83 - Art. 83. Fairy Dragon
I\'m riding with Gon on Ilimo, moving slowly through the forest of Krumphal.
Indeed, when was the last time I moved so slowly through the forest? It has also been quite a while since I was alone with Gon.
Even after the fall harvest, we were still as busy as ever. The supermarket that Willis, a cat person, had put us in charge of had been very busy. At first, we thought that the number of customers would slow down after a week or so of help, but after all, three months have passed since the opening of the supermarket, and the number of customers has not diminished; in fact, it has continued to increase.
Every day, there was so much commotion that Willis and the three of us could not handle all the customers. Therefore, I, May, Gon, Ferris, and Ruara were in charge of the cash registers, Willis and Shera were handling the customers, and Uriel, who could do the math, was also in charge of the cash registers, and we were finally able to handle all the customers.
Not only that, the hotels in the capital ordered large quantities of kelp and dried bonito flakes, and we took time out of our busy schedule to deliver them. In some cases, Sonja and Angel, who had finished their work at the boundary stone store, were often asked to be the cashiers and to go to the store to deliver the goods.
Naturally, these mothers were paid overtime. Darke Shokai operates in compliance with the Japanese Labor Standards Law!
When the store first opened, it was open seven days a week, but after the New Year\'s vacation, it was closed for one day. Willis was against it and there were a lot of complaints from customers, but we had to do it or we would not be able to keep up. Willis and the customers reluctantly agreed. However, some of the customers started to help us with our busy schedule, and we paid wages to some of the most proactive and talented people to come and work for us part-time. This is really a big help. Thanks to them, the store has been able to run without us recently.
Finally, I had regained my composure and was heading for the lake that was dug for agricultural use when the Krumpham area was being developed. Apparently, there is a tree by the lake that smells like vanilla.
Vanilla would expand the range of sweets. This was something I couldn\'t pass up.
It all started with the harpies. I happened to be listening to their reports when I smelled a faint scent of vanilla coming from their wings. I asked them about it, and they told me that when they went to the lake, they would perch on the branches of large trees to rest their wings. I knew that tree by heart. Indeed, there was a huge tree near the lake. We decided to go there, and Gon and I went for a walk in the woods.
It is not far from the tree, and if Ilimo can fly, we can reach it in about 30 minutes. But I am not in the mood to travel that far quickly, so I am taking my time.
We have been in the forest for an hour. I feel the presence of demons, but there is no sign of an attack. It seems that the demons don\'t like me.
"Ah, I see it... It\'s that tree!
Finally, I arrived at the big tree I was looking for. Indeed, there is a faint scent of vanilla in the air. I invoke my appraisal, but it seems that it is not a vanilla tree.
That\'s strange. This is just a tree. I don\'t know why it smells like this. Why don\'t you ask Mei-dono to take a look at it?
I reply, and fold some branches of this tree and put them into the endless storage.
"By the way, aren\'t you hungry?"
"That\'s right. It\'s time to eat lunch.
Then I\'ll cook.
"Here, sir? If we take a ride with Mr. Ilimo, we can go right back to the pavilion.
"No, it\'s not bad to have a meal in the forest once in a while, right? Nice weather, beautiful forest, clean lake. Isn\'t it very luxurious to eat a meal in such a beautiful place?
"That\'s true. It\'s been a long time since I\'ve had a home-cooked meal from my husband.
I quickly take out the rice from the endless storage and cook it using the water from the lake. The water here is of good quality and is more than good enough for drinking. For side dishes, I take out mackerel fillets and roast them over charcoal. Smoke and smell of sizzling are coming in, but I don\'t mind because we are in the open air. The grilled mackerel is ready.
Freshly cooked rice and grilled mackerel. I don\'t need anything more. Gon and I gobble it down.
"It\'s delicious!"
"Right? Grilled mackerel is the only way to go. If there\'s good rice, I don\'t need anything else.
We heard a strange sound behind us and turned around to see a strange creature spying on us from behind a tree.
It was light blue in color and had the body of a small dragon. On its back were large butterfly-like wings painted in a variety of colors, and it was spying on us from behind a large tree.
"Is that... a faerie dragon?
"Fairy dragons?"
