Chapter 86

I'm thrilled that the likes have exceeded 10,000. I'm the author, and I'm very happy.

Someone paired up with Hermann. ...Hermann doesn't care about his appearance, but both of them have tattered clothes.

They're like a rag couple.

...A clueless, dazed couple is born. ...I wonder what will happen.

As this season nears the end of November, how are you doing? I'm Hermann. I've been diligently looking for a wife since then. ...I guess my appearance without money is the problem. Some people pass based on physical features, or they just come up with some reason to pass. I don't have a mirror, but from what I can see in the water, I think I have an average face. I don't think I'm that handsome. In this world, it's not decided by looks, though. Many people are rejected just because they live in an inn.

But there were people I could talk to. Not everyone was rejected by the other side. I also rejected some. I gave up on those with culinary talent. I can hire a cook, so I changed my mind to think it's fine if they can do it. Still, I would reject them if they were 26 or older. I think a 10-year age gap is out of the question. It's better if we're close in age. That's why I'm taking a normal color of skin. There were people I thought were nice, but if they rejected me, there was nothing I could do.

But I haven't even gone through half of them yet. There are still many people waiting to get married. It's a city of about 200,000 people, the capital of this territory. It's quite a large number, considering it's next to the Demon Realm. The number of adventurers is not included. 200,000 people pay taxes, which is one-fifth of the capital. Well, children are not included, so it might be a bit more. But even so, there are quite a few vacant houses. I guess it's because it takes half a day to go from one end to the other. I think it's standard for this kingdom to build a large town first. ...The capital is too big, though. Each house is a little smaller than in the capital. Rather, the houses in the capital are quite spacious. ...But it's meaningless since no one lives there.

Most people can be met in the Free Market, which is convenient. But can't something be done about my matchmaking? I've never done matchmaking before. I can't use my past life's experience because I don't remember how I met my partner, so it's not helpful. The system is different, so it's not reliable. Anyway, I have to go through a lot of people in this world's matchmaking system. I can't afford to be discouraged. I want to get a normal wife with a good sense of money. It would be nice if she could run the store with me.

The probability of being able to talk is about one in ten. People who are anxious about their marriage age can talk, but the age is the issue. Even if the age is right and we can talk, I'm probably rejected because of my appearance. Living in an inn is a significant minus point, and I'm branded as an adventurer. There are a certain number of people who dislike adventurers. ...The Demon Realm's resident tax is relatively friendly to adventurers, though. I think more adventurers will own houses in the future because of me. I plan to spread money. I want the miserly Hermann to show his face as little as possible.

So, the fourth person today is Amy. She works in livestock. I can meet her in the Free Market. Is she selling dried meat? Let's look for her. I'm getting used to the location of the Free Market. I know where most things are. I'm a well-known person who goes there a lot. I don't know if she knows me, but I'm on good terms with the lady at the entrance. She cheers me on even though she doesn't know my name. So, livestock is this way.

"Excuse me, which one is Amy?"

"Amy? She's three doors down from the opposite side."

"Thank you."

So, we met. ...She's quite cute, isn't she? Long hair is a plus point. ...Many commoners don't cut their hair because it's troublesome, so I can't say for sure. But noblewomen have to grow their hair, so it's the same for former nobles. Hair washing liquid hasn't spread yet, but I think it will make a difference. Her hair is probably bright red, which will stand out.

"Hello, I came to see the documents at the Magistrate's Office, I'm Hermann."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Amy. Um, what kind of person are you looking for, Hermann?"

"I'm looking for someone who can run the store with me. ...You'll have to quit your current job, though."

"That's fine. I help with the family business, so I would have to quit when my brother gets married anyway. Is there anything else?"

"Nothing in particular. I just prefer someone close to my age. How about your conditions?"

"I don't have any particular ones. ...I just want a lot of children. I love children."

"Having a lot of children is fine with me. How old are you? I'm 16 and will turn 17 at the New Year Festival."

"I'm the same age. ...You seem like a nice person, so I'm fine. What do you think?"

"I'm fine too. When do you want to file the marriage registration?"

