There was a good reason for delaying the explanation to Van and Lumen.

The fact that he was able to persuade the Fairy King Hyron, and the fact that he was able to coax Lydon by mentioning the seal of the Fairy Tribe. It was all thanks to the ‘game information’ that Cadel had. The process of escape was made up of every single one of the ‘transmigrator’ privileges. If things were listed as they were, it would become more dangerous than complicated. Whether it was his position in this world or his relationship with his subordinates.

For that reason, Cadel decided to create a plausible reason by mixing appropriate lies and evasive words.

“You say you’ve read the ancient texts that wrote the history of the Fairy Tribe in the Lytos family?”

“Yeah. I had a hard time remembering it because it was something I read a long time ago. But it’s clear. In the past, the Fairy Tribe were persecuted by humans, and now the closed forest was a means to protect their own kind from humans. Having set foot in such a forest, it was no wonder that they wanted to kill their old enemy.”

“So. Leader pledged the liberation of the Fairy Tribe to escape the forest?”

“Sort of.”

Cadel felt like a politician paying lip service to a promise, but all he had to do was convince them of something. He could claim to have read about Lydon’s seal in an old book, and the story of the demon realm was something even Lydon hadn’t heard of, so if Cadel kept his mouth shut, he wouldn’t know.

“To think that Commander had to help that kid fairy.…….”

“In fact, helping is a big word. We’ll just keep doing what we’re doing and grow. Lydon gets a reputation as a bonus for lending a hand. So even if it’s hard to accept him as a comrade right away, don’t bully him too much. He was a child who had been confined to the forest all his life. In a way, you can see that I dragged him recklessly for my survival.”

He wondered if that made sense. Cadel rolled his eyes as he sipped the drink he’d ordered. Lumen stroked his chin as if pondering something, and Van didn’t look happy about it.

‘I hope we can wrap this up soon. I’m worried about Lydon. I don’t know what he’ll do if he’s left alone for too long.’

It was Lydon’s first experience of the world outside the forest. Cadel wondered if this was what it felt like to leave a child by the water. Cadel couldn’t wait to get back to the room and see Lydon sleeping peacefully in his bed.

In his haste, he sized up the angle at which he could jump and run. Behind him, a cheerful voice called out.

“Is this what humans drink?”

Cadel’s head snapped up at the familiar chuckle that followed.

Lydon!

He appeared without notice, smiling and locking eyes with Cadel. When the surprised man failed to respond, Lydon casually slid into the seat next to him.

Cadel watched as Lydon snatched his drink and sipped at it without a care in the world, then belatedly grimaced. Apparently, he’d been told to stay in the room.

‘Wait. Before we left, I told him to come to this tavern if he had any urgent business. Maybe a problem has…….’

Cadel’s brief worry was shattered by Lydon’s cheerful voice as he continued.

“I was so bored I couldn’t stand it! I’m in desperate need of relief from this boredom, Cadel. Haha! But humans drink is so bad. Why doesn’t it taste sweet at all? Isn’t it fruit wine?”

“This punk……. I told you not to wander around! What if you, who has no power, get hurt while wandering around? And give me the drink! You look like you’re 15 at most, so you shouldn’t be drinking in a place like this.”

“Ahaha! Cadel, do you have any idea how old I really am? You’re treating me like a child, it’s hilarious!”

“Don’t be a dick, give it to me.”

Lydon smirked and shrugged as Cadel firmly snatched the glass away from him. What a nasty, tricky bastard to deal with. Sighing, he turned to face Lumen and Van opposite him, and a cold gaze fell upon him as if waiting.

‘Why do they have their eyes open like that?’

It was a murderous stare that could cut off a limb at a moment’s notice. The only good thing was that the gaze wasn’t directed at Cadel.

The two were glaring at Lydon, who brazenly picked up snacks from the table. As Cadel was keeping an eye on them in the hideous atmosphere, Lumen opened his mouth first.

“I understand what Leader means. Since it was an old book kept by the Lytos family, it is unlikely that the contents were wrong. If the fairies were being subjected to such unjust persecution, it would be nice to help as long as it wasn’t too much. However…….”

Lumen paused for a moment, then said with his usual easygoing smile.

“Leader doesn’t have to bear all the burden. I’ll try to help too.”

“Huh? No, it’s not really a burden. As I said, we’re just going to handle the request like we normally would, and―”

“I’m talking about easing the burden on Leader’s shoulders. In that sense, I will sleep with Lydon.”

