locate and attack their underground paths, of course. Otherwise it’s a disaster waiting to happen right under our noses. There should be some time to spare before the next wave. Also, it has to be done as soon as possible, because I believe there are spies among you. The fact that the Stroba knew of our arrival indicates that clearly.” That was another card he’d held in reserve, but he felt like it was perhaps the time to use it. Even if it did feel somewhat clumsy, he couldn’t let Aisbroom undermine his initiative.

For some reason, Aisbroom wore a faint smile during this explanation. Seele hadn’t even started translating yet; what did that mean? But Aisbroom made no further comment until after Seele’s explanation.

“You see? My suspicions were right: that child knows nothing. They assume that the Stroba are lurking underground, but then think that they have spies among us? Of course they have, as they always did! However, them lying underground would mean that they’d have known of the faeries’ approach regardless. These might be related, but might not. Next, about their suggested course of action—simply attacking them is short-sighted. In the first place we have no guarantee they’d get involved in the fighting during the wave. In fact, it could be suicidal. Yes, they could take advantage of the chaos, but then they’d also have to deal with the monsters. If anything, we should lull them into a false sense of security; perhaps they have yet to realize we know about their tunnels, though I doubt it. Regardless, wasting our manpower on purging the Stroba is foolish at the moment.”

Roah could only understand a few words of what Aisbroom said, but one thing was clear: the fairy general has regained control of the meeting’s atmosphere. They’ve managed to turn Roah’s words against him. It was clear judging from the looks the other faeries were giving him.

“My, how harsh,” said Sqore with a smile. “It’s lucky they don’t understand you.”

“Well, they are a child and a faerie, after all. It’s obvious they lack experience,” added Ariboh. “So in conclusion, they added literally nothing to our meeting… right?”

“Practically,” said Aisbroom.

“Is it really different from your contributions, then?” Sqore asked with a mischievous smile, making Ariboh scowl. “Besides, it was still very interesting. You can’t say this child is dumb… and they have some room to grow still. Especially if the legends about humans being long-lived are true.”

“They’re not, as a matter of fact. Right, Seele?” Aisbroom said.

“M-me?” Seele mumbled. Besides translating they hadn’t contributed anything to the discussion so far, as everything there was probably way out of their comfort zone. “Umm, it seems that the legends were mistaken, at least on that. According to what the faeries told me, they only live for a hundred years or so.”

“So little? What a pity,” mumbled Sqore.

“Which means we should squeeze out everything we can out of them… just like the Ruler wants,” said another fairy.

Aisbroom clapped their hands. “Well, let us continue. I believe we’ve had quite enough of wasting our efforts on theoretical nonsense; it is high time we proceed to more practical discussions. Friends, how will we be able to best defend against the incoming attack?”

From there on, and to Roah’s increasing frustration, he was barely allowed to speak.

Roah left the meeting with mixed feelings, but mostly bad ones.

On one hand, he did appear to leave some lasting impression. On the other hand, he’d apparently made no obvious contribution and had been shut out from most of the talks. He also obviously couldn’t understand the vast majority of their discussion; Seele only barely summarized some things when they were given the time.

Perhaps he’d underestimated these fairies. Their lives looked so outwardly primitive that he thought his knowledge from Plainland would make some difference, but that was probably too naïve of him. Their cultures were simply different and everyone in that room was more than ten times older than he was.

Still, it wasn’t a complete waste. Surprisingly, there was an implication that he would still be invited to further meetings. Which was good enough for now. He wasn’t going to give up so easily.

“Well… they spoke a bit harshly about you, but I think it was not that bad, actually,” said Seele on the way back.

“Was it, now?” he asked back, his voice a bit more bitter than he’d have liked to. That was bad; he had to keep his cool. It wasn’t like he expected immediate success. Or did he? Perhaps a part of him did.

“Yes. I think Sqore for example liked you—that’s the tall one with the brown hair.” Seele smiled. “Oh, and you really impressed me, too!”

Hmm. I guess a little good attention is better than none, Roah thought grimly, smiling at her. He then spoke aloud, “Anyway, thank you. I know this must be hard for you.”

“No problem,” said Seele, beaming. To his surprise, it was almost a Niu-like smile. He hadn’t seen one of those much lately. Unfortunately, a few moments later he saw something quite common and quite unpleasant.

“So you’re back,” mumbled Gen. He was leaning against the wall of the corridor leading to the personal rooms. He was probably trying to appear imposing and stoic but as always, his emotions were laid bare on his expression and entire body.

“Yeah,” said Roah without stopping. However, Gen separated himself from the wall and stood to block his way. Roah scowled. “What do you want?”

“I just want to speak with you. In private,” he said, gesturing at Seele.

Seele looked at them both with a cocked head, but Roah nodded. “Sure.” He steeled himself for an unpleasant situation, but knew he couldn’t run away from it for long.

Finally they were left alone in the corridor. Except for during baths at the underground base, this was the only time in Roah’s recent memory that the two of them were alone. What were the girls doing right now? Gen probably didn’t want them to be around.

“Say,” Gen opened, “haven’t you been getting way too friendly with the fairies lately?”

“Friendly? Hardly. Besides, we need them right now.”

Gen didn’t look convinced. “To me, it looks more like you’re trying to… become one of them.” Roah urged the need to groan; what was this nonsense Gen was spewing? “Remember, Roah—our goal is going back home.”

At that word Roah couldn’t help but snicker. Home? That was the word he chose to use?

“What's so funny?” Gen asked angrily, taking a step forward.

Roah hesitated only for a moment. Nothing good would come out of teasing Gen, and he fully knew it. Yet in the end he was quite tired and frustrated so he wasn’t thinking straight.

“Going back home?” he snickered. “Maybe you have your doting parents and brothers—if they’re even still alive—but I’ve got—”

Nothing. His final word never left his mouth because Gen’s fist hit it. Roah crumpled to the floor, tasting blood. He was barely able to get up when a kick also hit his side, making him groan in pain.

“Don’t you… fucking dare,” Gen’s voice was shaking. Roah turned an indignant eye upward at Gen’s enraged face while wiping the trail of blood off of his lips. He gritted his teeth and the pair simply stared at each other for a few more moments.

The tension was finally broken by someone unexpected.

“That was a good blow,” the white figure said, appearing behind Roah. “You look like the strongest in your little group… is that correct?”

Gen had been so focused on his hated rival that he failed to notice the arrival of Aisbroom.

“Wha…” Roah mumbled in a low voice, forgetting all about the humiliation, anger and pain as he turned his head around. Gen was obviously shocked as well; Aisbroom had just spoken to them in words they could understand.

Despite seeming so cold most of the time, Aisbroom now wore a thin smile. “Well? I can understand you just fine, you know.”

Could they, though? Until that very moment there had been no indication of this fact. Even during the meeting, Aisbroom always spoke in… no, wait. Roah realized that this fairy had understood him all along. They’d always had subtle reactions to Roah’s words. He felt like an absolute moron.

“I…” Gen mumbled. Whether or not he was thinking similar to Roah, he looked still half in shock. “Err, I wouldn’t call myself really strong, but when compared to the others, probably? Well, I can’t channel very well, but I can definitely fight with—”

“I see,” Aisbroom interjected forcefully, still smiling. “That is good enough. Then I shall come to pick you up tomorrow so we can work on that. Good night to you.”

Without letting them say anything, Aisbroom turned around and left as readily as they appeared, leaving the two bewildered boys behind.

Hanging high, the looming sun

Leaves behind no shade undone