No, I've heard that inspirational sauce is good, but seriously, how good is it?

Really. I honestly can't believe that they could make that sauce with just a little bit of effort.

After returning to the Bear Pavilion, Haruka cleansed us, and we changed into our loungewear, we were chatting in front of the jar of sauce we brought back.

You're fighting the efforts of the sauce maker, aren't you? --I don't know much about it.

I don't know the details, but I'm sure they spend a lot of time researching and making okonomiyaki sauce and Worcestershire sauce.

But thanks to this sauce, I'm sure my meals will be much better.

Seriously, that's it! The fact that Nao went to Aella's store is the greatest fine play in this world, I promise!

Don't say that so forcefully. --I can't deny it.

I have to admit, I was almost despairing of this world's cuisine because the first thing we ate was that dish from Sahlstat, but I guess some things are better than others.

No, no, the majority of the food is not good, so you can't be too careful. Eighty percent of the food I've eaten in this city has been at a level I never want to eat again.

I don't eat out that many times, but aside from this inn, the only place I would go back to is that fancy coffee shop. I don't think I'll ever go back to that restaurant now that I know about Aella's restaurant.

But even if we use the sauce, it's useless unless we cook it ourselves. How's the house, Haruka?

Haruka, what about the house?" "Well, my teaching is over for today, and they're going to show me some potential ones tomorrow. Let's all go take a look.

I'm so excited. It's so exciting to see our own house.

If we're going to do this, we'd like to build the house we like, but is that something we can look forward to in the future?

No, no, no, at our age we can't possibly build a new house. You don't have ......, do you?

Maybe in the country. I'm an adult, after all.

You do? That's great.

We can't even say ....... Considering that a week or so ago we had about 10 million yen.

But since it was easily blown away when we bought equipment, we'll probably never be able to realistically afford it as long as we continue to be adventurers.

I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to afford it again. Have you finished everything?

Yes, yes! Wait a minute.

And then Toya brought out a metal plate and stick?

That's not a shield .......

A shovel?

Whoa! Yuki, you're right! It's a portable shovel.

"It's a portable shovel," Toya said, and inserted the stick he was holding into the metal plate, which indeed became a shovel.

I really wanted to make a collapsible one like the ones used by the Self-Defense Forces, but it was technically impossible, so I made an assembled one. I heard that the old Japanese army used one of these.

I took a look at it, which I had received from Toya.

The metal part is only about the size of a book, but there is a place to put your feet on it, which seems to be useful for digging holes.

The tip of the shovel seems to be well forged and sturdy, but it is an ordinary shovel with nothing worth mentioning except for the handle.

Did this become a handout? I thought you went to get Tommy an apprenticeship.

Toya must have judged that it was safe to introduce Tommy, considering his diligent work over the past few days and his character in the original world, but from Mr. Ganz's point of view, he was just a person brought in by one of his customers.

But from Gantz's point of view, he was just a person brought in by one of his customers. Isn't making a mere shovel a weak hand?

No, no, no, no. Shovels are pretty awesome, you know? Some people even say that it is the most common personal weapon to kill people.

But that has nothing to do with it.

It's true that Mr. Gantz mainly focuses on weapons and armor, but I'm sure he didn't market the shovel as a weapon.

Of course, as a tool for digging holes, right?

Sure, they didn't sell shovels, but they had something similar.

No, no, no. Shovels have been around for a long time, haven't they? There have always been plowshares, though.

That's what's in the textbook. It was made of wood and had a metal tip.

It had a pointed end so you could put your foot on it and put pressure on it, and also so you could carry the soil you scooped up. That seems to be important.

It's a tool that could be sold if it didn't exist. It's useful for construction work, and as an adventurer, it's useful in many ways.

Tools for digging toilets and campsites are very important. A hoe can be used, but it is still difficult to use.

Well, it's important to sell it, but I also wanted him to see how hard I worked to make it. I guess that's why Gantz-san allowed me to become his apprentice.

Oh, so you got your apprenticeship?

Yeah. Tommy's happy, I got to try my hand at blacksmithing, and I got a shovel. Not bad, huh?

I was thinking and doing more than I thought. I'm sorry to say, but I didn't expect that. I wondered what he was talking about when he said he was going to be a "brainiac" or something stupid like that.

Yuki and the others were nodding their heads in admiration and looking at the shovel.

Well, he's always been pretty good at taking care of people, hasn't he?

"Well, Wakabayashi, you named him Tommy, right? I'm sure he'll be relieved to have a stable job.

"Yes. I'm not sure if I'd be able to do that, but I'd like to be able to help my classmates.

Natsuki said this kindly, but Haruka nodded and smiled.

Yes, as long as it's not a mine.

Yes. That's why I can't casually look for a classmate.

Just contacting them can cause problems. ......

They looked at each other and sighed heavily.

I'm not sure what to make of this. ...... No, we haven't met directly, but Tanaka and Takahashi have already left, plus seven or eight others whose names I haven't identified. Considering this, the odds are less than 10%.

The risk of contact is too high.

It is also possible that the mines have already left and there are many decent classmates left.

The next day, Diora was a little bit nervous.

The next day, we all headed out to look at the properties when Diora was free.

He introduced us to three properties in total. We went through them in order.

--The first house.

This one has a large garden. I'm sure you'll have plenty of room for wielding swords and spears and for mock battles.

No, Mr. Diora, isn't a large garden, or rather a ...... garden, the only thing you have?

No, no, there is a building there, isn't there?

Yes, there is, but isn't that a storage room?

The first place Diora showed us was a large plot of land, five to six times the size of the Bear Pavilion.

It was a large vacant lot, overgrown with trees and grass. There's a building in the corner of the lot, but as Haruka says, it's just a storage room, no matter how you look at it.

