Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are So Hot! [BL]-Chapter 302: A Gift from the Elves

It seemed they had been playing hide-and-seek down there.

They looked like they were having fun.

"Alright, everyone’s here on the surface, right? ...Good, now stay back from the construction site. I’m going to bring the mansion here."

Bring the mansion?

Damien wanted to ask what Elyon meant, but Elyon had already closed his eyes and started chanting.

Damien expected the spell to take as long as the one for the basement, but Elyon’s incantation was finished in what could barely be called a moment. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"■■■■■■!"

As soon as Elyon’s magic was completed, a gust of wind blew through, kicking up a large cloud of dust.

Damien recognized this "force pushing the space out" feeling.

The scale was completely different, but whenever this sudden wind blew, Elyon would always appear out of nowhere.

While he was thinking about that, the dust cleared...

And right in front of him... on the site where his mansion was supposed to be built, a white mansion had suddenly appeared.

...

Everyone stood in stunned silence at the sudden appearance of the pristine white mansion.

Even Sebas, usually unflappable, widened his eyes slightly in surprise.

Damien, who had already been amazed by the construction of the basement, found himself even more astounded.

It felt like he was dreaming.

Unlike the large but straightforward act of digging a hole for the basement, the mansion that had suddenly appeared before them was a fully wooden, two-story structure—something rare in this world.

The materials were properly processed lumber, and intricate decorative carvings adorned various parts of the structure.

Perhaps because they were looking at the back side, the mansion gave a somewhat plain impression.

However, it had large windows with glass panes fitted snugly.

It was hard to believe Elyon had built it just moments ago.

Especially since Elyon had said he "brought it over."

"Uh, Elyon, where did this mansion come from?"

He didn’t steal someone else’s house, did he?

It was clearly brand-new, with no signs of anyone ever having lived in it.

However, precisely because it was so pristine, it looked like it had been built for someone specific.

"Oh, it’s the mansion we were building in the Elven village for you. It was just finished, so I brought it here."

Wait, brought it here? That’s not how this works, Damien thought.

Now that Elyon mentioned it, Damien vaguely remembered Elyric telling him that they were building a mansion in the Elven village for him to use during his stay there.

But he hadn’t imagined it would be this grand.

"Um, is that okay?"

"I got the Elder Council’s approval, and my younger brother was thrilled when he heard you’d be living in it. So it’s fine."

Apparently, even Elyon had taken the time to get all the necessary permissions.

"What about the construction costs? How much do you think it’ll be?"

There was no way something like this would come free.

It was undoubtedly far beyond what Damien could pay outright, so he was prepared to negotiate a payment plan.

"Oh, no need for that. It was made entirely from materials in the forest, and the construction was done with magic, so it wasn’t much trouble."

"No, I can’t just take something like this for free..."

"Don’t worry about it. Consider it a gift from the Elven village. ...Or better yet, think of it as a small token of the ’expectations’ we have for you. If you feel indebted to us, that alone will satisfy us Elves."

So, that’s how it is.

It seems they expect Damien to put in some kind of "work" to match the value of this gift.

He wasn’t sure what measures for addressing the declining population entailed, but there was a chance it might turn out to be a far costlier endeavor than simply paying for the mansion outright.

Still, if Elyon was calling it a "gesture of goodwill," Damien decided he might as well accept it gratefully.

"In that case, I’ll gladly accept it. ...Even if it’s a little intimidating."

"Indeed. By doing so, my brother and the elders will be pleased."

"Thanks for the mansion, Elyric!"

Damien called his thanks toward the sky.

Apparently, Elyric could sense this sort of thing through their magical connection, so his gratitude might actually reach him.

The next time they met, Damien resolved to express his thanks properly.

"For now, could you pass along my gratitude to the elders? Once I’m able to write properly, I’ll make sure to send a formal thank-you letter."

Alternatively, he thought he could visit the Elven village in person when things settled down to offer his thanks directly.

"There’s no need to be so formal about it, but very well. I’ll let them know."

Elyon nodded, and Damien offered him a small bow.

Although Elyon insisted it wasn’t necessary, Damien couldn’t imagine not expressing gratitude for a gift of this magnitude.

He made a mental note to ask about anything the Elven village might need or what the elders liked, to bring as a token of appreciation.

"Uh, Teacher?"

As Damien admired the brilliant white mansion and pondered what gifts to prepare, Sebas—who seemed to have regained his composure—spoke up hesitantly.

Meanwhile, the others were still processing the sudden appearance of the mansion, standing in stunned silence as they gazed up at it.

"Hm? Sebas, is there some issue?"

"No, well... it’s not exactly an issue..."

Elyon’s calm demeanor stood in sharp contrast to Sebas’s cautious tone.

Despite his usual confidence, Sebas now seemed uncharacteristically hesitant, as if unsure whether to voice his concern even to Elyon.

"Uh... you mentioned earlier that the materials came from ’the Elven forest.’ Would those materials happen to include Sky Trees?"

The moment the word "Sky Tree" was mentioned, Theo, Leonide, Lorenzo, and Zima all whipped their heads around to stare at Sebas with astonishing speed.

Although Isaac and Miria’s reactions were not as extreme, they too widened their eyes and directed their gazes toward Sebas.

"Oh, well, if we’re talking about the trees in the Elven Forest, that’s really the only kind there is," Elyon replied nonchalantly.