Atelier Tanaka

Volume 1

Atelier Tanaka Chapter 7

Ex-Homeless pt.1

The next day, I headed back to the adventurer鈥檚 guild.

I walked through the Western movie style wooden double doors, and headed straight to the counter. Once again, the same buff bald guy was there.

(It鈥檚 kind of scary how he works energetically every day like that.)

鈥淥h, I was waiting for you.鈥?br>
鈥淗ello, sorry to keep you waiting.鈥?br>
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 need to apologize for everything, it鈥檚 annoying, ya know.鈥?br>
鈥淥h, sorry.鈥?br>
鈥溾€hatever, anyway, here鈥檚 the payment.鈥?br>
He put a leather bag on the counter, and a metallic 鈥渃harin鈥?sound came from inside it.

鈥淲ith the payment for the original request, the compensation for the bad information, and the reward for a high orc subjugation, the total is 16 gold. By the way, most of that is the reward for the high orc, which is 10 gold. The original request was one gold, and the compensation is 5 gold. The rule for the compensation is that it鈥檚 half the reward for the subjugation, you see.鈥?br>
鈥溾€he high orcs are worth a lot.鈥?br>
鈥淧retty much. Normally a party would follow and surround one. That would be a rank B party, and the payment would be 1 or 2 gold per person. They rarely appear near human settlements, so it takes time to get to them. With the necessary expenses, that鈥檚 about how much it costs to get rid of one.鈥?br>
鈥淚 see.鈥?br>
鈥淕etting there and back is usually a 10-day trip for a 5-member party. Out of the 2 gold per person, they鈥檒l need to spend 50 silver to 1 gold on supplies. If you add in the time to find it, it takes about half a month for one job. Whether 1 gold in half a month for that kind of work is a lot of money or too little, that depends on the person.鈥?br>
鈥淚t sounds like rank B parties can make a lot of money.鈥?br>
鈥淵eah, because there aren鈥檛 many of them. There are only 10-some rank B people around here. Rank C is a lot more common, but going up from there isn鈥檛 ordinary no matter where you go.鈥?br>
鈥淚 see.鈥?br>
(That鈥檚 what, $25,000 that rank B adventurers can make in a month? I can see why it鈥檚 an attractive occupation. But yesterday I saw all too well that risking your life to make a living is no joke. Surviving until retirement would be tough. I don鈥檛 want to deal with something like that again. That high orc鈥檚 fist was haunting my dreams last night.)

鈥淎 good hide from the high orc would have been worth a bit more, though. They have magic resistance, so they鈥檙e worth a good bit of money. A perfect one would be worth about 20 gold, but it鈥檚 hard to defeat a high orc without damaging its hide. It鈥檚 hard to get the hide off a dead one, too.鈥?br>
鈥淚 see, thank you very much for telling me about that.鈥?br>
鈥淵ou, can you do something about the way you talk? I feel like yer making fun of me here. And I still can鈥檛 believe you brought down a high orc by yourself.鈥?br>
鈥淣o, um, that鈥檚 because you have a scary face鈥︹€?br>
鈥溾€eah?鈥?br>
(Shit, I can鈥檛 help it! I should try to talk more like the other adventurers. Or at least get used to this guy鈥檚 face.)

鈥淎h, whatever, just hurry up and count it.鈥?br>
鈥淥K.鈥?br>
(So this is gold? I think this is the first time I鈥檝e handled solid gold. It really is heavy.)

I started thinking about how much those coins were worth.

鈥淚鈥檝e confirmed the amount.鈥?br>
鈥淭ake it with ya, then. Don鈥檛 get taken by some scam artist.鈥?br>
鈥淩ight. Thank you very much.鈥?br>
鈥淎lso, from today on you鈥檙e rank D. Don鈥檛 forget that.鈥?br>
鈥淚 went up two ranks?鈥?br>
鈥淭hat鈥檚 because there was a high orc. If this was just a fluke, your rank will fall if you fail a request, so don鈥檛 worry about that. By the way, if you fail 5 requests in a row, you get permanently expelled.鈥?br>
鈥淥K, I understand. Thank you.鈥?br>
鈥淏ye then.鈥?br>
(Now what do I do?)

