I was reincarnated as bait for the summoned hero
Today, I decided to move my furniture and belongings into the newly purchased “two-story cottage.”
The land I rented from the Commercial Guild’s real estate division was spacious, so even with a tiny house and a container house placed next to the cottage, there was still plenty of room.
Although there was a barrier and a recognition-inhibiting effect in place, I was still worried about being seen, so I hurried with the work.
I began storing items into my [Item Box], including the bed, storage shelves, and sofa from the container house. The dining table set and Ketsue’s cat tower were also packed away.
Since I had the chance, I also decided to take the contents of my bookshelf and some games for entertainment.
“It’s best not to touch the contents of Rei’s container. We’ll let him handle it when we meet up.”
I moved large furniture from the container house, while the tiny house contained kitchenware, household goods, and sets of seasonings, which I also retrieved.
Of course, I didn’t forget Ketsue’s favorite memory foam cushion sofa—the one that could ruin humans, cats, and dragons alike.
“Alright, if anything’s missing, I’ll come back to grab it later. For now, let’s remove the container house and tiny house from the yard!”
Since I packed everything up in a rush, I’d have to sort it out properly later, but I thought I did a pretty good job.
I decided to start organizing the two-story cottage from the living room first.
“Hmm, not bad if I do say so myself.”
“It looks really cozy now!”
“Nya!”
I placed my hands on my hips and surveyed the interior with satisfaction.
The cottage had been completely empty when I summoned it, leaving a cold and barren sight. However, just placing a sofa set and a fluffy rug had transformed it into a cozy living space.
Against the wall stood Ketsue’s favorite cat tower.
Since I had gone through the trouble of acquiring this cottage, I explained to Shella that shoes weren’t allowed inside.
Perhaps because it was designed with a Japanese aesthetic in mind, there was a proper entrance with a shoe cabinet, which we were making use of.
The slippers were cheap ones from a hundred-yen store.
The curtains didn’t fit quite right either, so I planned to earn some points in the dungeon to buy better ones later.
“The kitchen will take a while, so let’s set up your room first, Shella.”
“Thank you so much!”
Even in the tiny house, Shella had her own small room, so she nodded with a bright smile.
We climbed to the second floor and headed to the back room.
I had chosen the room right at the top of the stairs as my bedroom. For security and self-defense reasons, Shella’s bedroom was at the farthest end.
“Go ahead.”
“Alright. Just tell me where you want everything, and I’ll bring it out.”
“Okay! Please place the bed against this wall!”
Following Shella’s directions, I placed the furniture and belongings in her room.
From the tiny house, I retrieved her bed, a storage closet, and a wooden box containing some extra clothes and miscellaneous items.
There was no sofa, desk, or anything girly like a vanity—just a somewhat plain and bare room.
“I guess we should earn more points and buy some colorful curtains and fluffy cushions.”
“? Okay! Let’s work hard together!”
But for Shella, who had never owned much in her life, this was already more than enough, and she simply smiled at my words in mild confusion.
“I’ll leave the finer organization to you later. Let’s set up the toilet and bathroom first.”
“That’s important. Especially the toilet.”
We nodded in agreement and headed to the second-floor toilet.
The toilet and bathroom were adjacent, located right in the middle of the second floor.
First, I set up the toilet by placing toilet paper and an air freshener. Since there was a sink inside, I also placed hand soap and a towel.
Next, I moved on to the bathroom. When I opened the door, there was a sink and dressing area, with a bathtub in the back, separated by a glass partition.
I placed toothbrush sets and hand towels by the sink.
On the wall of the dressing area, there was a wooden storage shelf, where I neatly folded and stored bath towels.
In front of the bathtub, I set up a rolling cart and arranged shampoo, conditioner, treatment, and body soap on it.
Even though I used Cleanse Magic before bathing and technically wasn’t dirty, I still preferred using shampoo and conditioner out of habit.
“Next is the kitchen and dining area. This will be the hardest part…”
“Yeah. Let’s tidy it up quickly for now and reorganize it later for convenience.”
“Right. But in the end, the most convenient setup is whatever works best for you, Tohma !”
“You’re just casually making me the designated cook, huh? Well, whatever.”
“Ehehe. But Tohma ’s food is the best in the world!”
“Flattery will only get you a chocolate bar.”
“Chocolate bar! Um, um… Tohma is kind, beautiful, and like a mom—a truly wonderful person!”
“That’s the worst compliment I’ve ever heard.”
Sighing, I handed her a chocolate treat as a small reward.
Not a cool, kind big brother, but a kind and beautiful “mom”? That realization hit me harder than I’d like to admit.
By the time evening came, I had finished moving all the recovered furniture.
Thanks to my [Item Box], there wasn’t much heavy lifting involved, but it was still tiring in its own way.
I decided to organize my own room later, at a more relaxed pace.
“All that work made me hungry…”
“Nyaun…”
I glanced at the girl and the cat, both sprawled on the living room sofa.
“You didn’t do anything, Ketsue.”
If anything, he had just gotten in the way, playing around during the cleanup.
Even when he looked up at me with innocent eyes as if saying, “What do you mean?”—I wasn’t fooled.
But… he was cute.
When he exposed his fluffy belly like that, there was only one proper response for a cat owner—to nuzzle it.
“Tohma , you never change…”
“Shella, do you want to be a fluffy white bird?”
I smiled sweetly, and she recoiled in fear.
Apparently, the one time I got enchanted by her adorable shima-enaga (long-tailed tit) form and couldn’t resist cupping her in my hands to smell her had traumatized her. My bad.
A high-end convenience store ice cream set had been my peace offering.
Shella (Shima-enaga) was easily bribed.
(Wait… if I offer more expensive ice cream, could I cuddle her fluffy form again…?)
Before I could seriously entertain the thought, Ketsue smacked my cheek with a paw.
Okay, okay, I’m sorry.
“Anyway, let’s eat.”
“A celebration! For our new home!”
“Yeah. Let’s have soba.”
“Soba…?”
Come to think of it, I had never served Shella noodles before. If I just made simple kake-soba or zaru-soba, she might be disappointed, being a meat-lover.
“Oh, right. I still have that meat from the Great Forest.”
I recalled the plump and delicious-looking wild ducks I had hunted with my bow.
“Alright, let’s make kamo nanban soba.”
Since boiling fresh soba was a hassle, I grabbed some instant soba cups from my stockpile.
While waiting for the water to boil, I thinly sliced the duck meat.
“Whoa… that smells amazing…”
I cooked the duck in sesame oil, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper.
After topping the soba with the duck and plenty of chopped green onions, dinner was ready.
“A super lazy kamo nanban soba for our moving-in celebration. Let’s eat!”
“Thank you for the meal!”
“Nya!”
After dinner, we enjoyed some sweet potato desserts, then decided to turn in early for tomorrow’s first dive into the Anheim Dungeon.
