"Hiraeth… listen to me. You're not allowed to go fishing tomorrow."
"What? But why?" Hiraeth asked, he didn't believe that Irish forbade him to do something that made their life better. Was she that selfish?
"People will be curious about how you got a lot of fish. They usually catch fish using nets then sell it in the market, but it's impossible for you to do that."
Hiraeth was startled when heard Irish's words. He was wrong, the woman in front of him was selfish indeed, but she had a kind intention. She was selfish because she didn't want anyone to hurt her son. Hiraeth cursed himself for having bad prejudice over her when he realized she didn't mean to.
Hiraeth exhaled slowly then said, "So you mean that people will follow me to find out about how I got fish in a wide range without using a net?"
Irish nodded, "I'm afraid they will hurt you and…"
"I won't go if you forbid me." Hiraeth interrupted. He didn't mean to be impolite, he just wanted to stop the anxiety of the woman he called mother.
Irish's face turned to be more relaxed after previously she was tight when Hiraeth obeyed her not to go. Irish was worried because she was sure there would be people who followed her son. They wouldn't only bother him, but it was also possible that they would hurt him, moreover Hiraeth was still too weak. He was very weak until she was certain that Hiraeth could stumble without any stones blocking his steps.
"I won't go to the quarters." Hiraeth kept talking while eating.
"Quarters?"
"The place where I'm fishing." Hiraeth explained to Irish who didn't know what he meant about "quarters".
Only a simple sentence, Irish's worried face was gone, replaced with relieved expression. She really loves her son-, Hiraeth murmured in pity. He was jealous of the real Hiraeth as he was born from a good woman.
"Thank you for listening to me." Irish said. "Oh yeah, I'll get my salary tomorrow and go back home earlier, so what about shopping together?"
"I think that's a good idea."
After the conversation, Hiraeth went back to his bedroom. He was full. At first he wanted to clean the snake he got, but his mother said that she could skin it.
Hiraeth admired Irish who could still do many things including taking care of her son, after she was tired from working all day. That woman could also do many things, even if it was just trivial things, but it was quite helpful. Even though she was a noble.
Noble ladies, especially those who are of royal lineage, cannot do much other than shopping and ordering this and that. not all, but many of them are like that, but not with Irish who was actually very painstaking in doing everything with her beautiful hands. It would be nice if all noble ladies were like Irish in taking care of their children-,
"Come here Owen, I'll change the medicine and bandages."
Hiraeth placed a bowl of hot water on the bed, there was a small towel and wound medicine and bandages on the side of the bowl. Everything needed to treat Owen.
Owen approached, although he struggled several times while being treated, Hiraeth finally managed to clean Owen's wound and then gave medicine and a new bandage, so that Owen's wound would heal faster.
"Soon, you'll be able to fly. Besides, you didn't hit any bones, so it's no big deal!" Owen replied with a loud purr as he flapped his wings.
Hiraeth looked at the bowl filled with towels and water. There was also Owen's feather swimming on the surface of the water. Hiraeth looked at the feather blankly.
For a while, nothing came to mind, until finally a feather came back in as Owen flapped his wings again. Hiraeth imagined that the feather was a fish swimming in the pond.
"If only I had a big bowl, so I could make a fish pond. So I can keep the fish I get until winter."
Hiraeth recalled that during winter, the temperature could drop to such extremes that it was not uncommon for lakes, rivers, or river springs to freeze over. Because of this, it was quite difficult to get fish in winter, except for those who brought fish from the sea, or large rivers and lakes. Even then, the price was many times higher.
"A big bowl... how do I make a big bowl into a pond?"
Hiraeth looked at the bowl in his hand, imagining that it was large enough to hold many fish in it. "What about making a pond directly in the ground like a well? Wouldn't that also be able to hold water and fish?" Hiraeth murmured excitedly but a second later he exhaled his breath in frustration.
"What if my pond freezes due to the temperature? Not to mention, people might steal fish at night!"
Hiraeth became annoyed with himself when he came up with ideas to earn money, but he couldn't come up with the right solution for the long term. After all, there was no guarantee that he would be lucky every day. The traps he set could be washed away, not to mention the possibility of snakes or other fish-eating animals destroying the traps. He had to be prepared for any eventuality.
"It would be nice to be able to store the fish without making it rot or spoil, but not drying it either. But how?" muttered Hiraeth, looking at his room which was the most spacious in the house. about three meters or so.
Hiraeth realized that apart from drying, fish will inevitably spoil faster than other animals, even within hours, making fish unfit for consumption, especially in the summer, within just three hours the fish meat has become soft.
Hiraeth lay down and looked at the star-filled sky through the window. "How did they send fish from the kingdom of Bentala in the first place?" Hiraeth muttered to himself as he continued to think about his past life. He hoped to find a solution to the twenty-two years he had spent as Evan.
"Ah... that's right... They freeze the fish using magic crystals to prevent the fish from spoiling." Hiraeth laughed sadly that Magic Crystals were an item he never saw again after waking up. "If only I had magic crystals, then I would freeze my room like the northern region." He muttered.
"The frozen north... Magic crystal..." Hiraeth continued to mutter without any clear direction. He kept repeating the same word over and over, until he realized something.
Hiraeth's body spontaneously sat up. "How could I forget her?"