I slowly open my eyes the next morning. Stirred by my movement, the fairy opens her eyes as well. The fairy stands up and flies out from my hands, then I follow after her by climbing out of the hole of the tree. It feels as if it’s been a long time since I've gotten a good rest. After crying my heart out, my head now feels clear.

“Hey, what is your name?” (Meirou)

“I-I don't have a name… b-but I have decided to follow you.” (Fairy)

“Follow me?” (Meirou)

Was that why she gazed at me with those resolute eyes last night before she began healing me? I thought her working so hard to heal a stranger was very strange to me at first, but my vigilance disappeared the moment I saw that gaze. Did she heal me because she decided to follow me?

“You don't have a home to return to?” (Meirou)

She nods.

“Are you sure you want to follow someone you barely know? I might just lure you into a trap, and sell you off to someone.” (Meirou)

“I-I trust you. You saved me from that scary monster. When we met, you had an extremely pained expression. Despite that, you still risked yourself to save a fairy like me. You even got really injured. I felt your warmth when you gently grabbed me. Ah! I'm sorry for not saying this until now, but thank you very much for saving me!” (Fairy)

The fairy starts getting flustered for forgetting to show her gratitude. Now that I think about it, I unconsciously knew her race as if it was common sense to me. Well, I've read plenty of light novels back in my world, so I could have made an easy guess from her appearance alone. Suddenly, a surge of information flowed into my head.

“Ah…” (Meirou)

Is this my blessing? Only after my mind is clear, is when one of my blessings finally activate. No, it probably activated the moment I encountered the fairy. I just didn't realize when my thoughts were in such disarray yesterday.

“......” (Meirou)

I try and organize my thoughts. There is only one common language. As expected, I gained the ability to speak and write the language of this world like I wanted. I've been unconsciously using it to talk to the fairy like it's second nature to me. I am extremely grateful for this. I understand that there are many races, but the only races that i can name are ‘human’ and ‘fairy’. I might have to visually meet the other races to fill up the nonexistent dictionary in my head… like a game? This doesn't seem to be any sort of game world though, so I'll put this thought in the back of my mind for now. I know the names of the known cities on this continent, as well as the frequently used routes to travel.

"It seems I am in a forest west of a human city called 'Centreville'..." (Meirou)

I try and dig deeper in my memory for details on the fairy race: ‘Fairies are discriminated by the majority of the races’ and ‘Fairies are hunted for their wings which pushed them to near annihilation’ seems to be the two most important facts about their race. These lines appear in my memory like what could be read from a textbook. But wait, does that mean monsters don't count? I met that alligator-like wolf creature, twice in fact, yet nothing came up. Does it only apply to races with intellec?...

“I am glad that you are safe. I want to thank you as well for healing my hands. If you insist on following me, then I don't mind. Although being around me might expose you to danger far worse than this forest. Isn't it safer to stay here?” (Meirou)

“I am never safe wherever I go… W-We are always being chased by humans and harpies! If i were to die sooner or later, i would prefer to die near you instead!” (Fairy)

The fairy then gives me those same eyes again. The eyes as if she had already decided on her path, even if it could lead her down to hell. I also slightly raised my eyebrows when she mentioned ‘harpies’. They are one of the intellectual races, I assume. I raise my hand to grab her, and put her in my chest pocket. She shivered for a moment in my hand, but calmed down as she understood my intention. From my breast pocket, she looks up at me and shows me a bright smile. I open my mental map, and don’t see any similar descriptions written down about the cave I was dropped into. I guess I should start off by walking towards the opposite direction of the cave. As I start walking, I think over what name would suit her.

