Chapter 29: Heizen, the Trade City ⑦ – The Hidden House Revealed

Heizen’s hideout was bigger than Hydrangea’s dwelling.
The overall structure was similar. The exterior was a decoy, with the entrance in the center.

The difference was the lack of a courtyard and watchtower.
The square buildings on the left and right could only be entered from the second floor.

We started with the black square building on the right.
There were four doors on the left, evenly spaced. Including the third floor, there were eight rooms in total.

Every room had the same layout: a bed, a small table, a closet, and a shelf. Simple.
There were also small windows.

How did my uncle plan to use all these rooms?

“The rooms have been cleaned. All bed sheets were discarded and replaced. Where did I get the new sheets? I brought spares from the Skiar Coffin Ele. I got permission from the witch.
Also, I collected the laundry at the same time and washed it in this house’s washing machine.”

Actually, the Skiar Coffin Ele had one flaw: it had no laundry area.
We—both the witch and I—had been slow to realize this.

So in the end, laundry was done in the bathhouse by Shaldina and Anna kreutzen.
The maids were eager to take care of the washing too.

Still, this house even had an automatic washing machine.
A legendary item, worth tens of millions or even hundreds of millions.
I wonder where my uncle got it.

The first floor was a living room, complete with a large fireplace.
At the back was the kitchen. Not a home kitchen, but a fully equipped commercial one.
Anna Kreutzen had cleaned it, and it looked spotless.

“It wasn’t used much, so it wasn’t very dirty.”

My uncle didn’t cook much, huh?
At the back of the first floor was a door leading to a hallway.
It connected to the blue square building on the left.
No need to go up to the second floor to move between buildings.

At the end of the hallway was a toilet.
It was a flush type, but no one used it.

The blue building had three empty rooms on the second floor and storage on the third floor.
The third floor was a large, open storage space.

Unlike the other building, these rooms were empty—no beds or furniture.
They felt slightly more spacious than the others.

The first floor had a bath area: laundry, changing room, and bath.
The bath was a rock bath—and a natural hot spring.

Heizen was full of hot springs if you dug.
Cheap bathhouses popped up all over.

“Shaldina’s like this too. Lots of people here love baths.”

Probably true for most women.
My uncle? Hydrangea’s dwelling didn’t have a bath.
But if a natural hot spring existed, it made sense to build a bathhouse.

In the center was the three-story narrow white building—the only entrance.
It had a hollow core, with a second-floor corridor and doors to the left and right.
The third floor had a passage leading to the rooftop.

The rooftop had nothing, just a fence surrounding the three buildings.
But the view was incredible—Lake Reeve stretched like an ocean on the horizon.

This building had a basement.
It held Heizen’s garbage—or likely the Great Forest’s refuse.

We first claimed our rooms and brought in our gear.
Most of my belongings were knives. The river pirate loot hadn’t been fully sorted yet.

“Wof, hey, you got a minute?”
“Yes?”

I opened the door.
Mineha, Bid, Shaldina, and Anna Kreutzen were all there.
What’s going on?

“We’re going to take a bath now!”
“Hot spring time, yay!”
“Try to peek and I’ll kill you.”
“…!”
“I’m not peeking. I’m sorting the loot in my room.”
“Ah, from the river pirates?”
“Yes. We got quite a lot.”

I said excitedly, and Mineha gave me a deadpan look.

“…Like a child.”
“A child I am.”

I felt a little annoyed. I am underage.
Mineha should also be a child, despite appearances.

After that, the women went to the hot spring.

“…Come to think of it…”

I sat down.
When I first met Mineha, I accidentally saw her naked.
Even then, at ten years old, her body was astonishing.

Now, she was dozens of times more attractive.
What happened in such a short time?

“Well, no point thinking about it. Time to dig through the loot.”

I was excited to see what knives I had.
You can never have too many knives.

Ten minutes later…

“This is terrible.”

Most of the knives were slightly rusted from saltwater.
Lake Liv connects to the Claudia Sea, letting seawater flow in.
Even the river carried the scent of the sea, and the fish were saltwater species.

