And so, Jill sought the help of the two, and the task of moving the table was successfully completed, as planned.
That is, if you overlooked the slight damages caused.
“This… this turned out to be quite a mess, didn’t it…”
Jill let out a dry laugh.
Matthew, too, wore a somewhat vague expression.
“N-no, don’t worry about it… haha… It’s not like anyone’s going to borrow something dangerous… although the repair costs will be a bit much…”
Carol responded with a slightly trembling voice.
Seeing the chaos, Jill couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt.
First of all, the door of the haunted house had been removed.
If that was the only issue, it might have been fine, but the door frame was also slightly damaged.
They had covered the sight with a large cloth to hide the wreckage from outside view.
Parts of the floorboards, which were already weak, had also been broken.
The haunted house was now one step closer to being an abandoned ruin.
However, Garda and Karappa, who had completed the job, were beaming with confidence.
“Let it go. To lift that table by hand, you’d need at least ten strong men. Besides, the floorboards were already a bit rotten. You’d have to redo the entire floor and walls just to use this place again. So, think of it as saving a bit of effort.”
“Blub blub.”
“See, even this guy says it’s unavoidable.”
“How do you know?”
“Well, I just got that feeling. Right?”
Garda looked up at Karappa, and Karappa clicked its scissors as if nodding in agreement.
Seeing this, Jill couldn’t help but laugh, thinking they might get along surprisingly well.
“Well, you do have a point. Besides, we three couldn’t have lifted the table by ourselves in the first place…”
Matthew muttered in resignation.
When it came to moving the table, Garda split the task into several steps.
First, he hooked a sturdy belt, meant for lifting heavy objects, onto the table and connected it to a chain.
Then, he assembled a makeshift crane from a construction frame borrowed from a carpenter friend.
All that remained was to pull the chain and hoist it up.
Even with tools, though, the table was still heavier than the combined strength of two men and two women.
That’s where Karappa came in.
Karappa was far stronger than ten grown men gathered together.
And sure enough, Karappa met their expectations, pulling the belt and lifting the counter table.
However, in the process, Karappa had to remove the door to get inside, scratching the door frame in the process, and when pulling the chain, its foot broke through the floorboards, causing some additional damage.
“I’m sorry, I just didn’t want to call someone I don’t really know… There’s also the possibility that something a bit difficult to explain might be hidden here.”
Jill apologized, bowing her head.
“N-no! There was a ‘devil’ after all, so I totally understand those kinds of concerns. Either way, the place needed renovation.”
“So, um… Carol, is this okay with you?”
Garda asked, tilting his head.
“I’m not really sure, but if Jill says it’s okay, then it’s fine.”
“I figured since Garda and Matthew are in this together, it wouldn’t be an issue.”
“I don’t really want to carry any more strange secrets… but fine, whatever.”
Garda was pushed into agreement by Jill’s nonchalant response.
“Alright, then… let’s go ahead and confirm.”
Everyone’s gaze focused on the spot where the counter table used to be.
It was an ordinary, unassuming floor storage space that you might find in any household.
“Sh-should I open it?”
“No, there might be some magical traps. Leave it to me.”
Jill, wearing gloves, opened the cover to the storage.
Since it hadn’t been opened in years, a cloud of dust rose into the air.
Thankfully, there were no signs of insects or mice, just a layer of dust.
“A cloth bag…?”
A light clicking sound came from inside.
“Metallic sounds? Does that mean gold coins?”
“Eh!?”
Garda and Carol exchanged glances, their hearts swelling with excitement.
However, Matthew, not as hopeful, stared cautiously at the cloth bag.
“Unfortunately, it’s not anything valuable.”
Jill opened the bag and showed everyone its contents.
“……Broken dishes.”
With an audible sigh, Garda openly expressed his disappointment.
Matthew, as if expecting nothing significant, looked resigned.
“That’s about what I figured… considering the history of this place, I didn’t think there’d be any treasure or inheritance. I was more worried it might be something dangerous or problematic.”
“It seems like it’s the latter… These are quite expensive porcelain pieces. And they’re custom-made.”
What Jill pulled out was a white teacup, cleanly split in half.
“How can you tell?”
“Look at the bottom of the cup and the saucer. See that emblem? It’s likely from when the owner’s ancestors were nobles.”
A strange pattern filled with various symbols was inscribed in a circle.
Upon seeing it, Carol let out a small gasp.
“Oh, without a doubt. This is the crest of my family… the Andromalius family, the ancestors of the current owner. And… this…!”
Trembling, Carol reached out for the cup in Jill’s hand.
“Oh, wait a minute—it’s broken, so be careful. Do you recognize it?”
“Yes… There’s something I broke when I was a little girl in here.”
“Huh?”
“When I was about two or three years old, my parents were busy, so they left me here at this café. During that time, I accidentally broke an expensive porcelain cup and saucer. That’s right… I remember now… Why did I forget something like that…?”
Carol started to speak, her voice soft and steady.
It wasn’t directed at anyone in particular.
It was as though she was asking herself, confirming each memory piece by piece.
“…Now that you mention it, you did say you were taken care of here.”
Jill wrapped the broken cup gently in a handkerchief and handed it to Carol.
Carol’s eyes began to glisten with tears.
“Yes… The cup I broke was right here…”
“There are several others as well. All of them are of exceptional quality… They were carefully wrapped and stored to prevent further damage.”
“It’s kind of strange, isn’t it? Broken porcelain can’t be used anymore.”
Carol chuckled softly.
But her eyes were filled with tears.
