Episode 365
Chapter 111: Traces (5)

Jin’s gaze, peering into the tree, quickly turned cold.

“Just as you said, they really are a nasty bunch—the descendants of the fairy folk.”

Shing!

With a swift slash, Jin cut through the tree. The blade sliced cleanly through the wood, and the figure inside—Lulu—was cut as well. But it wasn’t the real Lulu; it was nothing more than a malicious illusion.

As the bloodied image of Lulu vanished, what was revealed in its place was a trap shaped like a magic circle. Had the two of them approached without caution, the trap would have triggered.

Heh heh heh heh—!

An unsettling laughter echoed from deeper within the forest. Jin and Valeria stood expressionless, silently waiting for their opponent to appear.

[Not fooled, are you?]

Piiiring, piiing, piiiring…!

From the darkness beyond the trees, a shimmering light appeared, accompanied by a lively, tinkling sound.

It was the fluttering of fairy wings. The fairy descendant who emerged was a stark contrast to the unpleasant laughter—they were beautiful.

Tiny, glowing, delicate wings; a face so cute you’d want to reach out and touch it; a playful, charming expression.

Of course, the looks in Jin and Valeria’s eyes were nothing but icy cold as they regarded the newcomer.

[Heh, hello! Didn’t mean to upset you with my prank, did I?]

The fairy scratched her head and spoke.

“Where are the Myeoin tribe?”

[Why so impatient? We should at least introduce ourselves first. Once more—hello! I’m Myla, the younger sister of the Fairy King.]

Jin and Valeria looked down at Myla without a word.

[…Not very pleased to see me, huh? Every human who’s stumbled upon me in this forest has always screamed in awe at how mysterious I am.]

“I asked where the Myeoin tribe is.”

Jin’s voice dropped low as he repeated the question. Myla chuckled.

[The Myeoin tribe is well protected by me and my kin. They came to the Wantaramo Forest badly injured—so pitiful, I couldn’t help but help them!]

Myla locked eyes with Jin and added with a sly smile.

[But, Shiron Runcandel’s youngest son, Jin Runcandel… don’t you think you’re a bit rude? I introduced myself first, but you’re still keeping your name to yourself? Should I snap your neck? And your human friend there, too.]

“After pulling such a stunt, you expect me to be polite?”

[So what? I didn’t really hurt Lulu. You’re a bit uptight for someone so young. I was the one who treated them, after all.]

Myla pouted, clearly disappointed that her cute antics were met with no reaction.

She even tried a few more playful gestures, but all Jin and Valeria could think was that if it weren’t for the Myeoin tribe, they’d have attacked this irritating creature on the spot.

[…Fine, I get it. You look like you’d cut me down if I pulled another prank. I’ll take you to meet the Myeoin tribe. Follow me.]

Myla began to fly slowly deeper into the forest.

Strangely, as she moved, the forest itself seemed to shift. Trees and rocks moved organically, almost like living creatures, following her lead.

Jin and Valeria couldn’t help but stay on edge as they walked.

They had no trust in Myla. At any moment, a trap could spring, or an attack could come out of nowhere.

[Hmph, don’t worry. I won’t be playing any more games with you. You’re the most boring humans I’ve ever met.]

When they didn’t respond, Myla fell silent as well. The three of them entered the deep forest in silence for an hour.

Fortunately, there were no more traps.

[We’re here.]

They arrived at a place where thousands of trees twisted and bent in strange ways, forming a massive natural cave.

[Come out, everyone.]

At Myla’s command, a dazzling light suddenly poured from inside the cave.

Thousands of fairy descendants emerged all at once, flooding the area with light. Despite their prickly personalities, the sight was truly spectacular.

Piiiring, piiing, piiiring! The fairies giggled and swarmed around Jin and Valeria.

The last to emerge from the cave were two Myeoin tribe members and a fairy descendant with wings twice as large as the others.

“Lulu!”

[Jin Runcandel!]

Lulu and Miru.

Two of the triplets who had guarded the barrier against the wraiths until the very end in the Myeoin tribe’s cave.

Seeing them, Jin felt the heavy weight pressing on his chest lift, but at the same time, a sharp unease crept in.

“…Where is Neru?”

Worried that Neru might have died defending the barrier, Jin asked. Lulu smiled.

[Neru led the rest of the tribe to hide elsewhere. Only Miru and I entrusted our bodies to the fairies. We were all injured, but thankfully, no one died.]

Only then did Jin smile.

They had all escaped safely from that cave.

“Thank you all for surviving.”

Jin bowed and clasped Lulu and Miru’s hands.

[Oh my, what a touching reunion. Truly, it’s enough to bring tears to one’s eyes. Isn’t that right, Your Majesty?]

Myla landed beside Lulu, Miru, and the fairy with the largest wings.

That figure was the Fairy King, Shira, who carried a far more dignified presence than Myla.

