Yamada , a 35-year-old single man, wants to build his ideal second home in the village of another world. A life that combines the best of both the other world and reality - Episode 4

The next day.

It was Monday, which meant I had to go to work.

I woke up early, ate the bread I’d bought yesterday, and got dressed.

Then, from the cardboard box in the corner of the room—the one we’d used during the move yesterday—Miriam jumped out.

“Fwaaah… Yamada, you’re up early…”

Miriam stretched and yawned, then looked at me tying my necktie.

“Work.”
“Work… I see. So you’re an office worker.”
“Pretty much. Same for Ruri, but Miriam—how much do you know about this world?”

She seemed rather knowledgeable.

“Ruri and I know about it as information. But we’ve never been here or seen it ourselves. That’s about it… ah, that’s about it, nya.”

The sleepy cat remembered her character.

“I see… What about Ruri? Still sleeping?”

I’d given Ruri one of the spare rooms.
As for Miriam, she had taken quite a liking to the cardboard box, exclaiming, ‘This is perfect, nya!’

“She’s sleeping, nya. She never lived with a schedule where she woke up this early, nya…”

What kind of schedule did she even have? School?
Well, I didn’t know if there even was a school in another world—and she’s a homunculus anyway…

“I’m heading to work and won’t be back until night. Do whatever you like, but please don’t do anything that’ll cause a scene.”

In other words, don’t talk in front of people.
If rumors spread, livestreamers or TV crews might show up.

“Got it, nya. Oh, but could you leave a little money, nya?”
“Money?”
“To buy food, nya.”

…Fair enough.

“Alright, here.”

I put a 10,000 yen bill on the kotatsu table.
It might look like I’m rich, but I only had big bills in my wallet.

“Thanks, nya. Ruri will have dinner ready tonight, nya. Do your best at work, nya.”

…Will they be okay?
Well, judging from yesterday, probably.

“Thanks. I’ll be off, then.”

I raised a hand in farewell and left the house.
After getting on the train and arriving at the office, I began my work.

That day, I endured more nagging from my section chief and, in between my own tasks, helped out my juniors.
It was a rough Monday, but somehow I got through it and went home.

The first thing I noticed when I returned was that the house was bright.
Naturally—Ruri and Miriam were home, so the lights were already on.

“I’m home.”

I stepped into the living room.

“Welcome back, nya.”
“Welcome home. Dinner will be ready soon.”

I caught a nice smell coming from the kitchen. Ruri, wearing an apron, was standing on a stool cooking.

“…Should I be worried? That’s kind of a nerve-wracking sight.”
“She’s fine, nya. More importantly, you’re late, nya.”

I checked the clock—it was only 7 p.m.

“This is early…”

I replied with a wry smile, went to my room, and changed clothes.
That night, we ate dinner together again and then practiced magic.

The week went on like that.
Between changing my address, doing moving paperwork, and other tasks, it was a pretty busy week.

Still, having Ruri handle the housework helped a lot, and just seeing or petting the adorable Ruri and Miriam was relaxing.

During my commute, I also experimented a bit with my newly controllable mana.
It wasn’t much of an “experiment,” but I tried focusing mana into different parts of my body.

When I focused it into my legs, my leg strength increased.
When I focused it into my arms, my arm strength increased.
When I focused it into my eyes, I could see far-off objects, and when I focused it into my ears, I could hear distant sounds.

So not only could mana be used for magic—it could also enhance my physical abilities.
That was incredible.

After a week, work finally ended and Friday night came.

“Haa…”

After eating the dinner Ruri made, I took a breather.

“Yamada… I’ve been watching you this week, and aren’t you working too much?”
“I think so too. Waking up early, working until late… you’ll ruin your health.”

Miriam and Ruri looked at me with concern.

“This is normal… During busy seasons, I sometimes work past midnight.”
“What? Really? Are you a slave, nya?”

A slave…
Even though it’s a fantasy word, it hits a little too close to home.

