Lu used magic to slice the pasta dough into long, thin strips.
She wasn't nearly as exhausted as she'd been the last time. It was apparently the result of a newly constructed magic formula. I was genuinely impressed by her refusal to accept defeat.
Tia and Flora were praising her as well. Or rather, it looked more like they were trying to pry the secret of how she’d managed it out of her.
Next to them, several of Zabuton's Children were using their silk to slice dough into thin strips, showing off for me. I gave them a nod—yes, it was impressive. But their timing was terrible. I had to signal for them to hide their work before Lu spotted them.
Earlier that morning, while I was making my rounds in the fields, the Sake Slime did something unusual: it approached me and signaled that it wanted some sugar cane.
I didn't mind giving it some, but I wondered what it planned to do with it. I took a stalk of sugar cane, but it was too large to carry easily. I cut it into pieces about thirty centimeters long and handed them over.
When I asked if that was enough, the Sake Slime indicated there was no problem and headed back toward the Village Head's Mansion with the sugar cane in tow.
It couldn't be planning to brew its own sake, could it? Intrigued, I decided to shadow it.
The Sake Slime entered the mansion and went straight to the courtyard. When it arrived at the shrine near the Great Tree, it began scouting the perimeter with surprising caution.
What was it up to?
Still clutching the sugar cane, the Sake Slime slipped behind the shrine. When I peeked around to see what was happening, I found several of Zabuton's Children waiting there alongside... glowing objects about the size of ping-pong balls?
The Sake Slime passed the sugar cane to Zabuton's Children. They peeled the stalks and fed the inner pith to the glowing spheres.
Were they bugs?
Behind me, several magazine-sized Zabuton's Children and some of Kuro's Children had gathered, watching the scene along with me. It seemed they were secretly keeping pets.
While I was feeling a bit warmed by the sight, the Sake Slime suddenly noticed us. It froze for a moment before darting forward to position itself protectively between me and the glowing objects. The spiderlings near the spheres immediately followed its lead.
Wait, wait. I understood they were being protective, but why was I being treated like the enemy? They weren't going to cause any harm to the fields, were they?
I looked at them pointedly. Were they? No? They were safe?
Fine. Then let’s talk this out. I asked them why they felt the need to hide these things.
In response, one of the spiderlings raised a leg. It didn't point up, but forward—straight at Lu.
"Did you know? Fairy's Wings are a prized ingredient for medicine."
Ah. I understood the reason for the secrecy now. The Sake Slime clung to my leg, trembling.
I get it, I get it. I’ll protect them.
"Dear," Lu said, her eyes narrowing. "Fairies are known to play pranks on crops, you know."
I looked down at the Sake Slime. What about that? Was it true? The slime shook its body emphatically. These ones were different? It would make sure they never caused trouble?
I considered the matter for a moment, but Lu had already called for reinforcements. Tia stepped up beside her.
"Fairy's Wings, is it? How precious. We could brew so many potent medicines with those."
Lu and Tia were normally quite lovely, but at that moment, their expressions were downright predatory. However, the Sake Slime’s faction wasn't backing down either. The spiderlings who had been guarding the spheres returned with their own reinforcements.
"Whoa, what's this? They're glowing!"
Alfred, Tiselle, and Urza had arrived.
"Papa, are these new residents?"
That settled it.
They were fairies. Since they were still immature, they looked like glowing ping-pong balls, but apparently they would eventually grow into small humanoid forms.
"You mentioned wings, but I don't see any," I noted.
"They call fairies 'Fairy's Wings' when they're in this stage of development," Lu explained, regretfully swirling an empty glass medicine bottle.
Apparently, simply placing one of these glowing spheres into a bottle and letting it soak would create an incredible medicinal base.
"I'm not going to let you do it, but what are the effects?" I asked.
"They're just a catalyst for other medicines, so the wings alone don't do much. But depending on what you add later, you can make treatments for bruises, plague prevention, longevity, skin care, or even Hair Growth Medicine."
I see. I really wished she wouldn't list "hair growth" in the same breath as plague prevention and longevity. Still, the idea of a plague preventative was tempting.
"Is it impossible to make those without the fairies?"
"There are other ways," Lu admitted, pouting. "But using Fairy's Wings lets you skip several difficult steps. it's just much easier."
I stroked the sulking Lu’s head and asked her to stick to the other methods. If we were facing an actual epidemic, it might be different, but that wasn't the case. For now, I wanted her to let it go for the sake of the children’s emotional development.
As I was petting Lu, Tia leaned in and offered her own head. "Should I pout as well?"
"There, there," I said, giving her a turn as well. "By the way, what do fairies eat? Is sugar cane really okay?"
"Anything sweet works. Honestly, you could probably just let them roam free in the flower fields."
I decided to do just that. But then I realized something. If it was that simple, why had the Sake Slime been so desperate for sugar cane? Why not just take them to the flowers?
Oh. The bees would have attacked them. That explained the secret garden behind the shrine.
A few days later, I installed several Fairy Houses in the flower fields—small wooden boxes with round entry holes.
The spiderlings signaled that they were too low. I adjusted them. On top of a pedestal... was this height okay?
They seemed happy with the height but indicated there weren't enough houses. I could see why. I wasn't sure where they’d all come from, but there were now ten fairies—if "ten" was even the right way to count them—drifting around the flower field.
I warned them not to pick fights with the bees. If a conflict broke out, I was strictly on the side of the ones who provided the honey.
The spiderlings seemed to suggest that the fairies would be useful once they grew up. I decided to take their word for it.
I headed back to the mansion and started crafting the remaining Fairy Houses. Alfred, Tiselle, and Urza all gathered around to help. I thanked them, but I had to warn them not to play with the tools. They were far too dangerous for games.
They gave me a chorus of energetic "Yes, Papa!" in response. It was a good start.