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The Elder, who had briefly stepped outside, returned to the house while being accompanied by unidentified flying objects.

What are those?

I thought they were just large insects at first, given the sizeable tree next to the house. It was normal to see flying bugs near plants, after all.

But I realized they weren’t insects upon closer inspection. They were thumb-sized creatures with wings, but their appearance was strikingly human-like. I almost felt sorry for mistaking them for bugs, even for a moment. I assumed they were insects simply because they were flying around.

“Over here—“

“God, god.”

“There, over there!”

The Elder, who had brought in over ten of these flying beings, tried to say something, but the creatures flew towards us before she could finish.

More precisely, they flew towards Tannian and clung to him.

“Haha, what interesting little ones.”

Even Tannian seemed surprised by the sudden attack and smiled as if this was a new experience for him. Well, where else could one experience thumb-sized children clinging to your hair or shoulders? It was like something out of a fairy tale.

So, what were these things? They didn’t seem hostile, so we were leaving them be, but we should at least know what they were.

“That’s rude behavior towards our guests. Come off now.”

“No, no.”

“Uncle Enen’s energy, it’s been so long, we missed it.”

The Elder sighed as she watched the scene and tried to reason with the flying creatures, but they shook their heads vigorously and clung tighter to Tannian despite her persuasion. They were just hanging on before, but now they were burrowing into his hair and clothes for protection.

“It’s alright. They seem like curious children wanting to play. It’s always a pleasure to play with children.”

Tannian, caught awkwardly between the two sides, spoke gently with an embarrassed smile. The Elder sighed again and stepped back. She couldn’t forcibly remove those tiny beings, and there was nothing else to do if the person involved said it was fine.

“But who are these children? Judging by their mention of ‘Uncle Enen,’ they don’t seem to be ordinary children.”

Instead, Tannian asked the question we all had. Their overwhelmingly small size, wings, and suddenly calling Enen ‘uncle.’ Even ignoring everything else, Tannian must’ve been surprised by the term ‘Uncle Enen.’

I had no idea, either. They seemed like a different race, but I’d never heard of such beings. Even dwarves, who were smaller than humans, weren’t thumb-sized. Besides, dwarves didn’t have wings and weren’t this cute.

“Have you heard of fairies?”

Tannian’s eyes widened dramatically at the Elder’s words.

Oh.

I think this was the first time I’d seen him so surprised.

***Before the Dawn Sect of Enen achieved religious supremacy, the continent was overrun with countless gods and sects.

Among the many deities vying for attention, much like a chaotic Spring and Autumn period, was a goddess named Constantina. Revered as the deity of flora, she was also celebrated as the mother of the elf race and the one who bestowed the World Tree upon them. She was a gentle god who focused on nurturing nature and elves rather than expanding her own influence.

As a result, she was one of the first to bow her head as Enen began to rise to dominance. Because of this peaceful surrender, the Dawn Sect respected the traditions related to Constantina and the elves, creating a win-win relationship. The Dawn Sect even cherished the World Tree as a divine legacy.

“Spirits and fairies were beings that communicated with elves through the World Tree.”

As soon as he heard the word ‘fairies,’ Tannian excitedly poured out explanations to the point it was dizzying. Thankfully, it was a topic I was curious about. Otherwise, I would’ve run away from his relentless enthusiasm.

“Spirits could use the World Tree as a gateway to come from the spirit realm to the human world, and fairies were born from the branches of the World Tree and made it their home.”

According to Tannian, the World Tree was a divine blessing, and the era when it existed was a beautiful time when creatures who served the gods coexisted with humans.

From a priest’s perspective, being able to coexist with beings close to the gods through a tree left by the divine would indeed be a dream come true. It would be visible proof of the gods’ existence.

But—

“Didn’t the World Tree burn down ages ago?”

“...”

At Lather’s words, Tannian, who had been speaking joyfully, nodded sadly.

The World Tree burned spectacularly at the end of the Apels era. Although it was a legacy left by a god other than Enen, from the Dawn Sect’s perspective, it was also a legacy left by a god who peacefully accepted defeat.

In other words, it was also a symbol of the Dawn Sect’s victory and tolerance, but the Apels Empire burned it down. As a result, the Pope of that time excommunicated the Apels Emperor. It was also why the Holy Kingdom was friendly towards Kefellofen, who destroyed Apels.

“I heard that spirits could no longer appear in the human world due to this atrocity, and fairies lost their home and went extinct...”

Saying this, Tannian gently stroked a fairy clinging to his shoulder. The fairy grabbed his finger and nuzzled against it.

Tannian’s expression melted rapidly at this show of affection from a legendary being. They were cute, probably because they were so small.

“You know quite a bit.”

The Elder, who had been listening silently, nodded.

“The spirits disappeared when the World Tree burned, and the fairies lost their home. Since that day, no new fairies have been born.”

The Elder looked at the fairies with an expression like someone looking at orphans who lost their homes to a natural disaster. She had a face full of pity and compassion.

“Normally, these children should have fallen too, but fortunately, we were able to create a temporary home for them.”

“You mean you recreated the World Tree?”

