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Volume 2 Chapter 12 - Unexpected Pitfall

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After returning the cart to the orphanage, Allen returned home in a good mood and started cleaning the rooms. Allen's house wasn’t that big, so there couldn't be a room for each of the five siblings.

In addition to the relatively large room where the kitchen and living room were connected, there were only three small rooms; the room where Allen was currently sleeping, the room used by the boys, and the room used by the girls.

Allen getting a private room was not because he was the eldest son, but because he often came home late from work, he didn't want to disturb his younger siblings' sleep.

Allen once suggested that since he would only sleep after returning home, he could just do it in the living room, and that they could use the remaining room as they pleased, but his younger siblings unanimously rejected it.

Allen was usually very organized and relatively diligent about cleaning, so he quickly finished preparing the room where Rebecca would stay, even though it wasn’t usually used.

As expected, it was already evening so he didn’t hang the bedding to dry, but if he did it tomorrow morning, it would probably be in time for an overnight stay, Allen thought with a satisfied smile.

“Rebecca would be surprised to see the room this clean... Ah!” (Allen)

Allen involuntarily froze as he looked around the room. As Allen said, the room had indeed become clean. However, it might become a potentially fatal problem.

“Crap. What am I going to tell Rebecca?” (Allen)

Allen considered while muttering something like that.

Currently, the exterior of Allen's house remained the same as before and was in tatters, but the interior had been completely renovated by Allen using treant lumber, so the inside looked like a newly built house.

Normally, he was the only one who came and went, and he rarely had visitors, and even if he did, he rarely let them into the house, so the matter had completely slipped out of Allen's mind.

Allen searched for the best way to do this.

It would be easy to say he had renovated the inside of the house. It was originally a worn-out house with drafts coming in, so it wasn't unnatural to renovate it to make it more livable. Even the part about leaving the exterior looked the same, Allen thought he could make up a reason.

“Meaning, the problem is definitely the funding. Even if I use ordinary wood, if I renovate it this much, the material cost alone will be quite expensive, and Rebecca is a peddler, she’ll be able to tell that this is treant material. In the first place, how much would it cost to renovate this much using treant materials?” (Allen)

Allen did a quick calculation, remembering the prices of building materials sold at the lumber dealer he had gone to buy to repair his roof. Of course, there is no way treant building materials are available for the general public, so he used ordinary wood as a basis.

Allen knew a little about the price of treant building materials when sold to workshops and the like, but he had no idea how much it would cost if an individual tried to buy them from a lumber dealer.

The result he worked out was...

“Hmm, if it’s just building materials, it’s about 1 million zenny, huh. It’s surprisingly cheap... but that’s only if you look at it as Nella’s income. I haven’t even included carpenters’ wages, and if I add buying treant materials on top of that, I guess the price will skyrocket.” (Allen)

Allen paced around the room, mumbling to himself.

If it was just 1 million zenny, even the previous Allen could have paid it. Leaving aside whether or not he’d do it, all the money he had in his savings after his younger siblings left was still left untouched after all.

However, if the price jumped up several times over, he could definitely say that he wouldn’t do it. Rebecca would probably make the same decision.

“Hmm, I wonder if there’s any good idea, well, if I can come up with it that easily, I wouldn't have any troubles.” (Allen)

‘Haa─’, Allen let out a deep sigh as he looked up at the ceiling and plopped down in his chair. His old, worn-out chair would have broken if he did that, but the one made of treant took Allen's weight without even a creak.

Allen smiled a little at that, and suddenly looked at the table and chair in front of him.

“That’s right! Nick.” (Allen)

Shouting that, Allen stood up. This chair and table were things he had received when he helped Nick raise his level in Lilac Dungeon. There were also other treant furniture and plates scattered around the room that were given to him by Nick and his friends.

Ever since becoming an adventurer again, Allen had received several requests to help Nick and his carpenter friends raise their level. At those times, those carpenters made some things during breaks that Allen was half-forced to accept separate from the request reward.

Allen himself only thought it was lucky since those were made by professionals.

And after finishing raising their level and receiving the things Nick and his friends made to adjust their ability, he also brought home something else.

Lately, their level hasn't gone up that much, so Nick and his friends no longer create things for adjustment, so in exchange, Allen brought back something in large quantities, those were...

“Treant building materials. I should just pretend that I did what Nella did. It’s kinda strange, but then I’d have a valid excuse, right?” (Allen)

A path began to emerge within Allen.

It was impossible for Allen, who was not supposed to have a magic bag, to carry a large amount of treant building materials at once, as Nella did.

However, if it was the result of carrying it many times, it wouldn't be strange if Allen did it.

Fortunately, there were many people who saw Allen entering the city carrying a large amount of treant building materials. Well, he sold them all to Brandt Workshop, which Nick and his friends belonged to, so Allen didn't have any building materials on hand though.

However, the fact that Allen was transporting treant building materials should still remain in people's memories.

And Allen regularly went to Brandt Workshop to sell treant building materials left over from logging for the renovation.

He couldn’t sell hanging tree building materials, so he left them in the basement, but there wasn’t enough space in the basement to store a large amount of treant building materials that he had no way to use, so as a result, it ended up taking up space in his magic bag.

He could have just thrown it away, but Allen demonstrated his unwasteful spirit, and chose to sell it to Brandt Workshop as a way to kill two birds with one stone; solving the problem and also receiving a pretty good amount of money.

At the time, Allen never imagined that this would prove that he was bringing treant building materials on a regular basis, but now it’s convenient.

“After that, I just need to show her how much my carpentry skill has improved. Aah, come to think of it, I sold out all of the treant building materials the other day. I’m fine with buying some regular wood, but... All right, let’s go to the dungeon now. Completing the request to collect medicinal herbs at the same time might be good too.” (Allen)

Having found a solution to some extent, Allen's expression brightened, he ate a lightly prepared meal, put on his equipment, and left the house.

Allen then passed through the south gate before it closed, and slowly ran toward Lilac Dungeon.

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(T/N: I’m having trouble with this whole chapter, a lot of vocabulary doesn't make sense here.)

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