In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 2

by Patora Fuyuhara

  “U-Uhm, Touya... can we really live here with you?” Linze muttered.

  “Hm? Sure you can.”

  “...You won’t tell us to get out later on, right?” Elze said, clearly full of doubt.

  “Don’t be stupid!”

  “You’ll, um... treat us exactly like you’d treat Yumina-dono, will you?”

  “Sure!” Why was she even asking me that? I had no family in this world, so they were the closest thing. That much was obvious.

  ...Why did they all look so flustered? Sure, living in such a mansion might be overwhelming, but it was already mine, so they had no reason to hold themselves back.

  Ah, I got it. They were embarrassed about living without paying any expenses, essentially becoming freeloaders. I didn’t mind at all, really.

  “Well, there you have it. We’ll all be living here from now on. There’s no rush. Feel free to decide when you have your feelings in order,” Yumina proclaimed to the blushing trio.

  “Alrighty...”

  “Y-Yes...”

  “I understand, I do.” In response to Yumina’s words, the other three nodded, their faces still red. Feelings in order? I didn’t really get it.

  “What’re you guys talking about?”

  “It’s a secret.” There was that unison again... Alrighty, then. Wait, was I actually the one with the lowest position in the household?!

  “Well then, shall we go and choose our rooms?” Yumina suggested.

  “I want the one on the corner of the second floor.”

  “I-I’d be happy to take the one next to the library on the third floor,” Linze nervously stated.

  “I would like a first floor room that faces the garden, I would.” The girls got all cheery and started talking among themselves. Boy, did I feel like an outsider. Well, with all the rooms we had, I was perfectly fine with them picking the ones they wanted. After all, we’d still have a load of empty ones regardless...

  “Hmm, I’m not entirely sure if the five of us will be able to look after the place...”

  “It’s impossible.”

  “Well, you’re straightforward...” There was no hesitation in Yumina’s response. Even cleaning would be too much for us. We had our guild work, so there was no way we could ever do something like gardening.

  “We’re going to have to hire help. Fortunately, I already have some people in mind.” Seemed like I could leave it all to her, then... We really needed more help around, that was true. A royal like Yumina likely had some good methods of acquiring quality human resources.

  Anyway, it was time to prepare to move. Though, that only involved bringing our stuff here through a [Gate]. Then, all we had left was furniture and similar things. The house had absolutely nothing in it, after all.

  We should also greet our friends back in Reflet.

  With the search for servants and other business we had, we decided to move in three days later. I felt like things were going to take a turn for the hectic.

  ◇　◇　◇

  Finally, the day of the big move came around. We said our goodbyes to the people who looked after us while we stayed in the town. Micah and Dolan of the Silver Moon Inn, Aer of the Parent Cafe, Mr. Barral from the “Eight Bears Weapon Shop”... Zanac of “Fashion King Zanac,” too. With that, we said goodbye to Reflet itself.

  The first place I called home in this new world. I had a lot of feelings about the matter. Even though I could come back any time I wanted through the [Gate] spell, it was still an emotional farewell.

  Dolan said something or other about putting Reflet on the map for being the original “Shogi town.” The king was surprisingly enthusiastic about Shogi, so the plan didn’t seem too far-fetched in the grand scheme of things.

  As a farewell gift to Zanac, I printed off some papers with various uniform designs on them. Who knows, maybe he’d officially develop a sexy nurse outfit or the sailor school uniform as a result. ...I wasn’t formally suggesting them, but I had a feeling Zanac might take the bait.

  To Aer, I gave a boon consisting of some new recipes, along with cooking tools I had formed with my [Modeling] spell. Just little things like an ice cream scoop, a round cake cutter, and assorted small template cutters in the shapes of a heart, a star, and a circle. I resolved to come back for a bite to eat once she figured them all out.

  Similarly, I gave Micah a kitchen knife, a peeler, a manual fruit juicer, a grater, and a few recipes on the side as well. With that, I was sure the Silver Moon would see its culinary power grow both exponentially and ferociously.

