Senpensekai no Madoushoshi

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“Take care of yourself on your way home, Iris.”

“Y-Yes.
Ryland-san, everyone, thank you for all your help.”

“Tch, at most I’ll tell you to watch your feet so you don’t go tumbling down into the valley.”

“H-Hey Lapris…….sorry.
I wish you all a safe journey.”

After the worst-possible encounter, this fairy continued to hate me until the very end.
If I had any regrets about this trip, I suppose it would be the fact that I never managed to get along with Lapris?

“Thank you very much Quinn-san.
Lapris, take care.”

“I won’t have to take care of myself so long as I’m not with all of you”

Lapris spit venom before fluttering her wings and flying in front of my face.
I thought she was going to start kicking me in the face again, but instead, she reached her hand back towards her wings and plucked out one of her feathers.¹

“Look, take this.
Joking aside, you’re really clumsy.
Take this as a good luck charm.”

It was a soft feather that glowed all seven colors of the rainbow and bent over from even the slightest wind.

“Eh……..”

“Well, you’re still in a better class compared to that pipsqueak and her orc babysitter.”

“T-Thank you…..Lapris…….”

When I took the feather, I wrapped it up in a handkerchief to make sure I don’t lose it.

“B-But don’t get the wrong idea! It’s not like I’ve forgiven you! And your group is still the worst! Don’t you forget it!”

A wee-little finger was thrust in front of my nose.
But, I was still happy.
She’s foul-mouthed and still holds a grudge, but in the end, I feel like this fairy and I have come to understand each other.

“Oh, that’s right.
I checked up on you while you were sleeping, and……”

“Oi~, Iris, we’re going to leave you behind if you don’t hurry up.”

Just as Lapris flew up to my ear to whisper something to me, Toslin’s voice echoed and blocked her out.

“Ah, right!! I’m coming!! Um, sorry Lapris, what?”

“No it’s not a big deal.
It’s something you’ll figure out soon enough anyway, so get going.”

Lapris patted me with a hand only slightly bigger than my earlobe as she shooed me away.

“I-I got it.
Well then……goodbye.
Everyone else too, take care.”

She told me not to mind it when I started to mind it, but as I waved farewell to the villagers of Relton, I still thought it’d probably be better if I knew whatever it was right away.

“See you, come back whenever you like!”

With the village mayor standing in front, the villagers continued to wave us off until finally we were out of sight.

♠

“Welcome back everyone!”

A cheerful voice raised to greet us as we walked through the heavy wooden door.
Sitting back, bored in a chair, Charlie jumped to her feet and welcomed us as we walked in.

“We’re back Charlie”

After leaving Relton village, we headed back home and managed to make it to Rifront by the next morning.

“Aah, I’m hungry”

“Come on, you’re always hungry.”

“We were in a bit of a hurry though, so it cannot be helped.”

To confirm that the highway really wasn’t closed anymore, the three of them hurried forward without my having to ask them to.
On the way down I breathed out a feeble complaint to see if we could walk a little slower, but we still rushed ahead.
The pace was certainly physically demanding, but more than anything it meant my time with them was disappearing all the faster, and I was feeling lonely.

“Well that’s how it is Charlie.
It’s probably bad manners, but bring us something to eat.
Anything’ll be fine.”

When Toslin patted Charlie on the shoulder, suddenly all four of our stomachs growled loudly at the same time.

1.
It’s really jarring for me imagining a fairy with feather wings instead of bug-like ones.
Like, rather than a fairy, Lapris is coming off more as a miniature angel.
So she’s the equivalent to one of those yappy chihuahuas that people keep in their purses.