"Th... that's amazing..."
A voice suddenly came from behind me. When I turned around, Monaka was standing there with her mouth wide open.
"D-did you make this house, Leo?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"It's still before noon... and yet... and yet..."
Monaka's face flushed bright pink.
"You built such a wonderful house already!?
That's incredible, incredible, so incredible! As expected, Leo is just too amazing!"
Her eyes grew moist as she made a small guts pose in front of her chest.
She always acted graceful and refined in front of her other classmates, but she got really excited whenever she was around me.
"If you like it, I can build one for you too, Monaka."
Monaka blinked in surprise.
"Eh? Is that really okay...?"
◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆
And so I loaded freshly cut timber onto the cart and left the forest together with Monaka.
A large crowd had gathered on the plot for Monaka's class, Class 1-B.
Monaka's self-proclaimed attendant, Onesko, stood on top of a rock and explained to everyone around her.
"I understand that all of you want to provide a home for Lady Monaka!
But Lady Monaka is going to become a great Saint in the future, so her house must be proper!
Therefore, we will now judge the houses you all build!
We will choose the best one to be Lady Monaka's residence!"
"Alright, let's do this!"
"If I build a house with my advanced architecture skill, Lady Monaka is sure to like it!"
"No way! Lady Monaka is going to live in our house!
If she likes it, the rest of our school life will basically be won already!"
"We cannot lose to the other classes! Now is the time to show the power of us Production specialists! Let us combine our strength and build the best house!"
It looked like some kind of architecture contest for Monaka had started.
However, Monaka herself was stuck right next to me and did not seem to notice what was happening around her.
I figured it did not matter and started unloading the timber from the cart to prepare for building.
Laughter filled with ridicule rose from the people around us.
"Hey, look at that! The trash guy is joining the architecture contest too!"
"What an idiot. What can one person do all alone!"
"We have architecture skills and our whole class is helping. There's no way he can compete!"
"He will probably only manage to build a doghouse at best! Let's all laugh at him when he does!"
But the moment I finished the foundation, the laughter around us vanished completely.
"Eh... n-no way...?"
"How can he make such a solid foundation...?"
"Is that foundation for a two-story house!?"
"No way!? Even we with architecture skills can only manage a one-story shack!
That looks like a real house!"
"You have got to be kidding!? We cannot let some unemployed guy build a proper house!
That would completely destroy our pride as professionals!"
While they were panicking, I finished the house.
I looked up at the completed building and nodded.
"Yeah, it turned out pretty good."
---
**Kinohi House**
Quantity: 1
Quality Level: 23 (Material Level 12 + Dexterity Bonus 8 + Job Bonus 3)
A two-story house made from high-grade, high-quality Kinohi timber.
Thanks to various bonuses, it has resistance to earthquakes, fire, and decay.
It has a pleasant scent that provides a relaxing effect when living inside.
---
I had found some Kinohi trees in the forest that turned into high-grade lumber, so I used those for this house.
A Kinohi house should be perfect for a young lady like Monaka.
She stayed close by my side and looked at the house with eyes wet with emotion.
"Thank you so much, Leo, for building such a wonderful house!
I never thought I would receive another present from you. I'm so happy!"
Monaka pressed both hands tightly to her chest as if trying to hold back her overflowing feelings.
"And you must be tired! Oh, your face is dirty. Let me wipe it for you!"
She took out a white handkerchief from her uniform pocket, stood on her tiptoes, and gently pressed it to my face.
"Getting dirty is like a badge of honor for a carpenter, so it's fine.
Besides, if you get that close, my smell will rub off on you."
"Ufufu, I would welcome Leo's smell any day!
When we were little, I used to bury my face like this and..."
Monaka smiled and pressed her face against my sweat- and dust-covered shirt, sniffing happily.
But she suddenly realized what she was doing.
"I-I'm sorry! How rude of me...!"
Her ears turned bright red from embarrassment at her overly excited behavior, and she quickly pulled away.
More importantly, I finally noticed something.
Compared to the house I had just built, the houses made by the other new students looked incredibly shabby.
The area around us looked like a slum.
Well, it was understandable since these rich boys and girls were experiencing self-sufficient living for the first time...
I used my Appraisal skill on a nearby shack that looked like it might collapse at any moment.
---
**Low-Quality Makeshift Shack**
Quantity: 1
Quality Level: -5 (Material Penalty 3 + Job Penalty 2)
A shack made from low-grade, low-quality Magomi timber.
The construction is crude, so it will collapse under even slight stress.
It has a bad odor and causes stress when living inside.
---
"That's terrible," I muttered without thinking.
They probably had not even sorted the wood and just used whatever random trees were nearby that were not suitable for building.
The processing was sloppy, and the assembly and finishing were amateurish.
"Something like this would get completely destroyed in even a small earthquake..."
I muttered to myself and gave the wall of the shack a light push.
...Crash!
The shack folded in on itself and collapsed in an instant.
The impact caused the neighboring houses to collapse one after another like dominoes.
Before I knew it, all the slum-like houses had collapsed.
Only the house I built remained standing, and the area had turned back into empty land.
The new students dropped to their knees like people who had just lost their homes in a fire.
"Ah... aaaaaaaaahhh!?!?"
"The house we worked so hard to build! Our house we worked so hard to build!?"
"We spent so many hours on it!"
"Waaaaah! Mommy!"
I actually felt a little sorry for them and thought about teaching them how to build properly, but...
"Ugh, losing to some unemployed trash!"
"This has to be some kind of mistake! There's no way that trash could build a house like that!"
"Damn it! If it wasn't for Lady Monaka's house, I'd burn it down!"
Hearing comments like that from all around, any guilt I felt quickly disappeared.