Welcoming A Spear Boy

(Cao Cao POV)

The carriage moved across the forest at a decent pace, but enough for Valerie to immediately lose her sense of danger and watch the sights go by. If I were any less cautious, I would be doing the same, as the scenery is quite beautiful. The forest itself seemed to go on forever, with lampposts that seemed made of small trees and endless forests of trees that seemed to scrape the sky.

"The forest is beautiful, Your Majesty." My comment makes the woman's smile grow wider as she has not stopped staring at me.

"Thank you, God Slayer, it honors me that you find this forest pleasant. We will be arriving at my palace shortly." My eyebrow raises at her saying this as I expect to be taken to the ruler's palace, but I do not want to start a fight, so I nod my head.

Scathach, however, asks the queen of the East, "Why are we not being taken to the ruler's castle Titania? My student and I are here to meet the ruler, not stay here."

Titania simply chuckles into her sleeve as she says lightly, "The ruler can only be reached during a certain time of the year. Luckily, the castle will be open to the other rulers tomorrow. I do apologize, Lady Scathach."

My Master narrows her eyes at this, but I then ask, "So, Your Majesty, you spoke of yourself being the ruler of the east. Who are the other rulers, if I may ask?" She then turns back to me, summons a small map in front of us, and points to the west first.

"The forest of the west is owned by Oberon, my former lover; the south is owned by Muryan, the fairy of the beginning, and the north is ruled by the Lady of the Lake, the greatest swordsmith in the realm other than the ruler of the realm. Also, God Slayer, feel free to call me Titania. Such titles are unnecessary here." As she says this, she edges closer to me, but I summon a small barrier using my runes between us.

I give her a small nod of respect and say, "Thank you for the information, Lady Titania, and we do appreciate the generosity, but you are a queen here, and it would reflect badly on us if we were to speak on equal terms." The woman simply sighs in disappointment but returns to her seat opposite to us.

Valerie then ask as she looks out the window of the carriage "Your Majesty why did the fae leave the realms of man as it was assumed that the fae died out a long time ago?"

Titania then frowned at the question but answered, "During the Great War, we saw hundreds of fairies killed and slaughtered for our potential to create powerful holy weapons and our ability to teach others magic. It was not only vampires but fallen angels and Devils that besieged our castles and our lands. Eventually, the great fairies of old met and discussed the creation of a sword meant to end the conflict. The original rulers of the cardinal directions met where the current ruler's castle was and, using their combined essences along with the power of the Biblical God, formed the sword Excalibur, which the Lady of the Lake then perfected. But with the death of the biblical God and the ceasefire of the Great War, the fairies realized we were too diminished to remain so out in the open, so using our magic, we secluded ourselves to regain our numbers. Eventually, the fairies just decided to keep the barriers up, maybe out of fear or simply because this was the only place we had ever known. No one is allowed to leave nor enter without reason."

The silence became heavier as the carriage came to a stop in front of a large villa covered in moss and lights, and as we exited, I offered my hand to Scathach, and as she took it, she smiled and walked out, but before I could move, Titania had already taken my hand and walked out after Scathach with Valerie giving me a confused look.

I swear this woman was giving me the eyes after she grabbed my hand but then returned to normal as she directed us inside. As we entered the villa, multiple small floating lights appeared before me and started flying around me, and as I pet one, it stopped, and simply floated there, but I could feel its happiness.

Honestly it was nice but as I stopped it flew away with the speed of a lightning bolt with Titania stepping in and saying "Away with all of you! Prepare rooms for our guests."

They all then nodded and flew away as Valerie failed to catch one, which made her sad, but I chuckled and placed her on my shoulders, as I did this, she yelped in surprise, but after placing her on my shoulders, she then smiled at me and started laughing in happiness.

Titania then led us to the main hall, and we all sat down at the main table, with the others taking their seats while I checked everything for curses or spells. I found nothing, and as I sat down, Titania sat down next to me and said, "Well, this may be a tad bit late, but welcome to the forest of the East. I hope you all enjoy your time here. But God Slayer, may we talk in private as I have some questions for you, if you do not mind, that is."

I looked at the others and nodded as I could keep a clone with them, so I saw no issue. As they brought out the food, there were surprisingly meats with vegetables, to which Titania chuckled as she said, "What did you think us fairies were pure vegetarians? While it is more popular to eat mainly vegetables and fruits, some fairies cannot do so, so we have meats and animals to hunt. Oh, and take this."

She then handed us a small slip of paper with the word "Enchanting" on it, and as I looked at it in confusion, I asked her, "Is this some type of spell or mantra?"

"No, silly, it's the wifi password. We aren't savages, you know. In fact, a decent number of our fairies work in what you normal humans would call v-tubers. It is almost funny to see the normal mortals react when they see that their streamers are actual fairies in disguise. The memories are erased to keep us hidden, but it is funny nonetheless."

Wait so Tsunomaki Watamae is real?!

She then bids that we eat the food, checking for poisons or other substances. They come out clean, and as we eat them, Valerie does so a bit slower as she prefers blood to normal food. As I eat, using one hand, I give Valerie my other arm, and as she takes it, she bites down and begins to suck.

Titania looks on with a myriad of emotions on her face, but it may just be due to how easily I offered my blood to a vampire, as humans rarely have enough blood in their bodies to feed one on a normal basis. The meal is pretty good. When we return, I'll have to write this down to cook for later.

Once the plates are emptied, Scathach rubs her mouth clean using the napkins, and I do the same along with Valerie. As I go to clean the plates, the lights with wings from before appear and take the food and plates. 

