It was a massive house with a remarkably solid foundation.
What on earth... was this?
It was apparently my new home.
...
Wait, what?
Why on earth was it this big?
"Because I wanted a private room."
"I've felt the old place was too small for a long time now."
"Since this is the Village Head's House, it has to be at least this grand."
They had completely steamrolled me, and since the construction was already finished, there was nothing I could do.
Even though it was enormous, the basic construction followed the same style as a Log House—a timber-framed structure built without the use of nails. Because of that, there was a natural limit to how large it could actually be. Furthermore, the design relied on a rectangular layout to ensure enough natural light reached the interior. If the house were built as a massive square, the center would be perpetually dark. This is the same reason why many old medieval mansions were built in U-shapes or hollow squares.
Similarly, the house standing before me was a long rectangle stretching from east to west. Only the area around the front entrance protruded slightly. I assumed that protruding section was the entryway, but I was wrong.
Stepping through the front door, I found myself in a colossal hall. It was roughly ten meters deep and... about thirty meters wide? Since the ceiling opened up all the way through the second floor, it stood about seven or eight meters high. Naturally, a roof of this scale required several pillars for support, but these had been intricately carved with designs that gave the space a distinct air of luxury.
"We designed it so it could also serve as a communal meeting space," Rafa explained, puffing out her chest with pride.
There was a large set of double doors at the far end of the hall. When I pushed them open, the area where I had been sleeping until now appeared before me like a courtyard. The first thing that caught my eye was the massive tree where Zabuton lived. Its sheer presence made the new house feel like a grand gatehouse built to protect that tree.
Following the same layout as Ria's Log House, there were doors on both the left and right sides of the hall, as well as stairs leading to the second floor.
The door on the left side of the first floor led to my private quarters. I had initially assumed the right side would be better since it was closer to the outdoor Outhouse, but it turned out the house came fully equipped with indoor plumbing.
"Since we have the Slimes, we really ought to make good use of them," the girls explained.
There were three toilets on the first floor: two located near the stairs in the main hall, and one private stall installed within my personal quarters. My suite consisted of that bathroom, a bedroom, a private study, and a Storehouse. Every room besides the bathroom was larger than the entire shack I’d been living in previously, which made me feel a bit out of place.
"Lady Zabuton provided all the curtains and linens," Ria noted.
Looking out the bedroom window, I saw Zabuton waving at me from her tree, and I waved back.
The right side of the main hall contained a dining room and a kitchen designed for light indoor cooking. A door in the kitchen led outside to a secondary outdoor cooking area. Roofs had been installed over the outdoor workspace and the connecting path, making it functional even in the rain. Additionally, a Cellar had been dug beneath the kitchen to serve as a food Storehouse.
Heading up the stairs on either side of the hall to the second floor, I found a row of private rooms on the left side. Lu and Tia had already claimed one each. I wondered why there were so many empty rooms left over, but I decided it was better not to overthink it.
Walking across the gallery that overlooked the main hall to the right side of the second floor, I found rooms that were slightly larger than the private quarters. These were intended to be used as workshops or extra storage. Every room was fitted with uniform windows, providing plenty of natural light. It really was an exceptional house.
"We hope you'll spend the winter here so we can address any points of dissatisfaction or areas for improvement," Rafa said.
Though I was shocked by the sheer scale of the house, I’d had a nagging suspicion something like this was coming ever since they started asking me to dig deep holes, build a Cellar, and prepare massive pillars. I had simply been choosing to ignore the signs.
On a side note, the Log Fence that previously stood between this new house and my old sleeping quarters had been dismantled, and the Moat had been filled in. I knew the defenses weren't particularly effective since Kuro and the others could hop over them with ease, but seeing them gone made me feel a little sentimental. To fill the void, I turned part of the old Moat into a flowerbed.
It was partly an experiment to see if I could grow things other than crops. After debating what to plant, I settled on something classic: the Rose.
While the house was finally complete, the High Elves like Ria and Rafa weren't the only ones who had worked hard. If I had to pick the person who contributed the most, it would be Tia. She had used Magic to create Golems, which handled a significant portion of the heavy lifting.
She could summon anywhere from one to thirty Golems at a time. Apparently, summoning fewer of them resulted in larger, more powerful units that allowed for more precise control. The general rule of thumb was to summon a crowd for simple labor and a smaller, elite group for delicate tasks. Interestingly, she told me she had tried to use them when she first arrived and was attacked by Kuro's pack, but the wolves had torn the Golems apart as fast as she could summon them. They didn't stand a chance until I arrived.
There was also one other discovery—something I hadn't realized myself. Apparently, the timber from the trees in this Forest is incredibly dense and hard. This makes them exceptional building materials, but they are notoriously difficult to fell and process. However, thanks to my [Universal Farming Tool], I could cut and shape them without any effort at all. I had assumed the work was easy because Ria and the others were carving through the wood so vigorously, but it turned out my help with the raw processing was the main reason the house was finished so quickly. I was just glad I could be useful.
The house was quite comfortable, so I moved in immediately. I decided not to tear down my old shack, keeping it as an extra Storehouse for the future.
Lastly, a device resembling a Clapper was installed on the ceiling of the main hall. A thread ran from the device all the way out to the top of the Great Tree where Zabuton lived. It was a clever way for me to hear her signals even while I was deep inside the house. From now on, whenever she tapped on the tree, she would pull the string to sound the Clapper as well. It was a thoughtful touch.
This year, the number of puppies increased significantly yet again. They’ve reached a point where it's practically impossible to keep a headcount. Among the new litter, there were two pups with pure white fur, just like Fubuki. I wonder if it's some sort of rare genetic trait that appears once in a while.
I’ll give them names once I can finally tell the two of them apart.