“More like livestock of society. In fact, in this world there’s even a word—corporate livestock.”
“…Worse than a slave.”

Ouch…
Time for a beer.

I went to the kitchen, took a can of beer from the fridge, and returned to the living room to drink.

“It can’t be helped. If I don’t earn money, I can’t survive.”
“Well, I get that, but…”
“But Tadashi-sama didn’t work, right?”

Now that she mentioned it…

“How did the old man earn money?”
“Probably by using magic, nya?”

Magic, huh…

“Is there magic that increases money?”
“Hmm… nope, nya…”

Didn’t think so.

“Then how?”
“Well, he sold medicine to the villagers, I think, nya.”

Villagers?

“What’s that about?”
“There’s a village near that house, nya.”
“It’s not far, nya. When you leave through the front door, there’s a single road, and the village is at the end. You can see it from the house, nya.”

Seriously?

“Huh… What’s it like? They’re not gonna throw rocks at me, right?”
“It’s not a barbarian village, nya. Just a pioneer village.”
“Pioneer?”

It sounded like something from a history lesson… but I’d forgotten.

“You saw the forest from the window, right? That whole area is a great forest, but they cut it down to make farmland, nya. The village is like that. The kingdom allows it as part of a project, and you get to claim the land, nya.”

Huh.

“But clearing land is hard, right? Would be easy with an excavator…”
“Well, yeah, but that kind of construction machinery doesn’t exist there, nya. Still, if you use magic, it’s easier. But there aren’t many mages, and the ones that exist have better-paying jobs, so they don’t join pioneer work, nya.”

So, if you have skills, you go for the glamorous city jobs.
Guess some things are the same everywhere.

“Did the old man ever do it?”
“You know him better than I do, but he was pretty eccentric, nya. He wasn’t great at communicating with the villagers, and he mostly stayed indoors researching magic, nya. The only person he talked to was probably the village chief, nya.”

Yeah… that sounds about right.
He was quiet and rarely went outside—only when accompanying Grandma, maybe.

“So, the person he sold medicine to was the village chief? Is that okay? I mean, the old man’s dead now.”

Medicine meant… someone was sick, right?

“…Might not be okay, nya?”
“…Come to think of it…”

Miriam and Ruri exchanged glances.

“Don’t forget about it…”
“Can’t be helped, nya. We couldn’t leave that place anyway.”

That place? Oh—the house.

“Was that an order?”
“Yeah, nya. For both homunculi and familiars, the master’s orders are absolute. And right now, you’re the master, nya.”

I see.

“Then you can go outside now. Cats belong outdoors, right?”
“You’re so casual about it, nya…”

Is there some problem with that?
Ah…

“Just don’t bring back prey to show off, okay?”

Cats did have that habit, after all.

“I won’t, nya. Even if I brought back a griffon, you’d just faint, nya.”

A griffon…?
That’s like a mid-boss in games.

“Tatsuya-san, maybe you should deliver medicine to the village chief tomorrow.”
“I have to go?”
“Yes. You’re Tadashi-sama’s successor, and it would be good to introduce yourself.”

A village in another world, huh…

“Living a slow life in a place like that might not be bad…”
“Slow life?”
“You know, living calmly and leisurely in the countryside. Cities are flashy, but they’re exhausting.”

Seriously…
Even if I focus mana, my body won’t get tired,
but no matter how much mana I focus, my mind still gets worn out.

“It sounds like a normal life to me, but I guess that’s something people from another world long for?”
“It’s not that I long for it, but I’m just tired—worn down. I want to heal. Though it’s impossible, since I still need money to live.”

Even in another world, if I wanted to farm for food, I’d still have to pay for utilities and such.
Money is necessary for everything.

“That must be hard… If only I could help with your work…”

Nope, that’s not happening.

“Just doing the housework helps a lot. Anyway, tomorrow I just need to visit the village chief, right? Got it.”

With tomorrow’s plan set, I decided to have Ruri teach me more magic.

As a result, I leveled up and learned spatial magic.