Chapter 88 Hiroya, Are You Buying a House？
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”By the way… how much does it cost to buy a house in this village?”
We’re walking to the new housing area on the south side of the village.
”I heard a typical 2-story house in the new area costs one gold coin.”
Kazumi, who is holding my hand on the right, answers casually.
”That’s about a million yen… that’s cheap.”
”Well, it’s the countryside. But if we all want to live together, it needs to be pretty big.”
Liz is wrapped around my left arm.
”Yeah. I’d like a house at least as big as mine, even if it’s not as big as Hiroya’s.”
…Ms. Kazumi, that’s a pretty big house, you know?
”So, that means it would cost about ten gold coins? Rena and the others probably haven’t saved that much, right?”
”Maybe around 6 gold coins? We’ve had a lot of expenses.”
Kazumi is in charge of managing our party’s finances. She’s the best with money.
”If you get married, it’ll be free, right? Hiroya, why don’t you just marry one of us?”
”No way, I’m a resident of this village, so that won’t work.”
”That rule is for ‘young couples moving to the village from elsewhere’.”
Liz gets shot down by Kazumi, who came up with the idea.
”…Then, why don’t you just marry me, Hiroya?”
”Oh, right… if one of us is from outside… wait!”
Kazumi almost agrees but suddenly glares at Liz.
”Hiroya’s future wife is me!”
”Of course!”
Liz sticks her tongue out with a wry smile.
”Big Sister Liz… can you switch with me now?”
Martina takes my left arm away from Liz.
”Aw, just a little longer…”
”No way! It’s my turn next.”
”…But Hiroya’s left side is supposed to be for Rena, his other childhood friend…”
…We need to think about how we’re walking together…
* * *
”Well, a house for about 5 gold coins seems reasonable.”
While talking with Kazumi, we can see the housing area. There are a few houses built, and many more are still under construction.
”By the way, Ares already called his fiancée, right? I wonder if he got a house too?”
He said he would introduce her, but I haven’t met her yet…
”I met her! She looks like a sweet beauty, but… she really wears the pants in that relationship. She’ll be a perfect wife for lazy Ares.”
Liz laughs as she says this.
”I heard they got the house at the very south end. You know, south of this area is the ranch area, right? She’s going to work there.”
”That’s right. Since she’s originally a nomad, she’s used to livestock.”
That makes sense.
”A ranch, huh? It would be a good place to keep Rena’s horses…”
”Yeah. That might be good for us too. Right now, we’re in a cramped stable.”
”It might be cheap since it’s on the edge of the village. It’s a good target.”
”But on the other hand, we’ll have to walk quite a bit to get to the village center. Shopping and going to the guild will be tough.”
We’ve walked to the southern end of the housing area. There are still only a few houses built. The only one that seems lived in is my house.
”Oh, that’s Ares’s house. Should we just drop by?”
”…Nah, let’s save that for another time. We shouldn’t just show up unannounced; it might bother his wife… wait, did he already get married?”
I haven’t heard anything about that. ──Ares hasn’t told me anything.
”Maybe he feels bad for bothering you because of me?”
”…I’m not bothered at all, Liz…”
Ares is being too sensitive.
”Hiroya! Look! That house under construction over there looks nice, right?”
Kazumi points to a spot further away. Hmm. It’s smaller than Kazumi’s house, but it’s still pretty big. It looks like it could easily fit 3 families.
”Kazumi, can you send a ‘Telepathy’ message to Dad? Ask if there are plans for that house under construction.”
”Leave it to me!”
* * *
”On the south side of the neighborhood, there’s only Ares’s house for now. They say the house being built doesn’t have anyone moving in yet. Apparently, they mainly build homes for families moving here with their parents and siblings, called ‘multi-family homes’.”
”Alright, everyone, what do you think about that house?”
”Yeah, it looks good.”
”Rena is happy it’s near the farm.”
”I’m fine with anything as long as I’m with Big Brother Hiroya and everyone.”
”The yard looks big too, so that’s nice.”
It seems like everyone mostly agrees.
”What about you, Hanna?”
Kazumi asked Hanna, who was looking at the house behind us.
”It looks like a lovely house. I think I can take care of everyone happily.”
”Okay, it’s decided! Now we need to negotiate with the lord! Hiroya, come with me. Everyone else, you can head back to the inn first.”
Kazumi grabbed my hand and ran off.
* * *
”You want to buy a house?”
My dad looked a bit surprised. I mean, it’s not every day that a soon-to-be 9-year-old and his childhood friend say they want to buy a house.
”Considering we could get 2 bigger rooms at the inn, I figured it would be cheaper in the long run to buy a house.”
Kazumi pushed on.
”Well, that’s true. Anyway, there will probably be a lot of young adventurers moving here, so having you two living nearby as seniors might be a nice benefit.”
”About the price…”
Kazumi leaned in, and Dad seemed a bit pressured.
”Since Hiroya and Kazumi are going to get married in the future, why not think of it as an early wedding gift?”
Ms. Stella, the head maid, said as she handed us tea. Wow, even my parents think Kazumi and I are getting married for sure.
”Well, it’s not that simple. That neighborhood is being built with the village’s budget.”
”…Cheapskate.”
”That’s not the point, Megumi…”
”Oh, I will pay properly.”
Kazumi said firmly.
”Oh, that’s good. Are you sure?”
”Yes. I can pay up to 3 gold coins without any problem. If it goes over that, I can pay a little each month.”
”…But the property is worth at least 5 gold coins…”
Dad hesitated, but Kazumi kept pushing.
”Location-wise, it’s pretty far from the village center, so it’s quite inconvenient. I’m also thinking about buying a horse or cart for shopping, so if you could give us a discount for that…”
”Mr. Shinji, you’ve lost. …Okay, Kazumi’s terms are fine.”
”But…”
”Besides, it’s you, Mr. Shinji, who’s making Hiroya and the others leave their room because Van is coming, right? That’s why everyone has to buy a house.”
”…That hurts to hear…”
”So, Mr. Shinji, you’ve lost. Now just speed up the construction and finish it quickly.”
Mom convinced Dad and winked at me and Kazumi.
”So, what will you do until the house is finished? Are you coming to our place?”
”If it’s within 2 weeks until it’s done, we’ll rent multiple rooms at the inn. If it takes longer… that would be a bit of a problem…”
Kazumi looked just like a businesswoman negotiating.
”Got it. We’ll figure something out within that time. …But you’re quite a solid wife…”
Even Dad looked a bit amazed. Kazumi turned to me and gave a peace sign.
* * *
”So, we’re moving in 2 weeks. Until then, we’ll have to rent another room here, so please bear with it.”
Back at the inn, I told everyone the news. Everyone was surprised that we bought it for 3 gold coins.
”Wow, Kazumi really is a ‘businesswoman.’ I could never do that.”
”Until then, we’ll have to stay in separate rooms…”
Liz is impressed, Martina looks sad.
”We’ll only be apart for 2 weeks. Besides, we have the big job of dungeon exploring coming up. We’ll be coming back to the inn less often.”
Kazumi said proudly.
”That’s true. I’ll leave things to Ms. Hanna, but Rena and the others will be busy from now on.”
”Yeah. Let’s take it easy today and tomorrow, and the day after is finally dungeon exploring.”
I need to do my best too.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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