Volume 3, Chapter 3.3

Volume 3, Chapter 3.3

Translator: Kureha

Editor: Weasalopes

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「Is this the place?」

「Yeah,」

The Norton sisters looked surprised as they saw the Japanese people’s base. Hiroshi started to adjust some aspects of the security as he gave a bitter smile to the sisters’ expression.

「Welp, we’ve renovated ‘nough so that we can live inside.」

「We sure did. Today has been a busy day so let’s sort out your rooms first and take a break after grabbing some food and having a shower.」

「Agreed.」

Nodding to Tatsuya’s suggestion, Haruna headed towards the kitchen while humming to herself. Primula came to herself as she saw Haruna walk away. She knew it was a little too late but the only thing she got out of maintaining a preserved appearance is becoming a priestess at a younger age. She was certainly more competent than her sister Judith, who still hasn’t come back from the shock.

「Um, excuse me. Could I ask you something?」

「What is it?」

「Um, is this beautiful building really your party’s base in Darl?」

「Yes.」

「… I apologise for asking such an intrusive question. I believe material costs would be fairly expensive but do you really need a building this big?」

Everyone gave a bitter smile to Primula’s question. It should be obvious at this point, but adventurer’s around class 6 or 7 usually don’t need a building of this size. Although Hiroshi has mended most of it, going by the norm, this kind of property will easily go over the group’s budget.

However, Hiroshi’s group did not fit the norm in almost every different aspect. A typical adventurer would not need a workshop this size and they don’t try to marinate monsters which are listed inedible. On top of all, it’s hard to fix their occupation as adventurers at the point they started running a food stall.

「I get where you are coming from. Normally you wouldn’t need a building this big.」

「Normally, it would be hard to rent a building this size.」

To Primula’s on-the-point question, Tatsuya and Makoto hesitated on how to explain their group’s uniqueness.

「’T would be mighty expensive if we tried to rent a buildin’ this size normally. But cuz we rented out a propurty that was near demolishin’ our rent is only 10,000 Seneca a month.」

Hiroshi casually explained their situation, ignoring Makoto and Tatsuya’s concern.

「…You renovated it by yourselves?」

「I feel like the cost for the material would be more than the rent….」

Hearing Hiroshi’s explanation, Judith finally came to herself and gave yet another straight on the point comment. She would be right if she was talking to a normal group of adventurers. However, such a comment is useless against a group that is everything but normal.

「’T would be the case if we got a company to help us renovate it, but we’ve done it all by ourselves. N’ we still had plenty o’ material left from our last place so it barely costed us anythin’.」

「Last place?」

「Tis nothin’ to hide ‘bout so can I tell em?」

Hiroshi thought that it would be hard for the girls to feel at home unless they provided them with some type of explanation. So, nobody was against Hiroshi’s idea. Getting the green light from his party members, Hiroshi has decided to tell the sisters about what they have been up to.

「Tis a little complicated but we have another workshop in Farlane. N’ we used to work for construction-related jobs dere. So, we got plenty o’ leftover material from then. Since we used those leftover materials, we barely didn’t hafta get any new materials. N’ any material that we didn’t haf, we could’ve just made em anyway.」

「Is that true?」

「No reason for us to lie ‘bout it. Even if we’re tryin’ to give ourselves a better reputation, we’ve already paid three months worth o’ rent. So, we’d gain nothin’ of it.」

Primula let the tension out of her shoulder, completely understanding the group’s situation with Hiroshi’s last comment. Putting the main temple of Darl Branch aside, there were some doubts about the building in front of her being in better shape than some of the other Igreos temples in different cities. However, there was no point in mentioning something like that.

「Seems like you’ve agreed with what I said. Let’s go pick ya rooms now.」

「You can pick any room you like as long as it doesn’t have a nameplate on the door.」

Following Hiroshi and Tatsuya’s words, the two sisters stepped in and rented a room which was clearly more spacious than any other rooms which they have lived in before. Although the temple is paying a certain extent of the fee, the sisters chose the smallest room they could find as a show of respect to the group who have kindly accepted them. However, due to its structure of the building, even the smallest room they could find was double the size of Primula’s room.

「We can’t get other furniture today but t’ least we have beds for ya two.」

Hiroshi mentioned as he walked into the empty room the sisters were standing in and pulled out a fold-up bed from his bag. As it was a fold-up bed made by a craftsman like Hiroshi, it was easily the size of a single bed and was a fine quality springed mattress. This was another high-quality item which the Norton sisters were not familiar with. Even the one Haruna made for practice has some adjustments made by Hiroshi.

The sister became paralyzed when they were asked to not talk so formally towards the members. The group members would feel uncomfortable if the sisters kept talking to them so formally and that was something which the sisters wanted to avoid. However, Tatsuya and Makoto have continued to talk to the two girls in formal speech as there is a significant age gap between them. Yet, after the girls picked their rooms, they were talking quite casually to them.

「Onee-chan, I feel like my world view’s been tested.」

「Judith, under any circumstances you must not allow yourself to think that this is the norm.」

「If I ever start to believe this is normal, I feel like a lot of things in life will end.」

As they felt the bed, which was supposedly made in a rush, Primula commented with blank eyes and strict tone to Judith’s words. The sisters have decided to share a room together as they didn’t want to cause the group too much trouble, but their effort seemed useless.

