After the meal, Bao’s barrage of questions didn’t finally subside until the sun was high overhead. Exhausted, Erwin stepped out of the log cabin and wandered toward the heart of the fairy forest. The day was clear, and several young fairies were frolicking freely beneath the warm sunlight filtering through the fresh green canopy. It was a peaceful scene.
“Ah.”
Suddenly, Erwin’s footsteps halted on the soft, velvety grass. Moments later, he collapsed to the ground as if overcome. He had been fine when he woke that morning, but now a sharp pain gripped him, and his complexion had noticeably faded. Placing his left hand over his chest, he breathed heavily, “Hoo, hoo.”
“…”
Perhaps the fresh air helped calm him somewhat. Erwin bowed his head for a while, then abruptly exhaled sharply and lay down in the underbrush. His face, turned up toward the clear sky, betrayed a deep, hidden sorrow. His right hand still rested over his left chest.
Suddenly, memories of the day his heart first ached flashed through his mind. More precisely, the moment he had lifted the seal on the ruins and first confronted Thanatos.
Though he had left for the fairy forest immediately after receiving the call upon returning to Ragnarok, Erwin had been the strongest opponent of unsealing the ruins at that time. He didn’t know why—there was no logical reason, just a vague intuition. Standing before the stone gate, he had felt an inexplicable unease.
But that feeling had only grown exponentially, accompanied by pain. At its worst, the memory of the gate opening and being engulfed in black smoke replayed as a terrifying nightmare. It was as if something invisible was slowly tightening its grip around him.
“Why… why…?”
He pressed his aching chest, endlessly questioning himself, though if there had been an answer, it would have surfaced by now.
Feeling as if wandering through a labyrinth with no exit, Erwin closed his eyes gently and surrendered quietly to the cool breeze. He resolved to get up before afternoon.
How much time had passed?
Feeling his chest ease a little, Erwin slowly opened his eyes. Through his blurred vision, he noticed a red hue spreading slowly like diluted paint in water. His eyes snapped wide open. He had fallen deeper into sleep than he thought—but that wasn’t the only reason.
A pair of pale green eyes, contrasting sharply with the crimson sky, was gazing down at him.
“You’re awake at last, my old friend.”
At the sound of the sweet voice, Erwin hurriedly sat up straight. He was about to kneel on one knee when—
“It’s alright. Stay comfortable.”
The gentle, almost pleading tone stopped him. The silver-haired fairy, sitting with both knees together, smiled warmly at Erwin. He managed to speak.
“Nimue.”
“How are you feeling? Any better?”
Erwin fell silent. Of course, he wanted to say he was fine, but that would be a lie. When he averted his eyes, unsure what to say, concern deepened on Nimue’s face.
Fairies, born as such, find their roles as they grow before awakening. Upon reaching adulthood, their affiliations shift according to their roles. These affiliations are groups assigned specific duties: combat, reconnaissance, assassination, support, guardianship, and daily life. The leader of each group holds the special title of ‘High.’
Beyond that, there is one fairy who oversees all six groups, one who serves as their dedicated protector, and an elder who acts as the queen’s proxy—currently a vacant position.
This is the current organizational structure of the fairy forest’s inhabitants. The fairy before Erwin now was Nimue, the High who oversees all groups.
“This is serious. An illness with no known cause… Were you so reluctant to return home?”
“N-Nimue.”
Erwin narrowed his eyes slightly, and Nimue chuckled softly, then looked away with a deep sigh.
“I stepped out because my chest felt tight. And I happened to find you asleep.”
“Your chest feels tight… Is something troubling you?”
“It’s a bad habit to ask when you already know, Erwin.”
“…Ah.”
Erwin flinched at the rebuke. Nimue sighed again, long and heavy.
“Living each day weighed down by worries like this is something I haven’t experienced in nearly a hundred years. Even when we had no choice but to send you back to the human world, it wasn’t like this. Much worse.”
“Do you not want to take the queen’s throne?”
Erwin finally asked the question at the heart of it all.
“The elder is worried.”
Nimue said bitterly.
“The destruction of the Arcono Orcs is certainly something to celebrate for us. But it seems to have only deepened our wariness of human strength.”
“Humans are supposed to be our allies. So why such suspicion?”
