A Cozy Life in the Woods with the White Witch: Volume 2 E-Book

MOJIKAKIYA

• Herausgeber: J-Novel Club
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Serie: A Cozy Life in the Woods with the White Witch
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 314

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

It’s been six months since Tori got fired from his adventurer job and was hired to clean up Euphemia the White Witch’s home. From household chores to home improvements to wrangling Euphemia’s rowdy familiars, his duties just never end—and on top of that, a new familiar has made her way into the household! It’s a busy life for Tori at the White Witch’s cozy forest abode. But when he hears that his old friends have suddenly vanished, he might have to take up the mantle of an adventurer once more. Will he rise to the task and still be able to keep his busy yet comfy new life?

Leseprobe

1. Autumn’s End, Winter’s Start

The heat of summer had long passed, and autumn was nearing its end. Winter was now knocking on everyone’s doorstep. The winds had become cold, biting any exposed skin with a stinging chill, and the leaves were fully fallen, leaving the branches of the trees bare. The skies were the same as always, though they felt higher up than usual. Each breath in the morning plumed white from the cold.

Despite the struggle of rousing himself from the thick blankets he’d buried himself under, Tori still woke early in the morning to light the fireplace, inspect the crops in the garden, feed the birds, and prepare breakfast. This had been his daily routine for a while, and waking up early had become second nature to him.

Euphemia the White Witch and her three familiars were still asleep, but Tori didn’t wake them; he would wait until they got up on their own. Inside their cozy, warm bedroom was a huge bed, where the four of them were huddled together. Euphemia hated sleeping with any clothes on, and since Shinozuki the fenrir and Subaru the phoenix didn’t wear any at all in their regular forms, the two of them disliked sleeping clothed as well. The archlich Cecilia did wear nightwear, but it was a thin and translucent piece of clothing, which only served to emphasize her voluptuous body. In some ways, it might have been more erotic than being completely naked.

In any case, that was why Tori refused to disturb their sleep. Instead, he prepared breakfast in anticipation of them waking up. A tasty aroma began to fill the house. Around this time, the four of them would usually start to leave the bedroom, rubbing their bleary eyes and plopping down on the couch or at the dining table. Tori would then wait until they were awake enough to eat.

Today’s breakfast was a stew made of dried fish and vegetables, freshly baked bread from dough he’d left to rest the previous night, some sausages, and a large omelet to share—all ready to eat on the dining table.

“Euphie, put on an extra layer of clothes,” Tori barked.

“Ugh...” Euphie moped.

“Tori, there’s too little meat here. So shabby!” Shinozuki complained.

“Okay, so you’re skipping breakfast today?”

“Of course not!”

“Hey, big bro, I want more omelet!” Subaru exclaimed.

“Subaru, don’t you feel even a tiny ounce of hesitation eating those eggs?” Tori asked.

“Huh? Not really,” she answered curtly.

“Tori dear, more stew, please! Pass me the salt too,” Cecilia requested.

“Okay, okay. Cecilia, eat your carrots.”

“Waah, meanie!” she wailed.

“Tori, more bread, please. Put lots of butter on it,” Euphemia ordered.

“Gotcha. Anyone want more jam?”

“Me! Me!”

It was already bright outside when they’d all finished eating breakfast. Another day had begun.

Tori threw fresh firewood into the fireplace to revive the dying embers inside. The winter cold meant more frequent use of the fireplace, but it also meant they were eating up a lot more firewood. Euphemia’s magic helped in keeping the house at a toasty temperature, but they still needed the warmth of the fire, especially at night when it was the coldest. During these months, the fire in the parlor was kept lit throughout the day.

Tori then finished washing the dishes, swept the floor, picked up discarded clothes, and did the laundry. He fixed the bandanna on his head and carried the basket of freshly washed laundry from the bathroom to the line outside.

Out in the yard, the birds were pecking at the ground. They were scratching with their claws, trying to dig up seeds and bugs in the soil. The birds that had once fit in the palm of Tori’s hand were now full-sized chickens and ducks. Their high-pitched chirping had changed into the quacks and crows of adult birds.

