Chapter 10……………………………………………
“Should we go in? Ah, we should knock.”
Laseil, who had been about to open the cabin door right away, tapped lightly on it instead.
The conversation inside stopped abruptly, and someone stepped out.
“…!”
Rujea, standing behind, flinched slightly when he saw the person who emerged.
Where a head should’ve been, there sat a giant present box.
“A guest?”
“A guest?”
“Are you a guest?”
“Invite them.”
“Let’s invite them.”
“Let them inside.”
It was clearly one person speaking, but several overlapping voices could be heard.
While Laseil was taking a moment to assess the situation, the figure grabbed him and pulled him inside.
“Hey!”
He wasn’t lacking the strength to resist, but he followed along so pathetically that Rujea couldn’t believe it.
After being annoyed for a brief moment, Rujea had no choice but to go inside as well.
Why is the inside so normal?
He expected a decrepit shack, but the interior was almost too cozy—disgustingly so.
Rujea had always hated when ghosts awkwardly tried to mimic humans.
“It’s nice and warm.”
Meanwhile, Laseil hurried to look around inside.
The fireplace crackled warmly, and the long dining table was filled with dishes.
Perfectly roasted meat, steaming stew, bread and butter, cups full of chocolate…
It looked like something out of a Christmas party.
If only the people sitting at the table weren’t all repeating the exact same motions with empty eyes.
Are they possessed?
Everyone started laughing at the same time and stopped at the same time.
And without touching the food, they kept pretending to eat in an endless loop.
Hmm.
When curious, asking was always the best solution.
Without hesitation, Laseil turned to the present-box figure, who seemed to be the owner of the cabin.
“Did you invite us?”
“Invite them.”
“I invited you.”
“I like guests.”
“Guests.”
Beside him, Rujea looked appalled.
But he soon calmed himself, placed a hand on his sword hilt, and sat down on a nearby chair.
It seemed he wanted to be ready to draw his sword if needed.
“You invited the others too?”
“I invited them.”
“The more guests the better.”
“Right.”
“Guests are nice.”
“Even when we waved, they always ignored us.”
“…!”
So the person waving in the woods was this cabin’s owner.
One mystery solved—though a mountain of problems remained.
“You brought them here because they ignored your invitation?”
“Yes.”
“We called them so many times.”
“The holidays are coming soon.”
“They must not have anywhere to return to.”
Holiday?
After thinking for a moment, Laseil remembered the upcoming holy-day festival—a week-long holiday originating from the state religion.
Most people returned home and spent the holiday eating with their families.
“Why only this year?”
“The forest helped.”
“The forest likes guests.”
“The forest is sometimes kind.”
“But a little scary.”
“…”
The body of the figure in front of them seemed to blur slightly.
After watching for a moment, Laseil swung his sword and slashed the figure.
“Are you insane?”
“Ah, as I thought.”
The human figure scattered, and several shimmering lights floated around.
Fairies.
“Sorry, that was sudden.”
“It’s okay.”
“We thought we’d be found out.”
“It’s because someone stupid was here.”
“We like guests.”
“…”
Rujea, who had sprung to his feet, sat back down immediately.
Talking to something you just cut down, and something you just got cut down yet still talking—both were insane.
They were a perfect match for each other. They could deal with it.
“Handle it yourselves…”
It was basically a declaration: I can’t follow this conversation, so you solve it.
Though, if something really went wrong, he would jump in to help.
“What did you mean the forest cooperated? Was there an owner?”
“The birch tree.”
“The eyes on the birch tree.”
“It always took my guests.”
“What?”
As far as Laseil knew, everyone who entered the forest always returned safely.
That was why the recent disappearances had become a problem.
“Does that tree send people back?”
“No.”
“It’s fake.”
“They’re all fake.”
“It’s pretending to be human.”
“…Why?”
Laseil asked seriously. No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t make sense.
Why bother pretending to be human just to do this?
“It looks fun.”
“It wants to eat the villagers.”
“What happened to the people it took?”
“They’re still in the forest.”
“Will you take your guests away?”
“I don’t want to.”
“Okay.”
Laseil hadn’t expected them to release the guests so easily.
Fairies rarely let go of humans they’d gotten hold of.
Which meant persuasion was necessary.
“But you still have to let them go.”
Laseil sat at the table and immediately began explaining.
“Because humans rot.”
“…?”
Rujea gave him a look like what are you talking about?
But Laseil continued undeterred.
Fairies, who never encountered anything disgusting, hated such things intensely.
Avoiding unpleasantness was more important to them than hosting guests.
“Besides, the food here is fairy food—they can’t eat any of it. Oh, when humans rot, they look like—”
Rujea sighed softly and let his mind drift elsewhere.
He knew all too well how graphic Laseil’s explanations could get.
He had zero desire to vividly imagine the decomposition of a human corpse.
“…And then the human…”
The fairy lights floating before Laseil slowly grew dimmer.
It seemed they were shocked by the horrifying story they never normally encountered.
“We didn’t know.”
“Should we send them back?”
“We don’t want them dying.”
“We’ll send them.”
“Oh, thanks.”
Laseil glanced toward the table. The people sitting there were slowly regaining focus in their eyes.
He started to relax—then looked back at the fairies.
“Who’s the forest owner? How do we find the people it took?”
“We were joking.”
“It was a lie.”
“We thought you’d get scared and leave.”
“It was a story to drive you out.”
“…”
He should have remembered how good fairies were at lying.
Still, everything was resolved now. That was what mattered.
“Shall we go?”
“….”
This time it was Rujea who was speechless. Laseil ignored it and prepared to leave.
“Why are we…?”
And the people at the table slowly regained awareness as well.
Since Laseil had gotten busy by accidentally breaking the door while leaving, explaining fell to Rujea.
“You’re awake? No questions about the forest. If you want to go home, get up now. Exit’s that way.”
Nobody said he’d be kind about it.
Because the explanation was so abrupt, everyone actually followed it obediently.
“No, not that way—this way.”
After finally fixing the door completely, Laseil joined in the explanation.
“One at a time, slowly. Thanks for the invitation.”
He didn’t forget to thank the fairies before heading out.
Better to make sure everyone leaves before I go.
Just in case someone got dragged elsewhere again, he decided to wait.
Rujea grumbled a bit but ended up waiting with him.
Is that everyone?
After confirming no one was left inside, Laseil headed off.
Warm cocoa would be served with dinner, and he wanted to get back before it cooled.
“…Didn’t we pass this spot already?”
“We did.”
But no matter how long they walked, the forest exit didn’t get any closer.
If anything, it seemed to get farther.
“The forest wasn’t like this before, right?”
“Of course not.”
They had already passed the same tree for the fifth time.
It was probably the “forest owner” the fairies mentioned causing this.
Since too many people had been taken recently…
“…Doesn’t this seem right?”
Laseil’s intuition told him so.
Rujea’s thoughts, however—
“What? I don’t know.”
He wasn’t thinking at all.
“Just think of a way out.”
“Hmm.”
That, at least, made sense.
Leaning against a tree, Laseil pondered again.
“If the forest owner appears once we wander long enough, that must be it, right?”
If so, the solution seemed obvious.
“If we catch it first and cut it or beat it up, maybe it’ll let us out.”
“Hold on.”
Rujea started to object—but closed his mouth.
He couldn’t think of a better plan.
