Cozy Isekai Craftsman, ch 11

Joe pushed open the door to his new home, only to find the door handle melted and smoldering on the ground. It was like someone had taken a flamethrower to it, leaving it a twisted heap of metal. With a shrug, he stepped over it and took a step inside, relishing the feeling of cool, damp air on his skin.

As he wandered through the mansion, he couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at the sheer size of it. He felt like he could spend days exploring every nook and cranny. But one thing caught his attention - a set of stairs leading down to a basement. It was strange, he thought, because he was certain there wasn't a basement in the Rusty Nail. As he descended the stairs, he could feel the musty air getting thicker and thicker.

But then he realized the reason for the musty smell - the basement was flooded. Water seeped up from the floorboards, forming puddles and soaking everything in sight. Joe hesitated before taking another step, his eyes scanning the water for any signs of movement. He didn't want to risk a run-in with any nasty creatures lurking in the murky depths. After all, he was in a magical world, and he had no idea what kind of threats he might face.

With a shiver, Joe retreated back up the stairs, determined to find another task to occupy his time. Maybe he could ask Rick for advice on how to deal with the hazards of this world. He didn't want to get himself into trouble, not when he was just getting started in his new home. With a sense of newfound caution, Joe made his way back up to the main floor, ready to face whatever challenges he would need to solve.

He wondered how the water system in this town worked. They clearly didn’t have the same level of technology as his originally, but they still managed to have running water, faucets, and pipes. Did they use some kind of magic?

Joe reminded himself, "They don't call it magic here. They call it sorcery or incantations. I really need to get used to saying that to fit in with the local population." Or, maybe if he kept saying, "magic," it would catch on like how the word "cool" caught on pretty quickly. Maybe it would be a bit of both, like a cultural exchange. It was safe to say that this place was a mansion.

He couldn't call it anything other than a mansion. It wasn't a house. Most of the houses that he had walked past so far were two stories at most. They could hold maybe a small family. This one could hold multiple families. It made him wonder how Emily's ancestry had come upon so much money and wealth. What had happened to the point that they had to strike out on business on their own, especially with Ava having to work for a local tavern? Everybody had their own stories, and Joe didn't want to pry. But there was a polite way of asking about people's history. He reminded himself to talk about it politely next time he was sitting down with one of the sisters.

When he reached the bedroom, at least what looked like the master bedroom, he was pleasantly surprised that there was a porch on it that revealed the backyard.

In the backyard, there was a small weathered shed, which Emily said would hold several tools that he could probably use to build and clean out the mansion. The grass was incredibly long, and there was a scythe that was fairly rusty.

Joe had only ever seen YouTube videos back on his original Earth of scythes and how people use them to cut grass. It looked like fun. He looked forward to it.

There was a huge patch of the back part of the land that was filled with wild and tangled grass, weeds, and various other plants that Joe was unfamiliar with. He didn't want to tackle that part of the backyard yet until he had boots. It was just like the basement: stepping into wild territory like that could get them hurt or possibly even killed. He had to be careful.

The worst thing about the entire mansion wasn't that it was dusty or boarded up, or even the front room that was burnt down. There was mold. It would take a lot of work to clean it. Luckily he had his soul power.

Joe pointed to the ceiling to nobody in particular and said aloud to himself, "I, Joe, the mighty powerful wizard of soup and pebbles, shall expand my territory and power into the mystical arts of mold cleaning."

As his voice reverberated through the towering mansion, Joe felt a giddy excitement rise up in him, like a child on Christmas morning. He couldn't help but grin from ear to ear, feeling silly but unabashedly happy.

Shaking off his moment of childlike glee, he cleared his throat, still feeling a twinge of embarrassment even though he was all alone. He made his way back downstairs, taking note of the grandeur of the place as he went. With three floors in total, the basement, the first floor, and the second floor, it was like nothing he had ever seen before.

As he ascended to the second floor, he couldn't help but notice the distinct lack of bathrooms. It was an odd detail that piqued his curiosity about the mansion's plumbing system. He wondered how it all worked, especially since it didn't seem to have any modern technology - at least not any that he was familiar with from his time on Earth.

Joe had dabbled in various jobs during his early twenties, but plumbing had never been his area of expertise. Still, he was handy enough to work with his hands and had no doubt that he could figure it out if he put his mind to it.

"All right," he said to himself, "let's get to it."

As he strode along, his pockets jingled with the weight of various pebbles he had picked up from the ground earlier. No one in the village seemed to mind his habit of collecting them, and why should they? After all, the pebbles were just lying there, free for the taking. At least, that's what he hoped.

With a sense of purpose, he strode towards the front of the house, his eyes fixed on the wall. As he placed his hand upon it, a blue, translucent screen flickered into existence, filled with an endless list of properties. He felt a rush of excitement surge through him at the sheer volume of options available.

The properties were as varied as they were numerous - moldy, burnt, aged, stained, and many more undesirable traits. He deftly transferred them, one by one, onto one of the pebbles in his pocket. Each property seemed to pass from the screen to the pebble with ease, without any resistance.

