Chapter 23

The next morning.

"Garai, can you help me build a house?"

"………"

Garai's expression froze at my sudden request.

We were outside the house I shared with Mawru and Meala, eating breakfast outdoors just like we did for dinner yesterday.

"Mako, you're building a house!?"

Mawru exclaimed in surprise, and I nodded.

"Yeah, if Garai can help me."

"Building a house all of a sudden…?"

Garai scratched his head, clearly perplexed.

"This house has become too small for all of us, so I want to build a new one. This location is on the outskirts of the village, with plenty of surrounding land. It won't bother anyone else, and I've already gotten permission from the villagers to use this land."

I looked Garai straight in the eye as I spoke.

"I was thinking of building a new house here. Oh, it doesn't have to be anything fancy, just a simple structure."

"…Do you have any experience building houses?"

"Yes."

My immediate answer surprised Garai. Mawru and Meala were also surprised.

Oops, I might be causing a misunderstanding. I quickly corrected myself.

"No, I mean, just at the level of a shed. But I used the experience I gained then to draw up plans overnight."

I showed them the house design I had worked on all night, using a ruler I had alchemically created.

"Wow, amazing!"

"Mako, can you really build it like this?"

Mawru was excited, and Meala asked calmly as they looked through the stack of papers detailing the completed house, required materials, and construction processes. Garai also took the plans and began to read through them.

"I think it will work if Garai helps me."

"………"

"It might take more than a day or two, but can you help me?"

I asked earnestly.

The idea of rebuilding a house came up on the same day I met Garai, a valuable resource. I couldn't let this opportunity slip away.

Garai read through the plans thoroughly—then, after a few seconds of contemplation, he spoke clearly.

"…Alright, I'll help."

"Thank you! Since we're done with breakfast, let's get started!"

"Ah, what should we do first?"

"We'll help too!"

"Mako, Garai, let us know if there's anything we can do."

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

"Alright, let's start with gathering the wood."

So, the construction project began with me as the site supervisor, Garai as the main worker, and Mawru and Meala as support staff.

First, we needed to secure the wood.

The trees would come from the forest. Since the current house was also built using wood from that forest, there shouldn't be any issues.

This task would likely be the most challenging, as we needed to cut down a tremendous amount of wood to gather the required materials.

"We have an axe at Mawru and Meala's house, but I'll prepare a larger one for Garai."

"Prepare? Where are you going to buy it?"

In front of Garai, who looked puzzled, I used my magic to alchemically create a massive axe blade, which fell to the ground with a thud.

"Attach a wooden handle, and it should be usable."

"…Impressive, can you use magic?"

Garai was amazed by the axe blade I had alchemically created.

However, I might have made it a bit too large. I had imagined a battle axe like the ones I saw at a home center in America during a company training trip.

Incidentally, the standards in American home centers are quite different from Japan's, and they even sell shotguns (depending on the state).

It was quite heavy, and Mawru and Meala struggled to lift it, grunting "Ugh!" and "Hmm!"

"Umm… if it's too heavy, maybe we should make it a bit lighter—"

"No."

Garai instantly grabbed the thick edge of the blade and lifted it effortlessly.

"We'll be cutting down dozens of trees. This size is just right."

"Amazing…"

In front of our speechless eyes, Garai attached the handle to the blade and began cutting down trees.

The scene that followed was incredible.

With just a few swings of the axe, massive trees fell one after another.

He chopped them down, stripped the branches and bark, and carried them to the village.

I had thought this task alone would take a whole day, but it was done in about an hour.

"Amazing…"

"What's next?"

"Ah, well…"

I was excited by his efficiency—no, it was beyond efficiency.

"Next, we need to make the lumber."

I handed Garai the alchemically created saw blade—also American-sized—and explained the process of turning the felled logs into lumber.

We needed to create multiple pieces of lumber for the foundation, columns, beams, and rafters, all pre-calculated to the correct sizes.

Garai, who had wrapped the handle of the saw with cloth to make it easier to grip, responded with a "Got it" and quickly began cutting the necessary pieces.

"How's it looking?"

"…It's wonderful."

I was slightly taken aback.

No, it was genuinely impressive.

Sure, it was handcrafted, so it wasn't as precise as machine-made lumber. There were some uneven spots.

But in this era, without any machinery, to be able to create such pieces by hand was truly remarkable.

A sense of excitement welled up inside me.

What was this feeling…? Working with this person was fun!

"Garai! Next, let's start the actual construction. First, we need to level the ground!"

…But before that.

The wood we had cut was still green.

To use it as building material, it needed to be dried.

However, natural drying would take a long time, and we didn't have the facilities for artificial drying.

"So, I need your help… Is that okay?"

"Yes, of course, Mako-sama."

Orkidea, standing in front of the prepared wood, answered cheerfully.

She placed her hands on the wood and traced its surface.

Light rose from the surface of the wood, was absorbed into her body, and then dispersed into the air.

She was absorbing the life force from the wood, which then dried out and lost its moisture, transforming into dry wood.

"Sorry, Orkidea."

I apologized, even though I had already gotten her consent.

This act, from her perspective as an Alraune, might be like taking the life of a plant, a relative of hers, I thought.

"No, Mako-sama, don't worry."

However, Orkidea smiled and replied.

"Plants are used for food, animal feed, and as the foundation of life. When animals die, they decompose in the wild and become the source of new plants. Life is a cycle, supporting others and being supported in return… So, please use it carefully."

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

I gave instructions to Garai, who was using his own knife to smooth out the lumber.

We headed to the construction site and used logs to level the ground.

Of course, the foundation needed to be level.

