Chapter 3 - "Please Calm Down for a Moment"
I suddenly opened my eyes.
The blurred world gradually regained its contours. I understood little more than that this was a human dwelling, and that I was trapped inside a silver birdcage.
When I realized that it was my own deep blue pupils observing this, I felt a strange sensation. In my previous life, my irises had been black, but it seemed that even with the change in color, there was no difference in the colors I could perceive.
The hair scattered across the bottom of the cage was a detestable silver color. I had once been proud of its straightness and luster, but from now on, it seemed likely to become a complex.
When I sat up, my head throbbed. My entire body felt heavy.
But fortunately, the silver threads had been undone. I used my arms with all my might to bring my wings to the front. During my escape, I had felt a slight waver in the direction of my flight. I thought something might have been severed, but I could not find the injured area.
――I had been this carefree up until now, but it was about time I got serious.
This was no time to be worrying about the color of my eyes or my wings. Let's start by grasping the current situation――Just as I thought that, a viscous, bubbling sound erupted from nearby. I looked over there with trepidation.
"Eek!?"
Right next to the cage, a purple liquid filling about half a beaker was seething over a fire. It was boiling, emitting a sheen and a pungent odor.
What in the world is this!
"Unbelievable……"
I wished they wouldn't leave something so obviously dangerous nearby. If it were to tip over from even a slight jolt, the entire cage would be contaminated. I should stay as far away from it as possible. But since I disliked silver, I tried to avoid touching the cage itself as much as I could.
――Really, this is why humans are.
――They lack both delicacy and crisis management skills. They are barbaric.
There was a single tree branch spanning across the inside of the cage, so I seated myself upon it. Of course, I chose the position furthest from the beaker.
Now, who was the person that had imprisoned me?
I scanned the room through the hateful silver bars.
It was a spacious study. The bookshelves that occupied the left and right walls to their fullest extent had not a single gap.
When I returned my viewpoint to the vicinity, there was unexpectedly a human nearby. They were positioned close enough that I could reach them by extending my hand from the cage, so I was slightly startled and my body floated up.
That human was resting their head on their arm, slumped over an open book. Their eyes were closed. Their long eyelashes cast shadows in the moonlight. They seemed to be breathing, but I could not hear any snoring.
I flew swiftly within the cage and approached. Holding my breath, I observed the human's state.
"They're sleeping, aren't they?"
I had no obligation to wake them, so I decided to continue striving to grasp the situation.
When I turned around, there was a large window. Beyond it, I could see the lights of human houses. A full moon was plastered flatly against the sky, but it seemed smaller than the one I had seen a short while ago.
How much time had passed since I lost consciousness?
"……Are you awake?"
A leisurely voice came from close by. It was an awakening so prompt it made me want to click my tongue.
The first words from the human who had captured me were slightly lisping, with absolutely no sign of their voice changing.
"Good morning, Human-sama. How do you do?"
"I would like to say 'five more minutes,' but I suppose I cannot. I will endure it."
"I would have preferred if you had slept a little longer, though."
When I showed through my attitude that I would escape during that time, the human laughed quietly, finding something amusing. It did not seem they were mocking me.
Could one really possess such pure eyes after capturing a fairy? Despite having chased me so desperately. They must have captured me for some purpose.
Most humans in this world do not possess magical power comparable to that of fairies. They are an inferior species that either enslaves fairies or drains their magical power. Many fairies know well that once captured, it is the end.
If I were not a former human, I might have taken my own life the moment I awakened in this cage.
While emitting a menacing aura, I did not look away from the human. I had to deal with anything immediately if something were to happen.
The other party seemed to have no intention of understanding my wariness or tension.
"How are you feeling? I believe I have healed most of your injuries, but please tell me immediately if you feel any discomfort."
Their tone was somewhat unique, like an eight-year-old child imitating an adult. Yet it did not feel out of place, and was somehow mysterious. It gave me a disjointed impression, like watching a certain famous detective who looked like a child but had the mind of an adult.
My honest first impression was that they were an angel.
