265 - - Episode 263. The Uncovering of the Case

I asked Sylphy to scout for a spirit to take charge of the dining hall and the general store, and Dine and Nomos and I decided to build a dining hall, a general store, an inn for children, and a money exchange to make an emergency situation better.

"Next is the general store, the children's hostel, and the money changer. Which one do we build first?

Well, it doesn't make much difference which one I build first. Yuta choose.

He's talking to me now, and he's in a better mood, but he's still sulking because of what he said to ...... Dine. Nomos's lack of taste in architecture may be his kryptonite.

"Well, let's start with the general store. Tell me where it is."

Next to the cafeteria. We are going to have a lot of stores here.

Dene proudly tells me. It's going to be like a shopping district. I like the atmosphere of a shopping street, but I doubt if there will be that many stores. Spirits don't want much, so what are they going to sell?　...... Let's just make sure the bars don't get overrun.

Okay, then build a general store next door. The interior should be the same as the cafeteria.

What will it look like?

Why are they asking me about the village of spirits?　Is it because I'm the one who knows the most about ...... stores?　Spirits don't shop.

It is difficult to differentiate between a general store or a ...... shop, because it does not have a distinctive sign like in Japan, and it is difficult to differentiate the building. It is difficult to differentiate the building from the others. However, in the case of a general store, it is not good to have the sunlight directly hit the products.

"You can use a similar building in terms of shape, but make the glass part smaller so that direct sunlight won't shine into the store. I'll leave the sand out here."

"Hm, okay."

Nomos waves his right hand, and the earth rises and the building, smaller than the cafeteria, is completed. It's still amazing. If he had any architectural sense at all, I'd have him recreate one of the world heritage sites on earth.

Well, there is no use in asking for something you don't have. The exterior of the general store is hardened like ceramics just like the cafeteria, and the windows are placed small on each side. That way, I can avoid direct sunlight if I think about where to put the goods.

Yes, it looks good like this. Next to the money exchange, okay?"

"Well, ...... Yuta, which do you think is better, lining them up side by side or making a road and building stores on the other side?"

"Are you going to build a children's lodge in this location as well?"

"That's the plan, but why?"

Deane asks with a puzzled look on her face. ...... I think an inn should be in a quiet place, a little far from the center of the city, but maybe the spirits prefer a more lively place.

"Wouldn't you like to relax in an inn if the surroundings are noisy?　If we were to build a little further away, there would be three houses in this location, so I thought it would be unbalanced to divide them across the street."

"Well, I don't know.　What do you think, Nomos-chan?"

"Hmmm......... I'm sure the noise won't bother you too much, but when the bar is built, it will be a hassle to have the children's hostel nearby. We'll build it far away from here."

Nomos is refreshingly self-possessed. Deanne nods her head in agreement, and it seems that they are going to avoid having a drink near the children's hostel.

"Well then, we'll make a road after we have more stores, so why don't we make three stores side by side this time?"

Yes, that would be fine. Then let's build a money exchange office. The shape should be the same as the general store, right?

Hmmm, well, if we make a sign, it will be easy to tell them apart. But it would be better if we could distinguish them a little otherwise as well.

"The general shape is the same, but can't you round off the corners of the building for the money changer to give it a softer look?"

That's easy enough. Then let's make it.

Again Nomos waved his right hand, and a similar building was completed next to the general store. But the rounded corners make the building look quite different. This should make it a little easier to tell them apart.

"Now the outside of the cafeteria, the general store, and the money changer are completed. Next is the children's hostel. You decide where."

"Hm, Dine, where will it be?"

Nomos turned to Dine. You don't want to think too much when there are children involved. Well, they made a quick decision to move the inn away from the center of the city.

"Hmmm...well... As for you, I think it would be lonely for you to be too far away from the inn, so I'm thinking that the next block or so would be fine, within the area you had surrounded with rocks before.　We were originally going to build a house in that area, weren't we?"

"Yes. If we build houses around them, the spirits that live there will take care of the children on their own. It is decided. The house was originally going to be built on the south side of the center. Yuta, let's go.

It was an easy decision. I don't know if it's appropriate to build a village of spirits, but since the original plan was to build it after the brewery was settled, Nomos and the others must have been unprepared for it.

Well, with the help of Nomos and the others, they will be able to fix what they don't like in no time, so it's not a problem. We move to the south from the center and decide where to build the children's hostel.

"If we are going to build a children's hostel here, think about what it should look like.

Nomos throws me a bone. Before I know it, I'm in control of the building. He's definitely rooting for me. Nomos seems to have stopped thinking about the building.