“When I cried after breaking the cup, the owner’s wife comforted me and said, ‘This will be our little secret,’ and hid it away for me… Oh, but… the owner also said, ‘What’s stolen is gone,’ as if to let it go… He must have known and pretended not to. How pathetic of me…”
“Pathetic?”
Jill, genuinely puzzled, wondered why she would use that word.
“Well, forgetting something so important, and being scared of this building as if it were some haunted house… It’s embarrassing, isn’t it? I should’ve been the one to defend the owner, saying he wouldn’t be the type to haunt anyone.”
“Well… it can’t be helped. You were too young to remember much, I’m sure. I probably have forgotten many things like that too. Besides…”
“Besides?”
“This place isn’t a haunted house anymore.”
“Oh, right.”
Carol clapped her hands together, as if realizing something.
Seeing her do this, Jill and the others laughed.
“While the interior has suffered some damage, the foundation and pillars are still solid. As a property for a business, I think it’s highly recommendable. Would you like to see the second floor?”
Carol wiped away her tears and began speaking in an exaggerated tone.
Her proud gesture of spreading her arms wide was without a trace of hesitation.
“Well then, let’s go check out the second floor… and afterward, we can talk in detail about rent and terms.”
“Yes!”
Carol nodded happily in response to Jill’s suggestion.
◆
Normally, when renting or leasing property, a real estate agent acts as the intermediary.
It’s necessary to register people’s residence details with the town registry, and agents are typically needed to mediate any disputes between tenants. There are usually many tasks that only professionals can handle, but in this case, there was a unique problem.
“Carol, I’d like to rent this place.”
After finishing the tour of the second floor and the kitchen, Jill had returned to the main area of the shop. The counter table, which had been suspended in midair, was now set down on the floor, and everyone was seated around it.
“Thank you so much!”
“But… how should we go about the contract?”
Jill asked, and Carol folded her arms, making a difficult-to-describe face as she groaned.
“Ugh… well, since the real estate agent skipped out on us, would it be alright if we did the contract directly between me, the owner, and you, Jill…? Or, if you have a trusted agent, we can ask them to mediate if you prefer.”
“I don’t have an issue with it… but are the documents going to be alright?”
“Oh, don’t worry. I used to work at a scrivener’s office, so I can handle that. Normally, the purpose of using an agent is to prevent issues with buildings like this, but…”
“Well, we’ve already solved the biggest issue, haven’t we?”
At those words, everyone laughed softly.
“Honestly, I should be offering you something in return… but I’m a little short on cash at the moment… Would it be alright if I gave you a discount on the rent instead?”
“Oh, right, you left your job, didn’t you?”
Jill asked with a wry smile, and Carol’s expression darkened again.
“Yeah… haha… I might look wealthy on paper because of my assets, but that’s all it is—just appearances…”
At that moment, Matthew spoke up.
“But Carol, you are the owner of this building, right?”
“Yes.”
“So that means everything inside, including the counter table and the broken dishes, belongs to you, Carol, doesn’t it? You could sell them for some money.”
“Ah… but, hmm…”
“Oh, of course, I’m not suggesting you sell them. Jill would probably want to keep the counter table as it is, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
At Jill’s words, Carol looked even more conflicted.
“Hmm, but then there’s still the issue of my cash on hand… And the building maintenance and renovation will cost a lot as well.”
“Speaking of renovations, would it be alright if I contributed some money and input on that?”
Carol looked startled by Jill’s offer.
“Huh? Really?”
“Well, we did break the floorboards and the door, after all.”
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that, it couldn’t be helped…”
“But you’re going to repair the floorboards and walls, and redo the wallpaper, right? If I’m going to rent this newly renovated building and then later remodel it into a shop, it would be inefficient. How about I cover the repair costs and lead the renovation efforts? In return, you could lower the monthly rent, and eventually, everything will balance out.”
“Oh, please, yes! Thank you so much!”
Carol, on the verge of tears, grabbed Jill’s hands and praised her as though she were some kind of saint. Jill, smiling wryly, gently calmed her down.
“It’s really a win-win for me, so no need to be so formal.”
“I feel like I can’t thank you enough! I would stake my life… well, maybe not my life, but I’d dedicate my whole heart to repaying you!”
“Why do you all love to put it that way? Well, my proposal is based on mutual benefit, so there’s no need to feel overly grateful.”
“Still, when I finally get some money, I’ll bring a proper set of cups as a gift to celebrate your shop opening, not just these broken ones…”
“Oh, right! There’s that, isn’t there?”
Jill clapped her hands as if struck by a thought.
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Would it be alright if I took some of the broken cups? I’d like to try fixing them.”
“Fix them…? But if you do that, they won’t be usable as dishes anymore, right?”
In Argenes Island, there exists a technique to repair porcelain and ceramics by gluing the pieces together and then painting over them, making them look as if they were never broken. However, there is a clear drawback to this process: the dishes can no longer be used for serving food. The adhesives and paints used are harmful to humans.
Even if the adhesives were harmless, the decorative paint that covers the seams would eventually wear off if exposed to hot liquids and food repeatedly.
“If you’re talking about fully restoring them to their original appearance and functionality, then yes, they’d become unusable as dishes.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“But if you’re not concerned with them being functional, I can still restore them.”
“Huh?”
Not only Carol, but also Matthew and Garda looked at Jill in surprise.
“Oh, but I’ll need certain materials. The lacquer can be found in the forest, and I have flour at my place… I just need gold powder. Matthew, do you deal in gold powder?”
“Yes, I can procure it quickly from a merchant that deals in precious metals… but what are you planning to do?”
“That’s a secret until it’s finished.”
Jill smiled mysteriously.