Kousuke’s house-building floor was decided unexpectedly quickly.
This was because Peach, upon hearing about it, immediately suggested, “How about building it on the 72nd Floor?”
The speed of her suggestion was so startling that Shurein, who happened to be there, froze for a moment.
“Hmm. May I ask the reason?”
“Reason? The reason, you say. It’s just a hunch, so I’d be troubled if you asked for specifics.”
Peach answered in her usual manner, but everyone present fell silent.
None of them, who lived in the Management Layer, would ever dismiss Peach’s hunches lightly.
“The 72nd Floor, huh. Hmm.”
Shurein murmured, folding his arms, but quickly raised his head.
“As for the location, it would be good to be near the Teleport Gate that leads to the next floor, wouldn’t it?”
“If it’s the 72nd Floor, few adventurers can even reach that point, and proceeding to the next floor is merely a passing point. It might indeed be a good location.”
Sylvia supplemented Shurein’s statement by listing specific advantages.
Indeed, near the Teleport Gate of the 72nd Floor, it would be less conspicuous due to the limited number of people who visit.
Simply being able to pass the 72nd Floor requires being an adventurer of considerable skill.
This alone would filter out a large number of people, which aligns with Kousuke’s wishes.
Nodding once, Shurein turned his gaze to Kousuke.
“Setting aside whether it’s right next to the Teleport Gate, I think the 72nd Floor is a good option, don’t you agree?”
“That’s right. Considering the number of people who would visit, that’s probably the best place. After that, we can decide the exact location based on what functions the house itself will have.”
“What? You haven’t decided yet?”
Shurein looked bewildered, having assumed that Kousuke had already decided on the type of house he would build.
Seeing this, Kousuke shook his head.
“I had considered several patterns, but I didn’t settle on just one from the start.”
“I see. …I’m curious about these patterns. May I ask about them?”
“Ah, that is—”
Kousuke, who had no intention of hiding anything, immediately answered Shurein’s question.
A house that, despite being right in front of them, is invisible to anyone but those it has chosen.
A house located deep in the forest, accessible only through a path visible to a select few.
A house that floats in the sky and can only be reached by passing through a Teleport Array activated by those who meet certain conditions.
—and so on.
After deciding to build a house, Kousuke had conceived several grandiose, dream-filled (or perhaps chuunibyou-esque) plans.
Upon hearing Kousuke’s explanations, Shurein and Silvia both let out groans.
“…Just listening to it sounds like something incredible will be created.”
“…It might be better to consider it a Divine Gift.”
“What about a holy sanctuary, then?”
“I see. That might be a good idea.”
Both of them were already proceeding with the conversation under the assumption that Kousuke would complete a house with extraordinary special properties.
If Kousuke’s house actually materialized as described, it would possess functions that could already be recognized as a Divine Gift.
Shurein and Silvia’s concerns were not entirely unfounded.
Kousuke made a wry face at the two of them, who were proceeding with the discussion without him.
“I feel left out.”
“We don’t mean to, but do you understand how far outside the norm of this world what you are trying to create is?”
Sylvia retorted with more polite words than usual, causing Kousuke to utter a “Ugh” and avert his gaze.
He had decided to build it because his curiosity had gotten the better of him, even though he vaguely thought it might be something dangerous.
He had no way of logically refuting Silvia’s words.
Furthermore, since Shurein and Silvia were discussing it with the premise of building the house, Kousuke felt gratitude rather than any desire to criticize them.
Shurein, who had offered a bitter smile at Kousuke’s reaction,
“Well, as for how the house will be treated, perhaps we don’t need to decide that ourselves. If adventurers find it, they’ll probably spread rumors about it on their own.”
His realistic opinion quickly ended the discussion about the house’s treatment.
“More importantly, what will you do while building it? Won’t it be discovered in the process?”
“Ah, don’t worry. I’ll set up a barrier to keep it hidden while I build.”
“What kind of redundant use of power is that?”
Normally, one would not maintain a barrier while building something as large as a house.
This is because maintaining a barrier until the house is completed consumes a significant amount of power.
While some builders use illusions or other magic to surprise or delight those around them, such persistent magic generally requires immense power, leading to substantial expenses.
Therefore, only those with vast amounts of money would engage in such eccentric endeavors.
However, in Kousuke’s case, he possessed immense power himself and could easily use magic tools to compensate, making it trivial to keep it hidden while building.
“It might be redundant, but it cannot be discovered.”
Kousuke understood that it was a wasteful use of power, but as it was necessary to accomplish things in secret, he wouldn’t back down.
“Approximately how long do you expect the house to be completed? The degree of power consumption will differ depending on that, won’t it?”
“If things go quickly, about a week. At the latest, two weeks.”
Kousuke answered Silvia’s question with ease.
Hearing this, Shurein and Silvia’s expressions turned to surprise.
“No, wait. A week? Surely you’re joking?”
“Even two weeks at the longest seems impossible?”
Building a house typically takes at least a month, even for the shortest duration.
It was natural for the two, who were accustomed to Kousuke’s actions, to be surprised by his impossible statement.
Kousuke shrugged his shoulders slightly at their reaction.
Of course, Kousuke himself knew how long it normally took to build a house.
“I understand what you want to say, but the method of construction is entirely different.”
“Oh? What do you mean by that?”
Shurein, intrigued, blinked and asked Kousuke.
“By using Divine Power, and with magic like this…”
Kousuke tried to demonstrate by moving his hands, but then gave up and slumped his head.
“…It’s difficult to explain in words. If you’re interested, please come and watch me build it.”
“I see. We will do that, then.”
Shurein, who had offered a wry smile at Kousuke’s reaction, nodded slightly in response.
“With the location and duration settled, what about the materials? Are they alright?”
Sylvia, who had been quietly observing Kousuke and Shurein’s exchange, asked.
Previously, when she had spoken with Kousuke, he had mentioned that not all of them were gathered yet.
“Ah, thanks to Kouhi and Mitsuki, quite a lot has been gathered. The rest are just materials that will be needed at the time.”
“Is that so? Then, when will you start building?”
“I could say I’ll plan the location and house concept tomorrow and start the day after tomorrow… but if I do that without telling anyone else, they’ll likely have various complaints. So, after I’ve informed everyone, that is.”
Kousuke added that last part as a safeguard, foreseeing a future where starting without saying anything would lead to reprimands from various quarters.
Shurein and Silvia, hearing this, nodded in agreement, highlighting how much importance was placed on advance communication before undertaking such matters.
Now, what kind of house will be built?
The author hasn’t decided which one it will be yet either lol.
