I Became a Ruined Character in a Dark Fantasy

Chapter 253

Ian’s lips twitched before he finally spoke in a voice that had dropped even lower.

"And why am I your godfather?"

"Because you’re the Agent of Platinum Dragon. I’m its daughter, so naturally, Sir Ian Hope, the dragon’s agent, is my godfather," Elia replied matter-of-factly. Ian looked down at her, pressing his lips together as he closed his eyes.

Elia, unaware that Ian was stifling a sigh, continued. "It also advised me to treat you with the same respect I would give it. Dragon only ever has one agent in each generation, so it told me to see you as an extension of itself."

"... And?" Ian asked, still not opening his eyes, his voice tinged with exasperation.

"What else did it tell you?"

"As I mentioned, I learned about you, godfather. Even after it went into rest, it often whispered to me. It said it had finally found the perfect agent it had been waiting for. Though it never told me what those conditions were...."

Ian opened his eyes and looked down at Elia.

From her expression, or lack of surprise, it seemed she already knew what those conditions were. He was curious, but Elia continued giving nothing away.

"It told me many things, which is why I recognized you immediately, godfather."

"What else did it say?"

"...!?"

The voice that interrupted came from beneath the sofa, startling Elia. She finally noticed the small, white face peeking out from under the sofa, and her eyes widened.

Why is she lying under there...? And why didn’t I notice her until now?

Before Elia could process this, the fairy added, "I asked you a question. What else did the Platinum Dragon say about Ian?"

"Uh... that he’s blunt, reckless, and thorough. And that he also enjoys making cruel jokes..."

"As expected. A great person indeed has a unique insight. And then?"

"And..." As the fairy grinned, Elia glanced back at Ian and added, "It said not to be hurt by your words because you have a warm and kind heart."

"This is driving me crazy...." Ian let out a long, frustrated sigh. Shaking his head, he began adjusting the armor on his right arm as he spoke.

"While you’re traveling with me, you’ll follow my rules."

"Yes, Godfather."

"The first rule is not to call me that."

"... Then what should I call you? Sir Ian? Lord Ian...?"

"That will do just fine."

This feels a bit too disrespectful.

Though Elia thought so inwardly, Ian simply nodded his head as if it were nothing.

"Lucky you, Ian. You’ve got yourself a godchild."

"...."

At the fairy’s remark, Ian’s brows furrowed again. He exhaled a long breath through his nose, choosing not to respond. The fairy then quickly slipped out from under the sofa and stood, dusting off her clothes before facing Elia. Her deep eyes sparkled with mischief.

"It's a shame. I would've enjoyed watching you two travel together. The dwarves I know are all cranky and weird. But you, you're politely weird, half-pint."

Being called weird by an odd fairy, Elia thought to herself before speaking up.

"But... who are you?"

"I'm Thesaya Erenos. Or so I believe," the fairy replied with a shrug and a slightly arrogant smile on her lips.

"I'm the youngest elder of the fairy clan."

"Elder... fairy?" Elia's eyes widened even more at Thesaya's words.

Pleased with Elia's reaction, Thesaya tilted her chin up slightly.

"That's right. Freshly minted. I was reborn less than a year ago."

"But... How is that possible? I thought that since the twilight of magic, all Tree of Life had stopped growing, and no more flowers or fruits could be produced."

"Oh, you're as knowledgeable as they say. You really do know a lot, don't you?"

Thesaya's eyes widened, though her smile remained in place as she shrugged again.

"But that's something you should ask Ian about. All I did was come back to life."

Elia's sparkling eyes turned to Ian. Sensing her gaze, Ian clicked his tongue slightly, but continued with what he was doing.

"There was a fully grown Tree of Life already dead in the frontier. It was revived through a horrifying ritual, though corrupted. But the seeds it originally carried remained intact."

"... So the theory that a fully grown Tree of Life might still exist in the frontier was true. If the fairies find out—"

"They won't. The frontier is likely covered in the madness of the Black Wall now." Ian interrupted, his tone slightly irritated.

Elia blinked a few times, then asked, "The madness of the Black Wall has spread across the entire frontier? How did that happen?"

A soft sigh escaped Ian's lips.

"... Not only do I have a godchild now, but she's also a walking question mark."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It means there's now a second rule," Ian replied, turning to look at Elia as he continued rotating his right arm.

"From now on, ask for permission before you start questioning everything. The Platinum Dragon may have answered all your questions, but I won't."

"I... um, understood." Elia, her lips twitching as if she wanted to say more, finally nodded. A dry smile tugged at the corner of Ian's lips.

"Smart as they say. You catch on quickly."

Is this one of those cruel jokes...?

Elia wondered, her thoughts briefly distracted as Ian picked up a sword lying on a nearby table and added, "Rest a bit more, Elie. We're heading out for a while. There's some basic food and a kitchen downstairs, so help yourself if you get hungry."

"Where are you going... Oh, sorry." Elia caught herself mid-sentence and bowed her head.

Thesaya chuckled before speaking. "There's a very nasty cat out there. We're going to drag it back here and make it talk until it tells us what we want to know. Then we'll probably kill it afterward."

Elia was left speechless, her mouth agape as Thesaya spoke. Although the tone was casual, the content was terrifying.

Meanwhile, Ian, now with his sword at his waist, moved toward the door and added, "Don’t be surprised if people you don’t know come in. At least, if they call you by name, they’re my companions, so you can relax. There’s a guy named Philip—if you need anything, ask him. He’ll take care of most things."

"Yes. But... Sir Ian, may I ask one more thing?" Elia quickly added.