“Yes, allies. More precisely, a near non-aggression pact. Of course, the elder has no intention of breaking this alliance or turning hostile toward humans.”
“Then…?”
“But the humans are growing stronger by the day. I think they fear any situation where they might be subjugated in some way.”
“…”
A sudden, faint chuckle escaped.
“Well, I suppose that’s why the talk of selecting a new queen has resurfaced. Because now, more than ever, we need a leader.”
As Nimue finished speaking, a brief silence fell.
“Sometimes, I have a recurring dream.”
The unexpected words drifted quietly. But given who it was, Erwin calmly asked,
“A dream? What kind of dream?”
“It’s a bit funny… In the dream, I see a small child riding a white horse, holding a yellow bundle. Oh, I even see the face. Beautiful, noble silver hair—reminiscent of young Margarita.”
“Hm?”
“I mean, it’s like seeing Margarita’s child.”
Nimue smiled softly. Erwin, momentarily surprised, smiled back and settled quietly beside her, eager to hear more.
“Thinking back on the dream, the child seemed very happy. Surrounded by someone, always smiling. Seeing that smile makes me happy too.”
“And then?”
“I approach the child. Slowly, very slowly. Then I place a crown of thorns on the child’s small head.”
“Heh. Just hearing that makes me feel good.”
Erwin’s eyes sparkled.
“Ah, maybe it’s a prophetic dream? Like Nimue finding Margarita’s child…”
“Maybe.”
Then—
“But then, at that moment—”
Nimue’s voice suddenly dropped.
“When I place the crown of thorns and turn around joyfully…”
Her words came in scattered fragments.
Erwin, turning his head without thinking, suddenly—
“!”
He gasped sharply.
The pale green eyes that had been shining moments ago had turned colorless, staring piercingly at him. Reflexively, Erwin blinked and shook his head quickly.
When he looked again, Nimue was opening and closing her mouth as if wanting to say something but unable to.
“When I turn around…”
But she never finished. Instead, she calmly rose to her feet.
“Erwin.”
Their gazes met in the empty air. A brief silence. But it didn’t last.
“Just promise me one thing. One thing only.”
Without warning, Nimue’s words poured out like a flood.
“The elder’s will is firm. And so are the other Highs. Soon, the official announcement of the new queen’s selection will come. I can no longer refuse.”
“Yes, I know. Many are displeased by it. And I understand why you quietly accept it.”
Erwin’s dazed face barely moved his lips, but Nimue spoke rapidly, not giving him a chance to respond.
“I…”
Sensing the sudden tension, Erwin tried to stand, but Nimue reached out and gently pressed both hands on his shoulders.
Though the touch was soft, without an ounce of force, it carried an indescribable power that made resistance impossible. He ended up sitting back down awkwardly in the grass.
“So, right here, right now, promise me. As my old friend, and my sword.”
Her whisper brushed against his ear, and his slender body shivered.
“No matter what choice I make, you will trust and support me, won’t you?”
“Yes, yes.”
“No matter what happens to me, whatever fate befalls me?”
“Of course. That’s always been a given.”
Erwin nodded frantically.
“Really, truly?”
At the third time she asked, Erwin finally sensed something was off. Nimue’s behavior was unlike her usual self, and above all, the interrupted dream gnawed at his mind.
But for now, all he could do was keep nodding. At least, for the time being.
“…Alright.”
After hearing that firm resolve several times, Nimué let out a breath and a soft sigh, the meaning of which was unclear. She gazed steadily at Erwin for a moment, then gave a faint smile tinged with sadness before turning away with a quiet grace. As if she couldn’t bear to stay any longer, the silver-haired fairy vanished in an instant into the depths of the forest.
Erwin stood there for a long while, staring in the direction she had disappeared, feeling almost hypnotized as he tilted his head back.
The sky, now painted in the colors of sunset, had reached the peak of twilight, casting a deep purple hue over the fairy woods. It wasn’t just beautiful—it carried an unsettling, ominous tone. And then, in that moment—
“……”
For some reason, a sense of foreboding washed over him, and Eldora’s name flashed through Erwin’s mind without explanation.
Meanwhile, at the very same time—
Bang!
“What did you say?!”
In Ragnarok’s Blue Palace, an unexpected shout echoed sharply through the hall.