“There—...!”

“Not—gonna let you.”

Shouko’s chopsticks shot out like a thrust, aiming at a single point.

But just before they reached the target, someone else’s chopsticks lunged in from the side and stole the prize.

“Wha—!? Chiyu, you...!”

“You’re still too soft, Shouko.”

Chiyu chewed what she’d taken as she looked down at the defeated Shouko.

“Ghk... next time I’m not losing...!”

“Challenge me as many times as you like.”

For the record, we were talking about grilled meat.

We’d placed a small stove on the ground and set a disk-shaped stone slab on top of it, using that to grill.

When you say grilled meat, you picture sauce, but we didn’t have anything like that, so we ate it with salt.

And it was incredible.

It was like the meat and fat exploded in my mouth, slamming the shock of pure umami straight into my brain.

As a high school guy, I wanted nothing more than to shovel down white rice with it.

“Mmph, the stuffed ones are good too. Yomi-umi, you’re a good cook.”

“Thank you, Shijo. Oh—would it be okay if I called you Minori...?”

Shion said it with a smile.

“O-of course, I don’t mind.”

“Good. Then call me Shion.”

“O-okay. Sh-Shion.”

Shijo looked oddly happy.

“Minorin’s blushing! Then I’m going with first names too!”

“Mino... I’m fine with Chiyu.”

“If that’s how it is, then I’m Sousuke too. Nice to meet you again, Fukami.”

By the way, right now we were using a bonfire set into a stone basket on top of a wooden base as lighting.

Maybe it was the way the light hit her, but Shijo’s face looked a little red.

“Y-you too. Shouko, Chiyu... s-s-s... Kuno-kun.”

“Huh? I’m the only one who stays the same...?”

“Hehe. That’s a maiden’s heart, Sousuke-kun.”

Shion was grinning.

Well, yesterday I’d been embarrassed just calling Shouko and Shion by their first names too.

I got it. When it’s the opposite sex, it feels weird.

“Haaah... Shii-chan’s food is the best! The stuffed ones are amazing—the meat flavor and the mushroom texture are perfect, and the soup tastes so gentle.”

“Yeah. Our head chef.”

“Haha. I’m glad you like it. I’ll keep contributing through food.”

While we ate, we also talked about the new home.

Fukami and I had already sketched out the rough floor plan, so I told them.

“A living room sounds great! Even if we each get our own room, I still wanna gather for meals and chatting.”

That was a very Shouko opinion—she loved talking.

“And I’m happy the kitchen will be indoors. Right now there’s always wind, and since it’s what we’re putting in our mouths, I don’t want sand getting in.”

At Shion’s request as our head chef, we decided to put two stoves in the kitchen.

And if it was indoors, we should probably make ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) a hole to vent smoke too.

“Now that we’ve got more people... is it time to upgrade the bath too? Like a hot spring—a big tub.”

At my childhood friend’s suggestion, I crossed my arms.

A spacious bath did sound great.

A drum-bath style was fine, but a bath where you could stretch your legs was even better.

“But then boiling it gets tough. I don’t think it’s impossible, but...”

At my words, Fukami raised her hand.

“There’s something I want to test, about that.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“Um... once, I missed with Fireball and hit a tree. The fire vanished in a flash after a while, so the tree didn’t burn down... but—there was still a scorch mark.”

“Huh?”

Shouko tilted her head.

“So the fire itself disappeared when your mana ran out or whatever... but the fact that it was ‘heated’ didn’t disappear?”

At my words, Fukami nodded.

“Yes. It doesn’t mean much if it’s just me, but if we combine it with your power, Kuno-kun...”

“That’s good. I like that! Okay—first, we place a stone tub filled with water. Then you fire Fireball into it and boil it instantly. We adjust the temperature by adding more water. That means even a big bath would be easy to heat.”

“Yes. In that case, firing it indoors would be dangerous, so you and I would need to step outside.”

“If it boils instantly, it’s not much effort. Actually—my Inventory doesn’t have time passing, so if we do it when we have time, we could make a huge amount of hot water, store it, and then every day just place the hot water into the bath tub.”

“Ah, true. Then we wouldn’t have to step outside every time, and even on rainy days we wouldn’t have to stand out there heating water.”

Fukami smiled softly.

And really—Fukami’s magic was amazing for uses outside combat too.

Being able to bathe every day with about the same effort as back on Earth was great news.

“‘As expected of you, So-kun.’”

“And ‘as expected of you, Fukami.’”

Chiyu did her usual line, and Shion piled on.

“So all the girls can bathe together? Nice, nice!”

Shouko seemed to get it now and looked happy.

Alright, back to the floor plan.

They wanted chairs and a table in the changing area that connected to the bath.

That was the kind of thing you’d see at a public bath or an inn—space to sit and dry your hair.

With girls, they might do skin care too.

In that case, I wanted to put a mirror there, but I still couldn’t make one yet.

A few more small requests came up here and there, but nothing turned into an argument.

I also told them to speak up without holding back.

It felt like everyone was trying not to burden me, but I didn’t want a house that left anyone dissatisfied.

And then, the moment the topic reached the second floor—everyone’s bedrooms—the air among the girls went taut.

“I’m not giving up the room next to So-kun.”

“I’d like to be next to Sousuke-kun too, if possible.”

“U-uh, m-me too!”

“I don’t really... um... But to make sure nothing indecent happens, it’s more convenient if I’m close to Kuno-kun’s room, or...”

Chiyu smoothly stood up and said:

“We decide in the bath.”

Hearing that, the other three nodded.

“Ah... okay then. Let’s heat the bath first. While you’re all in, I’ll generate the new house.”

To be honest, I’d been thinking of setting it up like a surprise—placing furniture too, making it feel like a real living space—so this was perfect.

Today, they’d handle the bath outdoors.

With Crafting Ability, I generated a large stone tub.

“Oooh! Hot spring size!”

Shouko was already impressed just from the tub.

I placed water into it.

“If hot water splashes, it’s dangerous, so everyone step back. Fukami, I’m counting on you.”

“Yes. Leave it to me—Fireball!”

Fukami’s staff indicated the tub. A sphere of flame formed and shot into the target.

With a loud hiss of evaporating water, a huge cloud of steam rose.

When it cleared, what remained was a bath that gently gave off steam.

I dipped a finger in—hot!

I added water from Inventory.

Then, so whoever got in could adjust it themselves, I prepared a large barrel of water on a base.

Once we surrounded everything with folding screens, it was done.

“No way! The bath’s ready already!? That was instant!”

“Turning an image into reality right away. ‘As expected of you, So-kun.’”

“Using magic to enrich daily life. ‘As expected of you, Fukami.’”

Chiyu and Shion praised me and Fukami again.

“Alright, go enjoy it.”

“But your contribution is the biggest, Kuno-kun. Shouldn’t you go in first?”

At Fukami’s words, everyone nodded like, Yes, yes.

“No, I want to make the house first.”

At that, Fukami looked like she understood.

“Then I’ll take the bath first.”

“It’s okay, Mino. The leftover bathwater from four beautiful girls is the real repayment for So-kun.”

“Don’t put weird ideas into serious Fukami.”

After I shot my childhood friend down, I headed for the Hut.

The girls vanished behind the folding screens too, giggling and making a racket.

“It was only one night, but... thanks.”

This was also a place with meaningful memories, where my relationship with Chiyu had deepened, so I wouldn’t disassemble it.

I stored it in Inventory, clearing the space.

And then—

I generated our new base.

Our house.