<Chapter 14>
#2. A Hamster in the Snake’s Den (4)
Angel, who was walking ahead toward the office, frequently checked on Melty following behind him. Based on past experiences, Melty would flee at the mere sight of Calix. Knowing this instinct of his very well, Angel crumpled the hem of his clothes and extended it toward Melty.
Melty reflexively grabbed the fluttering fabric offered to him, a question arising on his face. Seeing his expression full of curiosity and bewilderment, Angel smiled awkwardly.
“I thought you might need something to hold onto if you get scared.”
“Ah, yes.”
Nodding up and down, Melty firmly grasped Angel’s clothes with both hands. After confirming this, Angel took a deep breath. Depending on Melty’s reaction after opening the office door, this doorknob would lead either to a gold coin or a reduction in pay. He felt more nervous than when he’d first come to the Padrian family for an interview and been thrown into a viper’s den. Only after carefully controlling his breathing did Angel lightly knock on the door.
“Come in.”
Angel could feel Melty’s hands tightening on the hem of his clothes at the indifferent voice from inside. After turning his head once more to check on Melty, who was clinging closely to him, he opened the door.
Calix, who had been leisurely examining documents while sitting cross-legged in his chair, shifted his gaze from the papers to observe Melty sticking close behind Angel. His brow furrowed automatically at the sight of Melty peeking out with just his eyes while firmly gripping Angel’s clothes. No sooner had Calix’s brow creased than Melty’s head quickly ducked back behind Angel.
“What’s your business?”
“Master Calix! I was wondering if Melty-ssi could take on some assistant duties before performing his actual role.”
“Well. Shouldn’t we first consider his own opinion?”
Calix placed the documents he was holding on the desk and stared at Melty while resting his chin on his hand. Angel pursed his lips at this mischievous behavior. It had originally been Calix’s idea to assign assistant work to Melty to help close the distance between them. Angel swallowed a sigh at what was clearly deliberate behavior.
“…It’s my idea too.”
“Really? For someone with that opinion, you seem to be sticking awfully close to Angel… Clinging like that, it’s impossible to assign you any tasks.”
At Calix’s tone, which was obviously sulking, Melty carefully released Angel’s clothes from his grasp. As Melty’s head peeked out once more, Calix leaned back against his chair with a satisfied expression.
“Good. Do you know how to organize documents?”
“Document organization?”
“Your first duty is to sort the mail that accumulates every morning and bring it to me.”
Calix’s pen drew a smooth curve as it pointed to the table. Following the movement with his eyes, Melty saw a pile of letters stacked high. After Calix confirmed that Melty had cautiously moved toward the pile of letters, he looked at Angel.
“And Angel, take this, check it for accuracy, organize it without errors, and bring it back.”
Angel trudged forward as a stack of documents was extended across the desk. Another task immediately following the completion of one was not particularly welcome. With a disgruntled expression, Angel glared at Calix, but as he approached the desk to receive the documents, his face brightened. Resting delicately on top of the documents and emitting a radiant light was a beautiful, lovely gold coin.
As Angel happily picked up the gold coin and documents, loyalty overflowed from his eyes. Calix, who had become an expert in handling Angel, chuckled and nodded.
“Process it quickly.”
“Yes. Of course. Don’t worry!”
Angel, who had cheerfully exclaimed with a rigid posture, hurriedly moved away. He sat down at his desk, not far from Calix’s, took out various documents, and began reviewing the contents. Only after confirming that Angel was concentrating on his work did Calix move toward Melty.
Though he had seen him that morning, Melty’s fluffy hair and the two cotton ball-like protrusions sticking up were enough to captivate his attention. His flawless skin also looked extremely soft. Although it was impossible for Calix who had received the immunity blessing, Melty’s skin clearly had an addictive quality. Suppressing the tingling in his hands, Calix let out a small fake cough. Startled by his cough, Melty pressed himself against the corner of the sofa.
“W-What is it?”
Seeing Melty glancing around cautiously with his large eyes, Calix lightly raised both hands.
“Since I’ve assigned you work, shouldn’t I explain how to do it?”
“Ah… y-yes.”
Although Melty nodded obediently at Calix’s words, his wariness did not easily fade. Glancing at the hunched figure, Calix sat down next to Melty with a thud. Moving his hand to retrieve the stack of papers on the table, Calix began to explain.
“Those stamped with the Padrian family seal need to be read first, so put them on top. You can open all other letters. The ones on green stationery are order forms, so organize them alphabetically.”
“Yes.”
Melty, who had been handling various types of letters according to Calix’s explanation, nodded. He began sorting out letters bearing the Padrian family seal from the pile and stacking them neatly. Calix silently observed how Melty, who had been conscious of him until just a moment ago, now focused on his work.
‘I thought he was just short, but his hands are also incredibly small.’