Titania then shows us to our rooms, and as we enter one, it is a room comparable to that of a king or queen. Valerie immediately tested the bed and started to sink into it.

As I pulled her out of it, she looked at me and said, with dead eyes, "Cao Cao, I saw things in the fluff. I can no longer be considered innocent."

What was in that bedsheet?!

As she refuses to let go, Scatahch seems to be just looking into the distance. As I look at where she is staring, I see the large castle in the distance, and even from here, I could sense the pure amount of power emanating from just the building.

"The ruler is watching us."

"Yes, disciple, but I have put privacy wards around our room. We will have no peeping tonight. But I must ask what you think of the queen of the East."

"Creepy as her nonstop happiness and smiles are unnerving, to say the least." Scathach nods in response.

"Remember when I told you how fairies liked to lure normal Folk and prank them? It is because they are attempting to imitate human emotion because fairies, while gifted with immense magic potential, have become disconnected from normal emotions. Happiness, in their definition, maybe something entirely different from our own. Keep up your guard, at least until we leave. For now, you have a queen to meet, so do not embarrass yourself." I take offense to that, Master!

After pulling Valerie off, I placed her into the bed and made sure it was not going to eat her again. Scathach sat down in the chair next to her. I then left the room while leaving a clone to watch them in their concealed state.

As I walked through the villa, I spread my senses throughout the realm, and as I took in the purity of the realm, I smiled to myself as arriving in this place was a very opportune moment as with every second, I was decoding the magic of the fae which will be amazing for improving my own realm.

The door to Titania's meeting room was in front of me, and as I knocked, I heard her say enter as I did so, I saw the woman sitting near the window drinking what I assumed was alcohol, and as I sat opposite her we simply sat in silence for a few moments as the sounds of nature surrounding us. I observed the forest outside and saw endless houses and streets lined with nightstands and various creatures.

"The realm is truly a marvel for the eyes of Lady Titania." She turned to me and, with a soft expression, nodded at my comment.

"Yes, this place is truly beautiful. Every day, I give my thanks to the founding fairies for the peace and prosperity we have right now. And every day, I tried to live up to their legacy. In truth, my name isn't really Titania. Similar to what the New Satans have done in the Underworld, we have taken up the titles of the original founders; thankfully, their knowledge and their lives have been recorded in the libraries of the ruler's castle. I am simply trying to keep up with the expectations." She then places her drink on the table and continues to stare outside.

"So where on the line of succession are you exactly?"

"Along with the others, I am the third Titania, as the seconds in our lines all passed on after their rulership ended." What exactly caused them to step down, I wonder?

"But enough about me, I would like to learn more about you, god slayer. What are you exactly? From you, I sense both the energy of Mortals and Immortals, but I can sense that you are holding yourself back every moment yet gaining strength. I cannot sense your emotions nor see your soul. It is interesting. Also, it has been a long time since I've been a man that hasn't stared at my tits." The last part does slightly catch me off guard.

"Well, living with my Master, you get used to such things, and I am by no means a pervert. While I may enjoy observing the female form, I know where to keep my eyes when in formal settings." She simply laughed at that statement as she seemingly remembered something.

"Well, that is definitely something different, as I remember the recordings from when the original Founders met Gods like Zeus and Odin. They could barely keep their eyes off of the female fairies, but Odin was trying to get into their heads and learn their knowledge more while Zeus wanted to get into their holes, if you know what I mean." I am so lucky I can't feel sick anymore.

"Yes, they may give off that impression. But you misunderstand slightly. You are very beautiful, and I will admit that. But I have everything I could want, so why desire more and risk the consequences?" The statement gives Titania pause as she sits on my lap, and as I stare into her purple eyes, she seemingly studies my own.

"You are very tense, you know. I could by no means harm a guest in my own palace, so relax. If you remain so highly strung, you will snap one day." Relaxation sounds nice, but I know better than to trust fairies, and I'm not going to say that to her face.

"I am alright for now; it is simply muscle memory at this point, Lady Titania. Now, another question: Why did you call me here specifically?" The fairy then gets closer to me as she lies on my shoulder.

"Oh, I know that you know why I'm doing this. It is because you are a true sage everywhere you go. Even if you do not want to, you exude a calming energy as well as energies that promote life and growth. It's a wonder you can go anywhere without nature spirits trying to take you away."

"Is that an invitation, Lady Titania?"

"Maybe, maybe not. I understand that I am by no means stronger than you; if I were, you would never leave this place." It's a wonder they can say such things with such a happy expression on their faces.

"I would feel honored by such a thing if not for the fact that I enjoy my freedom." The sly threat does not go unnoticed by her as she hums to herself.

"Lighten up, God Slayer. I am simply enjoying my seat right now, but if you ever feel the need to relax, let me know. I will always welcome you. But I would be careful when dealing with our ruler." She then gets off as she tries to tempt me further, but I see right through her tricks and get off the chair before leaving the room. 

She then took off all of her clothing, and since I was turned around, I did not see her do it, but I could sense it. She simply laughed to herself as she said while gripping my back as I could feel the warmth of her bare skin, "And if you ever feel like getting away from that prude of a master of yours, let me know. I will fully be willing to relieve one such as yourself. Good night, God Slayer."

I then leave the room and head back to my own. I begin to meditate on the various energies I have acquired and try to understand why we were here and not the place itself. But based on my luck, this is going to be a decently interesting vacation.