Pure-blooded fairies possess an inherent ability called “symbiosis.”
Fairies who wield it skillfully can communicate with plants and borrow their power.
The symbiosis ability of high fairies, the privileged class in Illinoer society, is superior to that of ordinary fairies, because all of them are born with the racial trait Proxy of the Earth (B).
The possessor of this trait can accelerate crop growth or alter the properties and forms of plants as desired.
As a bonus, it grants the possessor excellent earth-attribute dominance and strong spirit affinity, which is why Duke Utland coveted me, who inherited the bloodline of high fairies.
However, even for such high fairies, the Great Tree, the guardian tree of the forest, is a sacred and inviolable domain. The only one who could utilize the power of the Great Tree was Tiamia Lapiru Arieldee, who possessed the Proxy of the Guardian Tree (S) trait.
In preparation for her resurrection 400 years later, she graciously distributed the authority to use the “Blessing of the Great Tree” to the heads of the three families. Those pointy-eared bastards from the three families abused it, calling it the hero’s arrangement.
“And this is the result.”
“Young Master. What on earth is this?”
Linia, who had been dragged from her sickbed to the plaza, wore a dazed expression as if she couldn’t grasp the reality.
For her, a half-fairy, an unimaginable scene was unfolding before her eyes.
The high fairies, whom she had looked up to as sky-high figures in her childhood, were all bowing their heads in unison.
I looked at the enormous tree beside Thornwood Plaza.
That massive tree stretching nearly 200 meters upward was the guardian tree that bestowed blessings upon the fairies, the Great Tree.
I spoke in a low voice.
“Great Tree, as one qualified, I request. Revoke the contract with Linia Ro Arieldee.”
「An unfamiliar child. I shall grant what you desire.」
An unidentified voice echoed in my mind.
Soon, the enormous tree glowed golden.
Wiiiing—
A golden halo leaking from the Great Tree’s leaves gently enveloped Linia’s body.
“Young Master, this is…?”
“No need to panic. I just asked the Great Tree to withdraw its blessing.”
“The Great Tree?! Only Lady Tiamia can do such a thing without a ritual!”
Linia was greatly surprised.
She had been unconscious after being attacked by Erendrel. Thus, she had no idea that I had secretly obtained the Root of Thousand Waters containing Tiamia’s authority. <Linia Ro Arieldee>
[Level: 23/46]
[HP: 08] [STR: 06] [AGI: 10]
[MP: 12] [MEN: 06] [SEN: 11]
[DIV: 01]
Looking at the sheet, her [Divinity] had decreased by 1.
The Blessing of the Great Tree had been safely withdrawn.
“What did he do?”
“That was definitely the light of blessing….”
“A quarter from a human is the successor of the fairy hero? Impossible!”
The fairies who witnessed the sequence murmured in disbelief. The high fairies of the Arieldee family were so shocked that their eyes seemed about to pop out.
“I inherited the same blood as the fairy hero Tiamia from the Arieldee family. As you can see, I also have the ability to utilize the power of the Great Tree, just like the legendary her.”
“……”
“This means that I, the legitimate successor of the hero, am far superior to the heads of your families. Regardless of blood purity. Anyone object to my words?”
Thornwood Plaza fell as silent as a grave.
It was hard to believe thousands were present.
With a faint smile, I seated Linia in the chair prepared at the center of the plaza.
“And this Lady Linia seated here is like an adoptive sister to me. Since you’ve committed rudeness against such a person, you should reflect deeply and apologize, right?”
“Young Master?!”
Kung!
While Linia was flustered, Barahal slammed his head against the ground without hesitation. Suddenly, a sorrowful voice leaked from his lips.
“Indeed, the occurrence of such an unfortunate incident is due to our family’s negligence in not thoroughly guarding the lodging. I sincerely apologize, Nevia… No, servant of Aiden.”
“Have you forgotten about trying to use me as a sacrificial lamb in the duel or attempting to screw me over with the poison clauses in the contract?”
“I deeply regret that as well.”
His attitude felt sincere. As the elder of Illinoer humbled himself so, a slight unease began to rise among the fairies who had been watching the situation.
But.
“As the Proxy of the Guardian Tree (S-), I command. Speak your true intentions.”
“You rootless half and quarter mongrels! You will pay dearly for this someday… Heok!”
As expected of a cunning head, he was a master of acting. Without the authority, I would have been fooled by how convincing it was.
“The head has well represented the Arieldee family’s opinion. All of you, crawl over here, kiss Lady Linia’s feet, and beg for forgiveness.”
The expressions of the high fairies soured.
But they could not resist the command absolutely.
Soon, they approached Linia on their knees.
In fact, my Proxy of the Guardian Tree (S-) is almost an empty shell compared to the original that Tiamia possessed.
In the original history, Tiamia turned nearly all fairies into limbs that faithfully followed her words alone, but I am limited to issuing one-time forced commands.
If I hadn’t activated clause 4 of the contract by defeating Erendrel, even this would have been impossible.
The management authority held by the Arieldee family corresponds to 1/3 of the original trait that Tiamia possessed.
I received only a tiny portion of that, but by using the temporary proxy’s authority, I could seize the rest entirely. It’s like grabbing the end of a cloth peeking through a door crack and pulling out the whole thing, core and all.
In short, in my current state with only 1/3 management authority, I cannot issue forced commands to the fairies of Kirianejial and Pirion.
