kscans

Chapter 188 - Doodle. The Lodger at Dorfen's House

"This is our new home."

"To think it's in a spot with a view of Count Jorje's mansion. What a prime location."

The two of them stood side by side, looking up at a corner of the residential area for castle employees that lined the outer palace walls. It was a stylish building with a stone foundation and brick walls. Identical buildings stood in a row along the outer wall.

Proximity to the count's mansion. Dorfen had chosen it with that as his top priority. Sasha also lived for the Little One, so their interests aligned. Count Jorje's residence was a standalone house, but Dorfen and his wife were in an apartment. The entire lower section of the outer wall encircling the royal palace served as the residential area for those who worked at the castle. To be precise, there was an outer wall, and the apartments were built along the inside of it. The roofs of these apartments were used for military storehouses and corridors along the top of the outer wall. It was a semi-fortified structure. The residential area was further divided by social status. The closer to the main gate, the higher the status, and the closer to the back gate, the lower the status of the residents. Most of the knights lived in a dedicated dormitory, but once they married and started a family, they were allowed to use the outer wall apartments. .....Well, considering the intimate activities of the night, that was only natural. And so, the newlywed Dorfen couple had been busy furnishing their new home and dealing with all the little tasks that came with it, and today they had finally moved in. It was a small but happy home. Dorfen's eyes narrowed with deep emotion. But his family home was a ridiculously huge marquisate. A two-story, six-bedroom maisonette with a living room, dining room, and kitchen would not normally be called small. As proof, Sasha was practically giddy about the apartment with its many large rooms. Until now, her room had been a single chamber tucked away in the Jorje family home. Of course, she had wanted for nothing, but there was something special about having a home of her own.

This is my home. Mine and Dorfen's.....

The elegantly arranged drawing room. The door on the right led to a large kitchen, and the door on the left to Dorfen's study and armory. Through the front door were two smaller rooms to the left and right, and a staircase. At the top of the stairs were the master bedroom, a closet room, and a spare room.

The small rooms on the first floor will be the children's bedrooms. The spare room on the second floor can eventually be a study. Oh, I'm so excited.

Dorfen and Sasha's hearts danced with the prospect of their new life.

However, a few days later, they began to sense a strange presence.

"Dorfen, did you do the laundry?"

"No? Wasn't it you?"

The area in front of each apartment entrance served as a private garden. There was space for things like clotheslines, but laundry was fluttering in front of Dorfen's home. When Sasha checked, it was undoubtedly the washing that had been in their laundry basket. Yet neither of them remembered washing it.

.....Who did it?

The two of them stared with a zoh look of dread at the laundry swaying hata hata.

".....It wasn't you, was it?"

"Of course not....."

Laundry, folded and stacked on the drawing room table. This, too, had been placed there without their knowledge. Someone is coming into our home without permission? Sasha's body trembled as if something cold had caressed the pit of her stomach. Their new home, which had been filled with happiness, now seemed like an eerie and terrifying place.

"No, this is creepy....."

"I don't understand, what's going on?"

Though flustered, Dorfen took Sasha and headed for Count Jorje's mansion.

".....So, as you can see, it seems someone has been coming and going. Until we find out who's responsible, would you mind if Sasha stayed here?"

The count and his son's eyes widened as they listened to the story.

"Such a scoundrel inside the royal palace?"

Drago's face stiffened in astonishment. And for good reason. It was unimaginable that some rogue was freely roaming the king's castle, which was supposed to boast impenetrable defenses, and even entering a locked apartment.

.....No, there was one such creature.

Drago's eyes slid sideways to look at his beloved daughter. When he noticed, Dorfen and Sasha were also looking at the Little One. As were Naya and Zack, who stood behind the count and his son.

"Ueh?"

Suddenly the target of a barrage of stares, Chihiro blinked her eyes repeatedly.

"It wasn't me, nyo! I wouldn't play a prank like that!"

"I know that. It's just, it occurred to me that there might be something else out there as free-spirited as you, Ojou-sama....."

Sasha chuckled kuskusu, and Dorfen laughed along with her.

"Indeed. Honestly, while it is creepy, I don't get a bad feeling from it. After all, they just washed, brought in, and folded the laundry."

True.

If that was all, then they were actually helping with the housework, which might even be appreciated. Though one could also call it a nuisance born of kindness.

Fumu, the Little One pondered.

But heedless of the surrounding vigilance, the perpetrator in question began to strut about Dorfen's house as if it owned the place.

Before they knew it, a meal was prepared.

Before they knew it, the cleaning was done.

