Chapter 61

"Before you're no longer Croa?"

When I asked her, Croa looked only at me and gave a slightly gentle smile.

"You took me to the flower field, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"At that time, I thought it had been a while since I had seen flowers."

I didn't understand what she meant.

Croa should have seen plenty of flowers.

For example, during the party at the castle, there were flowers decorating the venue. There were flowers in the garden too. And most of all, there were flowers along the way to the flower field. It was impossible for her not to have seen them. But...

"Seeing flowers and looking at flowers are different. I had been living without really noticing the beauty of flowers for a while. It had become so normal that I didn't even feel any pain. Then, I realized it."

She realized she hadn't been seeing what was there. The shock... I could almost imagine it. I had been in a similar state before.

But probably, at that time, my heart wasn't as starved as hers, so...

"If the human heart feeds on waste, then my heart must have already starved to death."

...I thought I couldn't really understand Croa's feelings.

It took me a while to realize there were flowers, and even longer to realize they were beautiful. Realizing that must have been very painful.

"But being here, it feels like my dead heart is starting to move. However, if I return to my mission, my heart will surely die again. When I thought about that..."

Croa said this and looked down.

"I can't stay here anymore."

"Then, why don't you stay here forever?"

I didn't know what to say to the silent Croa, and I wasn't sure if this was the right thing to say, but I said it anyway.

"You don't have to go back. If you don't, you won't get hurt, right?"

Croa looked surprised... but then she started laughing.

"No, you really are a naive kid."

I was aware of that. But... I didn't want to leave Croa like this.

The heart needs food, and everyone should be able to eat it. It's not right for a heart to be hungry when it needs food. So...

"I'll just say it now."

But Croa said this as if to discourage me.

"My mission was to seduce Fay Blade Redgard and extract information from the Redgard family."

"Huh? Me?"

"Yes. I approached you with that in mind."

Approached... huh, maybe when she came to get a drink at the party? She approached me... just for that?

"I was supposed to get a drink, find a way to start a conversation, and then seduce Fay Blade Redgard to extract information. That was the plan. But things changed. There was a boy who looked me straight in the eye before I could get to Fay Blade Redgard."

...Yeah. I was seduced. By me.

"Um... So, the information about my family... it's about the Red Dragon, right?"

"Yes. I was hired as a spy to extract information about the Red Dragon from you. The adopted daughter thing is just a formal title."

I had a strong feeling about this. Fay and Laocrates had been wary of it.

But at the same time, I felt a bit sad. It felt like a betrayal, even though our relationship was so short.

"Was it okay to say this here?"

"Yes. Either way, the mission failed when I couldn't seduce this boy properly."

Croa said this and looked at me with a slightly intense gaze.

"You look like an innocent boy, but you have some incredible magic, don't you? The seduction didn't work as I expected. It should have worked, and I felt a connection from the first meeting, but for some reason, it only led to drawing pictures..."

"Um, sorry."

I think it's probably because I believe I should draw something attractive. Yeah.

"Really. You're quite a tricky boy. I thought I had a good connection, and I tried to set a sweet trap with a convenient rabbit, but the trap was broken somehow... No, you can't be caught by a regular trap, can you? You slip away every time."

Croa sighed.

Hmm... Am I a weird guy? I might be a bit, but... saying I'm like an eel is a bit much...

"Well, it's fine. This employer doesn't pay well and tries to make me do extra work. It might be best to escape casually."

Croa said this and slipped out of the bindings.

...What, she slipped out!?

"But, weren't you tied up...?"

Croa smiled with a slightly wicked look.

"The binding was poor. It's easy to escape from this level."

Is that how it works? That's impressive. She seems like a pro.

"Anyway, I'm disappearing here. Sorry for involving you."

Then, Croa, wrapped in a blanket, tried to leave.

"Wait!"

I called out without thinking. In response, the unicorns and pegasi blocked Croa's path and tried to push her back to the hammock.

"What is it?"

"I need to draw your picture."

When I said this, Croa looked a bit troubled.

"You don't need to worry about the commission. If I say Croa suddenly disappeared, it should be fine. The Scheere family would be worried about their information being leaked if I escaped. They wouldn't have time to bother with you. I'll go into hiding for a while..."

"That's not it. I want to draw you. Not because of the commission, but because I want to."

When I said this, Croa looked surprised.

"I fell in love with you at first sight. I want to draw something that satisfies me."

As I approached Croa, the horses made a path for me. I walked through it and reached Croa.

"So, please stay a bit longer. Is that okay?"

I held Croa's hand and looked straight into her eyes.

Even though I knew I might fall under her enchantment, I still wanted to look into her eyes and say it.

"Oh, you..."

Croa was flustered, quickly looked away, and lowered her head... then gently pulled her hand away from mine.

"No. I already said, I'm a dangerous spy targeting you."

"That's okay."

"No. ...Besides, if I stay here, I might lose myself."

