Chapter 5

5 I Want to Live in a Normal House Tomorrow was a holiday. Milia and Maurey were discussing it in the office. “Miliaaa, isn’t it a day off tomorrow? Let’s eat out together. It’s been such a long time since we’ve had a break, right? I know this great place…” Milia smiled awkwardly at the invitation. “Uhhh, well… I have plans, so…I’m sorry.” I busied myself filing documents as I considered what to do with the day off myself. “Mr. Roland, where do you live? Are you on the eastern side?” Milia asked, making her way over to my desk. The east side of the town was mostly residential and relatively quiet. “Where do I live…? I stay at an inn every night.” “Whaaat?! Y-you must be rich…” “You think so?” “Yes, I mean, normally, people live in houses that are within commuting distance of their workplace.” When she hit me with that bombshell, I automatically parroted back, “People normally live in houses that are within commuting distance of their workplace?!” I had a house in the mountains, but I usually went there only once every couple of months. Perhaps it was more appropriate to call it a rest stop than a house. After mulling it over for a moment, I came to the realization that I’d never had a fixed workplace before. I’d had targets instead of an office. Usually, I took up residence wherever the target was. From a place in their neighborhood, I could conduct a detailed investigation—what time they woke up in the morning, what they ate for breakfast, what they did for work, when they went home, whether they took detours, how many times they went to the bathroom, how many women they slept with, what quirks they had, their family, their friends, their lovers… Once I’d researched every aspect of the target, I would rule out any options beyond my capability. Overestimating my abilities and failing as a result was less than ideal, after all. The same went for the battlefield. The cowardly lived longer than the gallant. The option to live near my workplace had never even crossed my mind. “I suppose it makes sense to live close by if you have one fixed workplace…” “Mr. Roland, if you keep spending your nights at an inn, you’ll end up losing most of your salary to lodging fees. Oh, or are you skimping on your meals? That’s no good. You need to make sure you eat up. Otherwise you won’t have any energy.” “Somewhat of an opinionated damsel, isn’t she?” came a new voice. “Huh? Did you hear a woman’s voice just now?” Milia asked. “I didn’t hear anything,” I insisted. As usual, Rila was curled up under the desk at my feet. “I suppose…a house would seem more normal.” “It wouldn’t seem normal; it is normal.” That settled it. Searching for one was my next goal. “Oh, if you’d like, I can show you around the town and give you a tour of some vacant places. ♪ This is my hometown, so I know it like the back of my hand.” “So it is. In that case, please do show me around.” “I hope it is an abode befitting my presence,” Rila commented, letting another mutter slip. As I spied Maurey looking peeved from the corner of my eye, Milia and I made plans on where and when we would meet tomorrow. I wondered what had happened to her other plans. When Rila and I got home, I voiced my confusion on the matter. “You should have been able to ascertain what it meant based on the flow of the conversation,” Rila explained. “Her so-called plans were a roundabout means of turning that other man down.” “I see. By doing that, she can refuse him without aggravating the situation.” “There you have it,” Rila said. Apparently, claiming to have plans was a regular practice among women. Ladies sure had it tough. When Rila and I went to meet Milia out in front of the Adventurers Guild the next day, I was surprised to find she was already there. “Sorry for being late.” “Not at all—I was just early. You’re right on time. Oh, a kitty! Is she yours?” “Yes. I’d like to show her our new home as well.” “That’s an excellent idea.” When Milia tried petting her, Rila turned her face away and hid behind me. Milia’s action was harmless, but Rila had no intention of humoring the girl. Following after Milia, we began the house-hunting journey. “My family has lived in this town forever, so I pretty much know all the vacant houses and who owned them. What kind of place are you looking for?” “That’s obvious. A normal house,” I replied. “…Um… I’m not planning to show you mansions or anything, rest