Compared to then, he was back to normal (?)1 now, but it wasn't exactly the same as before.
The old Simon was more humane than he was now. These days, he is always smiling. But no, Derek did not think Simon's smile held any joy or sorrow.
Strangely enough though, despite the harsh and cold expression painted on his face, Derek couldn't help but feel that sometimes, it looked like there were tears in his eyes. Even if it were true, Derek couldn't figure out why either. He didn't dare think much further though; he would have been flagged by the others if they heard his thoughts.
Derek's eyes were on the spirits hanging from Simon as he expressionlessly climbed the stairs. He looked more humane today because of the cute little spirits.
"Ah, but I think there's one missing?"
There were four elemental spirits but why could he only see three?
"She got a little distracted but we'll be near the place where she's at anyways and she'll come back to me on her own."
Standing on the teleportation spot, Simon recalled the black-eyed mole with a faint smile. In the next instance, a light shone, enveloping their bodies and they disappeared in an instant.
***
-Kkyu?
Kalia looked down at the mole that had climbed out of the ground. Two adorable black eyes looked up at her innocently.
"A mole?"
To be precise, it was a ground mole spirit.
Human and spirit looked curiously at each other; one looked down while the other looked up. She could feel the spirit's weak power emanating from her body as she stood on her hind feet to look up at Kalia.
"Seeing you out here, I don't think you're a spirit of the forest… Right?"2
At Kalia's words, the mole tilted her head and nodded. Behind the mole's head was a view of the burnt forest.
She had just heard the news that the forest was on fire and burning some time late last night. Worried, Kalia had stopped by the woods for a while in her spare time without Humming and Allen. Fortunately, the fire in the forest didn't seem to have spread much. Since it was close to the village, the villagers had gathered quickly and worked to put out the fire together. It was extinguished in no time. Nevertheless, she felt bad seeing the inside of the beautiful Fairy Forest turn black.
'Is she okay?'
Gaia and her bright smile came to mind.
And that night…The figure of the king leaving because there was an intruder.
'… This is the work of that intruder, isn't it?'
*It was difficult for a natural disaster to occur in the forest, a place filled with so much natural power and this world's natural energy.
Energy of nature.
The fact the fire could spread indicates a high possibility of it being an artificial fire. Kalia had wanted to enter the forest, but ultimately decided against it.
It occurred to her how greatly upset Allen and Humming would be if they found out she had snuck into the Fairy Forest while they were away. She didn't want to cause any unnecessary worries because she understood the feelings of those two, who genuinely cared about Kalia. She felt very sorry about the anxiety she had caused thus far, especially when she recalled the tremors of the man who had hugged her last night and Humming swallowing down her fear, gulping down her anxious breaths, in the forest. Nonetheless, when she thought of the incredible trust in Gaia's eyes as she held her hand, she couldn't stop pacing.
-Kkyu? Kyuuu?
Perhaps it was strange of her to stand in place, blankly staring out at the burnt forest, but the mole took that opportunity to climb up her body. Plopping down on her shoulders, the small mole turned to look up at Kalia's eyes with a tiny paw, the size of a fingernail, on her cheek.
-Kyuu?
The mole tilting her head at Kalia was so cute that she couldn't help but reach up and stroke her smol round head.
"I'm just a little worried."
-Kyuuu… Kyu!
Perhaps she understood what Kalia was saying, but the mole hopped off, ran towards the forest, dug into the ground and disappeared inside. Kalia stood motionlessly, looking into the direction where the mole had disappeared.
10 minutes later.
The forest became a little noisy. The calm forest seemed to come to life as the harmony of the leaves swaying in the wind rose. Soon, she could see balls of twinkling lights approaching from the distance inside the forest.
…..Are they curious about us?3
-Oh, there she is.
-Are you alright?
-Look at that, the bracelet of the ancient spirit!
-I know that person! She was with the king!
-Oh! I saw that, too! Saw her with her!
T/N: Referring to Kalia and Gaia
Numerous spirits flocked to the border of the forest and gathered together, whispering to each other as they looked at Kalia. Some even waved at her as if they remembered her.
In the meantime, the mole had returned. Climbing out of the hole in the ground, she ran up and looked up at Kalia, eyes sparkling. It was like she was saying, 'I did a good job, right?'
'Those gleaming eyes were too cute,' Kalia thought as she bent down to pick up the mole.
"Did you call them?"
-Kkyu!
Placing the mole on her shoulder, Kalia patted her head before turning her attention to the nearby fairies. Dozens or even hundreds of spirits and fairies were gathered, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Did something happen?
Scanning the crowd of fairies, Kalia tried calling her name but got no response.
She decided to just ask the crowd, "Are you guys okay? The fire…."