Since there were no levels in this era, I made a makeshift one.

I drew a horizontal line on the surface of a glass cup using a marker from my tool bag and filled it with colored water extracted from flower petals.

"If the water level is tilted when viewed from the side, it's not level."

"…I see, impressive."

I gave Mawru and Meala simple tasks—cleaning up wood chips, passing tools, and handing over nails and metal brackets I alchemically created as needed.

Both seemed to trust Garai and obediently helped.

Time passed surprisingly quickly.

We laid the foundation, set the columns, installed the beams, added the floor, and placed the intermediate columns.

We then added the ridge beam, rafters, and purlins.

"It's done."

"…Wow."

It was already midnight.

The villagers, including the tired Mawru and Meala, were asleep.

In front of the torchlight, I was moved to tears.

Before us stood the complete framework of a house.

We had actually built a house… We really did it…

"Garai! Let's finish it by morning! I can't wait!"

"Ah, okay."

Encouraged by my high spirits, Garai reluctantly agreed.

From there, we began attaching the finer details, such as the front door.

However, I wanted to create something good, so I used alchemy to create something.

"What is it?"

"Galvanized steel sheets!"

I alchemically created metal roofing materials.

They were rust-resistant, strong, and could withstand the previous storm—galvanized steel sheets.

"Let's install these on the roof. And—"

I then alchemically created the wall materials.

I produced multiple long rectangular metal sheets.

"These are metal sidings. They can be installed like a puzzle, fitting together easily, making the construction process simple. Normally, they have insulation, but I can only create the metal, so they'll just serve as a cosmetic layer, but they should look good."

"Got it."

Thus, Garai and I worked on the house all night, pouring our energy and enthusiasm into it—until our strength and spirits finally waned.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

…And the next early morning.

"……"

"……"

"…Meala, is this a dream?"

"……(squeezing her cheek)"

"Ouch! …It's not a dream."

"It's not a dream…."

Mawru and Meala, who had just woken up, were speechless at the sight.

Garai and I, standing before them, were also speechless, even though we had built it ourselves.

In the middle of the village of beast people, a beautiful house had been completed.

"…We did it."

I shuddered at the realization of what we had done.

We had built a modern house in a fantasy world.

To be honest, it was just a house built by a former home center employee with whatever knowledge I had, so there might be some missing elements.

However, with the metal angles, roof, and wall materials I had alchemically created, the house was likely very strong.

Regardless, it was done, and there was no changing it.

"Ah, Mawru, Meala, good morning."

"Mako! It's amazing, it's like magic!"

"To build such a large house in just one day…."

Mawru and Meala ran over, excited.

We immediately opened the door and went inside the house.

"It's so spacious!"

The house, without any interior decoration, was quite large.

It was several times bigger than our previous house.

With this, we could comfortably live with Entia as well.

"The interior isn't finished yet, so let's gradually move furniture from the old house and set it up."

"Wow! It's amazing, sis! It's so spacious~"

Entia also came in and started jumping around inside the house.

"Hey, hey, calm down."

"Hehe, now I can stretch out fully."

Entia lay down on the floor, completely at home.

"Here, sis. You can pet me. You must be tired from working all night, right?"

"Right! Mako, you should rest! You were building the house from last night until this morning, right?"

"Eh? Yeah, but I'm not really tired because I was so hyped up."

I turned to look at Garai.

I had been so engrossed in the fun that I had forgotten the time.

…How was it for Garai?

"Sorry, Garai. I kept you up all night."

"No, it's fine…"

"Leave the cleanup to us. You should rest. Ah, look, you can sleep on Entia. It's very comfortable."

"Hmm, normally only sis and the boys are allowed, but since you did a great job, you can rest on me."

Entia, though acting superior, gave her permission. Incidentally, Mawru and Meala were already snoring on top of Entia, as it was still early in the morning.

"No, I—"

However, Garai glanced at Entia and the others, his voice lowering hesitantly.

"…I'll clean up. You should rest."

He said, opened the door, and left.

"Ah…."

As the morning light broke, I regained some composure.

Right, he was a wanderer we had rescued from the forest a few days ago.

He was polite and honest, wanting to repay the favor, but he kept his distance, not wanting to get too involved.

Now that the house was built, he might be planning to leave the village soon.

"…."

I turned to look at Mawru and Meala, who were snoring on top of Entia.

"Umm… Mako, Garai, breakfast…"

"Let's go on a picnic with all four of us… and Entia…"

I could hear quite specific sleep-talking from their snores.

They must be having happy dreams.

I smiled and went outside, where I saw Garai standing, looking at the rising sun.

"…Garai… Can I call you Garai?"

"……"

Garai's eyes widened in surprise but he didn't reject it.

"What happened to the guild you belonged to?"

"……"

He remained silent.

Clearly, there were some issues, and he might not want to reveal his inner thoughts.

"Garai, I don't know what happened to you or how you ended up here—"

But I spoke honestly.

(…'If you can't say you're lonely when you're lonely, you'll become a king who doesn't understand people's pain'… Sogo…)

The importance of being honest with people, something I learned from Tokiwa Sogo, the protagonist of Kamen Rider Geow.

I recalled this and spoke.

"But there's still a lot I need help with, and I want you to stay in the village a bit longer."

"……"

"If you leave the village and end up wandering again, I'll be worried."

I spoke my true feelings without reservation.

In response, Garai—

"Mako"

He averted his gaze but spoke.

"…Building the house with you… I had fun, I lost track of time."

"Me too."

"…If you want me to…"

"I do."

Garai scratched his head, looking uncomfortable.

And so, our village gained another reliable companion.