*******
Anera took Yulif to an old house. The wood had faded, probably because no one had lived there for a long time, and there were many places broken here and there. Where the door should have been, it was empty. It was surprising how the frame maintained its shape.
Yulif, who was examining the abandoned building, which was a little difficult to call a house, turned to Anera. Anera grinned.
“What do you think? Can you fix it?”
“The frame remains, so it is possible. But it seems to have been empty for quite some time.”
“That’s right. It has been about five years since the child who lived in this house left the village. She is said to have settled down in a small town, and she will never return.”
“Is that so? If you are going to use it for something other than a home, please let me know. I will try to do something about it.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to ask my daughter instead of asking for my opinion? It’s a place for two people.”
Yulif blinked blankly for a moment. The corners of his lips rose slightly as he understood the intention of Anera, who was smiling mischievously. Anera told him to let her know if he needed anything, and left.
The stairs leading up to the house were incomplete, as if missing some parts, so Yulif flew up and landed on a suitable place. With every step he took, a loud and disturbing sound echoed from the twisted trees.
The inside of the house was much more serious than the outside. Furniture was nowhere to be found, the walls had all collapsed, and the floor was littered with rubble. Well, he thought it would be better to build a new one rather than fix it.
Yulif looked around the house, carefully stepping on the creaky floor, and left. At that moment, he could feel a presence right in front of his face. Far from being surprised, Yulif smiled sweetly, his eyes turning into crescents as he spread his arms.
“Come here.”
“Why aren’t you surprised? Did you know?”
“I’m surprised. As soon as I thought I wanted to see you, you showed up.”
“I didn’t mean to surprise you in that sense…”
Canaren’s pouting lips turned red. Yulif lightly kissed both cheeks. It’s ticklish. Canaren looked around, shrugging her shoulders and bursting into laughter.
“This is Sister Sheth’s house, how did you know?”
“Your mother brought me here. She told me to fix it properly.”
“Sister Sheth lives somewhere else, so there is no one to live in this house?”
“Why not? We are here, are we not?”
Canaren, who had tilted her head, practically screamed, ‘Huh?’ Yulif let out a low laugh, and magically made a chair by combining wind and leaves. Canaren sat down on the floating chair and ruffled her hair.
“Tell me what house you like. How many rooms would be good, what type of windows would be good, and what kind of roof would be good. Even small things are fine.”
“Is, is Yulif really building a house for the two of us?”
“Since it’s the magic I use, you could say I build it myself.”
“Can I really ask for anything? Really?”
“Yes. whatever you want I will do my best.”
With a flushed face, Canaren began to spit out her demands. There were no two-story houses in the village, so she wanted their house to be the first two-story house. She liked the windows to be large and high like the ones in the castle. She also wanted to make an attic on the second floor for another room.
Yulif, who had been listening to Canaren the whole time, stopped her for a moment.
“What is the new room for?”
“Rather than for any particular purpose… I just thought it would be nice to have one. Since you has a study, I think I should have my own room as well.”
“Are you going to be there every time I’m in my study?”
“Is that all right? I don’t want to disturb you.”
“Then let’s get rid of both and create a different space for the both of us.”
“What? Why? Don’t you need a study to work!”
“I don’t have to work. Because I left it to Derek.”
(TL/N: lmao… poor Derek and well that means Roana too!)
It was just handed over to Derek to be exact, but he had no reason to tell Canaren the details. Derek must be enjoying the banquet that was in full swing, unaware that he had now become the deputy lord of Pionia regardless of his will. Yulif also was planning to give Derek a hefty increase in his salary in return, so he’s probably not going to lose Derek. Well… maybe.
“Canaren, I don’t want to be separated from you for a moment.”
A sweet, sticky voice, as if applied with honey, slowly licked the corners of her ears. The back of her neck trembled at the sound of his low-pitched voice. Canaren didn’t even open her mouth to answer, she just nodded hard. Strangely, when Yulif whispered in her ear, all her strength drained from her body and her stomach flip-flopped, making it impossible to do anything.
With a satisfied expression on his face, Yulif kissed her as if brushing against the tip of Canaren’s pointy ears, and said,
“What else?”
“What, huh? Oh… ah.. Yulif can take care of everything else.”
“Okay. It will be over soon, so watch over there.”
Yulif stroked Canaren’s hair and exerted his magic power in earnest. A faint blue light began to rise around him like a haze.
*******
「Wow, that’s real magic. It’s my first time seeing it!」
「I thought it would be special because of magic, but it’s similar to our abilities.」
「Can you create a house with your powers?」
「…No.」
「Be quiet while you look!」
「Oh my gosh… amazing! Is Canaren married to that person? How did that happen?」
「If I go out of the village, will I be able to meet a person like that?」
As the murmurs grew louder, Canaren’s mouth widened more and more. There was no place for her to intervene anymore, and her eyebrows soared wildly.
Yulif was working on building a new one rather than renovating the house, so he hasn’t been able to keep an eye on Canaren’s condition. He was diligent, knowing that it was up to him to pull out the rotten wooden poles and make a new roof.
