The Main Heroine Falls for the Extra

After Commander Meril’s story ended, everyone was silent for a moment. Then, breaking that silence, Riel spoke up.
“It sounds like a ‘fairy prank.'”
“A fairy?”
Princess Yuril reacted to Riel’s words.
I also looked at Riel.
Fairies.
Weren’t they beings treated as divine apostles who serve and follow the World Tree Yggdrasil?
Actually, there wasn’t much detailed information about fairies even in the original story, and I only remember scenes of the World Tree Church calling them divine apostles and worshipping them.
So I was very curious about what Riel meant by a “fairy prank.”
As everyone’s eyes turned to Riel, she flinched slightly but continued:
“Y-yes! It’s… a story from a fairy tale I read when I was young.”
Riel explained.
Fairies are curious and mischievous, playing all sorts of pranks on people, including making them lose their sense of direction, causing them to see illusions, and making them get lost.
It’s a prank that fairies particularly enjoy; they laugh until their stomachs hurt watching people who are confused and wandering after getting lost.
She also mentioned other pranks like feeding people fake food that never satisfies hunger no matter how much they eat, making people trip, causing perception errors, and various other mischief.
“I didn’t know such stories existed. They do seem similar indeed.”
Princess Yuril nodded.
Then the female knight Meril standing beside her spoke:
“But a fairy prank… I feel like I’ve never heard such stories before.”
“Ah, that might be expected.”
It was none other than Eve who answered Meril’s question.
“The World Tree Church designated that fairy tale book as forbidden literature. Something about it giving fairies a bad image?”
“Ah, I see…”
“Sister, then what I read when I was young…”
As Riel spoke with a slightly anxious expression, Eve smiled and replied:
“Why should we care about books forbidden by the church?”
The Ignis Duke family has had bad relations with the church since the previous generation.
It’s said that the previous Duke Ignis had such a bad relationship with the church that he disliked everything church-led, to the point where he would take the lead in doing things the church forcibly prohibited.
He would even collect books designated as forbidden literature.
Well, this approach completely soured relations with the church, but since the current Duke Ignis was also influenced by his father, the previous Duke, and despised the church, there wasn’t a problem.
So among the books collected was the fairy tale book that Riel had read.
“That’s an interesting story. I’ll remember it.”
Princess Yuril said with a smile.
Anyway, she explained that the royal family also found Duke Ignis’s whereabouts suspicious and planned to deploy a search network throughout the kingdom.
The Duchess Ignis, who is presumed to have been with the Duke, and his son Andrew are also currently missing.
Additionally, as Eve Ignis has decided to actively resolve the family issues, Princess Aine plans to intervene directly in the situation of the duchy.
While the chaos in the Duke’s family will likely be resolved, there’s still no clue about Riel’s parents and brother.
But with the royal family deploying search efforts across the entire kingdom, I believe they will certainly be found before long.
…That is, if they’re safe until then.
After the meeting with Princess Yuril ended, Princess Aine said to us:
“Eve and I intend to resolve the Duke family’s issues somehow.”
“Yes.”
“Riel Ignis. You must be worried about your family, but leave the rest to us.”
“I understand.”
As Riel nodded, Princess Aine looked at me, grinned, and nodded.
I nodded back, and Princess Aine and Commander Gareth stepped aside as Eve moved forward.
Eve smiled gently at Riel and said:
“You’re students, so leave the rest to us adults and focus on doing your best at the academy.”
“Sister…”
“Riel… it might be too late, but your sister will definitely resolve this…”
“Yes…”
Eve embraced Riel once more. Behind them, Princess Aine and Commander Gareth were watching with smiles.
I too felt a smile forming on my face.
“Please take good care of Riel so she can enjoy her time at the academy.”
“Yes, don’t worry.”
“We plan to leave the Count’s territory tomorrow, return to the capital, and then head straight to the duchy.”
“Straight away?”
“Yes. Given the current unfavorable situation with the family, I want to quickly put the house in order and perhaps join the search myself.”
I could see concern in Eve’s eyes.
“I understand. If there’s any progress…”
“Yes, I’ll make sure to send word.”
The next day, the Princess’s party left Count Wentos’s territory on the morning carriage.
Riel and I still had 3 days of holiday left, and since Riel had promised to return with Emilia, we remained in the Count’s territory.
“Let’s go there next!!”
Riel and I were at the market inside the fortress.
Since it was the weekend, the weekend market was very crowded.
“My blood relative… is the crimson maiden always like this…?”
Kino, who had been caught practicing poses in the garden and brought along, was following behind with a very tired face, and Phyllis was waiting beside her.
“No, honestly, I’m quite surprised too.”
Even though she had improved, I didn’t think she would have recovered enough to act so energetically in such a crowded place.
Has coming to a distant region been such a mood changer for her…?
Riel was happily browsing the stalls with a bright smile.
Though there’s something slightly suspicious about it, seeing her smile so brightly makes me think it might be alright.
Riel didn’t just stop at looking around the market; she thoroughly enjoyed shopping and snacking as well.
Well, I also thoroughly enjoyed my hometown after a long time, but somehow I felt like Riel enjoyed it even more than I did.
