Chapter 701: 547 What an ironic salvation
Perhaps it was because they had talked for too long, by the time Reiger and Shinobu walked deeper into the forest, the sky had gradually darkened.
"By the way."
Reiger suddenly remembered something, and cast a spell.
"[Advanced Item Creation]."
The spell was successfully cast, and a black cloak appeared on Reiger.
Reiger pulled up the hood of the cloak, half concealing his face, which attracted the curiosity of Shinobu next to him.
"This is magic, isn’t it?"
Shinobu seemed a bit astonished.
"It’s magic," Reiger didn’t explain too much and said, "Haven’t you secretly watched the battle between me and ’Calamity’? Isn’t it unsurprising?"
The prolonged battle with Norwich’s ’Calamity’ lasted for two hours during which Reiger had been using magic all the time.
Since Shinobu had been watching the fight, she should have already seen Reiger using magic.
"That’s true, but it’s still quite surprising to see someone else using magic," Shinobu said with an embarrassed smile. "The fairies in Britain don’t think much of magic, they see it as something unnecessary. The magic I use is either developed by myself or learned from Grim, so this is the first time I’ve seen someone other than myself or Grim using magic."
"In your era, are there many people using magic?"
This piece of future information wasn’t particularly important, and it wouldn’t likely affect the future, which is why Shinobu couldn’t hold back her curiosity and asked.
"No," Reiger denied and said, "Even in Britain, two thousand years from now, there are only a few people I know of who use magic."
"First is Queen Morgan."
"Next is Morgan’s adopted daughter."
"Lastly, there’s Altoria, who is hailed as a savior just like you."
"Not counting myself, there are only these few people who use magic in future Britain."
The information Reiger revealed made Shinobu freeze for a moment.
"Morgan’s adopted daughter?"
Shinobu seemed to take particular interest in that detail.
"Yes," Reiger said indifferently, "I’ve already killed her."
Shinobu’s step faltered slightly, and then she quickly recovered.
Her attention shifted, and she murmured softly to herself.
"A Paradise Fairy who is also a savior like me... Altoria, huh?"
Shinobu seemed lost in thought, as if pondering something.
"Snap!"
Suddenly, Reiger reached out and grabbed Shinobu.
"What, what’s wrong...!?"
Shinobu instantly tensed up, and subconsciously raised the magic wand in her hand.
It was a wand very similar to the Chosen Wand, but it was not the Chosen Wand, nor was it the legendary Chosen Spear possessed by the savior Shinobu.
Reiger, however, felt power similar to that of the black spear used by Morgan in this wand, guessing that its strength wouldn’t be far behind Altoria’s Chosen Wand.
This prompted Reiger to take a second look at the wand before he spoke up.
"What are you thinking about? You were about to walk into a tree."
Having Reiger point it out, Shinobu then realized that a tree had appeared in front of her at some point.
If Reiger hadn’t grabbed her, Shinobu would have likely walked right into the tree, wouldn’t she?
After understanding this, Shinobu silently shifted her gaze to her own hand.
That hand was currently held by Reiger.
For Shinobu, this level of physical contact was a bit too intimate.
"Sorry."
Noticing Shinobu’s gaze, Reiger released his hand.
"...I should be the one apologizing," Shinobu smiled wryly again and said, "If you hadn’t grabbed me, I would have made a fool of myself."
"Then I really wish I could have seen it," Reiger looked at Shinobu and smiled faintly, "Seeing you make a fool of yourself is probably a scene I might never witness again in my lifetime, right?"
"...You flatter me too much," Shinobu pursed her lips and said, "I’ve always been making a fool of myself, like a clown, and have made a fool of myself in Britain for a very long time."
The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat somber.
"Let’s keep going."
Without breaking the tense mood, Reiger simply said.
"Sure."
Shinobu then turned around and continued to lead the way.
However, she didn’t remain silent.
"I remember you said that you are the companion of your era’s savior, right?" Shinobu asked with some unknown purpose, "What kind of fairy is she?"
"Her?" Reiger recalled Altoria, and his expression unwittingly softened a little, "She’s a fool who can see everything clearly, who takes in everyone’s appearance and essence but doesn’t know how to handle that, blindly going with the flow."
Shinobu wasn’t surprised by what Reiger said, as if she understood what he meant by seeing everything clearly.
She, too, was a Paradise Fairy, just like Altoria, with the Fairy Eyes that could see through lies.
Therefore, what Reiger wanted to express and Altoria’s perspective should be something that Reigera could understand and comprehend.
Reiger continued speaking.
