Building a House (2)
Building a House (2)
After crying for quite a while, I realized Ria and Sia were behind me and hastily got up from my spot.
Ria is now, in all seriousness, my wife, and Sia is in a position similar to an adopted daughter, so I guess that makes me the head of the household.
It's just... it feels a bit... for the head of the household to be crying pitifully like this.
Feeling awkward, I apologized to the two of them. Ria smiled and shook her head, and Sia also said it was okay while tightly grabbing my hand.
'What a good kid.'
While thinking I should raise her sincerely until she becomes a respectable adult, I slowly stroked Sia's head.
After that, I moved slightly to the side of the family gravesite and marked the spot where we would build the house.
"Shall we go gather the house materials first?"
The first cottage I build is going to be pretty small.
It's planned to get a bit bigger later when we have kids and start a vegetable garden, but...
For now, living cozily all together is best.
Though the biggest reason is that I have to finish it within a day so we can rest properly today.
'I did pack a tent... but it's just big enough for me and Ria.'
Sia would probably still feel awkward around us, and I don't want to force her to sleep crowded together with us.
At the very least, I need to give her her own room for peace of mind.
If I don't build a room and she ends up saying she's scared to sleep with us, that would be a real problem.
It was better to build it first and let the child choose.
So she could naturally choose the direction she feels comfortable in.
'If I ask her, she might be too scared to answer.'
Thinking she was a child who had lived a tough life made Ria and me even more careful.
After arriving at the house site, I had Sia and Ria sit on it and headed towards the forest alone to chop wood.
Ria insisted on coming along, saying it was safe now that the purification was complete, but Sia was tired from coming all the way here, and Ria must also be tired from using Divine Power, so I said I'd go alone.
Carrying Ria all the way here, running to the forest, and hunting a few monsters—a hero doesn't get tired easily from that.
I fought the Demon King for hours on end; I'm not going to get tired from something like this.
Arriving at the forest, I lifted the Holy Sword and began felling suitable trees.
Perhaps because it was a forest no one had entered or cut trees from for a long time, there were many sturdy trees.
'It seems the trees that were twisted have returned to normal as part of the purification.'
Thinking it was fortunate, I stood before the trees and conveyed a slightly apologetic feeling.
They must have established their place and lived here for a long time, so it felt a little sorry to just cut them down like this.
"I won't take too many."
Saying I wouldn't cut too much, as wild animals in the forest would also need a place, I lightly swung my sword.
Then, two thick trees fell over as if sliced through tofu.
"...If I shape these trees, they'll be good for walls. I need to find trees for the pillars."
I cut down trees that could be made into planks to lay on the floor, and trees that could become pillars.
If they fit together well, they should make for a quite sturdy house.
Having the Holy Sword meant I didn't have to worry about cutting them precisely.
Of course, since the wood was freshly cut, it would shrink as it dried later, potentially warping the house.
'I'll be expanding it anyway, and before that, I can just cast a preservation spell or something.'
Since I could solve it roughly with magic, I decided not to worry about it.
It was possible because, as Ria could only use holy magic that utilized Divine Power, I had learned magic together with Bina.
Searching for usable trees, I spent quite a long time repeating the process of cutting them down and moving them up, until before I knew it, the sun was high in the sky.
Having worked from the early dawn when daybreak rose until now, I had gathered plenty of wood.
-Thud!!
When I put down the last piece of wood, Sia flinched and jumped up.
"Oh my, did it startle you a lot?"
"Yes, yesss......."
She immediately clung to Ria's embrace, trembling.
'Maybe she has trauma related to this sort of thing.'
Reflecting on my careless action, I apologized to Sia.
"Sorry, Sia."
"Ah, it's okay, Oppa! House! Make the house...!"
Accepting the apology, Sia's eyes sparkled as she urged me on, saying 'Make the house!'
Maybe she's the type who likes making things.
"I should be able to finish it by evening, right?"
"I'll help too."
"Thanks."
Saying she'd help, Ria got up from her spot and brushed off her white skirt.
Seeing Ria like that, I smiled faintly and started drawing on the ground with a tree branch.
It was to first decide the house size and room layout.
We needed a bathroom, a living room, a master bedroom, and Sia's room.
I decided to put the toilet outside because of the smell.
"Shall we put the toilet outside?"
"Do we have a Sanitary Magic Stone?"
"Yeah, I bought most things from the village."
"That's a relief. But if we have a Sanitary Magic Stone, do we really need to put the toilet outside......?"