I was worried about having so much cash on me. After thinking about it, I headed towards a place handling real estate. Being a typical Japanese person, with a large amount of money on hand, I started thinking about homes.

(I鈥檇 like to go to a Soapland too, but I can do that after getting a house.)

For some years, I鈥檇 barely been able to afford rent. Actually owning a home was some kind of legend.

Using my Google Maps substitute called 鈥渁sking a random little girl鈥?I located a real estate office, and a few minutes later I arrived. I entered the building, with a bell ringing as I opened the door.

鈥淓xcuse me, I鈥檓 looking to purchase a house鈥︹€?br>
鈥淎h, welcome.鈥?br>
The employee there was a human, a European man about my age. He had short light-brown hair, and he was tall, about 190 cm, which made me jealous.

鈥淚鈥檓 looking for a single-unit house, something around 15 gold.鈥?br>
鈥?5 gold, you say? Well, that鈥檚 tough鈥︹€?br>
鈥淚s that so鈥︹€?br>
(The town is surrounded by tall walls, so the area available for houses is limited. Maybe that makes for high prices? But I was hoping to have my own house, and a big dog鈥?

鈥淎h, hold on. There is one house that might work.鈥?br>
鈥淩eally?鈥?br>
鈥淭he floor plan is a bit unusual, does that bother you?鈥?br>
鈥淣o, that鈥檚 fine.鈥?br>
(Lucky!)

I jumped at the opportunity.

I was led to a detached building on the corner of a busy street, and we went inside.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 a big dirt floor, huh.鈥?br>
Weird items were tightly packed along the walls of a large open floor. There were Fresco-style glass bottles, wooden stands, and metal lockers.

(What the heck鈥?

The total floor area was around 100 square meters. On one side of the dirt floor, there was a long counter like I鈥檇 seen in the shops I鈥檇 visited.

鈥淎h, everything here comes with the place. Until the year before last, an alchemist was living here. The 1st floor was a shop and atelier, and there鈥檚 living space on the 2nd and 3rd floors. It鈥檚 a well-made building.鈥?br>
鈥淚 see. By the way, how much would a typical house normally be in this town? Everyone I鈥檝e asked seems to tell me something a little different.鈥?br>
鈥淟et鈥檚 see. For a detached house, even if it鈥檚 small or in bad shape you鈥檇 need at least 20 gold. And by the way, in this area here, a house would normally be 50 to 100 gold.鈥?br>
鈥淓h? Then this place鈥︹€?br>
鈥淲ell, it has what you might call an interesting history. The last owner sold it two days after they bought it.鈥?br>
鈥淪eriously?鈥?br>
(Is it like those houses where somebody committed suicide and nobody wants to buy them?)

鈥淲hat was their reason for selling it?鈥?br>
鈥溾€hosts, they said.鈥?br>
鈥淓h? Ghosts?鈥?br>
鈥淭he ghost of that alchemist, supposedly.鈥?br>
鈥淎hh鈥as it a suicide?鈥?br>
鈥淚 heard it was a natural death.鈥?br>
鈥淗ah鈥︹€?br>
鈥淭hey died suddenly, and some relative wanted to sell it in a few days, so we got a good price on it. At the time, it seemed like an easy profit. Well, if that kind of thing bothers you, you鈥檇 be better off not buying this one.鈥?br>
鈥淚 see.鈥?br>
(Getting a cheap house in Japan because of something like that is like finding buried treasure. This is some good luck. If a ghost actually appears, I鈥檇 just be happy to have some company. Not being homeless is far more important than that sort of thing.)

