Chapter 379: A Tour of the Mansion
Currently, there are four buildings established at our base. There’s our home, Hinomaru’s headquarters, a dormitory for the servants, and a separate structure for the entrance to the Dungeon.
Originally, the Dungeon entrance was located in the basement of our house, but that was inconvenient for those who simply wanted to travel to Hinomaru’s headquarters from other towns, as they had to pass through our home.
Entering the Dungeon leads to a level filled with doors connecting to various Hinomaru outposts. This area is shaped like a dome that resembles a miniature version of the continent, with approximately a hundred-meter square floor featuring doors leading to different locations.
In the southeastern part of the continent, there are quite a few doors connecting to various outposts, but in other regions, they are sparse. Since Fairy Valley, where our headquarters is located, is in the southeast, the lower organizations are less prevalent the further you move away from it.
There are also temporary doors created for specific purposes, but none of them connect to the original Dungeon. Therefore, all the newly hired slaves have been given keys with permissions to move to other outposts. To prevent the keys from being misused if stolen, each key is registered with the owner’s Magic Power, ensuring that only they can use it.
“This is where Lord Shu’s mansion is located,” El said, pointing to the house in front of us as we left the headquarters with the slaves.
“That building over there will be your dormitory,” she added, indicating the adjacent structure connected by a walkway.
“Huh? That’s the dormitory?” It was no surprise that Sebastian, the butler, was astonished. In terms of size, it was comparable to our home. It was a splendid three-story apartment with twelve rooms on each floor. The basement was equipped with a dining hall and a shared bath, and a dedicated manager for the dormitory was also planned.
“Yes. We’ll show you that later, but first, let’s focus on Lord Shu’s mansion.”
“Y-Yes, understood,” Sebastian replied, still bewildered, while the maid looked on with wide eyes. The cook maintained a neutral expression, but the gardener appeared confused, surveying the unkempt surroundings of the house, unsure of where the garden began and ended. Perhaps we should quickly build a wall to define the property boundaries for the gardener’s sake. I might have delayed this too long, thinking there were no dangerous monsters nearby.
Following El, the butler and the others trailed behind us.
“This is the entrance,” El announced as she opened a large outward-swinging door.
What a sight it was! A grand entrance hall with a soaring ceiling that reached three stories high revealed itself before us. A large glass panel was set into the ceiling, and the sunlight illuminated the entrance hall, making it shine even without any artificial lighting.
“Wow…”
“Incredible…!”
“Beautiful!”
At the sound of someone’s awed exclamation, a wave of happiness washed over me. Perhaps it was because I had often faced complaints from those who had seen our Camping House before.
To the left of the spacious entrance hall, a staircase ascended from the front to the back. Upon reaching the second floor, a corridor that overlooked the entrance hall led to a staircase extending from the back to the front, leading to the third floor.
“Let’s start from the first floor,” El suggested.
At the back of the entrance hall, there were corridors extending to the left and right, and El proceeded to the left.
“On the left is the kitchen and dining hall, and on the right is the Large Bathhouse.”
Frank and Rachel, who would be working as cooks, sparkled with interest. As El opened the door and stepped inside, she flicked the switch for the wall-mounted lights. What appeared before us was a kitchen that seemed to disregard all notions of weight. Of course, there were IH stoves, but also a microwave, a large oven, and a refrigerator—every conceivable electrical appliance was present.
“W-Wow, there are so many Magic Tools…”
While household appliances aren’t technically Magic Tools, I figured it wouldn’t matter since there were actual Magic Tools present as well.
“And this is the Storage Bag that serves as a pantry,” El said, pointing to a row of covered cases lined up at the back of the kitchen. Each lid was labeled with the type of ingredients inside, making it easy to identify. With dozens of them lined up, it was quite a sight. The distinction was clear: use the Storage Bag for preservation, and the Refrigerator for cooling.
It seemed El had organized everything here for ease of use.
“I’ll teach you how to use everything later, so let’s move on,” she said, bypassing the wide-eyed servants as she continued to show us around the house. The maids were excited about the Large Bathhouse and the laundry facilities, but in contrast, Samuel, the gardener, looked dejected at the lack of tools for maintaining the garden.
I suppose I should visit a home improvement store soon and gather a full set of gardening tools. We had been based in the city for a while, but the garden had been neglected, and we hardly had any equipment for that purpose.
Including Nil, I had prepared individual rooms for my companions, and I also showed them the office, which I wasn’t sure would even be used. The basement contained a workshop, but since we mostly managed with magic, it lacked any proper equipment.
“May I ask you something?” Sebastian inquired once we had finished touring the mansion’s interior up to the third floor.
“What is it?”
“I couldn’t find any guest rooms. How should we entertain visitors when they arrive?”
“…Visitors?”
It was a natural question, but I couldn’t help but tilt my head in confusion. Would we really have guests coming all the way out here?