The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

He was there, and then he wasn’t. It was a scene befitting that phrase. The once formidable Imperial Occultist Hierlik Denver was literally erased from the air. His existence vanished without a trace of blood or flesh.

“Hmm. It seems my help is no longer needed.”

The green woman cast a brief glance at Raul and smiled.

“I look forward to meeting you again, Rabelina Eriot Meridiane. The lovely and pure Queen of the Fairies. My friend.”

After lightly kissing Rabel’s forehead, her figure dissolved into the air.

‘I hope I can do the same, wind Spirit King Dameia.’

As she disappeared, Rabel felt an immense wave of exhaustion but bit her lip. The battle was not yet over. She could not afford to collapse. Not with her kin, the very reason for her existence, watching her.

Flap.

With a flourish of her two pairs of colorful wings, Rabel soared back onto the Skill Codex, mustering her strength once more.

Rumble.

The fairy domain, ‘Fairy Fantasy’, which had paused momentarily, resumed ensnaring the enemies.

「I leave the rest to you, Raul.」

「Great job, Rabel. You were amazing.」

They exchanged a brief glance and short words of encouragement. As Raul gazed at the struggling Rabel, he shouted with vigor.

“First Knight Order! Leave no enemy standing!”

“Uoooooh!”

The yellow aura blades illuminated the inside of the gate brightly.

*

“Waaaa! Your Majesty!”

“We missed you so much, sniffle.”

“I’m so glad the prophecy wasn’t wrong, sob sob.”

“Thank you for saving us!”

Naturally, the remaining imperial remnants were thoroughly wiped out. Though nine superhumans remained, they were no match for Raul and the First Knight Order.

Most of the superhumans were barely master-level, and the high-level mages without guards had no chance against the masters. And so, over a thousand fairies hidden within the Spirit Tree’s Nest were finally rescued.

Just like in the legendary prophecy, their queen appeared at a moment of crisis to save them. Facing Rabel, all the fairies burst into tears.

Their tears formed a pond. Rabel embraced them in silence, weeping. It was a touching reunion scene. But Raul could not simply rejoice.

‘Out of over two thousand fairies, only a thousand survived….’

Most of the fairies looked young, and it turned out that except for the elders who maintained the defense barrier, the older fairies had sacrificed themselves one by one.

They ultimately protected the future of their race, but still.

‘If I had only paid more attention… If I had come here just a little bit sooner!’

He couldn’t help but blame himself. In addition to the fairies rescued from this place, a hundred more fairies were saved. Kane’s group had rescued those who were trapped by the corrupted spirit trees.

However, it was uncertain if they could return to their normal state. No one could tell if a fairy who lost their wings could continue living as a fairy.

‘No. I will make sure to heal them.’

Surely, Nakia would have some way. Given her extensive research into living organisms, even attempts at biological alchemy, perhaps she could restore the wings of the fairies who had lost theirs.

With this faint hope, Raul avoided the grateful eyes of the fairies who were smiling at him.

“What do you plan to do now?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve reunited with your kin as you wished. Now you need to help them settle down.”

As the First Knight Order’s follow-up team arrived and prepared for the fairies’ relocation, Raul and Rabel stood atop the Spirit Tree, looking down at them.

“…What are you trying to say?”

Rabel asked, and Raul sighed softly before answering.

“You can do what you want now. The Skill Codex. You can leave it, can’t you?”

“……”

Rabel averted her eyes from Raul.

“How long have you known?”

“I’m meticulous about contracts. It clearly states you can be released if we ‘mutually agree’. And I noticed that, for a while now, you don’t need the Skill Codex’s mana anymore.”

Rabel remained silent for a moment, looking down below. Despite just having experienced turmoil, the young fairies were already flying excitedly around the First Knight Order members.

Was it because of their inherently kind nature?

Or had they already realized that not all humans were the same?

‘Thinking about it… I have….’

She had spent far more time among humans than with her kin. Maybe that’s why. She had become more calculative and logical, traits not typical of a fairy.

Rabel looked up, gazing at Raul’s face. His expression as he looked at the fairies was quite complex. She felt she knew the reason without having to ask.

‘A kind person.’

He might not want to appear as such, but his nature couldn’t be hidden. And with that, Rabel made up her mind.

“So, are you going to release me?”

“If you want to be. They need you.”

“And you don’t need me?”

“……”

Raul seemed lost for words, blinking his eyes before scratching his head.

“Of course, I’d like you to be around. But I can’t leave them just like that. And you’ve been such a tremendous help; it wouldn’t be right to force you to stay….”

Rabel smiled warmly at Raul as he fumbled through his words.

“Fine. I’m not going anywhere until you tell me to leave because I’m annoying. So, tell me. You already have something in mind, don’t you?”

Raul laughed awkwardly as Rabel adjusted her glasses and asked.

“Well, I can’t say I haven’t thought about it…. Ah, whatever. Just don’t regret it later.”

“You too. If you’re going to regret taking our kids, it’s better to give up now.”

“Pfft. Hahaha.”

Raul burst into laughter as he looked at Rabel, who stared at him with narrowed eyes and her hands on her hips. It was probably because one of the issues he was worried about was resolved.

“Alright, then let’s start by raiding a dungeon!”

Getting up energetically, Raul kicked off the Spirit Tree and soared into the sky.

