Chapter 17

Kain managed to suppress the various fluids that threatened to leak from every pore of his face at Dian's declaration of "I love big brother!" and, after being warned by Ilvaleno, "You'll be scolded by Mr. Silas, the disciplinarian... with that face," he took a deep breath, hugged Dian, and calmed himself by smelling the top of Dian's head. He then bowed and apologized, deciding to continue the lesson.

Digging up the roots of trees to observe and then bury the larvae, counting the petals of different flowers and considering their differences, learning about stamens and pistils, male and female flowers, pollination by insects, and the differences between deciduous and evergreen trees—Mr. Iannis explained all of this. For Kain, who was a middle-aged salaryman in his previous life, most of this knowledge was already familiar, but as a 7-year-old child, he listened attentively, nodding and saying, "I see, I see."

Even for Kain, listening carefully, he found it interesting to understand the logic and reasoning behind the knowledge he had memorized in his previous life. Moreover, he learned unique insights specific to this world, such as how farmers use wind magic for pollination in addition to bees and butterflies.

"Master Kain, Lady Dian, and Il. Please look over there."

Following Mr. Iannis's pointing, they saw a bird's nest on a tree. It was empty, as if the birds had gone out to find food.

"It's a bird's house."

"It seems to be empty."

"That's an abandoned house."

There were no birds.

Mr. Iannis lifted Dian and showed her the inside of the nest, then lifted Kain to show him as well. Ilvaleno refused to be lifted.

Indeed, the nest looked quite messy, as if it had been abandoned for some time.

"The birds that live around here usually spend their nights on tree branches. They only build nests to lay and incubate eggs."

"I see."

Come to think of it, it was the same with swallows' nests. He remembered helping to remove the nests from a nursery school after the young swallows had flown away each year. He always hoped to find a lucky shell inside but was always disappointed when he didn't.

"Furthermore, birds have a molting period when they replace their feathers. It's not that time of year now."

Kain understood what the teacher was getting at.

"Feathers don't fall out except during the molting period?"

"Normally, a few feathers might fall out, but since birds don't stay in one place like in a nest, it's very difficult to find them."

Sure enough.

It seemed that searching the garden randomly now would make it hard to find bird feathers.

"No feathers?"

Dian, holding onto Mr. Iannis's hem, asked.

"They will be easier to find around autumn."

Mr. Iannis answered kindly, but Dian looked like she was about to cry.

While a crying Dian was incredibly cute, Kain didn't want her to cry. He pondered what to do.

If they knew where the birds gathered, they could go there to collect feathers. If Mr. Iannis accompanied them, Kain's father wouldn't object unless it was very far away.

Thinking about this, an idea came to him.

In essence, they just needed to gather the birds.

"Teacher, if we put a bird feeder in the garden, will the birds gather?"

"Master Kain, it's important to actually try what you can. Keep an observation diary."

Mr. Iannis sometimes doesn't give answers immediately, which can be frustrating, but Kain knew that knowledge gained through hands-on experience is harder to forget.

Mr. Iannis's lessons were only in the morning. In the afternoon, there were art classes, but today was a break. It seemed there was a soirée at some mansion, and Mr. Iannis was called as a performer. He would leave at noon for rehearsals.

After seeing Mr. Iannis off and having lunch, Kain went to the gardener's shed and got some wood to make a bird feeder. It was a simple design, just a flat piece of wood attached to a wooden pole with a hammer, but it was quite a struggle for a 7-year-old. Ilvaleno didn't help until Kain asked him to.

The old gardener, fidgeting, offered, "If you give me instructions, I'll do it," but Kain wanted to make it himself for Dian. With advice on how to add edges to make it easier for birds to land, he managed to complete it, though it was a bit misshapen.

In his previous life, as a salesperson of educational toys, Kain sometimes went to kindergartens and nurseries to build birdhouses and feeders. He chuckled, remembering how well they turned out with the children watching.

It was understandable that he couldn't do it as well with his small hands now, but he felt a bit frustrated at not matching his former self.

He was only 7 years old. He needed to work harder to become a cool big brother who could protect Dian.

Determined to try even harder, he made a vow to the misshapen bird feeder.