assured.” “A quiet place would be most appreciated.” “All right! …Wait? Was that your voice just now…Mr. Roland?” “Yes, it was.” It had actually been Rila, but I wasn’t about to offer up that information. “Uhhhh?” Milia cocked her head to the side. “Well, okay.” The first place she showed us was a single-building house in a residential district on the eastern side. “My place is pretty close, barely even a ten-minute walk away! This house hasn’t been empty for very long, so it’s in good shape. Also, w-we could walk to work together…hee-hee.” The building was surrounded by other residences. While it had no yard, it was a tidy enough spot. After taking it in, Rila shook her head. It seemed this house did not please the great and powerful demon lord. “Please show me the next one,” I said. “Uhhh…sure…” Milia then began whispering some complaints to herself—“I thought that was a pretty nice house… It seemed like a good place…”—as she continued on to the next available home. The second house seemed to be on the outskirts of town. Even from afar, it was easy to pick out because there was so little else around. The yard was so overgrown with weeds that I couldn’t even see the ground. “The owner apparently used to be an adventurer, but it seems to have been unoccupied for a loooong time. It’s not unusual for adventurers to go missing, so most likely…” If the person had been missing for years, it was easy to imagine the end of Milia’s sentence, even if I hadn’t been working at a guild. This building was a little larger than the place we’d seen in the residential district. The only thing nearby was a small stream. It was quiet, and the passing breeze was pleasant. Occasionally, I could hear the running water of the creek. The only real drawbacks were that the house was rather old, and it was situated far from most things in town. Rila’s tail was waving back and forth. I’d noticed it only recently, but that seemed to indicate she was in a good mood. “Let’s take a quick peek inside.” The moment that Milia touched the door, I felt a restless presence. Rila’s ears likewise stood at attention. It was the presence of an undead-type monster. “Please wait here, Miss Milia.” “Huh? I suppose I can…” Though many of the guild staff were former adventurers, such wasn’t true for all of them. Milia was obviously just a regular civilian. The unlocked door creaked open at my tugging on the handle. Thieves could’ve been using this place as their hideout. It was a lot more spacious than it appeared from the outside. Sunlight streamed in from the windows, making the place relatively bright. This only made it harder to see in the dark corners, however. “Knave, it is this room,” Rila said. “Right.” Something like smoke was gushing from a door in the back. “An ordinary human would hardly be able to stay in their right mind… Obviously, you’re an exceptional case, though.” “You mean normal, don’t you?” “What is normal about you?” Entering the room where the vapor was coming from, I was immediately greeted by something that looked like the floating top half of a human. Its body was partially transparent. The creature’s nearly human face was home to a single, dark-yellow-colored eye. This monster was known as a dark plasma. “MrrrrrrGHHHH!” Dark plasmas were troublesome opponents that consumed vitality. I’d fought such things several times before; it was fastest to defeat one using magic… This was supposed to be my new home, though. I didn’t like the idea of risking collateral damage from a stray shot. “So what shall you do?” Rila inquired. “Just watch.” I gathered mana into my left arm, wreathing my forearm in magic. “Oh, I had no idea you could be so skillful…” “MrrAAAAAAGH!” With no small amount of agility, the dark plasma came flying at me. “Hmph!” BWOOSH! My left arm bored a clean hole right through the dark plasma’s chest. “Aaaaaahhh…” Wailing its last, agonizing breath, my opponent dropped the mana stone it had used as a catalyst. The dark plasma’s form dimmed until it had completely disappeared. Excess mana seemed to stream from my arm. That quickly came to a halt after I stopped routing mana through my arm, however. “Among demonkind, cladding a part of your body with mana is a trick we refer to as Magi Raegas.” “That’s a pretty over-the-top name for just wearing mana.” “It is because few grasp it. It is only natural for it to have an aggrandized