-We're fine! I wasn't hurt!
-Yes, our king took us to the deep woods!
At the time of the fire, the king had the fairies and spirits of the forest cross the border into the fairy realm.
Kalia smiled slightly and continued to ask, "By any chance, is she here?"
-What do you mean? She?
-...She, maybe she's talking about- the daughter of the king!
-Oh! Her!
"Yes, that's who I'm talking about."
-She didn't come out with us! She's still deep inside the forest. She's weak by nature, so it's hard for her to maintain a corporeal form for a long time!
-She said: We4 need to gather our strength! That's why I'm hibernating right now! I will come if you call me!
-She's only appeared on her birthday before, right? It looks like she didn't have a good time this birthday because of the fire!
Hearing the fairies' chirping, Kalia was relieved. It didn't sound like anything had happened to her. From what she heard, it seemed that it was Gaia's birthday the first time they had met. Maybe that's why her father went to visit her yesterday. She had wondered what the Fairy King was doing in such a small forest. Some of her doubts were cleared up.
-Do you miss her? She'll come if you wait. Because this is where she was born!
"Where she was born?"
-Yeah, a very old tree told me. This was her favorite forest when she was alive, so there were many real traces of her in this forest. A very old tree made her from its oldest roots and the fairy water she had given it for the king who was grieving after learning of her death.
"A very old tree? So the tree knows her?"
-Yeah, but the very old tree fell asleep, too. It may not be able to wake up either. Before it fell asleep, it said it had spent too much energy making her.
"…Ah, I see."
Kalia was agitated by the news that she couldn't learn more about Gaia, but she resigned quickly after a bit of thought. After all, this was a story that had nothing to do with her, so she shouldn't dig further.
Although those were her thoughts…
'It still bothers me.'
-Human, anyway, we're gonna go back now! When the forest is weakened and we're at the border, we keep wanting to go outside too!
-Thank you for your concern, human!
-Bye bye!
The spirits and fairies swarmed back into the forest. The rustling noise of the shaking leaves disappeared, and silence descended upon the place again. It was time for her to go back too. It was already well off in the afternoon, way past the time it takes her to go on a short walk. Kalia took a few deep breaths and grabbed the mole that had climbed onto her head without her realizing.
"I have to go back now. It's time for my friends to return. Why don't you go back to your owner too?"
-Kkyu!
Jumping out of her palms and onto her shoulder, the mole stretched out her short arms to hold Kalia's cheek, showing off her aegyo. Her short, stubby tail wiggled incessantly.
"What a friendly and cute spirit. But wouldn't your owner hate it if they knew you were acting cute to someone else?"
She didn't know if the mole understood her but she just giggled happily.
'Strange guy.'
Kalia laughed along with the mole and stroked her head.
The moment she let the mole down.
Throb.
Her womb clenched and pressed against her insides.
"...Ah?"
Kalia furrowed her brow for a moment, frowning as the tightness spread. The sensation felt a little sharper than the usual belly cramping. She could feel the muscles inside her stomach contracting and expanding. The feeling wasn't something that she would call pain, but it felt uncomfortable.
"...There's still some time before the due date."
'Don't tell me, these are false labour pains5?'
She had previously heard about this type of 'pain' from Allen. It was a sign of childbirth, signaling her body in advance of the onset of labor. Some mothers feel it a few days before their due date while for others, it comes right before childbirth. Or, there are people who don't experience any false labour pains at all. Anyway, the arrival of the pain is a sign that the body can give birth at any time, so it is better for her not to overdo it and prepare for childbirth in a safe place.
-Kkyu Kkyu?
Seeing Kalia hugging her belly, the mole let out a few squeaks, as if worried about her. Kala smiled softly, reassuring the mole.
"I'd better get going. I'll play with you the next time I see you. Humming will play with you too. She plays very well. Well, then, see you next time."
Seuuuu. Huu. 6
Thankfully, the pain went away quickly after adjusting her breathing. Fortunately, the pain before wasn't so intense that she had to crouch down or curl up. The mole worriedly watched Kalia, who was walking slowly and paying great attention to her physical condition, leave.
– Kyu…
The ground mole alternately gazed back and forth between Kalia's back as she walked away and the lord's castle in the distance. Ultimately, she was unable to let go of her anxiety and decidedly followed after Kalia.
Fortunately, the false labour pains did not come back until she got home. Instead, to her surprise, there was another figure waiting for her.
Translator's Corner
Another biology lesson lmao. Also, I googled moles because the scene was way too cute…. The image I had in my head didn't match what they look irl…
I mean, from certain angles they do look cute but…
The star-nosed ones just remind me of the Demongorgon's head from Stranger Things.