# Chapter 29
Before I could even make a rebuttal, Daniel cut me off.
“What, are you too embarrassed to do even this? Just take it off quickly and be done with it. I’m not asking you to undress, just to remove one hat. If you can’t even do that, I can’t just leave either.”
Tick, tack, tick, tack. Daniel made sounds by flicking his tongue inside his mouth. The sound, resembling a clock’s second hand, made me increasingly anxious. If I hesitated even slightly, Daniel might forcibly remove it.
But could Rite pull in his horns in this state? He hadn’t succeeded even once until now. I wanted to check if his horns were still there by feeling the top of his hat, but Daniel’s gaze never wavered for a moment.
“I’m not someone with much free time. If you can’t do it, we’ll take you to the castle and remove it there.”
When Daniel nodded to a knight beside him, the man stepped forward.
“Why suddenly take him to the castle? What wrong has the child done?”
“You’re acting suspiciously right now. I don’t know what you’re plotting, but this time I’ll make sure it doesn’t end with just banishment. It didn’t make sense from the beginning. Keeping you alive for mere engineering.”
His low voice was full of mockery. I wanted to cover Rite’s ears. I also wanted to kick Daniel out of this house for speaking such harsh words in front of a child. But right now, I couldn’t do anything. As I bit my lip in helplessness, Rite let go of my hand.
“I took it off.”
Everyone’s eyes turned to Rite. He had removed his hat and was looking directly at Daniel. The top of Rite’s head was completely smooth.
“Your arm. Roll up your right sleeve. No, was it the left?”
Rite rolled up both his right and left sleeves in turn. Pale, flawless, smooth arms were revealed.
“Are we done now?”
“…”
“With both me and Arden.”
Rite glared at Daniel without even blinking, apparently unafraid of the situation. I didn’t want to provoke Daniel unnecessarily. I grabbed Rite’s hand and tried to pull him behind me again, but Rite resisted.
“Let’s go. Just wasted time here.”
After quietly taking in this scene, Daniel immediately turned and left the room. The knights followed after him. The footsteps grew fainter and then disappeared as they went outside. Even then, Rite continued to glare fiercely at the spot where Daniel had stood.
* * *
Three years. In the three years since his first successful control and the knights’ departure, Rite hadn’t left the forest. Though cut off from interaction with others, Rite seemed comfortable with daily life in the cabin. He had become skilled at controlling his horns and scales, and contrary to my worries, he had never gone into an irrational state. I hadn’t even seen Rite’s horns or scales lately. Rite almost always maintained a perfect human appearance.
During these three years, Rite had grown rapidly. It was an incredible pace compared to the previous five years. He grew quickly day by day, as if someone was urgently pulling and stretching him. He would even be different in height after just one night’s sleep.
But Rite’s rapid growth had slowed at some point. I couldn’t tell if his development had stopped or if his body had truly matured. Rite looked too mature to be called a boy, yet still too boyish to be called a young man.
Despite the accelerated growth, both Rite and I accepted it without difficulty. If anything, Rite seemed secretly proud of his growth. Now he was slightly taller than me. Since I’m a bit taller than 5 feet 10 inches but slightly shorter than 5 feet 11 inches, Rite seemed to be over 5 feet 11 inches.
These days, it was more common for Rite to nag me. Even last night, he suddenly opened my bedroom door, told me not to work at night because it would damage my eyes, then disappeared. Yet he’d get angry if I opened his door without knocking. As I was crossing through the village, silently grumbling to myself, someone called my name, making me stop and turn.
“Hello.”
Despite the friendly greeting, I had to think about who the person was. The face was familiar, as expected in this small village. Somehow, someone did come to mind…
“Ah… hello.”
Belatedly remembering, I awkwardly returned the greeting. It was the clerk from the firewood shop. Brown hair, looking exactly like his father, the shop owner.
“I’m Jack.”
“Pardon?”
“My name. Since you seemed not to know.”
Since that was true, I nodded. We weren’t close enough for me to know his name. No one in Jack’s family regularly commissioned work from me, and I rarely visited his shop. I had only bought firewood a few times three years ago.
“You don’t come to our shop much anymore.”
“Well, the forest is full of trees.”
“Do you chop the firewood yourself?”
That was somewhat true. Though I wasn’t the one chopping it. Rite, bored of staying at home, would chop firewood and stack it in the storage shed next to the cabin. So I had no reason to visit Jack’s shop.
“That’s right.”
“You don’t look that strong. But I guess you’re an engineer.”
“Strictly speaking, I’m not an engineer anymore.”
Jack laughed heartily as if my words were a funny joke. His face looked somewhat youthful when he laughed.
“You live alone now, right? A few years ago, you lived with a kid. The one with purple eyes.”
“Yes. He went to his parents’ home.”
The lies flowed easily now. Though in reality, that purple-eyed kid had grown up and was now chopping firewood, cooking, and doing laundry at home. Rite was probably taller than Jack now. I examined Jack, trying to gauge his height. Perhaps uncomfortable with my gaze, Jack scratched the back of his head and laughed.
“Invite me over sometime.”
“You’d come to the forest?”
“A cabin sounds quite nice.”
“Not at all. It’s just an old cabin.”
“I’ll know when I see it myself.”
I needed to refuse. I worried about how to decline without hurting his feelings. Maybe he was just making conversation? If so, a blunt refusal would seem odd. As I stood there silently, Jack said goodbye first. “Take care,” he said, patting my shoulder before turning to leave.
