Employment Ice Age of the Dead - Chapter 10

Abandoned Village

"As expected, a house where no one has lived for years deteriorates..."

After driving about an hour and a half further into the mountains from the hillside where the school was located, we finally arrived at the house where my grandfather used to live.

More than ten years had passed since anyone lived here, and seeing it for the first time in a while, it showed severe signs of damage all over.

In this village—or rather, this area—there were about a dozen other houses, but all of them were uninhabited. Most had been vacant even before my grandfather passed away, so almost all of them were half-decayed.

"The other houses are in even worse shape, so we won't be able to live in them without extensive repairs. I'll check the roof to make sure it doesn't leak, so I'll leave the indoor cleaning to you two."

"Leave it to us, uncle."

"Are there any cleaning tools left in the house?"

"There should be."

My father inherited this house after my grandfather died, but because he found it bothersome, he left it neglected without even clearing out the deceased's belongings.

Therefore, the furniture and daily necessities should still be intact.

"Well then, please do that."

I headed toward another half-decayed house, dismantled it using tools taken out from my "Item Box," and salvaged lumber that could be used to repair our house.

Leaving the decayed house as it was served no purpose anyway, so from now on, necessary building materials and firewood would be sourced from these abandoned, decaying structures.

"Uncle, the inside is cleaner than expected!"

"Izaku-san, it looks like the cleaning will be finished quickly."

I heard the two girls' voices from inside the house.

It seemed that, for now, the roof hadn't leaked inside yet.

However, since it was old to begin with and had been neglected for over ten years after my grandfather's death, the roof could reach its limit at any moment.

I retrieved a stepladder obtained from a home improvement store out of my "Item Box," climbed onto the roof, and began inspecting its condition.

"At this rate, it'll start leaking before long."

Since that would be a problem, I hurriedly reinforced the roof using the lumber obtained from dismantling the abandoned house as well as construction materials retrieved from the home improvement store.

I happen to be quite handy with my hands, so as long as appearance didn't matter, I was able to manage DIY-level repairs somehow.

My increased dexterity due to leveling up probably contributed to this as well.

"As long as the roof is solidly reinforced and maintained, a house won't break easily."

Fortunately, my grandfather's house was built sturdily using traditional methods with solid pillars, which was a stroke of luck.

Deciding to continue repairing the house tomorrow and in the days to follow, I climbed down from the roof to find the two girls waiting, having finished cleaning.

"Uncle, we finished cleaning."

"It was well-organized, so it didn't take much effort."

"My late grandfather was a meticulous person..."

Even after my grandmother passed away before him, he continued living alone in this house without relying on anyone's care, until one day he collapsed in the garden and passed away suddenly.

Thanks to a grandfather with such a strong sense of independence, we were able to secure a shelter, for which I must be deeply grateful.

Stepping inside the house for the first time in years, the nostalgic sight of where I used to return every year during my childhood spread before me.

Back then, as a child, my relationship with my parents wasn't bad yet, and I remembered how the whole family would visit during summer vacations and New Year's holidays.

"It looks like we can live normally here."

Not only was his death an ideal one in a sense—passing away without becoming a burden to anyone—but to think he would even help his grandson after his death...

I felt deep gratitude toward my grandfather in heaven.

My father used to complain about this house, calling it a burden.

An empty house in an abandoned village couldn't possibly be sold, and my grandfather's inheritance was almost entirely gone after covering funeral expenses.

Now, however, this abandoned village high up in the mountains was far safer.

Especially near the sea, where undead might continuously land in the future.

"I have to thank my grandfather for leaving this place behind. Now then, I need to prepare dinner."

Even so, gas couldn't be used.

The propane gas cylinder had been retrieved when my grandfather passed away.

However, I had plenty of portable stoves and gas canisters collected from various places, so I decided to use those.

"Electricity doesn't work either, but that shouldn't be much of a problem."

Still, because I was exhausted today, I had no energy to cook.

From my "Item Box," I pulled out convenience store bento boxes collected from town shops earlier.

Leaving them behind would have only resulted in them being eaten by zombies or rotting away, so I was glad I gathered as many as possible.

"For tonight's dinner, let's go with this for now."

"Phew... I haven't eaten anything for a whole day..."

"If you were hungry, you could have just told me and I would have brought something out."

"Until we got here, it didn't feel like the right time for that. I'd like that katsudon (pork cutlet bowl)!"

Shirai-san was apparently starving.

Without hesitation, she chose a katsudon labeled "Large Portion."

"Do you want a salad too? What would you like to drink?"

"I want a salad for beauty's sake too. For the drink, tea would be nice. Drinking something sweet feels like it'll make me gain weight."

It was probably because she was a girl at that age.

Since she chose a high-calorie meal, she selected a zero-calorie drink to balance it out.

In a situation like this, though, there might not be room to worry about gaining weight in the future.

"I have oolong tea, barley tea, rooibos tea, jasmine tea, all sorts."

"Rooibos tea, please!"

"Um!"

"Sakata-san, what would you like? I'll bring out whatever you request, though you'll have to give up if it's out of stock."

"It wasn't the right time to ask earlier, but what is this ability where you produce all kinds of things out of thin air?"

"...It's magic tricks."

"There's no way that's true..."

When I tried to gloss over the "Item Box," the dark-haired beauty looked at me with a slightly exasperated expression.

Hiding my abilities was reaching its limit anyway, and even if these two leaked it to others, I doubt anyone would believe them.

So while having my first meal of the day, I began explaining the story of when I was suddenly summoned to another world.

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