I don’t know much about the fairies that exist within the Soul Academy.
By the time the player enrolled at the academy, the name of the fairy had already become a mere fantasy.
Fairies didn’t appear as monsters or allies in the game, and even when they occasionally appeared in memories, they only revealed limited information. Therefore, there was almost no information I could gather about fairies.
At best, I knew that the end they met had little to do with happiness.
That’s why, when I saw a quest window that directly mentioned the word "fairy," my eyes widened.
If it’s about a fairy’s dream, it must be talking about the Fairy Forest, right?
Long ago, the fairies, buried in darkness, fell into an eternal slumber.
The place where the Fairy Queen I faced during the trials of the Hikikomori Child lies. A place that, when this world was a game, could not be entered by any means. Can I really go there!?
Can I really go to a dungeon I’ve never known about? A new event!
New skills! New NPCs! New dungeons! New monsters and patterns! Resolution of all the planted plot points!
Is this the DLC that never came out when I was on the other side of the monitor, coming out this way?!
With great anticipation, I lowered my gaze and stared at the blue window’s text, tilting my head in confusion.
[Long ago, the Fairy Queen fell into a trap prepared by the Dark Evil God. Heroes tried to save her, but after countless sacrifices, they had to acknowledge their failure. A wizard, who thought it impossible for him to succeed, sealed the Fairy Forest in eternal slumber with the bitterness of his failure. Even now, the fairies are dreaming. They are dreaming of happy dreams, flying through the green forests and laughing mischievously. How long will they continue to dream? Is their only remaining fate to fade away in their dreams? Is there no way for them to wake up from their dreams?]
[Please share your conclusion.]
[The rewards for this quest will change depending on your achievements.]
...My conclusion?
What conclusion?
I read the quest, which seemed to just be a collection of ambiguous phrases, about two more times, frowning and leaning back in my chair.
So, basically, does this mean I have to go to the Fairy Forest and solve the problem?
But why is it phrased as if I have to choose?
Up until now, I’ve been forced to do all kinds of terrifying and repulsive things, so why is this time the one where they’re pretending to care about me?
When you think about it, it’s really no different from usual, but for some reason, it really annoys me.
It’s like one of those warning labels on toys. "We are not responsible for anything that happens," written in a way that tries to avoid responsibility.
What really irritates me is that no matter whether I like the phrasing or not, I have no choice in the matter.
A rotten game master wouldn’t just leave an unexplored area alone, would they?
Damn it! Useless god! You knew this was the only way, didn’t you? You just threw in some meaningless phrasing, saying, “There’s no blame on me,” and passed it off!
As frustration rose inside me, I started hitting the bed in annoyance, causing Erin, who had been sleeping at the head of the bed, to slowly lift her head.
She met my gaze as I fidgeted and immediately jumped out of bed.
“Ah! Miss! Have you awoken!?”
“Can’t you see?”
“How are you feeling? Is there anything strange? Are you thirsty or hungry?”
“Useless Erin. Do you think it’s right for a maid to nag her master? Stop meowing like a horny cat and shut your mouth.”
“...I’m sorry.”
I calmed Erin down and lowered the blue window before turning on the lights in the room.
It would still be a while before morning, but I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to listen to what had happened after I passed out.
“Miss.”
“What? Meow meow meow?”
“...Yes?”
“I answered in cat language because the cat kept whining. Now, cat, answer me.”
“Uh, uh? Meow?”
“Hehe. You’ll actually do that? Our cat’s a lap cat, huh?”
“No... No, that’s not it. Miss, haven’t you grown taller?”
“Hey, you little lap cat. Even you should know there are some things you can’t touch. I’m nice, merciful, and cute, but I’m not someone who’s going to tolerate obvious teasing.”
Although I like Erin, I couldn’t just let her mock me about my height.
With the useless god up in the sky, there’s no way I’d grow taller.
That jerk would be the kind of pervert to let a girl step on his head and make squeaky noises.
There’s no way he’d let me grow taller.
“No. This time, your maid is right.”
The fox, who had been sleeping under the window, stretched and quickly leapt out of the window.
“Lucy, you’ve grown a bit taller. I’ll vouch for it, since I’ve been watching you closely.”
I shuddered at the creepy words from the fox, but it seemed like what he said was trustworthy.
A pervert who’d sell his own soul just to get pretty things wouldn’t make the wrong judgment about my appearance.
With a hint of doubt, I quickly jumped out of bed and stood in front of the vanity.