If Rite had seen this, he would have criticized me for being too soft.
* * *
“I’m back.”
Back? Rite’s voice came from inside the room. Not from his own room, but from my bedroom.
He’s at it again. When I was out, Rite often spent time in my room. Sometimes he would knit, read a book, or occasionally bring a small piece of wood to carve.
His skill was quite good. His carvings seemed especially impressive compared to the toys I had made. When Pini saw our bear carvings placed side by side, it remarked that human talents were fascinating. It meant how such results could come from someone who grew up seeing my carvings.
I wasn’t very pleased, so I tried to put away the things I had made, but Rite repeatedly stopped me. He even got angry, telling me not to clear them away carelessly. Even though they wouldn’t be used anymore. Despite my protests, Rite stubbornly preserved the carvings.
When I opened the bedroom door, my eyes met Rite’s as he lay on my bed. Sharp, clear eyes with purple irises. A beam of light reflected from the snow outside fell onto his tousled black hair. Shoulders now broader than mine and strong arms securely holding a book gave a slight nod in greeting. Because of his tall height, he wasn’t lying straight but at an angle.
“You’re later than I expected.”
“Am I?”
It didn’t seem much different from usual, so I dismissed it lightly. Rite stared at me intently, but I ignored it. It was a meaningless habit. With only the two of us at home, we had no one else to observe but each other.
“Why are you lounging in my room? You have your own.”
“Is that not allowed?”
“It’s not that it’s not allowed, but…”
It would be fine if he only came in during the day, but the problem was that a fully grown boy still had sleeping tantrums. I made a mental note to properly discipline him next time. Making this repeated promise to myself, I glanced at the cover of the book Rite was reading.
“Monsters of the North”
Judging by its worn cover, it must have been from my bookshelf. I didn’t even know I had such a book. I immediately went over and snatched the book. I tried to appear natural, but Rite narrowed his eyes.
When he was younger, all books Rite read had to pass my inspection. The criterion was simple: no content about defeating monsters. Even now, I never bought him books where monsters appeared. I didn’t want Rite to take an interest in monsters. Quickly flipping through the book, I confirmed it was indeed a monster encyclopedia as the title suggested.
“I bought everything you asked for. Tomatoes, salmon, and pepper. Go check.”
“What about potatoes?”
“Those too.”
Rite stretched out his arm and rested it on my shoulder. Using me as a support, he got up in one swift motion and left the bedroom. Listening to Rite’s footsteps, I looked around for a place to hide the book I had taken from him.
“Did you buy strawberries too?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t like strawberries.”
I chuckled as I placed the book under a chair, the easiest hiding spot. When Rite couldn’t eat hard foods, I used to boil strawberries for him, and he ate them just fine back then. The memory of him sucking on my fingers like he was about to eat them too made me smile.
“You used to eat them well when you were little.”
“Don’t remember. I dislike them now. They taste strange these days. And the price keeps going up.”
Strawberries were the representative fruit grown nearby. In other places, they’re called winter strawberries, and for good reason—the strawberries grown in this area weren’t red but pale pink. They also tasted more sour than regular strawberries, so Rite, who had become less tolerant of sour foods, avoided winter strawberries. When he was younger, there wasn’t any food he wouldn’t eat. The changes as he grew up were both fascinating and somewhat regretful.
“You used to be a good child who didn’t pick at your food.”
“I was a stupid child with no thoughts or opinions.”
I pretended not to hear Rite’s self-deprecating mutter. Lately, when I talked about his childhood, Rite would occasionally make strange comments like that. From experience, I knew nothing good would come from prolonging such conversations.
Is he really going through puberty? Coming out of the room, I looked at Rite and fell into thought. The small kitchen looked even more cramped with Rite in it. Though not much taller than me, his build made him look much more statuesque.
“You bought rye bread again.”
“They say it’s healthier.”
“I told you not to believe everything Lucy says. Rye bread just makes you feel full and doesn’t digest well.”
“Isn’t that better?”
Rite, who had his back to me, turned his head to look at me with an expression that seemed to say, “What nonsense are you talking about?”
“Think about it. If a small amount makes you feel fuller, isn’t that an efficient food?”
“But it doesn’t taste good. The texture is bad, and so is the smell.”
“It’s fine with butter and jam.”
“That would taste even better on white bread. Though someone with a dull palate like Arden wouldn’t know.”
Rite spoke mockingly and then turned his head away sharply. He was so picky and knowledgeable. Sometimes he seemed like an explorer who had traveled the whole world. Though in reality, he was an adventurer only in books, having never left Winterishe.
“Arden needs to develop his sense of taste.”
“How did you survive on my cooking before?”
“That’s why I do the cooking now.”
Holding a pink strawberry in his hand, Rite turned around with a broad grin. The way his eyes and lips curved when he smiled was exactly the same as when he was little.
“I’ll keep cooking for you from now on.”
The sound of wind blowing through the forest, the sound of firewood burning in the stove. And the boy living with me in the midst of these sounds somehow felt like a dream. I had a vague fear that when I opened my eyes, I would return to the time when I was alone. Yet it had already been eight years since we started living this way.
“If you’re going to brag about it, don’t do it. I’ll cook instead.”
So I grumbled needlessly. Rite laughed out loud and began organizing the groceries. Now, all of this was just ordinary life.
