Multiple updates today This is the second one
“There it is—!!”
“I won’t—let you!!”
Shouko’s chopsticks aimed at a single point, thrusting forward like a spear. But just before reaching their target, another set of chopsticks, coming from the side, snatched the prey away.
“N—what!? Chiyu, is it…!?”
“You’re still too naive, Shoko-chan.”
Chiyu, with the prize in her mouth, looked down at the defeated Shouko.
“Kuh, I won’t lose next time…!”
“Feel free to try again as many times as you like.”
By the way, they’re having a barbecue. They set up small braziers on the ground and put round stone plates on top, where they grill the meat.
Usually, barbecues are associated with marinades, but there’s no sauce here, so they eat the meat with salt. It was absolutely delicious.
The meat and fat exploded in my mouth, delivering a mouthwatering shock to my brain. As a high school boy, I’d have loved to eat it with white rice.
“Mmm, the meat is delicious too. You’re a great cook, Yumine-san.”
“Thank you, Shiyou-san. Oh, is it not okay to call you Fukaho-chan…?”
Shion said with a smile.
「O-of course, that’s fine.」
「I’m glad. You can call me Shion.」
「O-of course. Sh-Shion-san.」
Shion looks quite happy.
「Minorin’s blushing. You can call me Minorin too!」
「Minorin, you can call me Chiyu too.」
「If that’s the case, you can call me Sousuke. Nice to meet you, Fukaho.」
By the way, we’re currently using a bonfire with a wooden base and stone basket for lighting. The light from the fire made Shion’s face look red.
「I-I’m glad to meet you too. Shouko-san, Chiyu-san… S-S-S… Kouno-kun.」
「Huh, only me…?」
「Hehe, it’s the maiden’s heart, Sousuke-kun.」
Shion is smirking.
Well, I did feel embarrassed calling Shouko and Shion by their first names yesterday. I understand feeling uncomfortable addressing the opposite sex that way.
「Wow! Shī-chan’s cooking is the best! The meat-stuffed dish is amazing, with the meat’s flavor and the mushrooms’ texture, and the soup is so gentle.」
「Hmm. Our chef.」
「Ahaha, I’m glad you liked it. I’ll keep contributing to everyone’s meals.」
While enjoying the meal, we also talk about the new house. First, I and Fukaho had already roughly decided on the floor plan, so I tell them about it.
「The living room is great! Even if we get individual rooms, I still want us to gather for meals and chats.」
It’s typical of Shouko, who loves talking.
「I’m also happy that the kitchen will be inside. Right now, there’s always wind, and I don’t really want sand getting into the food.」
Shion, who became the head chef, requested that two stone ovens be placed in the kitchen. Since it’s indoors, it might be a good idea to create a hole to vent the smoke.
「We have more people now, so maybe it’s time to get a new bath? A bigger, hot spring-like tub would be nice.」
I cross my arms, considering my childhood friend’s suggestion. A spacious bath would definitely be nice. A drum can bath would be good, but one where we can stretch out our legs would be even better.
「But it would be a hassle to heat up. I think it’s doable, but…」
Fukaho raised her hand at my words.
“I wanted to try something regarding that.”
“Hmm, what’s up?”
“Well, I once missed a fireball and hit a tree. The fire went out after a while, so the tree didn’t catch fire. But—there were still burn marks.”
“What do you mean?”
Shouko tilted her head.
“So, the fire itself went out when the mana ran out, but the fact that it was heated didn’t disappear?”
Fukaho nodded at my words.
“Yes. It wouldn’t mean much for me alone, but if I combine it with Kouno-kun’s power…”
“That’s great! So, first, fill a stone bathtub with water and set it up. Then hit it with a fireball to make it boil instantly. Adjust the water temperature by adding more water. This way, we can easily heat up a bath in a large bathhouse, right?”
「Yeah. In that case, it would be dangerous to shoot indoors, so Kouno-kun and I would need to go outside.」
「If the water boils instantly, it won’t be a hassle. Actually, since my ‘Inventory’ doesn’t have a time limit, I could make a large amount of hot water when I have time and store it, then just put it in the bathtub every day.」
「Ah, that’s true. Then we wouldn’t have to go outside every time, and even if it’s raining, we wouldn’t get wet while boiling water.」
Fukaho smiled softly.