The vegetables Tori had grown for the summer were now gone and replaced with the seedlings of winter crops. The root vegetables had started growing leaves, while the leaves of the cole crops were still expanding and had yet to form heads. The smaller carrots and turnips that Tori thinned out could still be used in stews, while the leaves could be fed to the birds. There was no end to Tori’s workload.

“How’s this look?” Shinozuki, in her fenrir form, asked Tori. She had been digging a big hole in the garden with her front paws.

Tori inspected the depth of the pit and nodded. “Looks good. Thanks, Shino,” he said.

“Gah ha ha! I’m a mighty fenrir warrior, after all! You better gimme more meat for lunch later!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Fenrir? More like a pet dog, Tori thought.

Euphemia, who had been sitting atop the fence that surrounded the yard, hopped down from her seat and walked over.

“Want me to get it started?” she offered.

“Yeah, please do,” Tori replied.

Euphemia waved her staff before stabbing it into the center of the hole that Shinozuki had dug. Then she muttered a short chant. Her staff began shining, and strange, ephemeral symbols floated around it. Shortly after, the ground rumbled. The rumbling was loudest around the staff, and before long, water spouted out of the ground.

“Whoa, water really did come out. Amazing!” Tori exclaimed.

“Heh heh.” Euphemia had a smug expression on her face.

It had been over half a year since Tori had been employed at Euphemia the White Witch’s household. Tori had gotten over his lingering regrets over his time at his old clan, the Muddy Four-Horns, and had adapted to his new life. Other than the usual household chores, he now had time to take care of other things around the house.

Tori’s current project was building a pond in the garden. Now that he had finished repairing the henhouse and the ducks were fully grown, he wanted a place for them to frolic.

Euphemia’s house was situated in a slightly elevated area. There was a river downhill, but it took a while to get there, and it would be troublesome if the ducks were to get swept away by the current. Instead, Tori decided to dig a pond near the garden and make the water flow toward the river. He asked Euphemia to find underground springs with her magic, and requested the assistance of Shinozuki’s paws to dig the hole and the waterway.

The ducks immediately started splashing around the muddy water. Despite the approaching winter, they paid no heed to the cold as they pecked at the water with their bills and flapped their wings about.

“I’m hungry,” Euphemia muttered. Tori looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was almost at its zenith. He adjusted the bandanna on his head.

“I’ll get started on lunch,” Tori announced. He went into the kitchen. Back in the summertime, the room had been so hot that he would immediately sweat, but in this season, the temperature was just about right. He welcomed the heat, especially after having been out in the chilly weather outside.

Tori wiped the sweat from his forehead and started chopping and crushing some boiled greens. Once they were sufficiently mashed, he poured in some water and used the mixture to make a pale green dough. He would have to let it sit for a while before cutting and shaping it.

The residents of the underworld in this household were meat lovers. If Tori served the vegetables as they were, they would often leave them untouched, so he had to get creative with the way he prepared them. He felt like a mother dealing with a houseful of picky eaters.

Euphemia, who had been idling in the parlor, poked her head into the kitchen. “Is it ready yet?” she asked.

“Not yet,” Tori replied.

“Smells nice.”

“Can you set the table?”

“Okay.”

Tori could hear water running in the bathroom. Shinozuki seemed to be relaxing in the tub after washing up from digging the hole for the pond. Meanwhile, Subaru was wiggling around on the couch and Cecilia had locked herself inside Euphemia’s workshop, seemingly busy with some task.

Tori finished cooking the noodles and mixed in the sauce he’d prepared for them. He served it along with grilled meat and more veggies, then handed the plates over to Euphemia.

“Take these to the table,” he instructed.

“Okay.” She nodded.

“Uhh, is it lunchtime yet?” Subaru stood up from the couch.

“Come on, you lazy bird. Help us out and carry the plates.”

“Oh-kay.”

When it came to food, these denizens of the underworld would listen to anything Tori had to say. For everything else, they always had some complaint, though they would grumble and give in whenever Tori baited them with food.

