Camelot.
It was the only city in the Fairy Kingdom built like a fortress.
Unlike other cities managed by clan heads with different functions, Camelot’s steel exterior was specifically designed with combat and war in mind.
It was not only covered in spikes that resembled spears and lances, but it was also cumbersome, giving anyone who saw it the impression of being overwhelmed by its oppressive presence.
In the Fairy Kingdom, most fairies, except for some special individuals, couldn’t withstand iron because, to most fairies, iron was as toxic as poison. For them, Camelot with its steel shell was undoubtedly the castle of a demon king, so it was no wonder some fairies viewed it as the city of evil.
But undeniably, this city was the capital of the Fairy Kingdom, where the Queen’s palace stood.
At the very top of this palace, a meeting was taking place.
Two fairies with horse heads and human bodies, clad in bronze-like armor and each wielding a halberd, stood to the left and right of a grand and luxurious throne, singing loudly to everyone present in the grand hall.
"Kneel."
"Worship."
"Heads of all gathered clans, envoys and officials from every corner, bow your heads."
"The Queen who expanded our lands."
"The Queen who built the land of fairies."
"Our highest ruler, our most supreme queen, is here, before you all."
"Everyone, give your cheers for the arrival of our queen."
As the chant echoed through the hall, a figure appeared on the throne.
*Thud!*
Almost at the same moment, every fairy in the throne room dropped to their knees in unison.
They came from various clans—some from the Wind Clan, some from the Earth Clan, others from the Fang Clan—each with their distinct features. Yet, despite their different appearances, these fairies, at this very moment, all bowed their heads in the most sincere manner, offering praise to the figure on the throne.
"Great Queen."
"High Queen."
"We are your most loyal servants, giving our lives to you."
Praises like these rang out in unison, filling the throne room with a sacred atmosphere, blending with an eerie feeling that pervaded the entire space.
"..."
Meanwhile, the figure on the throne watched the scene below with a cold, almost disdainful gaze as if the fairies kneeling before her were not living beings but mere tools—enough to make anyone hesitant to meet her eyes.
Just like that, the highest ruler of this kingdom, the one who held the title of queen, made no effort to raise the kneeling fairies and spoke directly.
"If there’s anything important, present it now."
Even though the Queen allowed it, the kneeling fairies made no move to speak.
It couldn’t be helped.
They knew very well that, in this setting, they had no right to speak because they were merely envoys and officials responsible for trivial tasks, not noble beings who could freely speak in front of the Queen’s throne.
Under these circumstances, the only ones qualified to speak were the four heads of the fairy clans who had gathered here through magical projection, as well as the two Fairy Knights kneeling on one knee before the throne, without needing to fully bow.
In the next moment, a clerk standing beside the Queen stepped forward.
"According to the order of the meeting, may the head of the Earth Clan, the lord of Norwich, Lord Spriggan, speak first."
At the sound of this, one of the magical projections moved.
"Oh? Am I still the first this time?"
Spriggan, the head of the Earth Clan and lord of Norwich, smiled playfully.
"Although I’m honored, the topic I’m bringing up was already mentioned in the last meeting—the matter of the Calamity."
Spriggan spoke with a relaxed attitude.
"Recently, the Calamity gathering around Norwich seems to be intensifying. According to soldier reports, the frequency of Moss appearances around Norwich has been increasing, making it hard not to suspect that the Calamity gathering in Norwich will soon erupt all at once."
As Spriggan spoke, he glanced around casually.
"Of course, even if I say this, I’m sure none of you will care too much about the problems in Norwich, right?"
At this, someone immediately chimed in.
"Isn’t that obvious?"
It was a crisp voice, as sweet as a little girl’s hum, clear and innocent.
The owner of the voice was one of the two Fairy Knights kneeling on one knee before the throne, with a tall stature, vibrant, long red hair, and a similarly red-themed court outfit.
At first glance, she didn’t give off the impression of a powerful knight, but more like a delicate princess in need of protection. Yet, despite her cute voice and fragile appearance, the words she spoke were incredibly harsh.
"It’s just a Calamity, after all. With Mother around, even a simple snap of her fingers can solve it. Why keep bringing it up in the meetings?"
She giggled softly, then added something that caused the majority of the fairies present to shudder.
"Besides, isn’t it just a gathering place for those artisan fairies? Who cares if that place is destroyed? In fact, I’d like to see that happen!"
Her words made many of the fairy envoys and officials lower their heads, trying to hide their disgust toward her.
"You shouldn’t say that, Fairy Knight Tristan." Spriggan said while shrugging. "I mean, the Earth Clan still has an important role in Britain. If Norwich gets destroyed, the Earth Clan would probably be down to just a handful. When that happens, I bet Britain’s functions will start to falter too."
