Chapter 30: What Children Need (1)
by fnovelpia
The morning of the day we were to go to the village arrived.
I woke up a little earlier than usual.
The child was still asleep in my arms, breathing softly.
The hand gripping me tightly hadn’t loosened even once through the night.
Every time I saw it, I found it fascinating.
“Aren’t you uncomfortable?”
“……”
It was always like this.
If I tried to pull my hand away, the child would wake up immediately,
Clutching my clothes even tighter and burrowing deeper into my embrace.
At first,
I would sometimes wake the child,
But now, i’ve learned how to slip away without rousing them.
I gently covered the child’s hand with mine.
“……!”
“Mm. I’m right here.”
When I patted her hand lightly to ease her grip, the child, still holding my fingers, drifted back into sleep.
Seizing that moment,
I carefully sat up and handed them the robe beside me—
Clutching the robe tightly, the child continued sleeping as if nothing had happened.
And so, every morning began with carefully freeing my hand.
After getting up, washing up briefly, heating water for the child to wash, and returning to the cabin with a kettle of warm water—
The rabbit, awake before the child, stretched.
It seemed to have learned quite well by now that I was the one who fed it.
When I entered, it approached as if it had been waiting and stared up at me intently.
‘The child is alike.’
Perhaps because the child spent everyday together, the way it stared and waited was exactly the same.
“Here, eat.”
I filled the yellow feed container the child had picked out with plenty of dried hay and offered it.
Then, the rabbit looked up at me once more before cautiously approaching.
After sniffing a few times,
It confirmed the familiar scent before finally nibbling at the food.
“Even the cautiousness is the same.”
A soft laugh escaped me.
The way it hesitated slightly,
Or how it never rushed in all at once—
Even these little habits resembled the wary child.
“Still, thank you for playing with them so well.”
I patted the rabbit’s back.
Its soft fur brushed against my fingertips, and its small body flinched slightly.
But it didn’t run away.
It just kept its head down, busily munching on the hay.
“At first, it was a bother…”
But not anymore.
A presence that always stayed by the child’s side,
Playing with them when I was busy—
It turned out to be a better companion than I’d expected.
“Time for breakfast….”
After changing my clothes, I headed to the kitchen.
I flipped through the cookbook and Hubert’s notes, pondering what to make for breakfast today.
“Hmm… I made this the day before yesterday….”
My hand, skimming through the cookbook, suddenly stopped.
Pancakes.
A dish I dislike.
But the child loved it.
“Kids like these.”
“Sweet, soft, and warm. It’s no wonder children love them.”
Hubert’s words were true.
Just in case, I made them once,
And the child smiled brightly, cream smeared around her mouth.
Holding onto the plate with only whipped cream left,
The child even gave the rare reaction of fussing for more.
But…
The child must have noticed I didn’t like pancakes.
After that, even when she wanted them,
The child had only glance longingly at the ingredients, never asking outright.
Every time I saw that look—
“Just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean you can’t have it.”
Muttering to myself, I took out the ingredients.
I didn’t want to take away something the child loved just because I disliked it.
I had found a compromise of sorts.
The child would eat pancakes,
While I had jewels or other simple foods.
But, when we ate like that, the child would pause mid-bite and stare at me intently.
“Why?”
“…….”
When I asked—
As if waiting for the question,
The child would pull her hand away from the pancakes and try to eat what I was having instead.
If it was food, that was fine,
But sometimes it was a jewel.
One day, the child reached for a jewel I had set aside to eat,
Picked up a small piece with her tiny fingers, and popped it straight into her mouth.
“…Huh?”
“…….”
Luckily, the child didn’t swallow it.
Instead, she couldn’t chew it, just held it on the tip of her tongue, whimpering in distress.
“……!”
“Ugh….”
With the jewel still on her tongue, she fidgeted helplessly and looked up at me,
Before eventually scrunching her face and shedding a few tears.
After carefully removing the jewel, the child pouted her lower lip.
“Humans can’t eat jewels right now.”
“…….”
Her little mouth twitched, as if disappointed.
The sadness in your eyes was palpable, but soon you nodded quietly.
Since that day,
I never touched the jewels again.
But even after that day,
Whenever I ate something, you would always take a bite too.
“Pancakes… I shouldn’t have them now.”
When I mentioned this to Loren, the clothing store clerk,
She said she’d give me a recipe for sugar-free pancakes next time I visited.
I guess she’ll tell me today.
“Then today…”
After some thought, I decided to make sandwiches.
There was still some bread left, and the vegetables I bought were fresh.
“I should make extra and bring some to Loren and Hubert too.”
It was the first time I’d ever cooked,
And not long after, I went to the village with sandwiches in hand.
Hubert was amazed when he saw the sandwiches I made.
“My, my, you’ve got quite the skill. Cutting them so neatly, as if measured with a ruler.”
“I did measure them.”
“…Hmm?”
“I used a ruler to cut them to size.”
Hubert looked at me and burst into laughter.
