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Chapter 6
The next morning, Ruth’s expression looked much softer. It was like a cat that had stopped bristling its fur after calming down. Without complaint, he accepted the soup Lily served and sat at the table. I quietly slid my notebook toward him.
[Do you want to eat meat?]
“There is meat?”
Ruth looked genuinely surprised. His face said, Meat in this countryside? That made me slightly annoyed.
[Of course. An old man hunts wild boar every month and distributes it.]
“…Then do you have any now?”
‘Lily, how much meat do we have?’
Inventory checking was Lily’s job. Right, Lily was a cooking doll. Lily met my gaze and nodded. She was mentally counting the supplies. Once she finished, her ears perked up.
〈We have a lot of dried meat.〉
[We still have dried meat. It would taste good in soup. Or maybe a meat pie?]
Ruth looked between the potato soup, the bread, and Lily. Lily tapped her feet excitedly.
〈Why, don’t you want to eat?〉
Even if they couldn’t understand words, the attitude of “eat it or leave it” was universal. Ruth quietly started eating the soup.
‘Lily, can you make meat pie for lunch?’
At my request, Lily nodded.
〈We’re short on tomatoes. Go buy some.〉
She added her request in a slightly haughty tone.
Right… I should’ve bought them yesterday. No, yesterday Ruth’s wound reopened, so I had to rush over.
[If you buy tomatoes, she says she’ll make meat pie for lunch.]
“…I have to go buy them?”
[Just stay home. You promised not to reopen your wound.]
Ruth stared at the notebook for a moment, then nodded. Seeing him eat better than yesterday, I cut my own piece of bread in half and pushed it toward him.
But Lily immediately took it back and replaced it with a fresh piece. Ruth faintly smiled and ate the bread Lily gave him, dipping it generously into soup.
On the way to buy tomatoes, Annie was walking toward me carrying two baskets.
Stopping in front of my house, she turned her head and noticed me.
“Hi, Runar.”
I waved back casually. When I got closer, I opened the gate, placed the tomatoes and fruit inside, and accepted the basket Annie gave me.
“Here. Mushrooms. This is payment for the doll.”
The mushroom basket was quite heavy. She must have spent a lot of time collecting them in a single day. Annie looked so tired she seemed ready to collapse and sleep the moment she got home.
Fidgeting, she asked carefully,
“When… can I come get the doll?”
She didn’t want to seem like she was rushing me. I thought for a moment and wrote in my notebook.
[In about two days? I’ll bring it myself, so just stay home.]
“Ah, really? Thanks, Runar.”
[I’ll make a kitty for Nyangnyang, so wait a bit.]
I told Pinocchio to carry the ingredients to the storage, then picked up Nyangnyang, who was sitting in a basket enjoying the sun. Annie hugged the cat tightly and rubbed her face against it, while Nyangnyang gently pushed her away.
“I’ll go now, Runar!”
I waved as she left and closed the door.
At that moment, Ruth carefully stepped out from his mother’s room.
[Are you tired?]
“No, I just thought a guest came suddenly…”
He trailed off.
[Didn’t you see other people when you went for a walk?]
“…There was no one.”
〈He’s a coward. He flinched when he heard people.〉
Pinocchio said. I lightly hit the back of his hand.
‘Don’t say things like that. Even if he can’t hear you.’
Pinocchio rubbed his hand and pretended it hurt.
In the kitchen, Lily was checking ingredients and planning tasks.
‘One meat pie is enough.’
When I said that carefully, Lily shouted back.
〈I was going to make juice! You’re not getting juice, Runar!〉
‘Sorry.’
By lunchtime, I took out brown cloth and cut it long. Two days was the deadline, but faster was better.
I chose brown thread, threaded a needle, and began sketching with chalk. Small fish had too many bones and weren’t very profitable, so I decided to make a larger doll designed to catch bigger fish.
I took out two black beads for eyes, cut the fabric, and started sewing. The goal was flight—yes, it had to fly. I recalled when I made Ruru. If anything, I had poured the most magic into its wings.
Good. I began steadily pouring magic into the cloth. It puffed up softly. I carefully stitched it and added stuffing. Magic flowed through the fabric like soft cotton filling it from within. The cloth occasionally rippled.
I tapped the brown fabric lightly. The gentle magic inside made it squishy and soft, changing shape and returning again.
After making another wing, Lily called me. Next to her was a plate of cookies I hadn’t touched at all. I stood up. I was hungry without realizing it.
As I walked toward the kitchen, delicious smells filled the air. Ruth also came out slowly, drawn by the smell. When our eyes met, he smiled awkwardly.
Lily placed a large meat pie in the center of the table. Next to it, Pinocchio was crushing apples with gloved hands to make juice.
Ruth watched the apples turn into liquid and sat down in surprise. Lily neatly divided the pie into eight pieces.
〈If you don’t finish it all, I’ll put it in tonight’s soup.〉
Cough!
