Chapter 70

‘…What is it even saying?’

Let’s just ignore the newlywed-this-and-that nonsense.

The light was so blinding that it took a few blinks before my vision finally cleared.

And then—the sight of the new house came into view….

“…Wow.”

My mouth fell open, a gasp slipping out before I could stop it.

A disbelieving laugh followed.

‘Why is it a hamster-patterned roof again?!’

Okay, sure. A two-story country house straight out of my dreams? I’ll give you that.

But a hamster-patterned roof? Seriously? It doesn’t match anything!

‘Do you have zero sense of aesthetics?!’

Unbelievable….

A moment later, only the roof was swallowed by light—and the pattern vanished.

What emerged was a pale turquoise roof, soft and calm, like a warm sea.

The walls and pillars were a clean, pristine white, tinged faintly with ivory when they caught the sunlight.

The windows and doors were all arched, and on the second floor, a lovely balcony stretched out toward the east.

And then there was something unexpected.
It looked like the house had a basement.

‘Is that for real?’

I’d have to go inside to be sure.

‘What about the barn and the storage shed?’

When I turned my head, I spotted them immediately.

The barn and storage shed sat to the west of the house, arranged in an L-shape when viewed from the front.

The storage shed was closer to the house than the barn, and both were noticeably larger than before.

And somehow… the exterior looked cleaner, more refined.

‘Come to think of it, the outdoor bath is gone…?’

Was the bathroom moved inside?

Tilting my head, I looked over at the other two.

Camilla and Lycian were both too busy gawking at the new home to notice anything else.

Lycian, perhaps accustomed by now to my abilities, didn’t look all that shocked—

—but Camilla, experiencing this for the first time in her life, seemed utterly dumbfounded.

“Th-this is… how on earth did this happen…? Lady Muriel, you can do things like this too…? That’s… incredible….”

I scratched my cheek and laughed awkwardly.

Calling it an “ability” felt a bit generous… it was closer to clicking a system button.

‘Hahaha….’

Anyway, we settled the animal friends comfortably into the barn and then carefully checked the interior.

‘Let’s add a bit more hay too.’

Mm. Good. Looks great.

That was Nelly’s affinity.

For some reason, she was staring at me with sparkling eyes.

What is it? Happy because her space got bigger?

I walked over and gently stroked her soft, wheat-colored fur.

And meanwhile, off to the side—

“…….”

It clearly had some major misconceptions, but… I decided to let it be.

After leaving the barn, I gave the storage shed a quick look.

There wasn’t much to check there, but—

‘Huh? There’s a room?’

A door set into one side of the wall.

As if it were a system-provided perk, a laurel wreath hung on it.

‘What’s this space for?’

Curious, I carefully opened the door.

The moment I stepped inside, the scene that greeted me was—

‘…A workshop?’

No doubt about it. An apothecary’s workshop!

“Oooh….”

A wide worktable with room to spread out materials and tools.

A sturdy, solid furnace, and bright lights hanging from the ceiling.

A window of just the right size along one wall, ensuring proper ventilation.

A solid wooden bookshelf that could hold at least a hundred more books and documents.

Display cabinets where tools and ingredients could be neatly arranged and easily seen….

It was, quite simply, an ideal workspace.

‘This is seriously amazing. I love it.’

Fine. I’ll admit it—this time, your sense is on point.

“That’s great, Muriel. You could use this as your workshop.”

“Right? I want to get a ton of books right away, fill the shelves, and display all my tools and ingredients.”

Watching my excitement, Lycian smiled like he found it adorable.

His hand reached toward me, but I instantly executed an evasive maneuver and dashed outside toward the main house.

“All right, everyone! Next up—the main house tour!”

When I grabbed the front door handle and announced it like a host, even Lycian, who’d been hot on my heels, slowed his steps.

He laughed as if he couldn’t help it and came to stand beside me.

Once Camilla—who’d been strolling over at a leisurely pace like a spectator—joined us, I counted to ten and opened the door.

“…Seven, eight, nine, ten! Ta-da!”

Beyond the wide-open door, the entryway and hallway came into view.

“Wow, there’s a hallway this time.”

Just having a hallway made it feel like a proper house.

