"Dinner time!" Grandpa called everyone in as he set a large pan on the dining table. I was already at the table with Father, while Milly came down from her room and the boys in from outside.

Mother, who had just returned, rinsed her hand in the kitchen sink and sat down at her place. My mouth watered at the sight of the crispy roast meat in the pan.

Pork chops for dinner! Or should it be boar chops?

Either way dinner consisted of crispy golden meat cooked in butter and mushrooms with a red wine sauce and oven baked potatoes on the side.

Grandpa and Father did the cooking since Mother was busy, when she did come home she had fresh meat from the guild and some other odds and ends she picked up on the way home.

Most of the meat we eat at home is bought from the guild at a friendly price since father works there.

"Thank you Grandpa!" chorused the kids as he started dividing up the food.

When everyone sat down for dinner and filled their plates, Mother revealed why she had a meeting at the Guild.

"The guildmaster asked me to work as a receptionist during peak hours."

"Receptionist? Last I checked the guild should have enough people to cover all shifts." Replied Father.

"It's more about laying down the law for the fellows who want to chat up the receptionist, or those who think they can intimidate the girls into changing the grading of their quests." Answered Mother. She continued after taking a sip of water,

"It's pretty hard to convince a more experienced receptionist to come all the way out here, and most of the current hires are local girls from Caris."

Milly looked up from her food and asked, "Why don't they just hire a man to do the job?"

Father answered her, "Most of the time a male receptionist will be ignored, or even intimidated because plenty of adventurers don't respect men with paper jobs. We did have one male receptionist at our guild but he was pushed out after three months due to the pressure…"

The way he trailed off made me worry about the work culture in this world. Did they have cliques and political structures in the office here as well? The thought of having to deal with rowdy clients all the time made me feel familiar and apprehensive at the same time.

Father continued, "It's not like this in bigger guilds but for smaller places like this it can get quite personal. Of course in bigger guilds the competition between receptionists can get quite intense. Many people know that adventurers have favourite receptionists, but it works the other way as well. Some receptionist can be…possessive"

Father wasn't an official adventurer, but he used to travel with Mother and Darre as a healer, so he probably experienced the client facing side of the guild when he was younger.

Father is quite handsome and even though he's a little bit older, he's got an elegant and gentle aura around him. He typically wore his long hair tied back and was always dressed in his white healer's robes. In other words, he's basically this world's equivalent to the handsome and mature doctor often seen on TV.

The way his eyebrows creased slightly when he spoke about the receptionists seemed to indicate that he had a bit of experience when it came to 'possessiveness'.

"I'm worried about leaving the kids alone during the day…" Mother mused as she pushed her food around. I could tell she was considering the offer.

In my past life I heard that becoming a parent can be quite an isolating experience, especially with more than one child. While I'm not too concerned about being left alone, I'm a little worried about Mother, if she decides to take on the job she'll be facing a bunch of macho guys all the time… I don't know if they'll respect the fact that she's married and has children, or her past experience.

Just based on her current appearance, you wouldn't be able to tell that she used to be a magic warrior who reached A rank.

Still, I don't doubt that mother would be able to handle herself. When the water tank almost fell during a storm, she was able to lift the entire thing with ease and set it on flat ground so that it wouldn't hit the house or garden.

"So they're hiring Ma because she's scary?" Asked Linden, as usual he knew no fear.

Milly giggled, but Rhys and I tried to keep straight faces. Our food suddenly looked really interesting.

"Ah!" Linden yelped as mother kicked his chair, but the cheeky grin remained on his face.

"If you start working, can we get more pocket money?" Asked Milly, eyes sparkling.

Milly usually spent her money on books, and while books are both common and relatively inexpensive, she usually splurged on more expensive academic type books. Even with her saved pocket money and the money she made while working for change as a scribe, she only had four books in her personal collection.

At least her financial discipline was commendable.

It was Mother's turn to roll her eyes while Grandpa chuckled.

"You're too young to have a dragon's beard!" He joked as he poked at Milly.

This is a phrase I hear Grandpa say a lot, I'm pretty sure it means to be greedy.

"We give you pocket money so you can learn to budget and save." Father reminded Milly. "And you should be the last one asking for more pocket money."

Milly let out a puff of dissatisfaction, but she couldn't argue against that. Not only was her pocket money increased when she turned ten, but she also earned money with her scribe work.

"Everyone will be affected if I decide to start working, so I want to hear your opinion. I'll still be here in the mornings and evenings, but in the afternoons you will have to be watched by someone else. Even if I'm not home I'll still expect all four of you to do your chores and act appropriately."

