"Tehe…" Vivi chuckled, pointing at her cheeks and tilting her head innocently.
"What did I tell you about messing with other people's emotions?"
"But…but…but this Nation is so yummy! Everyone's emotions are so heightened that we can eat all of them!"
The other Fairies finally revealed themselves, all showing up above the players' heads.
"That doesn't excuse you all from interfering with other people's lives."
Michael was mad at himself for letting the Fairies loose on his nation. They were like a feral dog who had been caged up their whole lives and he had just presented them with a buffet of bones and meat. No wonder they couldn't help themselves.
It was also his fault that he hadn't made the roller coaster yet.
Vivi and the other Fairies all bowed their heads in shame once they saw Michael's disappointment in them.
"Sorry…" Vivi muttered, with her hands behind her back.
The other Fairies followed suit and apologized to the baseball players for interfering with their work.
"It's okay, boss," said one of the players. "It's just an exhibition game anyway. And they'll become Rebornian in the future, right? So that means we're family."
"Yeah, we're fine with it."
"I should even thank them. Trying to hit a wild ball like that helps me improve my game."
Despite being toyed with, the Rebornian baseball players weren't all that mad upon discovering the Fairies' pranks.
Instead, they were quite understanding of their situation. Even though they didn't know much about Fairies, they did know that they needed emotions to sustain themselves.
Lolo had told them that the Fairies were Michael's guests, so it was their responsibility as Rebornians to make them feel as accommodated as possible. If it meant losing a meaningless game to help them feel happy and content, then they were more than okay with it.
The players then introduced themselves to the Fairies, expressing their disbelief at their existence. Many thought they were just myths, but here they were, in the lands of Reborn.
The Fairies were quite surprised at the Rebornians' reactions. They didn't know what to do.
Whenever they had pranked someone for their emotions, their victims would always feel repulsed by the Fairies. They would detest their actions and run away from them—or worse, try to kill them.
After all, being toyed around like that wasn't a pleasant experience. It made them feel vulnerable, which was why most reactions were a fight or flight response.
But for the first time in all their lives, they were being welcomed by their victims. The Rebornians were all well-adjusted and content. They knew that the Fairies didn't mean any harm, and they didn't get any hurt by their actions.
They all stood around awkwardly as the Rebornian baseball players tried to talk to them.
However, the Fairies didn't know how to. They mumbled their words, unable to say anything back.
They had always stayed in the dark, never interacting with other species. But now, they were in the spotlight.
Even the mischievous Vivi was left speechless.
"What is this?" she asked herself. There was something on her chest. A warm feeling. She couldn't quite understand it.
As Michael watched all of this unfold, a smile washed over his face.
"I just thought up your punishment," he said to them. "For now until I say so, you can't consume the emotions of anyone. Instead, you have to work and experience the Nation of Reborn for yourself. No hiding anymore."
The Fairies were horrified.
"Don't worry. It will only last until the roller coaster is constructed. If you fail, and I'll know if you do, then I'll escort you out of our Nation and you won't be able to reap the Fear from the roller coaster rides."
Vivi's face was like that of the famous 'Scream' painting.
"Good luck," he said to them. "Why don't you all start with baseball? See how hard it was to play it yourself and understand why it was so frustrating to have it be sabotaged."
…
…
…
And so, the Fairies were given an ultimatum. They couldn't consume the emotions of people until they have experienced that very emotion they would like to consume.
They want to consume the emotion of someone eating pizza for the first time? Then they should eat pizza themselves first.
They want to consume the frustration of a baseball player unable to hit the ball? Then they should try batting a ball too.
It was an eye for an eye kind of situation that Michael hoped would teach the Fairies that emotions shouldn't be toyed with.
Other Fairies adjusted quite easily, talking and interacting with people. Meanwhile, some found it quite hard and found themselves unable to show themselves to the public.
Vivi was one of those. She loved to play pranks and manipulate the emotions of someone. However, she was forbidden to do so. Michael made sure of that by having her always follow him around.
"I need…emotion…" she said, haggardly. There were dark marks under her eyelids as if she hadn't slept in two days even though Michael only implemented the rule just a few hours ago.
"Just follow me around and live life for yourself," he said to her. "Why don't you help me with my survey for our potential customers for the roller coaster?"
Michael planned to scour the whole Nation of Reborn for lots of demi-human varieties in the hopes of finding out what scared them.
For example, he just found out that DogFolk were scared of lightning. This gave Michael an idea of adding some electrical sparks in the rollercoaster to make it more scary for DogFolk.
There were plenty of other demi-human species with weird 'weaknesses' that he had yet to find out.
"Oh come on! That's boring. Can't I just consume their emotions and find out from their memories? Why do I have to ask them?" Vivi complained.
But before Michael could answer, he saw a shadow emerge beneath his feet.
It was the Shadow Orc Chieftains, Narito and Sasuki.
"What is it?" he asked them.
"BU TO TO! The Golden Road project has officially stepped foot in the Eastern forest, boss. It had been going great ever since the Fairies allowed us on their turn."
"RAH TA TA! However, another problem arose. The bandits had finally shown their hand and are planning a massive attack on our construction workers at this very moment!"
Michael knew this was serious. After many weeks of their failed attacks on Reborn territory, Blazelle and the Bastard Bandits finally had enough.
"Tell our forces to suit up. We have to protect our construction workers."
Even though he had given them all 35% chocolate pellets, he knew that it wasn't enough to protect themselves against a horde of bandits, especially on their territory.
Not only that, but Blazelle posed a very serious problem that even he was not sure he could solve.
"I have already done so, boss!" Narito said, slapping his own arms. "I have also made sure to have my High Shadows scour the area for any bandits to pick off before the confrontation starts."
"My High Shadows are protecting the construction workers as we speak. They'll be sure to protect them while waiting for the Dragonborns," Sasuki added.
Michael sat down and leaned on his knees. "How many forces are we expecting?"
"About a thousand, sir. The Bastard Bandits are a collection of diverse human and demi-human demographics."
His eyebrows raised—an idea forming in his head.
What if he multitasked? Fighting the Bastard Bandits while experimenting on roller coaster features?