Tori poked his head into the bedroom and yelled, “Cecilia! Lunch!” He heard Cecilia yell back, “Okay!” from the depths of the workshop.

Tori went back to the dining room. Euphemia was already seated and staring at the food on the table.

“Oh yeah, I noticed you haven’t been working recently,” Tori remarked.

“Yeah. I haven’t been getting piles of requests like before. Ever since we trained the Cerulean Dagger, they’ve been taking care of most of the quests in town. They haven’t been sending me as many jobs lately,” Euphemia replied.

“Really? Are you gonna be okay?”

“Yeah. I’m still getting orders for potions. And I like it when I don’t have anything to do.”

Euphemia wiped some tomato sauce from the edge of her plate and licked it. “Tasty,” she said.

“Hey, don’t play with your food!”

“I’m taste-testing it.”

“Jeez. Oh, if you don’t have any jobs, why aren’t Shino, Subaru, and Cecilia going back home? Are they gonna be okay?”

“They’ll be fine. Also, I’m having Cecilia help out with something.”

“Huh. Yeah, what’s she doing in your workshop, anyway?” Tori asked.

“Developing a spell,” Euphemia answered.

“Aha.” That is pretty witchlike of them, Tori thought.

“Whew, now that was refreshing. And now I’m starving! Whoa, what weird-colored noodles.” Shinozuki came out of the bathroom, skin still damp with water and vapor. Tori had scolded her multiple times about coming out of the bath in the nude, so she now had a towel wrapped around her up to her bust. Though she’d started to be more conscious of how she dressed, she was still lacking in shame or modesty, so Tori couldn’t let his guard down. He often thought about how desensitized he’d already become to seeing the naked female form.

Cecilia had finally come out of the workshop, so it was officially time to eat. Lunch was vegetable pasta and tomato sauce, grilled meat, and salad, with soup on the side.

“Tori, bread, please,” Euphemia requested.

“Here you go,” Tori obliged.

“I want more cheese!” Subaru yelled.

“Okay, okay.”

“Tori dear, do we have anything spicy?” Cecilia asked.

“Here you go. Careful with adding too much,” Tori warned.

“Your food’s tasty as always, Tori!” Shinozuki exclaimed. “If you ain’t gonna eat that, I’ll take it.”

“That’s mine! Damn it... Oh crap, I gotta buy groceries or we’ll run out,” Tori remembered. Lately, the three familiars hadn’t been going out on jobs, so the food consumption in the household had gone way up.

“I’ll take you there!” Subaru raised her hand to volunteer. “It’s been so boring lately!”

“If you’re so bored, you should just go back to the underworld.”

“Don’t wanna! Why are you being so mean to me?” Subaru started banging on her plate with the fork in her hand.

Shinozuki stuffed a chunk of meat into her mouth. “Wefh hafh ho hofh hah hooh—mmph!”

“Swallow your food before talking,” Tori scolded her.

Shinozuki gulped down the huge bite. “We’ll have to go back soon anyway. Ethelbert’s being very annoying about it.”

“Oh, right. That hard-ass.” Subaru shook her head in exasperation.

“That your superior or something?” Tori wondered.

“Yeah, more or less. A really annoying one too,” Shinozuki grumbled. She had just finished clearing all the meat from her plate and patted her belly in satisfaction. “Phew, that was a meal! I’m full!”

“As always, I’m impressed by how quickly you eat,” Tori muttered. Out of everyone in this household, Shinozuki had always been the fastest to finish her food. True to her nature, she would always wolf down her meals. In Tori’s mind, he had her pegged as a giant dog who ate a lot. Sometimes, he would forget that she was a fenrir.

“Are you going shopping after lunch?” Euphemia asked. Her lips were stained red from the tomato sauce. Tori looked exasperated as he wiped her mouth with a towel.

“That’s the plan,” Tori replied. “But it sure would be nice if I could get to the city more easily. It’s getting annoying having to ask one of you guys to take me there every time I want to buy something.”

