"Is there a Rudeus Greyrat here? I heard he is staying at this address."
Paul had answered the door.
"Yeah, Rudy's here. RUDY! Get over here! You have a guest!"
Paul yelled to me as though I wasn't standing ten feet from him in the next room over.
"I can hear you just fine. I'm not deaf you know!"
I pushed my way past Father and gave a noble's greeting to Balda.
"Balda of the Large Hollow, thank you so much for coming all this way. I am Rudeus Greyrat. It's an honor to meet you."
"Hahaha! No need ta' be so formal kid! Now where's this house ya wanted to renovate? This ain't it, right? Ya said it was a big manor I'd be workin' on."
"Yes indeed. I'm staying here with my parents for now until I get the manor completely finished."
"Well don't keep me waitin! Take me there so I can see what needs ta' be done."
"Of course. Give me just a moment to get ready and I'll take you there right away."
I grabbed my robe and money pouch and told Mother and Father that I was heading out for the day. On the way to the Manor Balda asked how I met Talhand and then recounted how he met Talhand and their time together in the Dwarf Village.
Once we arrived at the manor, Balda furrowed his brows as he tried to enter the house.
"Hey now, what's this here? This doorway's in bad shape. Doesn't quite fit right with the frame"
"I agree. It will definitely need fixing. It's rather difficult to open and close as it is now."
"So whatcha wanna do about the door then?"
"Well, as I said it will need replacing."
"No, that's not what I mean. Quality of materials. Design. That kinda stuff. What's yer preference?"
"I would prefer a sturdy but lightweight material. I can enhance the door's durability with my magic. Also, I would like to have a knocker in the form of a lion's head added."
"Course. This is the front entrance after all."
Once we stepped inside, Balda shook his head.
"This place really needs a lot of work."
"Yeah, it's definitely a fixer-upper. Still though, the place has a nice charm to it and you can't beat the location."
"The walls and ceiling of the first floor all need to be replaced. I'll have'ta work one section at a time, but I should be able to get it done pretty quick."
"I understand. Take your time. Quality work can't be rushed."
Balda nodded in agreement.
Just then Therese came down the stairs. She wore a white shirt with the symbol of Saint Milis embroidered in blue on it. She was also wearing plain black pants. She didn't wear any accessories or fancy dress clothes, but that made sense as she was just resting at home.
"Oh, Rudeus. Have you brought a guest?"
"This is Balda of the Large Hollow. He's an expert artisan who I've hired to renovate this manor."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Balda. Please call me Therese."
"Rudeus, ya didn't tell me you had such a beautiful sister."
"Haha... very funny Balda. This is my Aunt."
Therese blushed at Balda's flirting. Just then I saw Luna coming down the stairs and stopping beside Therese. She smiled warmly as she introduced herself as well.
"I'm Luna. Nice to meet you!"
"Tis a pleasure, Miss Luna. You two pretty girls living here?"
"Yes. Due to recent circumstances we're on the look for a new place to call home. Rudy here's been kind enough to let us stay here in the meantime."
"I see. Well just so ya' know, when my guys get here, the work's gonna be pretty loud. My workers can be a bunch of knuckleheads at times too, but they're harmless. If they're gettin on ya' nerves, just give 'em a good ol' wallop on the head and they'll straighten up."
"I see... I'll have to keep that in mind."
Luna seemed genuinely excited to meet everyone and watch them work, but I could tell Therese was concerned about it.
"Rudy, do you think we could stay at your place while Balda works on the manor? Wherever you're staying now that is? I hate to intrude but I need to make sure Luna here is safe. I don't want her living at a construction site."
"Well, to be honest, I'm staying at my parents' house right now and it's already pretty crowded. It's a small, two bedroom house and there's already nine of us living there."
"Your parents? You mean Zenith? I haven't seen her in years! I can't wait to see her again! She'll be so surprised to see me haha!"
"Well... like I said... we don't really have much room."
"Oh, nonsense! Zenith would be happy to have me, I guarantee it!"
"Maybe so but..."
"I'm not taking no for an answer! I at least want to stop by and say hello!"
"Ugh... Fine. I'll take you back with me after I show Balda what I want done to the manor."
"Excellent! I can't wait!"
Therese ran back up the stairs to the bedroom she was sleeping in while saying something along the lines of: "I can't let Zenith see me dressed like this after all these years! What do I do, I have nothing proper to wear!"
Luna meanwhile followed me like a puppy as I guided Balda throughout the manor and answered his questions about what I wanted done in each room. I gave him instructions in order to recreate my manor exactly the way I remember.
I can still vividly recall details of my manor and how it used to be. If I close my eyes I can still picture Roxy and Sylphy living our day to day lives in each room.
The large room near the entrance of the house will have a big table in the center and will be used for parties and entertaining guests. The large room on the other side of the house will be turned into a lounge for our daily use.
One of the two kitchens was redesigned into a bathing room. I told Balda I will create the materials for its construction myself with my magic. The bathing room was to have a partition dividing it in two. The bathing side was to be tiled and slightly slanted towards the drain that already existed in the room. I informed Balda that I'd create a large bathtub at the edge of the room once the room was finished.
Before I guided Balda into the basement, I asked him to wait while I cleaned up the place and I covered the magic circle with a large throw-rug. Once he got down there he looked confused at what I had to 'clean up' in such an empty room, but he shrugged it off as he didn't really care anyway.