鈥淗ow much is it?鈥?br>
鈥?6 gold.鈥?br>
鈥淚 understand. I鈥檒l buy it.鈥?br>
(That鈥檚 perfect for me, I have just enough. The money from the herbs that goblin collected should be enough to live on until I can earn some more money. But now I can鈥檛 go to Soapland.)

鈥淧eople always say that at first.鈥?br>
鈥淣o, I鈥檓 not bothered by that sort of thing.鈥?br>
鈥淧eople always say that at first. But let鈥檚 head back to the office and draw up a contract.鈥?br>
鈥淥K.鈥?br>
And so, I bought a house much faster than I鈥檇 expected.

(A house! My own address!)

I was very happy.

The paperwork for the purchase was finished quickly.

I carried my few belongings from my room at the inn over to my new home, and I was done moving in under an hour.

(From today on, I鈥檓 the owner of my own castle.)

It was a dream that hadn鈥檛 come true before I died.

(Now, I just need to get a big dog.)

(A golden retriever would be good. A golden retriever鈥?

I鈥檇 bought a 3-storey stone building with the ground level having a dirt floor and 80% of the space behind a long counter. It had been the atelier of an alchemist.

(It鈥檚 good that the situation was easy to understand for someone who didn鈥檛 grow up here. So far, everything鈥檚 followed the rules of fantasy settings.)

The ground floor made me think of a small pharmacy, with just enough space in front for people to buy things.

(But the products were made with a fantasy-style process.)

The floor size of the 2nd and 3rd floors was the same as the 1st floor, about 100 square meters each. It was more than enough for one person. The second floor had a restroom with a bath and toilet, a dining room/kitchen, and a living room or reception room. On the third floor, there were two bedrooms.

All the rooms still had furniture in them, so the house was already livable. There was dust, but not too much.

(It鈥檚 splendid, isn鈥檛 it?)

My heart was jumping with excitement. I started feeling tempted to try some alchemy the next day.

(First, I need to buy whatever I need to live here.)

As I headed out, I remembered when I first started living alone and bought lots of stuff at a 100-yen shop, most of which turned out to be unnecessary.

It was shortly before noon when I finished buying supplies.

I got lunch at a restaurant that was too mediocre to leave much impression when I was focused on something else.

After I returned, I spent several hours cleaning. According to the real estate agent, the previous buyers leaving in a hurry tended to leave some cleaning that needed to be done.

The sun was just starting to set when I鈥檇 finished cleaning and organizing my stuff.

(A fantasy house. An atelier. It looks great. I made a good decision buying this.)

The cleaning and moving was the most exercise I鈥檇 gotten in a while, so I was getting hungry.

(鈥鈥檒l go get some dinner, then.)

I decided to go back to that tavern with the hot waitress.

She was working there again that night. Her figure with an apron, plus the bouncing and swaying as she hurried back and forth, was a satisfactory amount of sexiness.

鈥淪ophia-chan, another one for me too!鈥?br>
鈥淩ight!鈥?br>
(Ahh, she鈥檚 cute.)

The shaking of her blonde ponytail was another charm point.

鈥淎hh, I can鈥檛 get enough.鈥?br>
Because of her, I kept ordering more drinks.

(Alcohol is humanity鈥檚 friend. How could I abandon a friend?)

The food was decent, too.

Sophia energetically answered each customer鈥檚 call, but it was so loud that I had to strain my ears to hear her cute voice.

(This was a good day. I鈥檒l be able to sleep happily tonight.)

As I was sipping my drink and happily not thinking about anything at all, I heard someone shouting behind me, and the tavern grew quiet. I turned around, still smiling slightly.

鈥淒idn鈥檛 you hear what I said?!鈥?br>
鈥淣o, um, but that鈥檚鈥︹€?br>
Sophie was facing a man dressed extravagantly, with a bright cloak on his back. His shouting echoed in the tavern.

(Oh. A noble, right?)

