A Book and a Call -E-

'Right now, I am walking back to the forge. Of course, because my curiosity was piqued, I checked room 193.

The weird part about it was.

A book.

That's it.

That's the only thing that was in room 193, no furniture, no anything. Just the Book. I have no idea what the book is. The system just says:

[A Book]

I'm... confused, very confused.

Now, we might figure something out if we can open it, if being the keyword. There's no lock but it's sealed tight. I tried blood like in those webnovels, I tried saliva (don't ask), I tried mana, I'm... at a loss.

I have no clue what to do, who to ask, or how the hell I'm going to see what's in it.'

I arrive at the town, at last, which has grown more defined.

At the entrance is a gateway of some kind of... pine? Where did they get that? We're in the Kagoshima prefecture, south of Japan! This place has a humid, hot, climate and they found PINE?

'Ugh, I can't... I'll just ignore it.'

Entering, I immediately take notice of the paved dirt paths and rocks along them, they look like bricks with grey coloring, Xue might've taught them how to use magic. Especially since, how the hell are we going to make cement on this island, let alone bricks.

The forge is at the back far from the center, in which there's two wells and a fountain, it looks peculiar from here but that's attributed to my terrible building skills.

To the right of the forge is a line of three houses in progress as well as a few farming fields. To the left is a line of 14 or so houses with a large building in the middle. Below the large building is a propped up sign saying: 'Workhouse'.

That's slightly worrying...

'I'll figure that out later though, for now, I need to find Xue, I need to ask Dad about my parents, I need to help finish the houses flooring.'

I let out a tired sigh.

'There's a lot to do...'

I stretch and get ready to build. Walking towards the forge, I start thinking about how to upgrade it.

'Maybe I cou-'

My thoughts are interrupted by a ringtone. A ringtone, that I haven't heard in a long time. I take out my willow cased phone and see the front.

{Linlin is calling you.}

{Accept/Reject}

I take a deep breath in. I exhale. I answer the phone. The first thing I hear is the vo-

*CRASH*

I jerk the phone away from my ears.

~OI! DON'T TOUCH THAT!~

Holding back a snicker, I put the phone back to my ear and hear what I thought I was going to hear.

~Hey Elly, been a while hasn't it?~

"Yeah, yeah it has."

~Where are you right now? Last I heard from Jake you were in Australia, did you see any kangaroos?~

"I'm in Japan, yes I did see kangaroos." With a grin, I decide to tease her. "How about you, how are your advances on 'THE ULTIMATE NIGHT'?"

The response is frantic yelling.

~Wha-WHAT? Who did you hear that from!? Damnit it was MUM wasn't it!?~

"Not telling~"

~ELLY, TELL ME.~

"No-"

*CRASH*

I turn to see a house framework completely collapsed, I begin walking towards it to help and Linlin speaks again.

~Looks like it's your turn to shout.~

"Ha ha. Very funny Linlin, but no. It's just people failing at building a house."

~What? Where in Japan are you for you to need to build a house? An Island?~

"..."

~Holy Guacamole, you're on an ISLAND!? DID YOU BUILD IT YET!?~

"No."

~...I'm disappointed.~

"Where in the hell am I supposed to get pine, on A WARM CLIMATE ISLAND!"

~I said before, It doesn't have to be pine. That's just you and you're weird obsession with the perfect wood for different things.~

"It's not an OBSESSION! IT'S AESTHETICS!"

~Yeah, yeah. Sounds like an obsession to me~ but as long as you can build it.~

"I sai-"

~What the hell are you doing!? Pay attention and keep the kids away from that!~

My jaw drops. My thoughts go wild.

'Who was it, Jackson? No, he's a hidden douche. Phirn? No, he's not someone Linlin would stay with forever, maybe someone new from the past 6 years? Unlikely.'

The edges of my mouth twist into a grin.

"So who'd you-"

~WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!~

"I'm asking who's your future hubby."

~I DON'T HAVE ONE! I WON'T HAVE ONE!~

"You're freaking out? Did I get it wrong, did you get a future wife?"

~NO!~

"IVF?"

~NO! ELLY STOP!~

"But why~ I just want to know who my best friend's SO is. Is there something wrong with that?"

~Yes! BECAUSE I DON'T HAVE ONE!~

"Hehe."

~THE HELL ARE YOU LAUGHING ABOUT!?~

"You're flustered~ you think you'll escape my notice? I may not be able to read your mind like your mom. I can, however, sure as the fact that I'm adopted, find out who it is from your tone and expressions."

~JUST SH- I said to keep an eye on them! Damnit!~

Arriving at the fallen house, I wave and decide to pause the call.

"You can sort out your end, I need to help out with the broken house."

~...Fine. I'll call you back in two hours.~

"Bye Linlin."

Ending the call, I walk over and ask the tall person ruffling their messy blonde hair if they need help.

"We'd certainly appreciate it, not sure what you can do though."

"Oh please, the world is being turned upside down, you can't judge by appearances anymore. Ah, could you hold this?"

Handing the man the Bonsai, I remember the runes needed for what I'm going to do. Slamming my hands down on the ground, I start funneling mana into the necessary runes like Xue taught me. Slowly, the brown-green magic circle takes shape.

After a few seconds, the earth begins to shake. Several hands of stone appear from the ground and start moving the broken beams out of the way.

--15 Minutes later--

Following this, I will the earth to take the shape of beams and the hands to move them into place. This, is much easier said than done. Much, MUCH easier.

--An hour later--

Standing up and wiping the sweat off my brows, I stretch.

"Finally done~"

I turn and take the Bonsai from the person still standing there with wide eyes.

Turning back, I admire my handiwork. In front of me is a large, two story house with framework for twelve to thirteen different possible rooms. Each of the 78 or so beams are made of stone.

"If we brace the stone beams with some wood beams made of cedar, It'll be much easier to build on them."

"Yes, I think so. Reinforcing the stone beams and roof might be better, it'd allow more space for the work."

"Well, that's up to you. I need to go find Xue."

"Who's that?"

"The Slime."

"The what?"

"The Slime."

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that, I think my hearing is failing with old age."

"The. S-l-i-m-e."

"...Okay then, I'll just go work on the building."

"Sure."

Turning towards the forge and walking off, I take a glance back to see them working well. Smiling, I continue to the forge.

After a minute or two of walking, I see Xue in front of the forge, I presume, looking inside. As I get closer, a clanging sound pricks my ears.

With the inside of the forge visible, all I can say is.

"What the hell happened here?"