“Say, don’t you have parents?” (Meirou)

“Y-Yes, but...” (Fairy)

“Your parents never gave you a name?” (Meirou)

“It was because my mana pool was weak… it seems I was a lost cause to them… A-Ahaha…” (Fairy)

I searched my memory for ‘mana pool’: ‘The amount of mana stored in the body since birth. Size of mana pool determines whether a person is talented in magic or not’. So her parents deemed her a lost cause, and arbitrary decided not name her? Was it to avoid get attached to their child when fulfilling their duty as parents? No, i am not sure if they even fulfilled their duty. I am baffled if I should feel anger or sympathy. One thing I do clearly understand, is that a fairy’s living conditions are bleak. They are hunted until their numbers dwindled to only a few. They have to worry about hunters wherever they go. A commonplace parent would normally never think about abandoning their child, but that just means there are also screwy or unorthodox parents that exist with conflicting values. I look down at her.

“From now on, your name is Kanko.” (Meirou)

“K-Kanko?” (Fairy)

“In an old language, there is a word called ‘kakan(果敢)’ which means resolute. I took the ‘kan(敢)’, and attached it to ‘ko(子)’ which means child. Ever since we’ve met, I’ve been moved by your unwavering act of kindness and decision you made to follow me. You seem to be timid, but you seem to have the courage to follow with your actions.” (Meirou)

“F-From just that, you came up with that much…!?” (Fairy)

I recall her resolute eyes. I move my hand to gently pat her head with my fingers.

“....An old language… You are fluent in a dead language?” (Fairy)

“Ah… Yeah, you could say that.” (Meirou)

The fairy was surprised when I suddenly spoke some words she never heard before. She becomes quiet and becomes lost in thought.

“Kanko… Kanko…” (Fairy)

She then starts tearing up.

“I-It’s a beautiful name. I am really happy! You put so much thought into it, even though I’m just a fairy… Thank you… Ah! I forgot I don't know your name yet!” (Kanko)

“Ah. I never introduced myself, did I? My name is Meirou, Kanko.” (Meirou)

“Y-Yes! I will cherish this name. Thank you Meirou...” (Kanko)

My heart felt warm. I am glad that she loves her name. There was shivering movements coming from my breast pocket, so I look down. I see that Kanko has both her arms covering her eyes along with sounds of sobbing. It seems she’s trying to hold it back, but to no avail. Suddenly-

「Meirou, I wonder if you understand how meaningful it is for a fairy to receive a name. I am happy to have received a name from him, but I shouldn’t take this for granted.」 (Kanko)

Thoughts entered my mind. What is this?

「Yes. I must try and be of use. I don’t want to be thrown away again when I’ve finally found someone I can devote my life to.」 (Kanko)

Isn’t this… Kanko’s voice? I double-checked my ears to see if she was speaking to me or not, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

「Sister, can you hear me? Since being born, I’ve been running all my life. I’ve met all kinds of people with many masks of kindness and cruelty. I’ve had thoughts of killing myself time and again, and constantly thought over the reasons why was I born to begin with.」 (Kanko)

For some reason, I can hear her thoughts. Wait… is this my other blessing 「Complete Communication」!? There is no other explanation. I clearly have some sort of mind-reading ability, since I can hear Kanko’s thoughts. So the first set of blessings was an ability, while the second set was pure knowledge attainment? I thought my language fluency was from 「Complete Communication」, but it was actually also included in the 「Knowledge of the world」 blessing. I am astonished by this turn of events.

「Now, I finally cleared away such thoughts. I don’t think I’ll ever meet anyone as gentle and amiable as Meirou ever again for a long time. I don’t have any more regrets for this choice, even if it will lead me to my death. I have had enough of living like this… No matter where he goes, I’ll follow him. I’ll leave my fate up to Meirou.」 (Kanko)

I stop walking, and continue to look down toward Kanko. I am astonished by the recent discovery of my blessing, but Kanko’s true feelings that flowed into my mind overshadowed it with feelings of affection. After hearing Kanko’s true feelings, I felt as if I have gotten a little closer to understanding this little fairy. I unconsciously smile, and silently vow to myself that I will never abandon her. After a pause, I continue down the forest.