He was a good-looking man for his age, with a short hair and a large handlebar mustache, both blond.

鈥淛ust because you鈥檙e pretty, don鈥檛 think you鈥檙e special!鈥?br>
鈥淚, I鈥檓 very sorry鈥︹€?br>
Sophia-chan looked panicked, and bowed to the noble. Her long high ponytail flipped over and hit him in the face.

鈥淕ah! My eyes!鈥?br>
鈥淚, I, I鈥檓 so sorry!鈥?br>
(Ponytail Attack, critical hit.)

Some of the customers watching laughed unintentionally. Thanks to that, he was getting even angrier.

鈥淵ou bitch! Maybe I need to take you into custody at my mansion!鈥?br>
鈥淚鈥檓 so sorry! Please forgive me!鈥?br>
鈥淪omeone needs to teach you a lesson about what happens when you insult a noble!鈥?br>
鈥淭hat鈥檚鈥︹€?br>
Her face was completely white.

(This is bad. When a noble finds fault with a town girl, in the next chapter he鈥檚 fucking her. If she gets carried off by some aristocrat, it will be good-bye to her boobs and ass for all of us commoners. Bad End.)

He grabbed Sophia鈥檚 arm.

(Oh, there it is.)

Everyone in the tavern was watching.

(A noble is the same kind of absolute existence to commoners that a division chief is to ordinary employees, right?)

I remembered once hearing something like, 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 want your wife and kids to end up homeless, you鈥檒l listen to what I say.鈥?Several times, I鈥檇 wished I could punch that division chief from my company in the face.

(Ah, rather than a punch, now it would have to be a fireball.)

鈥淗ey, hey, wait a minute.鈥?br>
I got up from my seat, and walked towards the dandy noble.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e being too hard on her, how about you stop?鈥?br>
(Ah, I鈥檓 so cool. I鈥檓 a hero of justice! That coercive yet kind phrasing was perfect, too.)

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if you鈥檙e a noble or what, grabbing a woman like that is something that even those orcs could do. Are nobles a bunch of barbarians worse than orcs, huh?鈥?br>
鈥淲hat, you, you bastard!鈥?br>
He drew a sword. Apparently his pride was high.

鈥淟et go of her, and try using your words if you want to invite her somewhere. If you don鈥檛 know human language, I might be generous enough to teach you. Your legs seem to work, so you could probably manage.鈥?br>
鈥淵ou, who the hell do you think I am?鈥?br>
鈥淚. Don鈥檛. Care.鈥?br>
(The mood of the other people here seems weird. Eh, don鈥檛 worry about it.)

The noble鈥檚 face was redder with anger than if he was drunk.

鈥淚f you continue, my Super Fireball will burn your bones until only ash remains. But I鈥檓 kind, so the explosion will kill you before you can realize you鈥檙e dead.鈥?br>
鈥淧a-chin.鈥?br>
For the sake of appearances, I snapped my fingers. At the same time, balls of flame appeared around the man, each about the size of a volleyball.

They spewed puffs of flame, and I could feel the air temperature rising. One of the puffs of flame burnt a little bit of the noble鈥檚 hair.

鈥淜illing you would be easier than finishing my drink. If I snap my fingers again, your existence will completely disappear from the world.鈥?br>
I couldn鈥檛 help smiling at how cool I was. Meanwhile, a magic formation had appeared at my feet at some point.

(Ah yes, the special effects are important too!)

鈥淚f you want to challenge the Noble Magician Fouren, then go ahead and try! You think I鈥檒l be defeated by 10 or 20 fireballs? Fool!鈥?br>
He started glowing slightly.

(Magic nobles? I didn鈥檛 know about that.)

鈥淭hen say your prayers. Sayonara.鈥?br>
I snapped my fingers again.

I almost shot them like I had with the orcs, but at the last moment I remembered that the explosion from that would probably destroy the tavern.

