Chapter 80

"Then it's definitely a dragon, right? When it comes to a treasure keeper, it's got to be a dragon!"

"Hmm... If the Redgard family ends up with too many dragons..."

Already, with a red dragon coming to the Redgard family, things have been quite difficult. Is it really a good idea to increase the number of dragons on the premises?

"Well, it's too late for that now! Maybe it's better to go all out and make it a house full of dragons!"

I see. Is that how it is? Then I'll consider a dragon...

After that, I returned to the forest and opened the encyclopedia.

"What are you looking for?"

"Um, a new summon creature. I need it to guard the gallery. Fei recommended a dragon..."

When I answered, Laocrates, who was peering over my shoulder, nodded and then, as if he had just thought of something, said,

"Then how about fairies? There are so many of them. They can take turns keeping watch, right?"

...Fairies? But, can I really entrust the security to such small, sparkling creatures? Maybe I should look into fairies.

"Oh, you're looking at them."

"...Are you looking at the fairies?"

The Ceres siblings, who had just arrived, peered over at the encyclopedia. Since I was just looking at the fairy page, Ange's face lit up. She seems to get along well with fairies.

"Yeah. I'm thinking about asking the fairies to guard the gallery."

I'm still a bit worried. Fairies might try to do anything I ask, and if they overexert themselves, it would be too bad...

But then,

"Ah... I think it's fine. They're small, but they can do a lot."

...They can do a lot?

"A few of them together can easily take down one or two humans. The main job is to catch thieves, right? I think they can do it."

...They can do it. I see.

"Just... if possible, I'd like you to plant some flowers around the gallery. They like flowers."

I see. Flowers. Yeah. I can grow some. It should be fine!

"Then, I'll try asking the fairies. They seem to work hard, and it's reassuring to have them around..."

"Excuse me."

Just as I was about to go talk to the fairies, Ange grabbed the hem of my clothes.

"...Actually, I think Trent is good."

...It seems there's a recommended guard.

And so, my gallery opened.

"...It looks unmanned, which is cool."

"Yeah."

The completed gallery is a slightly old-fashioned building with ivory walls entwined with wild roses.

The area around the building is filled with blooming flowers and many trees. Especially, two large trees stand like a gate right next to the entrance.

"Thank you for the security."

But when I said that... the trees around the gallery rustled their branches and leaves all at once. Some even used their roots to step in place.

...Yeah. These are Trent. Moving, sentient trees.

All the trees around the gallery are Trent. The wild roses on the walls are also Trent. I've asked them to catch any thieves immediately.

The Trent didn't become summon creatures. Well, they are rooted in the ground.

But in exchange, the Trent who received their salary agreed to listen to me.

The salary for the Trent is magic power. Specifically, a spring and gems.

I drew a new spring, so there's a gushing spring a little away from the gallery. ...The Trent seem to like this spring. I thought plants might like water, but apparently, my magic power is dissolved in the spring, and they are happy about that.

Thinking they might like magic power, I also tried giving them gems, and they were well-received. All the Trent have hidden gems in the hollows of their trees. Instead of becoming summon creatures, they seem to hold gems this way. I see.

"Ah, there are fairies too?"

"Yeah. They seem enthusiastic."

Then, there are also fairies. They seem to get along well with the Trent, playing with the branches, leaves, and flowers while flying around the gallery. They are also security guards. Of course, I've told them to take turns, so I think it should be fine.

As a salary for the fairies, I gave them a flower field and gemstone flowers.

When I turned the entire back of the gallery into a flower field, they seemed to like it. The gemstone flowers became their favorites right away.

I prepared one gemstone flower for each fairy. When I gave them to each fairy, they took them back to their homes, exchanged them with their favorite fairies, collected them into bouquets, and decorated them in places like meeting spots. It's great that they like them.

...Then, I allowed them to live in bamboo. They make holes in the bamboo nodes and sleep inside. I wondered if it was okay to live in living bamboo, but fairies are fairies. Somehow, they seem to be doing well. The bamboo doesn't seem to mind either.

...And when I entered the gallery, passing through the area where Trent and the fairies were waiting, there was a normal building inside. There's a short corridor at first, and then a large room. The walls are decorated with paintings... it's a normal gallery. It's a bit sparkly because fairies are inside.

"Hey, Tougo, is this really okay? It says, 'Please put money in this basket if you take a painting.'"

"Yeah."

At the entrance of the room, there's a basket and a sign. The content of the sign is as Fei said.

"...Is it really okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine. I've asked the Trent to block the entrance if a painting is taken off the wall."

If someone tries to leave without paying, the Trent will block the entrance, so they can't go out. They can't leave unless they put the painting back or pay.

"Um, what about someone who tries to steal the money in the basket?"

"The fairies are watching. They'll tell the Trent to block the entrance."

