Chapter 169: If You’re Good at Handling Pets, You Have No Problem with Handling Titania

“You may very well be quite the naïve young man. However, there is absolutely nothing wrong with possessing a generous spirit; in fact, such openness can be a rare and beautiful quality.

“But on the contrary, when that generosity is directed toward the wrong individuals, or extended without proper caution, it can place you in extremely dangerous circumstances. I believe it is a vulnerability you would be wise to examine closely and guard more carefully moving forward.”

Generous…? Me?

I almost laughed out loud at the word.

How many genuinely generous acts could I even swear to have performed in my entire life?

Even on earth, it was a handful of small kindnesses here and there, sure, but nothing that would earn me a reputation as some bleeding-heart altruist.

And as for being naïve… well, wasn’t a certain amount of wide-eyed confusion only natural when you have been reincarnated from death and dropped into an entirely new realm less than a month ago?

Before I could voice any of that, Tera continued, her gaze never wavering.

“Even if what you say is completely true, that you indeed are a newcomer to Elyndor and still largely unfamiliar with our ways and our history, you must learn to exercise greater caution,” she interjected. “Otherwise, you will inevitably suffer for it. I do not know whether Lady Isabelle has yet spoken to you at any length about my Queen.

“But allow me to tell you this much: the pitiable condition in which Her Majesty now finds herself is, at its root, the direct consequence of precisely the same sort of unguarded naivety you currently display.”

Yes, yes! Read my mind all you want. I’ll evolve soon, you’ll see!

***

By some point the rest of the small entourage—the handful of important-looking fairies who had accompanied us from the entrance hall—had drifted away down one of the side corridors, leaving just Tera and me walking alone on the broad curve of the staircase.

The only sounds were the faint, melodic chiming of distant crystal fixtures and the occasional soft flutter of wings echoing somewhere far above or below us.

After letting her words hang in the air for a moment, Tera tilted her head slightly, as though remembering something.

“But earlier you were about to ask me a question, were you not? Before I interrupted with my little lecture?”

“Ah, yes… Thank you for circling back to that.” I straightened up, grateful for the change of subject. “Those small fairies I keep seeing flitting around, those little glowing ones, no bigger than my pointing finger, darting in and out of the hallways and alcoves. Are they pixies?”

Tera gave a small, confirming nod, the faintest trace of warmth softening the edges of her otherwise composed features.

“Yes, indeed. They are pixies.” She gestured lightly toward one of the creatures even as she spoke; the tiny being in question was currently spiraling upward along the inner rail of the staircase, trailing motes of pale lavender light.

“They are born directly from the residual magical energy that lingers throughout Fairylynch after Vaelora expended her power. Compared to the residual energy left behind by Queen Titania—which tends to coalesce along our borders and give rise to far darker entities like demons—the essence that creates these pixies is considerably purer, gentler, and more tender in nature.”

Demons?

The word landed in my mind like a stone dropped into still water.

Hm…

Didn’t I just hear something important so casually just now?

Anyway, so these pixies really were just miniature fairies, then?

Living sparks of magic having form and motion?

{Answer: Correct, Master. In the vast majority of documented cases, pixies gradually mature and transform into full fairies after a sufficient period of time and accumulation of ambient energy.

{Would you like me to perform a more detailed analysis of the formation process? With sufficient understanding, Master could potentially replicate the phenomenon at will and begin cultivating his own personal force of pixie auxiliaries.}

Hey! What’s that about?

[I didn’t sign up to hear anything about defeating a Demon Lord, rescuing a cursed princess, or founding my own fairy empire. Can we please dial back the epic conquest vibes? It’s starting to feel like the Sys is trying to fast-track me straight to Evil Overlord status and I’m really not there yet.]

As Tera and I made our way steadily upward along the winding path of the grand spiral staircase, the two of us engaged in a few scattered conversations about more or less mundane topics.

You know, just to pass the time during the lengthy climb.

Among those lighter subjects, she even mentioned details regarding her elder sister Tesa, describing her as someone who came across as “entirely emotionless” in demeanor and who had rarely been seen to smile throughout her existence.

Additionally, Tera expressed a certain level of personal concern and worry over this particular trait in her sibling.

…How ironic.

***

Yeeesh. The climb was so long it may as well have its own arc.

Well, in due course, after climbing for what felt like an extended period, we eventually arrived at a specific elevated landing that stood out due to its considerable height above the lower levels we had already traversed.

Although there existed even taller sections and peaks further up within the overall structure of the castle, the entrance directly in front of us appeared particularly elaborate and adorned in a manner befitting royalty, leading me to conclude that this had to be the private chamber belonging to Titania herself.

“She can be… very difficult to handle, and might cry if you scold her,” Tera warned me, her small hands already positioned and ready to apply pressure against the surface in preparation for pushing the door open, “But if you’re good at handling pets, it might not be all that trouble.”

“…She’s your queen, right?”

I felt compelled to pose that question out loud, given the way Tera had so nonchalantly delivered a pointed roast of Titania just now, practically comparing her to some sort of domestic animal that required careful management.

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