"I think it's a great idea!" Blurted Linden, spraying bits of food from his mouth. I could tell he completely missed the last half of Mother's words.

"Mouth closed, and belly to the table. Remember your table manners." Reminded Grandpa as he used a cloth to wipe the spilled food. "You sound like you want your mother away from the house so you can make trouble!"

Linden wiped his mouth sheepishly and swallowed his food, "We're grown up now! We can take care of ourselves. I think Ma should take the job."

I didn't consider Linden grown by a long shot, but it's normal for children to start helping out with the family business around the age of seven in most homes, so that mentality is actually normal in this world. All of us were school aged by my standards, and we were slowly being introduced to more responsibility around the house, but not as extreme as the other families.

In fact, our family structure is closer to that of a modern family in my old world compared to the Blacksmith family or the Tavern family. Fiolla is the same age as Milly, but in the evenings she helps cook and clean dishes at the tavern instead of playing.

As far as I know, Bronwyn and his brothers help pump the bellows for the forge and carry things around the shop, which contribute to their tanned complexions.

All I did around the house was feed the eggets and clean my own room, while most of the chores were divided among my siblings. Sometimes I would help cook, but compared to everyone else I had it easy.

Oof…I need to be careful not to develop a spoiled mentality now that I think about it.

"I can help with chores if Mother wants to work." I piped up. I was pretty confident that I could do everything but the shopping, laundry, and cooking. While I did have my past life experience and knew a decent amount of basic recipes…I'm not tall enough to reach the stove and I'm not allowed to turn it on.

The adults all chuckled at my statement. It stung, but it's fair since they only saw me as a five year old.

"Thank you Clover, but you don't need to worry about that." Said Father with a smile, he reached over and patted my head. "Things might have to be shuffled around if El decides to work, but most of the chores should be the same."

"What do you think, Rhys?" Mother asked Rhys, who had been eating quietly. I could tell he was a bit startled by the question as he paused his chewing. Because of his unique position in the household, he probably felt a bit like an outsider and that his opinion wasn't needed.

I'm proud to say that my parents have done all they could to make Rhys feel comfortable, and to treat him the same as Linden. Even though Rhys still calls my parents 'auntie' and 'uncle', I think he views us as his family. When he first arrived he spent most of his time in his room, but Linden and I successfully opened his shell to the point where he spoke casually to us.

Rhys swallowed and cleared his throat. "I think if Auntie wants to work, she should. Linden and I can look after Clover."

"I can look after Clover too!" Added Milly.

I'm happy that they are willing to look after me, but slightly offended that they think I need to be watched all the time. While I've become used to being a child, and in part consider myself one, I still view myself as the responsible one among my siblings.

It's better not to say anything though, since everyone will view it as the stubbornness of a child.

"If you want to work, I say go for it. I'm sure we can ask Joelle about letting the kids stay at the temple after their lessons." Father continued, "Speaking of which, tomorrow is my day off. I think we could make a trip to the trading store together in the afternoon."

The trading store mostly sold goods for adventurers, and was basically taking over the old dry goods store. It also had things like living supplies for residents, and products like candy from the city.

Linden nodded so hard his hair flopped back and forth. "It's been ages! I want to buy a hunting knife!"

"Absolutely not." snapped Mother. "You are not responsible enough."

"I want something to defend myself, what if I meet a bad guy in the woods?" Argued Linden.

"You shouldn't be in the woods in the first place!"

Grandpa held up his hand and paused the argument. "A hunting knife is too much for a boy, but I think he can manage a simple folding one."

"Pa, he's only seven!" Exclaimed Mother.

"El, I would rather show him how to use one safely and responsibly myself, then for him to lose a finger if he gets his hands on a blade himself."  Said Grandpa firmly.

"I'm not saying that he'll go behind our backs to get one, but if he were to happen upon one or if an adventurer was feeling generous, he may find himself in possession of something he doesn't know how to use." Explained Grandpa.

Mother looked unhappy and like she was going to argue but Father put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. Turning to us, he motioned to the kitchen door as he spoke.

"Kids, how about you let the eggets out to forage and prepare to bathe while your Mother and Grandfather have a talk. I'll clean up the dishes and fill up the tub soon."

We all obediently left the kitchen as Mother and Grandpa argued, there was no shouting but their voices were both tense.

I think Grandpa didn't want mother to be an adventurer when she was young, so naturally when she reached her rebellious phase she became one and left home, and only came back to settle down with Father. Mother has always been quite hot headed, while Grandpa was firm and steady, but they had stubbornness in common.

