Chapter 11

The first thing I checked was the sofa.

The “Healing Vibes Fabric Sofa” came with a soft, cream-colored linen cover.

It would brighten up the living room, sure—but it had the downside of being easy to stain.

‘Yeah… leather’s probably the better choice.’

It’d last longer, too.

“If I’m buying one anyway, I should go for something sturdy—oh.”

That was when something caught my eye. A leather sofa in a calm, toned-down teal.

It wasn’t too bright, so it’d resist stains, but it wasn’t dull either—clean and refreshing. I loved it.

‘Wow… this is nice. And it’s cheap?’

It was seventy-seven coins at a whopping 90% discount. Ninety percent! That was practically a divine revelation telling me to buy it.

‘Alright, this is the one!’

Decision made, I quickly added the teal sofa to my cart and kept browsing.

A low table to put in front of the sofa, a dresser that’d come in handy, even a shoe cabinet that’d be perfect by the front door….

‘This too, and this one.’

By the time I’d swept everything into the cart, the total came to 687 coins.

‘That’s less than I expected. I won’t even need to spend all 3,000.’

Lastly, I picked out a wardrobe and a bed. Since I still had plenty of budget left, I splurged a bit and went for higher-end options.

An elegant solid-wood bed frame with a mattress. The description boasted that the mattress had exceptional softness.

‘Mattresses are worth splurging on. Otherwise your back pays for it.’

As for the wardrobe… I debated between several options, but in the end, I chose the most expensive one—a deep wood tone that paired perfectly with the bed frame.

“And… hmm, I need curtains too.”

Lace? Or chiffon?

Still mulling it over, I turned around to ask my housemates—the dewdrop and the laborer—for their opinions.

Both of them were staring at me from the corner of the living room.

Only then did it dawn on me how strange I must look, muttering to thin air all by myself.

“Sometimes she just stands there, staring into space! Maybe she’s communing with a god or something?”

“Hm… for once, the dewdrop makes a good point.”

“What did you say, you little punk?!”

Communing with a god, huh….

Well. That might not be entirely wrong.

I didn’t know what the system really was, but anything capable of pulling off phenomena like this might as well be divine.

‘Whatever. Let them misunderstand. Explaining it would be a pain.’

I walked over to the two of them, still bickering, and asked,

“I’m thinking of hanging curtains on that window. Which do you think is better—lace or chiffon?”

They stopped arguing and turned to me side by side, answering almost at the same time.

“Chiffon, probably—”

“Lace~! Master! Nini likes lace!”

Figured as much. Just like I expected, their tastes were split. I could already picture them calling each other clueless.

And sure enough—

“Obviously chiffon. Lace? Please. This is why dewdrops with no aesthetic sense—”

“What?! Lace is way brighter and prettier! If anything, your sense of style is trash!”

I knew this would happen. I waved my hands frantically to stop them.

“Enough, both of you. We’ll decide fairly—let’s roll dice.”

“Master! But we don’t have dice?!”

“…….”

Right. This house was missing a lot of things. I’d forgotten, just for a moment.

“Then we’ll do rock-paper-scissors. Nini, you can make hand shapes, right?”

“Of course, Master! Nini is very capable!”

“Good. I’ll count, and you throw on three. Okay… one, two….”

Three!

The instant I shouted it, Ninabel whipped out her hand. Scissors. And Lycian—

‘…A fist!’

That made Lycian the clear winner.

But Ninabel refused to accept the result.

“You were late! I saw it! Something was weird!”

“Miss Dewdrop, don’t be so petty.”

“P-petty…! I’m not being petty! There really was something weird! I felt it…!”

The spirit kept insisting that Lycian had cheated, but it wasn’t convincing. To my eyes, they’d thrown at the same time.

Still, Ninabel was a spirit—she might’ve sensed something I couldn’t.

I narrowed my eyes at Lycian, who was playing dumb.

Looks like he’s hiding something again….

But… there was nothing I could really do. If the person involved wanted to keep it secret, prying would just be rude.

“Anyway, Lycian won. We’ll go with chiffon.”

“Waaah…!”

Ninabel flailed in defeat, scattering droplets of water everywhere, but I ignored her.

I added the safest choice—a cream-colored chiffon curtain—to the cart, then picked out the rest of the interior décor on my own.