Did that even make sense? Before Cadel, who found the statement to be ridiculous, said something, it was Van’s turn this time.

“No. You’ve had enough trouble in the forest, Lumen. I’ll take Lydon to bed.”

“What are you talking about? If it was suffering, you’ve suffered more than I have. Get some rest, and I’ll take Lydon with me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. For you to tormen…… No, to supervise that guy all by yourself like that? I can’t let that happen.”

It was an unexpected battle for Lydon.

While Cadel was getting more and more enraptured in the incomprehensible quarrel between the two, Lydon, who was eagerly eating snacks, poked Cadel’s arm with his round eyes.

“Cadel! What kind of food is this?”

“Huh uh? Ah, that’s honeyed fried chicken. You like it?”

Lydon nodded, his wide eyes inspecting the honeyed fried chicken.

At the same time, a system window popped up.

「Knight ‘Lydon’ ‘s favorability has increased by 2.」

「Current favorability : 42/100」

……Did eating something delicious increase his favorability?

What a simple mindset, and as Cadel watched his lips bite into the honeyed fried chicken, he felt a sense of nonchalance.

‘How cute. Even if they torment him, they’ll give him a noogie* at best. Again, I did it, but it was a godsend to make Lydon young. Kudos to myself.’

*Noogie: An act of putting a person in a headlock and rubbing one’s knuckles on the other person’s head, often a playful gesture of affection when done lightly.

Cadel was unaware that Lydon’s changed appearance was a godsend only in his eyes.

* * *

Baskin Village.

It took them ten full days to reach a small village just off the border of the White Kingdom, and despite a number of mishaps along the way ― most of them caused by Lydon’s curiosity ―, they managed to reach their destination without much trouble.

‘If I remember correctly, the main quest took place near the border of the White Kingdom.’

Entering the village, Cadel calmly organized his thoughts.

‘I have to finish the main quest here quickly so I can proceed with the sub-quest. Starting from the White Kingdom, sub-quests give fame little by little. Let’s explore first.’

Admittedly, Cadel didn’t remember what the main quest consisted of. But whatever it was, they would be fighting an enemy, and if he could figure out who that enemy was, it was not hard to build a strategy.

Worry had grown tiresome in the Forest of Enchantment. This time, he vowed, he would take it easy, and he would do it calmly.

His laid-back demeanor crumbled to dust as soon as he entered Baskin Village.

“Ugh…….”

As soon as he set foot in the village, a stench pierced his nose. It was such a disgusting smell that he couldn’t believe this was a place where humans lived.

Cadel used his sleeve to cover his nose and narrowed his brow. Van and Lumen crumpled their faces in reaction to the stench as well.

“It’s smelly.”

“It’s not that the streets are particularly dirty. Strange.”

From the outside, it was one of those ordinary villages you saw everywhere. However, if you looked carefully, there were many oddities besides the serious stench.

First, as Lumen said, there was no filth or corpses to stink up the streets. In fact, it was clean, which made the presence of the stench all the more strange.

Second, there were no residents walking around the village.

Of course, the village was vaguely distant from the gateway to the ‘White Kingdom’. It was a place you didn’t need to visit unless you were looking for it, so it was far from being developed. The group’s visit to Baskin Village was also a ploy by Cadel for the main quest.

But a village was a village, no matter how off the beaten path it was. It was strange that there were no residents walking around, even though both houses and fields were intact. Especially considering it was broad daylight.

‘The crops in the field are strangely withering. Are they left unattended?’

The village had been abandoned for some reason? If so, this silence was understandable.

‘If there really is no one there, then I can’t progress through the main story. I don’t remember ever taking a quest without an NPC. Is this not the place?’

It was frustrating because Cadel couldn’t remember the story. He knew that something had happened in a roughly similar place, but he didn’t know if this was the right place or how the incident had happened.

As he trudged through the streets, recalling the blurry memories, Lydon, occupying the seat next to Cadel, muttered freely.

“Hmm, gross.”

His expression was one of simple appreciation. He didn’t even pinch his nose like Cadel or frown like Lumen and Van. In fact, Cadel had the absurd suspicion that Lydon had numbed his sense of smell with ice magic.

He asked, looking up at Cadel nonchalantly.

“Cadel doesn’t smell this?”

“What are you talking about? You’re doing better than everyone here.”

“Not the smell of humans.”

Lydon looked away from the bewildered Cadel, then glanced around the village absentmindedly, smacking his lips.

“The smell of the demons. It’s very vibrating.”