Instead, one of the fireballs lightly touched his back.

鈥淕yaaa?! AAAAAAAaaaaAAaaaa!!鈥?br>
He screamed, jumped forwards, and fell on his face. Then he started convulsing and foaming at the mouth.

His back was pitch-black, and part of it was missing. There was a strong smell like meat left on a grill until it burned.

鈥溾€eriously?!鈥?br>
(Oh shit, I should have held back here!)

Sophia-chan started screaming.

(It鈥檚 going to be bad for me if this guy dies! I just bought a house, I can鈥檛 leave!)

In a panic, I started using my recovery magic.

鈥淗EALIIIIING!鈥?br>
As I shouted, a magic formation appeared under the fallen noble.

His flesh and bones gradually appeared, and then his skin.

(There鈥檚 still a hole in his clothes, but expecting clothes to get fixed would be unreasonable. Eh, don鈥檛 worry about that, he鈥檚 rich, he can get new clothes.)

鈥淥oohhhh, amazing, he鈥檚 healing!鈥?br>
鈥淣o way, those kinds of wounds鈥︹€?br>
鈥淚 thought he was dead!鈥?br>
鈥淲hat kind of level is that?!鈥?br>
鈥淭hat鈥檚 how it looks inside a person??鈥?br>
鈥淲e should get out of here.鈥?br>
鈥淲ow, amazing!鈥?br>
The rest of the customers were watching as he was healed.

Finally, his consciousness returned.

鈥溾€?.????鈥?br>
He jumped to his feet in a panic. Feeling his back with his hand, he became increasingly confused as he realized his wound was gone.

His lips shaking, he shouted uncertainly, 鈥淵-y-you bastard, I, I鈥檒l remember this?!鈥?br>
He started running off before he鈥檇 finished shouting. He looked like he鈥檇 seen a ghost. His face reminded me of a college student that had tried growing weed out of curiosity and got reported to the police the next day.

Nobody there spoke.

(I beat off the bad guy and saved the girl! What could be better than that?)

It was the first time in my life that I鈥檇 completely rejected someone like that. It felt good.

鈥淗ah, too weak.鈥?br>
I sat back down at my seat, and then I finished my drink, which helped with how my throat had gotten sore from that.

I was feeling good.

(Now if Sophia-chan just comes to say thanks, I won鈥檛 need anything else. Ah, come on over, I鈥檓 waiting.)

My heart was thumping with the suspense as I waited for her.

Instead, it was a middle-aged man I didn鈥檛 know who came over to me.

鈥淪ir, I, I鈥檓 sorry, but we鈥檙e closing now today鈥︹€?br>
鈥淓h?鈥?br>
(Hey, nobody asked for you.)

鈥淐ould you go ahead and pay the bill?鈥?br>
鈥淣o, um, I wanted to stay a little longer.鈥?br>
鈥淲e really appreciate you saving our girl, but we need to prepare for tomorrow, so please, please, just leave.鈥?br>
Looking around, the rest of the customers were leaving in a hurry.

(They really are closing up.)

鈥淯m, I, I understand.鈥?br>
(What the hell? Damn it. I wanted a hug from Sophia-chan.)

鈥淲ell, I鈥檒l be going, then.鈥?br>
鈥淭hank you very much.鈥?br>
I dropped a silver coin on the counter for payment, and left.

(I didn鈥檛 get to touch Sophia-chan. But still, I have a house! An excellent, amazing, sturdy house.)

I returned home from the tavern, and lying down on my fluffy bed was bliss. I was pleasantly drunk, and the room seemed to be swaying a little bit. It was kind of fun.

(Acting without worrying about the consequences is exhilarating! So much stress had built up over the years and years of holding back and fitting into society.)

鈥淎hhh, it鈥檚 good, this鈥︹€?br>
I stared at the unfamiliar ceiling and muttered to myself.

That鈥檚 when the attack came.

