A Slow Life That Progresses At Super Speed

“Master, here’s your coffee.”

“Oh, I was just wanting some. Thanks, Rin.”

“Ehehe, I had a feeling! ♪”

I thanked her while stroking Rin’s head—Rin wore a maid outfit as a hobby of Ekarraat’s.

Lately I felt Rin had grown much brighter and laughed a lot more.

I took a sip of the coffee Rin had brewed and, savoring the bitterness that spread across my tongue, I returned to my reading.

A peaceful afternoon tea time.

“Well then—I’ll go do some cleaning, so call me if you need anything—ah.”

Rin picked up a broom and left the room――――or so it seemed, before she realized that the concept of “rooms” no longer applied in this space.

Yes――this was inside Vanargand’s maw.

A space of seemingly infinite extent, its surroundings shrouded in darkness to the horizon.

Dust didn’t accumulate here, so there was no point in cleaning.

Hanging light Magic Crystals illuminated the area, and within their reach we had set up a makeshift living space with tables and chairs.

That was the current dwelling of Sid Ranorus and his group.

In terms of simple floor area, it was larger than the mansion in the royal capital.

After all, Ekarraat said the size of the extra-dimensional space inside Vanargand was roughly comparable to this world itself.

That said, humans tend to suffer mentally if they stay in a sunless, isolated space cut off from the outside world for too long.

“Rin… I want to eat an apple…”

“Sorry, Lady Ekarraat. The last apple was consumed yesterday.”

“I-is that so… That’s bad… I’m too bored to have any energy…”

I—Sid Ranorus—had been placed on a nationwide most-wanted list for the murder of a prince.

Three days had passed since the incident in which the Palace knights, led by Greiss, older brother of Garen, stormed the house I had bought in the royal capital.

We had successfully routed the knights who used the despicable tactic of taking Rin hostage and then fled, but with nowhere to go we were forced to live inside Vanargand’s maw.

Ekarraat used her Sagacious gaze to check on the royal capital, and it turned out that the incident—where I, of the Shikai Tribe, killed a member of the royal family and even laid hands on a Palace Knight general—had been splashed across the newspapers.

The already lowly status of the Shikai Tribe seemed to have worsened even further.

Even innocent members of the Shikai Tribe had become targets of the people’s criticism, and it made my chest ache with guilt.

Moreover, being a wanted criminal, my house was of course seized.

I couldn’t set foot in the Adventurer’s Guild, so I couldn’t sell any Magic Stones either.

In short, I couldn’t earn money.

That said—if we weren’t extravagant, we had savings enough to support Rin for several years, and we still had plenty of food stockpiled inside Vanargand.

Besides, Ekarraat and I didn’t actually need to eat.

Well—Ekarraat had become thoroughly accustomed to worldly pleasures, and thanks to Rin’s outstanding cooking skills, had become the type who couldn’t be satisfied without daily meals.

(“I’m no better—I’m addicted to the coffee Rin makes… so I can’t talk.”)

“I worry about the flowers we left at the mansion. I hope someone is tending them…”

“Ugh… If I don’t get some sunlight soon I’m going to lose my mind.”

“You’re a vampire, aren’t you?”

Both Rin and Ekarraat were reaching their mental limits in this closed environment (broad as it was).

Rin was frustrated at being unable to tend her hobby of growing flowers and herbs, and kept trying to clean out of habit from when she worked at the mansion—cleaning that wasn’t necessary here.

Ekarraat, steeped in worldly ways, couldn’t stand the shut-in life and lay about sloppily on the ground.

How did she even survive back when she was a dungeon boss…?

And I too was getting bored of staying holed up like this forever.

“Yeah, we can’t stay holed up here forever. Let’s set up a new base on the surface.”

At those words Rin and Ekarraat suddenly looked up, exclaiming, “Really!?” and “Seriously!?”

It made me keenly aware that people are meant to live under the sun.

＊＊＊

“How about here?”

“Yes. It gets relatively good sunlight, so I think it’s suitable.”

We set our sights on a forest near a farming village close to the royal capital—the same area where we once recruited a Goblin Lord.

I couldn’t set foot in the royal capital anymore, and being wanted nationwide, the same problem would follow me to other towns.

I felt uneasy about ambushing blameless guards and knights just doing orders from above, so I chose a monster-inhabited forest where people wouldn’t normally go.

“Then let’s get started—Shadow Manifestation.”

From the shadows I summoned several Shadows.

I had power-type Shadows like Minotaur and Goblin Lord fell the surrounding trees, pull up the roots, and level the ground.

The fallen trees were processed into lumber by Goblin Shadows to be used as materials for our new home.

“Ekarraat, lend me 《Dread’s Crimson Moon》. Relying only on the Minotaur and Goblin Lord to fell the trees will take too long.”

“Sid, you! Are you planning to use my 《Dread’s Crimson Moon》 to play lumberjack!?”

“Can’t be helped. The hand axes I have are lent to the goblins, and I can’t go into town to get more.”

Reluctantly, Ekarraat produced 《Dread’s Crimson Moon》 from her mouth.

It’s the blood-slashing technique we used to beat Vanargand; sweeping away lines of trees at once felt great and was perfect stress relief.

“Take this! 《Moon-Annihilating Cleave (Immortal Blood Pain)》!”

“Hey! Don’t use your finishing move so casually! Save it for when it really counts!”

――A few hours later.

We secured the space and materials needed to build the house.

With location and materials gathered, it was time to build.

Ekarraat’s vast stores of knowledge included how to construct wooden houses, and based on the rough blueprint I drew, she instructed the Shadows to build the house.

And so, half a day later—the new home was completed without issue.

“Stone mansions are nice, but a log house in the woods has a cozy warmth to it.”

“Yes! I think so too! It’s a lovely home, Master!”

“By cutting down the surrounding trees, sunlight gets in now—it’s a nice feel.”

The new home was a single-story structure with three private rooms and a dining/lounge area.

Unlike the royal capital, there was no sewage system, so we prepared separate outbuildings for the toilet, bath, and kitchen.

By combining Windine’s Water magic and a Gargoyle’s flamethrower, we could heat water without needing a hot-water Magic Crystal—a big plus.

The toilet waste would drop into a cesspit, and when it filled up the Shadows would be sent to dispose of it.

Rin immediately began moving the cooking utensils and such that had been stored inside Vanargand’s mouth into the new kitchen.

Vanargand rested its lower jaw on the ground and kept its mouth wide open, obediently watching Rin as she went back and forth inside.

The giant wolf said to have swallowed a moon from another world had somehow become part of the Ranorus household’s pet roster.

“Master, I’d like to make a flower bed around here.”

Having finished moving the furnishings, Rin now suggested a location for a flower bed.

“Ah, that’s nice. Actually, since it’s this spacious, why not make a field instead?”

“Sounds great! I’ll work hard to grow vegetables for you Master!”

“I know it… This is what they call a slow life!”

Thus, our new life began after establishing a new base.