"Right now is fine. Shall we go now?"

"That's fine if you're okay with it, but I'm living in an inn now, so can we wait until the New Year Festival and then move to my family's house?"

"Are you an adventurer? I don't mind that, so please take care of me."

So, it was decided easily. Amy, I hope we have a long and happy life together. Since you want a lot of children, let's do our best. In the village, five children were considered normal, so maybe you want nine? I don't know how many is a lot, but if the condition is that, it's not a problem. So, we went to the Magistrate's Office together. I handed Amy's documents to the receptionist and just told them.

"We've decided to get married."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you. Is there anything else we need to do?"

"Since I know where your house is, there's no problem. You're Hermann, right? I'll make sure to record it in the ledger."

"Understood."

"Don't you not have a house yet?"

"I don't have one yet. It's still under construction, but I think it will be finished soon."

"Right. It will probably be finished soon. Since it's eight units, it will be a four-story building, so it's taking a little longer than others."

"...? What do you mean?"

"Hermann...? You didn't explain it, did you?"

"I didn't. I wanted to get married without that."

"Well, it's rare for someone to explain everything, so it's fine... Amy, Hermann has a knighthood, and the house is currently under construction."

"Knighthood!? ...Um, is it really okay to get married? I'm the daughter of a livestock farmer."

"It's fine. I wanted someone with a normal sense of values. Especially financial sense. Many alchemists also leave."

"Is the store an alchemy store!? Can I run it?"

"I don't think the store will be very busy. An alchemy store isn't a place for ordinary people, is it?"

"...That's true, but you will hire servants, right? I wonder if I can act like a noble..."

"I don't require you to act like a noble. Let's just live normally. It will just be a bit more like a noble's life."

"Hermann, you're asking for a lot. It's nerve-wracking to become the wife of a noble."

"...Well, since it's not a condition, I don't have a problem. Just pay a bit more attention to your appearance."

"...Understood. This must be fate. Let's proceed with this arrangement."

"Understood. Hermann, it's better to tell Amy where the house is. Since she's from a livestock farm, it will be on the south side, so show her the way tomorrow."

"Understood. Let's meet in front of the Magistrate's Office a little after morning. Is that okay?"

"Yes! Thank you very much."

So, I parted ways with Amy. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I haven't been to the house construction site recently, so it's good timing. ...I've been focusing on matchmaking. How many days have I been matchmaking? About 20 days? It feels like it was a bit shorter. Well, it's decided, so it's fine. Amy is a nice person, and I think she's normal. She's about 160 cm tall and cute. I think she has an above-average appearance. If her dull red hair shines, her impression will improve a lot.

So, the next morning, I came to the front of the Magistrate's Office. It was around 2 AM. I came early to avoid being late, but I made her wait. I wanted to arrive early.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting."

"No, I haven't been waiting long. Please take care of me today."

"Yes, the same to you. Let's go then."

We walked towards the house. ...Should I have held her hand? I don't know, it's not like I'm good at love. We arrived without holding hands. ...It was just the foundation and pillars, but it's almost finished. I haven't seen it for a while, but the construction speed is faster than I thought.

"It's a big house."

"Well, it's a four-story building. I think we'll live on the fourth floor. I don't think it's good for the servants to sleep on the upper floors. We'll eat on the first floor. The kitchen should be on the first floor."

"It's quite a lot of work. How many servants are you planning to hire?"

"I plan to hire one cook, one or two butlers, and three to six maids. ...Their main job will be to maintain the house, and they'll need to learn how to handle materials. Skeletons can do the job, but I need to rely on them to replenish the storage bottles. ...If you have friends you want to hire, please let me know. I'll hire them. I'll give special treatment to those with culinary talent."

"Really!? Then I'll hire three friends as maids. They should be apprentices in various places, so it should be fine to poach them. ...I don't think any of them have culinary talent, though."

"Three is fine. I have plenty of room. I can hire up to about eight servants, including butlers and maids. I think there are rooms for up to ten servants, including the cook."

"No, I only have three friends I can invite... In a livestock farm, there aren't many friends to play with. We receive subsidies from the lord for food production, so I didn't get along well with children who didn't receive them..."

