Drawn Mochi Volume 4 Chapter 17.2: Dragon’s Bed*1

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　…So, letters addressed to me are delivered to the Redgarde family, and letters sent by me are sent out by the Redgarde family. Yes, I’m sorry. Sorry about that.

　I wonder if I should buy a house somewhere or something so that I can send letters from there. Or deliver letters without a delivery person? …No, that would be unrealistic. Even though there is the Houou, I don’t have enough hands to fly all over the country to deliver letters.

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

“…Hey. Is there anything I can help you with?” (Lian)

　I looked at Lian to see what was going on, and he fidgeted and poked at the stack of letters.

“Well, look. I’m a slave. But I don’t work, so… If there’s something to do, I’ll do it…” (Lian)

　Ah, is that so? Yeah, I see.

　Maybe Rian doesn’t feel comfortable hearing, “You don’t have to do anything.” He must have been working all his life, and he may have been scolded for not working. If he was suddenly told, “You don’t have to do anything,” he wouldn’t feel at ease.

“…But, well, my handwriting is terrible… I can’t help you.” (Lian)

　Furthermore, Lian feels depressed when she says that, so I feel very sorry.

　I can’t ask him to write my letter for me, because I feel it’s not good for me not to write my own letter, even if his handwriting is good or something.

　But I have enough hands to chop wood and so on. Laocles does all the heavy work.

　As for making meals, in fact, I already have help. I’ve seen Ange and the fairies in the kitchen many times with Ms. Croix. …Yes. I heard that fairies can cook. They bake cookies, too. That’s pretty amazing, fairies.

“Uh… I wonder if I can do some delivery work?” (Lian)

“It’s a long way from the forest to Fay’s house, you know?” (Tougo)

“I can walk that far… No, it would be faster if that bird flew.” (Lian)

　Looking at the Houou that was perched on the back of the chair next to me, Lian’s shoulders slumped again.

　After that, Lian seemed to be looking around, looking for something to do…

“…I’m sorry. I can’t do anything.” (Lian)

　After saying that, Rian’s mouth turned into a frown.

“Even though I tried to sulk, you didn’t get mad at me, and even though Ange was treated well, I was fed every day, allowed to sleep in a warm bed, let me have a bath every day… You even let me spend the money to buy back Ange, but I can’t pay anything back.” (Lian)

　…Lian also says something like this.

　I was under the impression that he was more brazen and skillful, but surprisingly, he wasn’t. I wonder if he thought that all along.

　I guess he had always thought that. Or has he started thinking that way lately? … Come to think of it, I don’t paint angels all the time these days, so I use them as models less often.

　…maybe the words I should be saying to him here are “Don’t worry about it.”

　I think Lian should get used to the situation that she doesn’t have to work. Children are not supposed to work, they are supposed to play, grow, and learn.

　But telling Lian that now is not going to make him feel better. He needs to get used to it, but he needs to get used to it gradually.

　If Lian is like that, I should probably give him something to do. Ignore all the inefficiency and stuff like that.

　…What kind of work would be good for him?

　No way, I can’t really ask him to deliver letters. I know a lot of things going on the forest, but I still think it’s too dangerous to have Lian go to Fay’s house alone. It would take too much time. It is not easy to walk in the forest.

　In that case, should I materialize some kind of summoned beast for Lian?

　Yes. I still think that will be better. Let’s materialize a summoned beast that will help and stay with him.

　So, I will asked him to take care of the summoned beasts…

　…care.

　Oh.

“So, Lian’s job will be to take care of the horses.” (Tougo)

　At any rate, there was one job, one job that I could leave to Lian.

　Yes. Taking care of the horses.

　… The horses in this forest are strong enough to survive without any care, but in the cold winter, they stay in the new stable I built for them. It is both warmer and more comfortable for them

　In that case, he will need to clean the shed, and the horse will be happier if he gives them a bath every now and then… Yeah. I think it’s great to have someone who takes care of them.

　I immediately said “gather” to the horses and they came from all over the place.

　Then they looked at me and Lian and some (unicorns) seem to say, “Isn’t the miss here?” with a truly dissatisfied look on their face. That was bad. There are only men.

“…Hey, how many horses are there?” (Lian)

“I’ve never counted…” (Tougo)

　I don’t own the horses, so I’ve never counted them. Well, there are a lot of them anyway. Yep.

“I don’t really care how many there are. I want you to take care of the ones that come here. Pet them, bathe them. And if you see a horse that’s hurt, let me know.” (Tougo)

“…Is that ok?” (Lian)

“Yes. The horses sleep on their own at night. So, only during the day.”  (Tougo)

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

　The horse squinted pleasantly and wagged its tail. It seemed to like Lian.

　Yeah. Above all, I think they can become friends.

“Well, then I’ll ride this horse and go deliver letters or run errands. I’m good at those things.” (Tougo)

　Then, Lian said and stroked the pegasus’ side. …Yeah. That might be good. He would be very helpful if Lian needed to run an errand for me.

　…It helps, though.

“…Um, can you ride?” (Tougo)

　With Lian’s height, I think it’s still difficult to ride a horse…

　In conclusion, it was difficult.

　It’s a bit difficult for him to ride a horse because of his age, and most importantly because he’s small.

　…Hmm.

　For the time being, I decided to put the errands on hold and asked Lian to just take care of the horses.

　Lian was quick to get going and cleaned the stable for me.

　…The horses seemed very happy to have someone to take care of them.

“…I see. So Lian is taking care of the pegasi and the unicorns?” (Fay)

“Yes.” (Tougo)

　I told Fay, who had come to visit, about what was going on and also about Lian’s work.

“I’m sure it would be convenient if you could send letters directly from your place. I don’t mind receiving and sending them. However, it’s too much of a hassle for you to have to go through our house every time you send a letter, isn’t it?” (Fay)

　Yeah. Somehow, I feel sorry for bothering Fay and the others.

“Can’t you do something about that with a summoned beast? Something like this, but one that carries letters.” (Fay)

　…Well, you mean, carrier pigeons?

　Is it a summoned beast carrier pigeon? Hmm… I wonder if it’s possible.

　It would be nice if it were possible. I’ll try it. A carrier pigeon. Since transportation is not convenient in the forest, it might be nice to have at least a way to send mail back and forth.

　When I was thinking about materializing pigeons, Fay suddenly said something.

“Anyway, I think we need a summoned beast for Lian.” (Fay)

“Is it because it’s getting cold?” (Tougo)

“…No, summoned beasts aren’t meant to keep you warm. Well…” (Fay)

　I’m sleeping with Pipe Fox and Houou. Because it’s warm. And maybe Fay is also sleeping with the fire spirits. It would definitely be warm.

“They are not protection against the cold, you see. It’s a protection against the Argent family.”

　…the problem may be more serious than the cold.

“I don’t think they’re going to do a lot of things openly, but on the other hand, it’s possible that they’re working from behind the scenes, or that they’re pretending to be unrelated to the Argent family.” (Fay)

“I see.” (Tougo)

　In other words, is it for self-defense? …Laocles and Ms. Croix would probably be able to handle some things on their own, but it’s true that the Celeste siblings might want a summoned beast to protect them.

“…Perhaps, Lian can use a little magic, and Ange can also talk to fairies, so I guess she can use magic. But they are still children after all.” (Fay)

“I understand. I’ll try to materialize a summoned beast for the two of them.” (Tougo)

　I’ll come up with a summoned beast that is strong, reliable, and warm. The first priority is self-defense, but it’s still cold in the winter.