Why Did You Summon Me?
chapter-362

Chapter 362: As Bustling As A Festival

The unicorn couple was the weakest of the three guardians, and this was probably the reason why the young Fairy Walker bullied them more than the other two guardians, Mr. Bear, and Grandfather Tree. Furthermore, not only were they unable to speak, but they were also not as sentient as Mr. Bear. The only good thing about them was the fact that they were mythical beasts ¹ .

Although the unicorn did not seem to reciprocate the Fairy Walker’s enthusiasm on their reunion, there were glints of relief and happiness in its eyes, which showed that it really was glad to see her back. Its species had always maintained an image of elegance and grace, so it was probably used to toning down its emotions.

When the Fairy Walker finally released the unicorn, it led the duo to see its children. The passage of time had now seen the bullied pony of before, become the mother of a small herd of ponies.

The little ponies were also snow-white in color, and none of them were tainted by odd color patches, such as aqua blue or purple. Their eyes were large and lively, not starry like cartoons, and more importantly, these ponies did not have any weird beliefs like “friendship is magic” ² .

“Aww, look at them! They look just like you did back then.” The Fairy Walker approached the little ponies and began to gently caress their manes. The ponies, who were probably already used to the scent of fairies, did not show any animosity towards the strangers; instead, they enjoyed the petting just as much as the Fairy Walker did, and this made them appear much cuter.

Baiyi was intrigued, but he was hesitant to try petting them, as he was discouraged by his earlier experience with the sabercat cubs. The ponies, however, proved to be more friendly than the felines. They approached him of their own volition and began to sniff his hands, being more amicable than the sabercat cubs.

‘I knew it; ponies are better pets than kitties,’ Baiyi thought.

Unlike the previous two guardians, who were both wise and insightful, the unicorn had very little advice to give. This was probably because it was still young, compared to its counterparts. By the time dusk arrived, the duo bid farewell to the unicorns and returned to Eom Village.

The village was in the middle of preparing a late feast for its guests from far away. Beautiful, slender fairies could be seen walking in and out of the huts, like butterflies diving in and out of a sea of leaves. They carried with them the best food they could prepare for the buffet.

Little Mia and the other students brought the sabercat cubs along with them as they helped with the preparations. They even managed to lift a very large cauldron, which normally required five people to carry, to the village square, using magic.

When that was done, Tisdale snapped her finger lightly, and the chopped wood underneath the cauldron was set ablaze.

Although these kinds of magic were simple ones to the students, the surrounding fairies still cheered. These fairies had seen magic before, but they did not know how magic spells were ranked, so they cheered whenever they saw flashy magic spells being performed.

Zakum the fox did not look as happy as the rest. This was because it could already tell the sort of meal these fairies would cook — vegan food — the sort of food a meat-lover like it would be unhappy about.

Eom Village was so lively at that point, it no longer seemed like they were having a dinner for the guests; it now seemed as though they were having a festival or some sorts.

Baiyi shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the comparisons, feeling a little too allergic to his ” character settings ³ “.

When it was getting late in the night, the feast began. The food served was exactly what Zakum had feared it would be: nuts, berries, boiled mushrooms, baked vegetables, etc. The girls had no problem eating them, but Zakum had its gaze fixed on the juicy red meat served to the sabercat cubs. As it was one of the guests who was being celebrated, Zakum could not bring itself to snatch some of those cubs’ meat.

After the meal, everyone began to dance around a large bonfire, similar to powwows hosted by certain tribes back on Earth. However, the fairies danced more gracefully and elegantly, and their beauty comprehended their dance moves so well that the visitors could not help but feel drawn to it. Soon, the girls joined in, and it was not long before loud bouts of laughter and cheers could be heard throughout the village square.

Baiyi’s concentration was soon broken by the Fairy Walker, who had a little request of her own. “Darling, shall we dance?”

‘Aren’t you too old for this?’ Baiyi thought, unamused. Then, he replied, “Dance by yourself. I have things to think about.”

The Fairy’s reply was a disappointed “Oh…”, but she did not join the dance; instead, she shuffled close to Baiyi and leaned gently on his shoulder, watching the happy villagers dance around the bonfire.

Although Baiyi could have taken the opportunity to say or do something, he was engrossed in his thoughts, paying little attention to what was happening around him. This was not something he could help, though; after all, he had acquired so much more information on various topics than he originally expected.