In response to his remark, the Fairy Knight named Tristan looked completely indifferent.
"Hmph, it’s just one clan, so what if they get wiped out?" Tristan said with a mocking tone. "It’s not like clans haven’t disappeared in the Fairy Kingdom before. Even if the Earth Clan were gone, it’d be just a minor inconvenience for Britain with Mother around."
In an instant, the atmosphere in the throne room shifted, becoming extremely tense.
While Spriggan fell silent, one of the remaining three magical projections spoke up with a brutal tone.
"Shut up, little girl."
It was a very rough voice that, if Riezel and Artoria were there, they would instantly recognize its owner.
Needless to say, it was none other than the voice of Woodwose, the head of the Fang Clan.
"All of us fairy clans are swords and spears in Her Majesty’s hand. Do you think you, some unknown little girl, have the right to speak so carelessly?"
From his tone, it was clear that Woodwose was in a particularly bad mood, his attitude far more aggressive than usual.
"You old fool, you have no right to speak!"
Tristan replied with evident annoyance.
"You’re practically retired, yet you still prattle on about swords and spears. Didn’t you just say you’re a lord now, a clan head, no longer a berserk warrior who charges into battle? You’re supposed to act like a gentleman now, aren’t you?"
"Look at you now, back to your old ways."
"Oh, dogs really are dogs, after all. Even when they become clan heads or nobles, they never change."
At Tristan’s mocking words, Woodwose’s tone became even harsher.
"What did you say?!" Woodwose growled. "Damn, little girl! You—"
Before he could finish, however, someone suddenly interrupted him.
"Enough, Woodwose."
It was the other Fairy Knight kneeling next to Tristan.
Even though this knight was also female, she was completely different from the fragile-looking Tristan. She was incredibly muscular, wore heavy and sturdy armor, with chains coiling around her body, and her aura was so intense that even Woodwose seemed to pale in comparison.
"Gawain!"
Woodwose glared at the Fairy Knight.
Gawain didn’t respond to Woodwose’s roar, instead casting a cold glance at him.
"Tristan is Her Majesty’s daughter. Even if her words were improper, as the head of the Fang Clan, a hero who has protected Faerie Britain for a thousand years, you shouldn’t stoop to her level." Gawain said in a cold yet firm voice. "Even if you don’t care about yourself, you should think about the rest of us in the Fang Clan. We don’t want the reputation of the clan to be dragged down by the temper of its head."
Before Woodwose could retort, a soft, mature voice came from a magical projection next to him.
"Gawain is right."
When this voice, sweet and mature, echoed, Woodwose surprisingly calmed down.
"Aurora..."
The name Woodwose called out belonged to someone who, like him, was also the head of a fairy clan.
"Ah, dear Woodwose, mighty Woodwose."
Aurora, the head of the Wind Clan, spoke to Woodwose in a very friendly and gentle tone.
"I understand your feelings, but like Gawain said, you are no longer just a warrior. You’re a clan head now. You can’t just think of yourself—you must consider your clan too."
Aurora’s words seemed to successfully calm the impulsive and angry Woodwose down.
"You’re right..." Woodwose said seriously. "I’m no longer just the warrior of the Fang Clan fighting on the frontlines. I should understand more about the etiquette expected of me."
"Heh..."
Tristan, hearing Woodwose’s words, was about to make a sarcastic comment, but had no chance to do so because, at that moment, the last clan head who had yet to speak finally spoke as her voice came through the magical projection.
"Can we please stop this endless bickering? I didn’t come to this meeting to listen to your banter."
Everyone in the throne room could feel that the tone of this voice seemed less annoyed and more like sheer boredom.
"Unlike you guys, I’ve got a ton of stuff to deal with every single day. Whether it’s researching the latest trends and bringing them in, negotiating with different shops, or sorting out business distributions, I have to handle all of it myself. And even so, I still sacrificed my precious time to show up for this meeting, you know? So, could you at least say something useful in a situation like this?"
Muryan, the head of the Wing Clan, bluntly expressed her thoughts in front of everyone.
"...."
All the fairies immediately fell silent.
It could be said that this situation was highly unusual.
Whether it was the hot-tempered Woodwose or the harsh Tristan, both would normally vent their anger or speak harshly in front of others, but when the head of the Wing Clan spoke, there was an unmistakable tension, as if they dared not challenge her.
Of course, this wasn’t due to fear or concern, or else Tristan wouldn’t have turned her face away and Woodwose wouldn’t have glared so fiercely at Muryan.
