A Man of the House (1)

Chapter 10: A Man of the House (1)

It's been a month since Benjamin's transmigration.

It could be said that he had settled in another world better than anyone would have imagined. That, however, wasn't so odd, considering that he had spent most of his last seven years in fantasy game worlds, which weren't that different from the fantasy world he'd found himself in.

In fact, since those game worlds were probably made after existing races and lands of the world in question, Benjamin felt at home and wasn't missing anything that much.

He was still a human who was used to the conveniences of the game system. Lack of it sometimes frustrated him, as Benjamin could make notes and contact others through it, including NPCs.

It was like a safe notepad and phone, but as someone who hadn't had much privacy in his childhood, let alone a phone, Benjamin put up with the lack of their presence and soon worked well without their comforts.

"Suppression, liberation, consciousness…"

Benjamin was currently atop the summoning circle, squatting. His fingers traced the ancient language written on its periphery that he hadn't understood two weeks ago yet could read now just fine.

It was courtesy of his Investor Subclass and Estelle's hard work.

The latter had been delving into the ancient language and its writing while using the money Benjamin had invested in her as well as the ink pot and pen she had received from his loot box. 

The items were of superb quality and upped her talisman writing and effects tenfold. 

Estelle also bought many unique papers required to write the said talismans and focused on her specialty, meaning the first boons of the Investor Subclass had finally settled in Benjamin's mind.

[You have learned the basics of Ancient Language.]

If Estelle's calligraphy was finesse and beautiful enough to shame most calligraphists, Benjamin's reading on the ancient language would humiliate researchers.

Just delving into what he had received from investing in Estelle and practicing it for two weeks was enough for Benjamin to read the ancient writings on the old summoning circle. For others, it would have taken years, if not more than a decade, to be so fluent like him.

Benjamin didn't waste these new boons and was already making some plans.

Conversely, the wolf priestess followed his schedule like a student, feeling like getting bullied at times. But since it's been a month, she is now faring much better than she did at the start.

"Ha… ha… ha…" Estelle panted in a tune so titillating that she would have pulled the heartstrings of nine of ten men, running around the summoning circle in nothing but white shorts and t-shirt. 

Her clothes seemed quite mismatched, as the short pants were of a perfect size and execution as her wolf tail found freedom, waggling in her wake.

That said, her T-shirt appeared too small. Benjamin, however, learned shortly after the first training that all her clothes were of proper size, and it was her ample chest being a problem by drawing her shirt too taut.

He thought of lending her his shirt, but that had to wait until they could buy more clothes. The parrot of the shrine, the only existence that could leave the landlocked house, had been sent to buy food and other necessities, and it was her second journey, so clothes had to wait.

"Ah!" Estelle stumbled and fell onto her front, her silver tail following her suit as it landed between her thighs. 

She didn't use this moment of respite, for she knew that Benjamin would rebuke her as he had already done in the past and raised herself up as though going for a push-up with her entire body shaking as though in the cold.

Once on her two feet, Estelle resumed her run and finished it before sprawling herself on her back, once again drawing a sight that would work wonders on the opposite gender.

That adorable face with two red patches of exhaustion, seemingly enchanted by drops of sweat and sunshine alongside the too-voluptuous chest mantled by the perspired and transparent shirt bobbing as she heaved sighs, was too charming to be forgotten, to say nothing of ignored.

Benjamin chuckled and left the summoning circle before helping Estelle get onto the bench. He held her back and handed out a bottle of water, which she grasped with two hands and chugged like a little chick tasting its first food.

"A protagonist's physique is as outstanding as I believed it to be. It's been just a month, but I can see your improvement. You're also only stumbling nowadays," Benjamin praised the wolf priestess, unaware that lately, she had been falling onto the ground only whenever she peeked at him.

Estelle hid her thoughts and embarrassment, "Have you swept up the shrine's main road?"

"I have," Benjamin smiled, "No leaves whatsoever are dirtying it."

"Ok," Estelle nodded, falling into more thoughts. It was impossible to know what she had been thinking about as there was a chance she didn't have the strength to think of anything.

Benjamin, too, wasn't in a rush for a conversation. 

He was doing all chores that required physical labor faster than Estelle had thought, so he often had a lot of free time, which he spent making plans, keeping himself in shape, learning about the world, and reading romance books.

Still, just like Estelle was a victim of living only with a man, so was Benjamin. It was as though there was a natural force of attraction in the house where only two of them were available. 

The other two sisters were in comas, and Estelle had to use her talismans to keep them from suffering from malnutrition and other disabilities.

It meant that Benjamin only had Estelle in his eyes, and so did she. As it was often said, people get to know their second half best when living with them.

These two had been living together without even knowing each other well. Past this month, Benjamin had dropped all formalities with Estelle and was like himself—a man of the house. He often received as many glares as lovely smiles from Estelle, all because he was himself.

For instance, because Benjamin had no clothes, Estelle decided, after thorough thinking and consideration, to lend him some of her elder sister's priestess kimono, which he treated like bathrobes. He'd often just throw them onto the shelf after leaving the bathroom, just like his Earth's clothes, which Estelle never approved.

She told him off again and again, to no avail.

Another instance would be about Benjamin not being so used to having no dishwasher. He'd leave the dirty plates in the sink before doing his duties. Estelle would remind him about it every breakfast, dinner, and supper, only to receive a short, casual reply with no genuine incentive.

There was a time when Benjamin also got pissed at her. It was when Estelle tidied up the shrine's dwelling part and decided to enter his room to clear up a little for him.

She sighed at seeing many of her books strewn over the room with opened pages and neatly sorted them on the shelf, only to receive a cry and glare from Benjamin.

Apparently, those opened pages were his bookmarks. Now, he didn't know on what page he had stopped reading them as he would switch from one book to another, just like reading some web novel.

Estelle was clueless about it and got angry at him as well, as she just wanted to help him with the duties! Both didn't talk to each other for a day after that incident.

There were, of course, days when Benjamin would barge into her room with a book in his hand and read awkward, cool, or just sex scenes aloud for fun. Estelle would go all red and threaten to write [Pervert] on him in an ancient language, only to get scared by the prospect of Benjamin becoming a real pervert.

At the end of each day, though, Estelle would smile and enjoy her new life—even if her barely visible muscles would ache in protest and her heart would complain about him.

Benjamin was putting hard work into her shrine and helping her with her duties.

He also made a perfect training regime for her, not giving in to her cries.

Whenever Estelle thought of him bullying her, he would shower her with praise and erase all of it instantly.

Slowly but surely, the invisible force of attraction behind them living together pulled on her heartstrings, and she started seeing Benjamin differently.

"It's been a month, so we should face a phantom again," Benjamin suddenly said, dragging Estelle out of the train of thoughts.

She raised her eyes and looked at him.

He smiled, "Let's see how strong you've become."