Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are So Hot! [BL]-Chapter 244: The Dormitory Plan and Morning Duties

"Well then, shall we wrap it up for today?"

With the decision made that Damien and his group would manage the dormitory, Theo concluded the meeting with those words.

Before anyone realized it, it was nearly time for dinner.

"I’ll provide the materials related to enrollment at a later date. Does anyone have any questions for now?"

The details like what would be needed would likely be shared later as well.

For the time being, Damien didn’t have any pressing questions.

It seemed the others felt the same since no one raised their hand.

Except for one—Elyon.

"Teacher? Is there something on your mind?"

"Well, it hasn’t been decided what I’m supposed to do next," Elyon said, looking like a lost child.

"Huh? But, Elyon, you’ll probably come to the dormitory to hang out regardless of where I’m staying, won’t you?"

"Indeed."

See? Nothing would change.

Oh, it’d be nice if Elyon brought Elyric along to visit now and then, Damien thought.

Once the meeting ended, everyone returned to their respective tasks—work, the forest, or wherever else they belonged.

As for Elyric, who still hadn’t woken up, Damien had carried him to one of the beds in the dormitory’s sleeping quarters.

He decided he’d dote on Elyric later after such a long time apart.

Now, only Damien and his four retainers—Leonide, Lorenzo, Lysander, and Lucian—remained in the common room.

The five of them began discussing the details of running the dormitory.

Zima, for his part, brewed tea and attended to other chores but refrained from participating in the meeting.

So began the first task of the Crowell household—managing the dormitory.

Their priority was to focus on recruiting additional staff.

But what else needed to be done to run the dormitory smoothly?

Even with quick brainstorming, Damien could think of several tasks: procuring food and daily necessities, cleaning, laundry, and perhaps redecorating the interiors.

It sounded overwhelming.

However, Leonide and his team assured Damien that they would handle all those arrangements.

As expected of his capable retainers.

For a moment, Damien wondered if he was even needed at all.

However, when he voiced that thought, his retainers emphatically explained that final decisions could only be made by him.

Ah, he realized.

His role was to make decisions and take responsibility for them.

"Master Damien, we’d like you to make one such decision right away," Leonide said. "Currently, the dormitory has four-person rooms. Would you prefer to keep them as they are, convert them into two-person rooms, or perhaps even single rooms?"

Leonide spoke on behalf of the four retainers.

Now that Damien thought about it, Leonide often acted as the representative whenever all four of them were together.

"Well, since we have plenty of rooms, why don’t we go with two-person rooms?" Damien suggested.

While some dormitories offered private rooms, they were apparently rare.

Two-person rooms seemed like the most reasonable choice.

"Oh, and if possible, could we add showers?" Damien added.

"Showers? Are you referring to the overhead water system in your personal bathroom, Master Damien?" Leonide asked.

"Yes, that’s the one. I’ll check with Theo to see if arranging the necessary plumbing is feasible," Damien replied.

In this world, bathrooms with magical water heating devices were already a luxury, but Damien’s one gripe was the lack of showers.

Admittedly, up until recently, baths had to be heated with firewood in this world, so it wasn’t surprising that showers weren’t yet common.

When plans for Damien’s new estate had been discussed, he had requested a shower system.

While a fully flexible, hose-like showerhead wasn’t possible, an overhead shower was deemed simple enough to be implemented.

As a result, his new estate was designed to include showers, and a retrofitted version had even been installed in his current bathroom.

"Understood," Leonide said. "I’ll confirm it, but since modernizing the bathhouse was already part of the plan and there’s only one communal bath, I don’t foresee any issues."

"Thanks, I’d appreciate it," Damien replied.

"Now then, moving on to the next topic—provisions procurement," Leonide said, nodding toward Lorenzo, who was prepared to present the details.

Leonide sat down and, in his place, Lorenzo stood up, holding a stack of documents as he began to speak.

Damien had noticed earlier that Lorenzo had been staring at a set of counting sticks while writing, and it turned out he had been putting together the materials for the meeting.

"As for the procurement of food, the daily meal quantities are..." Lorenzo began, flipping through the documents in his hand.

The meeting continued while they ate dinner, and by the time it finally adjourned, it was late at night when Lorenzo and the others had finished.

The only reason they stopped was because Elyric, who had been sleeping soundly, began to stir and fuss.

...

Someone was shaking him gently.

"Master Damien, Master Damien, please wake up."

It was Lysander, whispering in his ear.

The sunlight streaming in through the window was blinding.

It was morning already.

They had been discussing serious matters late into the night, and after that, Damien had spent some time doing something with Elyric.

He still felt sleepy.

However, since there were things to do that morning, he had no choice but to wake up.

He tried to sit up... but his right arm felt heavy.

Something warm and smooth, soft and squishy, was attached to his arm.

"Damien..."

It was Elyric who is clinging to Damien’s arm, completely naked.

Damien gently tried to pull his arm away without waking him up, but Elyric’s arm began to search for him, as if looking for Damien.

"I’m sorry, Elyric, but I have work to do."

Damien placed the pillow in Elyric’s arms, kissed him lightly on the lips, and it seemed to calm Elyric down, allowing him to fall back asleep peacefully.

He was so cute.

Damien wanted to watch him for a little longer, but he couldn’t afford to do that.

After covering Elyric with the blanket again, Damien got out of bed and headed to the shower to freshen up.