Chapter 373 - 373 - Who Said Building Our House Was Going to Cost Anything?

Laurier pursed her lips, clearly unconvinced.

"Hmph, quit selling us pie in the sky! So what if you've got a deed? It's still just an empty plot sitting there. With the savings we've got, there's no way we can afford to build a house."

"I heard all about it... that 'Elephant Castle' the Ganesha Familia just built? It cost a full 5.5 billion Valis!"

"Elephant Castle?"

That instantly piqued everyone's curiosity.

Lydia, hugging her cushion, shot a quick glance at Leon, then snatched her eyes back like a startled little animal and asked in a small voice, "Laurier... what's the 'Elephant Castle'?"

"And building a base for 5.5 billion Valis... isn't that a bit much?"

Seeing everyone look her way, Laurier sat up straight, made a show of clearing her throat, then explained with mock seriousness, "It's the new headquarters of the Ganesha Familia."

"You all know about Ganesha's... uh, distinctive taste, right? Like his catchphrase, 'I am Ganesha!'? If you pay attention, you'll notice that aside from a few one-of-a-kind officers, most of the Ganesha Familia members dress pretty... unique."

"And that whole style traces back to Ganesha himself."

"So you can see why they emptied their coffers to build their base in that style, right?"

After all that, nobody understood any better; if anything, they were more confused than before.

"Ugh, anyway, next time you pass by there on your way to the Free Market, just see the place for yourselves and you'll get how 'stunning' the building is."

Just then, Persephone, who had slept off her exhaustion until now and just finished freshening up, came down from the second floor looking poised, her face flushed with color. She pushed up her glasses, shot a certain man a discreet sidelong glare, and picked up the thread.

"Are you talking about the new base the Ganesha Familia built?"

"When that project got the green light, it caused quite a stir in Orario. Even Lady Demeter ribbed Ganesha about his taste. Didn't think they'd finish it in barely a year and a half."

"Good morning, Persephone!"

Laurier greeted her sweetly with a beaming smile.

But the sharp-eyed beauty caught an unusual flicker in the girl's eyes right away.

Watching Leon blow air at the ceiling, how could she not realize her performance last night had had an audience?

The moment that thought hit her, her face went red in a flash.

"La... Laurier... you..."

"Oh my, Persephone, I don't know a thing~"

The little elf's eyes were clear, her face all innocence, except the corners of her mouth, curling up like mad, gave her away completely.

Persephone: "..."

She stood on the stairs, her gaze sweeping slowly across the living room.

Iri, Margaret, Lydia, Kureha...

Every single one who met her eyes guiltily looked away.

"..."

In that moment, Persephone finally understood, in the fullest sense, what it meant to die of social embarrassment.

"Hah..."

"Leon, I think... building the new base needs to be moved up the schedule, as soon as possible."

"And the soundproofing... that's the top priority of priorities."

Leon shrugged and spread his hands like a little bear.

"OK."

...

All morning, everyone chattered away excitedly about the topic of how to build the new home.

Sure, they all knew Leon's "leave it to me" was just empty pie in the sky, but who could help getting excited about a brand-new home that was entirely their own? Especially since... it would be a house that belonged completely to them, where they'd have the final say on the facilities, the interior, the décor, the furniture layout, the room arrangements, all of it. For the ladies present, that was an irresistible temptation.

What nobody noticed was that while they were busy debating furniture styles and room plans, Leon had quietly slipped back to his own room.

First he bent down and gathered up the clothes, stockings, high heels, and tall boots strewn across the floor, sorting them into a wicker basket. Then he knelt on the ground and dragged an old suitcase out from under the bed.

The latch clicked softly. Leon opened the case with a solemn expression and carefully laid it open flat.

And there it was...

The space inside was far roomier than the exterior let on, at a glance, the capacity was at least four or five times the original.

That was right; this suitcase was the Wondrous Suitcase of Leon Hart, which Leon had seamlessly expanded and remade using the "Arcane Art: Item Box" included in the Wonder Pack recipe.

It was a Magic Item.

...

[Name]: "Suitcase, Wheat-Ear Series, Hart ☆ Commemorative Edition"

[Origin]: Leon Hart

[Type]: Wondrous Suitcase

[Effect]: An antique suitcase imbued with "Item Box" magic; its interior holds a far greater volume.

[Description]: Hart's suitcase; a one-year anniversary gift presented to Leon Hart by the heavenly goddess Demeter. The case was originally an item for long journeys, given centuries ago by a water sprite to a human lover. Yet according to record, the one the sprite loved... never returned. Afterward the suitcase changed hands across the world, until at last it was won at auction by the goddess Demeter, who loves antiques and objects of sentimental meaning.

[Capacity]: 7.99x

...

"Tsk... 7.98 times capacity. Which means... the materials used to make this case came from a monster close to Lv. 8. No idea where that water sprite managed to dig that up."

Putting the old story out of his mind, Leon rummaged carefully through the case for a while, and before long... he turned up an old parchment scroll he'd long forgotten, tucked at the very bottom.

"Found it!"

Looking at the wax seal still intact on it, Leon grinned.

Then he shut the suitcase, packed full of all sorts of precious items, locked it, pushed it back under the bed, and set it carefully in place.

"Phew..."

"This thing... it's been buried at the bottom of the case for almost a year now. I figured it'd be years before it found any use. Didn't expect its turn to come up after just one."

"Muah~"

He planted a delighted kiss on the scroll, then read its description through the Cheat panel.

...

[Name]: "Mansion Construction Contract" (Chapter 82)

[Origin]: I'm the Strongest at Odd Jobs

[Type]: Contract Document

[Effect]: Once used, the workshop master will complete construction of the contractor's familia mansion to specification, with anti-detection, anti-curse, soundproofing, alert, pest-repelling, climate-control, and cleaning barriers included on completion (daily cost: 10,000 Valis).

[Description]: You've got the mansion, but where's the land?

...

That was right; this was the contract for the Mansion Construction Contract.

"Now, however many gold coins it ends up being worth, that all depends on how high everyone's demands for the new mansion run!"

"Ladies, you'd better spend big for me!"

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