The golden-threaded hair that swayed smoothly when they tilted their head was elegantly arranged, and their eyes were a golden color like the moon.
The soft smile they floated every time I intensified my gaze was decidedly unchildlike.
But no matter how much of an angel (provisional) they were, I thought violating human rights――or rather, fairy rights――was not good.
"Is there anything you should say to me first?"
"My apologies?"
"If apologies were enough to settle things, capital punishment would not exist."
To the boy who was grinning and observing me from outside the pure silver cage, even crucifixion felt too lenient.
Even if he was a character from this world――the masterpiece RPG 『The Demon Lord and the Hourglass』.
However, my memory of whether this boy had truly appeared in the game was vague. Had I seen him before……?
But I knew him from somewhere. Both his hair color and his eye color.
The boy's beautiful voice seemed to be voiced by a certain famous voice actor. A certain female voice actor who often played young boy roles in dubbed foreign films. So just listening to it was pleasant, but that was that, and this was this. My own voice was also borrowing the voice actor's voice from the game as it was, so if I sang a little, I might be able to deceive any ordinary human. Elenoa was always ranked second in the official popularity polls, and she even had character songs. I had forgotten my own voice from my previous life.
While letting my thoughts fly in a regrettable direction, I continued to show hostility with my gaze, and the boy gave a bitter smile.
He seemed aware that he had done something to make me wary.
"May I introduce myself?" he asked, so I nodded for the sake of grasping the situation.
Now, who are you? Are you someone's aide, a mid-boss, a fodder character, or perhaps an event-limited key person who gets saved by the protagonist's party?
"This is my house. I am a court mage. Louis Stylus. Please feel free to call me Stylus-san."
"Feel free?"
"Louis is fine too."
What kind of personality is this? I became irritated, so I decided not to call him by his name.
――Huh? But wait a moment?
I know the name Louis from somewhere.
He was a person I must not forget.
It was on the tip of my tongue.
"……Louis, Stylus……"
"Hm?"
"N-nothing. I just felt like I knew you."
The boy looked puzzled, but he did not pursue the matter.
"I am Elenoa. Stylus-san captured me, didn't he? Do you have some business with me?"
"Business, specifically? No."
"……No business?"
"Yes. You need not worry about magical power extraction or forced obedience. I have no such intentions."
"Eh?"
Really!?
I smiled for an instant,
"I was thinking about how to eliminate future threats when I discovered you, so I simply chased you for the time being."
"Hah?"
I froze for an instant,
"It's alright. Truly, I have no intention of doing anything to you. I just need you to stay here for another few hundred years or so."
"Haaah?"
I was dropped instantly.
What was this vague, semi-permanent time limit of a few hundred years? And I had not asked for a response like, "I found a rare creature so I caught it."
"So it didn't have to be me?"
"It's not exactly that…… no."
"Then what does that mean? I completely fail to understand."
I could only think he was deliberately speaking ambiguously.
Responding to my anger, my wings fluttered wildly. Fairies are rich in emotional expression. The wings that would droop and rest if I were calm were now beating vigorously against the air.
The cage was so large that even if I spread my wings, they would not even graze the sides. Yes, inside a birdcage. I disliked that fact as well.
As I unhappily flapped my wings, Stylus-san stood up and looked down at me with a suspicious expression.
"Are you truly Elenoa? Your appearance looks the same, but I feel some sense of incongruity."
"So what is the intent behind that question?"
"As far as I know, Elenoa used a much more polite tone."
"Excuse me?"
What do you know about me?
Certainly, the Elenoa in the game used polite language ("desu/masu") with everyone, but the current Elenoa 《me》 does not commonly use polite language.
I had no memory of meeting him anywhere, so I wondered if he was mistaking me for someone else――no, mistaking me for a different fairy.
"I am certainly Elenoa, and there was no individual with the same name in that fairy dwelling. Have we met before? I have no memory of it at all. Aren't you mistaking me for a different Elenoa-san?"
"No, this is undoubtedly our first meeting. But I believe the Elenoa I know is undoubtedly you."
So what does that mean?
