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Cashin then led Tatsumi and Calcedonia to a house located in a neighborhood not far from the city center.

“How about this place? As per the wishes of Lord Tatsumi, it’s a modestly built house, but…”

It was a small house built of red brick, the kind often seen in the city center.

Though small, that was only in comparison to the noble mansions they had seen so far; for a commoner’s home, it would likely be considered quite large.

The house was brick-built, but the floors were neatly plank-laid. There are four rooms in total. One is a large room just inside the entrance, which likely serves as a living room. Separated by a door from that room are two other rooms, which appear to be used as bedrooms. And there was also a small room in the attic.

In addition, there was what appeared to be a kitchen and a toilet. As expected, given the cultural level of this world, there were no flush toilets; it seemed to be the type where waste is collected in a pit.

The house also had a small front yard and a backyard, and the backyard contained a private well.

Since commoners typically share the public wells found throughout the town, a house with its own well must belong to someone wealthy even among the common folk.

Another thing that caught Tatsumi’s eye was a box-shaped structure carved out of a large rock, placed near the backyard.

“What is this?”
“Well now, Lord Tatsumi. Apparently, the previous owner of this house wanted a bath, so they commissioned a mage with an affinity for the ‘Earth’ element to craft this stone bath.”
“Huh? So they’ve got a bath… I mean, you have baths around here?”
“Yes, that’s right. You seem to be from another country, Lord Tatsumi, so you might not be aware of it, but the power of the ice spirits grows explosively stronger during the Season of Evening Moon in this country, so there’s a lot of snow and the cold is severe. It’s a long-standing custom in this country to relax and warm up in a bath during the long snowing season. That said, unless you’re nobility, it’s rare for a home to have its own bath. Therefore, there are several public bathhouses in the city.”

Incidentally, when filling a bath, it seems they either boil water in a large pot and pour it into the tub, or hire a mage with the «Fire» affinity to heat the water already in the tub until it boils.

Since both methods require labor, time, and money, it’s said that only wealthy households—such as nobles—who can afford to hire servants can have a bath at home.

“So I guess the previous owner of this house was quite wealthy after all.”
“That’s right. I believe he was a successful businessman who handed the business over to his son and used this house as a retirement home. However… after his death, his son’s business failed, leaving him with a massive debt, and this house was put up for sale to cover it.”
“What do you think, Master?”

Calcedonia spoke to Tatsumi, who was slowly looking around the house.

“Hmm, it’s not bad. If you’re okay with it, Chiiko, let’s go with this one.”
“I have no objections either. It isn’t far from the temple too. So, Lord Sankeelay, how much is this house?”
“Thank you! Now, regarding the price of this house—”

Unfamiliar with local prices, Tatsumi left all the haggling to Calcedonia and took another leisurely look around the house.

It was a single-family home roughly equivalent to a 3 or 4 room apartment in Japan. It would be more than enough for the two of them to live in.

Of course, there wasn’t any furniture inside right now, but it would surely be fun to plan with Calcedonia where to put what kind of furniture.

By the way, how would they pay for the house? He didn’t know how much assets Giuseppe and Calcedonia had, but did this world have things like mortgages?

“I’ll ask Chiiko about it later. I’d feel too bad to have her pay the full amount, so I need to find a job as soon as possible to help her out financially… Until then, I’ll have to do whatever I can, even if it’s just menial work at the temple.”

It would be a little while before Tatsumi was greatly surprised by the price of the house, which was equivalent to several years’ worth of the average citizen’s living expenses—and by Calcedonia’s financial prowess, for being able to simply pay that amount off the cuff.

.

On the way back to the temple.

Although they had purchased the house, they couldn’t move in right away.

They needed to furnish it, and since it had been left vacant for some time, it required a bit of repair work. As for the repairs—leaving the furniture aside—Cashin offered to handle them, so they decided to leave it to him and return to the temple for the time being.

“Is something wrong, Master…?”

Caledonia looked at Tatsumi with concern as he walked along, shoulders slumped and head down.

“No, I’m fine… I’ve just been confronted with a bit of reality…”

Apparently, Caledonia earns quite a lot. That was the reality Tatsumi had just been made to realize.

True, she had mentioned yesterday that she had a decent income, but he never imagined she could just casually pay off an amount equivalent to several years’ worth of living expenses for an average citizen.

*I guess religious affairs are profitable in this world too,* Tatsumi mused. Even in his original world, his vague impression of religion was that it was a lucrative business, regardless of the specific denomination.

That said, from now on, he would be living with Calcedonia.

Even though she used to be a pet cockatiel, Calcedonia was now unmistakably human—and a stunning beauty at that. Tatsumi couldn’t help but feel that living with a woman like her was still a dream, but this was no dream.

It’s true that, in Tatsumi’s mind, he already considers Calcedonia a family. But even so, he felt it would be far too pathetic to rely on her for absolutely everything.

