“Nghh…”

The intense light s.h.i.+nes dazzlingly through the curtain-less window gla.s.s .

With the thin blanket I brought, I can instantly feel the hard floor directly with my body .

If I’m going to buy a ready-made bed or mattress in town today, I’ll be fine .

While convincing myself, I gently stretched out my back and twisted my waist .

Uh, my neck hurts .

“………”

The morning sun is illuminating the room .

The room is clean but a little shabby .

There are many stains on the floor, walls, and ceiling . Especially the ceiling and floor, probably due to the roof leaks .

There is a bookshelf, but the bottom is rotten .

Table and chairs… as long as you can use it properly, it’s alright . And there is no decoration at all .

Well, they’re ma.s.s-produced products for the citizens .

Bed… Lana is still sleeping, but I can’t rest comfortably because of the sunlight .

She is as bold as ever .

Also, if you think of the bed she is using, you will be shocked .

And the kitchen… the furnace is old-fas.h.i.+oned and hard to use .

With the advice I received from enthusiastic Lana yesterday, I’m going to remake it . And the rest is a bath and restroom .

I get up and throw the blanket into the chair .

When I open the bath and restroom’s door in bright daylight, it looks narrower and dirtier than I imagined .

The bath is just a huge tub .

The restroom runs through a hole dug outside .

I heard the fertilizer company processing the filth, so we have the town managing it .

“………”

I scratch my head .

What? I often do it .

For today, I’m going to go through what we needed for living and looking for a bed .

The bed is urgently needed .

Also, curtains is on demand .

It was so intense I can’t sleep .

I also want a part.i.tion .

No, I’m not sure I won’t attack you when I saw your sleeping face .

And I’m terrible at sharing working s.p.a.ce with another human, isn’t it necessary to have personal s.p.a.ce?

There is a room, but it’s already reserved for a bath and restroom .

I can divide the room using the bookshelf, but if I do that with our current shelf, it will crumble down instead .

“Hahh…”

I have a lot of things to do .

Okay, let’s think about meals .

There are left-over bread, dried meat, and vegetables from yesterday . I can make soup .

Advertis.e.m.e.ntIf I had eggs, I could cook something a little more decent . I’ll buy a mattress and a chicken for now .

I have a little money left, but shopping is a necessity .

Come to think of it, are this cookware is already here or is it something from Carleigh nii-san?

The frying pan is weighty, and it will be hard for Lana to use it . If I can afford it, maybe I’ll buy a new frying pan?

I need tableware, cupboard, seasoning, food supply, and chicken . I don’t think we need a closet yet, maybe a clothes case .

There’s a water well outside, but I want a big water jug since what we had was small .

“………”

No, please don’t get excited .

“Hmm… Good morning, Fran . ”

“Good morning, Lana . The breakfast is prepared . ”

“Thank you~ I’ll wash my face . ”

“En . ”

Lana is up .

She yawned, and her hair is a mess; she hasn’t straightened it yet .

On her way out, she’s standing on her tiptoe and stretching her back .

Ah, the well is outside .

“………………”

Ha?

No?

Really?

Please don’t get excited .

What?

＊＊＊

Carleigh nii-san came as we finished our breakfast .

He gave us a brief explanation of the essential points related to our house and the water well and barn location .

Also, the roof leak is causing the stains on the ceiling .

The stain on the floor from the roof leak also causes rotting .

The similar thing goes for the bookshelf .

We can use the table, chairs, and cookware .

The bed is secondhand, but you still can use it .

“Will you go shopping in town today? I’ll give you a ride . ”

“Thank you . ”

“Whoa… it’s a wagon . It’s my first time…”

“Do you have many things to buy?”

“…”

When Lana heard it, she merely give a wry smile .

Sometimes she can make that kind of expression too .

I was worried when we would live as a commoner, but I don’t think I need to fret about it?

Well, everything is excellent for the moment .

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“Nii-san, is there any doctor or physician in [Exy Town]?”

“Of course . There is a skilled doctor . They came from [Enju Town] . ”

“Mhmm . Please introduce us . ”

“Sure, I’ll introduce you later . As expected, Fran is reliable . ”

“If you are busy settling down, you can get sick easily…”

The way Lana looks at the wagon is full of curiosity .

Right now, I feel calm and composed, but my life has changed dramatically .

It’s a wonder that I don’t get sick .

When I thought about it, I’m surprised by our high ability to adapt, and hope I’m not going crazy over this .

Remembering how the prime minister weeping face, he must have wanted to make us bring one maid .

Even if we have one, I don’t think I will be able to pay their salary, and it will only increase our food cost .

After all of that, the prime minister didn’t ask us to bring a maid .

The regular liaison will come soon, and I wonder who will come .

“Hmpf . ”

“Eh? What?”

“No, that’s right . It was a matter of course… the lady is a good influence for you, right?”

“Yeah, but it’s not your business . Please get inside the wagon . ”

“Oof, excuse me . No, no, ahahahahaha! I’m so embara.s.sed~!”