As he worked, he couldn't help but imagine all the possibilities that would open up to him as he grew more skilled in the art of manipulating the house. The more properties he gained access to, the more he would be able to shape the world around him. He grinned, feeling an overwhelming sense of power and potential coursing through him.

"Whew," he said to himself. "It would have been a pain in my butt if I couldn't. If I had to use multiple pebbles for each piece of board, after that, it would have been simply repeating the process.”

As his mother always told them, hard work is easy. All you have to do is do it.

The hours melted away as he carefully placed his hand on the wooden walls, ensuring that he wouldn't get any pesky splinters. He deftly transferred the undesirable properties onto the pebbles in his pocket, his mind wholly absorbed in the task at hand.

Bending over in awkward positions, he felt his back muscles working hard, the strain oddly satisfying. He had started his task around noon, but he was so engrossed in his work that he had lost all track of time. When he finally paused to catch his breath, he looked up through the gaping hole where the front wall used to be.

The sight that greeted him made his heart skip a beat - the suns were setting. He couldn't believe how much time had passed while he was lost in thought. The sky was ablaze with an array of oranges, pinks, and purples, the colors blending together in a beautiful, otherworldly display.

He felt a sense of wonder and awe wash over him, grateful for the reminder to stop and appreciate the beauty of the world around him. Taking a deep breath, he straightened up and stretched his back, feeling rejuvenated.

"Wow," Joe told himself. "Maybe I shouldn't replace the front wall. The view is amazing." From there, he could see the harbor sloping down this part of the hill towards the ocean. He could see the twin sun setting over the horizon and even the moon all the way from his far right, peeking over to get her chance of fame for the night.

He stretched out and cracked his back. "Well, I think that's the most I can do for the night," he said to himself. He made a mental list of things he wanted to do and places he wanted to clean. But there wasn't any point in trying to do that in the middle of the night when it was dark, even if the moon did shine brightly.

Joe ambled back towards the Rusty Nail, his nose wrinkling at the stale smell emanating from his body. He hadn’t bathed once since coming to this new Earth, and the constant running had only made matters worse. He desperately needed a bath.

As he walked through the door, the warmth of the room washed over him, accompanied by the tantalizing aroma of food. His stomach grumbled in response, and he realized he hadn't eaten since breakfast. It was dinner time, and all the main seats were taken, but he spotted a few empty spots at the bar.

Taking a seat, he felt his mouth water as Ava brought him a steaming plate of food, along with some soup and a mug of water, all without him having to ask. She even gave him a cheeky wink before bustling off, leaving Joe feeling dumbstruck.

Glancing around, he noticed Caroline grinning knowingly at him from across the room. His heart skipped a beat - something was definitely up. He wondered if Ava had a thing for him, but his instincts told him otherwise.

Joe blinked a couple of times, trying to shake off the dazed feeling he had after Ava's wink. He focused on his food, taking small bites and savoring the flavors. He chatted with Caroline, discussing their day and catching up on the latest news.

Caroline shared with him the latest about her mischievous children. Apparently, they had been assigned to do chores for different family friends for the next month. It wasn't a severe punishment, only two hours a day, but for her hyperactive kids who were always looking for excitement, it would feel like an eternity.

"Sounds like they got off pretty easy," Joe said.

Caroline grinned. "Yes, but it's thanks to a certain wizard that they're all okay."

Joe said, "Emily was the one who –," but Caroline cut him off with a gesture and rolled her eyes. She said, "Yeah, yeah, mister soup wizard. My children adore you, by the way,"

Joe chuckled. He said, "I was just as scared as they were, if not more."

Caroline retorted, "What would bravery be before if we weren't scared? I'm glad you were brave, that you showed them how to be brave. That's a valuable thing that you taught them."

During the chat, Caroline went back to work.

At that moment, Ava found some downtime and came over to pull a draft beer for him.

Joe asked, "Hey, could you get down to give me a blueberry from the back?"

Ava blinked at him and said, "Yeah, sure."

Next minute, she came back with a blueberry. Just one, and Joe transferred the taste of the blueberry to the beer. It tasted amazing; at least the beer did. He ate the blueberry and tasted bitter.

Ava said, “Odd. Never thought to mix blueberries with beer.

Joe asked her, "Want to taste?"

Ava stared at him wildly. "You're offering a woman to touch her lips where your lips were? Do your people in your home country not have standards?"

“Uh,” Joe stammered. He didn’t mean anything by it. He should have remembered he was in a new world with different customs. For all he knew, he might have just asked Ava to marry him.

Ava's eyes widened even more, and then she cracked a grin and threw her head back in a laugh.

Joe suddenly realized that he was being made fun of.

Ava said, 'I'm just messing with you. We're not so prude over here. But I'd rather not drink on the job, even if it's just dinner beer. If Caroline saw me, she'd throw a fit.'

Joe didn't blame her.

He went back to enjoying the company of all the people around him who were happy, not getting into arguments, and just trading stories about their life. Simple stories. They weren't talking about fighting dragons or putting down evil gods.