Apparently Grandma died when Mother was a teenager, and communication was hard between her and Grandpa. They were close now, but still butt heads every once in a while. I guess that's why Grandpa doesn't live in the same house as us.

Linden opened the egget coop and let the plump birds waddle into the garden while Rhys filled the bath.

Bean, who had been lying in his miniature house, stood up and kept a close eye on the eggets to make sure they didn't wander off.

Our house has an outdoor bath, which consists of stone walls surrounding a big metal tub that sits over something like a fireplace. The bathing area is tiled and has no roof, and we usually wash up before entering the tub, which is big enough for four adults.

Since our family is so big, usually we go in two groups. Mother, Milly and I, and then Father, Grandpa, and the boys.

Since I've gotten bigger, I've been able to sit in the tub without Mother's help and because I enjoy a good soak it's become girls after the boys because we (I) take too long. Sometimes it's three groups, with Me and Milly going first, then Grandpa and the boys, and then Mother and Father.

The modern style of washing and then soaking is quite common in this world, and it's a practice I believe was introduced by a reincarnator, or maybe a transported person like the Sage Emperor Arai.

Unfortunately, it's not well known where the practice came from and there is a possibility it's a natural part of this world's bathing culture. The only thing I could find was that the Emperor Arai supposedly had a massive bath house built for him and harem, and it had magic spring water to help maintain the beauty of his wives.

I've heard that the public bath used by the adventurers is as big as a pool, and that it's open for women in the morning and then men in evening. While I would like to swim in a pool, it's not heated and apparently quite crowded most days.

By the way, even though our bath has the function of being heated with fire, we only use it like that in the winter. Usually one of the adults heats it with magic since it's faster. I've been to the Blacksmith's house and the Tavern, and they have something similar but I would say ours is the nicest.

I'm quite grateful for a hot outdoor bath, but in winter it's quite terrible to go between the house and the bath with wet hair.

After a few minutes of waiting on the porch, Father came out with the bathing supplies and heated up the water with magic. I've never mentioned it before, but Father can use magic other than healing magic. I've never seen him use big magic like Grandpa, but he can do things like light fire or heat up water.

He's also shown me a very basic defensive magic he used back as a travelling healer, which involves creating needles of ice and shooting them forward. The old oak tree by the house has scars where the needles cut into the bark from when he showed them off.

Once the water was steaming, Milly and I scooped some out to wash our hair. While I could quickly scrub my hair with shampoo, Milly's long hair required more time and delicacy.

Father had bought us shampoo and conditioner from the trading store a while back, both of which smelled like honey. I think Mother and Father use it as well, since they both have long hair.

I was quite surprised to find that high quality shampoo and conditioner existed in this world, along with things like hair masks and facial creams. Apparently a lot of beauty products were invented by a royal princess named Sofia, who is another person on my list of possible reincarnators.

After a quick soak the boys started banging on about their turn, so Milly and I were forced to give up our places. By the time we got dressed, Mother had come out with Grandpa and it seemed like they had come to an agreement.

Since the boys were in the tub, Grandpa went back to the hostel to grab the feeder while Mother and Father sat on the porch swing talking to each other in low voices. Milly went back upstairs and I sat in the garden after I managed to corner one of the eggets.

The fluffy birds looked pretty defenceless with their short legs and round faces, but their big beaks packed quite a punch. The eggets were used to me though, and this one consented to being pet as long as I had corn in my hand.

It's hard to not get attached to birds you raise yourself, especially cute and fluffy ones like the eggets, with their round heads and big eyes. Unfortunately, once these birds reach a certain age they will be killed and put onto the table.

This was hard for me to accept at first, in my previous life all meat came in nice packaging with the blood drained and the viscera removed. My siblings never worried about it when growing up, and I gradually got used to it.

I guess it's easier because our eggets are only for laying eggs, we only buy them when they've reached egg laying age, and since they are all female there's no chance of baby eggets. Still, it's a personal policy of mine to not name the birds since they will eventually end up on the dinner table.

I'm not sure if it's callous to look a fluffy bird in the eyes and think about roast dinner, but I do. I guess it's more humane to raise birds on feed and insects and let them have fun in the yard and then kill them humanely rather than having them spend their entire lives in a tiny cage like back on earth.

It helps that theriens can't survive without meat, unlike humans who can use protein substitutes. Perhaps the egget sensed my killing(?) intent, or maybe it had enough corn because it flapped its wings and jumped from my arms just as Grandpa returned.