‘Ha. Grandpa.’
<You’ve grown. About 1 or 2 centimeters, right?>
‘Right?! My eyes aren’t mistaken, right?! I really did grow taller?!’
The reflection in the mirror showed that, indeed, I had grown.
Someone might say it’s just a small difference, like the length of a finger, but to me, this growth meant something special.
I thought my height would never increase as long as I had the Mesugaki skill.
I thought that with the useless god imposing his boundaries on me, I would never grow!
But now—my height has grown!
What’s going on?
Why?
Why did my height grow when nothing had changed before, even when my divine rank increased and my body underwent changes?
There must be a reason!
My now-augmented intelligence, free from the “foolish” label, soon provided the answer.
A miracle.
The miracle of purification!
That’s what made me grow taller!
I’m sure of it! There’s no other factor that could make my height increase!
...Wait a minute. Isn’t this a little strange?
The reason my height didn’t grow was due to the penalty of the Mesugaki skill.
And I, Lucy, was given the Mesugaki skill by the useless god.
The purification miracle is supposed to be a force that defeats evil, so why would it affect the penalty of the Mesugaki skill?
Is it because it’s a miracle? A powerful skill that undoes penalties, regardless of who the enemy or ally is?
But if it’s supposed to resolve penalties, shouldn’t my tone of speech also change?
Why hasn’t my tone changed?
Does this mean I can’t completely resolve the penalty of the Mesugaki skill with the power I currently possess?
...
Ugh. My head hurts.
Since I can’t properly analyze the mechanism of the skill right now, I don’t know what’s what.
But there are a few things I’m sure of.
The purification miracle is the key to saving me from the Mesugaki skill!
And to fully overcome this, I need even more pure and powerful divinity!
Lastly, I have achievements to reach in order to raise my divine rank!
[How long will the fairies continue to sleep?]
The question posed by the useless god is simple.
The night is over.
All that remains is to steal the blankets from those who had been sleeping in the darkness under the covers.
Heh heh.
Heh heh heh.
Useless god. You said you’d provide rewards depending on my achievements, right?
I understand. I’ll prepare a truly splendid scene for you.
A scene that even the pathetic Agra can’t help but admire.
There’s no time to rest for a while. I’ve got things to prepare. Procedures to overcome. People to gather to wrap this up properly.
I’ve got plenty to do.
Ah, of course, I should deal with the midterms first, but that’s no problem.
I’ve studied with Joy, and with my intelligence raised, what’s there to worry about?
Alright! Come at me, midterms! I’ll show you that I can crush you even without the help of Dice God!
After spending the night planning on paper, I saw the morning sun rise and stepped out of my room.
Although my plans weren’t finished yet, seeing my friends’ faces was more important right now.
I had heard from the fox, the sword, and Erin that my friends were okay, but it’d feel better to see them with my own eyes.
More importantly, I have to tell them that I’ve grown by a whole 1.3 centimeters!
Feeling my tailor-made uniform feeling a bit tight around the shoulders, I smirked and proudly lifted my chin.
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<You grew only that much, and your clothes aren’t going to fit, right?>
‘Shut up! What do you know about clothes, old man! Don’t ruin my mood and stay quiet!’
<Heh. Did the little growth come with puberty too?>
Ignoring my grandfather’s annoying comments, I walked toward the academy plaza, where a large group of students had gathered and were buzzing around.
What’s going on? Why are so many people gathering here from early morning? Seems like there’s some announcement.
Ugh. Even on tiptoe, I can’t see in front of me. Why does this guy have to be so tall and in the way?
“Hey.”
I called out with annoyance, and the person in front of me furrowed their brows and turned to face me. As soon as our eyes met, they flinched and stepped back.
“Damn it, tall idiot.”
“Yes, yes!”
“Get lost. You smell.”
“Yes! I’ll leave!”
Lucy’s hidden skill of "people-biting" was still effective.
Naturally, a path opened, and I arrived at the front of the announcement board.
The new announcement posted there caught my eye.
Hmm. Maybe because I grew taller, I didn’t have to lift my head as much to see.
[Announcement Regarding Academy Leave of Absence]
...Leave of absence?
[In light of the recent incident, we deeply regret the responsibility...]
[We will refurbish the facilities and replenish personnel...]
[The midterms will be postponed to the next semester...]
Wait. Wait a minute. The midterms are postponed?!
What happens to all the studying I’ve done?!
What about the effort I put in for the midterms?!