Chapter 126: Blessing of the World

“Looks like you doubt me.”

“No, it’s not that…”

The Fairy King brushed off the human’s denial as he organized his box of herbs. He hadn’t said it with any particular intention, so he didn’t care what the response was.

Instead, he grabbed the human, who was subtly trying to back away, and scanned him from head to toe.

A frail physique, a body that looked weak at a glance. The distinct red eyes, setting him apart from other humans, were sensitive to light, hindering his activities rather than helping, ultimately offering no positive aspects.

“…Still can’t figure it out.”

Why was the world paying attention to this human? He couldn’t understand it at all.

As the leader of the fairy race, sensitive to the world’s will and flow, he had known from the moment he first saw him.

The world expected something from this human.

He didn’t know what it was. The world hadn’t directly told him, and he hadn’t entered the world’s mind—not that it even had a ‘mind’—so there was no way to know. All he could do was speculate.

“When did it start, the world paying attention to this guy?”

Even if he didn’t know for sure, it must have been quite a while ago. These movements of the world had been observed for a long time. When was the first time he discovered the flow… about ten years ago?

Yet, he had only encountered him directly recently. Since he hadn’t planned the meeting, it had been fleeting.

An unexpected first meeting. Though very brief, it was enough time for the Fairy King to observe him and the thoughts that came to mind were doubt and suspicion.

Was this frail human really the one the world was watching? Just a weak human with a slightly strong scent of blood. Could the world have made a wrong judgment?

He narrowed his eyes. He could see the world subtly and diligently reinforcing that weak body.

…At this rate, it was like pouring water into a bottomless pit. The Fairy King clicked his tongue lightly and turned his gaze away.

“If there’s nothing special physically, is it paying attention because of a special circumstance?”

It was still too early to doubt the world’s judgment. The world wasn’t a person with a body and emotions, but a system. A system that calculated and judged situations more coldly than anyone else, and it had only made a mistake once so far.

Let’s see, what was his situation?

The only human who travels between the Human and Demon Realms. He’d heard that the ruler of the Empire, the heart of the Human Realm, and the Demon King both valued him, placing him in important positions.

“…Ah, wait a minute.”

It was then that the Fairy King thought of a possibility.

He retraced his thoughts. He shifted his gaze back to observe the human, his mind working.

Observing more closely, he saw it. The body the world was reinforcing. This wasn’t reinforcement to make the body stronger or healthier.

“Reinforcement and modification to better accept the world’s power.”

If his health had improved, it would have been a byproduct of this process.

“That’s it.”

That was it.

Now he understood why the leader of the merfolk had deliberately touched his shoulder while saying those words.

[The Demon King will die by the hand of the Hero who will be born this time.]

With a fresh look, he examined the human before him. White hair, pale skin, eyes as red as blood.

Among those features, the Fairy King gazed into his eyes, which seemed to hold ordinary emotions yet felt strange, and quietly agreed.

“The next Hero is you.”

The world had been considering you as a Hero candidate for a very long time.

***

Not long ago, there was a Hero who worried about a comrade even as he died.

Since he worried about his comrade even in death, ‘If I die, my comrade, who doesn’t even possess a fragment of the Hero’s power, will be killed by the Demon King.’

So, he offered his soul and strongly wished,

[Please save him.]

The world replied,

[I have been watching him for a long time.]

***

But there was an unresolved question.

“Human, Deon Hart, hasn’t been traveling between the Demon and Human Realms for very long.”

He wasn’t sure, but he knew it had only been about two years at most.

The world had been paying attention to him for ten years. What on earth had happened back then?

“…Let’s stop thinking about it.”

The Fairy King stopped his thoughts.

Thinking about it further wouldn’t lead to an answer.

“More importantly, it chose this human as the next Hero…”

Not knowing the reason why, he couldn’t help but think the world was going through unnecessary trouble. Previous Heroes had also undergone bodily modifications without their knowledge to accept the power given by the world, but they hadn’t undergone this much modification.

It was just a modification to accept the ‘Hero’s power,’ yet it was almost like completely rebuilding him.

“You must have felt it vaguely too. Haven’t you ever thought you were strangely lucky?”

“…”

“Surviving situations where you should have died, and even in situations where you should have suffered permanent injuries, you always end up with injuries you can recover from.”

He peeled off the muscle-strengthening herbs. Clean hands and wrists were revealed. As if checking their condition, he gently stroked the wrist area before suddenly grabbing and pulling it.

The light body was pulled in effortlessly. Red eyes, which had been calmly lowered, were now looking up at him. With the distance between them closing, the Fairy King growled softly.

“Honestly, you probably tend to act recklessly because you believe in this.”

“…”

The world’s blessing was thick. It was completely enveloping this human.

That meant he had faced many near-death experiences, and the world had directly shielded him from death many times.

The world rarely intervened directly. It had severely suffered from the aftermath, problems, and unexpected side effects of intervention, realizing its danger, and was still working to fix those side effects.

For the world like that to protect his life directly, just what was this human….

“Have you ever felt that your body was strange? Like you suddenly had more power than expected, or you endured impacts better than you thought you would. Especially in life-threatening situations, your physical condition would fluctuate for the better. But when you checked to see if you had gotten healthier, it would be no different from usual.”