The entryway was spacious too, complete with a shoe cabinet and storage shelves.

But what really took my breath away was the pastoral interior—white walls paired with warm, wooden floors.

“This is so nice… seriously, it’s amazing.”

I kept marveling as I looked around.

I had a feeling the living room, kitchen, bedrooms, and utility spaces would all be ridiculously pretty too.

And my expectations were met.

‘The living room is insane.’

The first thing that caught my eye was a massive picture window spanning an entire wall.

Staying true to the temple-like concept, the window frame was—of course—arched.

Through the clear, pristine glass, I could see the backyard. And not far beyond it, the forest where Ninabel’s spring lay.

‘This is crazy. Absolutely crazy.’

Sheer white chiffon curtains were tied back with ribbons, ready to be drawn whenever needed.

A fireplace sat along one side of the living room, warm flames crackling softly over the logs.

The broad carpet spread across the floor was clearly a high-end import at a glance.

And one more shocking thing—the old sofa and table were gone, replaced with much better ones!

“Woooow. This is insane.”

Overcome with emotion, I flailed around like a penguin before flopping face-first onto the sofa.

Even with me stretched out, there was still plenty of space left.

‘The best…!’

A jewel-like chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting a soft, shimmering light.

We hadn’t even looked at the kitchen or bedrooms yet, but I was already murmuring like I had the whole world.

“I really made it….”

So this is why people chase after owning a home.

Truly, food, clothing, and shelter are essential conditions for an ethical life.

---

Besides the living room and kitchen, the first floor had a bathroom and one large room.

The second floor had two bedrooms and one utility room.

One of the larger rooms even had a lovely balcony—perfect for placing a tea table and enjoying tea outdoors.

‘I should open the shop right away and buy something pretty!’

After gleefully blowing through all the coins I’d saved and decorating the house with care… the sun had already begun to dip low.

“Huuuh, I’m starving.”

“Let’s eat first. I’ll make something.”

“Oh my…? Lycian niim…? Weren’t you going to leave dinner to me today…? I’ll cook, so you two just stay here and get all cuddly—”

“C-cuddly….”

That embarrassingly intimate word tumbling out of Camilla’s mouth made my face burn.

My legs gave out and I collapsed onto the sofa, and Lycian quietly came over and took the seat beside me.

Resting his chin in his hand, he studied me in silence. His golden eyes carried a strangely unreadable light.

Suddenly self-conscious, I hunched my shoulders and asked,

“Why are you staring like that?”

“Muriel. Are you happy?”

“…? Yeah.”

“What do you think would make you even happier?”

“Hmm…. I want to raise chickens. Lots of them. Enough to get tons of eggs.”

“…Raising chickens is easy enough. Anything else?”

“I want to grow fruit trees too. Have an orchard. But running an orchard with just the two of us would be tough. Maybe we’d have to hire workers?”

“We could just drag Dante and those guild guys over and use them.”

“W-we’d still have to pay them! You can’t just work people like that….”

“But you work me like that.”

“No, you’re—!”

The words caught in my throat, my mouth opening and closing uselessly.

Now that I thought about it… I had been working Lycian hard without paying him properly…!

Even if he was a lunatic who volunteered to be my slave…!

‘Even between close people, money matters should be clear!’

Lycian was staring straight at me. After fumbling for a long while, I finally managed to speak.

“Um, so… how much should I pay you? I’m not really good with things like this….”

“Pfft….”

“…?”

“Heh…. Kh—hahahaha!”

He tried to hold it in, lips twitching, before bursting out into loud laughter.

I blinked at him, dumbfounded.

What’s so funny? I’m being serious here.

“You… stop laughing.”

“Pff—Muriel, were you worried because you weren’t paying me?”

“I-I said I’d pay you! How much do you want?! How much is it?!”

Actual music started playing from the system window floating in midair. It was twice as ridiculous.

But what Lycian said next wasn’t “Then how much can you pay?”

“Muriel, do I look like I need money?”

“…….”

After thinking quietly for a moment, I answered.

“…No.”

Lycian reached out and lightly toyed with the golden couple ring on my left ring finger.

“There’s something else I want.”

“…….”

“When Muriel feels like giving it to me sincerely—
I’ll accept it then.”