Chapter 9 - A New House
The next day. After having breakfast at Elgis-san's house, I was to go around looking at vacant houses with Elgis-san to decide on my own home.
When I stepped outside the house with Elgis-san, carrying my linen bag of belongings on my back, Fiona-san and Flora came out to see us off.
I bowed my head to the two of them and offered my thanks.
"Excuse me, thank you for everything. I was truly happy that you prepared such delicious meals and even a bath for me."
"No, no. Living alone might be difficult from now on, but please consult us anytime if anything happens."
"Yes, I'm sure there will be many things I don't understand, so I look forward to your continued help."
My first time living in a village. Moreover, it's life in a place that isn't even my country of birth. There will be many things I don't know, and I'll probably cause trouble.
In the midst of such an uncertain situation, thinking that I've met such kind people and formed a connection makes my anxiety fly away at once.
Just having someone to consult with makes me feel much more encouraged.
Right now, I'm the one being one-sidedly helped, but once I've settled in, I definitely intend to repay this debt.
"...U-um, this is a lunch box."
Flora stepped forward and held out a basket.
When I took it and peeled back the cloth covering it, I saw it was filled with many hearty sandwiches.
"If you like, please eat it for lunch."
Flora, who said this while fidgeting with her fingertips, was very lovely.
Today, I plan to walk around the village and decide on a new home. Once I decide on a new home, I have to immediately clean the house and get it ready so I can sleep there, so having a lunch box is a huge help.
"Thank you. This is very helpful."
"N-no. Please come to our house to eat again."
When I thanked her, she laughed bashfully.
There aren't many women who are this lovely, good at cooking, and attentive.
If I were a bit younger, I might have wooed her. Though, since I've done nothing but swordwork, I wouldn't be able to woo a woman at all.
Besides, her age is eighteen. She's already two years past the age of adulthood. If she's such a wonderful woman, the men in the village wouldn't leave her alone.
I'm sure she has a lover.
"Flora, is there none for me?"
"There's a portion for you too, properly prepared. It's my handmade one."
"Oh, thank you as always."
When Elgis-san asked, Fiona-san handed him the basket she was holding.
It was a conversation held with the understanding from the start that there was a portion for Elgis-san, but it seemed like a very harmonious sight. Such casual conversation seemed to represent the good relationship between the husband and wife.
As I watched the two of them, Elgis-san turned around.
"Well then, Aldo-san, shall we go?"
"Yes!"
Having received the lunch box, Elgis-san and I started walking to go around the vacant houses.
""Take care!""
""We're off!""
To Fiona-san and Flora's overlapping voices of farewell, Elgis-san and I also replied in unison.
My expectations for getting a new house were high, but as I moved further away from that warm home, I felt a sense of regret.
It was a house where I spent only a single night, but I feel it was by far the happiest time in my life.
"Since we're in the same village, we can meet anytime."
"...Yes."
From now on, it seems like happy times will increase even more.
◆ ◆ ◆
"Now then, I looked into the vacant houses yesterday, but do you have any requests for what kind of house you'd like?"
Elgis-san asked once we reached the plaza, which was the center of the village.
Since this is the center of the village, it's more efficient to decide here before going around.
"Let's see, my biggest wish is the western area near the flower field."
Since I had decided on my main request beforehand, I answered smoothly. As expected, this is the most important thing.
"Ah, that's good. Over there, there's plenty of land left over, so you can make a field, and the mountains are close too."
Oh, good. It seems the western area can meet my demands.
"For now, there are four vacant houses in the west, so let's go around them."
Saying that, Elgis-san started walking toward the west, and I followed him.
I walked alongside Elgis-san on the path I had walked yesterday.
After walking for a while along the road that stretched on and on, the sparsely located houses I had seen yesterday came into view. Compared to the area around the village chief's house or the plaza, the density of houses was much lower, but since vacant houses with spacious intervals are more desirable to me, it's not a problem.
I'll be doing things like bleeding and butchering prey hunted in the mountains, so being in the center would be inconvenient in various ways.
Perhaps because each house has a large garden, every house seemed to have some kind of vegetables planted in the garden. Of course, colorful flowers too.
Many trees grew around the houses, and a small stream flowed nearby. It's a place with a very good atmosphere.
As we proceeded while looking at the inhabited houses, a large two-story house came into view. The house was surrounded by a stone wall, and there was even a gate installed at the front.
Perhaps because it was a bit old or hadn't been maintained, the roof was peeling a little, but it was the most luxurious house I'd seen so far.
It's a house like a nobleman would live in.
As I was looking at it with admiration, Elgis-san stopped in front of that house.
"This is one of the vacant houses in the western area."
"...It's big."
I muttered while looking up at the large house in front of the gate.
No, this is different from the house I imagined. I don't feel like I can manage such an oversized house.
It would be impossible to maintain a house like this unless I hired servants.
