Bird James Said So

When Iver realized that the cake cart beneath him was starting to slow down, he knew that they were almost at their destination.

So the rhythm of his piano playing gradually slowed down. Finally, after opening the last door, he slowly stopped directly in front of the Frozen Throne.

The piano in front of Iver turned into glittering dust and dissipated, transforming back into the blue-haired fairy named Lilia.

She was clearly a little dizzy from being spun around, so as soon as she regained her balance, she slumped onto Iver's lap. Iver reached out, picked her up, and put her in his pocket, then respectfully saluted the Fairy Queen: "May you be forever happy, Your Titania."

"Nice to meet you, Iver."

Titania spoke in an elegant and rational voice, "I've heard your story for a long time, and I'm very curious about you."

Although it's still a girl's voice, compared to the mischievous fairies, just listening to that steady voice makes you feel like she's at least a dozen years older.

—Iver finally saw the Fairy Queen Titania with his own eyes. The true form of a great being of the Celestial level... was not a dream, nor Dream Realm, but appeared right before his eyes... less than five or six meters away from Iver.

A gigantic fairy, three or four meters tall, whose beauty surpassed that of any other being on earth.

She had long, curly, milky-white hair that reached her waist and was incredibly thick. Her pupils were amber, and she had pointed, elfin ears.

She wore a pure white high-necked dress with a heart-shaped opening at the chest, revealing a blue ice crystal necklace resting on her high, white breasts. Her legs were adorned with Elven Style white over-the-knee stockings, featuring intricately detailed cutouts with patterns so delicate they were almost invisible.

On her feet were crystal high heels—the heels were terrifyingly sharp, shaped like ice crystals, and constantly spinning, like a slowly stopping electric drill. If we consider the average human woman to be around 1.6 meters tall, her heels must have been at least six centimeters high.

She was currently lounging on the throne with her legs crossed, leaning back lazily.

Her appearance was exactly the same as Titania in Iver's memory.

But there's only one difference.

Iver noticed that Titania held a strange scepter in her hand. At the top of the scepter was a silver birdcage, inside which was a small blue gem bird. Its face and chest were orange-red, like a gentleman wearing a napkin.

That's the robin—the robin from the nursery rhyme "Who Killed the Robin??"

Iver just remembered that Titania's birdcage in the game was empty.

Although Titania was not pulled into the Material Realm by the Ouroboros Ring Ritual when she finally stepped down, she did enter the realm once—it was a Children's Day limited-time event.

That time was essentially just playing along with the other players; I wasn't really taking it seriously. But because the dungeon would give her a transmog set of white dress, white stockings, and high heels... it was practically a must-run dungeon.

The coolest thing is that this white dress and white stockings aren't limited to female characters. This is also the only dress in Ouroboros Ring that isn't restricted to female characters.

You could even create a burly, serious-looking man with pectoral muscles like a double-door refrigerator, dress him in the Titania outfit, and throw on cat ears as he roams the streets. If he can provoke other players' eyes, that's a victory.

In that instance, Titania would use her birdcage to imprison a player by name, and then pose some trivia questions and riddles. Players would answer the questions by stepping on four randomly appearing floor tiles while dodging other mechanisms. Only when everyone stepped on the same tile could the game be considered complete.

If the required number of answers isn't met within the time limit, players imprisoned in the birdcage will transform into fairies—temporarily within the instance. However, this means they cannot be resurrected after being out of combat, and the enemy force actually increases. Therefore, although it's a holiday instance, it's considered a rather troublesome mechanic.

Thinking of this, Iver looked at the birdcage.

"... Titania, could she have already captured someone?" Iver thought to himself. "I wonder which unlucky soul it is..."

The jewel robin inside the cage seemed to sense Iver's thoughts and, quite human-like, turned its adorable head back to look at him.

He even saw composure and intellect in the bird's eyes! It was as if there was a mature uncle in the bird's soul—like the kind of silent uncle who would wear a mature jacket, smoke a cigar, and mix drinks in a bar.