Even if he couldn’t measure up to her, he had to earn a living of his own.

He resolved this anew, but even Tatsumi—who was unfamiliar with this world—could easily imagine that he’d have to work incredibly hard to make it happen.

“A job I can do that actually pays well… there’s no way a job that convenient exists, is there…”

Even if such a job did exist, someone else would have already taken it long ago.

“In situations like this, the classic trope in isekai stories is, of course, an adventurer…”

But does a profession like ‘adventurer’ actually exist? And if it does, how much could one earn?

“Say, Chiiko. Are there people called ‘adventurers’ in this world?”
“Adventurers…? I’ve never heard of them, but what kind of people are they?”

An adventurer is a jack-of-all-trades who takes on dangerous jobs for money. They might exterminate monsters that harm people, serve as escorts for merchants, Sometimes they venture into labyrinths like ancient ruins to retrieve the treasures that lie there, fighting the monsters that dwell within, and so on.

Tatsumi explained to Calcedonia what a typical adventurer—the kind found in games and novels—was like.

“The ‘adventurers’ you speak of, Master, do not exist here, but if I had to compare them to something, perhaps Mabeast Hunters would be the closest.”
“Mabeast Hunters?”

It seemed, just as one would expect, that monsters like mabeasts did indeed exist in this world.

Caledonia explained that while there were dangerous species even among ordinary wild animals, the beings known as “mabeasts” were in a league of their own.

“Some mabeasts can cause phenomena similar to magic, and if they appear near human settlements, they become extremely dangerous. Survival of the fittest is an ironclad rule of the world, and it is certainly one of the laws of nature for the strong—the mabeasts—to attack the weak—humans—and use them as food. However, that doesn’t mean humans have to sit idly by and become prey for mabeasts. That is why there are people known as ‘mabeast hunters’ who exist to exterminate dangerous mabeasts.”

Naturally, hiring these so-called mabeast hunters requires a considerable payment. Since they are taking on dangerous mabeasts, it is only natural that they demand a reward commensurate with the danger.

Furthermore, some mabeasts have meat suitable for human consumption, while others provide materials such as fur, scales, claws, fangs, and bones.

For this reason, many mabeast hunters actively seek out and hunt mabeasts on their own initiative, rather than waiting for commissions. If a mabeast can be used for meat or materials, hunting just one can yield a substantial sum of money.

“But don’t the armies and soldiers of the kingdom or local lords take action to exterminate mabeasts?”
“Of course, His Majesty the King and the local lords do sometimes dispatch their soldiers. However, knights and soldiers in the military specialize strictly in combat against humans. I’ve heard that when facing non-human mabeasts, the situation is quite different, and they can’t fully demonstrate their capabilities. Also, since requests to exterminate mabeasts are often urgent, it seems they frequently hire mabeast hunters from the start because they can respond quickly.”

Hearing Calcedonia’s explanation, Tatsumi nodded in understanding. It seemed that bureaucratic red tape was a problem even in another world.

“Also, the temple we belong to sometimes receives requests to exterminate fiends.”
“Huh? The temple too?”
“Yes. The requests we receive at the temple are mostly for exorcisms, rather than general mabeast extermination.”

Among the monsters in this world, there are also so-called “spiritual entities” that lack physical bodies.

Such monsters are collectively referred to as “specters.” While they aren’t particularly dangerous on their own, if a specter possesses a wild animal or a mabeast, it transforms them into a monster far more powerful than a standard mabeast. Apparently, creatures possessed by a specter are called “Fiends” to distinguish them from mabeasts.

A specter intensifies the possessed animal or mabeast’s instincts—such as appetite, destructive impulses, and territorial instincts—transforming it into a fiend driven by madness that attacks others indiscriminately.

Even if the fiend is defeated, it is merely the possessed animal or mabeast that has been vanquished. Since the specter—the spiritual entity that is the nucleus of the fiend—does not suffer physical damage, it discards its temporary physical form and possesses another body once more.

Therefore, the only way to destroy a specter is to use “Exorcism” magic of the «Light» affinity tree and its branch, the «Holy» affinity.

There are weapons in the world imbued with the same effect as “Exorcism” magic, but they are extremely rare, and such weapons are called holy swords or holy lances.

“Ch-Chiiko, don’t tell me, you’re also…”
“Yes. Since I possess an aptitude for the «Holy» affinity, I sometimes accept requests to exorcise specters. Those of us who belong to a temple and exterminate specters are distinguished from ordinary mabeast hunters and are called ‘Exorcists.’”

It seems that the reason she possessed more wealth than Tatsumi had anticipated was due to her earnings as an Exorcist.

