"So, how was yesterday?" Luke asked.
"Spin-san's grandmother's meat pie is the absolute best," Tricia said seriously.
It was the day of the festival for Elisabeth's coming of age. According to Luke, the star of the show had escaped from the castle yesterday. Now she was under heavy guard.
Tricia was at the Guild's Infirmary. Today, all four Resident Healers were taking turns with the shifts. To be honest, the number of users had dropped a lot since yesterday. The Adventurers were focusing on the festival, so fewer people were going into the Dungeon.
"I wanna eat some too," Luke said.
"You're one to talk, someone who just ate a fancy castle meal!" Tricia shot back.
"Next time, tell Spin I want some too, will ya~!" Luke laughed.
"So?"
"I've finalized the general layout and the number of rooms!" Tricia announced.
"You better be thinking about whether this will actually turn a profit," Luke warned. He was not laughing anymore.
Ever since Tricia had made that naive comment before:
"Rent? If it's too high, people won't gather, right? If it's built within budget, there won't be any extra costs~ I can just Reset it if it breaks or gets dirty~"
Ever since then, he had been lecturing her endlessly about the importance of profit.
"I know, I know! Living on income without working is my dream, okay!? I'll make sure to collect what's owed!" Tricia insisted.
Luke looked at the blueprints spread out and was surprised. There was a standard Boarding house, plus a room labeled 'Guest Room' on every floor.
"A guest room...? I thought this was a house for Adventurers?" Luke questioned.
"What kind of guests does an Adventurer have? Party members?" As he started to ask more, Tricia hurriedly changed the subject.
(An apartment building with a guest room sounds like a luxury condo, it's kinda cool! ...I can't tell him that though...)
She could have just made the storage area larger, but that felt a bit dull.
"It's better to have one and not need it! If there's absolutely no demand, I'll just turn it into another Boarding house," Tricia defended.
She planned to have three Boarding house rooms on each floor, plus the guest room, and a storage room. This storage room would be a place to keep belongings when a resident's survival was unknown.
(Hopefully, I'll never have to use it.)
But Tricia, being an Adventurer herself, knew that was impossible.
"You're cutting down the number of rooms quite a bit," Luke observed.
"I was a little conflicted, yeah. But I started from the idea of rooms I would want to live in. I wanted to clearly make it different from an Adventurer inn," Tricia explained.
It was essentially a 1LDK1 floor plan, the kind Tricia remembered from her previous life. It was a simple wish for Tricia, who had lived in shared dorms as an orphan and then in rooms where everything was in the bedroom once she became an Adventurer.
(Well, my own living space is way more fancy, though!)
"Looking closely, the rooms are all slightly different," Luke noted.
"That part isn't decided yet. Considering the budget and construction schedule, I might keep the main layout mostly the same," Tricia replied.
"And every room has a bath right by the entrance," Luke said.
Luke started checking the details carefully, and Tricia's heart began to race. And, as expected, he noticed.
"You... this... do you have any idea how much these Magic tools cost...!?" Luke exclaimed.
Staring hard at the blueprints, he saw names of what seemed to be Magic tools written everywhere. Stove, sink, cooler, vanity, bath, outdoor restroom... air conditioner. Plus a few other small Magic tools.
He looked at Tricia with wide eyes, as if to say, Are you crazy?
"Ugh! Don't look at me like that~! Spin-san said he had a lead on used Magic tools..." Tricia pleaded.
She didn't care if they were used—or even broken. There were items for breaking down just for parts. Spin was already arranging to go check them out.
"The bath and outdoor restroom, I could imagine since you kept mentioning them... but an air conditioner..." Luke trailed off.
Seeing Tricia looking sad, Luke stopped himself.
"...No, it's your house. It's not my place to say anything," Luke conceded.
But Tricia felt like Luke had given up on her.
"No, no, don't get tired of me~! Someone needs to look at this from a proper perspective! If it's just me and Spin-san, we tend to go too far..." Tricia cried out.
In fact, yesterday was a big party of "this is good, that is good." It was very fun, but there were budget limits, and she couldn't afford to have no agreement.
Luke let out a breath. "Alright, explain the necessity of the air conditioner," he commanded. His tone sounded like an interviewer, and Tricia laughed.