Before night came, Kanko went ahead to find anything edible. She leads me to a tree as she finds something familiar to her, and we gather a handful. I try biting into one, and it tastes like sweet grapefruit. It’s not bad. I use my outer uniform as a blanket and fell into sleep as I leaned against a tree.

…

After two days, we’ve finally reached a small town. Looking at the emblem at the entrance, it seems we’re somewhere in the east side of the continent. I am glad, because the majority of the human race was towards the east.

“We finally made it, huh?” (Meirou)

“Y-Yeah…” 「Will I get spotted? Will Meirou protect me? I don’t want to cause trouble for him. I must work hard. I’m scared. I must be careful. I don’t want to be left behind.」 (Kanko)

I look to my shoulder and see Kanko sitting there with a worried expression. I pet her head with my fingers, then grab her to move her into my breast pocket.

“Ah…” (Kanko)

“Stay in there while we’re in town. I’ll let you know when it’s safe to come out.” (Meirou)

I smile at her, and she nods back happily. To be honest, I am not confident that I can completely protect Kanko from harm. I will need to solve this problem quickly. My blessings are only dependable during intelligence warfare, not for actual combat. I will need to look for a companion with combat experience. Someone who I can completely trust, and not constantly worry about betrayal. Tsukoki’s disappearing figure as he walks away flashes through my mind. I started feeling extremely bitter.

“Tch.” (Meirou)

As I continue walking down the main road, I receive more stares than I wanted. I panicked for a moment thinking Kanko was already exposed, but I look down to see she was still hiding. I look at my school uniform. Now that I think about it, my clothes are very different compared to this world’s fashion. This is not good. Just my school uniform alone might invite unnecessary trouble. I quickly look for a clothing store, and enter it.

“Welcome, sir.” (Shop Owner)

I see a woman with the appearance of being in the late 30’s. It seems like she’s the shop owner. The shop owner gazes at my school uniform in interest.

“H-Hello. Can I sell my current clothes to you? In return, I’ll use a portion of that money to buy clothes from this shop.” (Meirou)

The shop owner raises an eyebrow, and continues to gaze at my clothes as I continue toward the counter.

“Hoh? How much are you willing to sell those clothes for? I have never seen such fine clothes before. As a dressmaker, I am very curious. It looks like it was made by a talented individual with dexterous hands. Are you perhaps a noble?” (Shop Owner)

“Ah, yes.” (Meirou)

I decided to claim that I’m a noble. I should go with the flow, or else I might get asked leading questions that could cause me trouble for later. As for the price… I think it over. 10 bronze coins is 1 silver coin. 25 silver coin is 1 gold coin. Beyond that is something only real nobles and royalty would know. The current currency structure is simple and easy to calculate. It costs about 3 silver coins to stay at an inn for 1 night.

“I will sell both the top and bottom for 4 gold coins. How about it?” (Meirou)

“Hmm… I’ll take it.” 「A bit pricy… but this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get my hands on such clothes.」 (Shop Owner)

She hands me 4 gold coins. I go pick out clothes fit for traveling, then head to the back led by the shop owner. I silently reached out for Kanko and hid my hand under the traveler clothes. I start taking off my school uniform, and hand it to the shop owner. This is enough to stay at an inn for a bit over a month. I’m a bit relieved that I don’t have to worry about money for a while. I quickly buy a bag as well before I leave the shop.

“Kanko, quickly hide inside this bag.” (Meirou)

Kanko quickly flies into the bag as I whispered to her. I look around once, and then continue walking down the main path to look for an inn.

After a while, I see a building that can be referred to as an inn, so I walk inside. I see a bunch of rough men and beautiful women sitting in various tables eating happily, with various weapons hanging at their waists. I walk towards the counter, and see a woman that looks to be in her early 20’s.

