Chapter 13: The House for Distraction
I was transported to a country that feels more like it’s nestled within a forest than having a forest within it, and I’ve been helping out a carpenter. At first, the carpenters were suspicious of my offer to work for free, but as time went on, they started to warm up to me. They may not have directly taught me, but they began to take their time with important tasks in front of me and even invited me to join them for lunch in the big pot.
I was offered some alcohol and ended up drinking for the first time outside of the New Year’s toso. When I mentioned it was my first time, they laughed. I thought it was a luxury item, but it seems that alcohol is often treated as a preserved food source and is quite common. The expensive stuff is distilled spirits, while wine varies widely in quality.
Here, I busily gather wood and store it in [Storage]. While helping with various tasks, I wander around and explore.
I also got some cork. I was surprised to see trees with different colors in the upper and lower parts of their trunks, only to find out that the reddish-brown lower part was the bark that had been stripped away.
The bark becomes cork, which is used for bottle caps and is derived from the cork oak. It was interesting enough that I bought a few saplings.
Whenever I show my face, they greet me warmly, trying to be hospitable despite not being wealthy. Yet, they don’t intrude on my space, which I find very comfortable.
The sky has been increasingly gloomy, and with each rain, the temperature drops. I walk through the autumn mountains with Rishu, gathering mushrooms. The Matsutake mushrooms growing on the fallen cypress trees are firm and delicious.
Rishu has opened her eyes, her fur has improved, and she has become a plump little puppy. She runs around, quickly losing her footing and tumbling over, only to come back to me before dashing off again. It’s a cycle that repeats.
Though she still spends more time sleeping, she is definitely recovering. That’s a good thing.
I also found some bright red-capped mushrooms on the island. I thought for sure they were poisonous, but when I used [Appraisal], the result was “incredibly delicious!” It left me feeling quite conflicted.
I helped a farmer prepare for winter, butchering pigs to make salted meat, ham, and bacon, as well as making cheese and canning vegetables and fruits.
I’m all set too, though my preparations are for building a house rather than winter food.
I decided to renovate the plain servant’s room on the second floor of the barn to my liking. Feeling confident, I resolved to build a small shed extending from the northeast of the kitchen.
It was inconvenient to have the water supply so far away for making potions, and I wanted to avoid getting wet on rainy days, so this location was my only option.
I laid stones in that area and began assembling pillars with materials I processed in the spacious blacksmith workshop. While helping the carpenter was useful, a certain TV show I watched back in Japan proved to be incredibly helpful as well.
The exterior will be arranged to surround the grape trellis on two sides. Inside, I created a dark room separated by sliding doors and a bright workspace. The dark room will serve as storage for herbs and their materials. While I have [Storage], the atmosphere is important too.
The workspace window can be darkened by closing the shutters. I made the shutters adjustable slats to ensure ventilation and prevent odors from lingering even when closed.
Now that the workspace is ready, it’s time to gather some herbs.
I’m contemplating renting a house from Kanum. It’s a hassle to book an inn every time just to create an alibi for being over there.
Basically, newcomers can’t buy houses in the Fortress City; they can only rent. After living here for five or ten years without causing any issues and achieving some accomplishments, they can finally buy a house. I believe donations to the town count as accomplishments; that’s what I was told.
If I live with Kanum, I’ll have access to more than just the main gate, and having multiple entrances is a nice perk.
I do run into the gatekeepers, but since I supplied the Merchant Guild with bears and potions, I’ve become a bit conspicuous. While the Pink Head from the Adventurer’s Guild hasn’t approached me, I feel like I’m being watched, which is unsettling.
So far, I haven’t been directly approached, but I’ve noticed some glances and people following me for a while when I’m spotted in town.
Since I’m supposed to be staying at an inn, it’s difficult to purchase nice plates, saplings, or tools for production without drawing attention.
I consulted the Merchant Guild and got introduced to a broker for buying or renting houses. My conditions were simple: no interference from neighbors and no one barging in uninvited.
They found my last condition a bit odd, but when I mentioned the Pink Head, they understood. It’s tough when you have a pretty face, after all.
The house they introduced me to is a newly built one tucked away in an alley. It’s quite narrow, barely four meters wide, and has two doors on the first floor—one for humans and a larger one for deliveries. The front of the first floor is almost entirely doors.
Opening the larger door leads directly to the workspace, followed by a courtyard with a well, and then the kitchen with a stove. The human-sized door opens right into the workspace, with stairs leading up to the second floor, which has a living room and a bedroom. The third floor is similar, and there’s a storage room in the basement.
Here, older houses are generally considered better because residents tend to renovate them for comfort over time. Right now, this place has no shelves, and there are gaps in the floor and walls—conditions that would be unthinkable in Japan.
I initially thought about renting a room instead of a house, but room rentals usually mean the landlord lives in the same house, which could lead to them waking me up in the morning, so that idea was quickly dismissed.
Since this will also serve as a place for making potions, it seems acceptable. I can modify it as I like, and the rent is about the equivalent of two potions a month.
The western main gate and the eastern back gate are connected to the city wall and shops, with a corridor above where guards patrol. However, the south and north side gates have towers but are just thick stone walls.
The city wall was on the verge of collapsing, so repairs were needed. They blocked off one road leading from the town to the wall, and this house was built as a support for the city wall. This means the road is only as wide as the wall, and to preserve the street along the wall, the first floor is narrow while the second and third floors extend against the wall. It’s a long, narrow structure like an eel’s bed.
The left and right walls are not shared with other houses, making the interior even narrower due to the stone wall. The wall had been damaged a few years ago during a demon beast attack, and while it held up then, it has since suffered from wind and rain, making it a bit questionable. It’s still a place with fresh memories of an attack.
If I look for something cheaper, I might end up in an area with poor security, where drunkards or thieves could intrude.
As long as no one comes in, I don’t care about the living conditions, so I decided on this place right away.
On a whim, I asked about the size, and they provided a rough layout. I’ll check to ensure it’s not too far off and plan to make some modifications that look decent at first glance.
Once I sort out the floor and walls, I’ll replace the doors and add some shelves to make it feel more like a workspace. Creating a home is incredibly enjoyable.