Ugly Cat and Crooked Cat
“I like it. Really.”
Elena’s smile didn’t fade easily.
Rian finally relaxed, letting his shoulders drop.
“That’s good.”
A small, rough wooden doll.
It took a bit of time to figure out what it was.
Elena turned the doll in her hands.
Two pointed ears sticking up.
Short legs.
Something like a tail trailing from the back.
“Then what is this?”
“Cat.”
“…Cat?”
Rian was a bit startled and quickly pointed at the doll.
“Look at the ears and tail, anyone would say it’s a cat.”
“It is, but…”
Elena trailed off.
It would be unfair to call it a cat when real cats would be upset.
“…It doesn’t look much like one?”
“No.”
She carefully put the wooden doll back into the box.
“It’s a cat.”
“Right?”
Her expression brightened instantly.
At that, Elena laughed again.
“But why did you give me a wooden doll all of a sudden?”
Rian stayed silent for a moment.
“Last time I got you a carriage, and today I taught you magic.”
“That was because I wanted to, though.”
“Even so, if you keep receiving things without doing anything, it’s not right.”
Elena blinked.
She had received gifts before, but those weren’t for her.
Rian had just given her what he wanted to see.
Dresses she could try on and accessories that would match.
But this time it was a bit different.
“So… you chose this?”
“Yeah.”
The answer was short.
“Since it’s not expensive, I thought I’d give you something unfamiliar.”
Rian pointed at the wooden doll in the box.
“It’s fine to have one or two.”
Elena stared at him silently for a moment.
It was strange.
Really strange.
It was the same last time too. He had called her amazing and even seen her off with a carriage when she left.
Has he grown up?
Moreover, today he had come early and was waiting before Elena arrived.
“…Thank you.”
Looking at the wooden doll again, it looked a bit cuter than before.
I still couldn’t tell if it resembled a cat or not.
“Now, I should head out soon.”
“I’ll see you to the carriage.”
“It’s fine, see me off here today.”
At that, Rian didn’t insist anymore.
“Okay, be careful.”
“Yeah.”
After a short greeting, when she came out the door, the waiting maid bowed.
“I’ll escort you to the carriage.”
“Thank you.”
Do-rin-nim changed.
A lot.
Before, when he went out, he’d cause trouble and if in a bad mood, he’d take it out on the people around him.
But recently?
He learned swordsmanship directly from the master and came back from hunting monsters, and today he’s learning magic.
-Click. Click.
Lily secretly glanced at the small box Elena was holding.
She hadn’t seen what was inside, but she had a vague idea what it was.
A few days ago, when Do-rin-nim went out with Elena, they went to the Central Market and saw the wooden doll.
He even paid to learn how to make it himself.
At the time, she wondered why, but now she understood.
The reason Do-rin-nim changed.
Love.
Lily’s eyes widened slightly.
So that’s it.
It was love.
With the power of love, people could change this much.
Love that sprouted from an arranged marriage between families.
Lily glanced at Elena walking beside her.
Amazing person.
She completely changed a person.
“Miss Elena.”
Lily called Elena carefully.
“Yes?”
“Does this gift please you?”
This was an important question.
If this love failed, she might go back to the old Do-rin-nim.
Just imagining it was terrifying.
“Yes, I like it.”
The answer came faster than expected.
“That’s good, because Do-rin-nim worked hard on it.”
Elena tilted her head.
Did she spend a lot of time choosing?
“Working hard?”
“Yes, you made it yourself.”
The steps slowed.
“…You made it yourself?”
“Eh, didn’t I say?”
Elena couldn’t answer.
“When I served that day, I asked why he was making it so hard, and he said it’s because the heart is important for things like this.”
The heart is important.
Just a moment ago, Rian hadn’t said anything like that.
He had just said if you keep receiving it’s not good, it’s not meaningful if it’s expensive.
He had spoken casually.
But he learned the method and made it himself.
For a gift for her.
For no reason, one side of her heart felt a flutter.
“…I see.”
Elena pulled the box a bit closer to her chest.