「If ya need anythin’ else, just lemme know. I’ll make em mighty fast.」

「Oh, no, we possibly couldn’t!」

「We appreciate your hospitality very much. However, if you were to prepare anything else, I’m afraid it will be very difficult for us to go back to our lives before.」

The two gave a very apologetic response to Hiroshi’s words. In reality, if they were to get anything else, without a doubt, they would struggle to go back to their life before.

「Don worry ‘bout it. We still have plenty o’ materials left from when we cut down too many o’ hunter trees for Arawen-sama’s temple. So if it’s somethin’ like a draw or a desk, I can make em mighty fast.」

「Wouldn’t it be better if you sold those items to someone rather than using them on us?」

「I feel like there’ll be alotta issues if I sell off somethin’ other than junks I craft so…」

From Hiroshi’s response, the Norton sisters finally saw the overall issue. It was possible, or rather, even Primula and her sister who were somewhat na?ve regarding these matters could easily imagine the issues which will come from these items being sold on the streets.

「So ye, if ya need anythin’ I’m happy to make em n’ if ya want to bring over stuff you were usin’ before, we’ll help ya move em to the workshop.」

「Thank you very much for your concern. Although it was a request from the high priest, we could not possibly cause anymore burden to you and your party members who have kindly taken care of us.」

「If possible, we would appreciate it if you could restrain from lending us any further help.」

They politely declined Hiroshi’s help with a gentle smile to express their gratefulness. From the way they acted and the seriousness in their tone, Hiroshi decided not to say anything else. The fact that temple authorities will refuse no matter how much help they offered seems to be the same in Igreos temple as well.

「Got it, welp, while I’m here, I’ll quickly show ya ‘round the workshop.」

「Thank you very much.」

The two sisters took a walk around the entire building as Hiroshi showed them around. There were some parts which were overwhelming to them, but the most surprising thing was…

「…Onee-chan, there’s a bathtub…」

「… I don’t know what it was like in Farlane. However, in this country, bathtubs would require so much water that only nobilities and the royal family can afford to have them…」

As expected, the presence of the bathtub has surprised them the most. As the sisters have mentioned, in Darl the water bills weren’t cheap. The most they could do was wash their body by using water magic. Even then, not everybody could use water magic and it was likely that they didn’t have enough magical power to use the spell on a daily basis. The sisters who have been working at the temple had more than enough magical power to have a light shower every day. However, they definitely didn’t have enough to fill up a bathtub.

「Don worry ‘bout the water. We make em by usin’ magical item.」

「… I’m too mentally exhausted to be surprised at this point…」

「Onee-chan, I’m starting to feel bad about this whole situation….」

Even though the highest-ranked party member was in class 6, they were definitely having a very luxurious lifestyle. The girls have agreed to this situation in hope that they can return their favour for being rescued by the group earlier. However, seeing their lifestyle, Judith started to feel guilt for their intentions. Primula also accepted the fact that this group’s lifestyle was too much for her and wanted to complain something to the high priest.

「Dinner’s ready~」

Haruna’s voice cut in as the girls were praying to their god about their new environment which they have been placed in. So, they both stopped praying and headed towards the dining room, following Hiroshi.

「I’m still practicing the dishes from this country so I decided to make food from the country we’re from. Sorry about that.」

「Please don’t apologize, you have greatly provided us with food. We are more than thankful.」

「What’s today’s dinner? It smells like curry」

「It’s a curry but using the cheese cutlet from Razor-clawed Jaguar.」

「That sounds delicious.」

As she smiled at Tatsuya’s words, she placed curry, salad and water for everyone. In Darl where water is scarce material, there wasn’t a large variety of dishes and they were usually fairly dry. The sisters were shocked at the unusually coloured food which was lined up in front of them. As if to ignore their shock, the Japanese people thanked for their food and started to eat without hesitation.

「Cheese, cutlet and curry really goes well together!」

「Nothing can beat cutlet curry」

「It’s a little different from normal cutlet though.」

「Haru, delicious food is always real justice.」

Seeing the Japanese people happily eat the curry, appetite and curiosity have gotten the best of the sisters. Carefully, they took a scoop out of the food and took a single cautious bite. It wasn’t as spicy as most food in Darl. However, the unfamiliar flavour has won against the unusual yet great mix of flavouring. The two girls could not stop eating.

「I’m glad you two liked it.」

「I think this is my first time trying food with so much flavour.」

「Most of the food in Darl uses a lot of spice so there aren’t any food with this kind of seasoning, right, one-chan?」

「You’re right, the seasoning we use are very limited as well.」

The Norton sisters have come to realise how limited the food culture is in the country which they have grown up in. Yet there was nothing to be embarrassed about as their food culture was very much influenced by the climate which their country was placed in. If anything, these were food which Japanese people, people from a country where there are different flavours of soy sauce depending on the brand that made them.

「Not only are they having a luxurious life-style but their food is also very delicious…」

「Onee-chan, do you think we can really go back to our normal life… ?」

「Let’s try our best…」

As they finished eating and prayed for their gratefulness, the sisters were becoming more concerned with the new lifestyle which they were introduced to. However, the surprises didn’t end there.

「Onee-chan! The water came out from the toilet it aimed it at my bottom!」

「Calm down!」

「But onee-chan! You’ll see what I mean when you see it for yourself!」

「… thi, this is…」

Invented in America, commercially distributed in Japan, a magical monster named, a washlet.