I made way more money than I ever planned, all because my finger slipped and hit 'Auction' instead of 'Instant Sale' on my last piece of equipment.
"What am I supposed to do with all this...?"
For whatever reason, the auction ended in about an hour, leaving my newly purchased bag stuffed to the brim with stacks of yellow bills alongside the pots.
"Mmmm…"
It was an absurd amount of money—far more than I could spend even if someone forced me to.
Zipping the bag shut, I headed back toward my secret stash spot.
My instincts led me to a familiar location.
"Hup."
I plopped down beneath a massive tree stump, furiously digging through the dirt with my hands before packing the earth firm with my feet.
Thump, thump.
Urgent footsteps echoed from far behind me.
My ears twitched, pivoting toward the sound of their own accord.
The noise grew louder and closer with every passing second.
Not my secret spot…
This was my personal vault.
No one could ever know about it.
Absolutely no one.
As the intruder closed in, my hands dug with matching frenzy.
But right as they drew within a hundred meters—
"Ah, thank goodness."
I relaxed.
Instinctively, I knew the person rushing over wasn't a suspicious stranger.
Thump, thump.
The familiar warmth and subtle vibrations from afar matched the rhythm of my own heart.
"She got here faster than I expected."
Sighing in relief, I slowed my digging; there was no need to panic anymore.
I shoved the bag of money into the pit just as a girl broke into the clearing.
"Lord Dan…?"
The expected voice reached my ears, accompanied by the gentle hum of Death Moon—a blade crafted by my hands, like my very own child.
But greeting her would have to wait.
Hiding the money came first.
Keeping my eyes glued to the dirt, I quickly finished leveling the ground.
Soon enough, the money bag was seamlessly hidden.
"Phew, all done!"
It was a truly fulfilling, heartwarming sight.
Only then did I turn around with a smile.
Daon stood there staring at me with blank eyes.
She was hardly any different from the last time I had seen her.
At most, her worn-out clothes had been replaced by sleek leather armor.
I had spent ages back in the forge, but time clearly moved differently out here.
"Hmm…"
My gaze shifted from Daon to the blade in her hand.
Still as blood-red as ever—my masterpiece was catching the light like a crimson gem.
Looks like she's been taking good care of it.
The countless pieces of gear I'd forged had never been touched by anyone else.
It was only natural—I had always been alone, without a single visitor to speak of.
"Umu."
Unlike before, when she had swung it awkwardly, she now held Death Moon comfortably in one hand.
Huh… so this is what pride feels like.
Seeing someone put my creation to proper use felt genuinely gratifying.
As my smile broadened, the blood-red curved sword hummed back with a subtle, affectionate resonance.
"It's… it's been a while…"
Daon spoke quietly, her voice trembling as she tightened her grip on Death Moon.
"Well... how've you been?"
"Ah! Y-yes…"
As she stood there struggling for words, I walked right past her.
With a soft, wet thump, I patted her on the back.
"Huh…?"
Flustered—or perhaps still struggling to process reality—Daon turned around and looked at me in confusion.
"Ahem."
Buying land was one thing, but building a forge on top of it obviously wasn't going to happen overnight.
Since Daon was human, she was bound to have a roof over her head somewhere.
"Let's go home."
Why build a house from scratch when I could just stay at hers?
Instinctively and practically, this was clearly the right move.
After a moment's hesitation, Daon's face lit up with a brilliant smile, and she stepped forward to lead the way.
* * *
As I strolled along quietly, looking around at the street, a dull impact struck my forehead.
Rubbing the spot, I looked up to see Daon standing still in front of a small single-family house with a neatly tended flower bed.
"We're here."
This was her place.
"Mhm."
I casually strolled past her, threw the door open, and made myself right at home.
Dirt sticking to my feet left brown prints across her clean floor.
"Ah."
I heard a soft gasp behind me, but I brushed it off.
"Hmm…"
Rather than dwelling on her reaction, I turned my head left and right to inspect the interior.
A cozy sofa facing a TV, and a door further back leading to another room.
Not too spacious, not too cramped.
"Not bad."
It was the perfect temporary base until I built my own forge.
I spun around and looked up at Daon nonchalantly.
"I can live here, right?"
"Of course! … I mean, I'd love that, but…"
Though her mouth agreed, her eyes nervously scanned my dirt-covered body.
But what was said was said.
Flashing a bright grin, I dove straight for the sofa I'd spotted earlier.
"P-please wait a second!"
Whoosh.
Daon darted forward with incredible agility and snatched me out of the air.
"…Hm?"
Dangling with her hands firmly under my armpits, I tilted my head back to look up at her.