「It wouldn’t hurt to marry a human.」
「That’s right. If they are like this person, then they are most welcomed here.」
「Have we seen him before? Did he wave to Canaren?」
「He looked very blunt, but I guess he’s not.」
「Once the house is built, let’s have him show us other magic.」
「Nice!」
The agitation that Canaren had been holding back exploded at the sight of her friends whispering under the tree. Canaren jumped up from the chair, spread her wings and dived. A gust of wind engulfed by the wild flapping of her wings swept over those who came to see Yulif’s magic. Cloudy dust, leaves, and branches flew over them.
「Hey!」
「What is it all of a sudden, Canaren!」
「I don’t know. There’s dirt on your new clothes!」
「How long will you guys be here? Don’t you have anything better to do?」
「What do we have to do? We’re not even going hunting.」
「More than that, Canaren, where did you meet that person? Tell us.」
「Are all humans that cool?」
「Don’t call him human! He has a name, Yulif. So why call him a human?」
Canaren was unusually loud. The feathers around her ears stood up tight. Her friends blinked in surprise, exchanged glances, and slyly laughed. The most cheerful and friendly of her friends said,
「Oh my, his name is Yulif. The name is really cool. What is Yulif doing?」
The atmosphere around Canaren grew more and more ferocious. Even though it was his name, which she had taught them that herself, she felt really bad when someone else, especially a young woman, called Yulif by his name.
Her friend glanced at Canaren with a meaningful expression, then glanced up at Yulif as he rushed into his finishing touches.
「What a waste. I wanted to get to know Yulif a little more.」
「…Don’t you call Yulif’s name lightly. He is my husband.」
「Did you just tell us to call him by his name? Then what should we call him?」
Canaren looked like she was about to cry. Her friends laughed. It was only then that she realized it was a prank. I hate you. I hate you all! She swung her fists away and chased away the friends. The friends quickly ran away from Canaren’s punches, which were not too harsh. The rest of them grinned and glanced at Canaren, then left one by one. In the place where her friends were, there was only the laughter of a gleeful Canaren, her face blushing.
“It’s done. Go take a look… Canaren? What happened?”
“It’s nothing!”
Canaren, who turned her body with a swish, flew alone. Yulif followed Canaren in confusion.
As she faced the two-story house, Canaren became silent, as if she was never angry. Her eyes, which had blazed with anger and jealousy, were filled with joy and admiration.
It was a small, cozy, and pretty two-story house that looked like something out of a fairy tale. The wood that made up the walls was a warm ivory color, and the roof was a dark green that matched the wood. Branches and leaves hanging from the trees abundantly and naturally adorned the house. As Canaren wanted, there was a small attic window on the second floor.
So pretty. Really pretty. Yulif grabbed the hand of Canaren, who was only admiring without a sound, and pulled her in.
“You have to look inside the house.”
The inside was much more spacious than it looked from the outside. Large windows and high ceilings reminded one of Pionia’s castle. Canaren asked, looking up at the pretty lights that were hanging from the ceiling.
“Did Yulif do it all?”
“Yes.”
“Is there anything Yulif can’t do?”
“I can’t do anything without you.”
At the sweet words poured out without warning, Canaren did not know what to do. Yulif took such a Canaren and entered the room inside. The large room was empty.
“It’s a bedroom. I left it empty because I thought it would be better to choose furniture according to your taste.”
“Um, no. Since I chose the house, Yulif should choose the furniture. I am also curious about Yulif’s taste.”
“Your taste is mine.”
“Your words… Don’t go overboard with those words.”
He tapped her lips as he spit out only the words she wanted to hear. It was not Yulif to miss the gap. He grabbed Canaren’s wrist lightly, his fingertips touching her lips, and his voice kissing her lips. Ah, really! Canaren pushed Yulif’s shoulder with her uncaught hand.
“I will only choose the bed I choose.”
“It’s all Yulif’s choice.”
“I don’t need anything else. All I need is a small, narrow bed.”
‘Yulif is tall and big. Isn’t that not good?’ Canaren’s doubts were quickly answered. It was because Yulif hugged her tightly and whispered softly.
“That way you won’t be able to run away.”
“…I will choose. I have to choose.”
Canaren murmured, hot red up to the nape of her neck. Yulif nodded with a happy face.
The two worked hard until the sun went down and evening came, decorating their own newlywed house.
The newlyweds’ house has become an ordinary and cozy house that was common in villages. Only the two of them knew that Canaren’s countless efforts and Yulif’s mischievous interference had taken place.
Anera came to see the completed house, led by Canaren. Looking around the house and admiring Yulif’s craftsmanship, she found a bed that looked a little too tight for two people to lie on. She secretly glanced at Canaren, whose face had turned red and was slapping Yulif on the back.
Yulif said it was a joke and removed the magic on the bed. The bed that appeared seemed to be enough for three people to lie on. Anera left, saying to come to her house on time for dinner.
Canaren sat on the attic window sill and watched the town. Four children were shooting around the village playing tag. The calm afternoon air roared with laughter and shouts from the children. The elderly looked at such children with delight as they made decorations from the feathers left over grooming their wings.
Credits goes to Anon for raw providing + translating, and Selene for proofreading.
