Chapter 235: How Did I Summon Such a Despicable, Shameless Vassal!
It was nearly 4:30 PM when Ryohei Tanaka and Lucoa finally returned to the Stardew Valley Ranch.
Click.
"I'm back," Ryohei called out toward the living room as he opened the door, immediately hearing the sound of hurried footsteps.
"You're back."
Yurine Hanazono appeared at the end of the entryway corridor. JII, holding a handheld game, peeked out from behind her, smiling sweetly. "Welcome back, Onii-chan! And Lady Lucoa!"
"Mm." Lucoa smiled and acknowledged JII.
Ryohei felt Yurine's gaze shifting back and forth between him and Lucoa, as if she were inspecting them for any signs of... activity.
As he slipped into his indoor slippers, Ryohei felt a pang of guilt. He cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject.
"We were supposed to be back by four, but it turned out making the bamboo-tube rice took a little more time."
"Bamboo-tube rice?"
Yurine's attention was successfully diverted, her face showing a trace of surprise. As Ryohei approached, she didn't even need to sniff carefully to smell the strong, clean fragrance of bamboo, mixed with the smoky scent of charcoal fire and cooked food.
She couldn't, however, detect any other suspicious smells.
"Yeah, we made bamboo-tube rice for 'lunch' using ingredients we foraged. It tasted absolutely incredible! We figured we had to make a batch to bring back for you guys."
Ryohei walked into the living room, took several bamboo cradle trays from his spatial storage, and placed them on the coffee table. He followed this with three different flavors of bamboo-tube rice and two tubes of pork rib soup.
An intoxicating aroma of bamboo and savory food instantly filled the room, potent enough to make anyone's stomach rumble!
"Mmm! It smells so good!" JII's nose twitched. She stared at the bamboo tubes on the table, her ruby-red eyes wide with interest, practically drooling.
"You rarely see this around here," Yurine commented, looking at the food with surprise. She had heard of bamboo-tube rice but had never actually tried it.
"Then you're both in for a treat today," Ryohei said, placing a hand on his hip and smiling proudly.
He gestured to JII. "This is your and Minos's dinner for tonight. I know it's a bit early, but you two can go ahead and eat."
"We'll go and relieve Minos," Ryohei said, looking at Yurine and Lucoa. Minos and JII had practically become the ranch's permanent resident staff.
"Okay," replied Yurine and Lucoa—the latter trying to act low-key in front of Yurine after her "successful" afternoon.
The three of them headed back to the entryway, changed their shoes, and used Lucoa's spatial portal to teleport to the restaurant.
The shop's staff had already arrived. They usually came in around 4:00 PM to do prep work, eat a staff meal, and then open for service at 6:00 PM. If Ryohei was running late, Pekola or Yusa would open the shop, as they both had spare keys.
"Ryohei-kun, you're back!" Minos, who had been chatting with the others at the counter, waved energetically. She pulled her car keys from her pleated skirt pocket and tossed them over.
"Yeah." Ryohei clapped his hands together to catch the keys. "Minos, you can head to the ranch. We left dinner for you."
"Oh, okay," Minos replied, a little surprised as she hopped off her stool.
She started walking toward the portal, her long, shapely legs wrapped in different-colored stockings. Then, as if remembering something, she stopped. "Ah! I almost forgot the important part!"
She pulled out her phone. "The design plans were sent over. Take a look and see if you're satisfied."
Minos sidled up next to Ryohei, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him. Her slender fingers swiped across the screen as she showed him the blueprints, explaining them in detail.
"..."
Yurine stood on her tiptoes, hands behind her back, craning her neck like a curious cat to peek at the screen. The others saw this and also gathered around, and those who couldn't squeeze in simply pricked up their ears to listen—after all, they would be working at the ranch soon, and one of the buildings was their own staff dormitory.
...
The plans included: three guesthouses, one staff dormitory, one hot spring building, and one multi-functional complex that housed the restaurant, convenience store, storage, and the recently requested dessert kitchen.
The three guesthouses were, in local terms, "log cabin style" and "Nordic minimalist." The designer was skilled; the houses looked beautiful and unique, even a bit artistic. The interiors were fully functional. Ryohei was very satisfied.
The staff dormitory... was a castle. A blue-roofed, white-walled castle.
Ryohei's mouth twitched as he looked at the rendering. What kind of company staff dorm looks like that? Tourists would come by and see: "Hey, look! The staff live in a castle! They live better than we do!"
The mental image was too much.
But his relationship with his staff wasn't just employer-employee; they were friends. He didn't really have an issue with upgrading their living conditions.
Next was the hot spring—a classic Japanese onsen design. It had separate changing and shower rooms for men and women, with the springs themselves being open-air and separated by wooden walls.
The multi-functional complex was modern in style. The first floor was planned for the convenience store and storage, while the second floor held the restaurant and the new dessert kitchen.
...
"What do you think? Are you satisfied?" Minos asked, her ruby eyes looking at Ryohei expectantly. She unconsciously licked her lips; the long explanation had made her thirsty.
Right on cue, Yusa handed her a glass of ice water. Minos blinked, smiled, "Arigatou!" and then tilted her head back to chug it.
"Overall, it looks great, even if the styles are a bit mixed..." Ryohei nodded in approval. He then looked at Yurine and the others. "What do you all think?"
"The designs are interesting," Yurine mused. "But the staff dorm is a castle? I've never even lived in a castle."
"Me neither," Ryohei smiled. "When it's built, let's all move in and try it out!"
Because he was opening a new dessert shop, his once-sufficient staff was starting to look a little thin. Ryohei had considered hiring more "people" and had even thought of the perfect candidates: Elma and Ilulu. However, those two dragon girls hadn't shown up yet. The dormitory had rooms reserved for them, so they might as well use them before they arrived.
"That's a good idea!" Yurine's eyes lit up in agreement.
Jashin-chan, standing to the side with her arms crossed and chin high, adopted a look of smug superiority. "A bunch of country bumpkins, never even lived in a castle! Don't tell anyone you know me when you go out. I can't afford the embarrassment!"
...We're being scorned by the scummy snake!
Ryohei's eye twitched as he shot her a dark look. Yurine's gaze was downright murderous.
"Hey, don't you think that's going too far?" Minos said, looking at Jashin-chan disapprovingly.
"Erk..."
Feeling the murderous intent, Jashin-chan's arrogance instantly deflated. She blinked her beady eyes. "Th-that... was a little much, wasn't it?"
She gave a sheepish laugh, quickly retreated behind the others, put her hands behind her back, and turned her head to whistle nonchalantly.
"What's wrong with not living in a castle?" said the innocent, bun-headed Jiang Jiang, her hands on her hips. "I haven't either! Castles just aren't popular where we're from."
"Exactly!" Lan Lan chimed in.
"Jashin-chan must just be itching for a beating," Ryohei smiled sinisterly. "She wants Yurine to help scratch that itch for her."
The scummy snake instantly bristled. "I'm not! I don't! You're talking nonsense! I think you're the one who's itching!"
"Ah, yes, yes, you're right! I'm itching! Hurry up and 'fix' me!" Ryohei said, pulling Yurine in front of him like a human shield.
Jashin-chan: "..."
How in the world did I summon such a despicable, shameless vassal! What part of the ritual went wrong?!
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