“Hi, sir. How may I help you today?” (Innkeeper)

“Hello, can I rent a room please?” (Meirou)

“Sure thing, only for yourself?” (Innkeeper)

“Ah, yes please.” (Meirou)

“That will be 3 silver coins.” (Innkeeper)

I hand her a gold coin, and she was taken aback by it.

“U-Um, how many days do you wish to stay?” 「Is this young man a noble?」 (Innkeeper)

“As much as this gold coin can cover.” (Meirou)

“That will be 8 days, here is a silver coin as change. Morning and evening meals here are free of charge for anyone renting a room at this inn. Please come order anytime during these specific timeframes.” (Innkeeper)

She bows to me, and leads me to my room. As I close the door behind me, I sigh in relief, as I went to lay on the bed.

“Kanko, how are you feeling?” (Meirou)

Kanko takes a peek from inside the bag to see if anyone else is still nearby, then flies out of the bag.

“I was not able to see anything, but I heard many things! It's been a long time since I’ve seen a human city...” 「Yeah… It’s been a long time since I’ve returned to a human city. I never imagined I would return to a human city willingly… 」 (Kanko)

“I see…” (Meirou)

As night fell, I try to comprehend my newfound mind-reading ability. I was expecting to receive random thoughts from the people in my surroundings, but that didn’t happen. I made eye contact with the shop owner and innkeeper, and I was able to hear their thoughts; but in Kanko’s case, I could still hear her thoughts even without eye contact. I can only make a conjecture at this point, but I assume it’s a requirement to have a mental image of the target to be able to read their thoughts. This is a convenient ability, but not exactly 「Complete Communication」. I’ll wait and see if there are any other abilities hidden in his blessing. As I was lost in thought, Kanko is sitting on the window frame staring down upon the buildings of the town.

“Kanko, come over here” (Meirou)

I signal my hands, telling her to come over. She turns her head and flies over with a question mark on her head. As she lands on the pillow I am laying my head on, I pat her with my fingers before closing my eyes. I felt a small hand touching my forehead, as I finally drifted away to sleep.

…

The merchant was walking down the main road, holding the reins of a horse pulling a cart. He stops, tells his subordinate to hold the reins, and goes inside the inn.

“Hey missy, your package has arrived.” (Merchant)

The Innkeeper hears the call, and stops cleaning the table. She runs over to the merchant.

“Thank you, Mitou.” (Innkeeper)

She amiably accepts the package, and runs over to the counter to grab the money. He receives the money in silence.

“Thanks missy. This will be the last box of rare ingredients for the next 6 months. Be sure to use it sparingly.” (Merchant)

“I’ll be sure to let my husband know. The dishes that requires these ingredients are expensive, so not just anyone can order it. There aren’t many nobles in this town anymore, so I am more worried if anyone will order these dishes at all.” (Innkeeper)

“Ahaha, I see. Well, your family is blessed with luck. This inn has become famous in this town. I’m sure the customers you’re looking for will come to this inn just for those dishes. Alright then missy, take care.” (Merchant)

The innkeeper smiles slightly embarrassed from the merchant’s blunt compliment, then bows as he exits the inn. As he exits, he turns to look back one last time. He won’t be returning to this town anymore, as it might possibly become a battlefield in the near future. As he was about to turn around, something caught his eye. He squints his eyes, and gasps. Is that fairy!? As he was about to take a step closer, that little creature turned around and disappeared from the window. He continues to stare at the window lost in thought.

“Oi!” (Merchant)

He walks up to his subordinate who was holding the reins.

“Change of plans, we will go meet Canu. I want to discuss a matter with him.” (Merchant)

“O-Okay!” (Subordinate)

He quickly continues down the main path. I’ve hit jackpot. The last time a person has mentioned that they spotted a fairy, was over a decade ago. If you were to somehow catch a fairy, you could sell them off for at least 2 white gold coins, or 100 gold coins. Nobles normally earn 50 gold yearly, so the price is double their yearly pay. I’ve got to capture that fairy before it escapes this town. I won’t let it escape my grasp.

...