"Hey! This wine doesn't taste right! You watered it down, didn't you!"
"You're broke, and you still expect good wine?"
By a roadside bonfire, a green-skinned low-ranking fairy waved a wooden cup at the tavern owner. The short innkeeper snapped back without holding back.
"This weapon belongs to the Fang Clan, doesn't it? Looks like it was made by the Earth Fairies."
"The blade's still intact. Fifty gold coins."
"Fifty? That's too expensive."
"The one over there with the chipped edge is just twenty-five. Take it home, sharpen it, and it'll be the same."
"Hmm..."
Under the canopy in front of a wooden hut, a fairy who seemed to be from the Wing Clan haggled with a shopkeeper who looked strikingly like a Fang Fairy, arguing over the price of a weapon.
Every few steps along Edinburgh's main street, fairies of different clans could be seen mingling—trading, chatting, drinking... Despite occasional friction, the sense of harmony underneath was unmistakable.
"It's surprising. I didn't think I'd see fairies from different clans getting along as if they were the same," Shiomi remarked.
Mab, leading him and Aesc, glanced back with a touch of pride. "I don't know how it is elsewhere, but in my city, if you want to live here, you have to cast aside your old prejudices and swear loyalty to me. That's all."
"Why must they do that?" Aesc also noticed Edinburgh's unusual state.
It was a stark contrast to Manchester, where clans were divided sharply—living in the same city, yet separated like oil and water.
"Northern fairies are just a broad concept. Without this, they'd only be a miniature version of a clan alliance," Shiomi added naturally, giving his own interpretation.
Mab gave a playful snort. "For a human, you're awfully well-informed. Which Sage are you?"
"What?"
Aesc was still watching how the Northern Fairies lived and didn't catch on immediately.
"The Sage, like the Witch, has always been the same," Shiomi explained helplessly. "There's no such thing as different incarnations."
Even after seeing his power for herself, Mab still couldn't break free from the human notion of lifespan.
"You're joking, right? The Witch has been active in Britain for over three hundred years. Can a human really live that long?" Mab looked genuinely astonished.
Northern fairies also had humans among them.
Some were captured in battles with the Southern Fairies, others came over willingly.
"They can live that long," Shiomi said simply.
Mab froze, clearly trying to process it.
It wasn't until she had led them to the chieftain's great tent that Mab finally wore an expression of resignation.
Unlike the somewhat nomadic style of the city, Mab's own dwelling was a small castle built of wood and stone, with a courtyard large enough to hold thousands.
At the entrance and along the walls, Edinburgh's soldiers patrolled on guard.
"So, why would the Witch and the Sage, famous across all of Britannia, come to my city?"
After following Mab into the castle—plain and without lavish decoration—they sat in her reception hall. As a servant fairy poured wine, Mab asked the question with a sharp, calculating smile, her eyes appraising both Aesc and Shiomi.
"And not only that—you even supported the surprise squad I sent into the Border Forest? Is this your way of declaring to Britannia that the Sage and the Witch intend to serve under me, working for the prosperity of the Northern Fairies?"
"That's not it."
The two answered at the exact same time, not even a syllable apart, leaving Mab momentarily stunned.
"It's just that... the Sage took an interest in the Northern Fairies, so he made the effort to come here." Aesc looked down at the wine glass before her, not reaching for it.
"Interested?" Mab fixed her gaze on Shiomi. "Or do you think my wine is poisoned?"
Shiomi picked up the cup, sniffed it, then set it back down. "No. It just doesn't taste good. Seems your brewing techniques are still far from refined."
"This is the finest wine in all of Edinburgh! Even compared to what the southern fairy clans drink, it's no worse!" Insulted, Mab slammed her hands on the table and shot to her feet, glaring at Shiomi with fury.
Her temperament had something in common with Medb's—quick to anger when prodded. But the reasons behind their anger were entirely different.
Shiomi judged her silently, then turned to Aesc. "Do we still have any of our wine left?"
"We brought plenty." Aesc took a leather flask from her waist. "Feels like more than half remains."
Though it looked small, just enough for two people to share, Magecraft had compressed the wine inside, with a spell layered on to reduce its weight. That was why she could wear it on her belt like a mere ornament.
In truth, the tiny flask held the capacity of a Bordeaux barrel—roughly two hundred and twenty to two hundred and thirty liters.
It had already been fifteen years since they left the island and began traveling through the Britannia mainland.
"I'll explain the brewing later. For now, try it."
Shiomi poured some of Aesc's wine into his own cup, then filled another halfway and slid it back to Mab.
Her own hospitality had been mocked, leaving her displeased. Now they were offering her some unknown liquor instead. But the moment she lifted the cup, an intense, intoxicating fragrance struck her.
Her doubts melted away. Even if it were poisoned, she thought, it would be worth it.
As a true descendant of the original Northern Fairies, carrying the full strength of her ancestors, Mab had an extraordinary resistance to toxins.
The instant the wine touched her tongue, her head seemed to swell, her mind exploding with euphoria. It was unlike anything she had ever tasted—rich, bold, exhilarating. The overwhelming flood of flavor drowned out her sense of smell and dulled even sight and touch.
Back when he hadn't yet set foot on the mainland, Shiomi had studied brewing as a pastime. He was no natural brewer—his skill came only from the long, inhuman span of time he had spent accumulating experience.
"Fine! I'll admit you do have the right to speak that way!" Mab slammed her empty cup on the table, having drained it in one gulp. She was in high spirits now. "As a greeting gift, I'm satisfied. Now then, tell me why you've come. If it's just for travel, that's one thing."
"She already told you," Shiomi said, sitting upright. "I'm simply interested in the Northern Fairies. Especially their origins."
...
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