As Meia had expected, the scrap of fabric came down from the sky. This time the scrap was wrapped differently. It was like a hood at the top and a little face peeked out.

Meia had had a suspicion for a while and it was now confirmed: It was a fairy.

Fairies were like little people with wings. This one floated, but if it stood on the ground, it would go right up to your knee. The fairy was young. Meia would say she was no older than herself, but she wasn't sure. Her face had delicate features, but she looked cheeky. She also looked very exhausted.

"I knew it!" the fairy shouted loudly even before she had fully reached them.

The man took a step towards Violet and looked at the fairy. "Hello, Lyr. How are you?" he asked, seemingly friendly.

"Hmph" The fairy puffed her cheeks, but could barely control it and air escaped several times. It only lasted a moment, then she added: "I'm not talking to you!"

"You can call it a day. He'll do the scouting." Violet pointed behind her at the man with her thumb. "You can take the cloth off too." she added, sounding resigned, and walked off. Judging by the direction, she wanted to get back to the back of the man's wagon, where the two had spoken previously.

The fairy seemed completely overwhelmed by the new information. She stared for a moment, looking back and forth between the two of them several times, then followed Violet. "What? Why?" she whined, stuttering and disappointed. At the same time, she pulled the scrap of fabric off herself. There was no answer from Violet, so she gave up and stopped in mid-air.

Meia could now see the fairy's body. She was slim and petite. Her long hair was cut straight and shiny like a silver coin. Her clothes were a simple silk dress and ballerinas. She had nothing else on, just the scrap of cloth in her hand. She looked like a creature from a fairy tale. She had wings like those of a butterfly with long tails whose ends hung lower than her feet. The edges of the wings were pitch black, but the inner surfaces were colorful patches that merged smoothly into one another. The colors glittered like rhinestones in the moonlight. It was probably the scales of the wings where the glitter came from. Whenever the wings moved, some of the glitter fell off... Meia leaned her head to one side in amazement. There was something very strange about the fairy: the wings hardly moved. In fact, almost not at all. The frequency at which she flapped her wings was at most that of blinking. How could it stay in the air like that? At least she didn't seem to be doing anything to keep from descending. It was another mystery. Meia was so under the fairy's spell that she completely forgot about her soup. She had never seen a fairy before. She knew that fairies existed, but they were very rare. Her curiosity grew with every passing second.

The man turned to the fairy. "Did you know you're traveling back with me?" he said to her, as if to tease her.

It worked. The fairy came to him immediately.

"What are you doing here! Are you just here to humiliate me!"

"I've been here for days. I'm sorry you couldn't find me. I even cooked in the hope that it would be easier for you to find me."

"Grrr... Where have you been!"

"On the watchtower."

"No one was on the watchtower."

"Then I must have been under it?" he asked himself, but not really.

"No one was under the watchtower."

"I didn't see anyone either."

"Giiihhh..." The fairy was extremely annoyed. She kicked her arms and legs like a little child. "I hate you so much." she clenched her teeth.

"As cute as always."

The man smiled as if he didn't take her seriously. Meia had to agree with him. It was quite cute.

However, the comment only annoyed the fairy even more. She flew higher, looked down at the man and pointed her finger at him.

"You better not overstep the mark! I CAN get angry!"

Surprisingly, nothing came back this time. Only the smile remained. Meia nodded. It was still cute.

"How did you know we were coming this way?"

"I would always find Violet. She's like a twinkling star on my map."

The fairy grimaced in disgust. "Luckily I haven't eaten anything yet..."

Meia didn't understand the reaction. It was a nice declaration of love, wasn't it?

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"Does that mean you want something? I can give you something."

"Hmph." The fairy crossed her arms petulantly. "I don't need a handout from an iniquitous man."

"It's vegetable soup."

The fairy's eyebrows lowered as if she was getting angry, then she asked coldly: "Who cooked it?"

"I did, like I said."

"You yourself..." the fairy mumbled in surprise. When she realized that it showed, she turned her head away in a huff. "Learning a skill or two is hardly going to raise YOUR value." Several times she stole glances at his face. "But someone has to evaluate it... I'll let you serve me some as an apology."

In the meantime, something else had happened. A glaring light had appeared in the back of the car. It was a white light, just like before. It was so bright that it even dazzled through the tarpaulin. The fact that it was so dark all the time made Meia squint and turn away. It was probably the swords again. It was amazing how bright they were. When Meia looked back, the light seemed dimmed. The other two took no heed. A rumble came from the loading area. Meia couldn't see the corner where it came from. Then the light disappeared. Another rumble, footsteps on wood and a jump. Shortly afterwards, Violet emerged from behind the wagon. This time on the right-hand side.

"Wow." It was a quiet exclamation that slipped out of Meia's mouth completely unconsciously. It was a mixture of shock, admiration and envy.