“Heh, that’s just like you.”
“What am I like?”
“You’d know that better than me. Hahaha!”
It sounded like a riddle.
Hubert wiped a tear and continued.
“Cooking doesn’t have to be that precise.”
“…Really?”
“That’s right. The measurements in cookbooks are just guidelines for a good size— easy to eat and cook evenly.”
“I see…”
At that moment,
I realized it was a little different from alchemy.
Hubert smiled warmly and patted my shoulder.
“But I can feel the sincerity— very much like you.”
“…Sincerity like me?”
I quietly repeated those words.
I just wanted to get it right since it was my first time,
But the fact that someone saw it as “sincerity” felt strange.
Hubert took a bite of the sandwich.
It was odd.
Among dragons, I was known to be particularly unflappable,
And I rarely ever felt nervous.
But at that moment,
I was just a little tense.
His chewing slowed, then stopped.
Hubert nodded with a bright expression.
“Hmm, the seasoning is just right, and the vegetables are fresh. Delicious.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
“With these basics down, you’ll be able to experiment in no time.”
“Experiment?”
Hubert smiled leisurely.
His expression was playful yet somehow serious.
“Do you know what the most important thing in cooking is?”
“No.”
“Heh! It’s the thought you put into the person who’ll eat it.”
Hubert took another bite and continued.
“You have to consider what she like, what flavors would make them happy. That comes first.”
“…It’s difficult.”
“There’s no need to think of it as difficult.”
Hubert examined the sandwich I had made.
Ham, tomato, lettuce, thinly sliced cucumber, and bright yellow cheese.
He let out a small laugh and nodded.
“You said the kid doesn’t like meat, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well then, you could consider leaving out the ham for the child’s sake. It’s different from the original recipe, but still.”
Hubert thought for a moment before continuing with a smile.
“You remember what I said before, right? That protein is essential for a child’s growth.”
“Yeah.”
“For the child’s sake, instead of removing the ham entirely, you could add eggs. Or, you could finely chop the ham and mix it in so she don’t notice.”
Hubert took another bite of the sandwich and chewed slowly.
Watching him, I thought seriously about it.
“…Ham is meat?”
“…You really are something else.”
Hubert chuckled and shook his head.
“Anyway, that’s what cooking is all about. You can always change the recipe for the sake of the person you’re cooking for.”
“…I see.”
“There’s no need to blindly follow a recipe. Of course, it’s good as a reference at first, but that’s all it is—just a guideline.”
Hubert looked at me with warm eyes as he spoke.
“What really matters is who you’re cooking for and the heart you put into it.”
“…Yeah.”
Those words helped me more than any cookbook ever could.
Because of that, my cooking time shortened significantly.
The flavors the child likes.
The size that’s easy for the child to eat.
The nutrients needed for the child’s growth.
As long as I kept those in mind, any dish was completed in no time.
“Let’s see…”
Not only did I have to make breakfast for us,
But I also had to prepare portions for Hubert and Loren, so I needed to work a little faster.
I took out the bread,
Then the eggs and vegetables to prepare.
I washed the lettuce in advance and drained the water,
Sliced the tomatoes and cucumbers thinly,
And scrambled the eggs just right.
A savory aroma filled the cabin.
“…Mmm…”
At that moment,
A slow rustling sound came from behind me.
The sound of blankets shifting.
Familiar breathing.
The child was waking up.
When I turned my head,
I saw the child rubbing her eyes and looking at me.
“You’re awake?”
“……”
The child nodded slowly.
Her hair was tousled,
And her face still bore the crease marks from the trim of my robe.
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Wait just a little longer. It’ll be ready soon.”
“……”
The child slowly got up from her seat.
To be precise,
She tried to get up.
I watched them quietly.
She managed to lift her body up to her knees.
As always, she dragged one foot awkwardly before plopping back down.
Her eyebrows drooped.
The child’s lips quivered.
“Mm. You got up a little more today.”
“!”
“You’re doing well.”
A small fist clenched tightly, then slowly relaxed.
The child’s shoulders gave a little shake before a bright smile spread across her face.
“Wait just a bit. It’ll be ready soon.”
“……”
While I finished cooking,
The child would practice standing up again and again.
She’d been doing this for a while now.
Crawling wasn’t enough anymore—
She struggled every day, moving her legs, trying to take even a single step forward.
‘Today… I should look into ways to help them walk.’
The rustling of blankets and the occasional thump of a fall accompanied me as I finished making the sandwich.
“It’s done.”
“!”
“Mm. Let me hold you.”
I picked them up and sat them in the chair at the table.
A slightly warmed cup of milk,
Half a sandwich,
And her favorite fruit placed beside it.
“!!!”
“Is it good?”
“……!”
The child beamed.
Her tiny head nodded repeatedly.
Jam was already smeared at the corners of her mouth.
I carefully wiped it away with a handkerchief before taking a bite of the sandwich myself.
“Mm. It’s tasty.”
“……!”
By now, this morning routine had become familiar.
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