name.” “Seems a lot more demonkind are unadept than I’d assumed.” “What do you mean? It is you who are the aberration.” I really did feel more at home in battle than working as a guild employee. Maybe it was just because I’d gotten so used to it. After I defeated the dark plasma and took a look around the house, I returned to Milia. “How was it?” she asked. “I’ll take it. It’s quiet and just right for me,” I answered. “I’m glad. Well then, how about we go back to town? I’ll help you move.” “I don’t have any belongings. It’s fine.” “Huh?” “I’m going to clean the house and tend the yard, so that’s it for today.” “Huh? A-already? I was hoping we could at least have lunch together…,” Milia mumbled. Then, as though something had suddenly come to her mind, she clapped her hands together. “I-in that case, I’ll make lunch and bring it over! While I’m doing that, you can clean, Mr. Roland.” She dashed off without even waiting for my reply. “Seems she has taken a liking to you,” Rila observed. “You think so? I hadn’t even thought of lunch, so it honestly is a help.” I looked around inside the house again. Excluding the living room and kitchen, there were four rooms. There was no end to the dust, but it seemed like it’d be a usable enough place after a good cleaning. I touched Rila’s collar. Her body glowed, and she reverted to her original form. We’d been close to each other at the moment of transformation, and it’d forced Rila’s back against a wall. Our faces were almost touching. “Rila…let’s do it.” After blinking several times, Rila blushed and turned away. “W-we cannot… Though…it is a new home…and we are alone… W-we have no idea when the damsel might come back…” “We’ll finish before she returns.” Rila turned her face toward me. “…Nn.” She squeezed her eyes shut and puckered her lips. “Hmm? You’ll be in charge of the wet rooms—I’m leaving the kitchen, bath, and toilet to you. I’ll clean the rest.” “…” “Open your eyes. Get going. Time is of the essence.” Rila trembled for a moment and then hit me square in the chest. “Screw you!” Rila stomped loudly down the hall. “Ngaaaah?! Th-the floor has caved in! Hurry and get over here, knave! I—I cannot move…” “You’re such a handful.” Rila’s head was the only thing above the broken floorboards when I came to pull her out. With parts of the house in such bad shape, it was all I could do to repair them as they demanded. After the two of us went about our cleaning for a bit, Milia returned holding a basket in both her hands. “Whoa…! Mr. Roland, it looks so much cleaner.” “Well, I didn’t do it alone. Let me introduce you. This is Rila, the demon who assisted me.” “Hmph.” Rila arrogantly puffed up her chest. “My name is Rileyla. However, I shall allow you to call me Rila. It appears you’re the one looking after Roland during his work hours. Is that correct?” “Hello…my name is Milia McGuffin. I’m Mr. Roland’s colleague.” Most demons were affiliated with the demon lord army and rightfully feared by humans. It would’ve been completely understandable if Milia had been scared, too. “Miss Milia, it’s all right. Despite being a demon, she can’t use magic.” “Oh, she can’t? That’s a relief.” The largest differences between demons and humans were the discrepancies in magical abilities and magical skills. Demons were superior in both. Rila dug right into the lunch that Milia had set on the table. “Hmph. Acceptable.” “H-hey! But I only made enough for Mr. Roland and me!” “Grrr,” Milia whispered into my ear as she pouted. “What is with this pompous woman?” “I met her while I was traveling, and we ended up getting close…” That much wasn’t a lie. I could’ve told Milia that Rila was the demon lord, but it seemed unlikely that she’d believe such a story. “I am not especially partial to this; however…it’s not terrible. You may bring more again.” “She’s totally mocking me!” The three of us enjoyed the meal while Milia fumed over Rila’s teasing. It seemed Milia had made everything herself. Even someone like me, who couldn’t tell the difference between good and bad, could easily recognize that it was fine home cooking. “Once we finish, I can help you clean the place up,” Milia offered. “We have sufficient hands here. You may skip along home,” Rila stated. “Not! A! Chance!” As someone who knew Rila’s true identity, it was a little funny to watch the demon lord and a small-town girl like Milia stare each other down.