The boy said only "Ah……" and fell silent, scratching his cheek as if somewhat flustered.
The dumbfounded me and the troubled boy stared at each other for a while.
After a sigh that seemed to signify resignation, the boy opened his mouth cautiously. I felt it was not my imagination that his eyes contained some expectation.
"Well then, let's see…… 『The Demon Lord and the Hourglass』"
"Gh……!"
"It seems you knew?"
"How did you know that!"
"Please calm down for a moment."
Unfortunately, I am not a fairy capable of calming down just because I am told to.
＊
He seemed to be a reincarnator like me. After confirming that fact, I was taken to his bedroom along with the cage.
The place I had been in until just now was his study, and when I asked what that sinister chemical was,
『It was a medicine that required observation, so I had simply brought it into the study. I spend more time in the study than in the laboratory.』
he said. In terms of requiring observation, I was being treated the same way. It seemed he had been engrossed in reading beside me the entire time I was unconscious.
I was placed on a stand beside the bed. Even when the lamp right next to me was lit, my eyes did not dazzle. Fairy eyes are strong against sudden light, and we can even look directly at sunlight.
I sat on the branch of the cage.
The boy also sat on the bed, looking somewhat joyful.
His features were too well-proportioned, promised to become handsome in the future. Yet with his cheeks flushed from excitement, he was indeed just a young boy. I responded with a suspicious face to the chuckle that inadvertently leaked from him.
"You look happy."
"I am happy. Very much so."
When he stated it so honestly and smiled innocently, my hostility was drained away. I felt foolish for maintaining a combative stance.
"So there was someone who knew the game."
"Did you say it without certainty? If I hadn't been 'that,' wouldn't it have been dangerous?"
"Only people who know the title would understand it, and if there was no reaction, I could have covered it up with something appropriate. Anyway, if you know, this will be quick. I am the character who becomes the Demon Lord in that game. If I grow 'smoothly,' I suppose I will become a Demon Lord with a desire for destruction in another fifteen years. For now, I am just a court servant."
So he was the future Demon Lord-sama. The one who ranked first in the popularity polls.
It finally clicked. He was Louis Stylus, the world's most powerful mage――of course, his appearance was also top-tier, as is common in romance simulations――who infiltrated the protagonist's party and finally revealed his true identity with a roar, the final boss and a betrayer yandere capture target.
The boy pierced me with puzzled eyes as I sat formally inside the cage.
My heart felt like it was being gouged out by the distortion of your future.
"Um?"
"You need not concern yourself with someone like me. Please, continue."
"Ah, eh? Yes…… So, I decided to secure Elenoa, who bears the role of recruiting the Hero, for the time being. Even if I become the Demon Lord, I am absolutely terrified of dying."
"Yes, Teacher, I have two questions."
"Yes, Elenoa-san."
When I raised my hand, he properly called on me. He played along well.
"I think that even if you capture me, another fairy will simply be chosen in my place. And in the first place, shouldn't you just avoid becoming the Demon Lord?"
"The answer to both is yes."
"I'll hit you, shota."
"Please do not say such things with Elenoa's face. To make excuses, I was confused as well. I regained my memories this morning and entered the forest because I wanted to be alone, and I happened to find you. Please think about it. Can you remain sane if you recall a future where you are assaulted by several people in the Hero's party――beaten, kicked, burned, frozen, slashed, and crushed?"
"I reject it without hesitation."
"That is exactly it. Well, I only knew about it because my older sister liked this game and talked about it endlessly. Other than that, I had only seen it in commercials and promotional videos. But since Louis was my sister's favorite, I was told various information about him several times more than other characters. My future self is quite extreme, isn't he?"
"Yes, very much so."
While the protagonist was sleeping at the inn, he destroyed an entire town that had taken care of him. The fact that even such a person could be captured meant that romance games had no sense of propriety.
Nevertheless, things had become strange.
If the Demon Lord capture target is male, this should be an otome game world.
If the fairy capture target is female, this should be a galge world for men.
What does this mean? Since I am skeptical about this world itself, I cannot do anything about this distortion for now.
No, I do not understand at all.