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[Friend of a friend]
[[Ugh! ]]
The surprised fairies flew around the cave, flapping their short arms.
Plus, it was noisy.
[I untied the rope! The rope has been untied!]
[You look angry! They’ll kill us!]
[We have to run away! Run away quickly!]
I pressed my aching temple.
I already just woke up with a headache and these things are driving me crazy.
“…I won’t kill you, so just stay still.”
[[Ugh! I said it again!]]
After a while, the fairies hiding behind the wall were peeking out their heads to glance at me.
Among them, one particularly chubby fairy, who happened to be selected as the representative, cautiously flew towards me.
The guy said “Wak!” He looked like he was going to cry if I shouted.
…I can’t believe I was dragged here by these timid guys.
I felt so sorry for myself that I let out a little sigh.
“ha. “I won’t kill you.”
When I spread out my palms and held them out, the chubby fairy made a sad expression.
[Really?!]
“Yeah. It’s shameful that you dragged me into the cave, but…”
[I’m sorry about that! I thought it was an intruder!]
The chubby fairy said, flapping her short arms vigorously.
I roughly nodded.
These guys are fairies who live on the Nostalgia Continent.
The Nostalgia Continent is also called the Fairytale Continent, and it was literally a fairytale-like world with fairies, mysterious animals, plants, and beautiful nature.
After gate travel became popular, it became a popular travel destination for many people.
I previously worked as a guide and bodyguard there for a few months. Even though the pay was low, there was no particularly dangerous work, so it was comfortable…
Well, that’s not important right now.
“Your name is… Nunnun, right?”
It might be funny to say it in Earth’s pronunciation, but in Nostalgia, it means ‘sacred drop of water.’ These guys were mainly fairies who lived in clean lakes and rivers.
Basically, they are a good and innocent race.
[Do you know us?!]
Chubby Nunnuni opened her eyes round.
And questions poured out at random.
[I’m from the Nostalgic Continent! How can you understand what I’m saying! What happened outside!]
“I’m not from there. “I’m from this dimension, and you’re just trying to make money… Wait a minute.”
I got up from my seat. My head no longer hurt.
“What crime have I committed? “These people are kidnapping people and interrogating them.”
When I glared at him, the chubby Nunnun shook his neck in despair.
[I’m just curious. We couldn’t go out… I’m sorry!]
“It’s okay if you know.”
Now the control of the conversation has passed to me.
I said, looking around the cave.
“Why are you guys here?”
I had never heard of a fairy being discovered here in the past. If I had known, I would have prepared in advance.
As if they had been waiting for my question, the chubby eyes were crying and pouring out their sad story.
[Oh, we…!]
To summarize the long story short,
the dimensional distortion that occurred during the First Gate moved the entire lake on the Nostalgia Continent to this place, and these guys who lived in the lake at that time also came over.
After that, monsters that appeared as multiple dimensions opened and overlapped began to eat the people living in the lake. These were days that could only be described as a disaster for the Nunnuni who lived peacefully…
[We kept running away and eventually hid here…]
The chubby Nunnuni looked back at his compatriots behind him.
Less than 10 people were all sobbing.
Chubby Noonuni clenched his small fists and shouted.
[Everyone was eaten except for the compatriots here! That octopus monster ate us the most! I will definitely get revenge someday!]
Seeing that it is an octopus monster, it probably refers to the Kraken that Baek Chang-soo defeated.
[But today there was a big mana reaction outside! I was curious about what was going on, but I was too scared to go out of the cave…]
Didn’t you just say you were taking revenge?
[So I’m living in hiding at my friend’s house like this…]
“Okay. “It must have been difficult.”
I looked around the inside of the cave, listening with one ear to Chubby Noonun’s continued story.
Power processed through magic could be felt throughout the cave. Seeing as I couldn’t see the entrance to the cave, it seemed like I was brought somewhere in the middle.
…It must be difficult to go out alone.
Finding an exit in a place where you don’t know where you are was like wandering through a maze.
Then, if you encounter the ‘monster’ that lives here, there is no answer.
I turned my head again and looked at the chubby Nunnuni. The guy was still lamenting his situation with a sullen expression on his face.
[We have no future anymore… We’re getting weaker because we can’t get sunlight… We’ll all die eventually…]
“Hmm.”
I felt like I roughly knew it.
These guys would all have died soon after, and it would have been after that that the superhumans would have come to this place.
Or maybe the superhumans thought these guys were monsters and just killed them.
Because they don’t communicate like me.
Either way, these fairies were beings that did not exist in the history I knew.
So I decided to become their benefactor.
“The octopus monster is dead.”
At my words, the eyes that were hiding behind the wall and spying on us shouted at the same time.
[[[That’s a lie-!]]]
I put my right hand forward.
“If in doubt, check it out.
These fairies had the ability to discern lies.
It is not something that can be used at any time, but if the other person opens their mind, you can determine whether the words are true or not.
A chubby nun-nun came up to me and gently placed its tail on my palm.
[Say it again!]
I said it again.
“The octopus monster is dead. “I planned to kill him, but he died earlier.”
I told you exactly the truth. Because I didn’t say I killed him.
Of course, there was no reason to take the fairy tail lie detector test.
After a while, Chubby Nunnuni’s blue tail glowed green.
