ORCA 82

The tailor shop sent a courier four days later. The clothes that arrived for Orca were just a single formal suit, but for Niah, there were twenty outfits in total, three pairs of shoes, and a heap of socks and underwear. When they had come to check the fit of the basted clothes two days prior, the items Orca had ordered additionally were mixed into the delivery list. Shoes, socks, and underwear were not items the tailor shop usually handled, but the tailor had said he would take care of it himself before writing up the order. The twenty outfits also included three sets of pajamas. They were items ordered because it didn’t look very good that there was no distinction between his daily clothes and his sleepwear. The result was satisfactory. The fabric, which felt smooth against his hands, was the most pleasing part.

The head butler, upon receiving the bill, was surprised as never before and sought out the fourth floor of the central building. It was the first time this had happened since Orca had returned. It was a significant matter for the head butler, who managed most of the mansion’s finances, but Orca dismissed him with an indifferent face. It was annoying that he was making such a fuss over a few pieces of clothing.

Among the five outfits made in the same design as his original daily clothes, he put two of them, one of the three sets of pajamas, and some socks and underwear into his own closet instead of giving them to the goldfish. It was because he occasionally used his own bathroom, and he thought it would be good to have clothes for him to change into if he came by like last time. It was purely a “just in case” decision.

He organized the rest into a wide basket just as they had been delivered. The basket was quite heavy to have the goldfish carry it away. He had seen him move potted plants well enough, but he was doubtful since he tended to drag around anything slightly large. Orca left his room, wondering if it would be too much to carry it for him. First, the priority was to have him try them on.

Niah, who had been trimming small branches in the garden, was carried to the room almost dangling. Orca, who persuaded him when he tried to hold out by saying his work wasn’t finished, made him try on all the clothes. He even made him try on the pajamas. The underwear was a failure because Niah adamantly refused.

Niah had to repeat putting on and taking off clothes several times within the view of Orca, who was perched on a display case. It was very awkward because of his young master, who did nothing but watch the entire time except when he was helping to fasten the sleeve buttons. It felt as if his bare skin was being rubbed by that persistent gaze. Niah, now in his pajamas, secretly took a deep breath. Then, he approached timidly and asked with a flushed face.

“Young master…. Aren’t these kinds of things expensive…?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Um… but still. Why am I getting gifts? I haven’t done anything to be praised for…. And certainly not this many….”

“Just because. I didn’t like your clothes.”

Niah fidgeted, clutching the hem of his pajamas, which were even softer than the shirt Orca had given him. Then, he combined his words with as much care as possible. No words were enough to fully express his sincerity.

“Thank you….”

“Do you like them?”

“Yes. I like them.”

“Good.”

“I like them, young master.”

The corners of his mouth, curled up in a smile, pushed against his pink-tinted cheeks. His cheeks puffed up. The fingers that had been playing with the pajamas reached out stealthily. They squeezed between Orca’s fingers and intertwined with his hand. Unable to hold his whole hand, he shyly gripped just his index finger. Orca looked down at it.

“What’s there to like about that?”

Niah, who had tucked himself right under that gaze, whispered, “I like it.”

He took out a long candle and lit it. The room was dyed in an orange glow. Niah rested his chin on his gathered knees and sat blankly for a long time. The candle remained the same even after quite a while. The room remained bright, and the tiny flame burned steadily. The tilted shadows flickered. It was different from the days when he would scavenge for used, stubby candles to beg for light. The new candles the young master had given him a few days ago were stacked high in the wooden box next to the bed. He had tried not to light them because they were too precious, but today, as soon as he entered the room, the first thing he looked for was the matches.

He neatly folded the clothes, underwear, and socks he had brought and placed them one by one into the wooden box. To store the gifts, he had to take out his own original things. Because the room was essentially small, there wasn’t a proper place to store everything. So, he had already hung the clothes other than his daily work clothes and pajamas in the young master’s closet. He had only worn one pair of shoes, and the rest were organized neatly in the dressing room shoe rack.

Niah, giddy with this, giggled under his breath as he climbed the stairs. He kept laughing because he liked that his things were now in the young master’s room. It felt as if he had been given permission to enter whenever he wanted to his heart’s content. He kept grinning as he smoothed over the fabric that softly wrapped around his body. It was his first time receiving such a gift.

A few of his original clothes, which had been displaced, lay scattered on the bed. Niah aimlessly toyed with the scratchy fabric. Since he had come from hearing Orca tell him to throw them all away, it didn’t matter that he had no place to put them. However, for some reason, the feeling was strange. It felt like he was overwhelmed, but also melancholy. It was foolish when he didn’t even have enough time to be happy about receiving so many good clothes. The mood that had been incredibly joyful until just a moment ago sank on its own accord.

The fact that he had to throw away the crude clothes he had been wearing until now poked at his heart. Since he was told to throw them away, he would naturally follow those words, but he doubted whether it was truly okay to actually throw them away. He vowed every day not to get too used to this, not to rely on him too much, but he crumbled every single day. Whenever he was with the young master, his resolutions were immediately pushed to the back. Niah, who had slumped onto the bed powerlessly, let out a deep sigh. A groan mixed with a pout came out on its own.

It was much better after changing from his daily clothes into his pajamas. The fabric, slippery and soft as if swimming along a current, wrapped around his skin. It felt like he wasn’t wearing anything at all. Niah smiled, moving his lips, and lifted the thin blanket. He decided to get into bed before it got any later and burrowed into the mattress.

He wrapped the thick blanket around his body like a cocoon and pulled up the quilt. The sixth floor was still a bit cold, so the blanket Orca had given him was put to good use. He also pulled the two shirts he had left by his pillow and hugged them. The hard bed felt soft and warm.

Niah sniffed the scents. A deep, rich scent of the forest, which he loved, wafted from the blanket and the new shirts. He felt shy, as if he were being held by the young master. His body curled into a ball. He felt ridiculous for doing this every night, but he couldn’t help it.

Whenever he thought of the young master, it felt like his heart and head were stuffed full of fluffy feathers. The more he ruminated on it, the more it swelled and tickled him endlessly. Niah rubbed his face against the shirt he held in his arms. After doing so for a while, he suddenly muttered to himself.

“Um… but still, these are…. Um…. Yeah, let’s return them.”

He had received so many gifts that he couldn’t even bring them all; it would be greedy to keep these as well. Niah was determined to let go of his greed for Orca, if only a little. He thought it would be better to gratefully accept only what was truly given to him and return what wasn’t originally his.

If he let things go bit by bit, he would slowly get used to it, and the mansion without the young master or the moments when he couldn’t see the young master would surely become ordinary someday. If he, too, were to become ordinary within those moments, he must not be greedy now.

I should tell him to go carefully. Goodbye, and take care, I should say. Let’s not ask if he’s coming again. I shouldn’t keep expecting him. I shouldn’t wait for him every day. Instead, I should say I will remember you for a long time, ah, no. Let’s not do that either. Just, just say a greeting. I’ll just say thank you. Should I ask him to take the plant…? No, it will be bothersome for him. And if I leave it in the young master’s room to grow, I can go see it sometimes, yes, that would be better. Just a greeting, just say stay safe, just say thank you.

“It was so good….”

Niah gathered the shirts and blankets as if he were a bird building a nest. Deciding to return them made them feel even more precious. However, if they became more valuable than they were now, the one who would have a hard time later was none other than himself. The young master would forget about someone like him in no time, but he wouldn’t. Irrespective of whether he wanted to forget or not, he felt he would never be able to. He knew better than anyone how unreliable his own memory was, but the young master was an exception. He had to be an exception.