Unlike the other fairies, she had large wings that actually looked like wings, and unlike the other fairies who busily flapped their wings like honeybees, she flew in a gentle sway like a fairy maiden.

Seeing that, Su-ho wanted to ask the Defense Captain, ‘They’re flying, though?’ but he didn’t, and just quietly waited for the Queen to arrive.

Before long, the Queen, swaying as she approached, settled down in front of Su-ho.

Definitely unlike the other fairies, the aura alone was overwhelming.

Then, when she saw Su-ho, she smiled and said,

- Haha, a truly filthy mongrel has shown up.

Mongrel.

At that word, Su-ho suddenly felt a headache.

‘Here we go again with the mongrel crap.’

Su-ho narrowed his eyes and looked for the name card above her head.

It wasn’t there.

Then that meant that woman could be the key NPC in charge of progressing this bloodline quest.

No, the odds were high that she was.

The woman before him wasn’t just any fairy—she was a Queen-class fairy, for god’s sake.

Su-ho almost shoved back as his personality demanded, then decided to hold back just a little longer.

The unlock condition for this authority wasn’t accepting a meeting or an invitation—it was receiving recognition.

‘If I pick a fight for no reason and she digs in until the end, that’s going to be a problem.’

If you think about it, “recognition” is really vague.

If he went with his feelings, he wanted to repay the mongrel remark by destroying everything here and crushing her with force, but the damn system was more sensitive about these matters than you’d think, and submission forced through power might not count as true recognition.

‘And it’s not like I can use Enthrallment either.’

Recognition from someone you brainwashed through Enthrallment wasn’t true recognition either.

That was why Su-ho decided to endure for now.

Back in the day, how many things had I endured in my previous life?

For a civil servant, endurance is a virtue.

And it’s also what he’s best at.

Still, it felt a bit unfair.

Even so, if she was a Queen, that meant she was royalty, and royalty is supposed to have basic dignity, isn’t it?

‘Dignity, my ass.’

Su-ho swallowed a sigh inside and answered.

“Calling me a mongrel is a bit harsh.”

- Hm? If you’re a mongrel, you call you a mongrel. What else would I call you? I don’t even know your name.

“You call someone a mongrel because you don’t know their name? That tells me all I need to know about the Fairy Kingdom’s manners. Whatever. And the way you’re talking, it sounds like you know who I am?”

- Hehe, of course I do. Aren’t you the last contamination factor?

“If I’m a corrupted fairy, I’m still a fairy. Why do you keep calling me a contamination factor?”

- What? Hahahaha!

At Su-ho’s words, the Queen burst out laughing.

Maybe it was genuinely funny—there were even a few tears in her eyes.

- This is amusing. Do you really think you’re a fairy?

“Your subordinates seemed to think so. Whatever. And the way you’re talking, it sounds like you roughly know who I am, so how about we skip the introduction and go straight to the point? It can’t be a coincidence I got summoned to the Fairy Kingdom, and according to the system’s rules, do I just need to get recognition from you?”

- Hahahaha!

The Queen laughed loudly again.

What was so funny?

After her laughter died down, the Queen said,

- Yes. Like you said, you just need to receive recognition from me. Then I’ll unlock your second authority. Ah, for reference, I am the Fairy Queen who rules this forest, and my name is Marloe.

So his guess was right.

She was the Fairy Queen who ruled this place, and ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) she was the ??? Su-ho had to find.

Her name was “Marloe.”

Su-ho asked,

“What imprint did you learn?”

- I learned the Imprint of Protection. So we are fairies of protection, you could say.

“Fairies of protection... I see. Then are all the fairies here fairies of protection?”

- Of course not. The only fairies of protection are me and these ones who can fly. The rest are ordinary fairies who use attribute-less sorcery. That’s why I take them in and care for them.

That was true.

In fairy society, fairies who learned a specific imprint reign as a leader class, keeping ordinary fairies under them, living while caring for and protecting them as village units, as the price of mastering the protective sorcery of the Imprint of Protection.

In that sense, this place was the Forest of Protection and the Village of Protection ruled by Queen Marloe.

Splitting the lake and granting a certain movement sorcery beneath it were all special formulas Marloe had created to protect the fairies here.

Su-ho nodded and said,

“My name is An Su-ho. So what, exactly, do I need to do to receive recognition from you?”

- Simple. The recognition you must receive is sincerity as a fairy.

“Sincerity as a fairy?”

- Yes. You are a being who is not a fairy, yet obtained fairy blood through the system’s power. Can someone like you really be called a true fairy? At the very least, we can’t acknowledge it. And the power you obtained is the imprint of the plague fairies, filthy and low to the extreme, and we don’t treat those things as fairies like us. But you already have two elements that make you unworthy of our recognition, don’t you?

Marloe winked while folding and unfolding two fingers.

She’s really irritating.

How did something like that become a Queen?

Su-ho narrowed his eyes and said,

“I don’t really care about that crap, so what do I do? You’re not going to tell me to put on a show all by myself without giving me any task. The system won’t allow that in the first place.”

- Sounds like you know the system well? Yes, like you said, I’d love nothing more than to watch you embarrass yourself all on your own, but we have promises and responsibilities too.