Cecilia jolted up as if she’d suddenly recalled something.

“That’s right! We were just talking about that,” she said.

“About what?”

“Euphie and I have been researching transportation devices so you can go to the city on your own,” Cecilia explained.

“Huh.” That would be really nice, Tori thought. Lately, he’d been realizing just how bothersome it was to ask for help every time they needed groceries. It took both time and effort to arrange the trips, especially whenever he realized he’d forgotten to pick something up. If he had a simpler way to get to the city, he would have an easier time going out to buy supplies, and they could even eat out every once in a while.

Ever since quitting his adventurer job and starting work at Euphemia’s house, Tori had immersed himself even more in cooking, a task he already enjoyed. At first, it was only Euphemia, but her familiars also praised his cooking day by day, which made him feel that it was a task worth doing.

I didn’t get any compliments on my cooking before I got fired, Tori recalled. Before the Muddy Four-Horns disbanded, they had all been swamped with work, and his friends were also burdened with their personal issues. They’d had no time to appreciate his cooking back then. Tori remembered just how restless they’d been. Recently, Andrea and the others had visited him at Euphemia’s house. The three of them had laughed off those busy days with Tori, and they had also finally gotten to enjoy his meals.

However, Tori had to prepare three meals a day every day. He was running out of fresh ideas on what to make. While he tried to spice things up every now and then, he had his limits, as he wasn’t a chef or cook by trade. Because of that, Tori had been thinking of going out for food as part of his research.

“So that’s the magic you’ve been researching lately?” Tori asked.

“Yeah.” Euphemia nodded as she chewed. Once again, her lips were red with sauce and Tori cleaned her up with the towel.

“You’re such a handful,” he muttered. Euphemia squirmed around. “At least calm down while you’re eating. So, will this transportation device thing really happen?”

“We’ve already worked out the theoretical design. All that’s left is some minor adjustments. Then we’d have to gather all the materials to build it...” Cecilia casually explained. Tori was completely clueless when it came to magic, but he could tell that what they were trying to do was pretty high-level.

They’re amazing, Tori thought. While all of them had several lousy aspects to their personalities, they were all first-rate when it came to their specialties. Between the archlich, also known as a sage of the underworld, and her master, the White Witch, no spell would remain undiscovered.

Once they’d finished eating and Tori started to clean up, Euphemia suddenly clung to him from behind.

“What is it?” Tori asked.

“Mmm...”

“It’s hard to work with you hanging off me, so let go.”

Euphemia buried her face in Tori’s back before relenting and heading to the bedroom, presumably to take a nap. Tori let out a sigh. Euphemia would often ask for affection out of nowhere, so he had to be aware of her at all times. The sensation of her against his back lingered for a while.

Finally, it was time for him to head out. Subaru was waiting outside in her phoenix form. Her wings were outstretched, as if she were relaxing her muscles.

“Whew, that feels so nice! Okay, let’s go! Come on, climb up! Hurry, hurry!” Subaru urged Tori.

“Can you crouch a bit? I can’t reach.”

Once Tori was settled on her back, Subaru flew up high. She flapped her wings to accelerate and headed straight toward Azrac. Tori had to cling to her back and had no time to look around. He’d rather not get blown off by the wind and plummet headfirst to his death.

While Euphemia and Cecilia’s transportation spell would theoretically take him straight to Azrac in an instant, traveling on Subaru took approximately an hour. Despite the physical method taking more time, it was still plenty fast.

Subaru’s back was warm, owing to her phoenix form, which shielded Tori from the bitter winter winds. Even as Subaru was traveling through the sky at blinding speeds, he could avoid freezing to death.

As always, they landed at the city outskirts and Subaru transformed back into her human form before the two of them entered the city proper. The city was as lively as ever, with bustling crowds coming and going through the streets.

“Whatcha gonna buy?” Subaru asked.

“Groceries, mostly. We should still have some grains in stock, so I guess we’re buying meat,” Tori answered.

“Meat!” Subaru flailed her arms excitedly. Tori suddenly wondered if phoenixes were birds of prey.

