Chapter 4
Having heard cautious speculations from her parents, Iris went into a frenzy and shouted.
“No way! If Adam was summoned somewhere, there’s no way he wouldn’t come back to me!”
“Uh… well. That guy might just end up devoting himself to a new master…”
This wasn’t about Adam being fickle or cold-hearted.
It was more like a difference in how he viewed life, perhaps.
The Earl and his wife had spent enough time with Adam to understand quite a bit about his personality.
“Iris. Given Adam’s nature, it’s likely that if he thought he had perished, he’d consider the bond ended. He won’t forget us, but he also won’t neglect his current duties to come looking.”
If Adam had been present at that moment, he would’ve been shocked—how accurately the Earl’s wife had pierced through his inner thoughts.
Still, whether Iris would accept that was another matter entirely.
“That’s impossible! Besides, all this talk of him being summoned is just speculation anyway!”
“Even if you’re right, Adam wouldn’t want you ruining your life over trying to summon him back.”
Though everything the Earl said was true, Iris simply couldn’t accept it.
“…Leave me alone.”
“Iris.”
“I don’t want to hear anymore! Please leave! Hurry!”
Faced with their daughter’s cry, heavy with despair, the Earl and his wife had nothing left to say.
Once they left the room, Iris once again grabbed the summoning stone forcefully.
But then she put it down and fell into deep thought.
‘What if Adam was summoned by someone evil? Yeah, that could be possible.’
That explanation covered everything. Why he hadn’t shown up despite endless gacha attempts, why he hadn’t returned even if he was already summoned…
With that reasoning, Iris felt convinced.
‘I need to save him. Only I can rescue him.’
Drunk on her own conclusion, Iris quickly prepared to head out.
Rumors would spread if someone as notable as Adam had been summoned. If he wasn’t in the Empire, she’d check other countries, survey the entire continent if needed.
No matter the cost in money or time, it didn’t matter.
‘My heart’s impatient, but I mustn’t rush. I need to move carefully so those women don’t notice.’
She didn’t know yet.
That in a few days, rumors would spread across the continent: the wandering hero who defeated the calamity dragon had been newly summoned to the Barfulus Kingdom.
That he had taken up the role of trainer for the kingdom’s knight squadron.
That he had settled into a new life with a new master.
And what she’d do upon hearing all of it.
‘Wait for me, Adam! I’ll definitely save you!’
She had no idea.
—
“Since we start at the knights’ office the day after tomorrow, it’d be good to get the house and furniture set up today and tomorrow.”
Not only as a gesture of goodwill, but also as an advance payment for the trainer position, I received plenty of platinum coins. Now it was just a matter of heading to each shop and spinning the gacha.
After the duke left, I had a quick breakfast, cleaned up, and was about to go shopping when something seemed off about Lucy.
“House… house?”
“Lucy?”
“Kyaa! Wha, what?!”
Lucy looked at me with wide, startled eyes.
She must be nervous about going house-hunting now.
How do I calm her down?
“Is there any kind of house you’ve always wanted? Even just a vague image would help.”
“A vague… image…?”
After some thought, Lucy hesitantly began to voice her desires.
“If possible, I’d like a roof…”
“Ah.”
That was all I could manage to respond.
Her dream was far too modest.
True, in the slums, having a roof was already a blessing, so I guess it made sense.
“Anything else?”
“Yeah, maybe a door that keeps strangers out would be nice…”
By this point, I was starting to feel sad.
“Do you have any preferences for the style or atmosphere of the house?”
“I’m sorry… I’ve never been inside a house before, so I don’t really know…”
I admit it.
That was my fault.
“This means we’ll pick out the house and furniture together using catalogs.”
Arriving at the real estate office, Lucy and I carefully examined the catalogs to choose a house.
“What about this mansion gacha? The higher tiers even come with gardens?”
“B-b-b-too expensive! It’s insane!”
“Our budget is fine.”
Fine doesn’t even cover it—we’re overflowing. I wanted to get Lucy settled in the best place possible, but she stubbornly refused.
At least here, she managed to clearly express her own will, so I should genuinely be happy about that.
“H-how about this one?”
“That’s not really a house… more like a warehouse.”
We thought it’d be quick, but it’s taking longer than expected.
We might not even have time to spin for furniture if this keeps up.
“Ah.”
“Hm? Oh.”
While flipping through the catalog, Lucy’s eyes stopped on a drawing of a small, simple but warm-looking house.
“Does this one appeal to you?”
“It’s… um… yes.”
Calling over the real estate owner, Lucy and I asked which gacha contained the house we liked, then stood together in front of it.
Of course, just picking something from the catalog doesn’t guarantee you’ll get exactly that house.
Gacha results depend on natural luck and divine guidance.
“If we don’t get it, don’t be disappointed. There are other similar options.”
