Chapter 46

After thoroughly enjoying the Mochimochi fruit and exchanging some trivial conversation, the Demon King returned via teleportation.

There was still work to be done regarding the settlers, so he intended to spend more time here when he came back in five days.

It seemed that the Demon King found it hard to relax when there was work left, and he turned out to be unexpectedly serious.

The Itotsumugari ants also seemed to have their bellies fully swollen, and they were lounging with their abdomens about twice as large as usual.

"Did you get enough of the Mochimochi fruit?"

When I asked, the Itotsumugari ants nodded vigorously.

It's good to know that everyone got enough.

Next is the matter of the magic stones they were asking for.

"Reidia, I'm thinking of giving the Itotsumugari ants a few magic stones. Is that okay?"

"Yes, I think it's fine since we have plenty of savings. However, it would be a problem if we gave them to everyone."

"I'll keep it moderate."

I've let them eat plenty of Mochimochi fruit, and if I gave magic stones to everyone, we might run out.

I'll give them a few high-quality ones. I won't hand over all the magic stones without thinking, like I did before.

I reported this to Claire and Carmilla as well, and then I went home and took out about five high-quality magic stones from the storage room.

When I handed over the magic stones, the Itotsumugari ants bowed and took them back to their nest.

The other Itotsumugari ants, who had been lounging, also returned to their nest one after another.

They'll probably eat the magic stones slowly in their nest. It feels a bit like dessert, which is kind of nice.

I hope the Itotsumugari ants will keep up the good work at this rate.

After taking care of the Itotsumugari ants, we decided to prepare a place for the settlers to live.

There's an open space behind our house, but since it's too close to our home and the Mother Plant is there, we decided to build it a bit further away.

The settlers consist of five elves, two dwarves, and three demons.

According to the Demon King, there are no extremely tall individuals, so a standard house should be fine.

"First, I want to build a house for the elves. Is there any specific interior design that elves prefer?"

I asked Reidia, who knows a lot about elves.

"Elves tend to act in groups, so they might not be too particular about the interior. The main condition is a place rich in nature, but that shouldn't be a problem."

I see, then there's no need to worry too much.

Since they are used to group activities, I'll build a house like a two-story shared house to make it easy for them to communicate with others.

I visualized the image in my mind and used my ability.

The trees that grew from the ground intertwined in a complex way, forming a two-story wooden house.

"Is this good?"

"You can build a two-story house too?"

If I put my mind to it, I could build a three-story or even a four-story house. But there's no need to build something that big right now.

I opened the door of the completed house and went inside.

Since it was just built, there was no human scent, and the room was filled with the smell of wood.

Reidia took a deep breath and exhaled, looking relieved.

"Ah... This soft scent of wood. I think the elves will be happy."

"Really? That's good."

When I went up the entrance, there was a large living room and kitchen on the first floor, along with a toilet and a spacious bathroom.

"Since they will be living in a group, I made the living room spacious so they can gather and chat or have meals. The ceiling is high and open, and on the second floor, there are individual rooms for each person."

"This sounds fun. I almost want to live here myself."

As I introduced the living room, Reidia had very sparkling eyes.

I don't know if it's an elf's sensibility or Reidia's personal sensibility, but she seemed to really like it.

I can't say I don't have a desire to live in a shared house, but as someone who likes my family home, it's a bit of a shock.

"Don't take it so seriously. This house is so nice for the elves, that's all."

Did I look so obviously disappointed? Reidia smiled wryly and comforted me.

Yeah, that's true. Old Japanese houses are also nice. The simple feel is very calming.

After finishing the tour of the first floor, we went up the stairs to the second floor.

It's just a hallway with individual rooms, as I mentioned earlier.

The size and layout are almost the same.

I heard that five people will be coming, but they will probably have things they want to store, so I prepared ten rooms. They can use them as guest rooms or storage rooms as they please.

After checking the interior, Reidia nodded vigorously.

"Yep, this is perfect! If they complain about such a nice house, I'll give them a scolding!"

She has a point, but since they know it's a difficult land, I wanted to provide a good house as a welcome gesture.

But if Reidia, a High Elf, is this enthusiastic, it should be fine.

I felt more confident.

After building the elves' house with Reidia's supervision, the next was the dwarves' house.

I heard that their specific professions are blacksmiths and leatherworkers, so they will need workshops, not just houses.

"At least the blacksmith's workshop, which uses a furnace, can't be a wooden house."

It's a high-temperature environment. A wooden house would definitely catch fire and deteriorate quickly.

But we don't have the know-how to build anything else.

"Hmm, I can build a house using branches and leaves."

"Unfortunately, I don't have much knowledge about construction either..."

Consulting with Reidia and Claire, it seems they are not experts in construction.

What should we do? Should we process stones and build a stone house?

"Perhaps it's best to leave the construction of the workshop to the dwarves themselves and just provide them with a place to live. We can offer help when they need it."

"Indeed, it would be too difficult for amateurs to build it."

Following Claire's advice, we decided not to build the dwarves' workshops and only provide them with a place to live.

It wouldn't be good to build something that amateurs can't handle.

I built each dwarf a house where they could live alone, but with the idea of setting up workshops, I placed them a bit away from our house.

Blacksmithing will produce a lot of noise. To compensate, I also built a large warehouse where they could store many tools.

Since I built it with my ability, it can be easily dismantled, and if they don't like it, they can rebuild it themselves.

After finishing the dwarves' houses and the warehouse, the last was the demons' house.

There are three of them, but apparently, one of them is a female who can use teleportation magic and is a direct subordinate of the Demon King.

"Considering that she is a direct subordinate of the Demon King and can use teleportation magic, she must be of a certain status, right?"

To deepen ties with the Demon Kingdom and facilitate trade, she is an important person. I think it's best to be considerate.

"Definitely a noble. I think it's likely that a demon named Cecilia will come. If you prepare a comfortable house, she won't complain. The other two are probably attendants or related individuals."

Not complaining... Maybe she and I don't get along? I'm a bit curious, but asking about a woman's relationships might not be a good idea, so I'll refrain.

"It's not that we don't get along, so please don't worry."

"Oh, okay."

It seems she could see through my concerns. Women have a good intuition, which is scary.

"Still, a house for a noble... What should I do?"

"Since Hashira-sama is the leader here, please be careful not to make it too grand."

"Ah, so making it too grand is bad."

I thought about building a large mansion, but if I did, people might think the representative lives there.

"Is our current house too small?"

"It's not a problem in terms of living, but considering that more settlers will come in the future, it might be better to renovate and make it larger or build a separate large mansion."

If the leader lives in a modest house, it might be difficult for others to build large houses.

I haven't been in this position before, but now that I am, I realize there are many things to consider.

Eventually, I'll have to renovate or turn it into a vacation home.

"Still, what should I do?"

"I think it's enough to make it the same size as the elves' house and just change the interior."

It seems a bit casual, but if Claire says so, it should be fine. If they don't like it, I can rebuild it on the spot.

I decided to build a house the same size as the elves' house.

However, to avoid being seen as a shortcut, I made some changes to the exterior.

The interior is a bit larger, like a single-family home. The living room is spacious for a noble to relax, and the kitchen is separate.

"Ah, and I think Cecilia's room can be a bit smaller."

When I asked about the noble's room, Claire said this.

"Huh? Shouldn't we differentiate it from the attendants' rooms?"

"It's fine. She won't visit the attendants' rooms. Also, titles are not that important here. If she complains, you can mention Carmilla-sama."

"O-Okay, got it."

I nodded involuntarily at Claire's mysterious intensity.

Still, Claire... Did something happen with Cecilia in the past?