Derke's Helping Hand
High-grade servant work. “Derke? If it’s all right with you, would you mind helping me out every afternoon?” I said, extending my hand toward her with a light flick. It wasn’t just empty words of comfort. I offered it the way a butler might reach out hoping to be chosen by a stray cat. Of course we’d already established a bond, but a proper employment contract was a separate matter. My main goal was to look after Derke every afternoon, but I also planned to borrow an extra pair of hands while I was at it.
“B-but is that really okay-yong…!?”
“Of course it is. And if we’re here, your classmates won’t be able to follow you even if they want to pick on you, right?”
Derke stared at me, head tilted in confusion. She didn’t reach for my hand right away. “Huuuung…!” she hummed, continuing to wrestle with the idea.
“B-but the lounge is a space only for upperclassmen…”
She really was worried about the lounge itself. It was already an exclusive rest area for the seniors. It was like a private soldier trying to use the PX or the gym on his own. Still, there was a way around it.
“It’s fine. Derke, you’re not just coming to the lounge to play. You’re here as part of an experiential learning program, right? Following a professor’s instructions. Isn’t that correct?”
“Hoaahhh…!”
The moment I gave her a little wink and dropped the key phrase, Derke’s face lit up. She might have looked like a child, but her comprehension was sharp. It was definitely something we needed to clarify. My status was only that of a temporary servant. If I casually hired a dragon as part-time help, I’d be in serious trouble. So it had to be framed as part of a class, just like I’d said—Derke voluntarily participating, wrapped in the plausible excuse of “experiential learning.”
“If that’s the case, then Derke likes it-yong! It’s something Derke has always wanted to try-yong!”
“Perfect. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. You catch on quick.”
“D-Derke will do her absolute best to help Oppa-yong!”
“Haha, thanks. I was actually short on hands anyway. This is a huge relief.”
“Derke can do anything you ask-yong! Washing dishes, cleaning—Derke is confident in all of it-yong!”
The sulky Derke from earlier was gone. Only the lively one remained. True to her title as the heir of the Death Dragon, she shed her old self remarkably fast.
—Thud!
Only then did she finally grab my hand tightly.
“Thanks to you, Derke won’t be lonely in the afternoons anymore-yong! Derke is excited that she gets to do experiential learning too-yong!”
She seemed genuinely pleased with my offer, nodding repeatedly with a bright smile. Then she started running around the area—tap-tap-tap! Watching her was like seeing a puppy on a walk; she was unbearably cute. Her speech had returned to its usual style, but that energetic version was far better than the gloomy one. It didn’t quite match the “Death Dragon” title, but…
‘Spending time with me has to be better than wandering around outside feeling lonely and miserable.’
I felt a wave of relief as well. Seeing Derke so happy brought a smile to my own face. It felt like one worry had been lifted.
‘Still, even if bullying is one thing, can Sofia really solve the problem of her being ostracized too?’
A faint unease lingered. I’d asked Sofia to look after Derke, but I wondered if this was a real, lasting solution. Derke would be living at the academy for at least another four hundred years. Could she truly manage on her own…?
—Clatter, clatter…!
While I was thinking about Derke’s future, the sound of dishes knocking together reached my ears.
“Huh? What’s going on?”
I snapped back to attention and saw Derke stacking plates and cups from the table into a dangerously tall, wobbly tower. It looked ready to collapse at any moment.
Ah, whatever. I wasn’t her dad or anything. I’d done what I could for now. The rest was up to Sofia and Derke to handle.
“Derke? Stacking that many at once is dangerous! I’ll help, so just wait a second…!”
“Huat? This is heavier than I thought-yong…!”
For the time being, I needed to lend a hand to the precarious little girl.
Thanks to the extra help, the chores were finished much faster. When I’d been working alone, washing dishes and tidying up usually took about an hour, but with Derke’s assistance we wrapped everything up in under thirty minutes.
How did someone so small manage to lend a hand? Derke possessed a rather remarkable ability.
—Swish, swish…!
—Clatter, clatter…!
Incredibly, the broom was sweeping the floor all by itself, and the dirty dishes were jumping into the sink on their own to scrub themselves clean with sponges. At first I couldn’t help but be shocked—objects suddenly floating through the air and all. But it was all Derke’s doing. When I told her it would be dangerous for her small body to overexert itself, she’d thought hard for a moment and come up with this solution.
“There’s no need to be too surprised-yong…! Derke’s soul friends are the ones helping, so there’s nothing to be scared of-yong!”
Derke just smiled brightly, explaining that it was only the wraiths lending a hand. As expected of the Death Dragon’s successor, she could command spirits just like she had on the first day.
