While enduring my shame, I finished making statues of Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear before we headed back to the city.
「Atora-san, any progress on the plot of land we talked about?」
「I found some good options, but I thought you should choose the one you like the most.」
「You see, about that, I would like to make my house between the tunnel and the city like Cliff suggested, but would that be okay?」
「There’s no problem, but will you make it on your own? If it’s Yuna…I guess it is possible?」
Atora-san, who had watched me make the Bear Statues, seemed to think it was possible.
「You will wear yourself out if you try to put up with her lack of common sense, you know. She made a house that looks like a bear in less than one day in Crimonia. Everyone was making a fuss about it.」
「A house that looks like a bear?」
「All the houses that this girl makes are Bear Houses. By the way, she made a Bear House in the capital too.」
「She even has a Bear House in the capital!?」
I only made those houses so I could use the transfer gates, though.
「Cliff.」
「Yes?」
「Is it fine to build my house anywhere? Though, if you have a plan, I will hear you out.」
「I don’t have one in particular. What I was talking about was just an example. I haven’t decided where everything will be built yet, so you can build it wherever you want.」
I had Cliff and Atora-san’s permission, so I could make the Bear House now.
When we finished, I muttered, 『Was there even a reason for me to accompany them…』
Even Cliff said,
「With just your presence, we can trust the other party.」
Grandpa Kuro also said,
「Because Missy seems to trust him, we believe we can also trust Cliff-sama.」
I wasn’t sure if I was really convinced by them.
Cliff would now go to the Adventurer’s Guild with the elders, to talk about the tunnel some more. Mylene-san and Jeremo-san were going to the Commerce Guild to discuss the tunnel’s future as well.
I wanted to build the Bear House right next to the sandy beach.
I was sure that you would even be able to clearly see the starry sky.
In order to make the house, I first had to prepare the ground. I also wanted to make it on a somewhat elevated location, but I didn’t know how much magic power I would need for that. Therefore, my first step was obvious. I made a simple changing room using earth magic and changed into the White Bear. I didn’t plan on using a lot of magic power, but since I would only be using magic, I would end up being less worn out if I put on the White Bear. This had been proven by the tunnel construction.
I cut the trees using wind magic and removed the roots using earth magic.
The width and the length of the clearing were both around one hundred meters.
「Did I make it a bit too big?」
I was a bit too excited and ended up clearing a place as wide as a school courtyard.
I put down some more soil to raise the ground. I did it because I wanted to put the Bear House on top of a hill. The house would be a bit bigger than the one in Crimonia.
This was because I planned to bring Morin-san, Karin-san, the children who worked at the shop, the children who took care of the cluckers, and the headmistress here when summer came. In that case, it would be better if they came to the Bear House instead of staying at the inn. This way, we wouldn’t bother the people staying at the inn.
It was at that very moment that I realized something.
I was under the impression that the number had increased recently.
Still, it shouldn’t have doubled, right?
I used the Bear Phone and called Fina.
『Big Sis Yuna?』
「Fina, I want to ask you something. Is that okay?」
『Yes, no problem.』
「How many children are there at the orphanage?」
『How many children? If I am not wrong, there should be around sixty.』
What! Before I knew it, the number had doubled.
Not to mention, I had also asked Liz to manage the cluckers.
Hmm, we should have a talk about increasing the number of employees the next time I stop by.
「Thank you, Fina.」
I hung up.
Even if I included the rooms on the second floor, I only had room for thirty. The thought of not bringing them to the sea crossed my mind for a moment, but then I remembered that the children were doing their best at work, so that wasn’t possible.
I decided to make a big house, so I summoned Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear.
I wasn’t a skilled carpenter, after all.
Once the foundations were stable, I just had to make it look like I imagined by using earth magic.
I made all of the rooms by borrowing the strength of Hugging Bear and Swaying Bear.
(ED: I don’t know why the author repeats…but it’s in the raws.)
I made a big dining room, a kitchen, and a living room on the first floor. I made the bedrooms on the second floor. I made six bedrooms that could fit six people. I made triple bunk beds so that the rooms would have more space. With that, I could accommodate 36 people. It was probably okay if I split up the children into two groups, as long as the number of children didn’t increase.
I made rooms for the guests and myself on the third floor. I made a big room for myself and added a balcony too. The sea that I was able to see from the balcony was beautiful. I also didn’t forget to make a transfer gate inside my room.
