THFN | Chapter 9

Having watched objects move in the air all this time, Clara had a rough idea of how it worked, even with the naked eye.

He had a sense of where the fairy might be hiding, but the exact location was unclear due to the figs. Even with enhanced vision, he could only see the figs twitching slightly.

‘They say non-human races that don’t interact with humans don’t like showing themselves. Is this how it is…? But this fairy seems a bit small.’

Putting aside his doubts, they continued making jam for a long time.

When fifteen glass jars, each the size of an oak barrel, were filled, Clara declared the end.

“That’s it for today!”

His arms were sore from turning the machine’s handle all day, and his body was tired, but completing over a hundred jars of fig jam in just half a day was truly amazing. Clara looked at the jars with pride, tasting the hardened bits in the pot with a satisfied smile.

The farming had started because he didn’t want to leave the land idle, and he wasn’t planning to sell anything, so the crops didn’t seem like more than crops. But seeing the results of hard work always felt rewarding. These well-made preserves were a source of pride.

“Well done.”

With a naturally softened expression, Clara scraped the cooled jam bits with a rubber spatula, pondering what to make. Despite all the sugar, the jam was solidifying into something closer to dried fruit than actual jam. Still, it could be preserved for ten years. In the countryside, jam was made like this and mixed with water when eaten. Nobles might avoid it, but it was chewy and delicious in cookies.

Clara mixed a bit of water into the jam bits to create a sticky, regular consistency, then smiled as kindly as possible at the small figure hiding in the tomato sack now that the figs were gone.

“Uh, since you worked hard, I thought I’d make you something. Do you like pies as a snack?”

“…….”

Of course, there was no response.

Are fairies usually this shy? They don’t seem to dislike humans, given how much they’ve helped. Clara awkwardly tapped the small tin bowl in his hands and tried to start a conversation again.

“If you don’t like pie, how about cookies? Fig jam cookies are delicious. I like them. …Won’t you say something?”

With no answer, only the awkward sound of tapping the bowl echoed.

Just as Clara was about to give up on getting a response and decided to make an easy pie, a small voice came from behind.

“Pa, pie? What… is it?”

It was a boyish voice, like a little fairy who hadn’t gone through puberty.

The confusion in formal speech made it seem even more like a fairy.

So it is a fairy! Clara, now certain, turned around with a brightened face and eagerly said what he wanted to.

“Have you never had pie? You must be from a remote place, huh? No, that’s not what I wanted to ask. Have you had jam before? If you like crispy things, I can make cookies with lots of butter!”

As he continued to talk about how well the fairy worked, Clara suddenly paused. Though he couldn’t see it, he felt the fairy’s wariness rising.

Did he talk too much? Feeling awkward, Clara scratched the back of his neck, tapping the tin bowl repeatedly.

“Uh, it’s just that you did such a great job, I got curious. It’s been a while since I’ve had such a diligent worker.”

“If I did well, can I get a… bonus?”

Seeing the kid’s interest, Clara nodded happily.

“Of course!”

If he wanted, he could take as many leftover figs as he could carry. The kind fairy boy who ventured into the human world for his family and ended up helping with the crops. There was no reason not to help.

“If you want, you can take as much as you can carry. Oh, the preserved ones need magic to be undone, so set them aside. Should I prepare a warehouse just for you? You can come and take what’s there anytime within a year.”

“My, my own warehouse? This? Can you give… that?”

Hearing the fairy’s voice waver, Clara felt even more satisfied and quickly nodded.

“If you work like this for just one more month, of course, I can give you that.”

As he spoke, Clara glanced beyond the warehouse wall.

Though he couldn’t see it, beyond the warehouse wall lay vast lands filled with crops, from staple foods to wheat and various vegetables.

This huge farm had dozens of crops to harvest each season. Especially now in autumn, there were many. From fruits to vegetables, staple crops, leaves and stems for boiling and storing, and roots for medicinal use.

Clara, knowing that most of it would be buried in the ground, was working alone, unable to find a solution.

But now he had a solution. He stared at the sack as if entranced.

‘If I can just do this for one more month….’

He could finish the work. If he worked for two months, he could perfectly organize even the unripe, less harvested crops.

If he could endure until then, winter would be near. The land, except for a few berries, would be fallow, and he could find new workers during that time. He could also start lawsuits against the contract workers who abandoned their jobs. If he found a market for the accumulated crops and secured compensation, he might be able to run the farm for another year or two. Somehow, it would work out.

‘Can’t I make him work until then?’

Desperate for the help of this skilled worker, Clara thought quickly.

He had half-given up on the farm due to physical limitations, but he still had enough affection to try harvesting alone with boots, a hoe, and scissors. If not, he wouldn’t have thought of burying himself in the wilderness alone.

The thought of these well-grown crops rotting into fertilizer without being eaten was something his pride couldn’t accept, and a fiery determination rose in his chest.

He recalled the words he’d heard: “How can a weakling be the owner of a large farm?” “With a name like a girl’s, looking like a girl, you should hand over the land and become my concubine instead of hiding in this harsh land.” “You’re not even a meal for a monster.” These words flashed by like a panorama.

More combative than ever, Clara exhaled strongly.

“To be honest, the workers left recently.”

“…….”

“It wasn’t intentional. I happened to clear out the nearby monsters, and when the monsters blocking the remote path were gone, a noble from a slightly distant place started coveting my land… The residents, trusting their backing, sided with them, making the situation very difficult.”

He needed help. But there were no people, and even if he recruited now, the procedural time waste would prevent him from finishing the harvest on time.

“If you work here for just two more months, I’ll give you not only the figs left in the boxes but also the apples and potatoes stored from last year. They might be slightly less valuable, but they’re edible. Of course, if it’s not enough, I can give you fresh ones then.”

The sack where the kid was hiding shook noticeably, perhaps tempted by the offer.

“Two months. Just help for two more months.”

As he waited for an answer, he received an unexpected reply.

“…If I stay too long, the sea witch might get mad….”

It was a reluctant refusal. Wiping the cold sweat, Clara pondered how to persuade him when he suddenly met bright yellow eyes.

For a moment, he saw something like a giant, elongated black reptilian tail. The startled yellow eyes reappeared, watching him warily.

…Do fairies have tails these days? Not butterfly wings?

An instinctive warning not to reveal what he saw struck his mind. Clara, slightly stiffened, pretended not to notice and looked away, clearing his throat.

“Well, as you know, our farm’s contract is until January this year. I just mentioned it to confirm in case you forgot?”

No, that’s not it.

In his fluster, that strange lie he told before slipped out again!

But as he was about to correct it, a small voice stopped his fumbling hands in the air.

“If that’s the case, it can’t be helped….”

“…Ah, okay.”

Wait. Did I just trick a fairy?

Puzzled, Clara wondered if he should correct this, but he lowered his head, following the sweet scent. The sticky fig jam glistened in the sunlight.

As he lowered his gaze to the thick, sweet liquid, thoughts of the ripening crops waiting for harvest flashed through his mind.

“Uh. Um, uh.”

His eyes darted around. His posture should be cocky and swaggering, but the angle was oddly straight. Like a young rebel pretending to be a thug. Given his appearance, even more so. Fiddling with one of the many piercings in his ear, Clara stammered several times in a short span.

Would he make the fairy work for two months through deceit and gain a full warehouse at the cost of his conscience? Or would he find his conscience and instead face the devastated land mixed with overripe crops next year?