“…”

…Well, it seems he himself is confused.

The world’s attention was both a blessing and a curse. Certain that the human before him would not have a smooth life, he felt a touch of pity before letting go of his wrist and turning away.

He had healed the wounds of the human the world was watching, so he could worry less about ruining the entrusted seeds.

“Then, let’s proceed with the tour….”

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty!”

He had promised, and feeling a bit of pity, he was about to guide him through the forest as planned when small fairies came fluttering over.

Unlike their usual playful and cheerful selves, their faces looked urgent.

“Magical beasts! Magical beasts are invading!”

“…Demon King!”

He couldn’t help but grind his teeth.

***

Magical beasts had invaded. In the Demon King’s territory!

Even where the leaders of other races were. Had their senses dulled that much? Or had they suddenly gone mad and lost all fear?

Without even having time to process the memory lapse from the earlier conversation, I hastily followed the Fairy King back to where the Demon King was. Seeing the Fairy King glaring at the Demon King as if he wanted to kill him, I flinched and stopped in my tracks. His aura was so terrifying that even the always composed Demon King’s lips twitched.

“…I’ll handle it.”

“Of course. But those things, they seem to have lost their survival instincts….”

To invade a place where the leaders of each race were gathered.

The fairies flying around the Fairy King added their voices to his muttering.

“They’ve gotten stronger!”

“They’ve become scarier!”

“They drank a strange brown liquid and became like that!”

Huh? Wait, the last one… what did he say?

The leaders of the races wouldn’t miss what I noticed. Having realized the importance of the last words, they all looked at the fairy child.

“Brown liquid?”

“Yes! They drank a strange brown liquid and became stronger!”

“…Does this mean it’s a plot targeting our race?”

Oh, it seems like I’ve gotten caught up in something I really don’t want to be involved in. Can I go home now?

Whether he didn’t notice my gaze or pretended not to, the Demon King didn’t even glance at me and tilted his head.

“And it had to happen when I and the merfolk leader are here?”

“That’s strange too. We need to investigate further. After dealing with these damn magical beasts, of course.”

Hurry up and deal with them.

At my silent urging, the Demon King sighed and nodded, then turned to look at me.

Surely he’s not asking me to go with him. Contrary to my rising tension, he smiled and told me to stay here.

“It’s not that I doubt your abilities, but since it’s your first time here, you might get lost. It’ll also be difficult to distinguish you when using wide-area magic.”

Then, of course, I should wait here. I would have happily obliged even without that explanation.

But wide-area magic? Wasn’t magic prohibited? He himself ordered it….

“That’s right, he himself issued the order.”

In other words, the authority to revoke the order or make exceptions also rested in his hands.

It’s okay for me, but not for the others? His mindset is truly like a Demon King’s.

In any case, it was unrelated to me, so I withdrew my interest and obediently nodded.

“Please be careful on your way.”

After the Demon King disappeared, I looked around to assess the atmosphere. Perhaps because he was the one I encountered most often among those present, Hien, clutching the seed in his arms with an anxious look, was the first to catch my eye.

“…He’s still….”

Focusing on that annoying gardener was just for a moment. Let’s just not think about it. It’s best not to pay attention to him here. Agreeing with the familiar command to ignore from my head, I glanced at the Fairy King.

As if sensing my gaze, he glanced back to locate the source, acknowledged me, and then snapped his fingers. The fairy from before appeared silently once again and bowed respectfully.

“Bring me that brown liquid.”

“Understood.”

Having experienced it once before, I wasn’t surprised and watched the entire process of him disappearing. This time, he had also been thorough about keeping his mouth shut, so there were no mistakes like before.

In the newly quiet space, the Fairy King turned to the mermaid queen. When had she entered? She was in the pond, swaying her fins and leaning her arms on the water’s edge.

“Who did this, and with what intention?”

“Indeed. Even if we suspect humans, it’s questionable if they could even come this far. And since humans only know about the existence of demons and are not well aware of other races, they aren’t suitable as culprits.”

“Even if we try to assume that someone from our own race did it, there’s no reason to. Nor is there a situation that would lead to it.”

“Suspecting the Demon King is also lacking in reason. The Demon King is the type to suppress things with force if he’s dissatisfied, and he’s currently gone to deal with the magical beasts….”

“What about you?”

Something I feel every time the Fairy King opens his mouth is that his tone is really sharp. You could say it makes the listener feel unpleasant.

If I were that mermaid, I would be quite annoyed. It’s not even rephrasing, just ‘What about you?’

“Is that the mouth that invites trouble?”

With this, even fights that wouldn’t happen could break out….

Fortunately, the mermaid queen, who had a good personality like her first impression, didn’t take his tone to heart. Her calm voice flowed out gently.

“I have no reason to do so either. What would I use magical beasts that I can’t control for, even making them stronger? Moreover, I’m here. If the magical beasts push all the way here, I’m the one in the most danger.”

“That… is true.”

“Then, among those here, the remaining ones are….”

Hien and me.

Their heads turned towards me and then shifted to Hien. Seeing him holding the moldy… no, the contaminated seed preciously, they both shook their heads as if thinking the same thing.

“It’s not him.”

“It’s not that demon.”

I’ve cleared suspicion at once. Congratulations, Hien.