"...... Sylphy told me to make a big room and put beds in it. But there are going to be a lot of kids materializing and frolicking, so it better be big enough for them to run around in.

"Yes, indeed. We can put ten beds in there, can't we?

"Yeah, that's about all we have now."

They are straw beds, so we could have had a few more if we wanted to, but we can't handle too many people coming. They will start with about ten beds at first, and when they get used to it, they will add more inns. Since the belles sleep in a group in one bed, even ten beds could accommodate a good number of people.

"Then it's a matter of space for beds and room to frolic. Then the size of the room is ...... Yuta, get out the sand.

"Yes, sir."

As I put out the sand, Nomos waves his right arm and builds a children's lodge. This is the fifth time he's done this today. I may have never seen Nomos use magic this many times in a row.

I look at the finished building and think ...... what about this?　Should I be tweaking it?

The building's completeness is not a problem. There is nothing wrong with it, but the inn has rounded corners and the luster of the building is a little shinier than the other buildings.

Above all, the inns have windows scattered all over the place and in various shapes. Circles, triangles, squares, stars, trapezoids, octagons...just by looking at the front page from here ......, it is obvious that a lot of effort has been put into the design of this building. I want to poke it, I want to poke it hard. While I was puzzled, a smiling Dine approached me.

（I know what you're thinking, Yuta-chan. But leave him alone. Nomos-chan is not so honest, she'll get upset if I tell her.)

I'm in a petit panic at .......

（Dene, nomos don't like children, do they?)

（No, I love kids.)

(...... What often disappears when children gather?)

(You're embarrassed.)

Tsundere?　Nomos, are you a tsundere?　Huh?　When I talked to Nomos before, I thought maybe he's been through something in his past and we should just let it go. I thought that he must have gone through something painful in the past that I never imagined. ...... Is that atmosphere just a tsundere?　What's that?

Gently I check Nomos' condition, his face looks the same as usual, with a slight air of contentment. Perhaps he is imagining a scene of children staying at an inn?　It's kind of a hassle. It's endlessly troublesome, nomos.

（Hey, Dine. Should I be the one to bridge the gap between Nomos and the army of little kids?)

（Hmmm, better not to do that. Nomos is shy and stubborn. It won't end well.)

(...... okay)

That would seem to suggest that he was thinking of the children and not of himself when he left the children's inn for a little while this time. I wish I didn't know that. I don't know how to talk to Nomos anymore.

"Well, the outside is all finished, now we just have to wait for Sylphy to bring the spirits. I'm a little tired so I'm going home to rest, what about Dine and Nomos?"

For now, I'd like to go home and get myself together. Let's have a nice cup of coffee and rest until Sylphy comes back.

"You haven't moved at all today, have you? What's wrong with you?"

......I'm in perfect physical condition. It's just that the mental damage was too much.

"It's just exhaustion. So what are you two going to do?"

"Well, I'll go to the brewery until Sylphy comes back.

"I'm going to the brewery with Nomos and my sister.

"Okay, I'll see you later."

I leave them and go back to my house. Don't tell anyone that I took a quick peek at the site where the plaza is to be built on the way home.

*****

"Yoo-tah, Shilfi came back!"

After dinner, we were relaxing in the living room when Belle informed us of Sylphy's return.

"Thank you, Belle."

I hugged Belle, who jumped into my arms, and petted her while thanking her. But it took quite a long time for Sylphy to come back. It is possible that she was not easy to find, or that the scouts took a long time to find her.

"Master, if new spirits are coming, we should welcome them too, right?

Gina calls out to me. ...... little army + Gina will be visiting the village of spirits, so the sooner we meet them, the better.

"Yes. We should all welcome them."

Everyone in the living room heads outside.

"Over there."

He looks in the direction Bell points. I have night vision, so I can see some things in the dark, but I can't find even a shadow. Bell's range of search is as wide as ever.

After waiting for a while, I finally see the shadow. There are six shadows,...... one of them is Sylphie, and there seems to be a lot of people, but it seems that we were able to scout out the spirits.

Hey, Master, the spirit who is coming now is going to make a show, right?　Can we come and play, too?"

Marco asks happily. He is happy that there will be a store in paradise. Marco has become more proactive lately, going shopping even in the labyrinth city.

"Yeah, going out for fun is no problem. But I'm sure you'll be busy preparing for the opening of the store for a while, so let's all go together after things settle down."

The little army + Gina nodded happily. The establishment of a village of spirits is going to be good for us too.