"Shut up! Keep yapping and I'll take you down too!"
The tiny fairy shouted and lunged forward. In an instant, she spun glowing threads around Grímr with the spinning wheel she rode.
"Ugh!" Grímr groaned in frustration, dodging aside just before the wheel's magic cannon fired. The explosion tore a crater into the muddy street, splattering mud onto the fairies gathered to watch.
Some of them grew annoyed—but not because of the mess.
"Boring! We want blood! Rivers of it!"
Even with a major war approaching, the fairies' bloodthirst couldn't be suppressed. Their craving for violence was on full display.
"That one's… a fairy from the Wing Clan, isn't she?" Shiomi ignored the jeering crowd and focused on the small figure. "She's got skill. Even Grímr finds her troublesome."
Landing nearby, Grímr turned his head at the comment.
"She's only troublesome because she's a girl! I don't want to hit her!" he argued.
"Oh, I see. So you started it," Shiomi said knowingly.
"…Uh… it was kind of an accident," Grímr admitted, losing confidence.
Unbothered by the exchange, the tiny fairy hefted her spinning wheel and hurled it straight at the distracted Grímr.
"Honestly," Aesc said lightly.
Boom!
Though made of wood, the spinning wheel struck with the force of a battering ram. Even if Grímr had raised his staff to block, he'd have been overwhelmed. But Aesc stepped into the fray at that moment, raising her hand and forming a barrier to catch the blow.
"You're—" The little fairy froze.
Seizing the chance, Grímr jumped out of the combat zone. "Tag out! I'll leave this one to you!"
"You really are…" Shiomi sighed.
Still, this was indeed better handled by Aesc. If he had stepped in, he might have killed the little one by accident.
Shiomi never felt any guilt about killing a fairy of Faerie Britain—but he could tell this girl's outburst came from something deeper, some frustration that had nowhere else to go. It was better to calm her than to feed the crowd's bloodlust.
"My name is Aesc. What's yours?" Aesc lowered her hand, watching the small fairy retreat a few steps after her failed attack, and asked gently.
The fairy blinked, then puffed herself up. "So you're the Savior, huh? Stay out of my way, or Totorot will deal with you too!"
The fairies around them erupted in excitement.
A duel between Aesc the Savior and a rowdy fairy from the Wing Clan was far more entertaining than her fight with Grímr.
"I see. Then I'll just have to teach you some manners," Aesc said with a sudden, radiant smile.
Shiomi felt a chill down his spine. He could already tell the little one was doomed.
Sure enough, Aesc took her down in a matter of moments. Totorot spun dizzily, then collapsed onto the street with a pitiful "meow, meow, meow."
It was over faster than anyone expected.
As the excitement faded, the disappointed fairies quickly dispersed, pretending as if nothing had happened. The streets returned to their usual rhythm, with passersby giving the group a wide berth.
Following Aesc's lead, Shiomi grabbed Totorot by the scruff while Grímr carried the spinning wheel, and they made their way back to their lodgings.
Aesc hadn't hit her hard, so though Totorot had fainted, she soon came to—much quieter and far more obedient than before.
As she lifted the wooden cup—hardly smaller than herself—to drink, Shiomi smiled and asked, "So, what exactly happened?"
"What else? I just said, 'it's no big deal,' and she started swinging at me." Grímr leaned against the wall, clearly not having meant to start a fight.
"What do you mean, 'no big deal'?" Shiomi asked, confused.
Totorot glared at him. "For a fairy, losing our purpose for living is dangerous enough! I was already frustrated, and this guy had to make a smug comment on top of it!"
"Maybe I was just trying to comfort you," Grímr protested with one eye closed—but it was obvious he knew he'd said the wrong thing.
"A purpose for living?" Aesc murmured, surprised.
For fairies, losing that purpose meant degenerating into a Moss. Totorot hadn't reached that stage yet, but at this rate, it was only a matter of time.
"In short, it's about concepts like weddings and brides," Grímr added. "Those ideas don't really have any foundation here in Britannia."
"True enough," Shiomi frowned.
The wedding the Rain Clan had once planned was a concept Shiomi had tried to introduce himself. But in the end, the fairies treated it merely as a more elaborate celebration—they never truly understood what a wedding meant.
"I was born to be a companion to brides, a fairy who makes their dresses," Totorot said with a gloomy tone. "But whether it's in Gloucester or Manchester, I can't find a single bride. So just leave me be—I'll turn into a Moss sooner or later. Got any alcohol? Give me a drink. Water's boring!"
"Well, if that's the case…" Shiomi said with a faint laugh, glancing toward Aesc.
Aesc touched her chest, a bit embarrassed. "To tell you the truth, you're looking at someone who's already a married bride."
Even if they'd never had a proper ceremony, they had lived together for two thousand years. The thought made her feel a little sorry for Totorot.
"You're kidding! You're the bride? Then who's the groom?"
Totorot's eyes darted straight to Shiomi. Her instincts as a fairy were sharp—too sharp. She saw the truth immediately.
"Good intuition," Shiomi said with a smile. "If only you used it in battle."
For now, Totorot didn't seem particularly dangerous, but Shiomi made a mental note to keep watching her carefully. After all—
"Hey, hey! Let me make you a wedding dress!" Totorot suddenly grabbed Aesc's hand, her eyes shining with excitement.
Aesc looked troubled. "But we're about to set out. Reports everywhere say the great war between the northern and southern fairies is about to break out..."
"Then let me come with you! Even if it costs me my life, I'll protect the bride and deliver her safely to her groom!" Totorot declared with fierce determination.
Faced with such fiery enthusiasm, Aesc and Shiomi exchanged a glance—each seeing the same answer reflected in the other's eyes.
Grímr grinned, raising his hands in amusement. "Looks like you've picked up a tagalong..."