At five in the evening, Zack was getting ready to come to the farm to pick up the goods.
Naoki helped him load the vegetables and fruits onto the truck.
Seeing the rather excited expression on Naoki's face, Zack looked very surprised, "Why are you so happy all of a sudden? Did something good happen?"
Naoki nodded, "Tomorrow I'll finally have enough money to build a house, and I won't have to squeeze into this small log cabin anymore!"
"Oh, that is indeed something worth celebrating," Zack grinned. "In that case, let me congratulate you in advance!"
After a brief chat, Zack drove away in his large truck.
Naoki returned to the cabin, placed the money he earned today on the desk, and took out the savings he had accumulated over the past few months from a drawer.
"...Hmm, including the money in my bank card, I now have 2,153,400 League currency on hand. Two million will be used for building the house, and the rest will be reserved for purchasing some furniture and household items."
Naoki silently calculated the next steps in his heart.
Not only does building a house cost money, but I'll also need a considerable amount for furniture and such.
Besides this, he also needs to buy a batch of barrels to place in the cellar for brewing wine.
And there's one more thing.
If he plans to operate a Pokemon Tavern, it also needs a bit of renovation, with a bar set up and tables and chairs customized for different Pokemon sizes.
When the Indeedee Sibling comes, he can have the brother Indeedee help entertain guests at the tavern.
Just then, several Pokemon who had been playing outside all day ran into the house.
Seeing Naoki dazing in front of the desk, they all showed puzzled expressions.
A group of Pokemon gathered around, making questioning growls.
"Graaaw?"
Naoki explained, "I'm thinking about the new house. Tomorrow morning, construction of our new home can begin. It'll be a more spacious house with various rooms and a living room, and your activity area will become larger."
Upon hearing this, the eyes of the Pokemon brightened.
Alcremie exclaimed in delight, "Ma-ma?!"
A bigger house? Could it possibly have a Cream Workshop of its own?
Naoki guessed Alcremie's thoughts, as he had promised Alcremie this before.
"That's right, I'll reserve a separate room to be converted into a Cream Workshop. I'll place an oven, cream buckets, and similar kitchen utensils there, and it'll be dedicated to making desserts," Naoki said.
"Ma-ma!"
Alcremie's eyes shimmered with anticipation and longing.
Seeing its expression, Naoki smiled and turned to the other Pokemon, "What about you? What kind of house do you like?"
While asking, he took out a bowl of peeled Translation Nuts from the cabinet.
Cyclizar was the first to respond, "Graaw!" (A warm room!)
"A warm room?" Naoki recalled Cyclizar's aversion to cold and understandingly nodded, "No problem. When the time comes, we can install a fireplace in the living room. Lighting it in winter will ensure the whole house is warm."
"Graaw~" Cyclizar let out a happy growl.
Next, Naoki turned his attention to Dragonite.
As it was its turn, Dragonite cheered, "Awoo!" (I want a very big room! And I want a lake to swim in, sunbathe, and watch the stars!)
Naoki: "..." Quite demanding!
Actually, Dragonite prefers being outside compared to indoors.
Initially, it spent every night in its Poke Ball, but gradually, as Dragonite became more familiar with the farm, it started sleeping on the grass outside, rarely coming indoors to sleep.
Naoki started thinking about what kind of room could meet Dragonite's needs.
Unfortunately, such a room doesn't exist in this world.
He poked Dragonite's big belly and said mercilessly, "There's no such room in this world. You might as well sleep on the grassy field outside! There's plenty of space, a lake, and you can see stars and sunbathe, perfectly meeting your requirements."
Dragonite felt dejected. So there's no such room?
Oh well, it might as well continue sleeping on that soft grassy field outside! Every night, it can still gaze at the beautiful stars and moon.
"What about Koraidon?" Naoki looked at Koraidon.
Compared to Dragonite, Koraidon was much more laid back, "Ah-gaaah!" (Sleep in your room!)
Naoki: "..."
He should have expected this answer.
Jotting down Koraidon's preferences in his notebook, Naoki turned to Pawmo, "What about you, Pawmo?"
Pawmo chirped with excitement, "Ba-mo!" (Sleep with Naoki!)
"Alright." Naoki patted Pawmo's head, then glanced around, "So that's settled then?"
The Pokemon had no objections.
Early the next morning, Naoki went to the town to find Keri.
Learning of his intentions, Keri was very surprised, "So soon?"
Naoki smiled and nodded, "Yes, and it's all thanks to Miltank and Gogoat."
"Alright, I see." Thinking of those illogical Gogoats, Keri suddenly wasn't too surprised anymore.
She turned and led the way, "Follow me!"
With Keri leading, Naoki arrived at a room that was sort of like a workshop.
The room was a mess, with various blueprints strewn across the table and floor.
Keri walked to the table and pulled out a few blueprints from a drawer and handed them over.
As Naoki reached out and took them, he saw drawings of two slightly different houses.
One was a fairytale-like Scandinavian countryside cottage, and the other resembled the house of Nobita Nobi from Doraemon, a Japanese-style two-story residence.
"Choose one!" Keri said.
Naoki's eyes moved back and forth over the two blueprints, ultimately resting on the fairytale-like countryside cottage.
The reason was simple; it looked very much like the house from Stardew Valley. It seemed more pleasing and fitting for the farm.
Seeing his choice, Keri nodded with a smile, "Indeed, this kind of residence is more suitable for the farm. In that case, let's decide on the interior layout!"
"Generally speaking, when building, I'd plan the rooms in advance: bedroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom, dining room on the first floor; side bedroom, nursery, and study on the second floor. There are also two empty rooms for you to use as storage, and under the house is a cellar, which can be used for winemaking or converted into a basement."
"Besides these, let me know if you have any other requests?"
Naoki relayed the results of the discussion with the Pokemon to Keri.
After hearing, Keri nodded, "A Cream Workshop... a room for making desserts, that's easy. Besides that, anything else?"
Naoki shook his head, "That's all."
Keri: "The materials and construction fees total 1.8 million, which includes costs for flooring, carpets, and wallpaper, which you can choose."
"Additionally, our store offers custom furniture services. Besides basic tables and chairs, you can also buy sofas, cabinets, beds, various lights, and so on."
Altogether, the estimated cost will be around two million.
Naoki had anticipated this, so he stayed calm and nodded, "I understand. Just regular wooden flooring, and wood-patterned wallpaper will do."
"No problem," Keri smiled. "I need to prepare a bit. We'll start construction tomorrow morning, and it will likely take one to two months."