Welcome to the Demon’s Cabin - Chapter 24

She had the illusion that Idris’s low-saturation blue eyes looked at her for a second as if she were an absolute nutcase.

“Ahaha. Was that not it?”

“It is better than nothing. But what use is just one more. Even with that, it doesn’t change the fact that it is insufficient.”

Idris dropped his head in despair. Now that she looked closely, his shiny, fine blonde hair was strangely disheveled, as if he had torn at it a few times. He leaned his hands, which were bulging with veins, against the floor and let out a lament that sounded like a sigh.

She shouldn’t think this while looking at someone in such a serious state, but honestly, it was funny and entertaining.

‘I feel like we’ve become a bit closer, too.’

This was the first time Idris had acted so freely with her, as if treating a friend. It made her feel good, as if it were telling her that she wasn’t the only one adjusting and becoming familiar with this life.

‘At first, I wanted him to stay quiet without offering a single opinion of his own, but thinking about it now, that would be boring. This “bouncy” side is better.’

It wasn’t as if he was being rude to her; it just felt like his personality was naturally emerging bit by bit, which was purely fun.

However, she did have some sense of tact, so she bit the inside of her mouth to hide the laughter that was trying to escape.

“I do not know much about farming, but even if you plant sprouted potatoes, it will take months. No, to begin with, I do not have the confidence to grow them well with such a small amount. It might have been better if there were at least many seeds.”

“Seeds?”

“Yes. If we are to hold out for a long time, it seems there is no answer other than cultivation.”

“All the ones I have are flower seeds, but there might be something more. Shall I bring them?”

“Pardon? Did you not say earlier that there was absolutely nothing left?”

“Well, seeds aren’t exactly food, are they?”

She had been looking for edibles and crops, so how was she to know that seeds were also candidates for the food supply. Irene shrugged her shoulders.

Idris, whose complexion had been so earthy that it wouldn’t have been strange if he had collapsed and fallen asleep right there surrounded by sacks, regained his vitality in an instant. He leaped up from his seat. At the sudden shift in her field of vision, Irene looked up, slightly flustered.

“I would be truly grateful if you did that. Where are they? I will help you.”

“Ah, they are right below us.”

Irene tapped the quilt carpet on the floor twice with her slippered foot. Idris’s gaze fell to the quilt carpet made of small, square pieces of fabric in various colors and patterns sewn together.

“There is a basement beneath the cabin.”

* * *

“Be careful, it is quite a bit deeper than it looks!”

Irene, who had descended into the basement first, shouted toward the top. Large feet were stepping carefully down the wooden ladder.

Idris, who hopped down from the last few rungs and landed silently and stably on the floor, looked around with curiosity.

“It is wider and taller than you thought, right? The floor being a bit creaky is the only flaw, but other than that, everything is great. I forgot to show you.”

Irene smiled and held out a brown lamp with a small flickering flame. As Idris took it, Irene lifted her own lantern in her other hand and lightly struck the floor three times with her fist.

At that, the lamps lined up at regular intervals along the wall ignited in sequence. Countless lamps flickered, lighting up the once dark basement with a yellow glow. With all sorts of display cases, books, and collections, the atmosphere was somewhat eerie.

“Ah, Mr. Idris. Try not to set that lamp down if you can help it. If even one person who entered lets go of their lamp, all the lights will go out.”

It was a tedious procedure. Irene immediately headed toward the cool room where the flower seeds were stored. Unlike the outside, it was bright without a single patch of darkness thanks to the giant lighting on the ceiling.

Irene stretched her empty hand out toward the room with a wide, beaming smile.

“Ta-da! It is right here. Since there are all sorts of flower seeds, I am sure there will be some that are helpful for farming if we look.”

“That is truly a relief. Thank you, Ms. Irene. I do not know how I will repay this.”

“Oh, it is nothing.”

Irene waved her hand with a laugh. Opening a display case closed with glass, she began to read the names of the seeds one by one. Then, struck by a sudden thought, she looked at Idris, who was searching through them as if he were about to crush the seeds.

“By the way, Mr. Idris.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Do you know anything about farming? Well, thinking about it now, I am a total novice when it comes to farming myself.”

“No. I know nothing at all. Wait, then how are we to farm on our own. Have you truly never farmed before?”

A look of shock and disbelief pierced Irene.

No, she was serious. To begin with, northern Orihen was so cold that few people were engaged in agriculture.

“My family made a living by making clothes. We had no connection to farming.”

“…….”

As she made her excuse as if it were unfair, Idris wore an expression of disbelief. Finally taking his eyes off Irene and slowly turning his head back to the display case, Idris slowly raised his hand and covered his eyes as if mourning his own fate.

Hmm. It seemed the atmosphere had gone wrong somehow.