If I asked those two for input again, they’d just start fighting.

Once everything I needed was selected, I opened the cart and hit the purchase button.

Total: 1,687 coins.

I’d shopped to my heart’s content and still hadn’t even come close to blowing the budget—more than half was left. A successful haul.

‘…But how are they delivering all this furniture?’

A [Payment Complete] notification popped up on the screen. About three seconds later, another message appeared beneath it.

‘Oh, that? I know how.’

I’d done it plenty of times by now!

“Let’s start with the sofa.”

I eyeballed where it should go and traced a rectangle in the air with my fingertip.

Just like when I’d designated cultivation zones, the area glowed faintly blue—

In the blink of an eye, the sofa appeared and settled neatly into place.

“Whoa. No way.”

“Master…? What did you just do?”

I stood there gawking, and Lycian asked in a stunned voice beside me.

Once again, I gave a vague answer without explaining anything properly.

“A god’s blessing.”

“Oh.”

That single phrase was enough for Lycian to accept it without question.

I mean, it’s convenient that he’s so easy to fool… but seriously, are you sure it’s okay to live as such a hardcore zealot?

“Master~! That was amazing! Are you bringing in more furniture too?!”

“Yeah. A wardrobe and a bed.”

“Master’s nest getting all cozy makes Nini so happy~!!”

As usual, Ninabel buzzed around in the air, making a huge fuss.

I grabbed the noisy dewdrop rice cake, tucked her under my arm, and placed the next piece of furniture in front of the sofa.

Piece by piece, I furnished the house. I wasn’t sure how much time passed, but—

Before I knew it, the once-empty place had transformed into a genuinely homey scene.

“Wow… now this really looks like a place people live.”

It felt like a blend of a countryside home and a resort cabin. Seeing my tastes reflected so perfectly made it even more moving.

I sank into the cloud-soft sofa, hugging a cushion, and a pleased smile spread across my face.

“I could live here forever, honestly.”

“…If that’s what you wish, Master.”

Some people might scoff and say the house was too small, but my satisfaction was at a full 200%.

Sure, a bigger place would be nice. But this? This was more than enough for me.

“Alright, let’s cook something good. We need water, so Nini, come here for a sec. Lycian, you sit here and rest.”

“What? If you’re doing chores, Master, I can’t just sit around doing nothing—”

“I said rest, okay? You were exhausted from logging earlier. Sit. Now.”

Of all moments, the obedience effect triggered then. Lycian froze briefly, then walked over and plopped down onto the sofa.

‘He’s like a dumb puppy.’

His flustered expression was so cute that I couldn’t help but laugh a little. I gently ruffled his cream-colored hair and spoke magnanimously.

“Good boy. Stay put and wait nicely.”

“…….”

Lycian looked up at me, his golden eyes flickering like candle flames. I turned away with a faint smile—and right on cue, the system notification popped up.

No idea what he’d liked about that, but… at least it wasn’t a minus?

It didn’t look like Lycian hated me, at least.

‘Which means that question mark is a pure four-digit number….’

So it’d crossed at least 1,000. Was it even possible for affection to stack that high?

Especially when he’d been like that since the moment we met?

’…Seriously, it’s weird.’

---

In the kitchen, I boiled the bird eggs and peeled potatoes. A little hum slipped out of me without thinking.

Really—people need spacious kitchens.

‘The studio kitchenette I had in my past life was way too small.’

I loved cooking, but anytime I wanted to make something, I had to pull out two folding tables.

On days I grilled meat, the smell filled the entire room, and airing it out was a nightmare.

But now I had a kitchen this big. It made me ridiculously happy. I should cook more often from now on.

“Hm~ hmm~”

I dropped the neatly peeled potatoes into the roiling water—and right then, the system alert appeared.

‘Fame?’

Another new thing, just popping up out of nowhere. What did a farm owner need fame for…?

‘No, that’s… something I’d rather pass on.’

I was perfectly fine living a modest, self-sufficient life like this. Honestly.

Being famous didn’t just bring good things. It meant dealing with all kinds of ugly nonsense, too.

Still… the fact that Upgrade Stage 6 was a “Lord’s castle” bothered me.

There was no way the system had thrown that in without reason….

‘To become a lord… wouldn’t you need to perform some great deed and receive a title from a king or emperor?’