Chapter 18
Seeing the clock glow, Noah turned his head and gave an apologetic look to James, who was still chatting away.
“Sorry, but I’m here at the Institute for some work today, so I need to get going. Let’s grab a drink sometime.”
“Oh? Ah, sure! It was just so nice to see you again that I got carried away. Ah, please sign here.”
Feeling a bit embarrassed for being overly excited, James quickly pulled out the patrol log and handed it along with a pen to Noah. Noah nodded lightly, wrote down his arrival time and name, and handed it back to James.
“I’ll get in touch later.”
“Yeah, sure! Take care, Lester.”
James waved his hand holding the patrol log. Seeing this, Noah nodded briefly in greeting and walked further down the corridor.
James scratched the back of his head as he watched Noah’s straight back disappear. Noah was a friend who always felt close yet distant at the same time. Even when they first met at the Academy at the age of eighteen, Noah had been the same. He was kind yet aloof, never getting too close to anyone more than necessary.
“Even after six years, that guy hasn’t changed a bit.”
James clicked his tongue and put the patrol log back in his pocket. The encounter with his old friend had chased away his sleepiness, but there was still a long way to go until morning. With a big yawn, James resumed his patrol.
* * *
Meanwhile, after passing by James, Noah entered the interior corridor. The fact that the clock hand had glowed earlier indicated that Ezra had noticed his arrival. In fact, a bright light was now on at the end of the corridor, which had remained dark when James was patrolling.
– Click.
Noah reached the end of the corridor and knocked lightly as if it were a familiar routine. A fine crack appeared on what seemed to be a wall, forming the shape of a door, which then opened. Stepping inside, Noah felt a light sense of buoyancy beneath his feet. When he blinked, he found himself in a spacious room.
Though he wasn’t certain of the mechanics, Noah had moved from the first-floor corridor to a laboratory on the highest floor. A white moon could be seen through the large windows that almost entirely covered one wall, confirming his new location.
Noah silently walked further inside. The space, dimly lit with a pale blue light, was filled with the sound of flowing water. Reflections of the light on the water surface cast wavering shadows on the ceiling and walls.
The reason was apparent: most of the room was taken up by an artificial tank. On the surface, it looked like a simple marble structure filled with water, but the water within glowed blue. Because of this glow, it was impossible to see what lay beneath or gauge its depth, even when peering closely.
Occasionally, bubbles would rise to the surface, and knowing that Ezra conducted research using this water, Noah vaguely speculated that something was inside.
“You’ve arrived, Noah. I’ve been expecting you.”
While Noah stared at the blue water below his knees, a voice came from behind him. Turning around, Noah saw a man smiling at him, glasses in hand.
“…Ezra.”
The man, known as Ezra, had dark blonde hair like melted gold and eyes resembling deep green foliage. Despite being taller than the quite large Noah, his long hair and beautiful appearance made the height seem natural.
“Did you handle the matter in Viscount Evelyn’s territory well?”
Ezra’s voice didn’t vibrate like a human’s vocal cords; it felt more like the air around them was resonating. His mystical, transparent eyes seemed devoid of any emotion. Noah averted his gaze from those unsettling eyes and gave a brief reply.
“Yes.”
The being in front of Noah appeared to be a young human male, but in reality, he was a high-ranking Light Fairy who had lived for over 200 years. Though beautiful and seemingly amiable, the Light Fairies Noah had encountered were not particularly friendly toward humans.
‘The only difference from the Black Fairies is that they don’t eat humans.’
Ezra had approached Noah one day, wanting to cooperate. In truth, the knowledge and power of the Light Fairy had been instrumental in eliminating the Black Fairies, so Noah had maintained this cooperative relationship without much resistance.
“Have you gathered quite a few Black Star Fragments by now?”
“Yes.”
Noah handed a small pouch from his pocket to Ezra. As soon as Ezra tilted the pouch onto his palm, the collected Black Star Fragments spilled out.
“Ah, this should be enough. I’ll make the potion right away, so please wait.”
Ezra, satisfied, put the fragments back into the pouch and walked to a desk at the back. The desk was cluttered with various machines of unknown purpose. Ezra poured the fragments into one of the machines, adjusted something, and said they just needed to wait, picking up a mug next to him.
“Would you like some coffee while we wait?”
“No, thanks. But I sensed traces of a high-ranking Black Fairy on Kapfsen Street. Did you know?”
“Ah, that.”
Ezra smiled as he sipped his coffee leisurely before continuing.
“Yes, I felt it briefly. It doesn’t seem to absorb life frequently, so I couldn’t sense it clearly, but the resonance was strong. I realized it recently, so it probably hasn’t been in the capital for long.”
“…If it’s strong, how strong?”
“At least 200 years older than me.”
Ezra held up two fingers. Hearing this, Noah’s face hardened. A 400-year-old Black Fairy—Noah couldn’t even imagine how many humans it had consumed over the centuries.
“It’s unusual for a high-ranking fairy to reveal itself so openly. Because of this, the frequency of Black Fairy appearances across various places has increased. Haven’t you noticed it too, Noah?”
“Indeed, I’ve encountered Black Fairies more frequently lately. Is it all because of that high-ranking fairy?”
Noah recalled the Black Fairy in the guise of a maid and Regina from the same region. He had felt the increase in encounters with Black Fairies, which had once been rare.
“Most likely. It seems to be intentionally feeding humans to the Black Fairies.”
“Then we need to eliminate that high-ranking fairy immediately. Tell me where it is. Surely, you can approximate its location from the resonance.”
Ezra shook his head at Noah’s words.
“With your current abilities, you’d die before even fighting it. Even if your mixed blood is toxic to fairies, a high-ranking one like that wouldn’t die immediately unless you drained all your blood at once.”
Ezra chuckled, saying he would like to research that, but Noah ignored him.
“Is there no way to capture it? Isn’t the reason you are cooperating with me to eliminate the Black Fairies? Are you just going to stand by?”
Ezra responded with a slight smile.
“Stand by? How could you say that? We’re preparing in our own way. But it’s difficult right now. We have to wait and watch. The only option is to wait for it to fall into our trap.”
“Do you really think it’s that foolish?”
Expecting a 400-year-old Black Fairy to fall into a trap seemed naive.
Ezra laughed lightly at Noah’s words.
“Haha, it has no choice. Eventually, it will come here. We have what it wants most.”
Ezra’s gaze fell on the glowing blue water. Following his gaze, Noah saw bubbles rising to the surface and felt uneasy. He asked a question he wouldn’t normally ask.
“…What exactly is in that water?”
“Curious?”
Ezra looked at Noah as if he had been waiting for that question. His eyes were now filled with joy, similar to a child contemplating whether to tear the wings off a captured dragonfly or pull it apart entirely.
“No, never mind.”
The fairy’s eyes filled with pure curiosity were more frightening than Noah had anticipated, so he shook his head. Ezra, disappointed by Noah’s rejection, considered forcibly immersing him in the water when the machine on the desk suddenly made a noise. The device where the fragments had been placed was shaking.
“Ah, the potion must be ready.”
Ezra, delighted, approached the desk. Noah, who had been tense seeing Ezra’s change in demeanor, finally relaxed. When Ezra opened the machine, a liquid emitting a soft yellow light was inside. He poured it into a small glass bottle and handed it to Noah.
“As I said before, only take one sip a day. Any more, and it could cause your internal organs to melt.”
“Got it.”
A warning that would alarm most people did not faze Noah, who put the bottle to his lips. A burning sensation spread across his tongue as the liquid flowed down his throat, and his muscles began to twist as the liquid circulated through his body.