Also, if children like Rian and Ange come and try to take a little money... I've told the fairies to let them go if they feel like it. Yeah, it's up to the fairies' mood.

"Anyway, it looks unmanned, but it's well-secured."

"Yeah."

Trent are laid-back, so they don't mind long hours of security. With the fairies supporting them, I think it will be fine. If someone really tries to use force, it would be a different story, but I don't think anyone would bring an army to steal a painting.

"...But it still looks unmanned, doesn't it?"

"Croa said, 'If a few foolish thieves enter thinking it's unmanned, they'll have a rough time, which will deter other thieves.'"

"Oh, I see... That makes sense."

Since Croa said it, I think it's correct.

"Well, if that's the case, it's fine."

"Yeah. I'm looking forward to visitors."

Basically, it's just an unmanned gallery for good people. It's fine if they peek in and enjoy it. If someone buys a painting, that's great too.

I wrote a letter about the gallery opening and invited the people who gave me orders. If they like something, they can buy it. If they don't find anything they like and want to order something, I'll accept it again.

...On the opening day, I was at the gallery. Many people came in, enjoyed the paintings, and some even bought them.

When a little girl came with her parents, holding her allowance, and after carefully choosing a painting, said, "Please!" it made me really happy and a bit embarrassed.

...But the visitors were still curious about the gallery.

No security guards, just putting money in the basket, and such things were mysterious.

"This is an unusual format. There are no security guards or attendants... Is this gallery usually closed?"

One of the visitors asked, a bit worried.

"No, it's always open."

"Oh, so security guards come when it's open?"

"No, the security guards are already here."

The visitor was puzzled and looked around. But the fairies quickly hid, and the Trent were pretending to be just trees, so they couldn't be found.

"...They are here?"

"Yes. But they only show themselves to people who try to steal paintings or do bad things here."

When I said that, the visitor tilted their head but still chose a painting, paid, and left. Yeah, thank you.

...After a while, new orders came in.

The number of orders had decreased from the initial batch to about eight. Thanks to this, I had more time, and it seems people from the Redgard territory are visiting the gallery, which is nice.

By the way, there were two theft attempts in the first week, but none since then.

Rumors like "If you do something bad in that gallery, you'll suffer worse," "There are monsters in that gallery," and "That gallery is surely favored by the spirits, and if you do something bad, you'll be punished by the spirits" might be the reason.

Then, there were also money thieves.

As expected, a not-so-wealthy child came in the evening and tried to take the money.

But the child tried to take all the money in the basket... but before reaching the exit, they seemed to be driven by guilt and ended up putting all the money back.

After circling the gallery and looking at the paintings, they left without stealing anything. The fairies, who had been watching, deliberated and decided to give the child a silver coin.

Ange told me about this report, so I decided to keep silver coins and candies ready at the gallery.

...The candies are to be secretly put in the pockets of children who visit. The fairies like such pranks and were happy with my suggestion.

Thanks to this, after three weeks, rumors like "Children leave the gallery with candies," "There are spirits in that gallery," and "Maybe it's the work of fairies" started spreading, and more children came.

...It's a bit fun.

Candies aside, opening the gallery was a good decision. It's nice to have many people see the paintings, not just buy them. ...No, maybe this way of thinking is not good. Showing off my work might be shallow and greedy. Yeah, thinking about it, I feel guilty about opening the gallery...

But I'll ignore the guilt and focus on the orders.

There was an oil painting order, so I mainly worked on that.

Oil painting takes time. The paint needs to dry.

Also, the materials are more complex than watercolors. I'm not entirely confident in understanding them. I bought a set of oil painting tools in the capital and am using them...

...Is there an oil that dries quickly, doesn't crack, and has a glossy surface? I'll look for it next time. But for now, I'll paint a forest scene in oil for the order.

I'm not used to oil painting, and it's not going as I want, but as I paint, I get more used to it and can see myself improving...

...Yeah. It's fun.

One day, while I was working on an order,

"Hey! Tougo!"

Fei came again. Since she was riding a red dragon...

"It's an emergency! Look at this!"

Fei showed me a piece of paper. It's not an order form.

"A letter?"

It's a letter in an envelope. The white envelope has gold foil embossing and looks luxurious. The seal on the wax is a grand crest, and it seems expensive.

"...Where is it from?"

I don't know the sender's name. Who is this person?

"Oh, right, you wouldn't know... "

Fei, seeing my confusion, scratched her head and explained,

"That's from a noble who owns the second-largest territory around here after the capital."

...What?

"Take a look inside."

I opened the envelope, wondering what such an important person could want.

The letter started with a normal greeting, like "It's getting cold."

Then it mentioned that they liked my paintings. "I heard you're a popular artist and was impressed by your work at first sight." It was very concise.

After that, there was an invitation to come to their territory and work as a resident artist. Frankly, "Why don't you leave the Redgard family and work for us?"

...This is a problem...