A Fairy's Tiny Blessing
I placed Lily on my shoulder and headed toward Asne's house. Before I even reached the door, she stepped outside to greet me.
“My lord, did you sleep well? Good morning.”
“Did you sleep well too, Asne? Good morning.”
Asne smiled softly as she greeted me, and I returned the smile. Then I explained why I had come. I told her that Lily had memorized the entire Korean alphabet that morning, and that she might have even absorbed an entire encyclopedia’s worth of vocabulary. But words and actual conversation were two different things. So I asked if Asne could become Lily’s conversation teacher using telepathy.
“If you entrust Lily to me, I will teach her with all my heart. In that case, may I see the book she read this morning?”
“Of course, that’s easy.”
I had been curious why she wanted it, but I didn’t ask. We walked back to my house together, and I showed her the book. Asne flipped through the pages smoothly, scanning them with her eyes. Unlike Lily, it took her only about ten minutes.
“The system is simple, yet it’s a truly mysterious script capable of expressing so many different languages.”
“Huh?”
“I mean Hangul. Fortunately, it doesn’t differ much from the language and pronunciation I use. I believe I can teach Lily properly.”
“...Wait, did you just memorize Hangul? Without even hearing my explanation?”
“Yes. The textbook was excellent, so I was able to learn it quickly.”
Asne was on another level compared to Lily. It was hard to describe her with a word like genius. As always, she was in a completely different class. While I stood there stunned, she began conversing with Lily through telepathy. The two of them smiled at each other, clearly deep in conversation.
A little later, Lily wrote something on a piece of paper and handed it to me.
Lord Kim Minsoo, thank you so much for summoning me… No. Rather, thank you for coming to us, Lily.
I read the words on the paper and felt deeply moved. Feeling a bit embarrassed, I gently stroked Lily’s head to soothe her.
“Ah, we should eat breakfast!”
I had forgotten about breakfast while teaching Lily, so I headed to the insulated storage. A few of the snow leopards were already eating there. When I arrived, they stood up from their meal to greet me.
“When I come in while you’re eating, don’t worry about me. Finish your meal first and greet me afterward.”
“Understood!!!”
I asked them to pass the message to the others, then found a seat for us.
“Minsuuu~ Good morrrrrning~!!!”
As soon as we sat down, Miya appeared from somewhere. She hopped around me with a bright smile, radiating energy. She greeted Asne and Lily as well and decided to join us for breakfast.
The morning meal was curry that had already been prepared.
“Hmm… You don’t have to force yourself to eat spicy food just because I do.”
“Hehe… Since I’m living with you, my lord, I thought I should get used to spicy flavors little by little.”
“Exactly exactly!!! It’s spicy but not bad at all!!!”
The curry I had prepared included mildly sweet Japanese-style curry rice, hayashi rice, and a spicier Korean-style curry rice. Honestly, the Korean version didn’t even feel spicy to me, but everyone else said it was. As a result, only the Japanese-style curry rice and hayashi rice had been greatly reduced. Even now, I was enjoying it, but Miya and Asne were clearly struggling with the heat.
“Hooa~ It’s delicious, but so spicy~!”
Miya’s ears and tail stood straight up as tears welled in her eyes. Still, she kept eating diligently.
“Huu… It really is spicy.”
Asne wore an almost seductive expression. She was simply eating rice, yet it looked strangely erotic. The way she slightly stuck out her tongue, the sweat trickling down… I quickly averted my gaze.
“L-Lily… can you eat this?”
I awkwardly changed the subject to Lily, who was sitting on my shoulder. Asne answered for her.
“Fairies can survive on mana alone. They can eat normal food as well.”
“Really? Lily, want to try a little?”
I scooped a small spoonful from my curry and offered it to her. Lily flew over and hovered in front of the spoon. At only thirty to forty centimeters tall, even a normal spoonful looked quite large to her. A single bite for Lily was probably just a few grains of rice.
“Oh? She’s eating it well?”
I had only given her about a third of the spoon, but it still took her several bites. Contrary to my expectation that she might find it spicy, she ate it neatly and diligently. Her cheeks puffed out as she chewed, and her wings fluttered happily. It didn’t look like she was forcing herself.
“Is it good? Hmm, let’s see… It’s delicious! My tummy is full! Haha~ Lily’s tummy got all full?”
After eating just a third of a spoonful, Lily’s belly had become round and plump. Seeing the words she wrote on paper and her puffed-out stomach, I couldn’t help but laugh at how adorable she was.
Perhaps inspired by Lily, Miya began eating a little faster. Asne continued at her own elegant pace.
“Huaa~ I’m sweating so much~”
By the time they finished, both Miya and Asne were drenched in sweat. It hadn’t been spicy for me at all, but it seemed it was still too much for them.