*

“How did it go?”

“Yes, it seems the Fairy Queen won. The Spirit Tree cluster has a new owner, and the imperial forces’ offensive has completely stopped.”

“Hmm, is that so?”

The leader of the elves, high Elf Melish, sparkled her eyes. She had expected this result ever since nearly twenty masters had emerged. The problem was that they pierced through the imperial frontlines and headed directly to the center.

This made it a bit difficult to achieve the best outcome she had hoped for.

‘But it doesn’t change much. They will need our help anyway.’

After the totems made from fairy wings appeared, She recalled the records left by her ancestors. Unlike the elves who all left, the fairies left their queen, who had passed down everything, in this world.

She hadn’t expected that queen to still be alive, but it made things work out even better. The enraged Fairy Queen would clash with the imperial forces and rescue the surviving fairies.

‘That’s what matters.’

The surviving fairies. Fairies couldn’t leave the vicinity of the Spirit Tree until they had grown to a certain level. Someone like the queen could survive in a world where Spirit Trees barely remained, but that was impossible for ordinary fairies.

And the thing essential for the growth and survival of the Spirit Tree was the ‘World Tree’. As long as they had secured the World Tree, the fairies, whether they liked it or not, would have to seek help from the elves.

‘Don’t think of it as too heartless. It’s beneficial for everyone, isn’t it?’

Melish planned to procure new and powerful spirits through the fairies. Many of the spirits currently contracted to the elves were not the true spirits passed down from their ancestors in ancient times.

Most were lower-tier native spirits that had naturally manifested in the current world.

‘But through the fairies, it will be easier to contact the spirits of the Spirit World.’

Now that they had returned to their homeland, directly summoning spirits from the Spirit World wasn’t impossible.

However, the materials and preparations required were not trivial, so why take the hard way when there was an easier option?

Just then, the scouts reported.

“Melish-nim, the Fairy Queen and that human are heading this way!”

“Really? Perfect timing. Assemble the elders and the war chiefs! We won’t be caught off guard like before.”

Last time, they were complacent, and the front line was too intense to bring enough superhuman forces, but this time was different.

In preparation for such a situation, she had stationed over fifty superhumans near the World Tree. And finally, their third meeting took place.

“We kept our promise. The spirits won’t go berserk anymore.”

As Melish was about to respond, Rabel continued.

“Oh, and you’re not so shameless as to suggest we should clean up all those cursed objects spread throughout the front lines, right?”

“…Ahem.”

Melish, who was just about to mention it, cleared her throat.

“Now that their supply has been cut off, they’ll lose their power in about two weeks. So, it would be best not to bring up unfulfilled promises or anything like that.”

As Rabel glanced around at the elven elders, they avoided her gaze, revealing their guilt.

“The item?”

An elven warrior took out an ornate, antique water bottle adorned with elaborate patterns, which High Elf Melish handed very cautiously to Rabel.

‘Anyone would think they were handing over a priceless treasure, tsk tsk.’

The bottle itself looked far more valuable than the World Tree sap it contained, and Raul couldn’t help but click his tongue inwardly. With the transaction complete and Rabel about to leave, Melish stopped her with a warm expression.

“Wait a moment. I heard many fairies survived, fortunately.”

Rabel suddenly halted.

‘Many survived? Over half of them died.’

Compared to Raul, who was too guilt-ridden to even make eye contact with the fairies, this was an incredibly insensitive remark.

“Yes, and so?”

Rabel’s voice turned cold.

“To protect them, you’d need a strong ally, wouldn’t you? Considering you’ve been through so much, if you wish, we can dispatch our elven warriors to offer protection.”

Despite her anger at the hypocritical attitude, Rabel managed to hold it in. Though her words seemed to express the intention of protecting the fairies, “Sorry, but that won’t be necessary. Our kin have the power to protect ourselves.”

Melish appeared to interpret her words differently.

“Do you still trust those deceitful humans?”

“What?”

“Even after all this, don’t you understand? Humans are a race of beasts who think only of themselves! They’ll commit any cruel or atrocious act without hesitation for their own benefit! Are you seriously thinking of entrusting the lives of your precious kin to those cunning humans?”

Clang!

Melish raised her hand to point at Raul, and the elven war chiefs and elders surrounding them simultaneously drew their weapons, aiming at Raul.

“If you’re being threatened by him, just say the word. We’ll save you! Don’t you want to revive the old alliance with us elves?”

Rabel hovered slowly, looking around.

High Elf Melish.

The elven elders.

The elven warriors.

The emotion hidden in their eyes was undoubtedly ‘greed.’

‘What has changed them like this?’

Did they realize that their actions were not so different from the humans they despised?

Rabel felt more pity than anger towards them.

“Stop this. Our fate is for us fairies to decide. It’s not for elves or humans to interfere. And as for the alliance… we’ll consider it.”

The elves didn’t block the path of Rabel and Raul as they left. They likely believed the queen’s decision was already made.

And a few days later, “Something terrible has happened! The Town Tree in the Spirit Tree cluster has vanished!”

“What! What about them? What about the fairies?”

“There’s no sign of the fairies, nor the humans!”

Something had gone horribly wrong. Melish’s expression contorted with rage.

(To be continued)

TL’s Corner:
The elves’ stock is getting lower and lower. Out of the 4 races, elves are the lowest in my eyes right now.