Anyway, I generously exercised my newly acquired authority to humiliate the cunning power holders of the Arieldee family in various ways.
It didn’t take long for them, unable to endure the shame, to sincerely beg Linia for forgiveness.
The next day.
I demanded of Barahal.
“Old man, tell me exactly how many elites are in the Branch Knight Order under Arieldee.”
“…Exactly 287.”
“Is that so? Dispatch all 287 to the Glicia Kingdom immediately upon my request.”
“The Branch Knight Order is crucial to Illinoer and our family! We can’t dispatch all of them…!”
“You have patrol and security forces, don’t you? As long as you don’t ruffle other families’ feathers, there won’t be any threat to the Arieldee high fairies’ safety.”
“Ugh…!”
In principle, my words were correct.
However, a cunning head has many enemies.
It meant there was more than enough possibility for something to happen to Barahal while the knight order was away. But I had no intention of showing such considerate concern to someone who tried to screw me over.
“Since it’s come to this, I’ll squeeze you to the bone.”
In this journey, I gained the right to manipulate the Great Tree at any time.
I could have let Linia enjoy the proficiency boost effect a bit longer, but using such a trick would only lead to greater losses later. The longer one is exposed to the Blessing of the Great Tree, the more interest one has to pay after Tiamia’s resurrection.
That’s why I set aside other matters during this pre-civil war period and deliberately came to the Great Forest.
Originally, I planned to just ask the Arieldee family to withdraw the blessing on Linia and leave, but thanks to Erendrel’s attack, things escalated a lot.
That attack incident became the spark allowing me to access the holy site, and I even obtained the Root of Thousand Waters, so despite the tumultuous process, the result was a huge gain.
“I’ll go negotiate with Kirianejial, old man.”
“Kuh….”
Barahal let out a groan.
The family that wins the Thornwood Duel can demand something from the defeated opponent family. And as the initiator and representative who suppressed the entire Arieldee family with authority, I was qualified to exercise the rights.
What I could demand from the Kirianejial side now…
“Sign this contract.”
Similar to the Arieldee family, it was a contract for dispatching the Leaf Knight Order and other minor clauses, plus transferring a portion of the “Blessing of the Great Tree” management authority.
“…No issues. We’ll accept.”
“Good thinking.”
Unaware that my Proxy of the Guardian Tree trait was half-baked, they readily signed the magic contract.
The Kirianejial family, who had voluntarily shackled themselves.
I demanded everything I wanted from them.
“Hand over the Soul of the Twisted Old Tree (S-).”
“How do you know about that elixir? Its very existence is treated as top secret…!”
“None of your business how I know, but if you don’t want to bash your head on the ground like old man Barahal, hurry up and give me the elixir. It’s a family heirloom, but a troublesome one to deal with, right?”
“Understood.”
“And prepare a list of the high fairies involved in the lodging attack.”
“Th-that is…!”
“Did you think I’d let it slide? The security lapse is Arieldee’s fault, but the ones who actually harmed Linia were from your Kirianejial family, weren’t they?”
“……”
The elder closed his eyes tightly and nodded.
Currently, there are a total of 19 high fairies affiliated with the Kirianejial family. The investigation revealed that 4 of them were involved in the attack.
The four high fairies were dragged to the plaza like livestock to the slaughterhouse.
I asked Linia.
“What should we do with these bastards?”
“Honestly, I can endure any humiliation directed at me personally.”
“Of course, but I think it’s unacceptable for the Young Master’s reputation to be tarnished because of my humiliation. Still, they are my kin. Please show as much mercy as possible, Young Master.”
“Even though they see you not as kin, but as a mongrel?”
Linia fell silent at that question.
“Understood.”
Nodding, I approached the four bound individuals and asked.
“Who among you proposed the attack?”
“Th-that green-haired high fairy! Litra Paru Kirianejial!”
“You, you bastard! Are you ratting me out! Even if we’re high fairies of the same family, the difference in status between you and me is heaven and earth! Once this is over, my relatives won’t let you…”
Perbeong!
Litra’s head, hit squarely by Vileshaker, shattered into pieces.
“Hii, hiiiek!”
The remaining three crawled on the ground in horror.
Ssakduk! Seogeok!
I swung Ure nonchalantly and cut off one arm each from the three. Looking at the three writhing in pain, I said to the Kirianejial elder.
“Remember that these guys are still alive solely due to Linia’s mercy.”
“…Thank you.”
He bowed deeply.
In the lodging backyard.
“Uweeek!”
Recalling Litra’s bloodied head, I retched. The bread I had for lunch refluxed up my esophagus.
Just moments ago, my emotions had surged to the point where Serene Clarity (A)’s mental stabilization became unstable.
It was the same as when I parted with my father, Foden Stroke. I intuitively knew this was the remnant of the already vanished “Aiden Stroke.”
You scoundrel… Even so, it seems you cherished Linia enough that anger control fails.
Though it was my first time killing someone directly with my own hands, I had committed indirect murders several times before. My mood was all over the place.
At that moment, I sensed a presence.
“…Aiden.”
“Chesa? Why are you here….”
“I felt something off, so I came to check.”
The power of the Firebird (S-) trait.
I had shown an unseemly sight to my same-age girl.
I felt a subtle shame and dismay.
“I’m fine now. Let’s go back.”
As I said that and tried to return to the lodging, Chesa approached and took my hand.