Chapter 85

Then, I continued to diligently work on the commissioned paintings.

During that time, paintings in the gallery were sold, and more people came, not to buy but just to visit, especially children. It seemed that the fairies, besides giving out candies, started to bake and distribute cookies as well... The seasons had changed.

"It's gotten quite cold, hasn't it?"

"Yeah."

It seems that this world also has seasons. It's winter now, I guess. ...Which means, when I first came to this world, it was spring, and when Cloa came, it was summer? Indeed, it was the perfect season for swimming back then... Well, summer in this world is gentle. It wasn't unbearably hot.

I quite like the cold, but I'm not good with heat, so this world might be perfect.

"How's the commission going?"

"Yeah, it's made a lot of progress. The ones that were already here are all done."

While talking to me, Laocles was splitting firewood to prepare for the fireplace. ...It was cold, so we made a fireplace. The sound of the wood cracking and the flickering fire are somehow warm and comforting, and I really enjoy watching them.

"Is that so. Are there any new commissions?"

"Hmm... They've decreased a lot. I currently have about four."

Perhaps the sudden influx of twenty commissions was abnormal, or maybe the reputation has settled down. Since then, the number of painting requests for me has decreased.

...I can't help but wonder if Argent is doing something behind the scenes, but well, there's no proof.

"Is it Argent's doing?"

"No, I don't think so. After all, it was strange to get twenty all at once."

By the way, I am currently painting Laocles.

The tension in his muscles as he swings the axe at the wood, and the curve of his back as he bends to place the next piece of wood on the stump are things I can only see here. I keep sketching these fragments as I watch Laocles move. It's fun.

"Are you not cold standing there?"

"Yeah, I quite like the cold."

As I answered, the satisfying sound of the wood splitting echoed. Ah, the cross-section of the wood is actually quite light in color. Watching Laocles split the wood is also interesting, but it's also a good opportunity to study wood. It's fun.

"You seem to be enjoying it."

"Yeah, I am."

While painting these, I think about what kind of painting I should do next. For some reason, the commissioned paintings are mostly of forests. There are often paintings of angels, fairies, fruits, and flowers mixed in.

But I also want to paint something for the gallery, so I do that separately. Recently, because it's cold, I often paint fireplaces. Paintings of fireplaces with flames, angels lounging on rugs in front of the fireplace, beautiful women sleeping in rocking chairs in front of the fireplace, knights maintaining their swords in front of the fireplace, and so on. ...Having models is wonderful.

The next painting should be something wintery. Frost on leaves, for example. If it snows, I want to paint that.

Thinking this, I suddenly looked up at the sky...

"It's falling."

"Snow?"

As I held out my hand to wait, it slowly fell and landed on my palm.

"It's a fairy."

It wasn't snow, but a fairy.

"...Are fairies falling from the sky?"

"Yeah."

Fairies were falling. The fairy in my hand was limp. ...This is bad!

"I'll take it to Anje!"

I gently wrapped the fairy in my hand and hurried to Anje. She can understand the fairy's language.

Lian and Anje, the Celeste siblings, were inside their house. ...In the end, they are staying here until winter is over. For now. Yes.

The fireplace is warm, and the recently installed 'hot water shower' seems to be working well. They say it's not bad for getting through the winter.

...Perhaps because it's warm and comfortable, many fairies have settled in this house. Well, it's probably cold outside in the winter. If they are happy, that's good.

"He says he came from far away."

Anje, who understood the fairy's words, told me.

"And he seems to be tired."

"I see."

It seems the fairy was just tired. Now, the fairy is drinking warmed milk from a tiny cup, nibbling on small cookies baked by other fairies, and wrapped in Anje's handkerchief... It seems to be feeling better after warming up. That's good.

"...He says this is a nice place."

"Thank you. If you like it, would you like to live in this forest?"

The fairy seems to like it here. When I asked, the fairy brightened up and nodded several times. It even hugged my fingertips and said something.

"He says it's a great honor to be allowed to live in the home of the spirit."

