The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

At a glance, considering the number of people, it would be better to move to a slightly larger place, but even if we were to vacate this room immediately, moving to a “larger place” wasn’t exactly feasible.

After all, how expensive could a studio lease possibly be?

Moreover, this place was relatively cheap because it was an old building and transportation was a bit inconvenient.

It was a little far from the subway station, and there was no elevator. I didn’t feel particularly inconvenienced only because I usually used the bus more often than the subway for commuting. If it weren’t for the fact that I had chosen this place primarily for commuting purposes, I would have found it much more uncomfortable.

The only reason there hadn’t been any complaints so far was that the kids living with me were friendly and liked walking enough to trek several minutes to the subway without much fuss.

"......It's delicious."

"Right?"

Claire beamed at Charlotte’s comment.

"......It does taste like food from Iberia, though."

Perhaps uncomfortable praising the cooking skills of someone from the Azerna Empire, Charlotte hastily added that remark.

"Well, it’s a bit of a stretch to say we actually cooked it ourselves."

Alice said that, showing the paper packaging that had wrapped the meal kit to Charlotte.

"What’s this?"

Charlotte’s eyes widened as she accepted the paper wrapping.

"It’s a kit that gathers all the necessary ingredients for a dish and even writes down the cooking instructions—"

"No, not that! This dish drawn here, could it be... a photograph?"

"......"

Alice, who had been proudly explaining, shrank slightly.

"Yes, it’s a photo! Amazing, right?"

Claire, excited, pulled out her smartphone and showed Charlotte the photos she had taken so far.

Charlotte, forgetting the fork in her hand, took the smartphone as if mesmerized.

"This is... incredible. And you’re saying this isn’t magic?"

Charlotte, inspecting the smartphone from all angles, lifted her head and gave my room another sweeping glance.

Seeing something completely different from the original world firsthand, it seemed all the other machines in the room appeared new to her. Her gaze fixed particularly long on the monitor, which was perhaps the most “similar” to the smartphone.

Charlotte, like Alice, was a member of one of the most important noble families in her country, but her gaze upon seeing new technology was slightly different.

Alice, a princess of [N O V E L I G H T] an empire already possessing the world’s highest level of technology, thought about how she might integrate such technology into her country. Charlotte, a princess of a kingdom technologically behind the empire, seemed to feel an even stronger emotional impact.

...If such technology could be immediately applied to the kingdom, it would indeed achieve greater advancement than the empire.

"I couldn't answer even if you asked me."

"Well, that’s understandable. If someone could realize such technology, they’d naturally want to monopolize it."

Uh... In a way, she had grasped the core of the issue very well.

"Rather than that, it’s because the technology itself is too complex. It’s not something a single craftsman could create."

"I see."

Charlotte nodded.

Meanwhile, Mia, who had been diligently shoveling cream pasta into her mouth, seemed to be torn between developing an interest in the smartphone or maintaining her current interest in the food in front of her. Eventually, she decided to focus on her meal again.

Understandably so. Even if it resembled magic, since it wasn’t actually magic, the smartphone wouldn’t be particularly useful to Mia.

Rather, for Mia, it might even become a rival she’d have to compete against in the future.

...Besides, if you leave pasta alone, it just gets cold, whereas a smartphone, other than draining a bit of battery, wouldn't change much with time.

Ah, though Mia probably wouldn’t know that.

"......Anyway, let’s rest properly after the meal. You two just went through a fierce battle not long ago."

I said to them.

"I’ll make sure to explain the essential facilities in this house as best I can. For now, wash up, get a good night’s sleep, and we’ll talk again tomorrow."

"Got it. Thank you, Claire."

Charlotte returned the smartphone to Claire as she spoke, treating it as if it were a precious treasure.

Well, considering the price, it was quite an expensive item......

......

Come to think of it, there were quite a few things I needed to reconsider, not just about the size of this house.

I would have to buy smartphones for these two as well. And pay for their plans.

