"I think the second option is more appropriate. What do you all think?" (Marcella)
"Yeah, I think it's nice there too. What about you guys?" (Reina)
The other members nodded in agreement at what Marcella and Reina said.
Yes, this royal capital, and this country, were considered "accepted", and it had a real estate agent showed them potential properties in order to rent a clan house. Among them, they spotted a place that had originally been a small inn. The advantage of the inn was that, however small it might be, it was a former inn, and there were many former guest rooms of the same size that were just right for private use. And, naturally, there was a large kitchen. It was convenient for Mile to cook a large amount of food at once to store in her item box. There were also large pots, kettles, and large plates left as they were, and the place was fully furnished.
Everyone gathered in the former cafeteria on the first floor. It's quite spacious and even had a blackboard that Mile made for meetings. There was also a fairly large backyard where guests could hang out laundry or exercise to keep their bodies sharp if they were in a combat occupation. It was large enough to accommodate Mile's specially made portable bathroom and toilet, and there was also a well. Mavis could also train and teach Wonder Trio swordsmanship.
The current hedge was not enough to completely block the line of sight of people walking along the road, but that could be fixed by building a wall with earth magic, so it was not a problem. It was also preferable to do so in order to strengthen the defenses of the clan home. When they left here, they could just use earth magic to return it to its original state.
The other properties were too big and the rent was too high for a young party, especially for the Wonder Trio to live in—this property was quite expensive too—was also too small and there were complaints about the number of rooms and the size of the backyard, so they were not satisfied. The real estate agent probably expected them to choose a smaller property—This property was probably one of the "Show me two big ones, two small ones, and finally a perfect recommendation," which is the common techniques used by real estate agents. And the other "big one" was obviously too big for an ordinary hunter to borrow.
Well, some hunters were aristocrats or the children of wealthy people who do it as a hobby. And perhaps this was not so much of a question, as the existence of Marcella and Mavis explained why the clan seemed to have no financial problems given the age of its members. It's not a good thing for a young person to be thought of as having money, but there's nothing you could do about the "Noble Person Aura" that rose from their entire body. And no matter the identity of the tenant, as long as the rent and deposit were paid in advance, the real estate agent didn't care.
It's a little far from the center of town, that was, from the Hunter Guild, the Merchant Guild, and the shopping district, but not too far from the market. Plus, being away from the city center had its benefits, such as less noise and cheaper rent. Right in front of the guild or the bar, the noise from drunk people making all sorts of noise was unbearable.
"I'll take the second one." (Reina)
The real estate agent seemed quite surprised when Reina told him this. They were not going to buy it. If they didn't like it, they could just move. So, Reina and the others decided on this property quite without much thought. Unlike the average modern Japanese household, there was not much moving luggage. As an added bonus, moving could be done in an instant by using Mile or the Wonder Trio's item boxes. So the psychological hurdle for everyone to move was very low.
"This is our castle!" (Mile)
"This is where our legend on this continent begins!" (Reina)
"No, if we create another legend, we'll have to move to the eastern continent next time." (Pauline)
"Tahaha..." (Mavis)
As always, Mile and the other Crimson Vow members. And then, the Wonder Trio—
"First, we'll clean up. After that, we'll prepare the furniture."
"For now, use a bed, cooking utensils, crockery and cutlery. At first, use what's left in the place. Then, gradually replace it with things you like... Ah, before that, we need to install a toilet and a bathroom first, right?"
"We need to pump water from the well, which hasn’t been used for a while, clean it, and replace the water. Also, we need to cover the backyard…"
Compared to Mile and the Crimson Vow group, the Wonder Trio group was a more realistic work. If you added both together and divided by two, it worked just right. It turned out to be a surprisingly good combination...
"Bathroom and toilet installation complete!" (Mile)
Mile reported this to everyone while wiping the sweat from her forehead—Even though she was not tired enough to sweat...
What was installed was not the "Portable Fortress Bathroom" and "Portable Fortress Toilet" that Mile always kept in her item box and which were firmly protected by large rocks, but a newly constructed item. Fully resistant to peeping and surprise attacks by assailants. As the number of people had increased, the number of toilets had been increased to two private rooms.
The toilets were flush toilets, with water drawn from a water tower built for the kitchen and bathroom—Even though everyone except Mavis could use water magic, it's a hassle to use magic to get water every time you want to drink a glass of water, cook, wash, or do the dishes, and it's difficult to control the amount. And the practice of storing water in jars was extremely unsanitary. It was not something that Mile could tolerate.
That's why having a water tower was so useful. The water tower was tall enough to supply water to the second floor as well. The water tower's tank was replenished with water using magic, rather than pumping water from a well. The water level was displayed in the kitchen, so if the amount remains below a certain level, someone who noticed it should refill it. Mavis was excluded because she could not use magic, but Monica and Aureana, who had little magical power, would do their best to replenish it, which would also serve as training.
The presence of this water tower and the water supply and flush toilets that flowed from it alone made this building incomparably comfortable to an ordinary home. And then there's the bathroom, something you'd only find in a noble's mansion or a high-end inn. No, if you added in some shampoo made by Mile, it would far surpass what you'd find in a noble's mansion.
Wastewater was stored in underground tanks and purified using magic. The clean water was then poured down the drain. In reality, the water had been purified so completely that it could be reused as is, but no matter how clean it was, the psychological hurdle of using the former wastewater was too high.
"...Mile-san, how far do you intend to corrupt us..." (Marcella)
"Ahaha, I guess I can't stay at a normal inn anymore..." (Monica)
"When I go back to my parents' house, I don't think I'll be able to resist using the pit toilet..." (Aureana)
The three members of the Wonder Trio trembled at the danger this house posessed...
Perhaps because they were now living with Mile, the three from the Wonder Trio were no longer seemed anxious or competitive with the three from the Crimson Vow. Even though they were usually working separately as hunters, they lived together with Mile, watching over her safety and her happy life. Just that seemed to be enough for them. Besides, they'd probably be able to hunt together with Mile from time to time through joint orders and borrowing forces...
Well, even if Wonder Trio were to borrow forces, the only ones they would really need to borrow would probably be the vanguard Mile and Mavis. With these two, there would be no need to ask other vanguard-oriented parties to take on joint orders.
Perhaps Reina and Pauline were only being invited as a means of exchanging information to improve their magical skills—And Reina seemed to want to somehow learn from this, since the Wonder Trio was not a party like Crimson Vow that relied on the firepower of individuals, but rather a party that excelled in complementary teamwork, like Servants of the Goddess, led by Telyusia, someone Reina admired.
Thus, with a new base and new systems in place, the Crimson Vow and the Wonder Trio began full-scale operations on this continent...