It’s been a while!

As I start this new chapter, I’ll be switching to the third-person style, as in the published edition.

I’ll be taking it slow and steady, so thank you for your patience.

◇◇◇◇◇

It had only been a short time away, but Mei felt a sense of relief upon returning home.

She relaxed her slightly tense body in the bath, letting out a deep breath.

Before she knew it, this place had become her precious home.

Mei decided to stay in for a while and focus on her alchemy.

There were still so many things she hadn’t crafted yet.

“What should I make today?”

She flipped through her alchemy book, pondering.

She had made plenty of chairs.

She had made so many that they lined up along the wall of the room.

She really wanted to try making bigger furniture, but there was no way it would fit in this room.

“If only this room were a little bigger…”

She looked around the room as she said that.

At first, she thought the room was just the right size, but as she kept adding things, it started to feel cramped.

She had set up a screen to keep the bed out of sight, but she still wanted a separate bedroom if possible.

And if she could, she wanted a slightly larger bed.

The single-sized bed felt a bit tight when sleeping with Robo.

“You’re getting a little bigger, aren’t you?”

“Woof!”

Robo, who had once looked like a scruffy gray rag, was now a shiny, fluffy dog about the size of a Shiba Inu.

He even joined Mei in the bath, which was fed by an onsen, so he always smelled pleasantly of soap.

“Hey, Ermine, is there a way to expand the house?”

Mei decided to ask Ermine, who was peeking over her alchemy book.

If expanding the house were possible, she thought it could only be done with Ermine’s mysterious magic.

And she was right.

Ermine responded casually, “There is!”

“Why didn’t you tell me something that important sooner!”

Mei puffed out her cheeks, and Ermine’s whiskers twitched as he replied, “Sorry, sorry.”

She glared at Ermine with a slightly suspicious look, certain he wasn’t really sorry.

“So, how do I expand it?”

Mei asked, and Ermine turned to the last page of the alchemy book.

There, a new alchemy recipe appeared for the first time.

“First, you make that.”

“Huh, this?”

“Yep.”

Mei’s eyes widened as she stared at the page Ermine pointed to.

It was a recipe for “How to Make Stairs.”