I browse the options and come up with three cost-efficient plans.
1. Six new rooms, a bathroom, and a storage room for three thousand six hundred and eighty-seven gold.
2. Three new rooms, a bigger kitchen, a storage room, and a bathroom for three thousand and seventy-two gold.
3. A new house with five rooms. Three bedrooms, one kitchen, and a bathroom. For four thousand and two hundred sixty gold.
Option one would expand the house, offer a bathroom, and throw in a storage room for all my new stuff, which I desperately need. However, the materials the house is made of would remain the same.
Option two is a bit similar. However, it also offers a bigger kitchen for me to move around in.
Option three, however, offers a brick house and a modern bathroom with a real toilet. No more chamber pots again. I already know what I'm going to choose. My pockets will bleed, but it's an investment in our future. No more chamber pots!
I press the third layout and watch my coins grow wings. Bitter tears leave my eyes as the house changes before my eyes. Except for the doghouse, it's the only thing that remains the same per my instructions.
Everything we didn't remove from the house is spit out on the ground as it changes and expands. The others back up in my bird's eye view, and I crack my neck. This new vision thing always makes me feel motion sick.
The house settles, and I click on furniture so I can put it back in the house. So three bedrooms. I guess I can share with one of them whenever I'm here. The other two rooms can be for Aja, Penguin, or Akeso. Nuwa will, unfortunately, have to make do with the pond.
The kitchen is better looking, too. I look up furniture and bite the bullet to get a gas stove and oven.
Now. The moment I've been waiting for. The bathroom. It's unfurnished and bare except for a toilet and sink, but I've never been happier.
I put everything back and bought two more beds. Putting my coins in the hundreds again. I exit the bird-eye view and collapse to my knees. "My money…"
Penguin gives me a pat on the shoulder, and someone brushes past us. Mel hums to herself and opens the unlocked white door to our new home. "Wow!"
The others file in, and I follow them. The livestock refuses to enter the house and shivers outside.
Inside, the first thing we see is the open concept living room and kitchen. My precious gas stove rests against the wall, close to a window, and I almost run over to it. My precious. No more lighting fires. No more gathering pet feed to burn or buying wood from the store.
I open my inventory and place some of my new tools in the cabinet overhead, along with some food. Oh right! I take out the light kingdom cookbook and lay it on the counter. Now it looks more homely. A cookie jar or some decorations would really give it some character.
"It's a box?" Mel pokes at the white metal and tries to figure it out.
Penguin corrects her and provides a simple explanation. "It's a gas stove. The top part is used for cooking and the bottom part." He opens the stove, and Mel gasps with delight.
"Is for baking things. The appliance uses natural gas and is several times more efficient than a kiln or a mudstove."
Mel claps and showers it with praise. "It's beautiful. Look at its adorable little door handles. The glass..It's so shiny."
I walk away and start looking at the other rooms. The three bedrooms are all right next to each other. We only have two new beds, and I made a note to buy another. There's a small window facing the back of the house on the farthest wall of each room, providing a bit of sunlight.
This will do nicely. Finally, I make a dash to the bathroom where Aja is waiting. She presses down on the handle, and it flushes water. She jumps and backs away before coming closer again. Akeso stands in the doorway with curious eyes.
Nuwa holds her tail and struggles to see what's going on. "What is it?"
Akeso softly makes an inference."I believe it's a hygienic apparatus for washing ourselves."
I blink and clear it up a little. "Close. It's a very efficient chamber pot. You just go…and then press the handle down. Then it'll carry away the waste and you'll never see it again."
Their wide eyes meet each other, and they ooh and ah at it. I can't believe this. Whatever. I've seen weirder stuff.
"Look. We have three bedrooms and beds. So we're going to have to figure out our living arrangements."
Akeso fiddles with her staff."Which means?"
"You're going to have to share. Except for Nuwa."
Her entire face brightens. "You're going to use the pond." Her face drops, and I ignore it.
Fish belong in water. Prove me wrong, I dare you. "So it's you, Aja, me, Mel, and Penguin. I suggest that Aja and Mel room together. Then Akeso and Penguin share the other room. I can take the empty room and use it for storage as well."
Nuwa pouts. Her tail slithers and passes through my feet. The hair on the back of my neck stands up.
"Do I really have to use the pond?" Her sultry tone of voice makes me sneer at her. Nice try. In a fake bright tone, I promoted the pond like a snake oil salesman. "Yes, and guess what? You'll be the only one to use it."
Her face lifts, and I decide to add one more small detail. "Until we get fish and pond animals. Then you're sharing."
"..."
I walk out of the hallway and towards the outside. Mel and Penguin are already there discussing a book. Is that…?
"What are you doing?"
Penguin's eyes light up. "Perfect! Miseria, I was discussing our low income." Mel and I winced.
He continued. "Now that we have so many extra hands and advanced cooking equipment. I was thinking we should use this cookbook to recreate the food recorded in it and sell it instead of just selling raw ingredients."
Mel retorts, "That's too much work! We should expand our garden and buy more chickens."
"With what money?"
"..."
"..."
They both halted and froze as they were about to launch more arguments. I crushed their dreams again. "I have four hundred and nineteen gold coins. No matter what you choose, I will be broke before we even get started."
Penguin looks down at the book and frowns.
Mel twirls her hair around her finger, and I sigh. Poverty is such a pain in the ass. Massaging my head with my fingers, I try to think. They are right. We do need money.
"Ria?"
"Hmm?"
I open my eyes and stare at Penguin. He has a small grin gracing his face and I get the chills.
"What?"
"How would you feel about using your rookie bags?"