For as long as Baiyi can remember — even as far back as his time on Earth — he had never liked druids. This was because of the bad experience he had with certain card games. This dislike extended to the druids of this world.

  ‘Why would this tree suddenly assume the role of a father and “bless” us in a ceremony? This cheap wife is…… well, someone I got from a random misunderstanding! Maybe, due to his age, this tree dude has become senile, causing his thought process to deviate from the norm!’

  Then again, due to how much trouble the Fairy Walker had caused her own village, it would make sense if they sought to marry her off to an outsider as quickly as possible so that she would leave them be. If that really was the case, then it was pretty smart of them.

  Baiyi turned to look at the Fairy Walker after realizing that he may have just fallen into a trap. The Fairy Walker had lowered her head like a sweet, submissive wife, and even though the facemask of the old militia armor she was currently possessing did not have the ability to make facial expressions, Baiyi still swore he could sense her grinning; it was a sly “I’ve got him now” kind of smile.

  It was at that point that Baiyi recalled bits of events he had seen in the Fairy Walker’s memories. When a couple finally tied the knot, it was customary for them to be blessed by the most eminent figure in the village. This figure was none other than their guardian and most venerated elder great druid. The newly married couple were blessed so that they can live happily ever after; there was no doubt that the Fairy Walker had seen this process many times before, in the past.

  This would explain why she did not put up a fight when she realized that the Gale Snipers were not taking the group to Eom Village; she was complicit in the scheme. As someone who had no interest in watching fairies get married, Baiyi had chosen to forget those parts of the Fairy Walker’s memories, but now that he finally recalled it, he realized that he had been played!

  At that point, he could envision the two Puffing Piggies, the Assassin Walker and the Warrior Walker, going crazy in the Void, while in tears! Especially the Assassin Walker, who was poking Baiyi with all her might at that point.

  This development could not be helped, however, because the Fairy Walker was too experienced and proactive. All she required was a little bit of planning; the Assassin Walker and the Warrior Walker did not stand a chance……

  ‘Plus, it wasn’t my fault! I’m a victim too, you guys! Who would want to marry a militia armor? One that has had too many people inserted into it already; wait, not that kind of insertion! Do—don’t even go there!’

  As these thoughts were roaming free in Baiyi’s head, causing chaos in his mind, Little Mia yanked his arm from behind and innocently asked, “Mr. Hope, what did you say to Mr. Tree? Your face has been green for a while now — owww! Why are you pinching my cheeks?”

  How would one feel if their daughter tells me that they “were green all over”?

  They would feel very, very sad!

  Very unwillingly, Baiyi did not object to the strange marriage rite, and his mood dipped to an all-day low; unlike him, however, the Fairy Walker was feeling pretty enthusiastic. At that point, Grandfather Tree, who probably did not think he had caused enough damage already, turned to the two Gale Snipers and instructed, “The two of you need to return to the village first. Tell the Elder that Sylvia ‘the monstrous maelstrom’ Sidhe has returned, so some preparations will be needed.”

  ‘Ummmmm……’ Baiyi was sure that whatever preparation the great druid was talking about would not be one used to welcome visitors.

  \r \r \r

  After the Gale Snipers left, Grandfather Tree switched bodies from the sapling to a small patch of shrubs situated closer to Baiyi’s group. After that, he used his ability to manipulate plants to make some benches out of broken twigs and fallen leaves for Baiyi and the others to sit.

  “So, for what reason have you come to visit? I believe that it was much more than because you were homesick, isn’t it?” The shrub asked the Fairy Walker.

  She replied, “I just want to bring him home for everyone to see!” After saying that, she moved closer to Baiyi, and her face reddened even more.

  ‘If you could at least assume your original appearance, I would not mind the close proximity between us. However, I’m curious; do you even remember that you’re only an old militia armor set right now?’ Baiyi thought in wonder. He sensed Grandfather Tree’s gaze on him, so he began to explain himself.

  Baiyi told the shrub that all he sought was a very good archery teacher for his academy, conveniently leaving out the part about the Caudillo Butterfly bow.

  “Oh, is that so? I thought you were here for the Caudillo Butterfly bow,” the shrub replied, causing Baiyi to feel quite guilty.

  Grandfather Tree’s gaze shifted to Baiyi students. “These children are so adorable! Their gazes are innocent, and some of them are perfectly suited to study the way of the druids……”

  One could clearly see that he was referring to Zakum the fox.

  “Grandfather Tree thinks you all would make great druids,” Baiyi said, translating the shrub’s speech to human language for his students.

  Since Zakum the fox and Potter the owl were wild animals, they were drawn to the talking shrub and approached it closely, with eyes brimming with curiosity. At that point, Sunny the sunflower was humming a tune out of confidence.

  The feeling was mutual. The shrub extended some tendrils to shake hands with the non-human students. “You taught them so well even though they are of a different species than you. You really are an exceptional educator. I’ll be delighted to help you with your plans.”