There used to be a rather large mansion there. It was originally a rather large mansion, but it gradually fell into disrepair while there was no one living there, so it was torn down. Rundown buildings become a hangout for people of bad character.

The problem of vacant houses was also serious in Japan, but in the case of Japan, the biggest problem was that when a house collapses, it causes trouble for the people around it. The site is too small.

There have been stories of abandoned hotels becoming hangouts for delinquents, but I've never heard of a broken-down house living in a vacant house of an ordinary house. I'm not sure if that's because the homeless in Japan are basically in the cities or because the police are functioning well. .......

Diora, the garden is as you requested, but the building is not as you requested.

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that," he said, nodding as if he understood.

The building is just a bonus here. That shed can be removed if it's in the way.

You mean we have to build our own house?

Yes. Then the house will be exactly as you want, right? And the rent is only two gold coins a month for this much land!

Two gold coins, or 2,000 Reais. Two gold coins, or 2,000 rials. I don't know what the market is like around here.

But when you move out, you must leave the house intact.

Well, I'm not going to tear it down just because you're leaving.

It would be a waste of money to demolish the house, and the person who leased the land would have the building as an asset, so they wouldn't complain, right?

But as I said this, Natsuki shook her head and whispered, "No, Nao-kun.

(No, Nao-kun. When you rent land in Japan, you are obligated to restore the land to its original state, which means that you have to remove all the buildings and other items before returning it to the original state.

(Is that so?)

Yes. In some cases, you can use the property as a place to live, but most of the time, it's just a distraction. (When you move out, it's usually when there's a problem.)

If it's a good house that's comfortable to live in, you don't move; if it's a profitable store, you don't close it down.

If the house is old and you are moving out, you don't need the house, and if the business is not profitable and you are going out of business, you won't be able to find tenants for the same type of property.

This is why landlords do not want to leave their buildings as they are. In the case of Japan, the building's property tax is also added, so not only the cost of demolition but also the cost of maintenance is incurred.

(Well, in the case of residential areas, a reduced tax rate is applied if there is a house on the property, so I can't say that vacant land is generally better.

(I guess things are different in this world, huh?)

I don't know about the taxation system in this world, but it's probably not as detailed as in Japan.

The only tax we've ever paid is one large silver coin when entering a city.

Maybe it's included in the money we sell to the guild or the fees we pay at the inn.

Hmmm, it looks like we'll get what we want, but financially it's going to be tough.

That's right. Diora-san, do you have any idea how much it would cost to build a house like the one we wanted?

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to afford it, but I'm sure I'll be able to afford it.

If you save a lot of money on ......, you can do it with about 100 large gold coins.

"No! Absolutely not!

"Yes, I suppose so. That's a lot of money.

Yuki and Natsuki immediately said something negative about the amount Diora mentioned, but on the contrary, I, Toya and Haruka fell silent.

I actually had that much money until a while ago.

There was some kind of special demand for the dindle, but it was not an impossible amount. .......

I think Diora knows this, and that's part of the reason she introduced me to this site. Most of the transactions are done through Diora.

The three of us looked at each other and sighed as we thought about this.

Mr. Diora, we'll hold off for now. Can you show us the next one?

That's right. It's not the kind of money you can make a decision on right away.

What? Haruka, you're not rejecting it, you're withholding it? You can't afford it, can you?

I can't say that. Well, it's on hold, as close to rejection as possible. Let's move on.

"Uh, yeah, ......?

I'm not sure what to say, but I'm sure you'll understand.

--The second house.

This is a mansion where a certain nobleman's mistress used to live. The grounds are smaller than before, but it is a magnificent two-story house with a beautiful garden that is well maintained.

"Oh, this garden is beautiful? This garden looks even worse than the one I just saw.

Yes, it's beautiful. It used to be. It used to be beautiful, but now it's even more desolate because of all the trees.

Hmm. If it's a lawn garden, the grass will just grow back, but if it's a garden with trees, it will become overgrown with big trees. As the leaves fall, decomposing soil will form, and the plants will flourish.

I mean, the trees are so thick that I can't even see the building from here.

Diora explained this to me in front of the gate of the property. All you can see from here is the garden, which is almost a forest.

"Mr. Diora, are you coming in?

"Are you coming in?

What? We can't see anything if we don't go in, can we? It's true that it's a little uncomfortable to go into the forest like this, but we can just knock it off, right?

Toya has brought his sword, so he can lead the way.

Are we going in?

I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to do it.

...... You don't seem to like it, do you? What's the deal with this place?

"This place costs five gold pieces a month.

I think that says it all. What's going on?

As I said, this used to be the home of a certain nobleman's mistress, but due to various reasons, it is now vacant.

No, I mean, what exactly happened to it?

A lot of things.

So...

It's ・・・・! Okay?

Yes, I understand.

You're smiling but your eyes aren't smiling at all, Diora. You're too scary.

It's a matter of aristocracy, so it's not good to get involved.

So, Diora, now that you know what's going on (・・・・), is there any real damage?

No, it's nothing serious. It's just that people who borrow ...... often get sick.

No big deal!

Don't worry. The link has not been proven.

I don't feel safe at all! Do you think you could live here, Diora?

No, I'm a believer in that sort of thing.

Diora shakes her head.

I'm not a believer, I'm a believer.

Well, it's a world where magic exists. I don't think it's surprising that there are grudges and such.

"Don't introduce me to that. ....... Reject it, reject it.

Right. I'm relieved I didn't have to go in there. Let's move on.

Diora says simply and walks away.

Maybe Mr. Diora didn't really mean to recommend it. Maybe she has a quota or something, or maybe it's not good if she doesn't introduce them?