Downstream, it would be freshwater, but Lake Liv was basically like the sea.
So aren’t these more like pirate spoils than river pirate spoils?

“They weren’t maintained… Huh?”

I found a small, faded treasure box.
Was this seized?
It was locked.

“I don’t have a key.”

Sigh. No choice. I used Vanish on the lock.
The box opened—inside was a blue orb.

Then the knife belt rattled.
Grabbing it, I saw strange sea knives shaking on the belt.

I drew the knives.
Three octopus-like tentacles instantly wrapped around the orb, crushing it.

“Whoa! What is that!?”

The blue orb disappeared, and the tentacles retracted to the sheath.

“…Um.”

What was that? Favorite food? Did it eat it? Or absorb it?

“Hmm. Don’t know.”

Not knowing, I shrugged and sheathed the sea knives back on the belt.

“Let’s continue.”

I sorted through the remaining loot.
Bad knives were destroyed with Vanish—about six of them.
Oh, this one’s amazing: a skull-shaped shield guard.

Small, intricate skull… real bone? The texture felt… like bone, not wood or stone.
Probably fake. For now, keep it on hold.

Also, folding knives and sword-breakers.
“Hey, you had a weird knife too.”
“Weird?”
“The one with tentacles… like that. I saw it during the Vinu fight and with the river pirates.”
“Oh—this one.”

I held up the sea knife.

“Where did you get it?”
“Received it as thanks.”

I wondered if Agaro and the others got anything.
I didn’t defeat the sahagin alone.
It was hard to imagine I was the only one who received a reward.

But one thing was clear: if I got knives, Agaro got alcohol. No doubt.
The other two? No idea. Juicy-san, maybe bones? But not a dog.
Narcissus-san… completely unknown.

“For a gift, it’s a bit creepy.”
“But convenient.”
“Physically, I can’t deal with it.”

Mineha rejected it. Fair enough.
But in a game from my past life, I often used tentacle weapons.
Push enemies, capture them, destroy obstacles.
They were actually quite useful.

We continued sorting the loot while commenting back and forth.

“Lots are rusty.”
“They weren’t maintained at all.”
“Wof, do you maintain yours?”
“Once a day, I check them, oil them, and lightly sharpen them.”

The Elixir Knife and the sea knives didn’t need maintenance.
Daga’a’s knife too. And Agaro’s modified knife.

“You take good care of them.”
“Mineha-san, do you maintain your weapons?”
“…I used to, but my current ‘Demon Star Spear’ has an automatic cleaning function. It cleans itself.”
“Wow—that’s convenient.”

As expected from that lab. Speaking of labs, the ero-rabbit, Haiyaan… what’s he doing now?
Probably getting suspended for sexual harassment, as usual.

“Armor maintenance, though, I do. But my armor… has gotten tight recently.”
“….”
“What’s with the silence? I’m not… fat, I don’t think. Anyway, I plan to get new armor.”
“At the Full Moon Bazaar?”
“Yes. If there’s a good one. But… that armor was my father’s memento, so I can’t easily part with it.”

Mineha’s father—unknown name—but definitely a commoner.
He was a party member of Ruriha and the witch, maintaining weapons and armor.
Also skilled at repairing and forging—an excellent master.
The witch once said it was a shame to lose him.

“I see.”
“Oh! I remember. My armor—my mother said it’s stretchable.”
“Stretchable?”
“Yes. So you can adjust the size—but it doesn’t feel like it.”
“Hmm… then maybe ask the witch?”
“The witch? She was your father’s party member. She might know something about the armor.”

Mineha thought for a moment.

“Yes. Annoying, but I’ll ask.”
“You dislike the witch?”

I asked a question I’d long wondered about.
Mineha looked complicated.

“Not dislike, but I’m not comfortable. She’s close to my master.”

A surprisingly dry reaction for someone who loved her master.

“So… you reconciled with Emi-san?”

“Publicly, yes.”
“….”
“It’s not easy to let go. I’m not an adult.”

Mineha lay down on my bed.
A strange feeling settled over me.