"It\'s a kind of dragon, but it\'s not very strong. They are powerful, but they do not breathe breath, and the only thing they have going for them is their speed of flight. It is famous as a dragon that eats flowers.
"Hmmm... Is it harmless?"
"Basically, they are cowardly dragons, so you never hear of them attacking people..."
They are watching us from behind the trees with great interest. It looks like his stomach is growling.
"Are you hungry? You can have some of this mackerel if you like."
I toss the grilled mackerel to him. The faerie dragon stared at it for a while, and then, with a sudden decision, popped it into its mouth.
"Aaakkk, ssshhhh, ssshhhh!"
"Oh, you\'re eating? Don\'t hold back, just keep eating."
I grilled some more mackerel and made round rice balls out of rice and threw them to him. The faerie dragon eats them with relish.
Here are some rice balls for dessert!
"Squeal! Squeak!"
He seems pleased. If they are this happy, it\'s worth making them. However, upon closer inspection, the faerie dragon is missing only one feather on its back.
What\'s that? He\'s only got one feather.
"It can\'t fly with that. It\'s very rare.
"Well, I\'ll fix it for you.
I wards the faerie dragon and moves it to my place. The dragon is startled and tries to run away, but my warding keeps it from moving.
"Aaaaahhh...!"
He is quite frightened, but I don\'t care and apply an extra heel on him. Then, his missing wings came back and two horns grew back on his head, as if they had been there.
"You must have been hurt a lot. You\'re going to be fine now. I mean, this guy is really cute.
When you look closely, you can see that he has a very charming face with dull eyes.
"There you go. We\'re leaving now, so be careful on your way back!
I\'ll break the warding. The dragon looks at me with a puzzled expression, so I pinch off its revived feather. The dragon shudders and turns around involuntarily. He rolls his eyes to see that his lost feather has been restored.
Fearfully, he flaps his wings, and his body floats up. It seems to confirm that it is flying as it scurries around. Then, with a startled look on his face, he puts his hand on his head to check his horns.
"Kyuwaaan. Kyooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo."
She started to cry. Apparently, he was very happy. But I can\'t talk to this dragon at all. I wonder if this dragon can speak at all.
"Basically, dragons usually communicate by telepathy. Intelligent dragons like Ferris\'s Kulurkan can control words, but this dragon cannot control words, can it?
"I see. Well, we\'re leaving now, so you can go back to your pack. Don\'t get hurt this time.
With that, we returned to the pavilion.
"Well, what\'s the matter, Linos?"
"Well, I don\'t know how to explain it."
When I returned to the house of Krumphal, I was surprised to be greeted by Rico. I suppose you\'re right. A small dragon with wings of the most colorful colors is clinging to my chest.
After walking for a while, I suddenly felt a heaviness in my chest. I looked down and saw the faerie dragon I had just left clinging to my chest. It has been moving without being caught by my presence detection at all. In a way, it is terrifying.
I could have just trapped it in the ward and defeated it, but this faerie dragon was just so cute. We looked into each other\'s eyes, into each other\'s eyes, into each other\'s eyes, into each other\'s eyes, into each other\'s eyes, into each other\'s eyes, into each other\'s eyes, into each other\'s eyes... and then we ended up in the mansion.
They are holding on to the dragon with such force that they can\'t let go. I thought I could let go of him by tearing his clothes, but I knew Rico would be angry if I did so, so we had the conversation we had just had.
The dragon was being held comfortably in my arms while shaking its wings. But seeing this scene
"Geeaaaah! Kyoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"
Itra, the princess of the mansion, became angry. She flaps her wings and flies around me, threatening the dragon. Itra was not to be outdone. Aghya! The fish is threatening back. It seems that they are claiming each other\'s right to be held by me.
"Hi, hi, hi, you two, don\'t do that!
Rico comes closer, clapping his hands. He holds the fairy dragon from behind, quickly pulls it away from me, and puts it on the table.
"I\'ll tell you both this now..."
Rico came up next to me and folded his arms,
"Linos is mine and mine alone."
"Kyuuh..."
"Aaah..."
Sparks fly from the gazes of the three of them. Um, everyone, I\'m scared, can\'t we stop?