"I see. Children are sensitive to such things. If the parents don't get along or the atmosphere is bad, they naturally drift apart."

"So I only want to invite three friends. ...How much will you pay them?"

"I plan to pay them six large platinum coins per year. ...Is that too little?"

"It's a lot! Ordinary people live on small gold coins per year. They also have to pay taxes. It's clearly excessive!"

"I think the economy will improve as I develop this capital. I can afford to pay that much. Did you know? The noble pension is five large magic coins per year after taxes. I need to spend that much to keep the capital's economy going."

"Do nobles have to think about such things?"

"They don't have to go that far. If they don't spend money on clothes and decorations, the town's money won't increase, right? Please tell your friends to spend money without worrying. We can't spend five large magic coins by ourselves."

"...Understood. But you might be consumed by greed."

"That's true. The seven deadly sins are quite pressing. I've been tempted by pride before. It's difficult to resist the deadly sins."

"Understood. I'll make sure to remind them."

"Yes. ...Let's go inside and take a look. Boss, can we go inside?"

"It's your house, of course you can. It's just the details left. You can go up to the fourth floor."

"But boss, didn't it speed up a lot from halfway? Until about 20 days ago, it was at the stage of setting up pillars and beams and putting up walls."

"It's because the other three people's houses were finished, so I reassigned the workers here. The construction speed has been increasing for about five days. We now have four people who can command, so it's more than four times faster."

"I see. How much longer will it take?"

"It will be finished in three days, including today. I'll report to the Magistrate's Office when it's done. After that, we'll work on the details, right? Since you're an alchemist, you're good at that, right?"

"Well, I'm from the Dawn School, so I'm good at it. I want to install plumbing and do various things. I don't need much furniture, though."

"That's fine. I heard you'll make the necessary things yourself. We're just building the shell. We're making the minimum necessary things."

"That's enough. The field has also been leveled."

"You requested that from the Alchemy Guild, right? We had them do it at the same time as leveling the land. You don't need a well, right? You'll dig it yourself, right?"

"Yes. I plan to make it when I build the store. I also plan to tinker with the details."

"Then there's no problem. This is also work, so we didn't cut corners. We let the adventurers do the easy parts, but we did the technical parts carefully, so you can rest assured."

"I trust you. Then, let me explore inside."

"Sure! It seems you got a good wife. Make her happy, okay?"

I've talked a lot with the boss. I often came to see the construction during my free time between raids. I haven't come for a while because of matchmaking, but it has become quite impressive.

"It looks good."

"Having more than two floors is scary. Will we fall?"

"I think it's safe. I'll reinforce it later. I also plan to make it more convenient. I want to install plumbing so you don't have to draw water from a well, and I'll make a store and a field. I plan to make it like a small garden."

I know I can manipulate wood and soil. I'll use a wind attribute magic stone, not an earth attribute one. I don't know why it's wind, but it's easy to install plumbing. I've prepared a lot of soil. It's from Lake Cox, but any soil is the same. The Demon Realm is the most convenient place to get fertile soil. I don't know why, but it tries to return to its original state. If you solidify it like a well, it lasts for a while, but if you just take soil, it returns to its original state without you noticing. It's the same if it's eroded by a monster's attack. Some kind of magical force is at work. I don't know about that. It's not in the Dawn School's jurisdiction. It might be a faction or an external organization. A duke or a border lord might be investigating it. Especially the western border lord is actively developing a large Demon Realm. They need to investigate to prevent it from returning to a Demon Realm.

Since it will be finished in three days, I need to post job listings to hire people. ...Can I poach a butler or maid from the earl's place? I'll ask at the Magistrate's Office. It will be smoother if I have one apprentice butler or maid. There are many servants at the lord's place, so it shouldn't be a problem to poach them. It will be troublesome if I have to meet the lord for negotiations, but I can get an introduction from the Magistrate's Office. So, while inspecting the house with Amy, we walked around the mansion, saying this and that.

Whether you found it interesting or not, I don't mind.

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...Probably.