Then she snapped her fingers.

Between her and Su-ho, the air warped into a circle, and it began to display something like a TV screen.

Its name was a “Fairy Mirror,” a sorcery only Queen-class fairies could use.

And what was shown inside the Fairy Mirror was an iguana.

It looked like a lizard, but much sharper and more frightening-looking—that was definitely an iguana.

He recognized it not because he was interested in reptiles, but because he’d hunted quite a few iguana-type monsters before.

Marloe said,

- Do you happen to know about Fairy Dragons?

“Fairy Dragons?”

- Yes. Fairy Dragons are one of those damn fairy-hunter factions that eat fairies. These are extremely nasty things that naturally arise wherever fairies live, and the one you’re looking at right now is a bastard named “Gomes,” who has been tormenting us for a very long time.

Fairy Dragon.

First time he’d heard of it.

It looked like an iguana, so he’d assumed it was an iguana-type monster, but to think its identity was a dragon, of all things.

Of course, just because “dragon” was in the name didn’t mean it was a real dragon.

As Su-ho could see, it had an appearance closer to an iguana, but it was only named Fairy Dragon because it was a reptile that ate only fairies.

Keeping his gaze fixed on it, Su-ho asked,

“How does it torment you?”

- Is that important?

“It is. From what I can tell, dealing with that bastard is probably the condition to get recognized, and if you know yourself and know the enemy, you’ll win every battle. I need to know about it so I can reference that and deal with it.”

- Sounds like you’re mistaken about something. Do I have to tell you even that much?

“Don’t want to?”

- And if I don’t?

“Then just forget it.”

- What?

“Are you the only fairies in the world? I know this is a test, but if I have to get recognized, there’s no reason it has to be you, is there?”

At that, Marloe’s eyes narrowed.

Because it was true.

In the system’s condition of “recognition of ???,” the ??? wasn’t actually “Marloe” or “the fairies of protection”—it was simply the recognition of the fairy race.

Seeing Marloe’s reaction, the corner of Su-ho’s mouth lifted.

‘I was just poking once, but I guess I was right.’

For a so-called Queen, her inner thoughts were way too easy to read.

With that lifted corner of his mouth still there, Su-ho said,

“For a Queen, your face is really transparent. Stop messing around and spill everything you know. Just looking at this, if you’re assigning Gomes’s disposal to me as a test, that means you can’t beat Gomes no matter what, right?”

- What?

“Aren’t you? Then why are you dumping that bastard’s disposal on me? You’re a Queen-class fairy, and a protection fairy—you could just handle it yourself. You talk too much. Just hearing that you’ve been tormented for a long time already shows your limit right there.”

- ......

Marloe shut her mouth.

She didn’t want to admit it, but it was true.

Frowning, Marloe said,

- Fine, you’re right. Even I, a Fairy Queen, couldn’t easily deal with that bastard. Because Fairy Dragons fundamentally have fairy-power resistance close to 100%.

“What a sad piece of news. Sorcery is probably all you’ve got, and your precious sorcery didn’t work, so you must’ve been terrified. Is that why you’ve been living hidden under the lake? Anyway, fine. Now that I know the circumstances, I’ll gladly deal with it. That’s all, right?”

- No. Simply killing it isn’t the end. Kill it and bring back all of Gomes’s corpse. Then I will definitely recognize you.

“I get the killing part, but you’re asking for loot too? This smells a little fishy.”

- Don’t be mistaken. It’s not a loot demand—it’s part of the test too. But let me tell you, it won’t be easy. Even if you’re a breed who learned the Imprint of Corruption, closest to death, Gomes is a being with fairy-power resistance beyond imagination.

“Don’t lump me in with you useless types just because I’m annoyed, okay? I’m extremely capable, unlike you. Fine, I accept the conditions. But I have a condition too.”

- A condition? You, who came to take a test, dare?

“Yeah, dare. My condition is simple. If I kill Gomes and bring back what you demanded, then you formally apologize for calling me a mongrel. And from then on, don’t look down on me again—treat me properly as a fellow fairy. If you don’t like that, I’ll go find a different fairy.”

- What are you....

“Don’t like it? Then don’t. Like I said, you’re the ones who need me, not the other way around.”

When Su-ho made a gesture like he was going to leave, the Defense Captain, seeing it, seemed unable to endure it anymore and raised his trident, aiming it at Su-ho.

“You bastard! I clearly said I wouldn’t let it go if you were rude to Her Majesty!”

At that moment.

“Hey.”

A single word that sank coldly.

At the same time, Pressure and Mini Fear activated, and the defense soldiers and protection fairies there stiffened and fell, either dropping to the ground or collapsing.

But Su-ho didn’t care about that at all, still pouring out the skill effect as he said,

“Don’t butt in. Don’t be insolent and interrupt adults talking.”

Then Su-ho stared straight at Marloe and said,

“So what’s your answer?”

A prickling voice.

At the question, Marloe bit her lip and answered.

“Fine. I’ll do it.”

“Okay, negotiation complete. Then guide me to where that bastard Gomes is.”

Snap!

After hearing the answer he wanted, Su-ho snapped his fingers, and at the same time, the stiffened fairies could finally breathe again.