The small hands, which seemed to differ by about one and a half finger joints, were moving diligently. He had thought only Melty’s face was plump, but his fingers were also chubby and tiny, naturally drawing his gaze. Feeling the intense stare on the top of his head, Melty looked up. Met with a suspicious gaze that seemed to ask why he was staring so intently, Calix smiled naturally and said:
“I’m just checking if you’re doing the work well. Is there a problem?”
“It’s not particularly difficult, and I can do it well. Here.”
Melty reached out and organized the letters he had piled on one side. He tapped them against the table to align them neatly and then handed them to Calix. Distracted by the hands that still seemed soft and small, Calix swallowed a sigh and took the stack of letters from him. After watching Calix examine the letters, Melty turned his head again and resumed sorting them. As he had thought when he first saw them, there were quite a lot of letters piled up.
“Do you usually receive this many letters?”
“There are always many, but lately there have been even more.”
Despite holding a letter in his hand, Calix’s gaze was once again fixed on Melty. With each movement of his head, his thin hair swayed gently. The urge to reach out and ruffle his hair suddenly welled up.
“What should I do with the ones that aren’t order forms?”
“Separate those. I’ll check them last.”
“I see.”
Calix, who had now completely turned to face Melty’s direction, rested his elbow on the sofa’s backrest and propped his chin. Perhaps because he was bowing his head deeply for the sorting task, Melty’s nape was fully exposed. Entranced by the clear skin, Calix turned his head at the sound of a small snicker.
Angel, who had been staring at Calix with narrowed eyes, opened his mouth wide to urge ‘Take it easy.’ Somehow discerning that silent message conveyed through air, Calix responded with a sigh and a wave of his hand.
Calix roughly tore open the heavy letter in his hand and quickly scanned the text with his eyes. The reports from the commercial associations under family jurisdiction located throughout the country were informative in many ways. Among the concisely organized contents, there was one sentence that bothered him. Noticing similar content in another letter, Calix’s eyebrows twitched as he spoke.
“Is there an order from the Spangky family among the order forms?”
“That was, I saw it somewhere around here…”
It was definitely a name he had seen earlier. Rummaging through the stack of green stationery, Melty easily found the letter from the Spangky family.
“Here it is.”
“Hmm…”
Taking what Melty handed him, Calix spent a long time scanning the text on the order form with a thoughtful expression.
“Is something wrong with the order form?”
“No, not particularly. Just something I need to check.”
Seeing him lost in thought, Melty couldn’t ask anything more and turned his attention back to sorting letters, mumbling with his lips. The single line of text uniformly written on the order forms read ‘The Spangky family requests to purchase ‘Tonka’.’ There were often people who wanted to buy Tonka, a plant known for its toxicity. Some wanted to grow it for ornamental purposes due to its beautiful flowers despite its strong toxicity, while it also proved highly effective as a herbicide when mixed well with other herbs. However, it was rare for someone to regularly request large quantities like this.
‘What do they need so much of it for in the first place?’
It would have made sense if the request came from the Botenta family, who owned fertile farmland and produced a lot of food. But the Spangky family, who persistently requested to purchase Tonka, was one that was struggling greatly due to the recent drought. It seemed that after being driven away for coming to the main house and making a fuss about wanting to purchase in bulk, they were now trying to buy indirectly through the commercial association.
‘Good thing I blocked the sale in advance.’
Unpredictable situations where one couldn’t tell what someone might do naturally had to be prevented. Stroking his chin, Calix quickly organized his thoughts. He didn’t know why they were going around trying to buy Tonka, but if their purchasing method disappeared, they would obviously come here and make a scene again. Considering the time it took to receive the communication, they might have already arrived.
After organizing his thoughts, Calix tapped the table with his finger. Melty, who had finished collecting and organizing the envelopes, looked up at him with a puzzled expression.
“Stand up for a moment.”
Blinking in confusion, Melty slowly lifted his bottom from the sofa. Calix, satisfied with how obediently Melty followed his words, now extended his hand. Staring blankly at the palm that seemed to be urging him to give something, Melty carefully placed the organized envelopes he was holding onto it.
“Not these.”
Frowning, Calix placed the envelopes on the table and extended his palm again.
“Then what?”
“Your hand.”
“My hand?”
Still unable to grasp the situation, Melty lightly placed his fingers on Calix’s palm. Calix deftly grasped Melty’s hand, like a carnivorous plant catching an insect, and raised the corners of his mouth in a grin. Startled, Melty struggled to pull his hand away, but Calix was not one to let go easily.
“Angel. I’m going to the village for a while. Until I return, place the completed organization on my table.”
“W-Wait a moment. Suddenly going to the village…!”
Rising while looking at the flustered and confused Melty, Calix said with a refreshing smile:
“Now that you’ve officially begun working at Padrian, we need to have some clothes tailored for you. And it seems like today is the only day I’ll have time.”
He needed the leisure to send Melty away before the noisy guy arrived. Melty, bewildered by Calix’s words, sent a look pleading for rescue to Angel. With an awkward smile, Angel looked back and forth between Melty and Calix, then raised the corners of his mouth and waved his hand.
“Have a good trip.”