Ian, who was about to open the door, turned to look at her. Taking his gaze as permission, Elia blinked her round eyes and asked, "What if someone who doesn’t know my name comes in?"

"In that case..."

Ian’s eyes shifted to another sword lying on the table.

"Pick that up and start swinging it. Then call for help. The guards outside will come running."

"..."

A slight smile tugged at the corner of Ian’s mouth. "Don’t worry. That won’t happen. This is a safe place. We’ll continue our conversation later. We’ll have plenty of time to talk in the future."

Ian stepped outside.

Thesaya whispered, "See you later, half-pint," before closing the door and disappearing. The sound of footsteps quickly faded away.

"So this... is the outside world?" Elia murmured as she stared blankly at the closed door, blinking her mismatched eyes a few times before turning her gaze back to the room.

"For now..."

Her eyes scanned the disheveled scene, prompting a small sigh as she rolled up her sleeves.

"... I guess I’ll start by cleaning up."

***

A godfather, really...?

As the rhythmic sound of hooves echoed in his ears, Ian let out a faint, dry chuckle. The logic behind it was surprisingly sound. Maybe Archeas had informed her that way; it would be just like its character to do so.

Turning his head, Ian caught Thesaya's playful gaze across from him and swallowed another chuckle. She seemed uncomfortable in her chair, constantly shifting around, yet she was giggling, eyebrows twitching with amusement. Not only was she planning to tease Ian, but she was likely eager to share the story she had just heard with everyone else.

Go ahead, do whatever you want...

Adjusting his posture, Ian sat up straight in the carriage, which was much smaller and less comfortable than the ones he usually rode. Only one horse was pulling the carriage. It was something Spello had prepared separately. The usual carriage had gone to the inner castle with the rest of the group.

The carriage came to a stop then.

Thesaya, her pointed ears twitching, spoke up. "It’s a secluded area. It seems we’ve arrived properly, Sir Ian."

It was Tensia Aynas’ tone. She used this formal tone, mindful of the coachman's presence. Despite her playful expression, she was careful with her words for the same reason.

Creak—

The crude makeshift window near the coachman's seat opened at that moment, revealing Spello's face, hidden deep under a hood.

"It seems we've timed it well. They're coming right away." He whispered, his entire body concealed by a black cloak and hood.

He seemed to be enjoying the role of secretly aiding the heroes who saved Racliffe. Although his attire made him look even more suspicious, Ian didn’t bother pointing it out. After all, Spello had been diligently fulfilling all of Ian’s covert requests.

"Proceed with the plan."

In response to Ian’s quiet answer, Spello firmly nodded and then closed the window.

Clip, clop—

Just as Spello had mentioned, the sound of approaching hooves could be heard from the front. It was likely the carriage carrying the rest of the group.

At Ian's signal, Thesaya swung one of the carriage doors wide open.

Clip, clop—

The heads of two white horses appeared in front of the open door. By the time the silver armor of the horses became visible, there was a commotion from the coachman’s seat as the drivers were switching carriages. Soon, Spello, who had pulled his hood even lower, took the reins and glanced at Ian as he passed by.

"...."

His eyes were filled with a mix of secretive duty and pride. Though Ian almost chuckled, he gave Spello a nod. Spello pressed his hood down further and moved on, followed by the sturdy body of the carriage, also with one of its doors wide open.

Beyond that, Ian could see Mev and Philip sitting side by side, looking back at him.

Finally, Ian spoke. "Elie has woken up. Go take good care of her. If she’s hungry, find something and feed her."

"Yes, lord. Don’t worry." Just as Philip responded, a large figure was thrown into Ian’s carriage.

Thud—

It was Palmer, his face covered by a black hood, with his limbs bound tightly by ropes. Even after hitting the floor, he didn’t make a sound.

Charlotte, who had tossed him in, climbed into the carriage afterward. The other carriage continued without stopping, heading back to the mansion where it would wait as if Ian were still inside. It was a tedious precaution, but necessary to move unnoticed.

Resting her foot on Palmer's back, Thesaya closed the carriage door.

Creak—

Almost simultaneously, the small window near the coachman’s seat opened again, revealing Nasser’s tanned face.

"We're ready to depart."

"You're sure you know the way?"

"Yes. Don't worry." Nasser flashed a grin and then closed the window.

The carriage began to move again, albeit at a slow pace, likely because it was carrying five passengers.

... It’ll be a hassle if it breaks down halfway.

Ian thought as he glanced at Charlotte, who was looking down at Palmer with a mix of thoughts in her eyes. His tail, still encased in armor, was wrapped tightly around one of Charlotte’s arms. It looked so natural that it almost seemed like a unique arm guard or accessory.

"Hey, kitty. Earlier, that half-pint was about to—" That was when Thesaya spoke.

Ian, who silenced her with a glance, quickly interjected.

"Were there any problems?"

Charlotte, who had been looking at Thesaya, calmly nodded. "No issues at all. Everyone was just talking about last night. They were asking if it was true that the Radiant Goddess had blessed the church. It seems they think this proves their innocence. They all wanted to get confirmation from Mev and Philip."

"And what did Philip say?"

"He kept repeating that no one could know the exact intentions behind the divine blessing. He said it would be presumptuous for a mere servant to assume the will of their master. He gave the same answer every time."

"Very diplomatic of him."

Just as I thought, he’s grown up, that kid.

As Ian chuckled softly, Charlotte added, "It just took a bit longer because of some persistent folks. The task itself was quite easy to finish. No one seems to care about this guy anymore. He was delivered safely, and he's entirely ours now."

Despite likely hearing everything, Palmer neither growled nor struggled. He only let out suppressed breaths, his mouth probably gagged.

Ian nodded in approval. "Good."

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