“I’m planning to visit Lei and Ruin too. Want to wash up first?”
“Yeah!”
“Yes, please wait a moment.”
I had left an insulated storage on Heugildo as well, so they would eat on their own. This visit was simply to say good morning and check on them.
“Then I’ll go check on the snow leopards in the fields while you two wash up.”
I left the two of them as they nodded and went inside, then headed to the fields. There were snow leopards managing the orcs and others tending the crops. When they saw me, they smiled and greeted me, so I greeted them back. I asked if they were experiencing any discomfort.
“The weather is warm and food is plentiful, so we have no worries at all!”
“The houses are so comfortable that we even slept in!”
The snow leopards laughed cheerfully. However, the males looked a bit gaunt, so I thought they might need some nourishing food.
“Really? If there’s anything inconvenient or if you need something, just tell me anytime.”
“Yes!”
After confirming there were no major issues, I returned. The two still hadn’t come out, so I walked down to the pier and gazed at the sea.
I feel bad asking Asne every time… Should I buy a boat or a yacht?
But there was a problem. Navigation on the sea used GPS and satellite systems. That meant exchanging information with satellites. I wasn’t sure if that information remained on the satellites, but it felt like I might be stirring up unnecessary trouble, so I hesitated.
At least the prices are at their lowest right now…
The world’s oceans were all connected. After the Cataclysm, the seas were overflowing with monsters. As a result, maritime equipment had dropped significantly in price. Of course, some inland lakes were safe, but even those items had become cheaper due to limited demand.
I had four hundred thousand gold from selling the sea troll corpses when I summoned the snow leopards. Browsing the market, I found something decent.
A hovercraft… Now that’s romantic.
A hovercraft that floated slightly using air cushions. It could travel on water but also move across flat land. Without GPS, as long as I avoided visible large reefs, it seemed I could navigate the sea without much trouble.
The problem was the price—hundreds of thousands of gold. Still, since it couldn’t be used in the current ocean, it was available for purchase. If the seas had been safe, it would never have been sold. At best, only luxurious one- or two-person models would have been on the market.
The luxury ones are only ten to twenty thousand gold… but this rugged military-looking one is the one that catches my eye.
Its tough exterior actually made it look reliable. The description even said it had been modified to run on mana stones.
Although I had been told to spend the money however I wanted, I didn’t think of it as purely mine. But there was another issue. It was incredibly noisy. It would be tolerable to reach Heugildo, but traveling to the mainland would be difficult. I had no idea how far the sound would carry, but if there were people on land, they would definitely hear it.
So I looked for a few more options.
“You seem to be deep in thought. What are you worrying about?”
“Asne. Um… It’s not really a big worry…”
I had been staring blankly at the sea when I heard her voice from behind. I carefully asked her about possible means of traveling the sea when she wasn’t available.
“My heart is always eager to take you anywhere, but… it would be good to have alternatives for when that isn’t possible. Is there such a thing?”
She answered with a slightly regretful expression. Even though I kept asking her for favors, she seemed more disappointed than annoyed, which made me feel sorry.
“There are many options, but most of them are difficult to use. So for now, it’s probably best to keep relying on you, Asne.”
“Is that so? Please don’t hesitate to ask me anytime.”
Asne smiled brightly at my answer. She came closer and sat right beside me, our shoulders touching. The inhabitants really had zero sense of personal space. Since I didn’t mind—in fact, I liked it—I didn’t say anything.
A little later Miya arrived, and we went to Heugildo to chat with Lei and Ruin. We ate lunch together, toured the island, and before we knew it, it was evening. After having dinner with the snow leopards on Nohwado, darkness had completely fallen.
“I won’t summon the next inhabitant at midnight this time. I’ll do it after waking up tomorrow morning. So everyone, rest comfortably tonight!”
Since I had sold forty sea trolls at once, I decided to take a little break. The big-mouth saw had been mostly eaten during dinner with the snow leopards. Only its hide, bones, and a bit of meat remained. I offered a silent prayer of gratitude to the creature that had given us so much before falling asleep.
And as expected, I woke up feeling refreshed the next morning.
“I feel amazing! With Lily’s little blessing, I have a feeling something good is going to happen!”
After washing up cleanly, I stepped outside and prepared to welcome the new inhabitant along with all the current residents. Once again, I chose the mountainous terrain.
Due to the Fairy Lily's trait, a minor blessing has been bestowed upon the territory and the summoning.
⟨ Minor Blessing ⟩
The Lord, Kim Minsoo, is searching for a Dwarf among those who wish to migrate.
Long live the minor blessing. I tried to calm my pounding heart as I waited for the new inhabitant.