  After we said our goodbyes, we returned to the royal capital. Several carriages were stationed outside the house. It seemed they were already moving our furniture in. Yumina was outside, directing the workers as they carried odds and ends into the house. When she noticed we were back, she ran over to greet us.

  “Touya, you’re right on time. There’s a man here seeking employment as housekeeping staff, can you come and meet him?”

  “Huh? Right now?” An older man clad in a formal black suit walked in my direction. He had white hair, and a sturdy mustache. Hm... don’t I know him from somewhere? Oh, right, he’s the guy who presented me with the key on a platter back when I was being granted my house.

  “Pleasure to meet you, though we have met once already. My name is Laim. The pleasure is mine.” The man calling himself Laim bowed his head to me. This guy’s gotta be, what... in his sixties? Despite his looks, his mannerisms were surprisingly spry.

  “Old Laim has served my father personally for many years. He’d make a fine butler, don’t you think?”

  “What?!” This guy looked after the king himself?! We’ve reeled in an absurdly high-class person!

  “How’d we even get someone like him?”

  “Ah, I’ve since passed on that old role to my son. As it happens, the princess extended an invitation to me shortly afterward. I thought it would be something of an honor to serve the man that saved my younger brother’s life.”

  “Younger brother?”

  “Yes, he goes by Leim. He serves the venerable Duke Ortlinde and his family.”

  “Oh! Leim, the butler who was with Sue!” No wonder I thought he looked familiar, they looked almost the same. So the two brothers served the king and the duke, who also happened to be brothers. A butler brother duo, eh...?

  “Well, how about it? Shall we hire him?”

  “Well, it’s not that I dislike the idea or anything, but... is it really okay? Aren’t there better places for him to work?

  “Not at all. I’ll be working here from now on. Thank you very much for understanding.” Laim bowed his head slightly. Well, there was no reason to decline his kind offer. We decided to put him in charge of other employees and household management. Basically, we pushed all of the managerial responsibilities onto him.

  “Well then, I would like to make a request, sir.”

  “There’s no need to call me sir!”

  “On the contrary. I am now an employee here, so it’s very important that we establish who the master of the house is, and who the humble servant is.” So, with that said and done, sir, there are a few capable workers I would like to see put to work here. Would you care to meet them?” I wanted that “sir” stuff to end already, but it seemed to be futile. He was steadfast, so there was no fighting it. That’s a professional butler for you.

  Laim left the mansion as quick as the breeze. Seemed like he was going to gather the prospective workers for me. He sure worked fast...

  “We’ve hired a wonderful butler.” Elze carried her bags into the mansion. Linze and Yae followed shortly afterward, and Yumina went back to dictating what furniture was placed where.

  I went up to my own room to drop off my luggage, and then returned downstairs to help the others.

  My room was the most spacious room on the second floor, for the moment at least. It was honestly largely on account of the fact that it only had a closet and a bed in it. I didn’t even have any bedding on that bed of mine
. Still, furniture was due that day, so my room would soon have a chest of drawers, a desk, some chairs, and shelving for books on display. Naturally, I’d have some bedding included in all of that too.

  Come to think of it, couldn’t I just make my own chairs and stuff with my [Modeling] spell? It would probably save me a ton of expenses, too... Wait, no, if I did that, everyone would want me to make furniture for them. I definitely didn’t want the extra hassle. It’d be a real pain... I decided that things were fine as they were.

  Hm... which spell would be best for unloading furniture? I had a feeling I’d be carrying the heavy stuff. I was the only man in the house, after all. I definitely had to show off my reliable side at least once in a while.

  While I was deep in thought, Elze walked by, having already cast [Boost] on herself. The girl was shifting furniture at an amazing speed. H-Huh? Do you guys even need my help? Hmph, I won’t let myself be beaten! This had suddenly become a matter of male pride. I cast [Boost] upon myself and began to carry furniture just as fast as Elze.

  After all the furniture was carried inside, we gathered together on the terrace for a tea break.