They were just talking about their day, simple pleasures, like picking a carrot that was twice as big as they normally did, or cracking an egg that released three yolks. That was the real magic of life.

Joe told himself, "These small little things that build up to make a day great."

When she came back around, Joe asked for directions to the bathhouse and a towel, maybe a toothbrush and soap. Then Joe realized that he didn't have any money.

"Oh man, I’m dumb. I don't have any coins to buy soap and cleaning stuff," he said.

Ava rolled her eyes and bent down behind the bar, seeming to be scrounging for something. Finally, she came up with a small, little wooden box. Inside of the box was a folded towel, a bar of soap, a toothbrush, and some slippers. Joe stared at it. "What? You had this prepared?"

She said, "We were all making a bet to see when you would take a bath. Nobody else believed in you, but I said that you would do it by tonight. Rick said that you were a man and that you didn't need a bath for another three days."

Joe sniffed his armpits and recoiled. "Is it that bad?" he asked.

Ava shook her head. "No, but I won."

Caroline walked behind her and casually dropped something in Ava’s hand. It sounded like dull metal clinking on each other. So that was what the wink was about. Ava was confident she would win the bet tonight. Joe buried his head in shame.

Ava told him where the bathhouse was and that it would be open for a few more hours. She also explained that it was free to the public and provided by the local government.

"Is that common everywhere?" Joe asked.

Ava shook her head. "No, at least not to my knowledge. Lockwood is special in that way. We have a lot of facilities that are free to the public. We all pay our taxes though, so that helps."

"I guess," Joe muttered as he cleaned his plate with a couple of pebbles and left them on the counter. Then he followed her instructions and walked to the bathhouse. It was easy to find, especially with the light of the moon and the tiki torches laid out alongside the paths.

Joe looked up at the sky, marveling at the brightness of the moon. It was a sight he had never seen before, even on his own Earth. He couldn't tell whether it was waxing or waning, but it didn't matter. The moon was still a beautiful presence in the sky.

As he walked towards the bathhouse, he could see several people gathered around the area. The bathhouse was separated into two sections, one for men and one for women. Joe quickly made his way to the men's side, eager to relax and soak in the hot bath.

The bathhouse was reminiscent of a traditional Japanese bathhouse, complete with soap and cleaning water for him to cleanse himself before getting into the hot spa bath, sauna, and hot path

Joe scrubbed his skin with the soap until his arms ached. The grime was stubborn, and he had to use several buckets of the cleaning water to get rid of it all. After what felt like hours, he was finally clean enough to sink into the hot water. The moment he slipped into the men's pool, a translucent screen appeared, listing the various minerals and healing properties in the water. He was mesmerized and made a mental note to try and replicate it in his own bath.

As he soaked, the warmth of the water seeped into his bones, and he felt himself melting into the moment. The longer he stayed in, the more relaxed he felt, and he was grateful for the reprieve from his long day of work.

When he finally emerged, his skin was pruney, but his spirits were high. He patted his flat stomach, pleased to have shed the extra weight he had been carrying for years. He sent a silent prayer of thanks to Quinn. As he dressed, he used his powers to transfer the dirt from his clothes to a small pebble, dropping it to the ground outside. In an instant, his clothes were clean again.

Joe dried off and dressed, feeling more refreshed than he had in days. The moon was high in the sky, casting a pale glow over the surroundings. He couldn't quite tell what time it was, but he knew he was exhausted.

As he made his way back to the Rusty Nail, he couldn't help but feel grateful for the warm bed that awaited him.

Joe looked around the kitchen and saw the mess left behind by the rowdy patrons. Plates with caked-on food, pots and pans with grease and grime, and utensils with sticky residues. It was a daunting task, but he couldn't leave it like this for the crew to deal with in the morning. He rolled up his sleeves and got to work, picking up the dirtiest plate he could find.

As he held it in his hand, he focused on the pebbles and transferred the dirtiness, craziness, and stains from the plate to the pebbles. It took several pebbles to clean each dish, but he was getting faster and more proficient with each one. He could feel the magic flowing through him, as if the pebbles were an extension of his own power. By the time he finished, the pebbles in his hand were coated in a thick layer of filth.

When he went out to the front part of the tavern, he placed his hand on the floor and summoned the screen.

But this time, instead of it revealing a single floor and the item description, it said "Tavern Room."

Joe blinked at it.

"What?" he said to himself.

The item description had changed. His ability no longer just recognized the floor, but the entire room. What had happened? What changed? And then he realized: his power had grown. It was that simple.

"Wow," he said to himself. He held a single pebble in his hand and transferred all of the unwanted properties in the room to the pebble. In an instant, all the dirt, scum, grime, and stains vanished. It looked good as new. Even the dust was gone.

However, the pebble he held in his hand made him want to throw up. He scuttled outside and tossed it in the bush. He chuckled to himself before walking upstairs and going into his room. He closed the door behind him and plopped himself on the bed. The day felt long, and he was exhausted.

Joe deserved some sleep.