Tori had been able to harvest leafy vegetables and root crops from the garden during the summer, which greatly reduced the ingredients he had to buy. However, he still shopped at the market to supplement their stock. After all, he had four very voracious mouths to feed.

Subaru was scarfing down a pastry as her eyes darted all over the place. Tori had to be careful not to lose her in the crowd.

“Stop getting distracted. You’ll get lost,” he scolded her.

“Why don’t you face forward while walking?” Subaru retorted.

“I would if you stopped going in weird directions!”

By the time they were finished shopping, the two of them were both loaded up with the groceries split between them. They had bought large cuts of meat, both raw and smoked, as well as fish, both salted and dried. Subaru couldn’t just transform into a phoenix in the middle of the city, so they had to walk slowly all the way back to the outskirts. It was a struggle for Tori to make his way through the crowds while carrying so much. Despite that, Subaru was bouncing up and down excitedly at every little thing she spotted.

“Tori, I want snacks! Get me some pastries!” Subaru yelled.

“Shut up! I can’t carry any more! And that’s the same thing you ate earlier!”

“I’m bringing some home for everyone! Hey mister, I want that! Gimme three bags! The money’s with my big bro over there!”

“Damn it!”

By the time they were ready to head home, Tori was utterly drained, while Subaru was still raring to go. They were at the city outskirts. Subaru was in her phoenix form, flapping her wings up and down.

“Snacks! Snacks! Snacks!” she chanted excitedly.

“Shut up and lemme on already,” Tori grumbled.

“Huh? What’s with your attitude? I’m gonna roast you!”

“Well come on, go for it! Who’s gonna make your food, then, huh?”

“Ugh... Fine, hurry up and get on already!”

Tori climbed onto Subaru’s back. The plumage on a phoenix’s back was soft, and riding one required Tori to crouch to avoid getting blasted by the winds. Even though Subaru’s body was warm and toasty, he didn’t want to get a face full of icy air. Tori held on to Subaru tightly while also trying to keep their cargo secure.

“Let’s go!” Subaru yelled. She flapped her wings and soared into the sky. The high winds made a mess of Tori’s hair. Subaru seemed eager to get home, perhaps because of the snacks she bought, as she was flying much faster than she had on their way to the city. Tori was holding on for dear life and had no time to look at his surroundings.

When they finally arrived home, Tori was exhausted and his head was spinning.

“Subaru... Don’t just blast through the sky like that while we’re carrying so many things. I thought our groceries were gonna get blown off,” Tori grumbled.

“But they didn’t, did they? It’s fine, then! Now gimme the snacks!”

“Wait until we’ve finished unpacking!”

Tori hauled the groceries into the kitchen. Once finished, he sighed in exasperation. No matter who accompanied him to the city, their trips always ended in a huge fuss. It would save him a lot of trouble if he had that magic transportation device around.

Shinozuki’s eyes sparkled upon spotting one of the huge hunks of meat they’d brought back. “What a splendid chunk of meat! That all for me?”

“It’s for everyone. Shino, maybe you should go out hunting for meat one of these days,” Tori suggested.

“I wouldn’t mind, but I can’t cut it up for you or anything. Can ya do all that?”

“I could...though I haven’t done it in a while.” During his adventuring days, Tori had experienced slaughtering animals for food many times, but it had been a long time since he’d prepared meat that way. He couldn’t say whether he could perform it on the spot at a reasonable speed anymore. Still, if Shinozuki were to hunt in her fenrir form, she would surely bring back the whole carcass without draining its blood or skinning it. By the time she got home, the corpse would be soaked in blood and stink up the whole place. The meat would also taste off even when cooked, which would ruin any meals he made with it.

“I suppose I could accompany you on hunting trips...”

“Huh? But I want to have food ready on the table when I’m back,” Shinozuki complained.

Oh, right. Tori realized that no one would be doing the chores if he were gone all day.