Apparently, this is a fairy's way of shaking hands or something like that. Because of the size difference, it ends up like this. Yes.

Then, other fairies who came to see the new fairy immediately started to get along with the newcomer. Watching the fairies fly around and interact, I think, "This is beautiful." Fairies are shiny and very beautiful.

"...There have been a lot of them recently."

While eating fairy-made cookies and watching the fairies, Lian suddenly said.

"Fairies. Those coming from elsewhere."

"Really?"

I observed the fairies flying around. ...Ah, indeed. There are a few unfamiliar faces. So, they are also new.

"Apparently, they came here along the ley lines because their original homes were uncomfortable."

"...Ley lines?"

What are ley lines?

"...You don't know?"

"Yeah... What are ley lines?"

"Streams of magic...? Well, something like that."

Ah, I see. Yes. I'll ask Fay later.

"Anyway, these fairies seem to have moved from uncomfortable places."

"Anje said that."

I see. Maybe winter is the moving season for fairies.

"By the way, this fairy's friend decided to live in the garden of a house with a blue roof, closer to this forest."

...A house with a blue roof, closer to here. Hmm, where could it be?

"...That house? There's a painting of an angel right inside, and it looks just like Anje and the brother!"

Ah, it's Saphire's house! Indeed, the roof was blue!

"I see. So, they must have been surprised to see Anje and Lian."

"Yeah. He says he was surprised. This fairy is more of a city dweller, but he says it was good to come to this forest. ...He's happy to meet the angels..."

Anje, blushing and shrinking, was playing with the fairy by poking it with her fingertips. This fairy is a city dweller and a fan of angels. I see.

Probably, the city dwellers are living in Saphire's garden, and the nature lovers are here. ...It seems there are various reasons for fairies to move.

While thinking about this, I took a fairy-made cookie. The simple cookie is energizing. Yes. It's delicious. I wonder what's in it. Anyway, I want to make a little space for this cookie in my heart.

When I told them it was delicious, the fairies were happy. It's important to express gratitude, especially when praising.

Putting aside the moving fairies, after enjoying snacks with the Celeste siblings and the fairies, I started painting again. ...No, before painting, I wrote.

A letter. I need to notify them that the paintings are ready.

This is unexpectedly difficult. I have to write the same message multiple times and ask Fay to deliver them.

...Why? Because apparently, I don't have a fixed address.

I live in the forest, but it's not clear if that can be included in an address. There's no address allocation, and delivery people might get lost in the forest...

...So, letters to me are sent to the Redgard family, and letters from me are sent from the Redgard family. Yes. I feel bad.

Should I buy a house somewhere and send letters from there? Or deliver letters without a delivery person? ...No, that's unrealistic. Even with phoenixes, it's not enough to fly around the country delivering letters.

...So, I was writing letters and putting them in envelopes, and Lian, who was watching me, suddenly said,

"...Hey, is there anything I can help with?"

I looked at Lian, wondering what was wrong, and he fidgeted and poked the stack of letters.

"Y-You know, I'm a slave, but I'm not working, so... If there's something to do, I want to do it..."

Ah, I see. Yes, I understand.

Probably, Lian is uncomfortable with being told, "You don't have to do anything." He might have always worked and been scolded for not working. Being suddenly told, "You don't have to do anything," might make him uncomfortable. Yes.

"...But, thinking about it, my handwriting is terrible... I can't help with anything."

Lian said this and looked dejected, which made me feel very bad.

I can't have him write the letters for me. Even if his handwriting is bad, it feels wrong not to write my own letters.

But, there are enough hands for splitting wood. Laocles does it all.

Cooking is actually already being helped with. I've seen Cloa, Anje, and the fairies in the kitchen many times. ...Yes. It seems fairies can cook. They even bake cookies. They are quite impressive.

"Ah... Can you deliver them?"

"It takes quite a while to get from the forest to Fay's house?"

"That much I can walk... No, the bird can fly faster."

Lian looked at the phoenix perched on the back of the chair next to me and slumped his shoulders.