If you interpret it as [Beep! It’s the truth!] This is what it meant.
[[It’s true-!!]]
All the nunnuns that were hiding behind the wall flew towards me and danced around and around with me in the middle.
[Thank you! Thank you!]
[You avenged our enemies!]
[From now on, we are friends!]
[[Friends-!!]]
That’s how I became friends with the fairies.
However, the chubby Nunnun’s expression quickly darkened again.
[But there are many monsters outside besides octopuses. If you go out, you’ll get eaten the same way….]
Everyone’s eyes are turning sullen. The emotional ups and downs were like a roller coaster ride.
To me, this isn’t a bad situation.
“I will protect you. “Come out of here with me.”
The eyes widen in surprise at my words.
The chubby guy asked as the representative.
[Huh?]
“That’s right….”
I looked around at the fairies who were looking at me with innocent eyes.
Cute little fairies flying over an emerald lake.
When I thought of that image, a picture appeared.
Dreams and Hopes Lake and Fairy A place where tourists and money gather.
The picture is called Nunnun Theme Park.
After a few years, this will be great.
“…are you friends?”
At my words, the snow-eyes all cheered.
[[Friend-!!]]
And then it started spinning around me again.
It was twice as fast as before.
[[Excited-!!]
I pressed my temple, which felt like it was going to hurt again.
“friends. “You’re crazy, so why don’t you stop running around?”
*
*
*
I was walking inside a cave with a chubby Nunnuni who had become my friend.
The chubby Nunnun circled around me and chatted endlessly.
[Great! Thank you so much! Now I can go out in the sun again! Thanks to you!]
“Friends do things like that.”
I nodded roughly and was closely examining the terrain inside the cave.
We were now on our way out of the cave.
I don’t know how faint I was, but it was probably well past dinner time.
The hungry little boy may be very nervous right now.
At that moment, I felt an eerie feeling.
“…Let’s hurry up a little bit.”
[Okay!]
My original goal was to obtain the ‘otherworldly power’ in this cave.
If we gain the power of the other world here, it will be much easier to deal with the first disaster.
However, next to the power of the other world, there is a powerful guardian protecting it, and it was difficult for me to deal with it alone.
So today I was just going to check the location and go back…
[It’s a trap! Don’t step on it!]
I quickly jumped over the place that Nunnuni told me about. I turned around and threw a stone there, and dozens of iron skewers popped out from the floor.
…If I had come alone, I would have had a lot of trouble.
Chubby Nunnuni shouted with excitement.
[We’re almost there now!]
First of all, I was planning to go back with the Nunnuni today and come back here in a few days.
Get acquainted with the terrain by eye.
At that time, chubby Nunnuni spoke.
[I’m just going to say hello to my friend for a moment!]
“Friend? Do you have any other friends?”
[That’s right! Thank you, our friend, for letting us live here! The other compatriots are there to say hello first!]
Now that I think about it, this guy. I was wondering what my friend was doing earlier.
It seems like you really like making friends.
Chubby Noonuni boasted about her friend.
[My friend is so big! Strong! kind! Even the octopus monster couldn’t invade here because of my friend!]
…It was an explanation that made me increasingly anxious the more I listened to it.
I said, wondering if it was possible.
“Does that friend look like this? “He’s about twice my height…”
When I explained the appearance of the monster I knew, the chubby Nunnuni waved his short arms vigorously.
[That’s right! Our friend!]
“…….”
It seems that the ‘friend’ these guys are talking about is the guardian who protects this cave.
I stopped walking on the spot.
No matter how much I tried to think positively, I didn’t think I could become friends with my friend’s friend.
Please let’s just go home today.
“Say goodbye among yourselves. “I’ll wait here.”
Chubby Noonun tilted his head with an innocent face.
[Are they all there?!]
At that moment, the wall next to me split to the left and right.
Coo goo goo goo goong!
In the large exposed space, the first-timers were playing and circling around the huge body of their ‘friend’.
[We’re here!]
That guy turned his head and looked at us.
It was a smooth movement that was unbecoming of a huge mechanical body.
A hard mechanical sound came from the guy.
[Intruder discovered. Trial area sealed.]
Thump thump thump thump!
The wall came down behind me, blocking my escape route. The Guardian
was an
iron golem measuring approximately 4 meters and made with fairly high-level technology.
Even by my standards, I have seen robots made 20 years later.
[intruder. Type analysis begins.]
The golem’s eyes glowed with red light. It seemed like it was scanning me.
[Type analysis completed. Confirmed to be subject to removal.]
At the same time, the golem’s shape changed.
Slam! Clap, clap, clap!
The flat fist changed into a mace, the limbs became longer, the back opened, and wing-shaped propellers unfolded.
A bright horn grew on its forehead.
[Elimination begins.]
I sighed as I looked at the running golem.
“You like good friends. You look like a devil.”
I operated the watch on my left hand with my right hand.
Churrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
The metal of the watch unfolded up and down, transforming into a gauntlet that wrapped around the left hand up to the elbow.
If possible, I didn’t want to write it yet…
“I can’t help it. “Because it’s an emergency.”
The golem’s fist was already right in front of me.
Instead of dodging, I swung my fist at him.
-Quaaaang!
[Friend of a friend] End
ⓒ Ganjjajang