"Because we might need manure for fertilizer."
"Ah, I see......."
While I didn't buy heavy materials like lumber,
I bought all the simple supplies.
Especially the indispensable element for building a house: Magic Stones.
Just having these would completely improve our quality of life.
Especially the Sanitary Magic Stone.
It's a stone that converts waste into magical energy.
Though human waste could be collected and used as fertilizer, we're not farming yet.
Heat Magic Stone and Water Magic Stone for the kitchen and toilet, and a Cold Magic Stone.
Stones needed to heat water, make fire, chill food, or freeze water.
The Cold Magic Stone and Heat Magic Stone were also absolutely necessary stones for temperature control inside the house during summer and winter.
Of course, it was an incredible luxury.
It is a luxury, but...
'It feels too extravagant.'
'Hahahaha! What are you talking about... There's already a lot of talk going around in the kingdom saying "The kingdom is kicking out our hero oppa!", "They're banishing our Saintess!"'
'But still....'
'...Just let us live this once.'
My eternal friend, Crown Prince Ruan, went pale and provided the support funds.
He begged me to accept them, saying that if not, there would be widespread public resentment, so I had no choice but to accept.
"Magic Stones... s-so many of them."
Seeing Sia's eyes grow wide open, it seemed Sia also knew about Magic Stones well.
'It would be strange if she didn't know.'
I took one Magic Stone of each type to Sia and showed them to her.
"Sia."
"Yes, yess."
Seeing if I looked even more amazing to her, Sia looked at me with sparkling eyes.
Smiling faintly, I handed Sia the light blue, blue, red, and green Magic Stones and explained each one.
"Light blue is the Cold Magic Stone, blue is the Water Magic Stone, red is the Heat Magic Stone, green is the Sanitary Magic Stone."
"Yes, I knowww......."
"Aren't they pretty?"
When I asked that, she nodded her head and said they were pretty.
With a pleased smile, I placed them in Sia's hand, told her she could pour magic power into them and play, and that it would be good experience.
"Try using them once. Getting used to this will be good experience."
"...Okay."
Nodding her head, Sia gave a bright smile.
"Th, thank you!"
"Sure."
Actually, it's not easy for a young child to pour magic power into an object.
However, because the intense magical energy wave I felt in the forest and the magical energy I felt from Sia's body were remarkably similar...
'...Maybe.'
I wondered if Sia might have a talent for magic, so I gave her the stones to test it.
And surprisingly.
-Trickle trickle trickle
"Wow......."
"...Huh."
Sia immediately made water flow out from the blue stone like a fountain.
'That's amazing?'
It was purely amazing.
It was incredible that a young child could handle a Magic Stone so freely.
'...Maybe she learned it from the place she was before.'
Thinking that, I watched Sia, who was smiling gleefully and making fire spurt from the Heat Magic Stone.
"Be careful not to get hurt!"
"Yes, yes...!"
Sia's face turned red as she bowed her head.
She was truly adorable.
After that, I built the house together with Ria.
"...We should put a soundproofing spell on Sia's room, right?"
"Ah, probably so."
Especially, what we were most concerned about was the soundproofing between our room and Sia's room.
Because we didn't want the young child to witness the newlyweds' passion.
"Then let's make the walls a bit thicker too and cast a spell."
"Keeping it on all the time might be a bit... so just remind me so I don't forget."
That's what Ria said.
It seems our Saintess is very interested in that sort of thing.
"...Now that you're not a Saintess anymore, you can just bring it up freely?"
"Th, the Goddess-nim told me...!"
"When?"
"...About ten years ago... about the things I should do if I met the Hero-nim, the Goddess-nim......"
She says she whispered it directly.
'.......'
The Goddess religion is impressive, but the Goddess herself doesn't feel particularly impressive to me.
Of course, her achievements are impressive, but.
"I, I'm looking forward to it a little......."
"...I, I see."
Judging by her actions, she doesn't seem all that great.
Should I say she feels like a mischievous older sister?
'Just what did she tell my wife?'
Thinking that, I also felt a sense of gratitude.
Having various thoughts like that, I also decided the location of the kitchen and dining table.
Finally, I began driving the wooden pillars into the ground.
"The nails are here, so take them out one by one for me."
"Yes, Hero-nim."
We, who had gone from being a hero and a saintess to a carpenter and an assistant, happily began construction.
'Thinking it's the house we're going to live in makes it feel somehow amazing.'
I found myself smiling again and again without realizing it.