  We’d successfully finished putting our furniture in our bedrooms, and we’d furnished all the other major rooms like the kitchen, living room, and guest suite. All that was left was organizing my clothing and various books.

  Elze and I competed a little bit to see who could carry the most using the [Boost] spell, but the victory went to Elze. [Boost] itself is a Null spell that amplifies one’s physical abilities, but it uses the caster’s physical strength as a base.

  ...It was pretty embarrassing to lose in a contest of physical strength to a girl, so I thought I should probably train harder. That’s it, starting tomorrow, I’ll go running outside.

  I can’t match Elze in physical strength, I can’t match Linze in magical knowledge and patience, I can’t hold a candle to Yae’s swordplay, and Yumina’s archery abilities along with her general mannerisms completely outshine mine... It’s actually depressing.

  “Things are finally settling down...”

  “There are still various little household items left to buy, there are.”

  “We can just buy those as we come to need them and they’ll appear naturally enough.”

  “Right. Let’s finish here for today, then,” Yumina said. It was true that we were short on general household goods, though. Daily necessities like table utensils and cleaning supplies. A bathtub as well, come to think of it. Do we have any personal cleaning products at the moment? I don’t think so... Oh, we’d need a trash can too. We had more left to buy than I initially thought.

  Everyone brought up what they thought the house needed, and we compiled a list. We all decided that we’d go out and buy them later. After everyone finished giving their opinion, Laim came from the front gates with a group of men and women in tow.

  “Greetings, sir. These are the individuals that I mentioned earlier. They all have my personal approval, and have been investigated thoroughly. They’re the best hires you could possibly get.” ...I just couldn’t get used to that “sir” thing. I wish he’d call me something else already. When he uses a term like “sir,” it makes me feel old. I felt like it would maybe suit me after ten more years or so, but definitely not right now.

  “Greetings, I’m from the Maid’s Guild. My name is Lapis. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “Heyyy there, I’ve aaalso come from the Maid’s Guild. My name is Cecile. It’ll be a pleaaaasure to work with you.” Two girls stood in front of me and bowed their heads. They were wearing stereotypical maid uniforms. Lapis had a dignified air about her and held her dark black hair in a bob curl cut. Cecile, on the other hand, had light brown hair and a sweet smile painted on her face. They both looked to be about twenty years old. The two girls were wearing stereotypical French maid outfits, complete with the frilly headpieces.

  Wait, there’s a Maid’s Guild? Then again, it’d be pretty easy to commit a crime as a maid. Stealing would probably be simple in that line of work. Having a formal system where all maids are subject to tough background checks and proper education made a lot of sense to me. Plus, registered maids would be a matter of public record, too.

  Laim informed me that the two girls would be charged with cleaning the house, and also help him with household administration when needed.

  “I’m Julio, your gardener! Ah, this is Crea, she’s my wife.”

  “I’m Crea. I’ll be taking care of the cooking.” Next up to introduce themselves was a married couple that I think were in their late twenties.

  The duo was made up of a relaxed young man with golden-blond hair, and an equally calm looking young woman with reddish hair. The two of them looked to be quite similar in personality. They both seemed fairly laid back.

  Julio was apparently the son of one of Leim’s friends. He was to be put in charge of flower arranging, vegetable growing, and general gardening duties. Crea, his wife, was to be our personal cook.

  Seems she’d been working for quite some time as an apprentice cook for the aristocratic elite of the kingdom. I decided I’d show her the recipes that I’d printed out for Micah when I had the time.

  “The name’s Thomas. Until recently, I was a Heavy Infantryman.”

  “You can call me Huck. Spent most of my life serving in the Light Cavalry.” A heavy guardsman and a light guardsman, huh...

  Their figures matched their titles, too. Both of them seemed to be in their fifties. Laim reached out to them because they recently retired from the kingdom’s military. Seemed that they’d be alternating between gatekeeping duty and general mansion security. The gate had to be manned at night as well. Were they going to rotate shifts or something?