I’d also have to adjust the grocery budget......

Hmm.

Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket tomorrow.

*

The next morning.

"Did you manage okay sleeping on the hard floor?"

They must have spent their entire lives sleeping on beds. Worried, I asked them.

"We should be grateful we even have a place to sleep. Isn’t it a blessing not to be homeless after falling into another world?"

"I liked it because the floor was warm. And the blankets were pretty soft too."

Since the weather had started getting chilly, I had lightly turned on the heater, which seemed to have been the right move.

"That’s good to hear."

I nodded and looked around.

Claire, Alice, Charlotte, Mia... including myself, five people.

The room, which had still felt spacious enough with three, now felt cramped with just two more added.

Besides, Claire, Alice, and I were blood-related or connected by fate as sisters, but Charlotte and Mia, strictly speaking, were from different families.

They were close friends, and they could risk their lives for each other if needed... but could we really live together in such a cramped space without conflict?

"......Now that I think about it, I have no idea what Charlotte and Mia are normally like."

Charlotte, diligent by nature, was wide awake and alert, while Mia was still rubbing her eyes, clearly a bit sleepy.

"When Claire and Alice first arrived, I was the only one familiar with this world, so I was cautious. But now, three out of five are already quite used to this world. I think it should be fine to take the two of them outside today. What do you think?"

"I’m in!"

Claire smiled brightly, just imagining it.

Maybe she was excited about the idea of teaching them things? That sounded like Claire.

"I agree too. It’s not a bad idea to start adapting quickly when there are many people to teach you."

Alice nodded seriously.

"......Is this really something we need to hold a serious meeting over?"

Charlotte asked, slightly frowning. Maybe because of her pride, it seemed she thought we were underestimating her.

"This world is completely different from the one we used to live in. Even just looking out the window, you can tell, right?"

"I haven’t looked down properly yet... but so far, all I can see are strangely shaped buildings and ugly black lines connected everywhere."

As expected from a princess from the beautiful nation of Belvur.

"Uh... Is it dangerous?"

Mia asked timidly.

She had become much more confident recently, but being thrown into a completely different world must have unsettled her.

"It is dangerous. But it’s not about public safety. In terms of public safety, there’s probably no country on the Azerna continent that surpasses this nation."

It wasn’t just patriotic bias.

There was no way a country from the industrial revolution era could beat the security level of a modern developed nation.

"Rather, there are other things you need to be careful about."

"......"

Charlotte and Mia glanced at each other, then looked back at the three of us.

"Alright."

Charlotte said, still wearing a slightly confused expression.

"Then please tell us when you’re ready. We’re just guests, so we’ll follow the homeowner’s lead."

"Yes, I’ll do the same."

At their responses, Claire and Alice looked a bit awkward, but I pretended not to notice.

It’s okay. I’ll make sure Charlotte and Mia properly adapt. At least until the day we suddenly get lucky and can move to a bigger place.

*

When they first stepped outside, Charlotte and Mia wore surprised expressions, but it seemed they didn’t fully grasp the seriousness of the situation.

There were lots of curious and fascinating things everywhere, but nothing that looked overtly dangerous.

Well, telephone poles aren’t particularly dangerous unless you physically climb them.

Besides, since it was a weekday morning, most cars had already left for work, and only parked vehicles remained. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"......"

But as soon as we reached the main road, the two of them seemed to realize why we had been so cautious.

"Indeed, if you get hit by that, you won’t come out unscathed. Are those automobiles?"

"Yes."

While I answered Charlotte’s question, Mia, unable to hold back her curiosity, asked,

"Are they steam-powered?"

"They’re internal combustion engines."

"Internal combustion engines? What’s that?"

Unlike Mia, who asked purely out of curiosity, Charlotte’s expression grew very serious.

Was she hoping to glean some technical hints from my explanation?

"......"

Hmm.

Teaching these two might turn out quite different compared to when I taught Claire and Alice.

Well, I’ll just have to figure it out somehow.