Do you like it?

Titania noticed Iver's gaze, and then she suddenly smiled and said, "If you say 'I want it,' I'll give it to you."

This startled Iver —he dared not take anything from Titania!

Titania appears mature and composed, but at her core, she remains a fairy who "doesn't care about anything but being happy." Deep down, she's still a little girl.

She could be polite, but Iver couldn't really accept it. Otherwise, if she got impatient, the little bird in the cage might have someone to keep it company.

"You're too kind, Your Majesty."

Iver quickly refused.

"You'll regret it if you refuse."

Titania smiled sweetly, revealing dimples on her face.

With great interest, she handed the birdcage to Iver, making the bird look directly at Iver: "This might be your only chance... Are you sure you don't want it?"

"I already have a pet."

"It's a crow," said Iver.

"You mean that Night Demon?"

Titania suddenly spoke up, "It's a rather cute pet, but it's too dark. I don't like it."

Iver paused for a moment.

To reduce variables and prevent other fairies from targeting his two little darlings, he deliberately didn't summon the Little Butterfly and the Little Crow this time.

Even so, Titania saw right through Iver's abilities—an insight far surpassing even Bear Angel's! Did Iver really have almost no secrets to a true ancient celestial being...?

Titania glanced at the two drowsy fairies in Iver's pockets and collar, and suddenly asked, "Do you like them?"

"...What?"

"Those two kids. If you like them, take them with you. They're yours."

"... They are all beings with independent wills. I'll wait until they wake up before asking them."

Iver still didn't dare to accept, but he also didn't dare to refuse again, so he could only delay it in a rather tactful way.

Titania laughed. "You're being too reserved, Iver. Why don't you just say what's on your mind? You two, Moriarty, are so alike... it's amazing. Even though you're not related by blood, you're so similar. How is that possible?"

"...What?"

"It's things like, 'I wouldn't dare take them, fairies are too hard to raise,' and 'Do you think fairies are like pets to her, that she can just send them around?'"

Titania smiled and said, "Actually, you can just say it directly—fairies are all my children, and also a part of me. I am the tree, and they are the flowers. Of course, I can send them back and forth."

—I'm awesome.

"She can read minds!" Iver was immediately taken aback.

Titania simply reached out and beckoned to Iver with her free hand.

Iver felt his body gradually shrinking, and he and the cake cart beneath him were imprisoned and flew away uncontrollably.

Titania reached out and pinched Iver, as if using a fork, and shoved the piece of cake beneath him into her mouth. Then she licked the remaining cream off Iver's body.

"It tastes good, I forgive you."

She reached out and touched Iver's shrunken head.

Holding Titania in his hand, Iver calmly said after regaining his composure, "Your Majesty, I came here to..."

"I know."

Titania said lightly, then tossed Iver into the birdcage.

Iver was dumbfounded.

—What do you mean? Have I been arrested too?

Titania then put the birdcage aside, yawned, and said, "You two keep chatting, call me when you're done. I'm going to take a nap..."

As she spoke, she immediately curled up on the throne and fell asleep.

Titania means...

Iver realized what was happening and looked at the robin beside him.

"It's not that slow."

A robin, about his height, spoke in a deep, aged voice from inside the cage. "It's been a long time, Iver."

"You're already in such a state, so stop putting on airs."

Iver complained.

The moment he heard the sound, he knew who the bird was.

—It was his adoptive father, James Moriarty! "It's been a long time, Father."

Iver composed himself and nodded in greeting.

Bird James nodded—or rather, pecked at Iver.

"You're overthinking it, Iver. I'm not locked up... His Majesty doesn't imprison anyone in his cage. This isn't a prison, it's paradise. Come and go as you please... Just like the Fairy Kingdom, it's a place of freedom."

Bird James calmly replied, "I haven't been here the whole time. In fact, I've only been back for a few days."

"... Are you waiting for me?" Iver understood.

"I was waiting for you. And you came here—it was all fate."

Bird James said so.