Zack’s house, or rather, it might be better to call it a mansion.
The mansion is spacious.
It’s not that he has great power as a village chief; rather, there are quite a few guest rooms because he puts up merchants and officials from the territory with business here.
By the way, Kaisa Village belongs to a place called the Raza Territory.
The village chief’s house is made of stone; the rough parts are done with earth magic, while the fine details are made by hand.
It’s roughly the same method as stacking and hardening stones from my previous life.
However, it’s difficult to build even the fine details using magic alone.
The surface also doesn’t finish smoothly.
If you were to build a house solely with magic, it would require superhuman magic power and image control.
Even the finish of the village’s earthen walls from earlier is done by hand.
Anyway, for now, we are in the guest room.
Hannah brewed some chamomile tea for us.
… Mmm, it smells good.
It’s a local specialty of this village, and it’s cultivated extensively.
Merchants even come in caravans just for that purpose.
Because moisture tends to collect due to the earthen walls surrounding the village, wind magic is very useful in cultivation.
The ecology of plants and animals in this world is very similar to that of my previous life.
Well, the ones who named them must originally have been people from the same world as me.
As we were drinking tea, the guest room door suddenly burst open.
A girl with a face very similar to Hannah’s, with chestnut-colored hair in braids, appeared.
“Kati! If you were here, you should have said something!”
It’s Rosa, the daughter of the village chief and Hannah.
She is fifteen years old.
Hannah looked a little troubled at that.
“Rosa, that’s not very polite.”
“Ah, I’m sorry, Mom. Good morning, Tim. And Kati too.”
… While she looks similar to Hannah, Rosa is very energetic.
“Yes, good morning Rosa. We are intruding.”
The old man responded to her greeting.
“Good morning, Rosa.”
I also replied.
And then, Rosa saw my appearance and her eyes narrowed.
What is it?
“Kati, your hair is a mess! Come here right now! Tim, I’m borrowing Kati!”
“Sure, take her.”
…Ah, usually I at least comb my hair after training, but today I was in a hurry and forgot.
By the way, that comb was also given to me by Rosa (forced upon me).
For some reason, this friend who is two years younger than me is particular about my appearance.
Also, Old Man, Rosa.
I’m not an object.
I was forcefully taken to Rosa’s room without being given a chance to say anything.
Unlike my room, Rosa’s room has many small items and is very feminine.
Rosa is sulking.
“Honestly, Kati…”
While grumbling, she forced me to sit in a chair and started combing my hair.
It’s ticklish to have someone do it for me.
“Sorry, Rosa. But today I just forgot, okay?”
“You said the same thing before, didn’t you?”
“Did I?”
I do the bare minimum…or so I think.
“It’s a waste, with hair as beautiful red as this. Get it together, you’re a girl. Even though you’re older than me.”
Rosa grumbled.
On the contrary, this girl had, without my noticing, become a reliable and caring older-sister type.
Even though she’s younger than me.
Is it maybe my fault?
And also, my inner self is male.
“It’s a bit long. I’m going to tie it up in the back.”
“Ah, yes.”
My long hair, which reached my waist, was put into a ponytail.
It looks like it’s easier to move and might be good.
I should honestly thank her.
“Thank you, Rosa.”
Rosa turned her face away with a pui and said.
T/N: “Pui” is a sound effect used to show a pout or a turn away with annoyance.
“It’s nothing, it’s fine.”
…Oh?
Is she embarrassed?
Is she maybe embarrassed?
Hmm? Hmm?
—When I tried to turn and look at her face, I got a light smack on my forehead.
About twenty minutes later, Zack returned.
The location is the guest room.
Most people in this country have brown hair.
Zack also has dark brown hair mixed with gray, and is a kind person who always has a troubled look on his face.
He is stout, but contrary to his appearance, he’s often seen not only directing the village but also doing farm work with the villagers.
Thanks to that, he is well-liked by the villagers.
I think he’s probably a little under fifty years old.
He is also the only person in the village who knows gramp’s detailed history.
The other villagers only know that the old man is a warrior.
Therefore, the three of us are currently talking.
We talked about the letter from the royal capital and about me going instead.
“I see… so the name of the Sword Saint has not waned.”
That was Zack’s first thing to say.
What Zack saw should have been the old man in his prime, but it seems that the sight of him scattering hordes of monsters is still burned into his memory.
“Understood. Katia-san, please make as many preparations as you can in the village. However, Rosa is going to be lonely.”
“Thank you, Zack-san. Yes… gramps, we can’t tell Rosa about the situation after all, right?”
“No, it’s fine. If you stand out, your place of origin will be revealed eventually. If you hide it, you might be suspected of having a lowly background. Besides, the lord of Raza Territory here is on the side of the First Princess. We’ve already requested resident soldiers. Even if the First Prince’s faction tries something, it should be alright to a degree. It’s not okay to tell everyone, but it’s alright to tell Rosa.”
? I feel a sense of incongruity at the speed of the preparations.
“You’ve already requested soldiers, but the letter from the royal capital arrived just yesterday, didn’t it?”
“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mention it. That letter is just an obvious one to show that it’s an official request from the royal family. The practical matters have already been settled with the intelligence department and the Raza Territory.”
…It seems they had already figured out that I wouldn’t refuse.
That’s quite a bold post-facto approval.
Well, if I refused, the old man would probably try to go by force, and if I saw that, I think I would have ended up going anyway!
“Then, I’ll tell Rosa about it later.”
It seems that I don’t have to worry about the village after I leave.
The only remaining matter is the issue of the Gramp’s new residence.
“Zack-san, where will the Gramps be living?”
Zack answered with a beaming smile.
“Of course, at our house!”
The gramps panicked.
“Wait, wait, I didn’t hear about this! Isn’t there a vacant house or something!?”
“Of course not. We wouldn’t be able to take care of Tim-san at another house!”
“But still, I can’t have you going to such trouble… Could you say something to her, Kati?”
So, you’re passing it to me?
Hmm.
“It’s okay, gramps. I’ll feel relieved if Zack-san, Hannah-san, and Rosa are with you.”
This is my honest opinion.
Zack, feeling that he had found a kindred spirit, jumped on board.
“That’s right! And please don’t hesitate. The debt this village owes Tim-san cannot be repaid with something like this!”
In this world, cultivating farmland is life-threatening and there’s constant battle against monsters.
The amount of gratitude Zack feels towards the gramps, who took that upon himself, is immeasurable.
Gramps groaned a little, and after worrying, he eventually gave in.
“…Then I’ll be in your care. Thank you, Zack.”
It seems like the Old Man’s future life will be alright.