However, without fail, they both decided to remain silent, clearly realizing something and ceasing their quarrels.
Seeing the silent atmosphere, Spriggan finally spoke up.
"Well, this is really troubling for me too... It’s all because of the topic I brought up. If you don’t want to deal with it, we can just drop the subject for now."
"In any case, it seems like the Calamity won’t erupt for a while, so there’s nothing we can change right now, right?"
"Unless Her Majesty is willing to intervene, then that’s a different story."
All the fairies immediately turned their attention to the throne.
Over there, the Queen had remained silent throughout the entire conversation, watching all the exchanges and arguments as if she didn’t care at all, her expression still cold and indifferent.
"Let’s put Norwich on the watch list for now."
After a moment, the Queen spoke lightly.
"Since the Calamity hasn’t erupted, we’ll observe for a while. If necessary, I will take action."
As soon as she finished saying this, the Queen turned to Woodwose.
"How is the search for the Child of Prophecy coming along?"
Clearly, this shift in the conversation indicated that the Queen had stopped paying attention to the Calamity matter, prompting the others to quickly move on from that topic without questioning it further.
However, the next moment, they were once again drawn to Woodwose’s words.
"It’s been progressing, Your Majesty..." Woodwose said seriously. "The search for the Child of Prophecy has finally made some headway."
All the fairies in the room reacted immediately to this statement.
Including the Queen.
Including the Fairy Knights.
Naturally, it also caught the attention of the clan heads.
"Progress... really?" Spriggan asked, sounding quite surprised. "Hasn’t this matter been without any progress until now?"
"Yes..." Aurora also responded with surprise. "I thought the Mirror Clan’s prophecy was just nonsense."
"Hmm, this is getting interesting..." Muryan chimed in, now quite intrigued. "If there’s progress, that means the Mirror Clan’s prophecy isn’t false, right?"
At the same time, the fairy officials were all abuzz with surprise, clearly taken aback by the news.
"Hmph!" Tristan said, sounding very displeased. "Child of Prophecy? Ridiculous! How could anyone possibly pose a threat to Mother?"
Gawain, on the other hand, remained silent, kneeling on one knee, her head bowed, seemingly lost in thought.
As for the Queen, her expression finally showed a hint of change.
"Report, Woodwose."
Not wasting time, the Queen’s cold command cut through the throne room.
"Yes!"
Woodwose lowered his usually proud head and replied respectfully.
"Under your command, Your Majesty, I’ve led the execution squad, gathering and searching for all information and clues related to the Child of Prophecy in Britain."
"Until recently, this mission hadn’t gone very smoothly, and I started to think the Mirror Clan’s prophecy was just empty talk."
"But then, not long ago, we received information from a village called Tintagel, claiming that the Child of Prophecy had appeared there."
At this point, Woodwose clenched his fist in frustration as he spoke through the magical projection, his anger barely contained.
"As soon as we received the news, I led the execution squad to Tintagel, only to find it engulfed in flames."
"And before we arrived, he appeared... the Child of Prophecy..."
Woodwose couldn’t hold back any longer, his teeth gritting.
"He claimed to be a lowly human, yet displayed overwhelming power, instantly slaughtering the elite Fang Clan warriors in the execution squad."
"Just like Your Majesty, he can use magecraft, and his close combat skill is also strong enough to overwhelm our elite warriors."
"I... I couldn’t resist, so I fought him myself, intending to remove a threat to Your Majesty, but... he escaped..."
Woodwose’s explanation caused the fairies to whisper among themselves.
Needless to say, the idea of someone who could kill the elite fairies of the Fang Clan in an instant, use magecraft like the Queen, and still escape from Woodwose had them wondering—could this person really be the Child of Prophecy?
If they knew that Woodwose had omitted the fact that the so-called human was actually briefly able to suppress him, they might have been even more shocked.
Just then, Tristan sneered.
"Hmph, who cares about magecraft? I can use it too!"
Tristan’s words not only didn’t earn admiration from the other fairies, but what she earned was disdain instead.
In the next moment, the other clan heads began to speak as well.
"Someone who could escape from Woodwose’s hands and use magecraft—such abilities certainly deserve the title of savior." Spriggan smiled slyly.
"A human?" Aurora seemed to ponder it.
"Now that you mention it, I’d like to meet him." Muryan chuckled softly.
As the clan heads spoke one after another, the silent Gawain finally spoke up.
"So you let him escape? No wonder you’re angrier than usual today."
Gawain then raised her head and looked at the Queen on the throne.
"Should I go after him, Your Majesty?"
Upon hearing this, the fairies in the throne room immediately fell silent.