“This is… I see.”
[Looks like it.]
I have arrived at the front of the dormitory, which will serve as my dwelling for the next five years, after finishing both the morning’s classroom lecture and the afternoon’s practical training. Yuzuru-san, whom I had met earlier, was the one who handed me the key to my personal dormitory.
“What can I say… it’s very different from the architecture of Japoterasu.”
[It is apparently based on the architecture of my hometown of Graecian.]
The dormitory is in the form of a house with a white exterior covered with a rectangular shape topped with a sharply pointed roof, and several windows can be seen on the walls.
From what it is known to me, there are three main types of buildings in Japoterasu.
The first is the Retro Japoterasu style, which consists mainly of one-story buildings like the tenement houses and shrines where the Gods once resided.
The second is a high-class and flamboyant architectural style that achieves both practicality and appearance at a high standard, such as the two or three-story buildings inhabited by aristocrats with gardens built for each house, which is called the Modern Japoterasu style.
And the third is an architectural style that incorporates the latest technology, like the Japoterasu Divine Sanatorium where I was hospitalized, which is commonly referred to as the Tri-Japoterasu style.
The dormitory that is right in front of me, nevertheless, does not adhere to any of these architectural styles. If I had to venture a guess, I would say that it is close to the Tri-Japoterasu style, but from what Ys said, it is probably closer to the Graecian architectural style.
“Well, I suppose I should go inside anyway.”
[Right.]
Since waiting outside for an eternity is not desirable, I unlock the door and enter the dormitory where I switch on the lights, which are apparently powered by the God of Thunder.
“It looks like a Modern Japoterasu inside.”
[Well, the house is mainly used by you rather than me, Akira. It’s probably designed to be easy for you to use.]
“I’m a commoner, so I’m used to retro rather than modern.”
[Come to think of it, you’re right.]
The inside of the dormitory features a wooden floor, which ought to be called wood flooring, along with a number of doors in the corridor, so unlike the 6 tatami room tenement I lived in before, there seem to be several rooms.
I start by looking around the house, one room at a time.
“Wow, there is a kitchen, a hall, a washroom, a bath, and everything else I could think of.”
[There’s even a ritual hall for my own use. Well, it is unlikely that it will ever be used because of our relationship by contract. It will be adjusted.]
“In fact, it’s more of a disguise.”
[Indeed.]
Consequently, we have found a decent-sized kitchen and a hall that could be used for meetings before initiating an operation.
Or rather, both the bathroom and toilet are for personal use and are thoughtfully constructed with convenience as the first focus. As far as I remember, I have never actually viewed a private bathroom, despite having heard of them before… The eradication squad and Susanoo-sama are amazing.
So, as far as the ritual site is concerned… it seems that Ys is going to do something about it later on. Unless she informs me differently, I will leave it in her hands.
“So there are two staircases, one at the top and one at the bottom.]
[Hmm. Let’s go to the top first.]
“Okay.”
We find a stairway and ascend to the second floor—or more precisely, the inner part of the roof.
“What’s this?”
[It’s some kind of thermal storage system.]
What we have found there is a black box-like structure with enough space to be moved around and a skylight on top of the box to allow sunlight to penetrate the space.
This box, according to Ys, holds a substantial volume of water that may be heated with sunlight and utilized for a variety of applications.
For the time being, it seems that with this box, hot water of a certain temperature can be used almost anytime without having to make a fire. This is astounding.
“Next, should we go downstairs?”
[Yeah, I guess so. If it is in the Graecian style, the bedroom should probably be down there.]
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“Heh, is that so?”
Listening to Ys’ words, I descend the stairs and step into the basement.
“Huh? It doesn’t feel strange to me.”
[What do you mean?]
After entering the basement level, I confirm that there are multiple doors on both sides of the corridor, momentarily causing my eyebrows to furrow at the fact that the air is exactly the same as on the first and second floors.
“Well, when people think of basements, the air usually seems to be somewhat stagnant…”
[Oh, that’s what you mean. There must be an air circulation system somewhere that is working properly. Even in Graecian, bedrooms were placed in the basement like this one, and air was circulated by a special device.]
“Hmm.”
When I inquire about the mysteries of this matter to Ys, she says that this is normal in Graecian.
Convinced by Ys’ words, I open the doors one by one and observe the rooms.
“I mean, what’s the point of having all these rooms? I am living alone, you know.”
[Ah, and since Susanoo-sama mentioned Akira’s ‘squad,’ perhaps someone who is partnered with you might be moving in at some point.]
“That reminds me—he did say something along those lines. I suppose I’ll simply need to adapt to it.”
[More succinctly, if you were willing to expose your true identity to the person you’re going to be teaming up with, things would be better off.]
“That’s an option, too…”
As Ys mentioned, the majority of the rooms are bedrooms and consist mostly of a bed and a chest of drawers, which may be readily redecorated if desired.
Also, there is a room with several shelves that would be very useful as a storage room for equipment.
“…”
[…]
At this point, we discover a room with my name inscribed on a wooden board. I figure that, in conjunction with Ys’ words, this will be my room when the others join me, so I open the door and look inside… and we both are left speechless.
“…”
[…]
We exchange one quick glance before turning to look back inside.
The two of us then recheck the name on the wooden board hanging at the room’s entrance and softly rub our eyes, assuming that we have seen it wrong, before peering inside the room again.
We then let our thoughts out.
“…I’ve only seen something like this in a children’s book or something like that…”
[…You’re really being treated like a princess…]
Ys and I involuntarily mutter our respective impressions before stepping into the room.
In the center of the room, which is twice the size of the other rooms, is an oversized bed with a frilly canopy, and nothing else.
Ah, no, I have been too caught up in the frilly canopy oversized bed that I have overlooked the rest of the room. There are two doors that go to a corridor in addition to the bed; one leads to a room that seems to have been constructed as my personal storage room, and the other opens to a room that is equipped with a number of facilities that, according to Ys, utilize geothermal energy.
…Susanoo-sama, are the frills and canopy a taste of yours? If so, I believe we should have another in-depth conversation regarding my actual gender.
For the sake of my mental health, I shall proceed with the assumption that this bed preparation has nothing to do with Susanoo-sama and belonged to someone else’s taste.
[Akira. Why don’t you go take a bath and refresh yourself?]
“Yeah, I’ll do that…”
And so, upon Ys’ recommendation, I head to the bath to relieve myself of the day’s exhaustion.
——————
T/N:
The number of tatami mats is equivalent to square meters in Japan. 1 tatami to square meter = 1.6529 square meter