"But then again, how much does Aesc know about the Northern Fairies?" Shiomi asked. "I mean, as a Paradise Fairy."
Gazing at the campfire before her, feeling its warmth drive away the chill of the night forest, Aesc shook her head.
"Not much. When they sent me to Britannia, Paradise didn't give me that knowledge."
All she knew was that more than two thousand years ago, when Britannia's land expanded northward, they encountered the Northern Fairies living in what is now Orkney.
After that came the great event known as the Spring War.
The war ended with the victory of the southern fairies, who possessed "humans," and in that conflict the Northern Fairies were slaughtered to the last.
Only afterward did the Rain Clan and the Mirror Clan migrate to northern Britannia.
The former established the Land of Rain in the northernmost Orkney, while the latter settled in the Lake District further south.
As someone who knew this history just as well, Aesc remembered clearly that Shiomi had never once asked her opinion on the Rain Clan's past actions.
No matter what the Rain Clan did during the Spring War, in the end they did build their nation upon the land left behind by the Northern Fairies. That sin undeniably remained.
The reason he never asked was something Aesc could more or less understand.
"Then there's nothing to be done." Shiomi tapped his head. "I tried using the Primordial Runes to gain knowledge of the Northern Fairies, but perhaps because that knowledge is essentially the collective unconscious of Faerie Britain, the answers came out vague."
"The Primordial Runes," Aesc murmured thoughtfully. "I remember Tenkei once said they were the magical foundation discovered by the great god Odin... So gods really did exist."
"They did," Shiomi said, pressing a hand to his chest. "But now things are different. I can't sense any trace of divinity in this world. The only one who still connects with me is Mother."
Long ago, the Mother Goddess Tiamat had been cast into the Sea of Imaginary Numbers by her own children, yet she had not vanished from the world.
She could ignore the scale of time, but she had never interfered with Shiomi's actions or experiences.
After all, Shiomi could not say for certain whether his mother might change depending on different choices in different events... or whether, within the countless woven and pruned timelines, Goddess Tiamat possessed a singularity.
The primordial Mother Goddess—present in every parallel world, yet one and only.
Shiomi believed it was the latter.
Perhaps Goddess Tiamat was even waiting for him to call for help. At the sound of her child's plea, she would surely rise from the Sea of Imaginary Numbers and appear before him, ready to extend her hand.
Or perhaps, because this was an incorrect history, Mother simply disliked this place.
"Mother..." Aesc always felt a strange sense of awe whenever she heard Shiomi call the primordial Mother Goddess "Mother," as though it elevated her own existence as well. "I really want to meet Tenkei's 'mother' someday."
"You'll meet her eventually," Shiomi answered, sounding a little uneasy. After all, Aesc... Morgan was the only Servant under the Dragon Spirit Origin who could harm the Mother Goddess.
When that meeting came, their relationship was unlikely to be harmonious.
Even so, Aesc held onto Shiomi's arm more tightly, her voice dropping low.
"Come to think of it, I once heard Mother mention... when the Northern Fairies were wiped out, their remains whispered, 'Next, it's your turn.'"
As Shiomi spoke idly, her own thoughts turned to the late queen.
"Hmm..." Shiomi pondered slowly. "It certainly warrants further investigation."
"So that's why you want to go to Edinburgh, to see Mab, the High Queen of the Northern Fairies, with your own eyes?" Aesc asked.
"After all, based on what we know now, Mab is the most original Northern Fairy, and the others under her rule are merely outsiders she absorbed." Shiomi nodded. "Perhaps meeting Mab will help us understand what the true Northern Fairies are, and how they differ from the Southern Fairies."
"What if you find nothing?" Aesc asked again.
"Then we find nothing." Shiomi shook his head. "I'm not going just to gain something. Let's just treat it as an adventure."
Aesc smiled faintly, the heavy mood lifting once more. "My husband truly is optimistic. I should learn from your positive outlook."
"...Husband." Shiomi couldn't help but sigh softly in his heart.
She would occasionally call him that so plainly in private. Yet every time she did, an unshakable sense of regret lingered within him.
Their wedding ceremony had been held after all, though without any blessings—a simple, intimate ritual completed in their cottage on the island.
But Aesc had never felt it was a loss. After all that had happened, he had devoted everything to avenging the clan she cherished, and then fulfilled their unfinished marriage vows with her.
She had once thought she'd lost everything, only to realize through him that she still had something precious.
"Even without blessings, we still had our wedding. I am already your wife," Aesc, sensing his thoughts, gently reassured him. "You are my everything now, Tenkei."
Hearing this, Shiomi's heart melted. He instinctively pulled her into his arms, his fingers slipping through her soft hair and brushing against her delicate neck.
The touch, for once free of desire, brought Aesc a rare sense of ease and comfort before anything else.
Seeing her tilt her head back, Shiomi suddenly laughed. "You look like a kitten right now, Aesc."
"A kitten?" Aesc blinked.
In the Fairy Kingdom, ordinary animals didn't exist. She could only learn of such things from Proper Human History through the memories Shiomi shared.
"Kittens lift their heads when someone they're close to strokes their neck," Shiomi explained with a smile.
"Mm... what sound do cats make again?" Aesc murmured, enjoying the motion of his hand.
That question made Shiomi hesitate for a moment before he awkwardly imitated it. "Uh... I think it's... 'Meow~.'"
"Tenkei, that was surprisingly good." Aesc's eyes shone as she watched his rare expression.
"You've never seen one—how would you know if I did it well or not?"
Aesc paused, then said softly, "Then... when I can go to where Tenkei is, I'll see it for myself."
"...Mm. You will. Just look forward to it."
For some reason, Shiomi felt his heart tremble. He nearly forgot the one hope he carried here.
[I must ensure your footsteps continue into the year 6000... no, into the endless future beyond. Even if it means offering myself as the price.]
Unable to hear Shiomi's inner vow, Aesc only felt the warmth of his embrace, and in turn tightened her arms around him.