Chapter 1-38 : The Girl Made An Agreement With The Dark Elf (part 2)
「Before we continue, Ingrid-sanー」(Elle)
「Ah, Elle, you can just call me Ingrid. We’re going to live together for a while, so you don’t need to be that polite toward me.」(Ingrid)
「Umm, alright then. Ingrid, do you have a pen and a piece of paper?」(Elle)
「What for?」(Ingrid)
「We should write a contract.」(Elle)
「Eeehhh… Do we have to? It’s a pain. We can skip it.」(Ingrid)
「No, we have to do it properly.」(Elle)
「Ugh… Alright. Hngghhh!」(Ingrid)
Feeling a bit unwillingly, Ingrid stretched her arm toward the nearby drawer so that she didn’t have to leave the kotatsu.
She took a piece of a slightly wrinkled paper and a pen from the drawer.
「So? What should we write?」(Ingrid)
「First, we need to decide the rules about our business cooperation, and then we decide the rules about living in this house, for example, about the use of the facilities in this house, and about our individual tasks we have to complete in this house.」(Elle)
「Uhh, I think that’s too detailed. Can’t we make it simple?」(Ingrid)
「No, this is important. If we don’t decide the rules, Ingrid, you’re the one who will be troubled later. Besides, I don’t want to argue with you in the future.」(Elle)
「Hmm… I guess you’re right.」(Ingrid)
Although Ingrid felt a bit reluctant, she began to write the contract while discussing the rules with Elle.
After discussing for about thirty minutes, the written contract was finally completed.
「Elle, is this good enough?」(Ingrid)
「Let’s see… Yeah. I think it’s good for now.」(Elle)
After rereading the contract, Elle nodded to Ingrid. They both then signed it.
「Haaahh… Finally…」(Ingrid)
Now that they had finished writing the contract, Ingrid exhaled and leaned her head against the kotatsu table as if she had just finished a troublesome work.
「Elle, you’re tired, right? It’s already late, so let’s go to sleep. You can use my bed. Come on.」(Ingrid)
「Un.」(Elle)
Ingrid stood up and held out her hand to Elle, helping her up.
She then guided Elle to her bedroom, which was the next room. Yoyo and Neige got out of the kotatsu as well and followed them.
The only furniture in the bedroom was a bed.
However, the room was far from empty.
「I, Ingrid…」(Elle)
「Oi, oi, seriously?」(Yoyo)
「Do you even have a clean room in this house?」(Neige)
「A, ahaha…」(Ingrid)
Although it only had a bed, the room was filled with various items that were unnecessary for sleeping. Wooden boxes, books, rolled-up pieces of parchment, and many other things were lying on the floor. Because of that, there was almost no room to even step foot into the room.
「Well… Sometimes I brought my research records here to read them before going to sleep, so…」(Ingrid)
「”Sometimes”? Are you sure you didn’t mean to say “always”?」(Elle)
「Ahaha… But, look, it’s not as messy as my workshop, right?」(Ingrid)
「Yeah, but this is a bedroom, and it should be clean. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep soundly until this room is clean.」(Elle)
「Wait, don’t tell me… Are we… going to clean up…?」(Ingrid)
「Yes. We. Are.」(Elle)
Elle put her hands on her waist and looked at Ingrid with a frown.
「Eeehhh…」(Ingrid)
「Don’t give me that, and let’s get started!」(Elle)
「Y, yes, Ma’am!」(Ingrid)
Unable to disobey Elle, Ingrid immediately left the room and returned with a broom in her hands.
They then started cleaning up the room, starting with collecting the documents and records and separating the important and unimportant ones. Yoyo and Neige were helping with the documents.
After they finished putting away the stuff on the floor, Ingrid swept the floor with the broom while Elle hung the mattress over the window and started smacking it with a beater to remove the dust. They then wiped the floor with wet rags to finish it.
They were done cleaning up and turning the messy room into a much tidier one in about an hour.
「Phew…」(Elle)
「Wow, it looks so different now, as if it were not my bedroom. This is amazing!」(Ingrid)
Ingrid’s eyes sparkled. She looked so happy as if she had just gotten a new room.
「It’s not amazing at all. It’s normal, and it’s called ‘a clean room’. You wouldn’t have had that reaction if you cleaned up every day.」(Elle)
「Haha… I’m sorry… Anyway, let’s go to sleep. As I said, you can use my bed. I’ll sleep on the floor.」(Ingrid)
「What? No, no. I can’t let you do that. You own this house. I’ll sleep on the floor.」(Elle)
「No, I can’t let you do that either.」(Ingrid)
「But…」(Elle)
「Hmm… Why don’t we sleep together on the bed? My bed is big enough for both of us. Well, if I don’t stretch my limbs too much, of course.」(Ingrid)
「Umm, alright. I take your kind offer then.」(Elle)
「It’s decided then.」(Ingrid)
They both agreed to sleep on the bed together. Ingrid sat on the bed and grabbed the blanket, but before she could put her feet in it, Elle grabbed her arm.
「Wait, before we go to sleepー」(Elle)
「Uhh… Is there anything else?」(Ingrid)
「Yes. Look at us. We’re drenched in sweat. We should take a bath first.」(Elle)
「Eeehhh… But I don’t have a bathtub.」(Ingrid)
「No problem. I have one in my magic bag.」(Elle)
「I see… Alright. We can use my kitchen.」(Ingrid)
Only rich people with big houses who had bathrooms. Obviously, Ingrid didn’t have a bathroom in her cheaply-rented house, so they went to the kitchen instead.
When they got there, Elle took out the wooden bathtub she had brought from Moritz’s house before leaving. She then took out a water magic stone and filled up the bathtub with water.
「Uhh, I think it’s a bit small for me.」(Ingrid)
「Not if you keep your legs together. Take off your clothes and get in. I’ll wash your back.」(Elle)
「Alright.」(Ingrid)
Although she was a bit reluctant, Ingrid replied to Elle with a smile and took her clothes off. She felt happy but strange at the same time.
Back when she was still living in the Fermete Forest, she always took care of her younger siblings, but now it was the other way around. She felt like she had a caring little sister who would take care of her instead.
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