Ruth choked slightly while stuffing his cheeks with meat pie. I nodded.
[Does it taste good?]
“Really delicious.”
I pushed an untouched piece toward him.
[Eat a lot. Next time I’ll bring more meat.]
“…Thank you.”
Ruth gave me his apple juice. Lily immediately scolded Pinocchio for not giving juice to Runar.
Watching the doll’s antics, Ruth smiled faintly.
I skipped dinner and worked intensely until dawn, finally finishing the eagle doll. It lacked dignity, but it wasn’t bad. More cute than majestic.
I floated it in the air. The eagle flapped its wings. It looked more like a pigeon.
It was too late to rename it, especially since the doll itself proudly believed it was an eagle. White head, brown body, yellow beak—yes, it did look like an eagle.
Lily urged me from the side.
〈Come eat breakfast! It’s getting cold! You didn’t even eat dinner yesterday!〉
By the time I sat at the table, my eyes were half asleep.
“Snap out of it.”
Ruth gently shook me. I slapped my cheeks a couple of times.
“Did someone pressure you? Why did you push yourself so much?”
Tomato soup and scrambled eggs were placed on the table. I stirred the soup, then finally woke up and took out my notebook.
[I got too absorbed while working.]
“…Don’t push yourself unnecessarily.”
Ruth chose his words carefully and then quietly ate his eggs. I nodded faintly and ate soup. My mouth burned slightly.
Lily came closer.
〈Is it finished?〉
‘Yes, it’s done.’
After finishing breakfast, Lily followed me excitedly.
〈I want to see!〉
When I opened the workshop door, Ruru and Pinocchio peeked in as well. Ruth asked from a distance,
“Can I come closer?”
I gestured him over and showed him the eagle doll.
Lily waved her hands in front of it and got swatted by a wing. She immediately tried to attack it, but I pulled her back.
I examined the doll’s talons. Since it was still soft cloth, I decided to make proper claws. I told Pinocchio to fetch stones, and he quickly returned with some.
After washing them clean, I placed them on the desk and broke them with a hammer. I ground them down and shaped them into claws, smoothing the edges so Annie wouldn’t get hurt.
The eagle doll looked down at its feet and proudly flapped its wings.
I lifted it again and hesitated.
Still… it looked like a pigeon.
Ruth asked,
“You don’t like it?”
The doll looked shocked, staring at me like it couldn’t believe it.
[It looks like a pigeon.]
“…A pigeon.”
Ruth looked at it again.
“…Pigeon.”
The doll turned to stare at both of us, trying to confirm if it was true. I avoided its gaze.
The doll slumped down dramatically, covering its eyes with its wings as if pretending to cry.
“Can’t you fix the wings?”
[The wings are fine. It’s just… it looks like a pigeon when it flies.]
“Why…”
Ruth thought hard.
No, there was no solution. I grabbed the doll.
“You’re not fixing it?”
I nodded.
Even if it looked like a pigeon, it worked fine. I’d just give it to Annie.
〈I’m a pigeon…? A pigeon…?〉
I quickly left the house and went to Annie’s home.
Mrs. Karen opened the door.
“Runar? What’s wrong?”
“Mom! He probably brought the doll!”
Annie appeared behind her.
I silently handed her the eagle doll and wrote in my notebook.
[The claws are stone, so be careful not to get scratched.]
“Thank you!”
Annie lifted the doll. It flapped.
Mrs. Karen gasped.
“Oh my… your magic is always amazing. Just like when your mother made jointed dolls…”
“Can it catch fish now?”
[Try it. If it fails, I’ll fix it.]
“Well, nothing you make is ever wrong. I’m sure it’ll work.”
Annie trusted my magic faintly.
[How is Uncle Bill?]
Mrs. Karen sighed after reading.
“He’s still taking medicine and slowly improving… but they said if we want faster recovery, we should go to a healing mage in the capital.”
Healing mages charged absurd prices. That advice sounded irresponsible for a doctor.
I sighed.
[It’ll be okay.]
“I hope so. We just need to keep him walking a bit when he can stand.”
Annie suddenly looked at the doll flying and murmured,
“It looks kind of familiar.”
Panicking, I quickly held up my notebook.
[It’s an eagle doll.]
“I’ve never seen an eagle… maybe a sparrow? No…”
I should leave.
As I stepped back, Mrs. Karen said,
“Isn’t it a pigeon?”
The doll flapped violently in protest.
Annie finally said,
“…It does look like a pigeon.”
The doll lunged at her.
Thud!
“Ahh!”
I pretended not to notice and quickly left.
Back at home, Ruth looked at me and asked,
“That doll… is it just chubby so it looks like a pigeon? The stuffing is very thick.”
[It’s already too late.]
Ruth fell silent.
As I watched Ruru cleaning the messy workshop all night, I thought—
Next time, I should use less stuffing.
