Faced with his clansmen's accusations, King's thoughts clearly weren't the same as Charles's. The joy on his face at reuniting with old friends vanished, replaced by dejection and gloom.
Charles only watched without saying anything. What path the fairies chose and whether King could find his place again were their own problems; Charles wouldn't interfere lightly.
As for their teammate Ban, he was even colder on the surface.
But beneath that coldness, he was the most excited of them all.
After arriving at the Fairy King's Forest, Charles could feel his roiling tangle of emotions.
He was expecting his beloved to be brought back to life, while fearing he'd imagined it too beautifully and reality might disappoint him again.
Thinking that, Ban took one step off Chongming's back and dropped straight down.
Charles shook his head, speechless. He knew Ban was in a rush, but not so much he had to airdrop himself, right?
Even so, he still signaled Chongming to follow and descend together.
Seeing Ban, those three fairies swarmed him, chattering excitedly, even calling him Lord Fairy King Ban.
Charles and Stella had been brought by Ban. Though the fairies were a bit standoffish toward them, they didn't show it outright—but had no intention of talking to them either.
For long-lived races, long lifespans mean some grudges are hard to dissolve.
Even after seven hundred years, they hadn't forgotten how humans had treacherously deceived their kin and taken their wings.
Along the way, Charles saw more fairies, and their attitudes were the same as the first three's.
Disgust for King, respect for Ban, and indifference toward Charles and Stella.
Ban kept a straight face and coolly led the others to the big tree with pink blossoms they'd first seen.
As if sensing Ban's arrival, the trunk—which looked like several great trees twisted together—shifted, revealing a straight passage.
Closer now, Charles could sense the life energy in the tree even more clearly.
Perhaps because it was still juvenile, the tree's life energy wasn't yet a match for Ban's after drinking from the Fountain of Youth, but it already surpassed most beings Charles had encountered.
Charles suddenly thought of how great trees were always tied to life and nature. When it came to races like fairies and elves, the first thing that came to mind was the existence of a Tree of Life.
That wasn't hard to understand—but another concept trees represented was the world itself. The origin likely lay in Norse myth's world tree that bore the nine realms.
In short, related elements showed up in myths and in every world Charles had experienced.
In the Clover Kingdom, Golden Dawn's captain, William Vangeance, wielded World Tree Magic, and the ritual that opened the gate to the underworld was called the Qliphoth Tree.
The very structure of the underworld was tree-like.
And in the Danmachi world, the elves likewise had a sacred tree symbolizing life. Ryuu's wooden blade was carved from that tree's branch and hadn't broken even in clashes among high-level adventurers.
Also, there were tree-shaped patterns on Charles's grimoire, representing his World Magic.
Totemic emblems exist for a reason. Maybe it would make an interesting topic of study.
Thinking as he climbed, stepping on stairs that might have been vines or roots, Charles followed Ban into the Sacred Tree's core.
As mentioned earlier, the trunk looked like several trees twined together, and the enclosed space they formed here was an open stretch of sod.
On that patch of grass stood a single object—a "flower bed" woven from branches.
Branches spiraled into a small oval bed, its interior heaped with flowers. Upon the blossoms lay a petite woman in a white dress.
The girl was Ban's longed-for lover, the fairy saint Elaine.
At the moment, she lay peacefully amidst the flowers, as if merely sleeping.
Charles couldn't help but click his tongue in admiration. The bed looked simple, yet it was where the Sacred Tree's life force was most concentrated.
Anyone lying there would be nourished by that life force; over the long term, they could easily gain an extra dozen or twenty years without doing anything.
But unfortunately, the one lying there now was Elaine, whose life had long since ended.
A fairy's body does not decay, but Ban had arranged this all the same. Charles thought it over—if it were him, he would have done the same.
Charles thought of himself—he, too, had lost the one most important to him. Ban's desire to resurrect Elaine was no different from his wish to bring Igneel back.
Charles stepped forward, patted Ban's shoulder, and said with solemn conviction, "Don't worry. It will work."
It was a promise from Charles to Ban, with no ulterior motive—he simply wanted to see Ban's long-cherished wish fulfilled.
Feeling Charles's emotion, Ban smiled. "You're not quite who I thought you were. No wonder the captain trusts you!"
Charles's expression shifted. "Hey—what did you think of me before?"
Ban's lips curled. "Secret."
Charles laughed. "Then let's say we're meeting anew."
Ban was about to speak when a voice cut in.
"As expected, Lord Ban came straight here upon returning!"
They turned. A female fairy drifted toward them.
She had long brown hair and wore a green headscarf, pulled down to cover her right eye.
She held a staff topped with a cluster of berries, and her lower body was tightly wrapped, like the roots of a plant.
Gerheade, sister of the first Fairy King, Gloxinia, and attendant to each generation's Fairy King.
Ban ignored her and said to Charles, "What do you need? I'll get it now—then we start."
Charles said, "Nothing to prepare. With the Sacred Tree's nourishment, her body's vitality fully meets the standard for resurrection. We can start right away."
With that, Charles took out a sizable machine from his ring.
Yes—the same Regeneration Cradle he'd used to remake Vinnie's body. After several iterations, though, it was very different from the original.
He had created this magic device with the ultimate goal of resurrecting Igneel, so after using it for Vinnie, Charles had kept improving it.
In theory, the machine was enough to carry out the resurrection. And Charles had made ample adjustments for Elaine's condition; the chance of success was over eighty percent.
Seeing no one paying her any mind, Gerheade spoke up. "What are you doing? And what is that machine?"
She started to drift closer, but Stella stepped in her way.
"Sorry, I don't know who you are, but what's next is very important to Mr. Ban. Could you please not interfere for now?"
Gerheade bit her lip. She hadn't come with good intentions.
Though the fairies now despised King and accepted Ban, who had rebuilt the forest, Gerheade still believed Harlequin, chosen by the Sacred Tree, was the one true Fairy King.
Sensing Harlequin's return, she'd been planning to move against Ban and use his blood to fully revive the Sacred Tree.
But what lay before her was a little beyond expectations. Never mind what Ban and the stranger were preparing to do—the woman blocking her path made her want to turn and flee.
Compared to the Red Demon that had destroyed the Fairy King's Forest over a decade ago, this human girl seemed even more frightening.
Ban and Charles both ignored Gerheade. While Charles tuned the device, Ban gently lifted Elaine and placed her in the Regeneration Cradle.
After Charles checked that everything was in order, he took out the magic device that held Elaine's soul and slotted it into a special port.
Indicator lights across the device blinked green in smooth sequence; the soul-storage device lit up as well. Points of radiance flowed along crystal conduits into the cradle.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Ban said nervously, "What's that sound? What's happening?"
Charles soothed him. "Relax, nothing's wrong. The soul is being infused into the body. She's about to come back to life."
As he spoke, Ban—eyes fixed on the crystal canopy—saw Elaine inside… her eyelids fluttered.
"Elaine!"
Ban called to her with deep feeling, while Charles's expression turned a little odd.
At a moment like this, dropping a "Rise, my love" wouldn't make anyone think he had a death wish… right?
(End of Chapter)
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