“By the way, my blood relative.”
“Yes?”
“Is it alright not to visit Asta?”
“Ah.”
“He seemed to be looking forward to reuniting with you very much.”
Hearing Kino’s words, I remembered.
When I returned home, I was supposed to have a sparring match with Asta.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen him all day today… Where on earth is Asta?”
“Young Master Asta is in his room.”
…In his room?
I looked at Phyllis upon hearing her answer.
“Was that boy ever well-behaved enough to stay in his room…?”
“No, he can’t get up due to muscle pain.”
Oh my God.
I’ll have to meet him next time.
We were about to return to the mansion after finishing our market tour when:
“Young Master Kyo!”
Turning at the sound of someone calling me, I saw a middle-aged man with graying hair running toward us.
It was definitely Ralph, one of the mansion’s servants.
“Ralph, what’s wrong?”
“The Count is calling for you!”
My father?
Seeing Ralph arrive breathless and sweating profusely, I sensed something was wrong and rushed to the mansion, leaving Riel and Kino with Phyllis.
In the Count’s study, my father was gathering equipment including armor with a serious face.
“Father, you called for me?”
“Kyo, I’m sorry to ask this of you when you came to rest, but there’s something you need to do.”
It seemed my suspicion was correct: something had happened.
Having fully donned his armor and grabbed his helmet, my father approached me.
“Magical beasts have started rampaging.”
“But Princess Aine should have already completed a subjugation…?”
“Yes, but they’ve suddenly started rampaging again. There’s even information that magical beasts from outside the north are mixed in.”
This seemed like a serious situation.
“I’ve issued evacuation warnings to the surrounding villages and will open the fortress gates to accept refugees.”
“That’s the obvious measure.”
“However, there’s a need to guide refugees from the native villages in the forest.”
“……”
My father took one of the swords hanging on the wall and handed it to me.
“The number of residents in the native villages is small, but they are our precious territory residents. I’ll entrust you with some soldiers; please guide them to the fortress.”
“Yes! Leave it to me! Father, you must be careful too.”
When I came out fully equipped with armor, I explained the situation to Riel, who was surprised to see me, and was about to lead the soldiers out of the fortress.
Riel was very worried and even tried to come along, but I stopped her.
“It’s not that far, so don’t worry and wait safely in the fortress.”
Riel didn’t look convinced, but thanks to Phyllis and Kino persuading her together, she relented.
As I was leaving through the fortress gate, Riel shouted from behind:
“I’ll be waiting, so make sure you come back safely!!”
Although we were far apart, I could hear her voice clearly, and I waved my hand in response before setting out.
There are two small native villages in the forest.
The residents of the native villages totaled just over a hundred when combining both villages.
I had already arrived at the first village, explained the situation to the residents, and instructed them to prepare for evacuation.
I divided the soldiers slightly, having them join forces with the soldiers already residing in the village to protect it temporarily, then moved on to the next village with the remaining soldiers.
The next village was farther away, so I planned to bring refugees from that village to this one, join forces, and then move together.
Along the way, we also encountered some magical beasts.
Fortunately, the magical beasts that had entered the forest were few in number, and the soldiers responded calmly enough to dispatch them without casualties.
However, the condition of the magical beasts was somewhat strange.
They seemed as if they had lost their sanity while fleeing from something terrifying and had come all the way north.
So at first, we were thoroughly on guard in case there was something chasing them, but there was nothing behind the magical beasts that were rushing at us as if fleeing.
Pushing down an inexplicable uneasiness, I arrived at the second village.
“Halt, identify yourself.”
At the voice of a soldier standing guard at the village entrance, I stepped forward.
“I’m Kyo Wentos. Given the abnormal movements of magical beasts, an evacuation advisory has been issued to all residents of the Count’s territory. I’ve come to protect and guide the residents.”
“Is it the eldest Young Master? Please wait a moment.”
The guard disappeared inside the gate, and then a man presumed to be the captain of the guards emerged.
“Young Master! Welcome!”
“Yes, you’ve already heard the situation, I presume?”
“Yes! We were already preparing for evacuation as the Silver Wolf Tribe warriors detected something unusual!”
“As expected of demi-humans, their senses are good.”
Come to think of it, this village was a Silver Wolf Tribe village.
Although demi-humans are generally avoided by humans, the northern natives have mingled with demi-humans since ancient times, and our Wentos Count family is the same.
To the extent that there’s even a saying that if demi-humans want to live without discrimination and with peace of mind, they should become strong and live in the north.
As I followed the guard captain into the village, I saw dozens of Silver Wolf Tribe members packing their belongings for evacuation.
The tribe’s warriors were gathering weapons and talking with soldiers, while non-combatants—women, children, and the elderly—were mainly packing belongings.
Just then, a surprised voice came from behind.
“Huh? Kyo…?”
It was a familiar voice. One I had heard just yesterday.
“Emilia Silbright. So this is your hometown village.”
Emilia Silbright was standing there with a surprised face, unable to hide her wolf ears she usually concealed with a large hat, and with her tail exposed.