58 – Episode 58
# 58
Now, the elves and dwarves, who have clearly become the stereotypes of fantasy, actually share the same roots. They all originated from Western fairy legends.
The person who created the initial models of elves and dwarves familiar to modern people is none other than the towering figure, JRR Tolkien.
When Tolkien created the races of elves and dwarves, or rather, the legendarium, he drew inspiration from various ideas in Norse mythology, including runes, elves, and dwarves.
In Norse mythology, the dwarves were skilled craftsmen who could produce items that even the gods admired…
The dwarves absorbed this craftsmanship attribute, and thus the stereotype of “dwarves as a skilled artisan race” was completed.
The story has become lengthy, but anyway.
It wasn’t strange for the fairies in front of Ian to bring up the topic of weaving.
“We fairies raise silkworms as livestock. We weave fabric using the power of the sun and moon stored in the silkworm’s thread, and we call it ‘jinneungla’.”
“Jin… what?”
Faced with an unexpected translation issue, Ian scratched his head. This wasn’t a martial arts novel. The fairy language felt somewhat exotic.
“Ah, you’re talking about Fairy Silk.”
Inrian pretended to know. It was a warm pretense of knowledge.
This is much easier to understand. It means the silk of fairies.
“What is that?”
“Quite literally, it refers to the cloth woven by fairies. It’s cloth that flows with magic.”
“Magic?”
“They say it’s cool in summer and warm in winter… I haven’t seen it myself a few times. It’s such a precious item that it’s worth calling it expensive.”
Inrian explained kindly.
Fairy Silk was a fantastic scam item that one might see in a fantasy world.
It’s pretty, soft, and protects the wearer from bothersome temperature changes.
Naturally, it was an item that only someone as important as a king of a solid kingdom could touch.
But now, in front of Ian, were these fairies who could create such expensive and precious items.
The fairies bowed their heads flat.
“We wove the cloth with the sword that the magician has when our craftsmanship was bad. You may not know, but that sword was created by our queen long ago, with the help of great craftsmen! Although it was once borrowed by humans, it is a sword that has been passed down through generations in our race!”
The fairies shouted in unison.
“Please return the sword!”
“Return it!”
“Return it!”
Watching the fairies shout together, Ian had a headache.
That damn sword had quite a story behind it.
To begin with, Ian had no intention of handing over the sword.
It was the rightful reward for helping Lucy. Whatever the fairies had used it for, it had nothing to do with Ian.
“I don’t want to.”
When Ian expressed his refusal, one of the fairies quietly protested.
“If you’re going to take our belongings like that, we won’t stay quiet either.”
Ian frowned as he looked at the protesting fairy.
“Oh, really?”
In response, the irritated owl, Suri, screeched fiercely.
Caw!
“eeek!”
The fairies collectively covered their heads and trembled.
It seemed that, due to their small size, they resembled prey to the large birds of prey.
“Stay still for a moment. Do you want to eat more meat if you’re bored?”
Ian fed Suri a piece of meat, while discreetly gauging the fairies’ reactions.
It seemed like they were afraid of Suri. This guy could be some kind of threat.
But Ian had no intention of scaring them right away.
As he had seen in the Fairy Queen’s tomb, fairies were a race that wielded strange powers. There was no need to risk his life by meddling with them for no reason.
Ian decided to try persuading the fairies for now.
“Let me ask one thing. Why is the magic sword yours?”
Then, the fairy replied confidently.
“Well, it’s because it’s something we used!”
This was the fairy’s reasoning.
Originally, the magic of the magic sword was unstable, and if it weren’t for the fairies’ maintenance, the magic could have disappeared.
To put it metaphorically, it was like a dead battery.
But because the fairies used and maintained such magic swords, even though the nominal owner might be a human, the real owner was the fairies.
“But isn’t the owner supposed to be Lord Talien?”
“W-Well, that…”
When Ian brought up the point, the fairies hesitated.
However, one clever fairy shouted.
“But the descendants of Lord Talien abandoned the sword for hundreds of years! In comparison, we consistently went into the graveyard and used the sword!”
“…”
It’s theft. Crazy bastard.
It’s not something to brag about.
“But can you claim to be the owner of that magic sword?”
I roughly understood what the fairies were saying.
They were angry because humans who hadn’t even bothered to look for it or show any interest suddenly appeared and took away something they had been using well.
It was a difference between nominal ownership and actual ownership, so to speak.
Even in modern law, this was a troublesome category, and in reality, it was not easy to easily side with anyone.
But Ian couldn’t just step back obediently.
How did I end up with this magical sword? Would I just hand it over to the fairies like that?
“Once again, I’ll say it. This sword was given to the Earl of Talien by the Fairy Queen. Naturally, the owner is the Earl.”
“…”
“Do you know that humans pass down belongings to their descendants? I received ownership rights from the rightful descendant of Talien. So, this sword is mine.”
