I was shocked by the unexpected news.
I quickly relayed the basic details to Young-seong and his wife, who were both baffled.
“Fairies…?”
“Shouldn’t we go help them right away? I don’t think those little fairies can handle a bear.”
Having never seen the Star Bear monster myself, I couldn’t gauge how strong and ferocious it was. But considering that the Alfheim fairies were embodiments of pure innocence, the fact that they called it a war…
“The forest isn’t too far from here, but it will take quite a while to reach the World Tree…”
Should we at least go and check it out?
I was worried because my Rookies were there.
It was also fortunate that we came with Si-young. No matter how strong the monster was, we should be able to handle it with her and Ara’s breath attacks.
“Si-young, can you help us?”
“Of course!”
“And me? Why didn’t you ask me? I can help too!”
Ignoring Young-seong’s protests, I conveyed our willingness to help. When Ara translated our intentions, the fairy shed tears of gratitude.
“Brother! Please wait here. Since it’s quite a distance, we need to hurry and go by ourselves.”
“Hmm…”
Though he seemed uneasy about leaving it to just us, Young-seong soon responded decisively.
“Got it. Be careful.”
Leaving Young-seong and the slimes at the campsite, Ara, Si-young, and I set out.
“Let’s go quickly.”
“Let’s get moving!”
-ヾ(｡>﹏<｡)ﾉﾞ
The fairy guided us.
The speed of the Starlight Bugs was quite fast, but we could keep up.
‘Is it about two hours from here? No, we walked last time, so we should get there quickly if we run.’
Having the stamina of an Awakened was advantageous at times like these.
Although I couldn’t run as fast as Ara or Si-young, I managed to keep up and we reached the forest.
Buu- Buuu-
At the forest entrance, the Starlight Bugs flew around warily. Their flickering lights seemed to convey some information.
-(｡ŏ﹏ŏ)!!
“The Shining Tree is under attack!”
Is the situation more serious than I thought?
We didn’t stop and continued running towards the World Tree.
Unlike before, when we walked and took in the surroundings, we now ran with Awakened speed and soon reached the vicinity of the fairy village.
However, it had already been three hours since we first encountered the fairy, and I worried that we might be too late.
-Kwaaaang!
“Huh? Could that sound be…?”
I heard a bear’s roar from inside.
But it didn’t sound as terrifying as I had expected.
“Kyu-seong, I’ll go ahead.”
“Yes! Please!”
Si-young surrounded herself with lightning and dashed forward.
I tried to keep up with her, but she soon disappeared from my sight.
‘As expected of a Level 8 Awakened.’
If she hadn’t been sick, she would have been even faster, probably invisible to my eyes.
Following the fairy with Ara, I ran hard, and finally, the pillar of the World Tree came into view.
“Please, let us not be too late…”
…What is this?
I spotted Si-young standing still.
The surroundings were noisy and chaotic, with fairies flying around on Starlight Bugs.
“War!! Another war!!!”
“Frey?”
I heard Frey’s voice.
When I peered past Si-young, who was standing still, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
-Roar!
The bear barely reached my knees.
A bear, the size of a stuffed toy, was roaring fiercely (?) with its arms wide open. It seemed to be trying to be threatening, but it only made it look cuter.
The fluffy black fur was impressive, with a slight bluish tint reflecting in the light.
“What in the world is this situation?”
As I mumbled in disbelief, Frey noticed me and beamed.
“The Great Lord has arrived! Victory is ours!”
-⸜( ⌓̈ )⸝!!
-(͒ ˃꒫˂ )͒
The fairies, caught up in a frenzy, swarmed from all directions. They approached the tiny bear and each took a swing at it with their tiny fists before retreating.
-Roar!
However, it had no effect at all.
Realizing it wasn’t hurt, the bear looked even more confident, spreading its arms wider and roaring louder (?).
‘…’
I was speechless, watching in a daze as Frey trotted over to me.
“Great Lord! You arrived early! Is this your new subordinate?”
“Huh? Si-young? I guess you could call her a friend.”
“Gasp! The Great Lord’s friend!”
But is this really the time for explanations? I was sorting out my thoughts, feeling silly for worrying about the fairies, when Ara suddenly stood before the Star Bear.
-Roar!
“Roar!”
The Star Bear, only about as tall as Ara’s chest, roared fiercely (?), but Ara responded with an equally fierce (?) roar.
As Ara spread her arms and shouted, the Star Bear flinched, its sparkling clear eyes glancing around.
Then it spotted me and my Si-young, freezing in place.
-Roar?
It looked up at us as if it had never seen such large beings before.
Seeing this, Si-young couldn’t hold back and stepped forward.
“Both of you, come here!”
Swoosh!
Si-young hugged both Ara and the Star Bear, rubbing her face against them. The sudden action made the Star Bear panic and struggle, which was a bit pitiful.
“Hahaha! It tickles!”
Ara burst into laughter, and I let out a deep sigh.
“…Frey.”
“Yes! Great Lord!”
