Chapter 11: House Hunting
"Well, let's see. There's a pretty good property available for a monthly rent of 75 Kirig, how about that?"
That's what I was told by Keyson Mortis, the real estate agent introduced by Rosetta.
Keyson was a well-built man with a good beard. He looked like the typical merchant from a painting... But if it's Rosetta's referral, I don't think he would use such a shady approach. Still, I can't let my guard down.
"75 Kirig, you say. I can't give you an answer without seeing it."
"Of course. It's nearby, so shall we go and have a look?"
With that, we all walked together along the neatly paved road in the Higashi District and started visiting houses.
The carriage and horses we rode here from the Earl's domain are stabled. As for the surplus horses that Forest Bird and the others rode, we have made arrangements with my father to send them back to the Earl's domain through the guild later.
But still, a monthly rent of 75 Kirig. Let's consider the amount Keyson mentioned.
Kirig refers to Kirig copper coins. It's a widely used currency in everyday life, so it's common to discuss amounts in terms of Kirig or the number of copper coins.
If we take gold coins as a benchmark, one Sebel gold coin is equivalent to 20 Alben silver coins, 100 Rodel large copper coins, 500 Kirig copper coins, or 5,000 Mole base coins.
Although it's difficult to make a simple comparison due to the completely different circulation forms, if we convert it to Japanese yen, 1 Kirig would be around 1,000 yen in terms of approximate value.
The average monthly income of a typical laborer is about 100 Kirig. So, a monthly rent of 75 Kirig means a significant portion of the standard monthly income is gone each month. That's quite substantial. It truly reflects the high-end residential area of the Higashi District.
Keyson must have estimated our financial situation to some extent based on our appearances.
By the way... When I left home, my father gave me a total of 5,000 Kirig. It consisted of 9 gold coins and 20 silver coins. It's probably because he knows that I can't afford to send money easily and that I prefer to negotiate on my own... But honestly, I think he's being overprotective.
On the way, I earned about 560 Kirig as a reward for exterminating ants and as a bonus. Whether 560 Kirig is considered high or low for fighting against an ant colony is a matter of debate... Personally, it wasn't that difficult, so it felt like getting something easily.
When I arrived in Termwills, I paid an additional 120 kiligs on top of the success reward of 720 kiligs to Forestbird... After deducting various expenses such as shopping along the way... I had 4,514 kiligs remaining in my pocket.
"By the way, if you were to buy that house?"
In this case, it would be a form of paying a mortgage for owning a house, rather than paying rent for a rented house...
Since I didn't know the market price of houses, and it varied depending on the property, I asked how much it would be overall.
"It's not a new construction, but it's a solid house. As for the price, it would be 29,300 kiligs. In this case, you would pay 100 kiligs per month in addition to the interest. If you can't maintain it, you can move out, and if you live there for a while and decide to purchase it later, it's possible to subtract the amount you paid as rent until then."
...Assuming you paid 1,200 kiligs consistently each year, it would take a little over 24 years to complete the payment. That's without considering interest and other factors. You would understand the details by looking at the contract.
"Since it's Rosetta-sama's introduction, I have studied a little."
"Henry seems to be flexible if you contact him. I'm also willing to offer advice if it's about money."
Rosetta said such things.
In her case, she probably wants to see my face regularly and keep me within reach. I understand that.
"...I'll decline your offer."
While declining Rosetta's proposal,
I should wait and see for a while before deciding to purchase the house.
I don't know how much I can earn by delving into the labyrinth normally and what the income and expenses would be like while living. It's hard to say at this point.
I have confidence in earning money, but since I'm a living being, there may be fatigue, illness, injuries, and such, so I also want to save money, and I don't want to have a life that becomes too harsh due to a demanding work environment.
"Is that so? If you tell me, I'll respond anytime."
Rosetta wears a gentle smile, but I wonder what she's thinking. Is she expecting that it would be tough for me to pay that rent without relying on my father?
"Either way, I guess it's about looking and deciding if you like it. There's only one servant, Grace, and if it seems to require a lot of maintenance, we'll have to look for another house."
"In that case, it would only be initially, right? Ah, we've arrived. That house over there."
Keyson revealed a two-story house with a solid white stone exterior and a red roof. The house was surrounded by stone walls and an iron fence, forming a small garden around it. The first thing that caught my attention was the overgrown grass and neglected state of the garden.
"This is..."
Grace furrowed her brow as she looked at it.
"No, we haven't been able to tend to the outside. But the interior is clean, and we can arrange for a gardener," I said.
"We don't need a gardener. Just pulling out the weeds and planting some flowers should greatly improve its appearance. That's if we decide to rent this place," Grace replied.
She glanced briefly at me.
If I were to take on the task of weeding this garden, Grace probably intended to use her magical tools to finish it quickly.
The house was located on Gakusha Street, slightly away from the city center, in a quiet area.
It wouldn't take long to reach East District's main street, the market, and even the entrance to the labyrinth. As the name of the street suggested, the school was just a stone's throw away. Judging by the simple location and the design of the house... I suppose you could say 75 kiligs is indeed a reasonable price.
