Elina stiffened slightly at the fairy’s words, then relaxed when she felt no malice—only blunt, childlike honesty.
Around her, the emerald-green mana thickened, pulsing in gentle waves. Leaves rustled without wind. Tiny buds along nearby vines bloomed and withered in seconds, responding instinctively to her presence.
The fairies circling Elina grew more numerous.
Soft green lights. Pale blue glimmers. A few with translucent wings like morning dew.
Then—
From the cluster hovering closest to her chest, one fairy drifted forward.
Unlike Chimmy’s golden radiance, this fairy glowed in layered hues—deep emerald at its core, fading into soft aqua at the edges. Its wings resembled overlapping leaves and water petals, shifting gently as if they were flowing with a silent current.
"An elder fairy..."From its presence alone, Mike understood. This was another elder fairy.
Judging by her mana, she’s a water and nature-type, Mike thought, as the smaller fairies quietly drifted away the moment the elder fairy arrived.
"You are good for a human," she said calmly. "How about you take me with you?"
Elina smiled. "It would be my pleasure."
She gently held the fairy’s tiny hands. Light bloomed between them, and a contract was formed.
"My name is Bubby," the fairy said sweetly. "My full name is Bubbles."
Mike couldn’t help but laugh softly.These fairies really name themselves like children, he thought, amused—but he stopped himself from laughing out loud.
After all, these childlike beings were powerful enough to wipe out the entire city with a wave of their hands. Mike didn’t want to get on their bad side even once.
"I got water and nature fairy magic," Elina said, smiling as she looked at Mike.
Mike nodded.Just like in the information, he thought. She got a fairy contract—though it happened a bit faster this time.
Mike then said, "That’s good. Now we have extra insurance for the academy entrance exam."
He smiled as Drax walked over, laughing.
"Hahaha... to think I’d live to see two Elder Fairies forming contracts with humans," Drax said, shaking his head.
Drax looked at them again, still stunned. In all his life, he had never seen such a scene. He had only heard rumors—stories about a princess who once formed a contract with an Elder Fairy. Even then, the price had been terrifying.
She had to turn an entire duchy into a massive garden. On top of that, she had to offer rare natural treasures every month just to maintain the contract.
And yet...
Mike and Elina got theirs for free.
This is ridiculous, Drax thought silently. I feel like I’m still dreaming, and when I wake up, all of this will disappear.
He glanced at the two fairies floating comfortably beside Mike and Elina. One of them glanced at him briefly—then looked away, as if he wasn’t even worth acknowledging.
These are the same fairies that usually look down on humans, Drax thought bitterly. So why did they accept Mike and Elina? I’ve been here many times, and I couldn’t even get a low-level fairy contract.
This place was known as the Garden of Despair.
No matter how talented a human was, they couldn’t form even the weakest fairy contract here—let alone an Elder Fairy contract.
That was why so many people came here full of hope, only to leave in disappointment. The name "Garden of Despair" had spread naturally over time.
I wanted to soften their expectations, Drax admitted to himself. So they wouldn’t be crushed if they failed... but instead, they succeeded.
He muttered under his breath while watching Mike and Elina casually talking with the fairies.
He wasn’t the only one staring.
Many people nearby had stopped what they were doing, secretly watching the scene. The fairies living here usually treated this place as a peaceful sanctuary, but now they hovered close to the two humans instead.
Whispers spread.
Some even wondered if Mike and Elina were elves in disguise.
After all... no normal humans should be able to do this.
The whispers grew louder.
"They must be elves..."
"No, even elves don’t get Elder Fairy contracts so easily."
"Then who are they?"
From a shaded balcony overlooking the garden, a tall man watched the scene with narrowed eyes. He wore refined robes embroidered with silver vines, his long green cloak marking him as someone of status.
A city official.
Or more precisely—someone with authority tied to the Academy.
His expression darkened as he observed Chimmy lounging comfortably on Mike’s shoulder and Bubbles floating happily beside Elina, their mana resonating openly with their contractors.
"...Elder Fairies," he muttered. "Two of them."
That alone was abnormal.
He turned slightly and gestured to the men standing behind him—well-trained, sharp-eyed individuals dressed as attendants but carrying themselves like operatives.
"Find out who they are," he said quietly. "Backgrounds. Origins. Everything."
"Yes, sir," one of the men replied immediately.
"They’re human," another added hesitantly. "No illusion magic detected."
"That’s exactly the problem," the official replied coldly. "Humans don’t form contracts like that. Especially not here."
His gaze lingered on Mike for a moment longer.
"And that golden fairy... miracles, was it?" he murmured. "Troublesome."
Below, Mike felt a faint prickling sensation—like being watched—but dismissed it. He had long since grown used to attention. Elina, however, noticed the shift in atmosphere and leaned slightly closer.
"...People are staring," she said softly.
Mike followed her gaze, spotting the clusters of onlookers and the uneasy curiosity in their eyes.
"Let them," he replied calmly. "We’re not doing anything wrong."
Chimmy crossed his tiny arms, puffing out his cheeks.
"Hmph. Humans are noisy," he said. "If they annoy you, I can blind them with miracle light."
"Please don’t," Mike said immediately.
Bubbles giggled, spinning in a small circle. "They’re just surprised. This place hasn’t felt this lively in a long time."
Drax rubbed his forehead, sighing.
"You two realize this is going to cause trouble, right?"
Mike smiled faintly.
"Trouble tends to find me anyway."
Above them, the official turned away from the balcony.
He had heard Chimmy’s words clearly—and he had no intention of lingering any longer. A fairy capable of speaking so casually about blinding people for life was not something he wanted to provoke.
Especially not an Elder Fairy of Miracles.