Still, Fukaho’s magic is amazing even outside of combat.
Being able to take a bath every day with the same effort as on Earth was good news.
「‘Well done, Sousuke.’」
「And ‘Well done, Fukaho-chan.’」
Chiyu said her usual thing, and Shion agreed.
「Are all the girls going to take a bath together? That sounds nice!」
Shouko seemed to understand the conversation and was happy about it.
Now, let’s continue with the floor plan discussion. There’s a request to put chairs and tables in the changing room that connects to the bathroom. This is something you see in public baths and inns, even for men’s baths. It’s a place to sit and dry your hair.
For women, they might want to take care of their skin there as well. If that’s the case, I’d like to put a mirror there, but I haven’t been able to make one yet.
There are other scattered requests, but the conversation moves forward without any major disagreements. By the way, I told everyone to feel free to share their opinions. It seems they’re trying not to burden me, but I don’t want to build a house with any unresolved complaints.
And then, when the conversation turned to the second floor, everyone’s bedroom—the atmosphere among the women instantly tensed up.
“I won’t budge from being next to you, Sousuke.”
“I’d prefer to be next to Sousuke-kun too, if possible.”
“U-uh, m-me too.”
“I’m not really trying to… but to keep an eye on things so they don’t get too lewd, it’s better to be near Kouno-kun’s room, or rather…”
Chiyu suddenly stood up and said,
“We’ll decide it in the bath.”
Hearing this, the other three nodded.
“Ah… Well, I’ll start heating up the bath. I’ll generate the new room while everyone is in there.”
Actually, she wanted to surprise them by setting up some furniture to make the living space look more homely.
Today, she decided to have them bathe outside and used her ‘Crafting Ability’ to generate a large stone bathtub.
“Wow, hot spring size!”
Shouko is already impressed at the bathtub.
I set the water there.
“Be careful, the water might splash. Everyone, back up. Fukaho, take care of it.”
“Got it—fireball!”
Fukaho’s staff pointed at the bathtub, and a fireball appeared, hurtling toward its target. The sound of water evaporating accompanied by a huge cloud of steam rose up.
Once the steam cleared, the bath was complete, with only a faint mist rising.
I stuck my finger in—hot! I added some water from my Inventory.
All that’s left is to prepare a large barrel filled with water on a pedestal so that whoever enters can adjust it. Enclose these with a screen, and it’s done.
“Hey!? The bath is already ready!? It was just a moment ago!”
“Turning ideas into reality right away. ‘Impressive, Sou-kun.’”
“Magic enriches our lives. ‘Impressive, Fukaho-chan.’”
Once again, Chiyu and Shion praise me and Fukaho.
“Well then, everyone, enjoy yourselves.”
“Since Kou-kun’s power is so great, why don’t you go in first?”
Everyone nods in agreement with Fukaho’s words.
“No, I want to finish building the house first.”
That seemed to satisfy Fukaho as well.
「Then I’ll take the hot water first.」
「Don’t worry, Mino-chan. The leftover bathwater from four beautiful girls will be my thanks.」
「Stop feeding Fukaho nonsense.」
After teasing my childhood friend, I headed back to the hut.
The women also disappeared behind the tent, laughing and chatting.
「Thanks for the one night, Chiyu.」
Since it was a place with fond memories of our relationship, I decided not to break it down.
I stored it in my ‘Inventory,’ freeing up the space.
And then, I generated my new base of operations—my home.
I managed to stay in first place until the end today!!!!!! I thought the number of points I earned had increased for some reason… but it turns out it was a holiday. I worked even on the holiday… To everyone who has started supporting me, thank you so much!!!!!!! I hope I can update another chapter today. -------A Request to Readers------- If reading this work makes you feel even a little bit “Interesting!” “I want to know what happens next!” “Keep writing!!!!”, please do the following: ・Add this to your bookmarks ・Under the “Add points to support the author” section at the bottom of the page
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