Speaking of location, it would be better to be closer to the entrance of the labyrinth. However, the vicinity of the temple, or rather the royal castle, utilized architectural structures related to labyrinth generation as residences. The people living there are completely wealthy. Naturally, the prices would skyrocket, so I'll pass.
On the other hand, going to a too cheap place... for example, the western side of the town with the port has considerably worse public safety compared to the east, which would present its own set of problems. It falls under the jurisdiction of the seafaring folk. In other words, the thieves' guild is in the west, and so are the slums. I don't feel like living in the west just because it's cheap. Considering living with Grace, it's better to prioritize good public safety.
Being close to the school is a plus in terms of public safety. It signifies an economically affluent area with a high level of education and consciousness. Naturally, the authorities strive to maintain public safety, so there are many patrols by soldiers.
If I'm going to live here, it should be in the East District after all... I suppose it's worth paying a premium for safety.
The only thing left to consider is whether I like the interior of this house or not. Well then.
Kyson opened the door and entered the house.
At the back of the entrance hall, I could see a hallway and a staircase leading to the second floor. There was a staircase behind the stairs that led to the basement, but... first, let's take a look at the first floor.
"On the right is the dining room, on the left is the reception room, and the hallway connects to the living room and kitchen, as well as the toilet."
From the reception room, I could have a view of the garden facing the street in front of the house... well, the garden was in a terrible state.
It seems like I could go directly from the kitchen to the dining room and the reception room. There was also a back door. When I peered outside from the back door, I found myself in the backyard of the house. There was a reservoir and a waterway nearby, supplied from the Mizukou Bridge. It was undoubtedly convenient in many ways.
As for fetching water, it was a simple matter of using water magic, so it wasn't a physically demanding task for me.
The toilet had access to water from the waterway. It was a sanitary flush system with a small tank to store water. Border cities with both water supply and sewage systems were truly cultural and wonderful places.
However, despite being called a sewage system, all they were doing was creating waterways in the labyrinth and flushing them down to the lower levels. This was quite problematic.
The problem lies in the nature of the labyrinth, where objects of the same attribute gather together, resulting in the formation of very unpleasant areas in certain parts of the lower levels.
Its name is the Great Putrefaction Lake. Unless there's a special reason, I don't want to go to such a toxic place... but there are some places that can only be reached by passing through there. It's bad in nature to have to go through there if you want to go to a certain place.
To give you an idea of what kind of place it is, if you imagine it based on the name, you'll be pretty close. It's a lake of sludge with narrow footholds scattered around. From within the sludge, tar-like monsters attack, and if you're cautious about what's below, flying insect-headed creatures with wings might pounce on you. It's quite a lovely place.
First-time players often end up traumatized, being poisoned and having their legs taken away before being tortured to death. Although it was omitted in BFO due to being in VR, the smell there is probably unbearable.
"What's behind this door?"
Shaking off unpleasant memories, I opened the door next to the toilet.
"It's the changing room and the bath."
"Oh, I see."
So there's a bath. It's much better than having to go to a public bath or bathe at a water source.
The water is drawn and stored from the waterway connected to the reservoir, similar to the toilet. The bathtub is quite spacious and comfortable. To heat the water, it seems necessary to learn life magic or set a magic stone in the recess of the wall...
A magic stone is a crystalline substance extracted from parts taken from magical beasts. It has a high affinity with magic and can store specific spells by describing the formulas or simply accumulate magical power.
Although complex formulas cannot be fully described, in the hands of a mage, it can be applied to various purposes. However, such complex and sophisticated circuitry incorporated magical tools are completely handmade, making them quite expensive. They are not something that commoners would encounter.
Unlike formulas, magic stones that simply store magical power have a use as fuel, so there is a constant demand for them as consumables.
However, a bath with circuitry... It might not be bad. At 75 a month, could it possibly be cheap?
"The second floor consists of guest rooms and the master bedroom. There's also a terrace and an attic room," Keison explains.
I follow Keison and take a look at the second floor. There are three guest rooms, and they are reasonably spacious. The master bedroom is equipped with a terrace and a servant's quarters.
"What about the basement?" I ask.
"I believe it serves as a storage room."
A storage room, huh? As I go downstairs, I notice the sturdy stone walls. Perhaps it would be good to install a teleportation magic circle here. Alternatively, we could use the attic as a regular storage space.
"What do you think, Grace?"
"The kitchen is spacious and seems very practical. And then there's the toilet and the bath, right? The waterway serves as the plumbing system?"
"That's right. We can simply close off the unused rooms. Will everything work out?"
"Leave it to me."
Grace responds with a smile. It's reassuring.
"What do you think, Theodore-sama?"
"If there are other promising options, I'd like to take a look at them, just to be sure."
Seeing my positive response, Keison seems delighted... but for now, let's consider and compare a little more.
We visited several places afterward, but nothing felt quite right. In the end, we decided to rent the 75 Kilig house we saw first.
We paid the six-month rent of 450 Kilig upfront and decided to live there on a trial basis. If it doesn't work out, we can downgrade, and if we manage, we can consider purchasing a house.