Tannian, who had been playing with the fairies using his fingers, spoke up eagerly. If the World Tree had been reborn, it would indeed be astonishing—

“It’s embarrassing to call it a recreation when spirits can’t use it as a gateway and new fairies can’t be born. It’s just enough for the remaining fairies to survive.”

At this firm answer, Tannian’s expression turned gloomy again.

Right, mortals couldn’t possibly recreate a gift from the gods. That was only natural.

“We’re barely imitating the World Tree by attaching holy relics left by the gods to a tree. These children have been barely holding on with insufficient divine power, so of course they’re excited to meet someone with a strong divine aura.”

Hearing the specific details made me see the fairies clinging to Tannian differently. They looked like hungry children in an orphanage welcoming an adult who came to donate food.

How pitiful.

This was all because of Apels. Why did they have to burn down the innocent World Tree?

***The group’s eyes softened dramatically towards the fairies as Tannian and the Elder finished their explanation. They were already easy to like because they were small and cute, and now they had a tragic past, too? It was perfect for tugging at the heartstrings.

But the fairies didn’t allow just anyone to touch them. While they were happy about Tannian’s touch since he was a saint, they dodged the hands of ordinary people without divine power.

“They don’t seem to like me.”

As a result, Louise, who was rejected by the fairies, looked dejected, but what could we do? Considering they suffered because of humans, it was only understandable.

—That was what I was about to say to comfort her.

“Huh? Hmm?”

Until one fairy started hovering near me.

The fairy that had haughtily avoided Louise’s hand suddenly tilted its head and approached me. But it dodged my hand when I reached out, and it approached again when I withdrew my hand. I couldn’t figure out what it was doing. It wasn’t like we were playing some kind of push-and-pull game.

“Do they like you, oppa?”

“I don’t think that’s it.”

I shook my head slightly at Louise, who asked enviously. If they liked me, they would have clung to me like they did with Tannian, not keeping their distance like this.

After circling around me for a while, the fairy pointed at me and shouted.

“Sky lady! Sky lady!”

?

Lady?

I was confused. Did fairies have a habit of switching genders when addressing people?

But before I could solve this puzzle, all the fairies’ gazes fixed on me.

“Lady? Lady?”

“Really? Really?”

“L-lady, it’s been a long time!”

It was a bit too much.

The fairies that had been circling around Tannian and even those sitting on his body flew towards me. It was confusing to have more than ten of them suddenly rushing at me. So this was how Tannian felt earlier.

“Lady, it’s true. It’s really that lady’s energy.”

And the fairy that had called me ‘sky lady’ was already clinging to my clothes.

“Carl seems popular with the children? You’ll make a good father.”

“Haha...”

Marghetta made an awkward joke in this unexpected situation. Marghetta had also failed to touch the fairies like Louise, and I wonder if it was just my imagination that I sensed a hint of jealousy.

“Here, in body, it’s here. Lady’s energy, it’s here!”

Meanwhile, a fairy was tapping on my chest and whining. Seeing this, I finally understood why they were acting this way.

Unlike Tannian, whose whole body had become a playground, the fairies were only interested in my body. Considering that these fairies who were sensitive to divine power mentioned the sky—

The Eternal Blue Sky.

No matter how I thought about it, it must be that. It was the only connection I had to the divine.

Lady...

So the Eternal Blue Sky was a goddess. It was a bit surprising that the sky deity was a female. I had a vague image of Uranus or Zeus, but I guess that was just prejudice.

“Lady’s energy is not embedded. It can be removed.”

“Lingering energy, lingering energy.”

“Should we take it? Should we take it?”

In the meantime, a strange conversation was going on among the fairies.

They could remove the divine energy? The same energy that made professional priests cough up blood when they tried to remove it?

Really?

My heart swelled with this unexpected fortune.

Well, fairies were closely connected to the divine, weren’t they? They were on a different level from mere mortals, so they might easily do what mortals couldn’t.

“Children, what are you suddenly talking about?”

Seeing the fairies who usually avoided humans clinging to someone who was clearly not a priest, the Elder, who had been watching blankly, seemed to come to her senses and hurriedly approached to ask the fairies.

“This person has that sky lady’s energy, we can take it.”

The fairies chattered to the Elder, their tone insistent, almost like children throwing a tantrum.

“But, we have nothing to give. Mom said if you want something, you must give something in return.”

“We have nothing... everything burned.”

“We couldn’t keep Mom’s word. Mom, we miss you...”

“Mom, Mom...”

“Oh, children?”

Even the Elder didn’t know what to do as their complaints turned into tears for their mother. If the fairies’ ‘mother’ meant the World Tree or the goddess Constantina, meeting either was practically impossible.

“Hey.”

Anyway, I cautiously spoke to the fairies who had suddenly burst into tears. I couldn’t give them their mother, but I could give them something else.

“You can have it if you can take it.”

At those words, the fairies who had been crying pitifully looked at me with widened eyes and flapped their wings.

“Really? Really?”

“Can we take it? All of it? All of it?”

“Yes.”

I meant it. Honestly, I’d even pay them if it meant they’d take it off my hands.

Waiting for the Eternal Blue Sky’s forgiveness wasn’t going to solve anything. I’d rather owe a favor to these fairies.