A small chin, followed by a sigh of relief.
Then, slowly lowering her head to match my eye level, she gave a sheepish smile.
"Um… how about we take a bath before lying down?"
At her suggestion, I looked down at myself.
Clumps of dirt were splattered across my white clothes, and brown snow tangled in my tail.
…Isn't dirt a good thing? It keeps you cool and masks your scent.
"Mmm…"
Dangling helplessly, I watched a clump of snow drop off my tail and melt onto the living room floor.
In my mind, mud was clearly superior, but if I wanted to freeload here in peace, I needed to play by Daon's rules.
At least a little bit.
Reluctantly, I gave a small nod.
"…Sure, fine."
"Whew."
She set me down gently and guided me toward a wooden door in the living room.
I offered her a quick glance back before stepping up to grab the iron doorknob.
As the door creaked open, an artificial floral scent hit my nose first.
Beyond the threshold, a pristine white bathroom waited.
"Uh, um…"
Seeing me hesitate, Daon stepped inside first to demonstrate.
"Ah, if you grab this knob and turn it, water comes out."
Wooosh.
"And this one is for your hair… and this is for your body…"
Come to think of it, I'd never mentioned to Daon that I used to live in the modern world.
But it wasn't like I remembered much anyway, and explaining a long, boring story sounded like way too much effort…
"…Got it."
Seeing her explain everything so kindly made my conscience sting slightly.
A bit flustered, I gently nudged her out of the bathroom and clicked the door shut.
"I'll leave some fresh clothes outside!"
Daon's voice echoed from outside moments later.
"Haaah…"
After rubbing my face with both hands, I looked up at the running water.
"Nngh…"
I hadn't let it show, but… I really, really didn't like this.
Getting wet meant my fur would get soaked, making my body feel heavy.
Should I just walk out?
After an agonizing period of hesitation, I squeezed my eyes shut, stripped off my dirty clothes, and hurled myself straight into the pouring stream.
* * *
"Ughhh…"
My worst fears immediately came true.
No matter how vigorously I scrubbed with the towel, my soggy tail felt heavy as lead.
Every drop trickling down from my hair sent goosebumps racing across my back.
I hadn't felt this drained even after forging a hundred pieces of gear non-stop for days.
Dragging my exhausted body out of the bathroom, I spotted a stack of neatly folded clothes sitting on the mat.
Giving myself a couple of final wipes, I picked them up.
"They're a bit big…"
I meant to tell Daon, but I was so sapped of energy that it came out as a weak mumble.
"Sigh…"
Life is tough. Guess I really am destined to live alone.
I never knew living with someone would be this exhausting.
Firmly resolving to build my own house as fast as possible, I threw on the oversized clothes and shuffled out into the living room.
Daon was sitting snugly on the sofa, peering intently at her phone screen.
"I definitely need to buy this…"
Curious, I dragged my feet over and peeked at her screen from behind.
[Pet Shampoo]
[Heavy-Duty Dog Drying Chamber]
Above a list of random items, there was also the phrase [Shopping Cart].
Drying chamber?
Intrigued by the concept, I leaned in closer.
Apparently, it was a device that blasted warm air from every angle at the push of a button, instantly fluffing up wet fur.
"Oh…"
It was precisely what I needed at that moment.
It looked like a miniature version of my forge's hearth, or maybe an oversized transparent pot.
"Huh?! Lord Dan, when did you come out?"
Realizing I was quietly peeking over her shoulder, Daon whipped her head around in surprise.
She looked back and forth between my soggy tail dragging on the floor and my exposed shoulder slipping out of the oversized shirt.
"Oh my gosh… you're going to catch a cold!"
She scrambled up from the sofa and bolted straight into the master bedroom.
Moments later, she emerged holding another device attached to a long cord.
Vrrrrrrrrring!
A deafening roar erupted as a blast of hot air swept toward my face.
I vaguely remembered what that was.
The thing used to dry hair.
"Wah! Aahhhh!"
But knowing what it was theoretically and experiencing it firsthand were two very different things.
Instinctively, I scrambled back two steps.
"Please hold still. It'll dry in no time."
Daon snatched me up once more and aimed that vicious stream of hot air straight at my tail.
My fur flew wildly in all directions.
"…Hmm?"
This is… actually not so bad.
I still disliked its strange shape and deafening noise, but the warmth felt surprisingly cozy.
As the hot air swept down my spine, my heavy tail magically began to lighten.
Every strand of fur sprang back to life, fluffing up to its original puffy state.
…Not bad at all.
My firm resolve to live alone wavered like paper in the wind.
All things considered, staying here a little longer didn't seem like such a bad idea after all.
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