The Banished Black Swordsman Wants a Peaceful Life with the White Saint in the Frontier ~Huh? You Want Him to Come Back with the Saint? It’s Already Too Late~ - 76

Chapter 76: The Repair of the Second House and the New Handyman

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After the two of them decided to move, the days passed by as smoothly as flowing water. The very next morning, the four of them headed out to Gluteridge. Their purpose, of course, was to procure materials for repairs.

At the supplier’s counter, they estimated the number of nails they would need. At the hardware shop, they selected hinges and locks. At the lumberyard, they picked out well-dried beams and tongue-and-groove floorboards. Lime, hemp rope, waterproofing oil, lumps of pine resin, thin gampi paper, resin glass to paste onto the window frames. Each item would move the work forward step by step, but purchasing everything together amounted to a considerable sum.

Lloyd had not particularly planned on spending money, so he intended to cover all the costs himself, especially since the reward for subjugating the Shadow Wolf had been far greater than expected, leaving him unsure how to use the surplus. However, Elena and Fran did not approve. The two of them did not want to owe Lloyd anything.

Regarding the renovation work, they had said it would be fine to gather funds first through their “Handyman” business. But there was no telling how long that would take. Besides, it would be Lloyd and Lusha doing the repairs anyway, so he wanted to proceed during their free time. So he proposed that Lloyd and Lusha would temporarily front the material costs, and once Elena and Fran had saved up enough money, they would repay them. Even then, Elena and Fran hesitated, but when Lloyd said, “It’ll make things easier for us that way,” they finally agreed.

With that settled, after procuring the materials, the four of them immediately went to the Barmasty Trading Company. It was to set up Elena and Fran’s “Handyman” business. A two-person team capable of handling a wide variety of magic had market value in itself. Elena could use barrier, analysis, attack, and tracking spells, among others. Fran wielded numerous holy spells—healing, enchantment, detoxification. In terms of the range of work they could take on, they might even surpass Lloyd and Lusha.

Emergency roof waterproofing, light treatment for the sick, unlocking storage barriers, searching for missing cats, dehumidifying storehouses. The requests introduced to Elena’s team were all modest, but the pay was steady and the turnover fast. Lively rumors grew regardless of whether they were in the shade or sun, and introductions from one client would likely bring the next. It did not seem that Elena and Fran would struggle to find work.

As for Lloyd and Lusha, after discussing it with Cron, they decided to suspend their business for a while. The story of the Shadow Wolf subjugation had spread too far, and their names and faces had become more well-known than necessary. If their only goal had been to make the “Handyman” business prosper, that would have been convenient. But for Lloyd and Lusha, that was not necessarily a good thing. They had to exercise the utmost caution to avoid drawing the Church’s attention.

That was where Elena and Fran came in.

While Lloyd and Lusha rested, the two-woman “Handyman” team would take center stage in town, letting rumors swirl and scatter. That way, if anything happened, traces of Lloyd and Lusha would thin out and disperse into the wind. Cron’s caution and crafty ingenuity as the “boy merchant” proved reliable at times like this. During the suspension, Lloyd and Lusha lived at the former site of Zaxon Village while gradually repairing Elena and Fran’s house. They decided each morning which section to fix that day, changed plans based on the midday wind, and reviewed the next day’s tasks depending on the evening humidity. It was that sort of rhythm.

Like when Lloyd and Lusha first began living here, if they had gone all out, it probably could have been repaired in one or two days. However, Lusha’s <RRepair> was not omnipotent, and above all, it left strain on her body. The sound of fibers being rewoven by magic was invisible to the eye, but fatigue would come someday, somewhere, as if settling accounts. It was better not to push her unnecessarily.

Of course, Lusha said she did not mind, but Lloyd stopped her. Since they never knew what might happen, he wanted her to avoid overusing her mana as much as possible. For now, Lloyd rebuilt the foundation firmly using nails and wedges, and only at the end would Lusha unify everything with <Repair Magic: Repair>. That was the method they decided on this time. Saving the magical mending for the finishing touches reduced overall distortion and lessened her burden as well. Killing two birds with one stone.

Until they saved enough money, Elena and Fran planned to stay at a cheap inn in Gluteridge. Lloyd had offered for them to stay at his place, but they declined, saying they could not trouble them that much. To them, Lloyd and Lusha were neighbors and work partners. Precisely because of that, they wanted to handle what they could by themselves. That was their will. If that was their resolve, Lloyd would not force the issue. Lloyd and Lusha, for their part, fully enjoyed their time together.

And so, after several days passed—

“Is this the last one?”

“Yes, it’s finished!”

With Lusha smoothing everything over with the finishing touch of <Repair>, the renovation of Elena’s house was finally complete. The knots in the beams and the subdued sheen of the reinforced floor were no inferior to those of an ordinary house. It was perfect. If anything, it might even be cleaner than their own.

“This time really tired us out, didn’t it?”

“There were actually quite a lot of places to fix.”

Since the house had more damaged and deteriorated areas than the one Lloyd and Lusha were currently living in, it had taken quite some time. Of course, part of that was because they had not pushed Lusha too hard. There had also been no need to finish everything in a single day like when they first arrived here. They had progressed at a leisurely pace, which made for a pleasant way to pass the time.

“But… now we don’t have anything left to do.”

“True.”

Lloyd and Lusha looked at each other and exchanged wry smiles.

That was right. Once they suspended their “Handyman” business, there was suddenly nothing to do in this abandoned village. It was not yet the season for planting seeds, and thanks to the barrier, no monsters appeared in the area. At most, the two of them could search for nuts and fruit, gather wild herbs, or Lloyd could practice his swordsmanship alone.

“Well… until those two come, let’s just take it easy.”

“Yes!”

The peaceful frontier life of the Black Swordsman and the White Saint continued leisurely once again today.

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