“Seriously, I’m worried about this . ”

Urging nii-san to ride the wagon was annoying enough, he quietly followed the instruction after teasing me .

You can tell they haven’t maintained the road when you can feel the carriage shaking .

“Hyaa!”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine… it’s not shaking this much in Lucy’s back!”

“It’s probably better to keep silent . ”

“…………”

Every time Lucy takes a step on the stone, the back jump up and down .

For a woman who didn’t weigh much like Lana, it will be tough because when she jump up, her b.u.t.t floats for a moment .

And this will last for twenty minutes before we reach for 「Exy Town」 .

“We’re here . I think the last time we’re here you explained it already, would you mind to go over it again?”

“Eh- no, I usually remember . ”

“Eh? What is it?”

“Inside the town . Come to think of it, Lana didn’t hear much about it, did she?”

She’s feeling exhausted from riding a horse for the first time .

Hungry and drowsy?

“Uuu . . r-right . Please explain it again if you don’t mind . ”

“Is that so? Still, isn’t it risky for a woman to be alone?”

“Ah- no… but there’s something that a woman needs to buy alone, right?”

“Right, there’s that . This was rude of me . Then, I’ll give a simple explanation . Long ago, 「Exy Town」 was a  town inside the fortress . You still can see the traces of the remaining wall . ”

“! Eh, but I’m certain that ranch too…”

“Everything from the ranch to this area was a fort . However, it was wrecked in the battle between the guardian dragons and blown away by the tornado . ”

“… . . !!!”

Well, I don’t know what’s going down .

But throughout the continent, many anecdotes are remaining scattered all over the world about the legend of guardian dragon .

The whole fortress is a familiar story in this town .

“There is many forestry around here because the location is close to the forest . And there seems to be a lot of woodworking and carpenters too . Etto, that’s the main street . Since the market is open once a month, the townspeople didn’t have a lot to stock . At the beginning of autumn, they held a festival called 「Ouichi」 . You can look forward to it . There’s also stores, but it’s relatively expensive . I think you guys are more familiar with it . And like I said earlier, there’s woodworking and carpenter’s shop . You can visit them if you want to fix your floor or ceiling . If you give our name as a referral, they will be more accommodating . The rest are…”

…Um, so where can I buy a mattress?

Is it on the main street?

Or I should go to the woodworker’s shop?

Where do you want to go?

But I want a curtain too~ .

I wonder if we can complete this in a day?

“Carleigh nii-san, can we divide the work? Lana and I need to get our daily necessities together . ”

“I don’t mind . But what should I get for you?”

“Nii-san, can you help with the food supply? I’d like you to get plenty of preserved food . ”

“Wow, that’s a good idea! Nice! Let’s buy a lot!”

“………”

Lana looks at my banter with nii-san with a blank face .

It’s good we divided the work so we can be more efficient .

Let’s park the wagon here — first, a mattress, and a curtain .

“Eh? What?”

“N-no… something like this is a plot twist…”

“Ah, people in this country are like that . ”

“Eh? Really?”

It’s strange because each country has its own characteristics .

Well, in 「a.r.s.egios」 the n.o.ble and the citizen are quiet . And there were those guys who tried to pull each other’s leg in compet.i.tion .

“………”

Ah, Lana .

That country was a h.e.l.lish place .

Trying to b.u.t.ter up someone above your rank and treating someone below you as a p.a.w.n .

The n.o.bles’ view of the commoners is close to slaves .

I’m sure you don’t know what kind of situation the people of that country are living in .

I don’t know if this is a good thing or bad thing… the current King .

If that fool Alfred ascended the throne, 「a.r.s.egios」 would be in shambles, wouldn’t it?

Miss Rifana probably doesn’t receive the queen’s education . After those two people get married it will be a turning point for the throne .

“Fran?”

Open your eyes .

Oh, well… isn’t it okay?

If we are unneeded, we are still going to do our best .

You kicked me out just because you can do it, didn’t you? Alfred .

“Nothing . Let’s find the mattress first . ”

“Ah… ah, un . That’s important . ”

“I know, right?”

Are? No objection about sleeping separately?

…It’s fine .

It’s still a long way to go for us to be a real 「Couple」 .

Wait, can we be a 「Couple」 in the first place?

…mm, I’ll do my best~ .

I think of every essential thing we might need .

I went looking around the shop, and while greeting the shopkeeper I asked what are they selling, I bought what we needed .

Thanks to that, my wallet is empty~ .

“I’ll have to work hard and earn more money!”

“Mhmm . The cost of repairing the ceiling and the floor was particularly expensive . ”

“It can’t be helped . It’s for our safety . ”

“I know . ”

Tomorrow a carpenter in charge of the restoration will come .

The people who do the abandoned ranch maintenance gave a month estimation time, and they had already said this was necessary .

We are grateful, but it was costly .

Spending 50 silver coins for the restoration are a pain in the a.r.s.e .

But I don’t want the floor and the ceiling to fall .

“The rest are farming types of equipment… it’s old, but I’m glad we purchase it . If we make a field and cultivate our vegetables with this, we can be self-sufficient!”

“Why are you so happy?”