――Late in the night. The mess from the feast that still littered the living room could easily be seen. The bottles were left on the ground. Loud snores can be heard from the surroundings, but it wasn’t from the children. They had gone to their rooms and were sleeping in the hammocks.

   Waking up alone, I looked around, lightly stretching.

   The night wind came in from the open window, letting the curtain flutter lightly. Despite the drunkards sleeping soundly on the ground, the smell of alcohol wasn’t very strong, it’s probably thanks to the night breeze.

   While thinking about it, I noticed the light spilling from the screen at the front. Is someone still awake? So I wouldn’t disturb the others’ sleep, I peeked inside silently. Standing there was Catlie who had left with Ravi and the other children from the party early.

「Catlie, can’t sleep? 」

「Ah. Sorry, did I wake you up!? 」

「No, I didn’t mean that. Unn? That’s……」

   Scattered around Catlie, there were several blueprints. From the unique floor plan on the first floor and the large number of rooms, I knew that it was an inn at a glance.

「I had a flash of idea regarding the interior, so I scribbled it down first. 」

「That’s amazing. All of these? 」

「Yes. On the way here, I’ve heard many stories from Douglas-san and Ravi-chan after all, so it was a great reference! 」

   While saying that, Catlie took one of the plans and offered to me.

「Of course, I plan to discuss about the plans officially after talking with the owner. But I think that it’ll be better if I prepare an idea first. 」

「That’s true. Things like this, amateur won’t understand them well. Having honest opinions from a craftsman will definitely help a lot. 」

   I looked at the plans that was handed over to me. They were written neatly and were easy to read. On top of that, there were even explanations for the difficult drawings, making it even easier to understand.

「Is a plan designed by a craftsman normally this detailed? 」

「Ah, no, I made it so I can show to you all. I thought it would be difficult to read without supplementary explanation. 」

「You put that much thought into it huh. 」

   Catlie said it as if it isn’t a big matter, but to write down all the explanations for this much plans, I’m sure it must have been tiring.

「If there are any questions, explaining with words will be difficult to understand. So, I thought that writing it down to support my explanations would be better. 」

「That’s thoughtful. 」

   I sincerely thanked her efforts, before starting to read the plans.

「Nn? Is the kitchen sink a little higher? 」

「That’s right. Since the standard height is for females, it will often be too low for a man. I plan to readjust that according to Eihab-san’s height. 」

   I see, she certainly has a point. Eihab often lamented that his back hurts when he was standing in the kitchen for a long time. Looking at this plan, I’m sure he will accept it.

「And since that I’ve heard that his wife likes to do gardening as her hobby, I’ve put in the plans for making a small flower bed around the entrance too. 」

「Oh. It’s true. Is there a reason behind moving the placements of the windows too? 」

「Yes. Breakfast is in the dining hall, right? Then I thought by placing the windows on the east side, they would feel the warmth of the early morning sun. 」

「That’s amazing, Catlie. You really thought a lot of the people that will be living in there. 」

「Ahaha, thank you very much. But, even if you praise me, there’s nothing to gain」

「No. I’m not praising out of courtesy. 」

   I looked at Catlie as I said.

「A house is something that will last your entire life. Even if you want to hear more about it, it’s hard to take up a craftsman’s time to consult them about it properly. There’s nothing more reassuring than when the craftsman considers the owner’s needs and plans out the building together with them. I’m sure anyone having their houses built by you will be thankful for that. 」

「Eh……」

   During that, I noticed Catlie’s eyes became wet. Could it be my imagination? Because Catlie turned away quickly after that, I couldn’t tell properly.

「Hey, Catlie? What’s the matter? 」

   I was panicking as I thought if I said anything rude…….

「No……I-I’m happy. 」

   After Catlie snuffled a little, she raised her face with a smile.

「Saying something like that to me, Douglas-san is the first……! 」

   I’m glad. It seems that she was touched by the praise.

   After all, Catlie never had the chance to work on a job like this on her own until now. It’s really a wasteful thing. To think that someone like Catlie who can put herself in the shoes of the people living in the house that she will design, could be lacking jobs…….

「It’s a shame that Catlie’s talent had been buried until now. 」

「Fufu. Thank you. To not disappoint Douglas-san’s words, I will do my best! 」

「Yeah. But it’s already late. Make sure you rest properly. 」

「Yes! I will find somewhere nice to stop and rest! 」

   I smiled towards Catlie who seemed to be energetic. I’m glad that we’ve met such a talented carpenter. I want Eihab and the others to see the plans that Catlie drew. I’m sure that they would be happy to see it.

   While having such thoughts, I looked at Ravi who was sleeping soundly in the hammock before leaving the room.