Even though it was a sword given to you by your queen, are you going to take it back?
The fairies knew what Ian was touching on. That’s why they couldn’t rush in thoughtlessly.
“Ugh…”
“But…”
However, the fairies didn’t give up easily either. It seemed they had enjoyed themselves thoroughly with the magical sword.
And then, it happened.
“Stop it, everyone!”
A fairy flew out of the forest.
The fairies shouted in surprise.
“Your Majesty!”
She was the current Fairy Queen.
After sharply glancing at the fairies, the Fairy Queen bowed her head to Ian in apology.
“Our fairies have been impolite. I sincerely apologize.”
“It wasn’t really impolite.”
Drawing a sword is what would be impolite.
The fairies had only made an appearance and performed a dogeza. Ian didn’t pay much attention to it.
“Thank you for telling me.”
The queen immediately scolded the fairies.
“You all! How dare you be rude to the descendant of the benefactor! Do you think you can take away what the previous queen granted?”
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“But, Your Majesty!”
One of the fairies shouted.
“That human is not even a descendant of the benefactor, and their sword is not as precious as ours!”
“How can you judge that? Did I teach you to act so recklessly?”
“…I apologize, Your Majesty.”
The fairy queen asked Ian in a gentle voice.
“By any chance, what is your relationship with the benefactor?”
“We’re friends.”
“I see. Can you introduce me to the benefactor?”
Ian roughly understood what the queen wanted.
She might suspect that Ian is not a grave robber. She might be pretending to be friends with Lord Talien and digging for information.
If that’s the case, the queen would attack Ian without hesitation.
“Well, if you wish.”
Ian ordered Belenka to bring Lucia.
Belenka appeared with not only Lucia, but also the priest.
“Do you need a witness?”
It was a medieval-looking figure familiar with contracts.
Ian explained the situation to Lucy roughly.
“Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Yeah… I just need to prove that I’m a true Talien, right?”
The priest immediately produced documents proving Lucy’s rightful title as a viscount and the transfer of ownership of the magic sword from the Talien Viscount to the Fairy Queen.
The queen checked the documents and nodded.
“It’s unmistakably the queen’s seal. It’s genuine.”
“Well then…”
“Yes. The magic sword belongs to Ian here.”
The Fairy Queen declared.
Now the fairies couldn’t say anything else to Ian.
But the queen’s words weren’t finished yet.
“On behalf of the fairies, I formally request Ian.”
“What is it?”
“We would like to borrow your magic sword. If you wish, you can sell it too.”
In any case, it meant that they wanted to keep using the magic sword.
“What will you give me?”
“We will give you Jinneungra.”
Ingrid and the priest were surprised by the Fairy Queen’s declaration.
Jinneungra. No, Fairy Silk was an item that even the Imperial Duke found difficult to obtain.
To offer that as payment!
“Ian, what’s Fairy Silk?”
“I don’t know. It’s called Fairy Silk.”
“What?!”
Lucy, who realized the situation late, exclaimed in surprise.
As a noble of the Empire, she knew what Fairy Silk was.
They said it was more expensive than gold of the same area!
If he sold it, how much would the operating expenses of the territory be…
Ian will be rich now. I’m jealous.
That was what Lucy was thinking.
“I don’t really want to lend it…”
“Why!”
It was Lucy who shouted, even though she was talking to the Fairy Queen.
Ian looked at Lucy, bewildered.
“Why are you getting so worked up?”
“Well, it’s Fairy Silk! How can you not take it?”
“Well, it’s just silk. I’m not that interested.”
…
Lucy lost her words at Ian’s indifference, calling Fairy Silk ‘just silk’.
Wow… Ian is a real prodigy magician.
That means Lucy couldn’t find anyone crazier than him.
“I want to study magic swords more than silk.”
“Wow… You… Seriously… Wow…”
Lucy looked like she had reached enlightenment, cutting off all worldly attachments and worries, like a brush that had transcended.
But that was Lucy’s delusion.
In fact, to Ian, who was a modern person, the luxuries of this world were not that appealing.
What? There’s cool fabric for summer and warm fabric for winter?
That would be nice. But can’t you just turn on the air conditioner?
What? There’s no air conditioner?
These barbarians.
That was roughly the flow of his thoughts.
Ian, who knew the comfort of modern civilization, found it difficult to be captivated by fairy silk as much as medieval people.
He thought that studying magic swords was much more fascinating and worth researching.
Then the Fairy Queen spoke.
“What Ian desires is to explore the power of the sun and the moon, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
The queen slowly closed and opened her eyes, saying,
“If we assist you in that exploration, how would you feel?”
“Hmm…”
That was quite tempting.
“In return, lend us the power of Anorisil. In exchange, we will help with Ian’s research and provide you with a miracle pill every month.”
“Can you lend me your strength?”
“Yes. It’s not that I’m asking for the sword. I mean to share the power imbued in the sword.”