鈥淕et ooouuuut.鈥?br>
A voice came from somewhere.

At the same time, an icicle appeared over my head, and shot down, piercing the pillow beside my head. The icicle was about 30 cm long, and drill-shaped. While that happened, my sheets suddenly became ice-cold.

(If that hit me in the face, I definitely would have died!)

鈥淕uh, seriously?!鈥?br>
(Is this the revenge of that magic noble?)

I got up in the bed. In front of me, a transparent human was floating in the center of the room.

鈥淕et oooouut.鈥?br>
More icicles appeared, floating around it.

鈥淚 won鈥檛 lose to you!鈥?br>
In a panic, I summoned fireballs around me, two fireballs for each icicle.

鈥淗ey, wait!鈥?br>
The ghost seemed to be panicking.

鈥淵ou鈥檒l burn the house! Don鈥檛 use fire here!鈥?br>
鈥淭hat鈥檚 true!鈥?br>
(This is my home! A fire here is no joke!)

I started putting out the fireballs.

鈥淵ou, are you an idiot?! You burned the wall there, didn鈥檛 you? What have you done?!鈥?br>
鈥淣ooo, my house! It鈥檚 burnt!鈥?br>
Indeed, part of a wall was blackened from a nearby fireball.

鈥淚t鈥檚 my house! Not yours!鈥?br>
鈥淚t鈥檚 mine! My home! I bought it!鈥?br>
(What is this thing? Is it an actual ghost?)

It looked like a human girl, about 140 cm tall and 13 years old, with golden hair and blue eyes. But it was transparent enough to see the wall behind it. It also had pointed ears, like an elf. It had pale skin and was wearing a grey robe, and was pointing some sort of cane at me.

鈥淲ho are you, barging into someone鈥檚 house like this?鈥?br>
鈥淚鈥檓 the owner! You鈥檙e the one who鈥檚 barging into someone鈥檚 house.鈥?br>
鈥淣o, that鈥檚 wrong. I did all the paperwork and legally bought this house. If you鈥檙e going to try and claim it with force, then I鈥檒l fight you with all my strength.鈥?br>
鈥溾€ring it on. Let鈥檚 fight to the death.鈥?br>
鈥淔ine by me.鈥?br>
(As a Japanese person, my house is of absolute importance! As a Japanese man, a house has been my goal since I was born! Getting in my way now is unforgivable!)

鈥淭hen you can die!鈥?br>
(I need something other than fire magic! Skill window, come on!)

passive:

magic recovery: Lv.Max

magic efficiency: Lv.Max

language skill: Lv.1

active:

recovery magic: Lv.Max

fire magic: Lv.3

remaining skill points: 5

My level had gone up from defeating the orcs, and I hadn鈥檛 used the skill points yet.

(Something to destroy the enemy of my home is a worthy use of these!)

I mentally recited the muryoujukyou sutra, while the ghost summoned more and more icicles.

(There!)

passive:

magic recovery: Lv.Max

magic efficiency: Lv.Max

language skill: Lv.1

active:

recovery magic: Lv.Max

fire magic: Lv.3

purification magic: Lv.5

remaining skill points: 0

(Perfect!)

鈥淕et out of my HOUUUUUSE!鈥?br>
(This is my house. I live here.)

(Everything else is unnecessary.)

(Erase everything.)

鈥淕uh?!鈥?br>
A magic formation the size of the entire house appeared over the floor.

She started to say something, but that turned into a groan and she grabbed her head with her hands in pain. At the same time, the icicles went 鈥減a-kin pa-kin鈥?as they shattered into tiny fragments that disappeared.

鈥淕ah, serioushly? I鈥檓 disappearing! Auuuu!鈥?br>
鈥淭hen GET OUT! This is MY HOUSE!鈥?br>
She flew outside through a solid glass window.

鈥淗aaaa, good riddance.鈥?br>
I collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep, with the room spinning as I closed my eyes.