Chapter 207: The Suspicious Tail
For some reason, I’m stacking stones with Auro, despite the distance between us—both in heart and physically—being quite far.
I had already taken the initiative to pull out the building materials from [Storage] before he arrived. I won’t dwell on how I transported them. The task at hand is to stack stones up to the height needed to fill the area around the stairs and the spot for the bath.
A handsome guy like him doesn’t really suit manual labor, does he? He’s rolled up his sleeves, but I wonder if he’ll end up with a tan that makes his skin a two-tone shade, light on his face and darker from his elbows down?
“Are you okay with getting sunburned, Auro?”
People in this region, especially craftsmen, tend to avoid the sun. With Naruadeid and the buildings being so densely packed, everywhere except the plaza is automatically shaded.
The small windows of the buildings aren’t just because glass is expensive; they also serve to keep out sunlight. Once winter is over, it’s sunny here almost all the time.
“Sunlight doesn’t hold much significance for me. I hardly catch any of the diseases that afflict humans. I’ll handle the work; you can take a rest, my lord—”
“No, I’m fine too.”
That’s because [Healing] works subtly even in my everyday life, so I don’t get sick, let alone sunburned.
And besides, it’s actually faster to just apply the mortar and pull it directly from [Storage] than to do it with two people…! It’s easier to make fine adjustments since it’s not as long as timber.
Oh, if I practice pulling things in and out, maybe I won’t need to make those fine adjustments anymore? I should train later.
“…My lord, would it be a bother if I were to use your abilities?”
Having good intuition can be a hassle!
“I won’t speak of anything that doesn’t align with your wishes, aside from our contract. From head to tail, I am yours.”
“Tail!?”
Does he have one!?
“Shall I show you?”
“No, that’s fine.”
I really don’t want to see a guy’s rear.
“Is that so?”
Auro smiles.
Wait! Was I just teased!?
No, Dinoss said that changelings are originally imperfect sacred beasts. It seems that humans are too strong-willed, making it difficult for them to take over completely. That’s why they target infants. But putting that aside, if he was a sacred beast in the form of a cat or dog before taking on a human shape, would he have a tail…?
…Does he?
“Should I step back?”
The look on Auro’s face suddenly reminds me of a scolded golden retriever. Oh no.
“Since we have a contract, I could break it, but just so you know, if it comes down to it, I’ll abandon this island and escape alone, okay?”
I’ve already mentioned this to Soleil and the others I directly contracted with.
As a lord who might abandon the island someday, I told them they don’t need to treat me with respect as long as they can maintain appearances in public.
“Yes, I understand. When that time comes, I will ensure everything is tidy and not cause any trouble before following you, my lord.”
Oh. This is just like the Jaw Spirit; I feel like I’m being clung to. What’s going on? My jaw isn’t broken, and I don’t smell like Dean… I hope. Am I sweating from this tough work? Good thing a bath will solve that.
“Okay then. I’ll handle placing the stones, so can I leave the fine adjustments to you?”
“As you wish.”
I temporarily put the stones into [Storage] and pull them out at the spot where I applied the mortar.
“So you do have [Storage]. It certainly seems like making it public would lead to a lot of trouble.”
Auro adjusts the stones without a hint of surprise.
Well, considering the building materials above and the massive amount of glass in the barn, it’s not surprising that Soleil and Kingin would catch on. Correction, Auro and Soleil would definitely notice.
Kiel still doesn’t seem to realize that I’m the one making the sweets, so he must really be a musclehead with that appearance. Marlu seems to have an inkling but doesn’t particularly want to get close to me; as long as I provide the agreed amount of sweets, she doesn’t say anything despite her fussing.
The other changelings probably realize it too, but they seem to hold back out of consideration for me. The spirit that is the parent of the changelings is the one interested in humans, while the changelings themselves tend to dislike people.
Kiel probably retains a lot of his human side. He seems a bit too much of a musclehead, though. I bet he doesn’t even think about how I transported all that glass by small boat. He may have a sharp tongue, but he’s quite likable since he’s straightforward.
Thanks to Auro, the work progresses smoothly. We replace the wooden structure with stone pillars and reattach the roof, finishing up. We reused the original roof, and [Storage] is truly convenient.
I plan to add the soil once the mortar dries; it should be fine to wait until the water passes through, right? The glass tiles I got from Van will be at that timing too.
“Alright, good work. We finished earlier than planned, thank you.”
“I’ll just say it took a day to reattach the roof.”
Auro smiles.
Ah, that’s right; I came to ask about that. The roof really is busy disappearing and reappearing…