Chapter 519: 464 Not Worth Saving_2
Reiger began by making this declaration, then started to explain.
"To humans, fairies are actually a terrifying existence."
This was undoubtedly true.
This was not just because fairies naturally possessed far greater strength than humans, nor merely because the humans of this country were dominated by fairies.
The true terror of fairies, in Reiger’s view, actually lay in their way of thinking.
This species, different from humans, had a worldview, a philosophy of life, and a set of values all distinct from those of humans.
"Humans have their own codes of conduct, their own moral baselines, but fairies do not."
"Humans know what should be done and what should not be done, but fairies do not know."
"Humans understand how to restrain themselves and influence others, but fairies do not."
"The fairies I know of are exactly like this; there’s probably no difference from what you’ve heard, right?"
Faced with Reiger’s question, Altoria chose silence.
These were indeed irrefutable.
Truly, fairies were as Reiger described.
To take the fairy mischief incidents mentioned earlier in Scotland, the fairy tales from that region indeed mentioned some of the fairies’ pranks.
For instance, they would make a passerby lose their memory.
For instance, they would lure children into the forest, causing them to be unable to return home for a week.
Or, they would switch a newborn baby with a fairy child or secretly place animal carcasses at someone’s doorstep to intimidate humans.
To the fairies, these pranks were just pranks, merely a small jest, performed solely for amusement, solely to delight in seeing the panicked expressions of humans, but to humans, these jokes were an undeniable crisis.
A person who lost their memory would forget all important people and things, becoming a walking corpse.
A child deceived into the forest would be found a week later as nothing but remains, having become food for wild animals.
A newborn baby lost, parents unable to find them, succumbing to despair and perishing; people with animal carcasses left at their doors were suspected of being cult members, subjected to arrest, slandered, ultimately fleeing in panic due to rumors, some relocating elsewhere, others collapsing into depression.
Such were the so-called pranks of the fairies.
In their eyes, it was merely a game, but for humans, it was a matter of life and death.
In their eyes, it was just frolicking, but for humans, it was potentially fatal.
Fairies were like this, lacking a sense of loss and priority, pursuing sheer pleasure in their actions, doing things even if there was no benefit as long as it entertained them.
The fairies in this country also lacked a human sense of good and evil.
Sometimes they were kind, cordially hosting you.
Sometimes they were cruel, twisting off the heads of those around them without hesitation.
Their moods were unpredictable.
Their temperament was fickle.
Given a reason, they would even consider turning their blades on loved ones or tormenting them to death, such were the fairies.
Because fairies were long-lived and resilient, merely existing allowed them to survive, so they could afford to do most things without striving for growth, without using every means possible to survive and thrive, or accumulating knowledge. They simply pursued activities they found interesting.
Such were the fairies, and such was the country that housed these fairies; what value then, was there in its salvation?
"You must know as well, just how selfish the fairies can be!"
Altoria once again chose silence at Reiger’s blunt words.
Others might not know, but Reiger knew what this girl, regarded as the child of prophecy, the savior, had endured in the village of Tintagel.
Sixteen years ago, when Altoria was just a newborn baby, she and her chosen staff were found adrift and taken in by the fairies of the village, but the treasures that had come with her by boat had been thoroughly looted by the village fairies.
The villagers of Tintagel knew Altoria was the child of prophecy and raised her, yet they treated her like a horse, keeping her in a stable.
The village fairies planned to sell her to the queen once she had grown, for the queen was in search of the child of prophecy.
Altoria lived under surveillance in the village, enduring a life of cruel training and bullying so unbearable that a few years ago, she lost two toes to frostbite due to her living conditions being too cold.
Because she was not born powerful but grew like a human, she had yet to display the mighty powers associated with the child of prophecy. Since the wealth that had drifted with her to Tintagel had nearly been depleted by the villagers, the fairies grew anxious as Altoria approached the age of 16, when she could embark on a pilgrimage.
If Altoria failed to display powers fitting the child of prophecy, her identity would be questioned.
If her identity was questioned, her authenticity doubted, the queen would not pay a high price for her.