"It's about the size of .......

　I eyeballed the board and cut it to size. Of course, I had a cheat for this task, though not as good as blacksmithing, so I used it.
　I lined up a few of the boards to check their size, and found that they were quite large because of my height.

How's the size?
"Uh, okay. Yeah, it's fine.

　I asked, and Anne laid down on the board without hesitation. Her body fit perfectly, with plenty of room on both sides and up and down. I guess this is what a bed should be like.
　But as I looked at her, I suddenly wondered.

"Wouldn't a bed of this size make the room a bit small?
Would you like to try it?
Yeah, .......

　At Liddy's request, I carried the board into the house and placed it on top of the existing bed (without bedding). It still looks smaller than the original room.

What do you think?
How's it look?" "It's big enough, and I didn't bring much stuff, so it's fine.
Aren't the rooms at home bigger?
Well, in a palace, you need to look good, so even the private rooms, which are usually unoccupied, were spacious and the furnishings were luxurious, but I'm not sure they were all put to good use.
I'm not so sure.
You also have a spare room where you put everything you want to keep, right?
Yeah, I guess so. Well, at least one of the rooms will be a storage room with no bed in it until we move in.

　In the other room, we'll move the bed from this room. When I get Anne's bedding, I'll also prepare some bedding for her so that she can use it if she has two guests in the future.
　I doubt very much that we will have two guests in such a short time.

Then I'll put it there if I need it and can't fit it. I don't think that's going to happen, and I'll prioritize things that we can all use.
"Okay. If the room owner says it's okay, it's okay.
You tell him.

　The conversation seemed to be over, but Anne had something on her mind.

Liddy is an elf, isn't she?
Yes, she is. Yes, as you can see.
My father never married an elf, so this is the first time we're living together as a family, but I thought elves didn't have much, but I guess they do.
"That's true. They're not so different from humans and giants. Excuse me, but has Anne ever lived with other species?
Well, to put it bluntly, she has.

　I've heard that there are giants, beastmen, dwarves, marauders, and even lizardmen in the Imperial Household. The only ones that aren't there are the elves, demons, and fishermen.
　Elves and demons are a race that depends on magic for their sustenance, and they can't live in places where magic is scarce, and fishermen don't come out of watery areas.

In other words, it was my first time to live with elves, so I was a little nervous. But I thought that if they were the same as everyone else, they would be fine.
"Well, at least it's not so different that you'll get fed up with my life and leave.

　Liddy tapped me on the shoulder. Anne sees this and smiles.

"All right, let's make it with this.
Okay.
"Okay.

　We went back to the front with the board. We have to make the legs and stuff and assemble it. I doubt we'll be able to do it today, but we're not short of time, so we'll take it easy.

　With lunch in between, we finished the day by cutting out the parts of the bed. The progress was not bad, since I had Anne do most of the work to get used to it.
　However, Anne seemed to be unhappy and complained.

Hmm, it's not going so well, is it?
"Well, if Her Imperial Highness, who has never held a tool before, could do it so well out of the blue, the furniture maker would have no choice. It's a good thing I didn't cut it to pieces.
I think it's partly because of your tools.
My father said that tools can behave better or worse depending on who handles them.
Is that so?
Yeah.

　My words put Anne in a better mood. I don't know what's going to happen to her when she comes back, but she'll have plenty of time to get used to it.

　I haven't cut the mortise yet, so it's not as if I'll only be assembling the bed tomorrow. I'm hoping to finish it the day after tomorrow.

And now, in honor of Anne's visit.
"Cheers!
"Krullrullrull.
Doggie!

　Night. I brought out more meat than I had stored and used a lot of dried vegetables to make a more luxurious dinner than usual. It was a welcome party for Anne.
　I brought out the lights on the terrace and the chairs at the table, and asked Krull and Lucy to join us (their portions were of course separate and unseasoned).

I knew this would happen because of Eizo.

　That's Samija, drinking wine and eating venison jerky.
　I don't have much faith in this field. Everyone is nodding their heads in agreement.



But I really do welcome Anne's arrival.

　This is Diana with wine and wild boar in wine. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, guys. Thank you, guys. I know I'm speaking for myself, but this is where I've been, so if you see anything strange, let me know.
I'm sure it's fine.

　"I'm sure it's fine," said Rike, who had already poured himself his third cup of hot sake. I've already told you to drink without hesitation in this kind of situation, and in fact, since you drink without hesitation, I've brought you a decanter-like ceramic container.

I've been taking care of you for a long time now, and even though there are people from different races and backgrounds, we can live together without any major problems.
I'm not too worried either.

　"I'm not too worried either." This is Liddy with wine and root vegetable soup.

"Well, in my case, I've always lived in the forest.
I've been all over the place, but living here kind of suits me, too.

　I've been all over the place, but living here really suits me. Helen poured the fire wine into her empty cup.
　I thought you were going to go back to being a mercenary one day, but it looks like you're going to be staying with us for a while at least. I'm fine with that.

　And so the welcome party went on, with Krull and Lucy joining in from time to time, talking about life at home.
　When the party ended, a sleepy-looking Anne said, her eyes drooping even more.

Please take care of me from now on.

　We had one answer to that.

"Welcome to Eizo Workshop, Anne.