Croa smiled with a troubled look.

"I can't do my job if my heart is moved every time. Spies can't afford that."

"Then, why don't you quit your job and live here?"

When I suggested this, Croa chuckled. ...Was it that strange to say?

"That's not possible. I can't live without money. A self-sufficient life... isn't bad, but it's not for me."

As she said this, Croa looked around.

Horses. And more horses. Bamboo. The house beyond it, and the forest beyond that. And the sky.

Looking at all this... Croa slightly lowered her eyes.

"Maybe using money is part of my 'heart's food.' Or maybe it's a poison to my heart. Once you start, you can't go back. The food in this forest is very nice and delicious... but you can't have both. If I stay here, I'll want both."

...Croa said this, but her eyes were on the horses and the forest.

Looking at her eyes... I couldn't help but say it.

"Then, why not have both?"

If you want both money and the forest, why not have both? It would be too sad to only have one.

"I'll hire you."

...I think this is where my money should be spent.

As soon as I said this, Croa's eyes widened. Laocrates' eyes widened too. Fay started laughing.

"Wow! Togo! That's quite a bold move!"

"Yeah, but I don't think I have any other bold moves."

Fortunately, I don't have to worry about money. I can spend as much as I want. But I don't really need to spend money... so if there's a place to spend it, it's probably to hire a model.

"...Does that mean you're being hired by the Redgard family?"

"No. I'm just hiring you, not the Redgard family!"

"Hiring... does this boy have money?"

"Somewhat..."

But, I said it on a whim. What kind of money do I have? I know I have enough to buy 100 hams and still have some left...

"...Enough to hire ten spies and still have some left."

When I thought this, Laocrates said it for me. So, I can hire ten Croas. Great.

"That's the case. Togo's wealth is nothing to worry about."

Croa let out a deflated sigh. Yeah, but if drawing gems can hire Croa, I'll draw as many gems as needed.

"If you live here, I'll build a house for you. If you want to go to town, the horses can take you. If you need a dedicated summon, I can provide one. And then..."

"Wait. Wait a minute. You... um..."

Croa pressed her forehead and groaned... then looked at me with a slightly intense gaze and said,

"I thought you were just a cute boy... You're really a tricky one."

...I'm a bit happy to be upgraded from a cute boy to a tricky one.

Croa decided to "stay here for the promised two months" and think about what to do next.

"Well, you can't decide immediately. You're changing your whole life, after all."

"Actually, if you decided immediately, it would be suspicious."

"Yeah."

While talking with Fay and Laocrates, I watched Croa playing with the horses outside the window. Croa was hesitant, but the horses dragged her into playing in the water. Now, she's playing with the horses and has a slightly peaceful smile.

"If a spy tries to leave the underground world, they need to be prepared. Once a mission fails, they lose credibility. If they betray their client and leave the underground world, they lose all credibility as a spy."

...Right. I simply thought, "Why don't you live here?" or "I'll hire you," but for Croa, it means the end of her career. That... hmm, if Croa likes her current job, she would hesitate, I think.

"Well... but, isn't it okay? Croa said she 'saw flowers after a long time,' right?"

But Fay smiled and said,

"Meaning, Croa is already 'seeing flowers.' ...Either way, she can't go back to her old life. It's painful."

That's my fault. What should I do? I took away Croa's options. I should have been more careful.

"Well, it's fine. Thanks to Togo."

But Fay patted my back and said,

"It's not your 'fault.' It's 'thanks to' you. Croa herself thinks that living in the forest and looking at flowers is attractive. So, it's fine, right? Isn't it?"

...Is that true? I thought there might be people who don't need heart's food.

But... yeah, I see. Now I can understand.

When Croa and I went to the flower field, Croa seemed confused. Probably, her heart was surprised by the long-awaited food. I heard from a teacher that if you suddenly put food in an empty stomach, the stomach gets surprised.

...If Croa's heart didn't need food, she probably wouldn't have been confused.

Croa was confused because she ate heart's food after a long time... meaning, Croa's heart is a heart that needs food.

"...I want you to eat lots of heart's food from now on."

"Hey, that's great. Feeding time. Let's feed Croa!"

Feeding time... I somehow imagined Croa chirping with a baby phoenix.

"Well... it's a good opportunity. If you hire Croa, it's a good choice. Having a skilled spy can be very helpful. I'm good at physical battles, but I'm not good at mental battles. Croa seems to be good at that."

Yeah. I think so too. Croa... probably has something we lack. So, she can help us a lot.

"Besides, if you hire her, you can draw her as much as you want."

And most importantly, if I hire Croa and she stays here, I can draw her as much as I want! Such a beautiful person, drawing as much as I want! Croa, who will become even more beautiful by eating lots of heart's food, drawing as much as I want! ...What a charming offer!

"I hope she'll be hired..."

I watched Croa, who was laughing and playing with the horses outside the window.

Please, I hope she becomes a model and is hired!