Collector’s Cage - Chapter 14

Froy thought he should meet an acquaintance with a hobby of raising rare animals to seek advice. As expected, raising a living creature was no easy task. Objects just needed to be well-maintained, but living things required a lot of care. Not only did one need to manage the breeding environment and food, but stress levels also had to be considered.

‘But it’s worth it.’

This wasn’t some common animal. It was a fairy—a creature so rare that the number of people who had actually seen one could be counted on one hand. So, this level of effort was nothing.

Froy pondered how to explain the fairy to Jobern. If he said he’d obtained a fairy, Jobern would clearly throw a fit, saying he wanted to see it too.

Froy had no hobby of sharing his acquisitions with others. The harder an item was to obtain, the less likely he was to show it off, preferring to appreciate it alone. While some collectors bought expensive artworks and rarities to flaunt their wealth, Froy collected solely for his own satisfaction.

‘If I tell the truth, it’ll just be a nuisance.’

He decided to lie and say he’d bought an expensive hamster. Froy generously placed water, fruit, and bread pieces inside the cage before leaving the room.

Once Hermie confirmed Froy was gone, she let out a sigh of relief.

‘He’s kinda scary.’

Those blue eyes staring at her were so persistent, she thought he might have discovered something strange about her.

She didn’t know what would happen if he found out she wasn’t a real fairy.

She recalled Dormi’s warning. He had repeatedly urged her to be careful, saying the mage who deceived him and her would surely face severe punishment.

‘I must have slept too deeply, maybe because I was tired.’

A real fairy would likely be too scared to sleep in an unfamiliar environment. Wouldn’t it try to find a way to escape the cage? It might even get angry looking at Froy, who had captured it.

Maybe it would chatter cutely? But if it chattered too much, Froy might get annoyed, so she’d have to throw a little tantrum within reasonable limits.

Hermie tried to guess the mind of a fairy she’d never met, contemplating how to behave next.

‘Speaking of which, more fruit. Won’t he give me any meat?’

After some time passed, she’d have to ask for meat. A sensitive fairy wouldn’t open its heart right away.

For the first week, she’d pretend to be scared of the unfamiliar environment. The next week, she’d get angry. And from the week after that, she’d start acting cute. Being a fairy was no easy task.

‘Sigh, it’s only possible because it’s me. An ordinary person would have fainted already.’

Hermie sighed as she took a bite of a peach slice. An ordinary person wouldn’t have been able to accept the current situation, let alone act like a fairy; they’d be trembling in fear, unable to do anything.

It was only possible because it was her—the one who left home, entered the capital alone, got a job as a lowly errand girl for the Pumpkin Flower Guild, made a groundbreaking promotion with financial support, and had now grown into a proper financial officer. She believed in herself.