"You and Cecily got engaged!?" Issei shouted out loud as we continued work on the house first thing in the morning.

"Dude, we already covered that last chapter." I grimaced.

"Well I wasn't there!" He continued loudly retorting back, "And stop breaking the fourth wall like we're characters in a book!"

"Whose to say we aren't, though?" I took the chance to point at you guys, "See there? All our readers, viewers, whatever they may be. Don't go giving them the cold shoulder now."

"Guys, guys! Can we just... continue working on the house?" Ed interrupted us, "Right, I think we last left off on the interior of the first floor."

Did we? I thought we were still working on the plumbing. Well, I'd rather decorate a few rooms than have to connect a bunch of pipes together anyway, so I don't mind this one bit. Entering the front door, we were greeted to a completely empty room. And when I say empty, I mean it; because it doesn't even have the walls painted in nor the flooring.

"Ed said he wanted tatami, but I think we should paint the walls first." Issei warned, "If we do the flooring then the walls, the paint might drip onto the floor."

"Couldn't we just put a tarp over it, then?" Ed asked.

"Please don't make me have to Materialize any more difficult things..." I whined, "I don't think I ever wanna have to relive that. You guys managed to somehow make something so cool into something embarrassing."

"Oh, our bad..." Ed scratched the back of his head, "Then, let's go get the paint buckets."

Nodding along, Issei and I walked over to the back of the Grimheart house to get the materials we had pre-made. Hidden away in a DIY shed we had made with the sole purpose of keeping the things I summoned in, we grabbed a huge assortment of paint related items, from rollers to the actual paint mix. Lugging it outside, we started mixing the paint as we chatted to pass the time.

"But wow, I'll bet you two must be super excited to host the wedding." Issei smiled, "I wasn't there the last time, but I'll definitely be there for you guys now."

"I'd like that." I returned the smile before turning it into a perverted grin, "But hey, speaking of - Just where did you and your own lady friend go to after our double date?"

"Dude, don't go being weird." Ed scowled.

"No, I don't think we were necessarily hiding our intentions for last night's date all that much, so..." Issei lightly blushed as he agreed to tell us the story, "W-We did spend the night at a hotel."

"How nice..." I smiled through my grit teeth, hiding the pain and envy as best as I could, "But I'm sure it was more comfortable to have your own bed than to have to stealth shag in the bathroom."

"You guys did it in the bathroom?" Ed immediately switched gears once he saw the opportunity to tease him a bit, "Seriously, just how horny are you guys?"

"Can you blame me? We've only done it once before we started dating, and it builds up over time." He tried justifying his libido, "A-And come on, she's always tempting me! Shaking that ass at me whenever we're alone, playing with her lips all sensual and the like... I promised myself one thing and one thing only when I came to this world - I will NOT be the dense MC archetype!"

"Huh? Othelia does?" Both Ed and I were taken aback, "That's kind of surprising. A calm girl like her, eh..."

"On second thought, maybe I said too much." Issei realized what he had just given away, "This goes without saying, but I'll say it anyways just in case - I told you guys this in confidence. What we say here is top secret, so don't even tell your mother about it."

"I doubt either one of our mothers would be interested in hearing about your sex life." I frowned, "Still, our lips are sealed. And another thing, I think the paint is ready."

"Yeah, let's hop to it." They both nodded in sync.

Grabbing each of our paint buckets and going to a corner we picked out each beforehand, the three of us had begun applying the first coat of paint. Since the house had an interesting design based on Issei's traditional style for houses, we mostly had a ton of smaller rooms, so the process never really got dull. We ended up finishing the first coat in a respectable 2 hour timeframe, and since we planned things out accordingly, that was just enough for the first layer all the way at the start to dry, so after a short breakfast break, we had put our gloves back on and continued working on the second and final layer. Since these interior walls are pretty thin, to the point where you could practically punch a hole through it if you hit it hard enough, Issei told us not to go too crazy with the multiple coatings.

"Well, it still hasn't dried yet, but I'd say we did a pretty good job." Issei gave both of us a pat on the back.

"Yeah, we breezed through the second coating once we got into the groove of things." I added, "Man, I'm kind of jealous of Ed. Since our house was gifted to us prebuilt as an inn, we kind of had to make due with a lot of issues, but you guys get to live in your dream house just like that."

"Hmm..." Ed looked a bit troubled, "The paint isn't the right color."

"That's just cause it's not dry yet." Issei smiled.

"Yeah, but if it's anything like the first coat, then..." Ed continued blabbering nonsense.

"It'll look good, trust me." I reassured him, "And hey, even if it doesn't, we can just paint over it again until it does."

"Dude! We're done!" Issei was having none of it, "The walls are perfect, so shut up! Perfect is the enemy of good enough, so let's just put the tatami in and get you guys moved in already!"

"Calm down now, you're forgetting this is only the first floor." I chuckled, "Not to mention we still haven't finished all the plumbing."

"Shit, I totally forgot we left that unfinished since last time!" Ed partially dyed his hair White with the paint on his gloves as he grabbed his head, "Screw it, we'll do that tomorrow. Right now I just wanna finish the floor and go to bed..."

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"Okay, now for the hard part." Ed wiped the sweat off his brow as he started walking towards the shed where we kept the tatami mats, "The walls were child's play in comparison to this, so let's do our best to-"

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"Actually, this is the easy part." Issei interrupted, "We already made the subflooring, so apart from laying them out properly, which is gonna take all three of us to do, the process shouldn't take more than an hour at best."

