Ten Days Later
OUR collective stay in the Central Hotel was a blast. The week flew by, and every single day was filled with only entertainment and relaxation. We enjoyed the pool, the obstacle course, the leisure facilities, the hot springs, the saunas… We even went shopping at the shopping corner, which was like a miniature shopping mall. It was simply amazing.
But because it had been an entire week of hanging out and having fun, there wasn’t anything especially noteworthy about it. It had gone by in a blur. One moment, I checked into the hotel. The next moment, it was already the end of our one-week stay.
We ended our stay by walking around the souvenir shops and mall on the first floor of the hotel before returning home with a whole lot of new luggage. Since I’d contacted Since I’d contacted them in advance, Kon and Sayori’s parents were already waiting in front of our house for their children’s return. The moment Kon and Sayori saw them, they charged into their parents’ waiting embrace, together with their armful of souvenirs. Both kids started eagerly sharing their vacation stories with their families.
I watched the heartwarming sight in my peripheral vision as Techi and I lifted the sliding storm shutters, put down our baggage, and immediately explored our newly renovated house.
In terms of outward appearance and structure, it was pretty much the same as before. I couldn’t spot any notable differences. The thatched roof also looked unchanged—but only in looks. It had transformed into an ornament that concealed the real roof underneath, which was made properly with fireproof material. Even if the thatched roof somehow caught on fire, the real roof underneath would protect this house.
Similarly, fireproofing material and fire-resistant insulation had been installed within the walls. Even the windows had been changed into fireproof ones. In the event of a forest fire, these windows might contort somewhat in shape, but they wouldn’t crack or break. Therefore, the fire wouldn’t have an entrance into the house. Their effectiveness was apparently proven in a real incident with a large fire in a city somewhere, according to Také. The same applied to the fireproof material used in the walls and the roof.
I couldn’t be too negligent, of course, but thanks to all these upgrades, we should be able to feel more reassured as we lived in this house. Furthermore, he’d installed fire alarms in the kitchen and near the bathroom, and he’d even planted a belt of fire-resistant trees around the house. As if that wasn’t enough, he’d even added reinforcing material to the pillars and stairs, which meant that this house was also more resistant to the shock from earthquakes.
As a small bonus, he’d even upgraded the water boilers in the house to the latest ones, such as the ones in the bathroom. I was honestly impressed that he’d managed to do so much within such a short span of time.
Of course, this meant that it all came down to a significantly hefty bill, but this was a house I was going to live in for the rest of my lifetime with Techi. It was a necessary expense and investment.
And well… I might have also put the money I got from my dad to good use. Ahem.
After we finished inspecting our house, we went back to check on the others. Kon and Sayori must have gotten even more homesick after seeing their parents again, because they started insisting that they wanted to go home right away. Soon, the two families went home merrily, happily talking about what the children had enjoyed during their vacation.
Techi and I were also kind of exhausted. It wasn’t quite physical exertion, per se, but an indescribable mental fatigue that could only be healed at home, sweet home. And so, we promptly took baths in the upgraded bathroom, changed into our pajamas, and spent the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing at all.