"She’s not only a fool, but also a supreme fool who, despite knowing that she’ll receive nothing in return and might even suffer the wrath and abuse of the people involved, still can’t help rushing to help others when she sees them in trouble."
"In my opinion, such a big fool shouldn’t even exist in Fairy Country, nor should she appear in Britain."
"If she were alone, she definitely wouldn’t be able to survive in Britain."
"So, because of an initial fate, we embarked on our journey together."
In front of Reigera, Reiger even spoke words that he normally wouldn’t say to Altoria.
"From the beginning, I knew she was a Paradise Fairy with the mission to save Britain, to save the fairies," Reiger said, his expression turning somewhat indifferent, "But to be honest, in my view, that kind of mission is simply a joke."
"...Why would you say that?" Reigera couldn’t help but interject, "As long as it’s a fairy, from the moment of its birth, it has a clear purpose."
"That is the meaning of existence for a fairy, as well as its mission."
"Once it’s lost, a fairy becomes a creature devoid of luster, no longer needed by this world."
"Not to mention the mission of a Paradise Fairy—to save Britain, to save the fairies, isn’t that a grand endeavor?"
These words of Reigera weren’t so much for Reiger as they were for herself.
To this, Reiger unusually showed an attitude of disdain.
"In my view, being objective about matters and not people is in itself an act that extinguishes humanity."
"Perhaps the law may need such behavior, the state may need it, the world may also need it, but if a person only acts in this manner and sees such actions as their so-called mission, the essence will inevitably become distorted."
"So, I’ve been asking her one question."
"Are fairies worth saving?"
When faced with Reiger’s question, Reigera replied without hesitation.
"Fairies certainly need to be saved," Reigera said firmly, "Protecting fairies is the only way to protect Britain."
This had always been Reigera’s belief.
It was for the protection of Britain that she had been fighting against the threat of ’Calamity’ all along.
And to protect Britain meant to protect the fairies.
In the past, Reigera had come to this conclusion and thus set out on a pilgrimage, on the path of saving the world.
Unfortunately...
"You said it yourself, they only need to be saved, not that they are worth saving," Reiger looked at Reigera, speaking bluntly, "To you, saving fairies is just a means and a process necessary for saving Britain."
"You save fairies for the sake of Britain."
"If it weren’t for Britain, you wouldn’t think the fairies are worth saving, would you?"
Reigera lost her ability to speak.
Seeing her like this, Reiger was reminded of the life of the savior, Reigera.
This savior’s life, seen as legendary by others, Reiger felt could be described with another word.
That word was—tragic.
Initially, like Altoria, she drifted from the sea to Fairy Country, Britain, and was adopted by the fairies of Britain.
At that time, she wasn’t named Reigera, but was called Vivian.
Through the 4,000-year history of the fairies, the Inner Sea of the Star brought Vivian to Britain, where she drifted to Orkney in the northern part of Britain.
At that time, the six major fairy clans in Fairy Country Britain were Wind, Earth, Fang, Wing, Mirror, and Rain, with Orkney in the north belonging to the territory of the Rain Clan.
The fairies of the Rain Clan found Vivian, raising her with love and care, allowing Vivian to spend a warm and happy childhood.
Back then, Vivian was far more fortunate than Altoria, at least she wasn’t abused by the fairies who adopted her, nor did anyone think to capture her to sell.
Therefore, Vivian, who grew up in such an environment, dreamed not of fulfilling the mission of a Paradise Fairy but of creating a fairy tale kingdom where everyone could live in peace.
However, the fairies of Britain actually harbored an innate hatred towards the Paradise Fairies.
It was a primal hatred.
It originated from a grudge that existed before the appearance of Fairy Island.
Because of this hatred, the hiding of a Paradise Fairy by the Rain Clan angered the other clans’ chieftains, eventually leading to a united attack on Orkney by the Wind, Earth, Fang, and Wing Clans.
As a result, the Rain Clan was annihilated overnight, and Vivian was forced to flee the homeland where she had grown up.
From that moment, the world of Fairy Vivian changed.
It became filled with malice.
It became rife with misfortune.
Even though she continually fought against the threat ’Calamity’ brought to the nation, she was despised by all fairies due to the primal hatred during her travels and suffered persecution from them.
After every ’Calamity’ was dealt with, Reigera would be exiled by the fairies, even subjected to various punishments including poisoning.
If it wasn’t for her conviction to save Britain, to protect Britain, Reigera might have collapsed long ago.
But even though she persevered, Reigera still developed distrust, wariness, and even hatred towards the fairies.
This was the existence hailed as the savior.
How... ironic.