"About this hidden door here; behind it, I'd like you to create a room like this."
I whispered my requests into Balda's ear to keep the details from prying ears. Or should I say prying eyes in this case? With my Magic Power Eye, I could see Luna curiously trying to read my thoughts as I whispered to Balda. I dispersed the mana that was trying to trail from me back to her using disturb magic. I laughed internally as I saw Luna's surprised look after realizing that for some reason she couldn't read my thoughts.
"Also, I'd like the stains of the hidden door washed away and the door leveled so that it opens silently and no longer drags on the floor", I finished my instructions to Balda.
"Why're you wantin' such a strange... ah forget it. It's none of my business. I'm a good follower of Milis, but it looks like YOU sure aren't."
"Haha. No, I'm not a follower of Milis, but I can appreciate the good works he's done."
Once we finished going over each room of the house, as well as work that needed to be done on the exterior, Balda took out a small book and started tallying material and labor costs.
"Hmm... All in all, it should take about two weeks ta' get done with all the work ye want. Including material and labor costs... I think five Asura Gold coins seems like a fair price."
"Five Asura Gold coins!" Therese yelled out in surprise.
"That's good with me", I said while I waved Therese's objection off.
"I'll need half that up front for purchasing materials."
"I understand."
I took out my money pouch and counted out two and a half Asura Gold coins worth of currency and handed it to Balda.
"Thank you for your patronage. I'll have my men here to start working first thing tomorrow morning."
"I appreciate it. I look forward to seeing how everything turns out!"
After receiving his payment, Balda left the house. I told Therese and Luna to gather their things because we need to be out of the house by tomorrow morning so he can work on it.
While they got packed and ready, I made a quick stop to the basement and conjured a second large, thin stone slab and placed it over top of the first one to hide the magic circle. I had told Balda not to mess with anything in the basement other than cleaning up the walls and renovating the hidden room.
After Therese and Luna were packed, I told them to follow me as I guided them towards the market.
"Where are we going? I thought you were taking me to your parents' place so I can see Zenith."
"I will, but we still have some time today so I thought I'd get you set up with a room at an Inn first."
"At an Inn? You don't want your poor Aunt Therese staying with you?"
"Like I said, we don't have much room as it is. There won't be any place for you to sleep."
"I know, I know. I'm just teasing you. Still though, I'm really looking forward to seeing Zenith. I haven't seen my big sister in many years."
Once we reached one of the nicest Inn's in the city, I ushered Therese and Luna to follow me in.
"Umm... Rudy, I don't think we can afford this place. I don't have hardly any money on me."
"Don't worry about it. I'll pay for it."
"I couldn't do that. That would be taking advantage of you."
"It's not a problem, really. I have plenty of money to spare."
"Where did you even get so much money...", Therese wanted to ask, but decided to wait until we got to our room. Bragging about your wealth in front of a bunch of strangers is never a good idea. Rudeus is terrifyingly strong for his age, true enough, but that doesn't mean someone might try and rob him thinking he's just a rich noble's kid.
"I'd like a room with two beds please", I asked the clerk.
"How long do you plan on staying here?", he asked in return.
"Two weeks. I can pay in advance for that time and if we end up staying longer I'll make up for the payment at that time."
The room cost us two silver coins for the two weeks. Therese felt guilty over the high price tag, but I shrugged it off. I literally made fifty Asura Gold Coins in the past week so this was nothing.
Once we got up to the room, I helped Therese and Luna unpack.
"I'll pay you back for the room, I promise", Therese said out of nowhere.
"I told you not to worry about it. This is nothing."
"Where did you get so much money? You agreed to pay Balda five Asura Gold coins just for some repairs!"
"Balda is a renowned craftsman. It's only natural his services come at a premium. I want nothing but the best for my future home."
"I suppose I can understand that, but how can you afford him? You're so young to have that much money. I don't remember Paul being so wealthy when I had met him."
"I made some money adventuring during my travels after the displacement incident, but most of it I've made by selling products I create with my magic."
"Really? What can you make that you can sell for so much money?"
"A variety of things, really. Most recently I sold some magic tools I created to the Magic Guild for fifty Asura Gold coins."
"FIFTY GOLD COINS!", she yelled out in shock before realizing it and holding her mouth shut.
"That's insane!", she whispered. "I've never seen that much money in my life! You probably have more wealth than the Latreia household!"
"I guess", I said with a shrug.
I knew this was a lot of money, but honestly money has come so easily to me thanks to my magic that I've become a bit desensitized to wealth.
"Anyway, like I said, please don't bother with paying me back. It would just be a hassle for me."
"Well... If you insist... Thank you for all your help though", Therese said while she gave an earnest bow. Most of the distrust she had shown me the past couple of days seems to have faded away at this point.
The rooms at the Inn included free meals each day, so they shouldn't have to worry about food. Once they finished unpacking their things I announced that I was heading home for the day.
"It's nearly dinner time so I should probably head home. Mother will be worried if I'm not home for dinner."
"You're not taking us with you?"
"I never said that. You can feel free to come along. You don't need me to escort you back to the Inn, do you?"
"No, I'll be able to find my way back here, no problem."
"Follow me", I said with a small sigh.
Their introduction is going to be annoying for me. How am I supposed to explain to Mother how I brought them all the way from Milishion. Whatever. I'll think of something on the way there.