  However, Baiyi was too embarrassed to tell him that the students were very different from the courteous appearance they currently had on. On the contrary, he almost gaslit the fox into becoming a house dog.

  However, since the great druid had already expressed its willingness to help, who was Baiyi to refuse? Even if he was unable to get his hands on the Caudillo Butterfly bow, in the end, he would still consider bringing someone back to teach archery a major harvest. However, that teacher had to be a female fairy!

  Suddenly, the Fairy Walker steered the conversation in a direction that Baiyi had not been able to. “Tree Gramps, how did the news of the Caudillo Butterfly bow leak? Was someone from the village responsible?”

  As the previous owner of the bow, the Fairy Walker had the right to ask this. Baiyi was also interested in the answer.

  “The village would never betray the bow like that. Besides, even if the news was leaked by someone from the village, nobody would believe it,” the great druid replied. “This was the work of someone who has a respectable and credible position. This is the only explanation for why so many have come seeking the bow.”

  “Has this disturbed the peace enjoyed by the villagers?” Baiyi asked, acting as concerned as a son-in-law would.

  “The children are strong enough to protect themselves. Besides, the bear and the horses are always helping,” the great druid replied in confidence.

  The bear he spoke about was the same bear whose stash of food was stolen by the young Fairy Walker, and the horses here were the male horse, the female horse, and their ponies, all who were pranked constantly by the young Fairy Walker.

  Unlike this great druid, the horses and bear were real beasts — or more correctly, mystical beasts — similar to the Zakum the fox and the Potter the owl. They were sentient like humans and possessed strong supernatural powers. They just chose not to take the young Fairy Walker seriously, else the bear would have long since had her for breakfast in winter.

  These beings — the horses, bear, and Grandfather Tree — were the guardians of the woods and the village. Supported by the skilled Gale Snipers and the Zephyr with her Caudillo Butterfly bow, Eom Village was a force to be reckoned with. These guardians occupied a large place in the hearts of everyone in the Fairy Kingdom because they were powerful and defended the traditions of the fairies. No secular fairy was foolish enough to provoke them.

  As soon as Eom village announced that it would not be receiving any more visitors, the woods were instantly cleared of treasure hunters. This alone was enough to convince anyone that Eom village had a large amount of influence in the Fairy Kingdom.

  This was also the reason why everyone instantly believed the rumors that the divine Caudillo Butterfly bow was in the Eom village.

  “Then, who could have leaked the news? If culprit was not someone from our village, then it could only be……” the Fairy Walker slowly murmured, with an expression of hesitation on her face as though she was unwilling to accept her deduction.

  “Yes. Apart from those in our village, the only person who knew about it is the Fairy King,” the druid said with a sad expression.

  The Fairy King was the ruler of the Fairy Kingdom; he should have been called an Emperor, instead. The first king of the fairies died immediately after he had spent all his effort turning a small fairy state into a kingdom; that was why he was not crowned emperor.

  The next king to inherit the throne was a modest and fair ruler. When someone asked him to become an emperor, the king refused, saying, “The founder of our empire, his highness the first king, never called himself an emperor, so who am I to so boldly claim the title when I am not deserving of it?”

  The second king retained his title and brought the fairy kingdom to a higher level of prosperity.

  Out of respect for the two great kings, other kings that came after them did not declare themselves the emperor. After generations had passed, the people of the Fairy Kingdom began to see every king as their emperor.

  As the ruler of the Fairy Kingdom, it was not out of the ordinary that the current Fairy King would know all about the Caudillo Butterfly bow. That being the case, why would he leak the whereabouts of the kingdom’s most prized asset? It was clear that he did not do it while talking in his sleep.

  “The village penned a letter to the king, asking for an explanation, and the official reply stated that the Fairy King had accidentally spilled the news during a meeting; after that, the leak spread outward through the official vassals. The office of the king said that they were walking on resolving this matter,” explained the great druid. “Of course, I have long since stayed away from the conflicts of the mundane world, so you may find more answers you seek from the elder in the village.”

  “And that is all. Now, please excuse us. I have something I would like to discuss with him in private,” Grandfather Tree finished.

  Baiyi was a little bemused. ‘What could this guy possibly want to talk about now? Surely it would not be instructions on how to tame a stallion as wild as the Fairy Walker, right? Or does he plan to share some cringy details from her past which I could use to blackmail her?’

  With these questions running rampant in his head, Baiyi asked the Fairy Walker and the students for some privacy, then he conjured a silencing barrier around him and Grandfather Tree. “Most respected Great Druid, what would you like to talk about?”

  The great druid momentarily glanced at the barrier with interest before turning to face Baiyi. “My friend! Can you……feel my anxiety?”It could be any kind of card game, but I think he meant Hearthstone.Guys, I’m getting Future Diary flashbacks here! Can someone help me by playing an episode (EP8 would do) of Mob Psycho 100 to flush away those memories?As stated before, “green” means infidelity in Chinese neologism. “To be colored green” means your spouse had totally done the deed with someone else!