It even went so far as Dorfen's paperwork being finished, and he could no longer stay silent.

"This is the Knight Order's paperwork! If someone of unknown origin has seen it, I have no choice but to report it!!"

His face pale, Dorfen reported to Harold. Harold, upon receiving the report, also lost all color and hastily contacted Romel.

And now, for some reason, people were gathered at the count's mansion.

"How did it come to this?"

The Little One gazed with a dubious look at the gayagaya of noisy men. The stuffy space crowded with large bodies was unbearable. The only saving grace was Sasha's lovely presence.

"Hmm? But you know, this is similar to what happened when Chiihiro became a rumor, isn't it?"

"Indeed. I have some memory of things being finished before I knew it."

The Bear Dad couldn't suppress a wry smile.

"So you're saying someone in similar circumstances is living in our house or the royal palace?"

"But Ojou-sama did it for food. I wonder what the purpose of the person in our house is?"

Dorfen and Sasha exchanged puzzled looks.

"Either way, we can't let it go. If they're even doing the Knight Order's paperwork, I can't carelessly assign work to Dorfen."

"Hey, Dorfen. Do your work at your workplace. Why do you bring it home?"

Harold chewed on a bitter bug, while Lucas and Uris glared at the muscle-headed knight with exasperation.

".....Well. I'm not good with paperwork. It takes me a long time."

His large back slumped dejectedly, Dorfen shifted uncomfortably. After hammering home the point that he shouldn't be making homework for himself, Romel lightly looked up at the ceiling.

"We have to do something. For now, I'd at least like to know who it is, right?"

His expression still troubled, he sipped his tea next to the Little One. Then, his eyes suddenly widened. His gaze fell upon Pochiko-san. Mugi-ta and Mi-chan were also sluggishly moving about the room. It was already a common sight in the royal palace.

"That's right, we have the mononoke. The mononoke are everywhere around the Jorje mansion, couldn't they have seen something?"

Dorfen's house was visible from the count's mansion. It wouldn't be strange if the mononoke, who roamed freely around the mansion, had seen something. Ah, Chihiro's eyes lit up as well.

"Of course, everyone!!"

When the Little One shouted, mononoke came from all over. Squirrels and rabbits, chickens and scorpions. By the time spiders and centipedes arrived, Uris had hastily stood up and fled. Though he had grown accustomed to the Little One's companions, it seemed he still hadn't developed an immunity to mononoke. Having learned to flee before making a mistake, the Little One saw Uris off with a lukewarm gaze and asked the assembled mononoke if they had seen anything unusual. In response, several of the mononoke disappeared somewhere. A short while later, the vanished mononoke returned, carrying something.

".....What is that?"

A small something was flailing jitabata. Looking closely, it was a creature with many tentacles, like an octopus. To be precise, it was like a slime with octopus legs. Its body swayed fuyon fuyon. The tapun plump thing was clearly frightened and trembling purupuru.

"Is that what was entering Dorfen's house?"

The mononoke nodded kokukoku. In the stunned adults' field of vision, the number of mysterious creatures being brought in from somewhere increased in the blink of an eye, and soon the count's mansion living room was occupied by the unidentified slime-like things.

"Ueeeh?! Just how many of them are there!!"

There were at least twenty by rough count. The Little One couldn't help but be reminded of that thing where if you see one, there are thirty.

"What is this thing?"

Without a hint of fear, Lucas poked the mysterious creature. The slime-like thing flinched so hard you could almost hear it squeal hiiiii. This must be a monster too. Its emotionally expressive air was very similar to the Lords' Kin. The Little One called for Merda in her mind. Her wishes were transmitted to the Lords as thoughts. It wasn't long before the giant honeybee came flying in. The arriving Merda froze for a moment, but then her gaze softened as she looked at the slime-like things.

《My, how nostalgic. These are castle fairies.》

"Castle fairies?"

As the Little One stared, kyon, Merda nodded magnanimously.

According to her, they were fairies that lived in old buildings. Just as they looked, they were mollusks that loved porous stonework. Their favorite food was warm hearts, and they would settle in the homes of such families and help out with various things. They often appeared in long-established houses and were famous for being all-purpose workers who could also babysit and do chores, but with recent modernization, the number of old buildings for them to live in has decreased, and they are not seen as often these days.

As expected of the storyteller clan. They inherit memories from before Frontier was even founded. They probably know everything there is to know about Arcadia.

《They won't appear unless the building is at least several hundred years old. They live from birth until they lose their home, so they are very long-lived and intelligent creatures.》

"Hoh, that's amazing."

