A small spotted Cat Sith was eating sweets on my lap.
She is the 5 year old younger sister of the first Cat Sith family that came to the Sanctuary, Lala.
At first, Lala had a fear of strangers, but she soon got along with Wappa and the kids as well as become familiar with us.
Particularly, tiniest Lala had come together with the Catkin Wappa’s younger sister Sara and the Human Colette’s younger sister Shirona and were often stuck by my side. They’ve gotten quite attached.
「Delicimeows, I have not eaten sweets this tasty nya!」
「Now now, the area around your mouth is getting dirty.」
Lala was single-mindedly eating cream puffs while on my lap. Shirona and Sara were also seated at the table, and likewise engrossed in eating cream puffs.
Since I couldn’t find vanilla beans for the choux pastry and custard cream, I felt it wasn’t very good, but it’s started becoming popular with the Spirits, starting from Undine, and with Sophia, Kaede, and the girls.
「Takumi-shama. Lala will help, so Lala wants to eat meowr tasty sweets!」
「Hmm~, then I’ll have to think of something again.」
「Sara too, Sara also wants to eat nya!」
「Shirona also wants sweets!」
「I get it.」
Sara and Shirona had also pleaded, wanting to eat more sweets. Even though they were in the middle of eating it right now.
In this world, given how a sugar-like item can be collected from dungeons aside from a plant similar to sugarcane, sugar can be procured. But there’s no mistaking its high price. We stock up on large quantities of ingredients and seasonings, but the Great Tree Spirit Dyras, Great Earth Spirit Gnome, Great Water Spirit Undine, and Great Light Spirit Selene have begun growing sugarcane. Naturally, the reason is so we would make sweets. Only Gnome wants us to use it for alcohol, it seems. I’ve also noticed him giving Doganbo-san some sort of instructions.
「Lala is so happy nya~」
「Sara is lucky to eat food 3 times a day until Sara is full nya~」
「Shirona is happy to sleep in a soft bed!」
The words that came from the hearts of the little children had once again made me feel the harshness of this world.
To these kids, being able to eat everyday is happiness, and sleeping on a soft bed is an extravagance.
Various crops were being grown in the fields of the Sanctuary. Sylph transports seeds with the wind, and Dryas brings seeds from who knows where. In addition, an orchard is being built.
The Great Spirits were pleased by Maria and Marnie’s meals and confections that they ended up cooperating to keep the soil in good condition.
Since his arrival, Doganbo-san had been enthusiastic in collaborating with Gnome and Salamander to in the alcohol brewing.
The Cat Siths Mabbo-san and Poporo-san have also become familiar with the Great Spirits and spent their days happily. They’re also proactive with caring for Wappa and the kids.
Shirona’s older sister Colette and Lala’s older sister Miri and mother Poporo-san were taking sewing lessons from Kaede and making their own clothes. This, despite Miri being only 7 years old. Apparently, in the common needy household, they start helping out their family from the age of 5.
「Alright, today I’ll help with the crops too!」
「「「Woohoo!」」」
With Lala on my shoulders and holding Sara and Shirona on each hand, we went to the place with the orchard.
The surprising thing about the newly built orchard was that it was already possible to harvest fruits. This was thanks to the persistence of the Great Tree Spirit Dryas, Great Water Spirit Undine, and Great Light Spirit Selene. They’re crazy about desserts made from fruits and if I had to say, then they used their power for their benefit. Because of that, I saw Gnome making soil for the orchard.
「Grapes, apples, figs, peaches, oranges. This orchard doesn’t make sense!」
「What doesn’t~?」
「Is something wrong nya?」
「Looks tasty~!」
I had unintentionally retorted at the fact that the trees bore fruit regardless of the season, but Lala and the girls didn’t know this.
「Fufu, here, you are able to harvest all year round.」
There, Dryas appeared.
「All year round you say, wouldn’t that be unreasonable on the land?」
「It’s alright. This Sanctuary has the Spirit Tree and the Great Earth Spirit Gnome, you know. And if I, the authority on vegetation, am here, it’s inevitable that the fields and orchard will turn out this way.」
Puffing her chest with pride, Dryas asserted so with a self-satisfied look on her face.
「By the way, in the fields, the grains can soon be harvested.」
「Well, I understand fruit trees not being forced, but wheat is reaped when harvesting, right? And you can plant it again immediately afterwards?」
If we did that, the vigor of the land would soon be dry up. I remember being asked by Gnome to catch small fish in the sea and turn them into fertilizer. So, I asked Dryas “Wouldn’t the nutrients of the land be lacking if we harvest year round?”, and she saidーー
「A bit of fertilizer is necessary for each harvest. But this land is filled with the power of us Great Spirits, so it is mostly fine.」
…………so anything goes.
One of the reasons Dryas and the others made the fields and orchard is apparently to shelter the Fairykind that live quietly in hiding, like the Cat Siths. And aside from the Fairykind, they also want to save orphans, like Wappa and the children.
The Spirits are fundamentally good beings, so it can’t be helped that they wish for such. There are apparently spirits that have been encroached by miasma and have turned into evil spirits who enjoy evil, but they normally come to their natural end with time.
「And that said, please make more buildings for dwelling.」
「I don’t know what you mean by “that said”, but I just have to add more buildings, right?」
I couldn’t do anything about Dryas’ sudden request so I just gave up.
I’m sure the number of people would increase even more from here on. I want an upright adult ally.
***
Footnotes:1. Lots of typos. Lala was Lulu, and Shirona was Sara.
Sphy’s Note:
Hello. My modem died for some reason so I’ll need to wait until my ISP can replace it, which might take some time. I apologize but please expect delays.