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Chapter 70

「Fumu?」

I let out a habitual murmur. Beside me, Selina suddenly looked over. Her clear blue eyes glimmered with the reflection of her golden locks of hair. No matter how many times I glanced at her, she still seemed so adorable.

Selina and I put on our clothes, not minding that they had already been dirtied. Selina also wore a straw hat to avoid getting tanned.

「What’s the matter, Dran?」

「My nose is itchy. Someone must be talking behind my back.」

The moment I said this, Selina rested her cheek on her left hand and started pondering over possible gossiping suspects.

「Hm… It might be Nelneshia who’s training to defeat you or Lenia who feels neglected by you.」

「Well, it’ll be an honor if it’s either of them. Though they tend to get into quite a lot of trouble, so maybe it’s best to keep a distance from those two.」

Nell was taking the summer vacation to train her skills under her parents’ guidance. Her goal was to defeat me and her rival, Eksu. As for Leina, she just seemed to bring trouble without meaning to.

Ever since the incident with Ryoukichi, my perception range had expanded and the conditions for it had relaxed. Hence, I could no longer detect any major disasters or sense connections to the other world. In turn, there was no longer any need for me to head out.

As a result, I got involved in the construction of a public lodging to welcome travelers and merchants looking for shelter.

This was a spot a little different from those open areas made public to them. It was located slightly farther from the rivers and plains that stretched from northeast to southwest through the village.

I had approached the village headman and Shenna concerning the possible resistance against the idea. The village headmen seemed to have plans on building a public lodging too, and they had swiftly agreed to put me in charge of constructing the foundations of the lodging.

It would not be a proper inn like the Suzutei no Talisman. Rather, the lodging would just be a simple shelter for the night, with beds for anyone who chose to stay. The plan was to build approximately twenty such houses.

Selina and I used the wind and water blade magic to manipulate the grass and trim them accordingly. Then, we used earth magic to dig up bubbles of soil and remove the roots of the grass.

Using a sickle to accomplish the same tasks that Selina and I were doing would have taken quite some time. However, things were different for us magic users. We started when the sun had yet to rise and finished by the time the villagers were starting work on the fields.

After we stacked the bunches of grass we had cut in a corner, we proceeded to put back the soil we had excavated. Then, we finished our breakfast which consisted of Selina’s handmade hamburger with rabbit meat, shredded cabbage, and sliced tomatoes sandwiched between bread.

The seasoning was mostly salt and various herbs. Selina’s amazing skills also ensured great control over the cooking fire while maintaining the texture of the tomatoes and cabbage. Even the meat and bread were perfectly sized.

Sour juices spurted out of the tomatoes as I took a bite, and the cabbages were crunchy to chew on. The salted rabbit meat was seasoned well, giving off a fragrant aroma as it burst with juiciness. With each bite, a different flavor exploded in my mouth due to the herbs, stirring my appetite.

Selina and I were seated so closely that our shoulders were brushing against each other. She stared at me expectantly, though I was not entirely clueless as to what she was waiting for.

「Your cooking is great. The food is delicious.」

「Heh, really? It was a worthwhile effort then. There’s still a lot left, so please have your fill of food.」

Selina grinned at me delightedly as she opened the lid of the basket next to her and showed me the hamburgers wrapped in cloth.

The meals at the Magic Academy were prepared by hired cooks, so we hardly had any chances to make our own food. Now that we were in Bern village, I had better enjoy Selina’s cooking as much as I could.

After finishing all the food Selina had prepared for breakfast, we returned to constructing the public lodging.

As we manipulated the molecular construction of the soil, the ground was slowly raised. Stone blocks were then piled on top of each other, leaving not the slightest gap between them. Even a shaving blade would not be able to pass between these blocks. After some time, one-story houses that seemed similar to Selina’s destroyed bathhouse had been constructed.

However, we had yet to fiddle with the interior of each house. None of these would be truly completed until we put in some doors, tables, and beds.

In no time, the twenty stone houses were completed and we proceeded to take a look around them. The floor plan for each house included the dining room, living room, kitchen, and bedroom where we planned to place two bunk beds.

The public lodging would be free of charge. Payment would only be needed for firewood and water. As for meals, occupants would be responsible for preparing their own food.

「As expected, it seems so ridiculous trying to build a house normally.」

Selina huffed out her remark contemplatively, having already seen me erect a house easily countless times. Though, I was sure she seemed a little surprised too.

「I enrolled in Galois Magic Academy to learn how to do such things. There’s no reason I shouldn’t be capable of this.」

As I spoke with Selina, we finished surveying the twenty houses. When everyone left for their work in the fields or headed out to hunt, a group of horse golems I had procured finally arrived pulling a load of items.

I could see my younger brother, Marco, and the ant girls approaching. They had brought over the doors and beds meant for the houses.

「What?! The houses have been built?!」

Marco and the other villagers gasped, astounded to find the undulating land cleanly leveled in less than a day. Moreover, twenty stone houses had already been built.

I had informed the village headman that I would only be using magic and alchemy to construct the houses’ exterior. Hence, Marco’s carts were piled up with wood needed for the beds and doors.

「We just built them, though the interior hasn’t been furnished. I’ll leave it to you guys then.」

「O-Okay. But aren’t you a little too quick? It hasn’t even been long since the sun rose.」

「I learned magic so I could hear such remarks. I won’t just be building houses. I’m planning to make watermills, windmills, and even bathhouses. Well, let’s get to work then. With these many people, we can finish by noon if we start now.」

We proceeded to assemble the beds, and then bring in the mattresses and pillows made out of straw wrapped in cloth. After that, we checked if the windows and doors could be opened and closed properly.

Then, Selina and I summoned wind and water to check if the houses were resistant to the wind and rain. Once we ascertained that there were no problems, we finally confirmed that the houses were completed.

Though these houses were simply designed, it was a rare sight to see twenty houses lined up after less than a quarter of a day of work.

Selina and I were certainly pleased by our accomplishments as we stood in front of the houses we had built. As for Marco and the rest, they seemed dumbstruck by the fact that we had finished such a time-consuming task so easily.

「People who are witnessing this for the first time end up like that, don’t they?」

Selina hummed in agreement. After all, it was a true statement.

However, their bafflement was a little troubling too. I still wanted to build a bathhouse.

Unlike this public lodging, I was planning on going all out with that facility.

Though, most of the villagers in Bern village had probably never used a public bathhouse before.

The ideal construction site was the land adjacent to the central square of the village. As for the water source, water would be brought over from the river that flowed through the village. The Fire Spirit Stone would be used to boil the water to save firewood.

The bathhouse was intended primarily for the villagers, but travelers and merchants were also potential users. Unlike the villagers, they would be charged a small fee for entry.

I planned on applying all the knowledge regarding bathhouse construction I had picked up in Galois for this bathhouse. Of course, I would also include everything that would please users and build it with all I was capable of right now.

It would be a bathhouse comparable to those in Galois, or even better than those. Ultimately, the aim of building it was to attract tourists.

If this plan succeeded, we might even have to build a proper inn like the Suzutei no Talisman. However, considering Bern village’s remoteness and terrain, it was unlikely that this place could ever accommodate a hot spring resort.

「If you’re shocked by this, you’ll be even more stunned by the bathhouse construction.」

「You’ll have to build something that’ll live up to your second name.」

「Yeah. After all, I’m Bathhouse Dran.」