บท 29: House Building

I would always find it funny when Licia and Claire commented about how soft the bed in my bedroom was. But right now I can't help but feel like they were absolutely right.

Yesterday we ran some tests about my inability to leave the Kingdom, and to my surprise, that only applied to me. The girls maintained the same restriction as always, needing my permission to leave once inside, but they could request to go anywhere with no restrictions. As long as I gave permission they would find themselves wherever they wanted to go. Albeit convenient, this was also a bit lonely since for the first time in several days I'd spent the night away from them.

Since it seems like I'll be traveling between the event and the kingdom for some time, I made the decision to spend the points from the kingdom menu in a house, it was not really needed, but I think it would eventually be useful anyway, and to be honest, I really wanted a bit more comfort than what was currently available in this place.

In the buildings menu, I opened the house section where I could see a small list, with the first item being "Earth", inside it, there were the name of a bunch of medieval kingdoms and tribes, which I only know because I could recognize some names, although there were quite a few that I'm certain come from civilizations that do not exist anymore. I was able to quickly grasp what this entails. As if in a building simulator, I could decide on the design of the house, following the architecture of any civilization in my world. Since the costs for this small house didn't change, it was safe to assume that their size and the furniture would be the same, only changing the design to match whatever civilization was chosen. Since I don't really care nor know too much about these ancient houses, I was willing to go with whatever.

But before that, I wanted to take a quick look at the second item on the list. Under "Earth" there was another item called "Szyla". And upon opening it, there was only one option for the design of the house, the one from the Snow White Wolves Tribe.

Of course, this made me extremely intrigued, so I went for it. I had seen some houses when I was being escorted towards the prison by Melissa, but obviously, I couldn't take a look inside, so curiosity got the better of me and I decided to go for it.

My first impression was quite good, although called a small house, it was at the size where someone could live comfortably, the only restraining factor was the presence of only two bedrooms, which would be no issue if you decided to share it with someone else, as there was enough space for an extra bed in each room. It would become a bit cramped for two families, but it would be doable I think... The house itself was even slightly bigger than my own, and when inside, due to not having as much furniture, felt even bigger.

For now this was what I could call my castle I guess. Yeah, quite small for a mansion, much less a castle, but I had no need for anything really big. What I had need for, this house already offered, two floors, the first one with a small living room and kitchen, while the second had two bedrooms. The only thing lack was a bathroom but...

As long as the girls weren't here, I could just do my business outside and then burn it with magic to hide any evidence.

So overall, I had made a somewhat safe and comfortable base of operations inside the Kingdom. I still valued my home on Earth more though so I sent my two strongest warriors to defend it for the time being.

But well, now that it's all said and done, I'm rethinking that "comfortable base" idea that I had in mind. The bed in this place is horrendous and I feel like I slept in a rock. Waking up without the visage of the girls by my side is also a negative... I guess you really don't know the true value of something until you lose it huh?

Even then, there was nothing to be done given that I was forced into this situation. I'll just be glad for now that I at least had a place to sleep, and the girls even fetched a pillow for me which made things better if only a little.

While on the topic of the girls bringing me the things I need, Licia had to prepare today's breakfast since I have no idea how to use the kitchen in this place. While she seemed happy to be of use after being left off from the events of yesterday, Claire seemed more amused at seeing our roles swapped as I was having trouble dealing with the cultural and technological differences of a medieval home and my place back on Earth. I guess this is karma for provoking and laughing at their reactions all this time...

Licia: "Are you sure you'll go back to that place?"

Miwen: "Yes, I need to keep advancing the event one way or another, or else I might be stuck in here for two years at the very least..."

Claire: "She might kill you on sight you know? I certainly would do so if I thought my prisoner had a teleporting ability."

Miwen: "I gave her a few reasons to keep me alive for now. And she seems reasonable, as long as I maintain myself as someone friendly and helpful, I doubt she'll try to harm me..."

Claire: "So by friendly and helpful you mean this...?"

She points at some arrows and rings scattered around. Almost everything I got from the [Mana Banners] and for now, junk that was collecting dust back at home. Although If we had an archer that would be useful actually...

Miwen: "Gifts are a good way of swaying people you know?"

Claire: "I'd be offended if someone showed up at my father's mansion with something like this as a gift."

I guess as a duke's daughter Claire must have received lots of gifts and proposals during her lifetime, so her standard is quite high.

Licia: "Normally that might be the case, but since this is a war we are talking about, I guess every little thing counts. I doubt she'd be offended by this, even more so if it's just an appetizer, right?"

Miwen: "That's what I'm hoping for. But I'll take Claire's opinion into consideration. Once inside the Event, I'll hold the menu for the Kingdom open so I can quickly escape if Melissa gets the wrong idea."

Licia: "You should do that anyway. At all times even."

It's reassuring to have Licia defend my actions, but I also see Claire's point, even if she says it in a roundabout way. Royalty often thinks too highly of themselves and might actually get offended by a gift if they deem it lesser than their worth. In the case of someone as strong as Melissa, I'd be finished in the blink of an eye if that were the case. But since for now she didn't strike me as someone who'd do that, I'm betting on her seeing the intention behind my actions, instead of only looking at the plain value. Just to be extra safe though, I use the Quiver Of Duplication to make a bunch more arrows.

And with these gifts in hand, I hope Melissa at least hears me out for a bit.