“I am Jin Runcandel.”

[Call me Shira.]

Shira was Myla’s older sister and the Fairy King.

[Myla must have played some mischievous tricks on the way here. I’ll apologize on her behalf.]

[Apologize? Why should we? Your Majesty, they are technically intruders. Honestly, it wouldn’t have been a problem if we had just killed them.]

[They came to save the Myeoin tribe, Myla. Besides, the Myeoin tribe sought my permission and left traces.]

[But we never told them that those traces could be read by someone with record magic.]

Myla’s sarcastic tone made Valeria’s eyes twitch slightly to the left.

Neither the Myeoin tribe nor the fairies noticed this subtle sign of Valeria’s anxiety, but Jin saw it clearly.

And like Valeria, Jin was a little unsettled.

‘How did Myla figure out Valeria is a record magic user? Did she see it when Valeria used record magic at the forest’s edge? Besides, we never told Lulu or Miru about Valeria’s existence.’

Piiiring, piiing, piiiring…

The fairy descendants nearby murmured among themselves in a language Jin and Valeria couldn’t understand.

[Jin.]

“Yes, Lulu.”

[While entrusting ourselves to the fairy descendants’ land, we left two kinds of traces—so you could find us.]

The two types of traces left by Lulu and Miru were designed so that both those with and without record magic could find them.

They did this because Valeria’s tracking speed was far too fast. The ordinary traces they left hadn’t even been touched by the Seven-Colored Bird yet, so Valeria’s speed was well beyond normal.

Lulu and Miru assumed the tracker must be a record magic user.

They wanted to confirm one thing: whether the tracker was truly one of Jin’s people.

As Valeria had suspected, if the tracker wasn’t on Jin’s side, the Myeoin tribe planned to use the fairy descendants’ power to eliminate them.

Jin nodded as Lulu explained this, while Valeria seemed lost in thought.

“If I’m not one of Jin’s people, then why try to kill me?”

[Because there are things here that a record magician unrelated to Solderet must not see.]

The Fairy King Shira answered on Lulu’s behalf.

Jin instinctively understood what she meant.

‘The fourth tomb of Temar must be here. Unlike the other Myeoin tribe members, Lulu and Miru came to Wantaramo Forest during their escape to naturally lead me to the fourth tomb.’

It was correct.

The fairy descendants knew the way to Temar’s fourth tomb.

A brief silence fell.

Myla scowled, clearly displeased that Shira had revealed such information so easily.

[Human, what is your relationship with Jin Runcandel?]

Shira’s sudden question.

Valeria was about to answer, but Jin spoke first.

“A comrade. Someone I trust more than anyone else in the world.”

[Then I, Shira, King of the Fairy Descendants, will keep the long-standing promise with Solderet. And I must also thank the long-time friends who helped me keep that promise—Myeoin tribe members Lulu and Miru.]

Whoosh…!

Shira’s wings glowed with an even more intense light.

It was the highest symbol of authority in Wantaramo Forest. All the fairy descendants, including Myla, landed on the ground and bowed their heads to Shira.

It was a scene befitting the true king of the fairy descendants.

“Jin Runkandel, his fellow mages, and my friends—follow me. The tomb lies within the cave. At last, we can lay down the heavy burden we’ve carried for the past thousand years.”

Sheila began to flap her wings, guiding us toward the cave formed by the twisted, gnarled trees.

Jin and his companions followed her steps into the cave. Even as they all entered, the gathered descendants of the fairy folk outside dared not raise their heads.

Naturally, Jin assumed that as king of the fairy descendants, Sheila’s authority was absolute.

But the truth was far from that.

“Lulu, Miru. You’ve probably sensed it while staying here.”

Crack, creak, groan!

Suddenly, the trees bent and twisted, blocking the cave’s entrance.

Turning back, I caught sight of Myla smiling through the rapidly narrowing gap.

“Myla betrayed me long ago.”

The cave’s entrance wasn’t sealed by Sheila’s power.

Though she held the title of queen, the real authority—and control over the Wantaramo Forest—had already slipped into the hands of Myla and the other fairy descendants.

“Yes, I felt it, Lady Sheila…”

“Myla has no intention of honoring her promise to Solderet. She’s been waiting for any chance to trap me like this. I doubt she expected to imprison the thousand-year contract holder along with me, though.”

Despite the sudden turn of events, Jin and Valeria showed no sign of surprise. Given Myla’s past behavior and attitude, this was hardly unexpected.

“Soon, the humans allied with Myla will come searching for Wantaramo.”

“Who are they allied with?”

“Ziphl. Only they can satisfy his reckless ambitions.”

Sheila gave a faint smile. Her wings shimmered brightly in the darkness, but there was a profound loneliness in their glow.

“Lady Sheila, it seems you have a plan. You allowed yourself to be trapped, even knowing Myla’s betrayal.”