Chapter 91: The Home of the Fairies

Chapter 91: The Home of the Fairies

With Bran’s return, the Mountain Villa regained its soul, and the Mana began to grow more active. At this moment, Bran sat in the center of the Courtyard, gradually seeping Mana into every part of the Mountain Villa and activating the Mana activity of the entire villa. Then, he began to guide the Mana within the villa, using the Wasteland as a blueprint, setting it into slow motion. After one full cycle, everyone in the villa felt a heavy thump in their chest, as if a dull sound echoed through the Mountain Villa.

As a Wizard, Lily ran into the Courtyard by intuition, just in time to see Bran pressing a Meteorite Fragment into the ground. He then looked up and met her eyes. That one glance made her feel a chill all over her body; the surrounding Attics seemed to press down on her along with Bran’s actions. She felt as if she was facing a mirror World, her brother trapped on the far side, completely distant from her. Just as she opened her mouth in surprise, Bran detached from the mirror surface, turning back into her familiar brother, and grinned at her.

“What are you doing?”

“Something I gained from the Wasteland. I tried adjusting the way Mana flows in the villa, and now it worked. Don’t you feel anything?”

Lily sensed carefully. “It feels somewhat familiar.”

Bran scratched his head. It seemed achieving the Wasteland’s effect was still far from enough. He explained verbally, “A method of Mana circulation that strengthens the body. I don’t know if it conflicts with your abilities.”

Hearing Bran’s words, Lily began to sense carefully and then said, “No conflict. It even seems complementary in some ways. I’ll need time to understand it.” She then immersed herself in it and ignored him further.

With the Mana activated and circulating, the Mountain Villa began to constantly absorb and release Mana. Invisible Mana mist gradually filled the Manor and spilled over the walls, spreading to the surroundings. The Little Fairies flew around here excitedly. At Bran’s request, the Little Fairies in the villa had to move in a way visible to people, which helped the Northlanders accept their presence.

In recent days, rumors about Fairies had spread throughout the Castle. Now, people came in a continuous stream to the Mountain Villa to see the Fairies. Bran forbade people from entering the third level of the villa, so these people could only stand in the distance, competing with their eyesight.

“Look, I saw one! It’s coming out! Coming out!”

“Where? Where?”

…

His younger sister Xirui was very happy these days. She was full of curiosity about these Little Fairies. And these Fairies also seemed to prefer being with children. This could be seen from the more than ten Little Fairies surrounding his sister. In contrast, the Little Fairies showed no interest in his two older brothers who had already completed their Trial.

His elder sister had just run outside; she was currently building a bond with the Little Bear. Bran did not let the Little Bear enter the villa. This bear’s favorite thing every day was to cling to the top of the wall and peer into the Manor. It was a good companion. The fact that this bear could always catch up with Bran when he was traveling at full speed showed its speed, endurance, and sense of smell were excellent. Bran had no intention of keeping this Little Bear, just holding an attitude of “if you can keep up, I’ll take you along.” Unexpectedly, the bear chased him all the way back to the Manor. Bran, who was almost losing patience, saw his sister’s eyes shining as she stared at the Little Bear and conveniently gave it to her as a gift.

Bran was now chatting with his two older brothers. Because they had successfully completed their Trial, his brothers began to take him, their younger brother, seriously and started actively getting close to him.

His older brother Adam asked, “What are your plans?”

“I plan to go to the Eternal River after winter passes.” Bran grinned somewhat sneakily.

Aki also became interested. “Tell us in detail.”

“First, I’ll go take a look. Our Northlands’ control over the border isn’t strict. When the border was initially drawn, it wasn’t the river that served as the boundary. On the other side of the river, a range of over ten miles was also ours. But for many years, we’ve only cleared along the north bank of the river. How many years has it been since we’ve been to the other side?

This is an opportunity. I need to see the actual situation. The things built on our Territory should be taken back.”

Seeing the complicated looks in his brothers’ eyes as they stared at him, Bran laughed. “After completing the Trial, I feel much more relaxed. Now, I can finally choose my own Territory, as long as I can gather enough people to go and build it. But where will the people come from? Where will the supplies come from? On this side of the river, we are too constrained, making it difficult to find enough people.

The other side is different. Although we haven’t paid attention to it these years, that land originally belonged to us. Everything on that land is ours, whether people or property. As long as it’s legally justified, we can confiscate it, especially since we have force as a guarantee. The wealth is right there, just waiting for us to reach out and take it.”

“I want to go too!” Lily suddenly popped her head in.

“You rest first. Talk about it after you come of age.” Since completing his Trial, the growth in his strength gave Bran plenty of confidence.

“Given my strength is so great, I should be able to hear the call of the Wasteland earlier,” Lily said somewhat defiantly.

“You still need maturity in thought. You’re too childish now,” Bran began to criticize his sister.

“If possible, you’d better communicate more with the Little Fairies instead of playing with that dumb bear. Activating the liveliness of your own Mana is better and safer than going to the Wasteland, and it helps the most in improving your strength.”

Hearing this, Lily turned and ran to find the Little Fairies. In this regard, she trusted Bran a lot.

Watching his sister leave, Bran continued, “Since we want to step out, we can be more proactive. Create more conflicts at the border, strive for more benefits. Don’t see conflicts as bad things; they are just a form of communication. Through conflicts, they’ll be forced to come out and communicate with us. That way, we’ll have the initiative, and it’ll be much easier.”

Adam suggested, “What if we go with you?”

“It’s best not to gather together. The border line is very long, enough for us to operate. And we should all be able to stand on our own, and then we can watch out for and help each other.”

If we want to step out, relying only on personal marriages is not enough. Using border friction as an opportunity to engage with the Nobles adjacent to the border, then gradually divide and absorb them during interactions—perhaps that would be better.

It feels great to have passed the Trial. Finally, I can step out in my own way. Don’t think about leaving me alone and lonely; I don’t like the taste of loneliness.

…

After seeing his brothers off, Bran found Gazi, who was watching the Little Fairies in the Mountain Villa. He patted Gazi’s arm and asked, “Want to go out and have some fun?”

“Yes!” Gazi almost shouted instinctively.

“Early next summer, come with me to the other side of the border.”

“I can’t decide this on my own. I still have to go home and ask my dad and my uncle,” Gazi said without much confidence.

“It’s just a reservation. If others try to recruit you at the same time, I hope you’ll follow me.”

“No problem!” After all, Gazi had played with Bran before and gained benefits, so this time he didn’t hesitate.

“While you’re at it, ask the guys who played together at the market back then.”

“Okay,” Gazi patted his chest.

…

Meanwhile, in the Castle, Bran’s parents were displaying that blue tiger skin before everyone. His mother kept praising Bran’s cleverness and bravery. Then, it led to everyone else’s fawning flattery.

Probably no one imagined that at this moment, her good son—Bran—was about to stir up trouble again…