"Eh?" Ed furrowed his brow, "Wait, you just put them in? Just like that? No glue, no hammer and nails?"

"It's basically made of grass, so it's bound to get dirty." I added on what little prior knowledge I had of them as well, "Issei mentioned in his notes he gave me that they're meant to be taken outside to get aired out and cleaned seasonally. Also, I think you're not allowed to step on the black lines."

"What? That's kinda weird." Ed inspected the dark lining of the mat he was holding up, "Is it gonna break if someone does? Ugh, I'm starting to have second thoughts about this..."

"No no, nothing's gonna happen if you do." Issei shrugged, "It's just kind of tradition not to. You see, some people used to engrave important meanings into them, so having someone step on the edges is like having them stomp all over those sentimental messages. Oh, but I doubt too many people in this world use tatami mats to know that, so don't worry about it."

"Oh." Ed put his hands away from the lining after hearing that, "In that case, I'll try not to step on them too much. Anything else I should know?"

"Scrub them regularly with a soft brush, and if you happen to spill something on it, a dry cloth is your best friend."

"Geez, these things are high maintenance..." He looked a bit saddened when he heard how meticulous he needed to be with them.

"Hey, you chose the tatami, now lie on it." Issei joked, "Oh, but not before taking your shoes off. You're either gonna be barefoot or in socks when inside the house, obviously, because otherwise it'd stain the floor all too quickly."

"Oh, that makes sense." Ed nodded, "Though it is starting to feel more and more like a playpen for children."

"Isn't that good for your future kid, though?" I asked.

"Anna and I aren't like you and Cecily." He shot back, albeit with a light blush, "A kid is still off the table, at least until we're both completely stable and ready for one."

"But you do want one, don't you?" I raised my eyebrows expectantly.

"And give up on peaceful sleep, not to mention sexy time with my wife whenever we're in the mood?" He chuckled, "Thanks, but I'll pass for now. Looking at your example, I don't think it's worth it just yet."

"Yeah, but did you two talk about the possibility?" Issei said something sensible himself, "What if she doesn't wanna wait anymore? Not to sound arrogant, but if you're the only one making this decision, then aren't you kind of being a douche to her?"

"Hey now, you want an ass-whooping?" He felt called out before growing silent, "...Actually, I don't remember ever asking her, now that I think about it."

"Wow, way to leave her out of an important life decision." I gave a disappointed gaze.

"I didn't say I don't want kids at all, just not right now!" He got a bit defensive, "Sigh, but yeah, I should at least ask for her opinion. Though I really don't feel like I'm capable yet."

"What, like me?" I laughed, "Trust me, no one grows up to be parent material. Of course, don't go spreading your seed everywhere just because I said this, but from my experience I can certainly say that you guys are way more ready than we were. Heck, we adopted Nelly when we were fifteen."

"Holy! Is it even legal to adopt a kid as a minor?" Issei cocked his head back before asking.

"Well, it is in Great Hiana, apparently." I scratched my nose, "So yeah, once we get this damned floor laid out, you better talk to your wife about this. Anna's my dear friend as well, so I'd hate to see her sad."

"You never change, always forcing change to occur wherever you go and with whoever you are, huh?" Ed smiled warmly as we put down the first tatami, "There's an irony to that, heh."

"Yeah, change is the only constant in life, after all." I said what first came to my mind at that moment, "So best go with the flow and embrace it. Now come on, let's pick up the pace!"

After this little talk between the three of us, the tatami foe stood no chance as we shifted into maximum overdrive. We laid that shit out so fast you'd think they were lighter than styrofoam! In the end, we had Ed finish up early so he could properly take a shower before talking to his wife. It's an important question for a couple, so you wouldn't want either party to reek of sweat and paint.

"...Hey." Issei asked once he made sure Ed was out of earshot, "You were oddly keen on that guy procreating. Both you and I know how serious that guy is about taking things slow, so why practically force him into asking Anna about it?"

"She made me." I revealed, "Well, not directly, but I saw her listening in on our conversation back then."

"Yikes, she was there the whole time?" He recalled all the harsh things Ed said about not wanting kids yet, "But still, how did you know she disagreed with his stance? Maybe they both don't want a kid just yet."

"Nah, I saw her face." I elaborated, "That expression was so unnatural on her. She had the face of a woman who wanted something so bad, but knew better than to ask her husband about it. Ed's careful, the opposite of me, but he's overly cautious. If someone doesn't give him that push, I fear he'll never advance in life."

"You're... a godsend to those two, y'know?" Issei sat down on the tatami mats we just finished installing, "That guy looks happier now that you're back, and I'm sure Anna's gonna be sending you her thanks soon as well. You read the atmosphere and help the people around you. Frankly, it's incredible."

"Flattery only works if you're Cene and call me 'papa'." I joked as I dusted myself off, "But I'm nothing special. Just a guy who gets lucky enough to notice those tiny details."

"Humble as well." He had me help him up as well, "Now I know why Cecily still held onto you all this time. I'm starting to fall head over heels as well."

Again, not my intent, but I'll let him dream a bit. Seriously, this guy's being way too transparent. Like I said, flattery won't work for him, and I already know he just wants to get out of having to work tomorrow now that he's gotten a taste of how beautiful a rest day is. Oh, I know! I'll get him on plumbing duty tomorrow! That way we can finish the bathroom we neglected to do today, AND it'll be funny! It's two birds with one stone! Genius, Lune! You get a gold star!