‘Where could the Caudillo Butterfly bow be? What do I plan to do it? What would the Wise Mad King do next? What was that power Mr. Bear showed me? I can still feel that anxiety bubbling at the dark reaches of my mind. Even those sharp stings from the needle-like sensation has not left me…’

Furthermore, all this had happened in the Fairy Kingdom — one of the territories belonging to the Godsfall Cult — making the entire situation more complicated. How could Baiyi be in the mood to enjoy the celebrations?

Just as he was deep in thought with the other Voidwalkers, he felt something soft make contact with him. He looked down and saw one of the sabercat cubs that had rejected his advances earlier. Now, however, the little furball seemed to be looking for someone to cuddle it after its dinner, and for some reason known only to it, it had come to Baiyi.

He watched the cub try its best to lift its large head and stout paws in order to clamber atop him, which was a clear indication that it was now comfortable with him. Something seemed to tick in Baiyi’s head, and he picked the cub up, watching it gently snuggle against his chest and lick it. It even stretched its paws and scratched his chest plate.

“Eh? Not scared of you anymore?” the Fairy Walker muttered as she watched the cub.

“Maybe this one’s genes mutated, or the cub itself evolved,” Baiyi replied and poked the cub’s tiny fangs, which made it playfully nibble on his fingers.

“That’s preposterous. I also found it weird that the unicorn ponies approached you earlier,” the Fairy Walker added, her incredulity increasing. “It’s normal for an adult unicorn to be bolder, but inexperienced ponies are naturally bashful and meek. Anything that emits mana and energy would easily scare them away. Furthermore, before that, my horsey childhood playmate approached you on its own, didn’t it? That’s not what unicorns are known to do, you know. They don’t get close to strangers easily.”

“I thought it was because… well, because they picked up traces of your scent on me,” Baiyi said, feeling a little embarassed.

The Fairy shook her head sideways. “That assumption seems even less likely when we consider the fact that these cubs have approached you. You see, their mother is more protective of them than other wild beasts protect their own. If you include the fact that these cubs grew up among female fairies, without letting male fairies touch them, it’ll be even less likely for them to approach you — a male stranger.”

She looked closer at Baiyi and said, “Something about you has changed. What happened when I went back to the Void to teach those two boyfriend-stealers a lesson?”

Baiyi told her what had happened after she left and the Eight Walker descended. The Fairy Walker listened intently, combing through the details in her head.

Finally, she asked, “Do you know the origin of the Eighth Walker?”

Baiyi shook his head sideways. Although he had exchanged memories with it, not many would expect there to be much in a tree’s memories. Baiyi could not match his sentience with that of a plant, so the Eight Walker’s memories seemed like a pot of glue to him; hence, it did not take long for him to remove them from his mind. Because of that, he could only remember bits and pieces of its origin. One thing he was sure about the Eight Walker was that it had lived its life as a tree. Perhaps, it may have been quite powerful, too.

“Mr. Bear once told me a legend about the Eternal Tree Ocean. In the beginning, it was just a modest patch of woods, empty and lonely. In the middle of the woods was a sacred tree that had come to be known as ‘The Everlasting Tree’. This tree was said to have nurtured nature like a mother. It allowed the other trees to grow strong and healthy, which in turn made the woods become a safe haven for many other creatures to survive and proliferate, including us fairies.”

“The history books of my kind also contains a record of this particular tree, describing it as the mother of the world, from who every living being was borne. The fairies had come to the world through her fruits, which made the tree sounded even greater than Mr. Bear had described.

“Many have tried to find this fabled tree, but no one was successful. In the end, the tales were said to be a myth, and modern people treat it as a fantasy of old,” the Fairy Walker said.

As Baiyi looked at the dancing fairies, he replied, “You don’t honestly believe that the Eighth Walker is, in fact, the Everlasting Tree, right? I don’t see any resemblance between you fairies and it. Plus, there really isn’t any evidence to prove that our fellow Voidwalker is the Everlasting Tree. It could just be a creature as mysterious as Mr. Bear,” Baiyi concluded.

“You don’t happen to believe that Mr. Bear is just an ordinary being, right?” The Fairy sourly asked.

“Of course not. After all, the Eighth Walker is one of us. No ordinary being could ever become a Voidwalker,” Baiyi replied.