Edinbia had four seasons, but it was not as humid as Japan's summers and not freezing every winter. Normal houses used night breezes in summer and charcoal in winter, so Luke thought such expensive equipment was not needed.
"There are Magic tools that use ducts throughout the whole building to cool or heat it, you know? But look, I'm going to 'Reset' the whole building to be brand new, right? If I do that, it just ends up being extra, unnecessary work..." Tricia explained.
(Thinking about things like this makes me realize my skills aren't all-powerful.)
She had thought of using Reset bit by bit to remodel the building. But Spin wasn't the only one working, and it would take too long.
She glanced at Luke to check his reaction. She saw his face and knew he didn't mean that. So she decided to say what she really felt.
"...I want to make the rooms super comfortable so that everyone will love the house I build!!!" Tricia declared.
"Doesn't that feel like you're just baiting them with stuff?" Luke countered.
"W-well, yeah, but it's fine! ...Though, if the budget doesn't allow for it, I'll give up on this one..." Tricia admitted.
(Worst case, I can just buy it later anyway.)
She explained the reasons for the other Magic tools one by one. This helped her decide which were most important.
"So the kitchen area moved to the back, huh," Luke said.
"Yeah, our opinions were split! Maybe I'll only install it in half the rooms~" Tricia replied.
Tricia's head felt clear now. It was as if she had neatly organized everything that had been filling her mind with fun ideas until now.
Summary:
Tricia and Luke discuss the blueprints and design choices for the new boarding house. Luke expresses skepticism over the costs, particularly concerning Tricia's desire to install high-end magic tools. Tricia candidly admits her desire to create a comfortable home for her tenants, ultimately aligning her priorities.
Trivia:
Tricia considers Resetting the entire building for a fresh start, which limits her ability to implement partial remodels.
Tricia's previous life in Japan influences her standards for housing, specifically the 1LDK layout.
The storage room has a grim secondary purpose as a place for the belongings of adventurers who go missing or die.
Translation Notes:
1 ↩ A common Japanese real estate abbreviation for a layout featuring one bedroom and a combined living, dining, and kitchen area.
Notes:
• Luke - A silver-haired, blue-eyed S-rank adventurer, noble Marquis's son, and mercenary captain who serves as Tricia’s protective, wealthy childhood friend and manager. While dryly teasing, pragmatic, and blunt about her budget and business ideas, this ocean-loving man devotedly guards her passive income empire with overwhelming combat power, financial advice, and a jealous streak.
• S - A first-year student at District 13 High School who has taken B from North Middle into his squad.
• Tricia - Light‑haired, obsidian‑eyed C‑rank adventurer and orphan, she wears a silver chest tag. Once a lone healer‑strategist with foresight, instant‑heal scars, “Reset” item skill and basic wind magic, she now runs a boarding house in Edinbia for low‑rank adventurers. Pragmatic, anxious about finances, secretly despises her old party, yet builds passive‑income dreams.
• Spin - Young architect with short brown hair and a practical coat, works at Valentia Workshop. He is sincere and diligent, raised by his grandmother. Serves as Tricia’s consultant and material sourcer, verifies tax figures for the boarding house with the Merchant’s Guild, and plans to meet her for business arrangements.
• T - A first-year student at District 13 High School who has recruited K and N from East Middle into his group.
• Elisabeth - Youngest daughter of Lord Edinbia, she is seldom seen in public, yet her icy demeanor and fierce combat skill set her apart. Resembling her brother closely, she now celebrates her coming‑of‑age festival under heavy guard after escaping the castle.
• A - A student from South Middle School described as an idol who has been recruited into R's high school squad.
• N - A student from East Middle with an eccentric personality who entered National High School due to complex family circumstances and used herself as leverage to negotiate a protective agreement for K.
• R - A first-year student at District 13 High School who has successfully built a squad and added multiple girls, including M and A, into his group.
• B - A student originally from North Middle School who was added to S's group.
• K - A student from East Middle who followed N to National High School out of care, successfully remaining pure through N's protection until a misunderstanding involving Anonymous Student 0008 led to her capitulation.
• M - A first-year student at District 13 High School and the childhood friend of Anonymous Student 0006, described as an atavistic strong-female who looks plain but possesses significant power.
• Edinbia - The territory to which the soldiers belong.