A moment later, they arrived at the carriage.
“Then be careful on your way back, Miss Elena.”
“Yeah, thank you. In many ways…”
As Elena boarded the carriage, the door closed, she placed the box on her lap.
-Clunk.
The carriage started moving, and Elena stared at the box for a while, then slowly opened the lid.
The ugly cat appeared again.
“Ugly Cat.”
She said that, but there was a faint smile on her lips.
Elena turned the doll slightly with her fingertips. The crooked ears, short legs, awkward tail.
It strangely didn’t feel unfamiliar.
“…….”
Suddenly, a memory from long ago surfaced.
When Elena was still young.
Even then, her father was always busy.
Most days he left early in the morning to run the shop and came back late at night, and there were days when he was gone for days.
Little Elena had resented her father a bit.
So, when her father came home one day and gave her a gift, her face was full of displeasure.
“What is this?”
On her palm was a small wooden doll.
“It’s a rabbit.”
“…Rabbit?”
No matter how you looked, it didn’t look like a rabbit.
“It’s like a bear.”
“It’s a rabbit.”
“It’s a bear.”
“If Dad says it’s a rabbit, it’s a rabbit.”
Thinking back now, it was quite forced. But little Elena ended up laughing.
“Ahaha! It’s a crooked rabbit!”
Later she learned.
On a business trip, he had heard that she was bored and carved wood in his spare time.
After that, Elena always put that bear-like rabbit on her desk.
She received expensive jewels and precious things, but the one she kept closest for the longest was that small wooden doll.
The memory ended there.
Elena looked at the cat on her palm again.
It only resembled in that it was ugly, but strangely, she felt a similar feeling to back then.
Someone thought of her and made it themselves.
That fact left a pleasantly good feeling in one corner of her heart.
“A friend was born, Crooked Cat.”
It was the name of the bear-like rabbit.
After Elena left.
I was left alone, staring at the tips of my fingers.
“Huuuueup!”
I pulled up the mana inside my body and slowly drew in the surrounding mana too.
Then, if I tried to gather it in one place.
-Pususu.
“Huaaa.”
No good.
It just gathered in my eyes.
Current Proficiency: 12%
Still, today’s harvest was significant. I learned that mana was something.
People really need to meet a good teacher.
“Beautiful as always today.”
White shirt, dark blue vest, long skirt trailing along the body line.
The neat attire looked just like a young teacher.
I think I know why I was so infatuated before.
“New field experienced.”
⟨ CRAFTING ⟩
“…….”
“What crafting?”
Who? Me?
It was right that I wanted to build a trusting relationship with Elena, but it wasn’t crafting.
Of course, I’d owe her a bit later, but that was good for both sides.
And I gave her a gift too.
“…….”
Giving one wooden doll and intending to keep learning magic from her in the future.
Thinking that way, it did look like crafting.
I just walked over to the window.
From here, the front gate was clearly visible.
“She left?”
Not yet.
Elena was walking towards the carriage with the box in her arms, accompanied by the maid.
Upon closer look, it was Lily.
“You again.”
We’ve been running into each other oddly often lately.
Is our house that poor?
That would be troublesome.
Seeing her holding the box directly, it seemed the gift was definitely to her liking.
I watched a bit, and it seemed their steps slowed as if they were talking about something.
“…Why is this rising now.”
Probably one wooden doll wasn’t enough for the math.
He said he’d come back to teach basic magic if mana visualization succeeds…
A bit of conscience stung.
Next time, I should bring something more.
“Okay, okay. I’ll make one more.”
I looked out the window again.
Elena had arrived in front of the carriage.
When Lily opened the door, Elena turned her body and looked this way once.
We couldn’t know if the distance made our eyes meet, but I raised my hand once.
Elena stopped for a moment.
Then, it seemed she moved her hand slightly towards this side.
Too far to see well. Maybe she just thought she wanted that.
I confirmed the carriage moving and dropped from the window.
Hmm.
What should I make next.
Next after the cat….
“Dog?”
“Again?”