  Would two guys be enough? I thought maybe I should hire a couple of others as well. I figured that was an area for Laim’s expertise.

  That aside, Thomas and Huck... they were seriously called Tom and Huck? I’d be willing to bet they got up to a ton of mischief in their childhood.

  They seemed fine to me, so I took Laim’s suggestion and hired them.

  “Thomas and Huck live in the capital, so they need no special arrangements... However, the others and I would prefer to live on the grounds. Is that fair to you, sir?” I accepted Laim’s terms, since they seemed fine to me. We had a lot of rooms anyway, so it wasn’t an issue.

  I felt that Julio and Crea deserved some space of their own, being a married couple and all, so I requested that their room be further away from everyone else so they could spend some time together. That said, us all being in the same building and all, I felt that they weren’t really being given much “alone time” to begin with. I’d prefer to let the happy couple enjoy their quality time together.

  I gave each of the new employees some money and told them to go out and buy some necessary goods. I gave a separate sum to Lapis and Crea, and instructed them specifically. Lapis was to purchase the general goods from the earlier list, and Crea was to purchase food and utensils for the kitchen.

  Everyone ended up going shopping, with the exception of Laim, who said he wanted to give the mansion a thorough inspection. He said that he wanted to know his new workplace down to the very last crevice. Honestly, I’d tip my hat to him if I was wearing one.

  “Things finally seem to be dying down...” I still wasn’t used to my new home, and we already had seven servants added to the roster. The money I got from the king should be enough for the time being... I was starting to worry about my financial situation, just a bit. But to be honest, there’d be no point in worrying about it either way.

  “It’ll be fine if we leave everything in good old Laim’s hands. There’s a good reason my father has kept him employed since he was young.”

  “I still can’t believe we ended up hiring the king’s old butler.”

  “I’m sure he expects great things from Touya.” Yumina sipped her tea as she spoke, matter-of-factly. Don’t make me feel any more pressure...

  “
...I don’t believe we’d be able to handle it all on our own, so I’m very thankful we have such a capable butler in our service.” Linze mumbled as she plucked a cookie from the table and fed it to Kohaku, who was stretched out over her lap. She wasn’t wrong. He’d certainly be helping us a lot in the future.

  Hm? Did I just hear the sound of a carriage rolling up to the front gate? Have Lapis and the others returned already? Were there really so many bags that they needed a carriage?

  As I thought about it, Laim suddenly came out from the inside of the mansion.

  “Sir, we have visitors. It is the good Duke Ortlinde, and his daughter, young Lady Sue.”

  “Huh? Sue and the duke are here?!” Ah, my mansion has its first visitors already... I wondered what brought them here.

  ◇　◇　◇

  Right after Laim announced the arrival of our visitors, Sue and her father appeared on the terrace.

  “Howdy neighbor. Nice to see your face around these parts.” Duke Ortlinde chuckled heartily as he spoke. Well, he says “neighbor,” but he lives in a district within the inner ring, and my place was way out on the outer ring. But, to be fair, it was definitely a lot closer than Reflet.

  “It’s been a while, Sue.”

  “Indeed it has, Yumi.” Yumina and Sue greeted each other quite politely. Oh yeah, I kind of forgot those two were cousins. But seeing them so close together, I noticed they looked pretty similar with their blonde hair. That being said, they were definitely far apart in terms of personality...

  “I must say, I was very surprised when I learned of your engagement to Touya, Yumi.”

  “Pretty sure the most surprised one was me...” In all honesty, I didn’t get it. I still had no idea how to process the situation. When they made it to the table on the terrace, Laim brought us all tea. Truly a butler of the highest caliber.

  “To be honest, I had intended to have Sue and Touya marry each other. Alas, it seems you beat me to it. You and my older brother, on the ball as usual!”

  “Oh, you planned such a thing for me, Father? Well, if it’s Touya, I don’t think I’d mind an arranged marriage at all. Spending my days with him would certainly be fun...”