Despite that, getting a whole animal’s worth of meat was an appealing thought. If he could at least exsanguinate the carcass on the spot, he could do the rest of the butchering at home. It started to sound like a realistic idea. If he could strike a balance between the household chores and hunting trips, they could save a lot on food expenses, and he could let Shinozuki unleash her pent-up energy.

He set these ideas aside to mull over later. He had other tasks to do now, such as starting tonight’s dinner. And before that, he needed to get the water heated for the bath. Tori was lost in thought as he started stuffing the groceries into the fridge.

2. A Short Stay at Home

The days had grown shorter, and the air much colder. The surroundings looked much more bleak and barren after the autumn leaves had been scattered away by the frigid winds. Winter had truly begun.

Even as Tori kept up with the household chores and took care of the crops and birds, he’d also made time to clean up more outside the house. He had been busy clearing out the weeds, shrubs, and tangled vines that had been left to grow, as well as cleaning out the broken pots and bricks that had been buried under the overgrowth. The yard was now much wider. Among the items he had uncovered were chairs and tables that were now degraded from years of disuse. The previous owners might have used these to enjoy tea in the garden.

The overgrowth had also disguised apple and lemon trees in the yard. They were in a poor state from being buried under the weeds, but they hadn’t fully withered. Tori shaved off the moss and mold that had grown on the branches, and used the bird droppings and weed cuttings to fertilize the soil around the roots. The trees appeared to be quite old, but they seemed like they could bear fruit again if they were tended to.

Weeds grew more slowly with the onset of winter, which made it easier to work in the yard. It also meant Tori didn’t have to get drenched in sweat whenever he built a fire outside. The heat felt quite comfortable, even.

Tori dug out a sweet potato he’d buried in the coals of the bonfire and split it open. Steam wafted up from the golden flesh inside. He spread butter over it and took a bite. The saltiness of the butter and the sweetness of the potato formed a harmony of flavors in his mouth.

“Ahh, what a relaxing day,” Tori sighed peacefully. Euphemia and her familiars were out on a job for the first time in a while, which meant he didn’t need to agonize over meals today. He felt satisfied with enjoying a baked potato and a cup of tea. Before this, Shinozuki, Subaru, and Cecilia had returned to the underworld for a short time, but Euphemia then called them back to help out with her current job. The three familiars had happily remarked that they now wouldn’t have to go back to the underworld for a while.

Is the underworld really that boring? Tori couldn’t help but wonder.

The chickens were going about their usual business, clawing at the ground and pecking at bugs. Meanwhile, the ducks were waddling about the pondside. The pond’s water was now clear. Eventually, fish might even traverse the waterway from the river and end up here. If not, Tori considered catching some and releasing them into the pond. Having a place to raise fish would be another nice amenity.

Euphemia and her familiars were out hunting monsters. The Cerulean Dagger clan, thanks to their training under the White Witch, had been taking care of such requests for a while, so Euphemia hadn’t been getting any jobs recently. This time, however, it seemed their mark was a big one, so they asked for Euphemia’s help. Shinozuki and Subaru seemed excited about getting to go wild for the first time in a while.

Tori had no idea if Euphemia and the others would be able to return home that night, so he had to make sure it would be fine even if they came home tomorrow morning. Since he didn’t need to make a big lunch today, he could focus his efforts on preparing dinner later that night, which Tori much preferred. Preparing three big meals a day was always a huge drain on Tori when it came to his workload.

Tori walked around the garden while taking bites of his sweet potato and sipping some hot tea. The grounds that had once been overrun with weeds and vines when he first arrived were now clean and orderly. Over the winter, he planned to clean them up even more and plant tree seeds. He wanted to have more citrus trees around, and he also wanted to grow some berries for making jams and preserves.

As Tori let his imagination run, fantasizing about the future, he started to wonder why he’d even wanted to become an adventurer in the first place. Was it the folly of youth? Though, at this point, the answer hardly mattered.

After dousing the fire outside, Tori went back into the house. He checked up on the meat he had been marinating in oil and fragrant herbs. It had soaked up much of the marinade already. He’d used a weaker flavor so he could leave it marinating until tomorrow, but if they ended up needing to cook it this evening, he’d only need to add more spices.

