Chapter 24: Peace

His hands were covered in mud. The shovel felt heavy in them.

He had planted plants before, but the problem was that they had all died within days. Which, considering he was a druid, was the high of irony.

He looked at the little clearing. The trees were spanning around his little circle.

Dimitri and Jack were on beach towels, sipping blood and beer, respectively.

"I could use some help," Nikola said, as he began to use the shovel as support.

"Are you a gardener or a druid?" Jack asked, before taking another sip of his beer. "Why don't you just use the trees to multiply?"

How was Nikola supposed to tell him he was afraid of his abilities? That if he used mana now, he might set the forest on fire?

It didn't help that the more tired he got, the more the scent of smoke became thicker around him.

"Look, how about you take a break? Did the Leshy give you a deadline?" It was Dimitri who spoke this time. He was just in shorts, and if it were any other day, Nikola would have chased Jack away and got them shorts down.

But the problem was that he had to plant the plants.

"It is blazing hot in here," Dimitri continued, who was smirking slightly. "And you already dug the holes. So why don't you just rest now?"

"Oh… I'll be going back to my tent," Jack stood up, took another bottle of beer from the cooler, and then began to zigzag back to the cabin.

Nikola honestly hoped that the man was not going to try to swim in the lake.

It was weird that he had so much sense in himself when drunk.

But Nikola had more pressing issues now.

Dimitri stood up and went to him. Only to wrinkle his nose.

"I think you need a bath before we can… rest?"

Nikola chuckled.

"Is that what we are calling it now?" He finally swung the shovel over his shoulder.

He had to be a fool to refuse such an offer.

"Sure! If you would like!" Dimitri took him by the hand. The flower beds were left forgotten.

But not for long.

****

Nikola awoke slightly sore but refreshed. He looked at Dimitri, who was staring at him.

"Since when were you up?" Nikola asked, as he snuggled himself into his lover. He found it unfair that the man did not sweat and could smell fresh as a daisy no matter what.

"I woke up an hour ago. How do you feel?" Dimitri asked, as he laid his hand on Nikola's forehead. "Your fever is down."

Nikola blinked. Did he have a fever?

"I feel fine," he knew that this fever had nothing to do with anything but the god he had pledged himself to.

He had not felt pain during the night. He knew that it could not be because of that.

"You know, I could use some pouched eggs, then," Nikola knew that Dimitri didn't really need the food, but still wanted to taste it.

He stood up, stretched, and then headed towards the bathroom.

He did his routine without really thinking much about it. Then he made the poached eggs and the sausages. When he was done, he looked out of the window.

There were goblins, fairies, gnomes, and even a couple of sirens by the table he had used as a restaurant outside.

Nikola saw red.

With a broom in his hands, he was ready to give them something to chew, alright!

The old oak had left its soil once; it could do it again!

"You left me to fend for myself!" Nikola yelled, as the customers began to bang on the table.

"Yes, but did you die?" A goblin asked him.

Nikola wasn't sure what was in that red mushroom he had given them, but he was pretty sure that it had made them smarter, somehow.

"That is beside the point! You left me to deal with the demons!" Nikola roared. A fairy picked up a small plate, which she probably had brought herself.

"Mister, we are hungry," the fairy said. Her teeth were razor sharp. "And if you don't give us food, we will give you a one-star review. Then eat you."

Nikola blinked. Was the bloody fairy trying to scare him with a review?

The second part and the fact that the fairy had a forked tongue made him reconsider his options.

He knew that if he chased these customers away, he was not going to get any new ones. Which meant that he was not going to get any loot. And if that was the case, then he was not going to be able to sell to Emily.

Which meant no money for Spotify, YouTube, Netflix, and Duolingo.

He supposed that he could live without Spotify, YouTube and Netflix, but he really was eager to learn a couple of languages.

He bowed his head. The things he did for that green owl.

Soon he was making more poached eggs, baking squash so that the servings would look bigger, and making banana milkshakes.

Because he had bananas in surplus, and there were just two bottles of milk in the fridge and no juice to be found.

When he was ready, he brought the big platter to the table and placed it in the middle.

"You all do know that you have to pay, right?" Nikola was not a good man. He was an evil opportunist who was prone to panic attacks.

Even his customers knew it.

"What do you wish of us?" A siren asked, as he took some squash and some eggs to go with it. "Ah, the combination of sweet and salty! This is real cooking."

"Oh, you would have eaten a hot dog if he had made it," the fairy from before said. "Man, these vegetable things are tasty."

Nikola smiled. He let them eat their fill, and just as they were about to take out treasure from their purses, he raised his hand.

"Oh, no, no, no," Nikola said, a grin on his face. "You will be planting the forest with new trees. I will let my mana in the air, so the fruit trees can be restored."

"Do we get a free meal afterward?" A goblin asked.

Nikola sighed.

Better to keep them happy, than to give them a reason to rebel.

"Sure. It will be on the house," which meant that he had to purchase some cows and goats or find a way to milk the Selkie.

At any rate, he needed Jack's help.