"It's a house built when a nobleman came here long ago, but because it's too big, no one wants to live in it. I thought it would be impossible for Aldo-san to live in this house alone, but I introduced it first because I thought it would be more interesting than suddenly showing you a small house."
I see. That might make sense. It's interesting just to know that there's a house like this in this village.
"Can I take a look inside just in case? I wanted to see a house built by a nobleman."
When I was an adventurer, I had entered mansions when receiving designated requests from nobles, but I'm interested in a house built by a nobleman.
"Most of the furniture has been reused elsewhere, so there isn't much, is that alright?"
"Yes, since I'm here, I'll take a look."
In that way, I walked around the western area and checked the vacant houses.
The second one was a perfectly ordinary and compact house, but since it had few rooms and poor sunlight, I passed on it.
The third one was a normal-sized house like the ones in the center, and although it was small, it had a bathtub, which gave me a good impression, but I decided to pass because the distance between houses was close. Not just a few meters, but close enough to be almost touching.
If I bring back prey hunted in the mountains and butcher it, the smell of blood will travel quite a bit.
After finishing checking the third one, I moved on to the fourth.
"I recommend the next house with confidence. I think you'll like it too, Aldo-san. Well, if this one doesn't suit you, let's look a bit further south."
"Understood. I'm looking forward to it."
I don't want it to be too far from the flower field, so I hope the next one is a good house.
Thinking that, I walked on the lush grass and crossed a bridge over a small stream.
After continuing to walk on the grass for a while, the view opened up, and scattered houses began to appear.
The view was good, it had good sunlight, and the houses weren't crowded.
The minimum conditions were already cleared, so this looks like it'll work. As long as the house isn't excessively damaged, it'll be fine. Or rather, it's Elgis-san's recommendation. He wouldn't introduce a house like that.
"It's here."
The place Elgis-san stopped was a one-story house that was a bit wider than a normal house.
Perhaps because it hadn't been long since the previous resident left, or because it wasn't that old, the roof and walls didn't look dilapidated.
The fact that there's a large warehouse beside the house gives a good impression. If there's a warehouse that big, I could probably work there.
"This is nice. Can I check the inside right away?"
"Go ahead, go ahead."
When I asked with an excited voice, Elgis-san opened the door for me, so I immediately went inside the house.
The moment I stepped inside, my intuition pinged. The atmosphere was extremely close to the image I had drawn, and I thought this was the only one.
"Oh..."
I let out a voice of admiration while letting my gaze wander all over.
A large room where the living room and kitchen were together. The walls were cream-colored, with bricks mixed in some places. The floor was a slightly somber brown, which, combined with the wood grain, gave it a nice flavor.
"It's just the right size and feels calm."
This is without furniture. If I prepare and install furniture that suits this room, it'll have an even better atmosphere.
"Yes, it's quite good, isn't it? Besides, this house has a bathtub, and it's quite large."
"Really?"
I was surprised to hear Elgis-san say that proudly.
It's rare for a village house to even have a bathtub.
"The person who lived here before was quite a bath lover. This place is close to the stream and the well, so they seemed to boil baths often. Well, heating the water is hard work, though."
Curious about the supposedly large bathtub, I proceeded to the back room.
Passing through a slightly narrow changing room and opening the door, there was a large, square-shaped bathtub.
Oh, it's as large as the bath in Elgis-san's house. The reason the changing room was strangely narrow was because they wanted to install even a slightly larger bathtub.
It's a bathroom that clearly conveys the previous owner's feelings.
If anything, I also like baths, so I definitely intend to use it. Preparing hot water by myself is quite a task, but since I have magic tools, it's not a problem.
Magic tools are equipment made using magic stones that carry mana, which can be obtained from high-ranking monsters.
A magic circle for the magic you want to activate is engraved there, and mana is extracted from the magic stone to activate the magic.
They are items so expensive that an average person could live in luxury for a lifetime, but they are convenient things that allow even someone like me without an aptitude for mana to use magic.
Even though Kurune, who is a mage, was in the party, we never knew when Kurune might run out of mana or get injured, so everyone was equipped with magic tools.
Well, since we were the kingdom's top A-rank party, this much was natural.
Even so, to think I'd consider using a magic tool, which I rarely used even in combat, just to prepare a bath.
Magic for something like preparing hot water consumes almost no mana, so even if I use it every day, it'll probably last for ten years.
It's a luxury, but I'll consider it the fruit of my days as an adventurer who fought while risking my life and use it to my heart's content.
After that, I checked the remaining rooms like the bedroom, toilet, and storage room. All of them were to my satisfaction, and my mind was already made up.
"By the way, how many minutes does it take to get to the flower field from here?"
"Within fifteen minutes."
When I turned around and asked, Elgis-san answered with a grin.
Oh, it won't even take thirty minutes for a round trip. With this, I can easily head to the flower field in a bit of spare time. It's perfect.
I think it was about the same amount of time to Elgis-san's house too.
"I've decided to live here."
And so, my new house was decided.