“Yes, it’s fine.”
In the worst case, we could sell it and try again, though we’d take a slight loss.
Lucy, still unable to fully hide her anxiety, watched as I inserted platinum coins into the gacha machine.
“Spin it.”
“Yes.”
As the lever turned, light shot out from the connected metal plate.
But the light had no color.
Colorless.
When the light faded, a real estate contract appeared in its place.
Lucy can’t read yet, but it didn’t matter.
There was a picture attached to the contract.
Slowly lifting the contract, Lucy looked at me and smiled shyly.
“It’s this house.”
Ah…
Thanks, Gacha God, for letting me see this smile.
Even though I’m not particularly devout, I sincerely gave thanks at this moment.
Then again, thinking about it, the Gacha God and their deity are separate entities, so it probably doesn’t matter?
After completing the house contract and registration, Lucy and I headed home first to plan where to place the furniture instead of going straight to the furniture store.
It was a two-story brick house. Not overly large, but not small either—it seemed perfectly livable.
What’s this called? Rustic charm? Seeing it in person made it much more appealing than the catalog picture.
“Now let’s head out and spin for furniture. They usually deliver the next day, so it’s best to get everything done today.”
I could carry it all myself, but since it’s not just one or two pieces, repeatedly going back and forth would be annoying.
“Should we carry the bed ourselves?”
“Can you really carry that?!”
“Yeah. My strength is S-ranked.”
Picking out furniture went surprisingly fast compared to the house. Neither of us cared much about specific designs, so we just went for practical, unremarkable choices.
Lastly, we just need to pick a bed and we’re done.
“How’s this one? What do you think?”
“It’s not too small…?”
“It’s single size. We’ll buy two and put them in separate rooms.”
“Separate rooms…?”
Confused by my words, Lucy tilted her head.
Why isn’t she getting it? Did I use some difficult term?
“Lucy?”
“…Isn’t this a bit strange?”
“What’s strange?”
“Um, well… isn’t Adam my master?”
“Yes.”
“But why do we need separate rooms and beds?”
“Huh?”
This time, I tilted my head in confusion.
Was this a question about why we sleep separately?
“Why separately?”
“Well, because we’re a man and a woman?”
“I get that, but Adam is mine, right…?”
“Huh?”
“What?”
Hmm. Even if she grew up in the slums, she shouldn’t be completely ignorant about proper conduct, right?
From our conversation on the first day, it seemed like she understood those aspects pretty well.
Unless… Is this a hint that she wants to develop a romantic relationship?
“It’s still a bit early, isn’t it? Things like this should happen after properly getting to know each other step by step…”
“Does Adam dislike me…?”
“No way.”
“Th-then it’s fine, right?”
…Is it fine?
Is this correct?
While pondering, Lucy pulled gold coins from my pocket and spun the king-sized bed gacha, pulling out an R-ranked bed.
Before I knew it, she was carrying the bed—and a bonus blanket service prize—in one hand.
“Amazing! Isn’t it heavy?”
“Not really, but I kinda feel dragged into this somehow.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing.”
Thinking it might be nice to turn the remaining room into a study later, I applied for delivery of the chosen furniture while Lucy and I carried the bed back to the rooftop.
“Why are we moving to the roof?”
“Carrying such a big item around would interfere with other people’s passage.”
“Oh, that makes sense! Adam seems really considerate!”
“Considerate to this degree?”
After jumping between rooftops and returning home, we placed the bed in the room.
The previously barren room suddenly felt much more lived-in with just the addition of the bed.
“Wooow! This bed is so much softer and warmer than the ones at the inn!”
Guess she gets excited whenever she sees a bed.
A sentence that sounds slightly risqué.
“Looks like it’s roughly clean, but it’d be good to tidy up before dinner.”
“Leave it to me!”
Despite her confident reply, Lucy, who’d never lived anywhere that required cleaning, didn’t know anything, so I had to teach her step-by-step.
Still, she learned quickly, proving that she just lacked experience rather than ability.
After finishing the cleaning, we briefly visited the market to grab food.
I originally planned to eat out, but since Lucy seemed to prefer eating at home, I packaged the food and laid it out in the living room.
“Let’s toast to commemorate our first day moving in.”
“Toast!”
Since we were both adults, we indulged in drinks and food bought from the liquor store. Apparently, it was Lucy’s first time drinking alcohol.
She handles it pretty well, huh?
“What does the alcohol taste like?”
“S-somewhat strange, but drinkable… Uuuuugh!”
“Hey, are you drunk?”
“I’m not drunk!”
She’s definitely drunk.
I let her keep drinking freely, but since it was her first time, she failed to pace herself.
Just in case she vomits, I thought about grabbing a bucket when—
“Where am I going?”
Suddenly, Lucy abruptly stood up from her seat.
—