He had something that looked like a little house in his hands, or a tiny gazebo with a loop of rope attached. This was the flying mouse feeder he had been working on earlier today.

"I'm going to hang it further from the house, since the mice might not approach if there are too many people around." Said Grandpa as he presented the feeder to me for inspection.

The plain unstained wood meant that the feeder looked quite boring, but considering it was something made to satisfy the whims of a child, I think Grandpa did a good job.

Linden somehow heard Grandpa coming and rushed out of the bath to take a look.

"Ugh, Linden your clothes!" I turned away to protect my eyes as Linden came over to grab the feeder.

"Let's put it up right now!" Ignoring me, Linden grabbed the feeder and looked around the yard for places to hang it up.

After being scolded by Mother to put his clothes on, Linden finally decided to put the feeder right onto the egget coop. It was high enough so that the eggets couldn't reach it, and conveniently close to the feed.

Linden eagerly sat on the porch waiting for animals to show up until Rhys came out of the bath.

"I don't think they'll come out right away." Remarked Rhys.

Linden shook his head. "I'm patient! I want to see the first time it works!"

Rhys sighed and took a seat next to Linden on the edge of the porch, droplets from his hair soaking his undershirt.

I set out a towel for my tail and sat next to the boys. An inconvenient part of being therien is that because our ears and tails had fur, they would get soaked and then become quite cold while they dried.

The ears dry quickly, but the tail doesn't, which is why it's better to bathe early in the evening so you don't go to bed with a wet tail. It's a bit like trying to sleep on a wet spot on the bed, combined with the feeling of wet hair, which is horrible.

Sadly, unlike the hair on my head, I can't just tie it up if I want to sit in the bath.

Mother and Father were using the bath, Grandpa was in the kitchen, Milly was upstairs, and Linden was being uncharacteristically quiet. Rhys and I sat on either side of Linden to accompany his vigil into the evening. This sort of peacefulness intensified the sounds of the chirping insects that showed up as the sun started to lower.

Looking at the garden and the woods beyond in the golden light of the setting sun really gave it a countryside homestead flavour. Though the woods were considerably thinned out for the town, everything had a naturalistic feeling that made one relaxed.

Bean came over and rested his massive head on my lap, flicking his ears in a way that indicated he wanted me to scratch them.

I petted his silky fur and soaked up the ambiance. I don't mind this sort of calm atmosphere, but it's odd for Linden to be still for long periods of time. I was just wondering when he would get bored and go inside when he suddenly stood up.

"I've got a genius idea!" He exclaimed.

"Let's build a fort!"

Linden gestured towards the feeder, "Just like that, but bigger! We can put it in the area behind the house and it will be our secret base!"

I've seen treehouses in movies and tv shows, but never in real life. I think in my past life I lived in a sort of dense urban area that didn't have the space or trees for it, so this fresh experience immediately made me perk up. I know it's not exactly a treehouse, but the concept is pretty similar.

"We can keep snacks and books there!" I added.

I already had the image of a cosy room where I could snack and read while fully immersed in the sounds of nature.

"We could hide treasure there!" Added Linden, his energy increasing.

"We can be like adventurers. Living in the wild." Rhys built into our ideas, for once acting excited.

The kitchen door opened behind us and Grandpa came out, I guess he had been sitting at the dining table keeping an eye on us through the window.

He carried a tray of steaming milk and set it down next to us as he spoke.

"What's this I hear about a fort?"

"Can you help us! Please!" Linden was practically on his knees.

"Hm… the materials might take a while to gather but I supposed I could help you out. I'll show you a thing or two about outdoor living while we work on it."

Linden almost hit the room with excitement, almost knocking the mugs of milk over as he jumped on Grandpa's back.

"You're the best!"

"Urk-" Grandpa took Linden's tackle and adjusted his stance so that Linden wasn't practically choking him.

"Alright, let's go inside and I'll see if I can draw up some blueprints." Said Grandpa and herded us inside.

Bean realised that playtime was over as moved the eggets back into the coop.

By the time Linden was satisfied with the plans Grandpa had drawn up, the sun was down and sleep tugged on my eyes. The final plan was a shed-like structure with a window and simple barn door, and built in storage boxes that could act as seating or a cot.

Linden was almost bouncing off the walls with excitement and I could hear him talking with Rhys from my room as I went to bed.

Right before going to sleep, I opened the attic window a bit and slipped some dried corn onto the ledge. I slipped off to sleep, dreaming about a tiny cabin in the woods surrounded by fluffy animals.