Tidying up the house no longer took up a significant amount of Tori’s time. Whenever Euphemia left her clothes and books scattered about, Tori would immediately pick up after her, so the house remained free of clutter. He would sweep cobwebs from the ceiling whenever he saw them, and cleaning the floor was part of his daily routine. Dust and dirt would never again settle on Euphemia’s house.

Tori swept through the parlor and cleared the hearth of dust and soot. Then he went outside to split some firewood. Winter meant they couldn’t afford to let the house run out of fuel. During the summer, the wood was mostly used for cooking and heating the bath, but now they needed it to keep the house warm as well. Even now, the fireplace in the parlor remained lit. Thus, Tori added walking around the forest to gather dry trees and branches for firewood to his daily routine. He would take his haul to the yard to chop it into more manageable pieces, and afterward, he would shelve them in the shed out back.

“Heave-ho!” Tori grunted as he swung the axe down and split a log in two. It was satisfying to see a log split with one swing, but it wasn’t always that easy. Nodes and stubs on the branches could stop the blade, and it was exhausting to have to swing it over and over. Plus, whenever the blade got stuck, he needed to use a wedge and hammer to get it free, which was also quite tiresome.

Despite all that, splitting firewood was a mesmerizing task. At some point, the pile of wood had become a big mound. Chopping wood in the summer was grueling, but in the winter, it felt good and refreshing. Tori found it quite satisfying to see the pile of logs grow bigger and bigger.

The sun was almost setting, and there was no sign of Euphemia and the others returning home.

“Looks like they’re not coming back tonight,” Tori murmured to himself. Though he didn’t spend that much time cooking today, splitting firewood took a lot of his energy and made him feel like he’d gotten a real workout. Household chores were also physically taxing, but swinging an axe repeatedly was a straightforward way to get fatigued.

Tori took a long soak in the bath, had a quick dinner, and slept in his bed in the corner of the parlor.

It was shockingly quiet without the other four residents. Tori was even somewhat lonely without them, but it was also nice and relaxing without so much fuss around the house. That night, he slept like a log.

The next morning, Tori felt like his bed had become cramped. Or rather, like there was a heavy weight on top of him. He groped around and felt a soft sensation, and when he blearily opened his eyes, he caught a glimpse of white hair.

“Huh?!” Tori flung back the covers and saw that Euphemia had sneaked into his bed, her head resting firmly on his chest as she mumbled in her sleep. It also appeared that Tori had unconsciously wrapped his arm around her while he was sleeping. The soft sensation he’d felt was her smooth, warm skin. Euphemia was, of course, completely naked, as she was whenever she went to bed.

“Euphemia, wake up! Hey!”

“Mmm...” Euphemia shifted her weight and looked at Tori with a groggy gaze. Then she curled up and snuggled her face against his chest, and tried to cover herself back up with the blanket.

“Don’t go back to sleep!” Tori yelled. He pushed Euphemia off himself. She rolled over onto her side, then curled up under the covers. Tori crawled out of his bed and found Euphemia’s clothes scattered on the floor.

Tori was now fully awake. He rubbed the remaining drowsiness from his eyes. Euphemia had taken Tori’s place in his bed, her eyes closed. She seemed to have made herself comfortable.

“When did you get back home?” Tori mumbled.

Euphemia opened one of her eyes and looked at Tori. “Late last night. I ate dinner too.”

“You could’ve woken me up...”

“I don’t see your sleeping face very often.”

Usually, Tori was awake past the time Euphemia and the others went to bed, and he would also be the first out of all of them to wake up. Tori’s sleeping face might be a rare sight, but having a naked woman sneak under the covers to sleep next to him was bad for his heart.

“That’s no excuse to sneak into my bed...”

Beside the still-rumpled Tori, Euphemia buried her face into the pillow. “Smells like Tori...” she muttered.

