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Chapter 194: Dragged Away

Green Circle, the spirit in Ash’s bracelet, relayed through gestures that Ash had left the kingdom. The news came a bit later but still within the expected date so I’m relieved.

「Got it, thanks. 」
When I wiggle my forefinger up and down, spirit also jumps along with it; that’s the gesture for “yes” and “gotcha”.

Green Circle’s actual body that’s with Ash is probably doing the same thing right now.
I can communicate with spirits that don’t speak human language, so we can understand each other somehow. Ash can’t, so I taught the spirits five types of gestures and made them memorize it.

Ash can probably understand spirits later on as she spends more time with them, I guess. Well, she’s doing great with Az after all.

Anyway, we’re working on the forest house today.

“Please help me build my roof.”
“Ou.”

Retze agreed a while ago that he’ll help me if it’s just a few days. He told me yesterday on our way back that he can start today, so I kidnapped him today.

「Argh, can you stop suddenly whisking me away as soon as I agree? My mind can’t keep up!! 」
I got scolded when I 【Teleport】 him by force.

「Well, I just thought it’s better if you don’t have time to prepare for it.”
He’d just worry uselessly.

「Don’t skip the explanation, I’m telling you! 」
「Roof building, it’s roof building. 」

「I thought we’re gonna repair a roof in Canum!! You, you’d been worried about your roof leaking!! Where the heck is this place!?」
「We’re in the forest. 」
「Don’t get cheeky with me, I can see that! 」

Ehh, he’s so terrible.

「Uh, deep in the forest? Where the tri-horns and wolves are. 」
Ah, but recently both monsters and the black spirits don’t come here any more.
「We’re gonna die!! 」
「It’s fine, this bright area is a safe zone. 」
「… 」
Retze shut up and pinched his brows.

「Sorry. If it’s just lifting the lumber then I won’t have any problem with that, but it’s too hard putting them together on my own. 」
「Ahh, goodness, come on, let’s get on with it. Finish early so I can go back to reality. 」
Ah, but this is also reality, you know.

We’ll start with the place where the ridge-pole will go. It’s the highest point of the roof, and I’ll hold a ridge-pole raising ceremony the day we raise it up. Ah, but I don’t know if that custom exists here.

The ridgepole is structured in a way that we can link the rafters to it, so I asked Retze to hold the opposite end of the pole while I aligned it. The slope of the roof will depend on the angle of the rafters.

I prepared a grill and some charcoal so we grilled some meat for lunch. Food is part of the compensation for Retze’s help, so playing safe with it for now.

The meat is Wagyu beef from the【Pantry】; cuts are sirloin, skirt steak, galbi and tsubo zuke (pot- pickled) ribs. I also have beef tongue; the base is not used that much so it’s soft and white. I cut it in thicker slices, while the tip part is done thinner because it’s hard. The tip is crispy after grilled so it’s nice.

For the vegetables, I brought onions, bell peppers and thick asparagus. We also have some pork, white rice and bok choy kimchi.

「The food’s ready. 」
「Ou. 」
I call out to Retze. He was looking around the place while taking care not to go beyond the well-lit area.

「This is beef, this here is pork, just grill them and eat, alright. You can hold them with this. 」
I handed him a plate of meat and tongs.

「Ah, another weird thing came out. 」
「It’s easier than using chopsticks, you know? 」
I took one slice of meat and put it on the grill.

The meat sizzled, and once it’s nicely grilled I chomped it.

「Ah, this is beer. 」
Not sure if it’s the effect of TV ads, but I suddenly felt the urge to drink ice cold beer. I did say I’m gonna endure it for a year, so endure it. In turn, let’s have Retze drink it while I have my soda!

「It’s cold. 」
Retze said as he received it. Oh right, beer here is served at room temp; they don’t have a refrigerator, after all.

「Thanks for the hard work. You’ve really saved me there! 」
「I’ll help you so next time you gotta do a better job of asking me out, will you. 」
I raised my soda lightly and Retze also raised his glass of beer.

What does a better way of inviting mean, I wonder?

「Whoa, this meat is crazy soft! 」
「If it feels too greasy, try this. Dip your meat in this salty miso paste, wrap it in lettuce then eat it. 」

Not sure if the cows here aren’t well cared for or something; they don’t have much fat.
And even if there is, they don’t have any sort of marbling.

Well, I enjoy my meat with both rice and lettuce! That’s the privilege of someone who wields the almighty chopsticks — we don’t have to switch between chopsticks and spoons when eating rice, hahahaha!!

「You’re really dexterous, huh. Well, it does seem handy. 」
「Nah, almost everyone from where I came from can use them. 」
「Tools of your previous world, huh? Well, I’ve never seen anyone eat with sticks here before, so don’t use them when you’re in public, alright? 」
「 Ye~s. 」
Retze’s association of sticks with me is really strong!

We finished the rafters while chatting, and even after the work’s done Retze stayed with me until evening. I gave him a bottle of sake as a souvenir and called it a day.
I spent the following day on my own wiping the roof tiles. They’re made out of bluish black fieldstone that had been cut thinly. I like the color, but stones are not leak proof so I put copper sheets underneath. Actually, copper sheets are fine on their own as roofing, but I’m particular about the aesthetic, so I still go for the stones.

The copper roofs of European cathedrals look nice, especially with that oxidized green rust color, but this house is literally in the middle of a forest, so I don’t think that’s such a nice idea in this case.

Oh, by the way, I used magic copper — I think it’s spirit copper. I was worried at first that it’d be too heavy, but surprisingly it’s durable enough even when it’s thinner than a sheet of paper. I don’t have any other use for this, so I’ll be using them on this house as much as I can.

The two groups of architects and stonemasons who wanted to migrate to the island are probably building the path around the well of the tower by now. They’re probably shocked that water flows endlessly over there.