In addition, her income includes fees for healing magic requests. Of course, she doesn’t keep all of the healing fees; about half goes to the Temple of Savaiv she belongs to. However, her reputation for healing magic—thanks to her high aptitude in the «Holy» affinity and her exceptional mana—is excellent, and it seems she receives a constant stream of healing requests from all over.

It is true that Calcedonia possesses aptitude systems other than but among them, «Holy» remains the system in which she excels the most.

Her ability to wield healing magic at a high level, combined with her track record as an exorcist—these were among the reasons she was known by the epithet “Holy Maiden.”

.

“Specter… Huh. So there are terrifying monsters in this world, then. But how do you tell the difference between an ordinary mabeast and one possessed by a specter?”

If you can’t tell the difference between a normal mabeast and a possessed one, it would be a problem for both the client requesting the extermination and the one accepting the job.

If someone hires a mabeast hunter thinking it’s just an ordinary beast, but it turns out to be a mabeast possessed by a specter, the hunter won’t just be out of their depth—at worst, they could even lose their life.

So, surely there must be some way to tell them apart. With that in mind, Tatsumi asked Calcedonia, and sure enough, she said there is a way to distinguish them.

“Mabeasts possessed by a specter have both eyes glowing an ominous red. That glow is clearly visible even in broad daylight, so it’s almost impossible to mistake them.”
“Huh? Red eyes…?”

Without meaning to, Tatsumi found himself staring intently at Calcedonia’s ruby-like eyes.

Then, in a move uncharacteristic of Calcedonia, she narrowed her eyes slightly and turned her head away, as if trying to escape Tatsumi’s gaze.

“…The color of my eyes…are the reason why I was often bullied when I was little…”
“Ah…!! S-sorry!! I-I didn’t mean to…!!”

Even though he hadn’t known, Tatsumi had inadvertently dredged up Calcedonia’s trauma. He hurriedly bowed deeply on the spot to apologize.

“Please don’t worry about it. These days, people don’t really say much about my eye color anymore.”

Calcedonia said this with a bright smile, but in truth, she knew as well. She knew that behind her back, those who disliked her were jealous of her exceptional magical prowess and were whispering, “Could it be that her magic is so powerful because she’s actually possessed by a specter?”

Of course, that was pure nonsense; Calcedonia was not possessed by any specter. A human with such a high aptitude for the «Holy» affinity is, in a sense, a natural enemy to specter. For that reason, even if a specter wanted to possess Calcedonia, it simply couldn’t.

“However, the most terrifying scenario is when a specter possesses a human.”
“Huh!? Specters can possess humans too?”
“Yes. Unlike animals or mabeasts, humans possess various desires. According to one theory, if these desires become too strong, they can attract a specter to possess them. Though, to be honest, no scholar has proven that yet.”

It is also said that if a person meets a violent or untimely death, a specter may possess the corpse, drawn by the person’s resentment. In fact, there are cases where a specter possesses a corpse abandoned on a battlefield, causing it to move.

Listening to Calcedonia’s explanation, Tatsumi realized she was referring to what are commonly known as undead monsters.

“It’s generally said that the more powerful the human a specter possesses, and the greater their desires, the more powerful the fiend becomes.”
“When you put it that way, specters start to sound like such a terrifying monster.”

As the two walked toward the temple, they continued to talk about all sorts of mabeasts and fiends.

From the fiends Calcedonia had actually defeated so far, to the absurd, myth-level monsters that appear in fairy tales and legends.

Listening to these stories, Tatsumi’s curiosity about the mabeasts and fiends kept on growing.

Since he had come all the way to another world, he wanted to see a mabeast or fiend in person at least once. Besides, adventure is an inevitable part of any isekai. Tatsumi, still only sixteen, still held a deep-rooted, pure longing for adventure.

As Tatsumi let his mind wander to the monsters he had yet to see, the temple gradually came into view.

When he heard the word “temple,” Tatsumi had vaguely imagined something like a large, typical Christian church, but the building’s actual exterior resembled a Western castle more than a church or temple.

A large bell hung from a slender tower protruding from the roof of that castle-like building—that was the only part that matched Tatsumi’s image of a temple or church.

“Well then. I guess I’ll stay at the temple until our house is ready and get by doing some menial work.”
“Do your best, Master. If you run into any trouble, just let me know—I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

Encouraged by Calcedonia’s smile, he entered the temple through the main entrance, where a gatekeeper wielding an axe-spear glared at him.

Of course, since he was with Calcedonia, the guard wouldn’t have any reason to stop him. Though, to be fair, the temple’s doors were always open to anyone.

“First, I need to tell Giuseppe-san that we’ve found a place to live.”
“You’re right. I think Grandfather is in his office at this time of the day.”

As the two of them set off toward Giuseppe’s office, guided by Calcedonia…

“Calcie? I haven’t seen you around today. Were you out somewhere?”

A young man’s voice—low and calm—came from behind them.