Chapter 14: My Home

“I never thought you’d actually defeat them! And in such a short time, too!!”

After returning to the Adventurers’ Guild, we went to the branch chief’s office and informed him that we had completed the quest.

Apparently, the monsters in this world have something somewhere on their bodies that resembles a round marble—a core, as it were. Liluria, who had somehow managed to retrieve the armored knight’s core, showed it to the branch chief, and he immediately acknowledged that the quest had been completed.

If it had been just me, I would have completely overlooked the core. I’m really glad we don’t have to go back into that forest cave again.

“But still, that monster was really troublesome, huh? This core is about ten centimeters in diameter, isn’t it? No wonder our adventurers couldn’t handle it.”

“I’m exhausted. I just want to go home, so give me the money already, will you? Oh, and also, tell me about any super-cheap properties you know of.”

“Wait a minute. I’ve already arranged for the money through our office. I’ll also give you the property information. But first, what are you going to do with that core? Are you planning to sell it too?”

The branch chief pointed at the monster core Liluria was holding.

“No, I’m not going to sell it. A core this large is extremely rare, so I’m thinking of turning it into a ring or a necklace.”

According to what Liluria told me, a monster’s core has the special property of being able to store magical power. The larger the core, the more magical power it can hold.

For mages, magical power is incredibly important. In critical moments, whether or not you have a reserve of magical power can often mean the difference between life and death.

“I see. Well, that seems like a good idea. But Liluria-kun, why don’t you become an adventurer too? I think you could quickly climb up to the same B-rank as Ao.”

“I’m not interested in that at all. Besides, I’m already happily employed as his maid. I have no intention of taking on any other work.”

For a moment, I thought she said something pleasant… but up to now, the only things Liluria has done for me are utterly massacring the monsters and pawning off the brooch I got from my mother.

…Could it be that Liluria is going to become a NEET before me?

“Ha ha ha ha! That’s too bad. Ao, for the sake of your cute girlfriend, keep doing your best.”

“O-Oh, geez! Girlfriend? Ao and I aren’t even in that kind of relationship yet—what are you saying!”

Liluria smacks my head with a satisfying spaan.
“What are you making me say? You said it yourself!”
Even if it doesn’t do any damage, getting hit like this is downright unfair…

“Alright then, let me introduce you to the long-awaited bargain property. This is the house my grandmother used to live in, you know? Since she had so many siblings, there are plenty of rooms. And——”

~~~~~  

“Whoa—it’s huge!”  

“And it’s shabby!”

We headed to the address the branch chief had given us.  

There, just as he said, stood a very shabby, large house.

“This is going to be our home from today, isn’t it? Not too bad, huh!”  

“But we haven’t paid yet, so it’s not really ours yet, you know?”

For now, we’re just observers.  

Of course, if we like it, we plan to buy it, but looking at this dilapidated exterior, my first impression is overwhelmingly negative.  

It looks like it could collapse in an instant if an earthquake hit—can it really be safe?

“Let’s go inside first!”

Without waiting for my reaction, Liluria dashed into the house.  

Good grief—no matter how much it’s the home of my dreams, she’s way too hyped up.  

Liluria, who wasn’t exactly eager to buy a house at first, seems to have forgotten all about that now.  

From one of the open windows, I can hear her humming happily.

Following her inside, I found that the interior was surprisingly clean.  

There are some scratches on the walls, but nothing too bothersome.

The first floor consists of one large space housing the living room, dining room, kitchen, toilet, and bath—everything a house needs.  

The second floor has six rooms, which aren’t particularly large.  

This is what you’d call a 7LDK.  

And the branch chief is offering it for 1,000,000 Gold—an incredible bargain.

What I especially liked was the bath!  

It’s designed to be quite spacious, big enough to comfortably accommodate about four people.  

At this rate, it might be more fitting to call it a small hot spring rather than just a bath.  

The person who designed this house must have been a huge fan of baths.

“Ao! I’ve decided—I’m going to live in this house!!”

It seems Liluria is just as taken with the place as I am.  

Somehow she found a broom and immediately started cleaning.  

Good, good—it’s nice to see her finally taking her maid duties seriously.

“Yeah, I think I’d buy this house too.”

The exterior might be a bit rough, but the interior is impressive.  

For this, it’s definitely worth paying a million.  

The only question is, why doesn’t the branch chief intend to live here himself when it’s such a good house?  

I don’t really understand just how impressive his position is, but it’s not hard to imagine he enjoys excellent benefits.  

Maybe he lives in an even more extravagant mansion.  

But even if that’s the case, why on earth would he offer this place for the bargain price of 1,000,000 Gold?  

Just by a quick glance, a layman like me can tell this house is definitely worth more than a million.  

Could it be that we’re missing something significant…?  

No matter how much I think about it, I just can’t figure it out.

In the end, despite feeling a slight unease, I went ahead and bought the house—finally obtaining my dream home.  

Hmm… I hope I’m just imagining things…