Tori felt that Euphemia was a bit too scatterbrained to actually try and seduce him, but it also didn’t feel like she was teasing him either. While he was aware of her affection, her actions were often too unpredictable. He understood that she was serious—and Tori wasn’t entirely unwilling to reciprocate her advances—but in his twenty-five years, he had been a stranger to romance and romantic relationships. The thought made him feel abashed. Moreover, he felt comfortable with the current distance between them. He was hesitant to cross the line, partly because he was afraid of destroying the relationship they already had.

My younger, adventurer self wasn’t a huge fan of things like stability and comfort either... Tori mused. It was only as he’d focused more and more on filling a supporting role for his clan that his mindset had started to turn toward stability and safety. Now, if taken positively, he could be called careful and cautious, but on the other hand, he was indecisive and reluctant. In other words, he was a chicken.

Tori, exasperated by the morning’s events, turned away from the bed and went to revive the smoldering coals in the fireplace with fresh firewood. He filled the cauldron hanging over it with water and threw in dried meat and mushrooms, herbs, potatoes, and other root vegetables.

When Tori went outside, he was greeted by the comfortable chill of the morning air. He washed his face and gargled with water from the well. Next, he let the squawking chickens and ducks out of the henhouse, and threw bits of plants and grain into the enclosure and replaced the water. He walked around the garden and harvested vegetables that looked ready. Some frost had settled on the yard; when he brushed against the leaves of a few crops, icy crystals fell to the ground.

Tori returned to the house and saw that Euphemia was still asleep. He didn’t know what time she’d gotten home last night. He marveled at how soundly she slept and gazed at her sleeping face, then shook his head. He picked up her fallen clothes and threw them into the laundry basket.

Tori fed the fireplace once again before heading into the kitchen, where he lit the stove and got started on breakfast. He took out the meat that had been marinating since last night. By now, the soup in the cauldron was simmering nicely and the vegetables had softened quite well. He mixed in tomato stock, salt, and more herbs for flavoring, then added in leafy vegetables to be cooked by the remaining heat.

Shinozuki woke up just as Tori started roasting the meat. As a fenrir, her nose was more sensitive than most; as such, she was also the most receptive to the smell of food being cooked.

“Smells like grilled meat,” she said.

“Glad to see your nose is working,” Tori snarked as he turned the meat over.

“Ya sure were out cold last night.”

“Oh, right. You guys could’ve woken me up.”

“We tried to, but Euphie stopped us.”

“Oh, I see.” Tori had expected as much. He placed the meat onto a plate and gave it to Shinozuki. “Take this to the dining table. You better not snack on it,” he warned.

“A proud fenrir would never do such a thing!” Shinozuki protested. You liar, Tori silently retorted.

In Shinozuki’s place, Subaru entered the kitchen. She seemed to still be sleepy as she hobbled into the room. She poked at Tori. “I’m hungry,” she mumbled.

“Wait just a bit,” Tori said. “Subaru, take these to the table. I’ll be done soon.”

“Okaaay.”

Next, Tori sprayed mist over stale bread and grilled it on a pan to make it easier to eat. As the bread was toasting, Cecilia wrapped her arms around him, her voluminous breasts pressing against his back.

“Morning, Tori dear!” she greeted him.

“Hey! Quit it!” Tori shouted.

“Heh heh heh. You’re so cute when you’re embarrassed.”

“You really think I’d be embarrassed by you at this point? The bread’s going to burn! Get away from me!”

“Aww, you’ve gotten even more resistant to my charms. What a sad day for your big sister!”

“Yeah, yeah. Here, take the toast to the dining table,” Tori commanded.

“Okaaay.”

Preparations had been hectic, but the group finally started breakfast. All of them still had bedhead and groggy expressions on their faces. None of these women bothered to groom themselves while at home—with the exception of Cecilia, that was.

“Where’d you guys get dinner last night?” Tori asked.

“In Azrac. There was a place that was open all night,” Euphemia answered as she nibbled on a piece of toast with butter spread on it.

Shinozuki grabbed a chunk of meat with her fingers. “They had big servings, but the food sucked! Your cooking is much better, Tori!”

“R-Really now.” Tori sipped some of his soup to hide his embarrassment.