I realized this late…
(TN: Ryokan: Japanese style inn)
The room layout was now complete, so I started installing magic stones. I used the magic lines to put light magic stones on every ceiling. I had to manually install the magic stone, so it took some time. I also installed a water and fire magic stone in the bathroom, and adjusted the water temperature.
When I finished installing magic stones in every room, the sun was setting below the sea. The house was not totally complete, but I decided to go back to the inn.
When I returned to the city, the man at the entrance was acting as if he had seen something strange. I showed him my guild card and entered.
As I was walking toward the inn, people were looking at me and acting as if something was strange. Nobody called out to me, though.
They would normally call out to me.
I went back to the inn a bit faster.
When I arrived at the inn, Cliff was in the middle of having his meal.
「Cliff, the city is strange. Did something happen!?」
「Yeah, something did happened.」
I knew it, something had happened.
「What happened!?」
「The Black Bear became a White Bear.」
He said seriously.
I finally noticed my clothes.
「You also had a White Bear, huh.」
I rushed towards my room and changed back to the Black Bear.
It might have been because it wasn’t something that I wore in front of other people, but it still made me really embarrassed.
The fact that the people around me had looked at me differently was also a factor. For the people in the city, it had already become 『me＝Black Bear』. Then, when they saw me in the White Bear Suit, they were all shocked.
I came back while acting like nothing had happened and asked Cliff.
「It’s only you? Where’s Mylene-san?」
「She isn’t back yet. How’s it going with your house?」
「Not bad. I will finish it by tomorrow.」
「A house isn’t something that’s made in one or two days, you know.」
Cliff said. I ignored his response and asked Deiga-san for a meal.
「So, how did it go for you, Cliff?」
「We will announce the tunnel tomorrow. At the same time, we will start recruiting people to flatten the ground. We have already decided on the salaries. After all, if the amount is too low, people won’t do it, and if it’s too much, it will be a financial burden.」
As expected, I didn’t understand anything at all. I didn’t even know the market prices in the first place, so it couldn’t be helped.
「But, we have the Kraken’s materials, so we are okay on that end.」
「Kraken?」
「You donated all of the Kraken’s materials to the city, right?」
「I didn’t need them, after all.」
「You… How much do you think that many materials could be traded for?」
He said while looking upset, but there was no way I could know that.
「The Kraken’s skin is waterproof, so you can use it as a water repellent, and there’s a lot of people who want it. The teeth can be sold for a high price. It’s worth a fortune with that alone, you know!」
「It’s okay if it can help the city’s revival.」
「You really are strange.」
He sighed, but still smiled.
As I ate the food that Deiga-san made, Mylene-san came back.
「Ah, Yuna-chan, you’re eating already. Cliff, will you start now?」
「I already finished.」
「Is that so? I am the last one?」
Mylene-san went to the back and asked Deiga-san for a meal.
「So, how did it go for you?」
「From the start, it was a Commerce Guild with only a few people, but on top of that, four of them have been arrested. There’s not enough people. When thinking about the future, it’s really short on human resources.」
「That’s the same thing for us. The mayor has not been decided yet, and we still have to choose the people who will be aiding him.」
「How about the assistants of the mayor who fled?」
「It seems that they were all from his family.」
Ah, it was the thing that happened a lot when it came to family businesses.
The first generation was excellent, but when the second or the third generation appeared, they became incompetent.
「Also, they took all their fortune with them when they fled.」
「Your are fine, since you have some people left, but I am at a point where I have to ask the three elders.」
「That’s terrible.」
「It would be ideal for me if Atora-san became the mayor, but if that happens, the Adventurer’s Guild would lose its head. We will have to talk about it at Crimonia’s Adventurer’s Guild.」
「I knew it, we will really need to bring some people from Crimonia quicky.」
「At the same time, we will also have to train a capable person.」
The two of them had it really rough.
I listened to their conversation as if it was someone else’s problem while I ate my meal.
「So, Cliff, I want to go back to Crimonia as quickly as possible, but when will you be able to go back?」
「I have something to do tomorrow, so I will go back the day after.」
「Then I will go then as well. If I don’t return to Crimonia, there will be no progress in the work I have to do, after all.」
「It’s about the same thing for me.」
It had been decided that we would go back the morning of the day after tomorrow.