Chapter 225: House Functions Online
The small shed was a smoke house, complete with decade old cured ham hanging from hooks. Those were moved outside, and the guards got to work preparing most of the wolves, while one was prepared for immediate use.
Alexis stood on the back porch when Dominic returned to the house, with her rifle leaned against the wall beside her.
"This is a good sign. The first afternoon here, and the estate has already provided its first meat for us. In fact, other than one minor issue with a burnt maid when the fireplaces suddenly came back to life, everything has been remarkably well-preserved."
Dominic gave her a sheepish look. "That might have been my fault. I activated the magical systems in the house and forgot that some of the fireplaces might have been active when the house ran out of mana.
But on the bright side, we don’t need to worry about firewood, not even in the kitchen.
It doesn’t get horribly cold here overnight, but during the rainy season, some of the nights can get pretty cool and damp. We got a few days of frost and sometimes a day with snow during the winters when I was young, so we will definitely enjoy the magical fireplaces."
Beth came out with a cleaver in her hand. "I’m already enjoying the magical stoves. To think that the manor had a central control panel for all the magical devices, it’s wonderful. I will add more mana as we need it, but the stove is working amazingly well."
Dominic nodded. "With the fireplaces off, what I put in should last for days. Oh, that reminds me, there is a freezer in the basement. I remember that they used to keep ice cream in it for the kids. I don’t know if it’s working, I didn’t see controls for it.
They might be somewhere else in the basement. The manor had minor magic everywhere, but my memories of it are faint. I just wasn’t interested in finding out about most of it.
But as a kid, the ice cream was important, I remember that part. I even remember what shelf it was on."
Beth nodded. "I found the freezer, there was a label on the door. It still needs some cleaning before it can be used."
Right, a freezer that had been turned off for a decade but never emptied was likely to be absolutely vile inside.
Once the meat was hung, and the fire lit in the smoke house, the guardsmen returned to see what Beth had ready for dinner.
"Dire Wolf is only good when spiced and stewed for hours, so no steaks for you. But I’ve got hot ham sandwiches and mashed potatoes with gravy. A bit simple, but it is ready." She explained.
The Guards shrugged. "Sounds good to us. As long as you remembered to pack the pickles and mustard."
The cook laughed. "How long have I been a Palace cook? As if I don’t know your favourites by now.
Of course, I did. I’ve got enough of both to last us through half a year. But I see that there are cucumbers in the garden, so we can start making more pickles soon."
She had set the food out on a platter on the large dining room table, along with a large pot of vegetable soup and more biscuits, as the soft and fluffy dinner buns needed more time to prepare.
Interestingly to Dominic, the table was actually a magitech item, and it had warming plates set into it, where Beth had set the soup and the covered platter of sandwiches. He would have to study them later, to add the item to his repertoire of blueprints.
It shouldn’t be too complex to make an item to warm a metal plate, as the method was already included in the introduction to magical engineering that he had learned in the Palace.
But he still wanted to know how they had done it here.
For the next few weeks or months, he might be incredibly busy as the new Duke. But after that, Dominic was certain that he would have time to join Pops at the forge and continue to develop his skills.
Once dinner was done, with everyone in the house eating at the same table, Alexis led Dominic up to their new room.
The mattress had been replaced by one from the trucks, which was slightly smaller than the frame was intended for. Other than that one oddity, the room had been fully cleaned, and even the bath tub and shower appeared to be clean and serviceable.
Dominic put his hand on the controls and pushed some mana in, then smiled as the whirring of a pump and the burble of moving water informed him that the spells were working properly.
It took a minute for the water cistern on the wall to heat, but once it was going, it should provide constant hot water for the shower.
Crossing his fingers for luck, Dominic turned the shower on, and waited as it spit out some accumulated crud before flowing clean and warm.
"Your Highness, the bath might need to wait for tomorrow, but there is a warm shower waiting for you." He informed Alexis with a smirk.
She just rolled her eyes at his smug expression. "You act as if you made all this wonderful magitech, and didn’t just inherit it."
"Possession is nine tenths of the law, right? But a warm shower is better than nothing. Let me have this little victory of managing to get the house back online."
"You go first. If it doesn’t kill you or give you a rash, I’ll go second." Alexis agreed.
That was fair. She was the one with the healing magic, after all.
But the lines were pulling pure water from the well under the manor, and after it had run for a moment, the shower was a welcome end to a long day of travel and exploration of the new property.
Well, almost the end of the day. He still had some intentions for his lovely bride once she got out of the shower, and they would need time.
And possibly a second shower.