Then, Lian looked around, searching for something to do...

"...Sorry. I can't do anything."

Lian said this and pouted.

"I'm not scolded for not working, and I'm treated so well by Anje, given meals every day, allowed to sleep in a warm bed, and take a bath every day... After all the money spent on me, I can't give anything back."

...Lian can say things like this.

I thought he was more resilient and skilled, but apparently, he isn't.

Has he been thinking this all along? Or has he started thinking this recently? ...By the way, I can't just paint angels all the time, so the frequency of using them as models has decreased.

...Probably, the right thing to say to him is, "You don't have to worry about it."

Lian should get used to a situation where he doesn't have to work. I think children should play, grow, and learn, not work.

But telling him this now won't make him feel better. To get used to it, he needs to do it gradually.

If Lian is that kind of person, I should probably give him some work, regardless of efficiency.

...What kind of work would be good?

I can't really ask him to deliver letters. I can grasp the forest to some extent, but it would be too dangerous to let Lian go to Fay's house alone. It would take a lot of time, and the forest isn't easy to walk through.

Then, should I summon a creature to help Lian?

Yes. I think that's better. I'll summon a creature to help him and be with him.

And then, I'll have him take care of the creature...

...Take care.

Ah.

"So, Lian's job is to take care of the horses."

There was one job I could give Lian.

That's right. Taking care of the horses.

...The horses in this forest are tough enough to survive without care, but because it's cold in winter, the horses that want to be warm are staying in the new stable I built.

This means cleaning the stable is necessary, and the horses seem happy when given baths... Yes. Having someone take care of them would be very good.

I called the horses to "assemble," and they came from all over.

Then, they looked at me and Lian with a very dissatisfied expression, as if to say, "Where's the sister?" Sorry. Just the boys.

"...Hey, how many are there?"

"I've never counted..."

I don't keep horses, so I've never counted them. Well, there are a lot. Yes.

"The number doesn't really matter. I want you to take care of the ones that come here. Pet them, give them baths. And if any are injured, let me know."

"...Is that okay?"

"Yeah. The horses will go to sleep on their own at night. Just during the day."

Lian approached one of the horses and gently stroked its side.

The horse closed its eyes in pleasure and swayed its tail. It seems to like Lian.

Yes. They seem to be getting along, which is great.

"Um, then I'll ride this horse to deliver letters and run errands. I'm good at that."

Then Lian said this and stroked the side of the Pegasus. ...Yes. That might be helpful. It would be a big help if Lian could run errands for me.

...It would be helpful, but...

"...Um, can you ride?"

Given Lian's height, it might still be difficult for him to ride a horse...

To conclude, it was difficult.

Considering his age and small size, it was a bit difficult for Lian to ride a horse.

...Hmm.

So, I decided to put the errand task on hold and only ask Lian to take care of the horses.

Lian immediately got to work, cleaning the stable.

...The horses seem very happy to have someone taking care of them.

"...I see. So Lian is taking care of the Pegasuses and unicorns."

"Yeah."

And I reported to Fay, who came to visit, about the current situation and Lian's job.

"Well, it might be convenient if you could send letters directly from your place. We can receive them, but it's a hassle for you to send them through a house, right?"

Yes. It feels bad to trouble Fay and the others.

"Can't you do something with summoned creatures? Like, something to deliver letters?"

...In other words, homing pigeons?

Homing pigeons as summoned creatures. Hmm... Is it possible?

It would be nice if it were possible. Yes. I might try it. Homing pigeons. Since the forest has poor transportation, it might be good to have a way to send mail back and forth.

While I was thinking about summoning pigeons, Fay suddenly said,

"Anyway, Lian might need a summoned creature."

"Because it's getting cold?"

"...No, summoned creatures aren't for warmth. Yes..."

I sleep with a raccoon dog and a phoenix. They are warm. And I think Fay sleeps with fire spirits. They must be very warm.

"It's not for warmth. It's for protection from the Argent family."

...But, the problem might be more serious than the cold