Does that mean they've settled in the Frontier Royal Palace? But I've never seen them before. When the Little One voiced the question that came to mind, Merda tilted her head thoughtfully.

《That is likely because there were no warm emotions for them to feed on. They feed on human emotions. Their favorite food is warm feelings. They prefer happy families and are drawn to them, trying to blend in.》

Blend in..... That's just like a Zashiki-warashi. If I remember correctly, they're just there when you notice them. And if you entertain them while pretending not to notice, they'll grant you many times more good fortune, I think?

Recalling the yokai from her past life, the Little One's face relaxed into a nyo grin. Really, it's strange how similar phenomena occur in odd ways.

Ignoring Chihiro, Romel narrowed his eyes with a look of understanding. Ah.....

"If that's the condition, the royal family would have been thoroughly disliked. Until very recently, it was a place devoid of warm feelings."

A den of demons where schemes and intrigues swirled. Until the Little One stirred things up, whipped them, and turned it into a pokopoko, namattari shake, it was such a distant place that parents and children would only see each other about once a month. Now they were becoming a gentler family, holding tea parties without a second thought, but it was probably still a long way from being a warm place.

"The count's mansion was newly built. It's always rebuilt whenever the owner changes, so it probably didn't meet that condition."

Harold also supplemented the information.

The outer palace walls were a structure over several thousand years old. They were reinforced, but not rebuilt.

".....So a mononoke that no one knew about has been in the royal palace all this time."

"It's been there all along. For at least several thousand years."

"No wonder it can even do paperwork. If it's lived that long, its knowledge must be considerable."

The men nodded to each other with dry laughter. But Merda murmured with a troubled look.

《However, these creatures are extremely timid and rarely appear before people, nor do they leave any trace of their presence. Why are there so many?》

As if asking a question, Merda looked at the castle fairy. Then, to everyone's surprise, the slime-like thing spoke.

『.....Master. Has. Right to use us.』

"Master?"

While the adults' faces stiffened in shock, the Little One calmly spoke to the castle fairy. Chihiro had already conversed with Merda and many other mononoke. There was no reason to panic now just because a mysterious creature spoke.

『Has stone. Our master.』

The slime-like things wriggled their tentacles uniuni and pointed at Sasha.

"Me?"

『Yes. Important stone.』

The poyopoyo slime-like thing nodded timidly. Staring at it, Sasha's eyes suddenly widened in realization.

"Could it be this?"

From her bosom, she took out the engagement ring she had received from Dorfen. It interfered with her daily work, so she didn't wear it on her finger but had put it on a chain and wore it around her neck. Seeing it, Dorfen's eyes also widened.

"This is a stone I received from my mother, which I had fashioned. In my family, it is tradition to give a child a stone the same color as their eyes as a birthstone."

An aquamarine set in a star ruby. A stone the same color as Dorfen's eyes. This was apparently the mysterious creatures' precious stone.

『Water stone. You who have it, have duty to use us.』

"A duty to use you?"

『We have right to be used by you.』

"The right to be used.....? What?"

The mysterious creatures swayed yurayura with triumphant looks on their faces.

The humans, stunned, were at a loss for words.

A demand for the right to be used..... Are they volunteering to be servants?

The castle fairies' incomprehensible self-assertion. It seemed they wanted to be used by Sasha. The unauthorized help was apparently a part of that.

《It seems they are only interested in humans who possess that stone and reside in this castle. You must be a very close couple. To have attracted this many fairies.》

Apparently, the number of slime-like things lined up zuratto was an indication of Dorfen and Sasha's happiness index. The two of them blushed at the spontaneously softening gazes of those around them, which was a charming sight.

The castle fairies were eager to serve. Normally, this would be a 'couldn't ask for more' situation, as it meant more hands to help with work.

And so, welcoming the new creatures, the matter was resolved.

.....Or so it seemed.

It is the fate of all those involved with the Little One for things to take a diagonal, upper-half twist. The situation changed to one of 'kicking them while they're down.'

"I'm telling you! Your washing is too lenient! The stains haven't come out completely!!"

Today, too, a scream rose from the Dorfen residence.

Apparently, the slime-like things' work was shoddy.

"Salt! There's not enough salt! The flavor is muddled!"

"Wipe the window sills too! Cleaning the windows isn't just about wiping the glass!!"

Sasha scolded the lodgers for their somewhat lacking work, whipping them bishibishi back into shape.

The slime-like things scurried about, being scolded.

And so, forging new bonds, Arcadia is at peace again today.♪