“What about the war?”
“It seems we’ve won! Thank you, Great Lord! As expected of your friend, she is incredibly strong! She subdued both of them at once! It could have been a great war between Ara and the Star Bear!”
I hadn’t expected the Star Bear to be so small. I thought it would be terrifying because it looked like a bear.
No, no. That must be a cub.
There’s no way an adult would be that small, right?
‘…Then again, considering Pururuk, it’s possible.’
Pururuk, resembling a deer, was also smaller than a medium-sized dog. Thinking like that, it made sense that this could be an adult Star Bear.
“Just to be sure, this is the Star Bear you mentioned last time?”
“Yes! As expected, Great Lord, you’re very smart!”
“…Just to be sure, is that a fully grown adult Star Bear?”
-It seems to be a juvenile, but even as an adult, it will only get a bit bigger!
No matter how I thought about it…
This dungeon is definitely wrong.
* * *
After the situation was settled, the fairies took turns expressing their gratitude.
Si-young was overjoyed, almost as if she thought this was a dream.
“I think I need to live here. How can there be so many beautiful things? Is this really not a dream?”
The fully subdued (?) Star Bear lay lazily on her lap, enjoying her touch. Next to them, Ara was eating honey provided by the fairies and sharing it with the Star Bear.
-Today will be marked as a day of victory from the war, and we plan to celebrate with a festival every time!
“…Frey, you too…”
When I first saw Frey, she was pure but somewhat sharp. Now, with her excited face, it seemed the word ‘war’ was very stimulating to her.
She looked completely unhinged.
“Well, at least it wasn’t a major issue. I was worried there really was a war.”
-What? There really was a war! You witnessed the fierce battle yourself, Great Lord!
Let’s just stop talking about it.
I quietly stood up and headed towards Meluca’s cultivation area. After a long time, I greeted the two Rookies.
“How are you? Have you been well?”
Squirm!
The two Rookies greeted me happily, and I petted them while keeping an eye on Si-young.
She was deeply engrossed with the Star Bear, the fairies, and Ara. Taking advantage of the moment, I used the slime summon with the cooldown I had saved.
Poof!
“Alright, time for one to switch. Who wants to go first?”
I expected both of them to eagerly volunteer, but their reactions were lukewarm.
Well, in such a fantastic environment, they wouldn’t feel lacking. I even felt like setting up a home and living here myself.
“Do you want to stay?”
Jiggle!
The slimes responded positively, making me smile.
In the end, I added the newly summoned slime to Meluca’s cultivation, now managed by three slimes.
‘Should I plant other flowers around here to increase honey production?’
With three slimes, it felt like too much power just for Meluca cultivation.
Since I didn’t have much time now, I decided to try it next visit and returned to Si-young.
“Brother is probably waiting…”
“Can’t we stay a bit longer? You can go ahead if you want.”
Si-young, with fairies perched on her head and shoulders, looked at me pleadingly.
I guess it wouldn’t matter if I went first.
I felt uneasy leaving Young-seong alone.
‘I can always come back another time.’
I decided not to disrupt Si-young’s healing time.
After telling Ara to play a bit longer, I headed back alone.
Walking would take a whole day, so I ran at full speed, just like when I came.
“Came for camping and ended up in a running race.”
But thanks to this, I was reassured that this dungeon was safe. Who would have thought the Star Bear was such a cute creature?
After another three hours, I returned to the tent, where Young-seong was anxiously waiting.
“What happened? Where’s Si-young?”
“Phew, it was nothing. She’s staying there to play with the fairies a bit longer.”
Since she’s a Level 8 Awakened, if she gives it her all, she can return much faster than I did. Maybe it wouldn’t even take an hour.
“By the way, there’s really all sorts of things here. To think that there are actual fairies…”
“They’re really pure-hearted. That’s probably why Si-young liked them so much.”
“Si-young does like things like that. That’s why she enjoys camping too.”
Hmm? Is there a connection between that and this?
Anyway, with just the two of us, or rather, with the slimes and the two of us left, I felt it was a good opportunity.
“Brother.”
“What?”
“There’s another spot nearby. We didn’t choose this camping site just because of the lake.”
“Oh, really?”
I grinned and gathered my things, standing up.
“You brought what I asked you to prepare, right? Shall we go?”
“Sure. But what about Si-young? If she comes back…”
“Ara knows where it is, so it should be fine.”
I took all the slimes with me.
Since they sometimes enjoyed swimming in the dungeon pond, I thought they would like this place too.
“But where are we going? Yesterday you said it was a secret.”
“A hot spring.”
“…A hot spring? A hot spring!”
And it wasn’t just a single hot spring. It was a place with a variety of hot springs, with hot spring water bubbling up from all directions, making it a vast area with diverse hot springs.
When Ara and I first discovered it, we were so surprised.
And there was more good news!
‘The system window even provides descriptions!’
It was a dungeon-certified hot spring.
A place where each hot spring’s benefits were described!
Let’s go check it out right away.
Cliche Novel 