Violet had taken off her swords and the cloak. Meia had already guessed that she was wearing tight clothing, but tight was an understatement. It was a lace-up corset. She had strolled through the forest in it like this. Then there were the skin-tight pants and the high lace-up boots. She was wrapped up like a salmon ham. Meia found even her loose clothing unbearable by now, but Violet's seemed like self-flagellation. The corset was not solely responsible for the exclamation, but also the contents. It wasn't sumptuous... It was more. Like melons from genetically modified cultivation. Because the corset was so tight, they wanted to escape upwards. The coreset also had a straight cleavage. There was barely a millimeter more covered than necessary. It was just enough to avoid being arrested. It certainly wasn't nice, but Meia thought she looked a bit like a prostitute.

While Violet returned, the man went to his wagon. ~Looks like they're about to pop out.~ Meia thought to herself, watching Violet's approach.

"Again this corset..."

"Do I hear criticism? These two are bringing home the buns." Incidentally, Violet pointed her index finger at both of their breasts in turn.

"We're here as an escort, not as escort ladies."

"You're enchanting, as always Violet." commented a male voice unasked from inside the wagon.

"Silence from the cheap seats!"

"I didn't hear any complaints at Count Rauch's Mansion the other day. Just the sound of coins, half of which you received, as far as I remember."

"I'll never say anything again if you admit that you're only wearing this stuff because you like it."

Meia had already expected it: ~She wants the gazes.~ It was probably something of a fetish? Not that Meia would judge.

"Maybe I just like the fact that it bothers you so much."

"If that was the case, you wouldn't tell me."

But perhaps she also knew that she would think that and that was exactly what she liked. But more likely it was a fetish. Not that Meia would judge.

Meanwhile, Falko came out of the wagon with another bowl. Presumably it was for the fairy, but it was the same size as the one Meia had.

"Whatever... You better tell me why I'm being replaced?"

"I would have sent him away, but he immediately blurted out his name. I had no choice. Now that he's here, he might as well make himself useful."

Falko arrived while the two were still talking. Falko handed the bowl to Violet and she took it. It seemed to be out of habit. It appeared as if she hadn't even noticed that she had done it. Falko was probably an opportunist. He had practically slipped her the bowl. At the moment, she probably didn't think that she didn't want one before. At the end of her statement, she ate a spoonful. Judging by the happy look on her face, she liked it. Falko grinned smugly.

As if Violet had seen the grin, she looked directly at Falko. "That was intentional." she said sourly. But it wasn't even about the bowl.

"Indeed..." Falko pushed up his glasses with his middle finger. The moonlight reflected off the glasses and hid his gaze. He held this pose.

Meia pursed her lips and whistled without making any sound. It really was an impressive pose.

"... it was pure coincidence. I had hoped that you would run towards me laughing and shouting "Falko! Falko!" like you always used to."

"That never happened."

Falko seemed irritated. He narrowed his eyes and looked scrutinizingly at Violet's face until it seemed as if something had occurred to him.

"That's right... That never happened. It was a dream I have from time to time."

"Mhm, sure."

The fairy noticed that Violet was eating. "Where's my food?" she complained to Falko.

Violet reacted before Falko did. She took the scrap of cloth from the fairy with her left hand and put it in the back pocket of her pants. With her right hand, she handed her the bowl. Falko watched in disappointment as the fairy happily accepted the bowl. In relation to her height, it was a washbasin. Nevertheless, she was able to hold it. She needed both arms, but it didn't seem to take much effort. It seemed that she was stronger than her physique suggested.

"Turn your wagon around. We'll be on our way in fifteen minutes. You stay on your wagon. Me and Lyr stay on the carriage."

"If there's any problem, throw up your arms and scream like a girl."

"I know that." Falko said, as if it went without saying.

It took the wind out of the fairy's sails. She floated away with a defiant look on her face. Evidently she now came to Meia.

"Don't you want some soup too?"

"Not interested." Violet crossed her arms. "Better give some to the others."

Violet didn't want anything according to the words, but it seemed more as if she wanted to be convinced. It was no different from the fairy before.

"Violet, don't be like that. I've been waiting here for you."

"Yes, thank you very much. You know I'll have to justify myself for this later." A quick glance. "And what's with the glasses anyway? Doesn't suit you."

Once again, Falko pushed his glasses up with his middle finger and held the pose.

Impressed, Meia nodded again. It was indeed a cool pose.

"Deception."

Falko left it at that. Then he took off his glasses and put them in the inside pocket of his jacket as if it had no relevance at all.

~It's just for style!~

Probably they really were just for style, or at best reading glasses.

Violet rolled her eyes.

"Turn your wagon. You can fool around later."

.../ End Part