“Now it’s all finished-yong!”
“A-already?”
“Is there anything else Derke can help with-yong?”
“…This is basically cheating, isn’t it?”
“Ribbit…? Unfortunately, Derke doesn’t have any frog wraiths yet-yong!”
She tilted her head, green eyes rolling in confusion as she tried to understand what I meant.
“Ah, never mind. Anyway, thank you! You’ll keep helping from now on, right?!”
“Of course-yong! Don’t you worry-yong!”
The part of me that had been worried about Derke’s relationships with her classmates had vanished. In its place was a sudden desire to make full use of her abilities for the rest of my life. My earlier wish for her to reconcile with her peers felt like it was fading.
—Thud!
—Shake shake shake…!
“Aah? What are you doing-yong?”
I sifted my personal desires along with the flour through a sieve. A cloud of white dust spread through the air, and faint silhouettes appeared near the sink. Those wraiths must have been the ones helping with the cleaning and dishes. I didn’t know who they were, but it was pitiful that they couldn’t rest even after death.
“Oppa? Are you listening to Derke-yong?”
“Ah, since we’re done cleaning up, I was thinking of making dessert for the girls tomorrow while also preparing something to give to your friends.”
“Huat? My friends…”
“Your classmates. Whether you like it or not, you’ll have to see them from now on. Maybe giving them snacks as a gift will help you get closer?”
Life was give and take. Since I’d received help, a return gift was essential. Besides, I’d wanted to do this anyway.
“Haa…! Ung! Oppa is really kind-yong!”
“Since we’re making them anyway, would you like to help too, Derke? It’ll mean more that way.”
“Of course-yong! What should Derke do-yong?”
“Great. First, could you bring some milk from the storage? And don’t use your soul friends this time—bring it yourself if possible. It’s for your friends, after all.”
“Leave it to Derke-yong!”
With a cheerful reply, she marched off with proud steps.
“She really is cute… I should get moving too.”
While Derke headed to the back of the kitchen for the milk, I ground barley and almonds finely in a mortar, then mixed them with the sifted flour. I added salt and sugar as well. It was the base preparation for the dough.
“This is all the milk Derke could find-yong!”
Once the basic base was ready, Derke returned carrying a kettle almost as big as her torso.
“Huh? That’s all? We’ve got a problem.”
It was enough for now, but thinking about tomorrow, it was far too little. With the barn collapsed, we had no way to get fresh milk ourselves. We could only hope Johnson would bring supplies quickly.
“Did Derke do something wrong-yong…?”
“Ah, no. Thanks for bringing it.”
—Glug glug…!
I took the milk from Derke and mixed it into the prepared ingredients, then kneaded everything thoroughly until it reached the right consistency.
—Squish, squish, squish…!!
“Kyahaht! It feels so squishy! It’s weird but fun-yong!”
Of course, I let Derke join in too. I portioned out some dough for her so we could make it together. That was what made it meaningful.
“Don’t play with the food. Knead it properly with care.”
“Aah, got it-yong!”
Watching Derke hold the dough made her look like a little girl playing with slime. It wasn’t a perfect batch, but the act of making it together was what mattered.
“This should be good enough.”
After finishing my portion, I combined it with Derke’s. Once the two doughs were mixed together, we had a decent result.
—Rustle, rustle!
Next, I sealed the dough bowl as tightly as possible using paper bags, hoping the dough would rise well even without yeast. I should have warmed the milk a little before adding it.
‘Anyway, while the dough rises, I need to prepare the key ingredient to go with it…’
“…But Oppa!”
“Yeah? What’s wrong?”
While I was focused on the next step, Derke looked up at me and asked,
“What are we making right now-yong?”
Ah, right. I’d been so fixated on making tomorrow’s dessert that I’d started kneading without any explanation. Surprisingly, what I was making wasn’t even in the book Johnson had given me.
“Derke, have you ever heard of hardtack?”
“Hard… tack…?”
She clearly hadn’t.
“Yeah, hardtack.”
“Derke’s never heard of it-yong…!”
“You’ll probably like it once you try it.”
“If Oppa’s making it, then Derke is looking forward to it-yong!”
“Good. Then, Derke? Would you help me one last time?”
Even though the academy was similar to military life, simply serving hardtack would earn complaints from the young ladies. If I offered something so plain and lacking in sincerity to such noble girls, it might actually spark a war.
“What else does Derke need to help with-yong?”
“Before we make the side ingredients, there’s a place we need to visit together.”
The real key part was only just beginning.