Chapter 9
“Whenever you want, you can do it. You can even do it every night.”
“Ugh!”
Seeing him act like that, I let out a small groan and dropped to my knees without thinking.
That kind of cuteness is unfair!
In my previous world, people often used the word “heart-fluttering.” Now I finally understood what it really meant. This was exactly the kind of moment it was for.
When I grabbed my chest, Baron looked startled and held my face with both hands.
“What’s wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?”
“No. I’m not hurt.”
I looked up at Baron. His eyes were full of worry.
This adorable kid.
I pulled him into a tight hug.
“You’re just too cute!”
I thought he would get embarrassed and pull away, but after hesitating for a moment, the little guy hugged me back.
Ah, this is real cuteness!
I hugged him once more before standing up.
Thanks to Baron, I had caught a Search. The wind had died down, and the waves were calm, so it was the perfect time to test it.
I tied the rope connected to the basket around my waist, attached the glass bottle to my left wrist with a string, and held the net in my right hand.
“Baron, go inside the house first. Since I caught Search, I’ll take a quick look at the sea. If the water’s good, I might catch a few things.”
“What’s ‘good water’?”
“It means the color of the seawater. When it’s in good condition, you can see clearly into the sea. But when muddy water flows in, you can’t see anything.”
“Oh, I get it.”
Baron nodded, then suddenly pointed somewhere.
“Then I’ll light a bonfire over there. You can use it to find your way back.”
I was speechless at how smart he was.
He was only seven years old, yet he thought of that.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be strange if Baron turned out to be the male lead. Well, his eyes were purple, so he couldn’t be the red-eyed emperor male lead.
Anyway, no matter how smart he was, asking a child to start a new fire alone was too much.
But going into the night sea without any landmark was dangerous too.
So I stacked some pieces of wood and moved some fire from the stove. Soon, a small bonfire would start burning.
“I’ll set it up like this. Rest inside and come out sometimes to check the fire, okay? If it looks like it’s going out… hmm…”
I looked around and picked two palm-sized leaves.
“Use these to grab the sticks and put them in the fire.”
Baron took the leaves and asked, “So I don’t get splinters in my hands?”
“Yeah. And don’t get too close to the fire.”
Smiling, I patted his head and headed toward the sea.
Yesterday evening, when I caught sea snails, I didn’t go deeper than my ankles. But now, thanks to the Search I had just caught, I could go in up to my thighs and look around.
Search’s light was really bright.
If I could put it underwater and look around, I’d see even better.
But unlike the underwater flashlights in my old world, this was a living being, so that wasn’t possible.
Holding the glass bottle in my left hand, I looked around the sea. The basket tied to my waist floated well on the surface and followed as I moved.
Soon, I saw a sea snail half buried in the sand. As I gently scraped it up with the net, something pale flashed at the edge of my vision.
A blue crab!
I recognized it instantly and quickly turned my head. Shining the light around with Search, I saw five or six crabs gliding through the water.
“Jackpot.”
Since no one else was catching them, they were all mine.
At this rate, I wouldn’t have to struggle for long.
Maybe I could even build a new house soon?
I silently praised my past self for making night fishing a side job.
Just then, something with a strange presence darted through the water.
“Huh?”
Startled, I turned quickly. For a moment, I thought I saw a large black shadow.
Could it be… some kind of monster?
But no matter how much I looked around, I couldn’t see the shadow again.
At the end of the direction it had moved, there was just a very large crab resting on the seabed. It must have been that crab’s shadow.
Yes!
* * *
Baron watched Hayley and Ignis Fatuus, now named “Search,” move farther away. Then he quietly muttered,
“Kamen.”
A large rock rose up in front of him. About the same size as Baron, it was a spirit of the earth that used its unique abilities by feeding on the mana permitted by its contractor.
Kamen slowly bowed.
Baron pointed at the small bonfire with the leaves in his hand.
“Add some firewood and make the fire bigger.”
Kamen sank back into the ground. Soon, the earth trembled slightly, and dry wood pieces scattered around slid together and stacked neatly onto the small fire.
The already small fire nearly went out, but Baron didn’t care. He jerked his chin toward the hut.
“Make sure the house doesn’t collapse. Strengthen the foundation and clean up around it. Repair it too—but make sure it’s not obvious. And be quiet.”
Hayley hadn’t noticed, but on the first evening, Baron had already received a report from his subordinates that the hut wasn’t very safe.
It was fine in good weather, but during monsoon season or a typhoon, it could collapse. That was why he had Kamen fix it.
Creeeak—
A small sound and vibration came from the hut.
Since the hut had been leaning for a long time, complete silence seemed impossible.
Some wooden pieces fell to the ground. Even a supporting log looked like it might come loose, but Kamen’s power quickly fixed it back in place.
Rattle, rattle.
Trash around the hut moved along the ground and gathered to one side.
Watching Kamen work, Baron remembered Hayley’s voice.
“B-Baron. Did you clean this?”
Her eyes had widened in admiration, sparkling like sapphires.
Baron smirked and looked at his left index finger.
“I think it did sting a little here.”
He couldn’t say he had ordered his subordinates to do it, so he pretended a thorn had pricked him.
The soft feeling of her lips touching his finger still seemed to linger.
Hayley’s lips.
Without realizing it, Baron closed his eyes and touched his index finger to his own lips.
He remembered her lips brushing his finger—and earlier, even his cheek. He remembered her warm embrace.
His heart pounded.
He had never felt such an undefined emotion before, but it felt very good.
Just then—
“Raven Honor, I came as soon as I heard the message from Black Livia.”
The sudden voice startled Baron. He cleared his throat and raised a hand, signaling Raven to wait, then called another spirit.
“Salamander.”
A tiny fire lizard appeared.
“Light the bonfire properly. And revive the fire inside the house too.”
“Pii.”
With a small cry, the salamander dove into the bonfire.
With a whoosh, the dying fire flared up brightly. The salamander crawled out and entered the hut.
Baron glanced at Raven, who was kneeling on one knee with his head bowed, then looked back at the sea.
Since his master said nothing, Raven carefully looked toward the night sea.
Seeing where Baron—no, Bloden—was looking, he cautiously asked,
“Your Majesty, it seems a citizen of the Empire has entered the sea. Should we make her come out? Sea slimes roam at night. It’s dangerous.”
“Ah, sea slimes.”
Bloden snorted.
“They hate strong light. So it’s fine.”
Sea slimes were large nocturnal leech-like creatures that lived in the sea. When they found animals, they would latch on and suck their blood until death.
That was why imperial citizens never approached the sea at night. Even during the day, they fished from boats using nets, rods, or nets like hand scoops.
It was common sense in the Empire.
“Fine, Your Majesty?”
“I put Ignis Fatuus in a glass bottle.”
“What? Ignis? You attached a spirit next to a citizen?”
No wonder that area looked so bright!
While Raven stood there in shock, Baron casually added,
“Ignis will stay with her from now on. Hayley thinks it’s just a flash firefly, so make sure your story matches.”
“H-Hayley? Who is she?”
“My housemate.”
“Pardon?”
“We started living together yesterday.”
