“I see… Are the buildings here all made with wood and mud? Everything is made with the same material, so there’s this sense of unity in the way the houses are.” [Ryouma]
“Ha ha, a sense of unity? You make it sound so amazing, but the truth is we just don’t have any other materials here. Mud and tree can be found anywhere, so if something breaks, we can easily fix it. They’re really convenient.” [Mei]
“Do you repair your own house yourself?” [Ryouma]
“Isn’t that a given? You have to at least be able to fix your house, you know? At the very least, that’s common sense here.” [Mei]
It seems everyone in this village is strong.
“Ah, this is the house.” [Mei]
As we talked like that, we eventually arrived at the house.
“Come in.” [Mei]
“Excuse me.” [Ryouma]
Mei-san opened the door and invited me in. When I got inside, what greeted me was an earthen floor, beyond which was a large hall with wooden floor. There was a space at the center that seemed to be for a sunken fireplace.
There was a sense of nostalgia to the whole place that reminded me of a Japanese-style house.
“Kai! Kei! Hmm… Since they’re not saying anything, I guess no one’s home. Well, whatever. We’ve prepared a room for you, so I’ll bring you there.” [Mei]
Oh? According to the letter I got, there’s supposed to be a place of lodging prepared for the adventurers.
I asked Mei-san about it, and apparently that place was none other than the meeting place of the village. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very big in the first place, so they’ve already filled up the place.
What happens to the rest of the adventurers then?
They couldn’t just leave the adventurers who went out of their way to protect their village to sleep out in the wild, so the adventurers they can trust to some extent are lent a room in the residences.
“I’m sorry for our village’s incapability to accommodate you, but please endure it.” [Mei]
“There’s nothing to endure. You’re lending me a room for free after all. If anything I’m grateful.” [Ryouma]
“That’s good to hear. I don’t know how it’s like in other places, but over here we get by by helping each other. When we suffer, we suffer together. So if there’s anything you need while you’re here, be sure to say it. I’ll help you as much as I can.” [Mei]
I don’t know if the people here are just friendlier than those from the city or they just look kindly toward people regardless of if they’re meeting them for the first time or not, but while her good will left me confused, there was no doubt that she was giving me a very warm welcome.
“Thank you very much. I’ll be in your care!” [Ryouma]
I thanked her for her warm welcome.
My training at the Ratoin Lake begins from here on our!