Élysée Garden Avenue has a wide carriageway that can accommodate sixteen carriages side by side, with sidewalks over five pimi wide on each side. From any angle, you can see the magnificent Gate of Radiance, a divine miracle granted to Strasbourg by the Radiant Lord, one of the nine great deities. The gate is a square structure with four archways, one opening in each direction.
The Gate of Radiance is famous for its miracle: anyone entering it will randomly exit from one of the four gates, regardless of their intended direction. It is said that the exit direction indicates the best fortune for that day.
Besides the impressive Gate of Radiance, the sides of Élysée Garden Avenue are lined with shops. A select few are decorated with high-grade alchemy, displaying luxury goods through exorbitantly expensive crystal glass windows, making the opulence inside visible to every passerby.
Nowhere else in the empire matches the hustle and bustle of this avenue.
Anne Brittany smiled lightly and said, "To number 58!"
The carriage rumbled down Élysée Garden Avenue for a short distance before turning into a side street. Calling it a side street is an understatement, as it's wide enough to allow two carriages to pass side by side. The alley wasn't deep, and the carriage soon reached its end, where a standalone three-story building stood. In front of it was a small square that could park five or six carriages. There was a main entrance with a few steps leading up to it and a side gate wide enough for carriages, giving it a grand appearance.
Anne got off the carriage, and Charlotte had no choice but to follow. He watched as Anne pressed her hand against the building's door, which opened automatically, raising his eyebrows in surprise. Charlotte recognized this as a low-level alchemy spell known as "Unlocking Charm." He hadn't expected a noble lady like Anne Brittany to be skilled in such magic.
The thought of the mechanical beetle used to track Mr. Yarmills made Charlotte reassess his impression of Anne Brittany.
Anne pushed open the door and entered, smiling slightly as she introduced the house to Charlotte, who followed her inside: "This residence was recently inherited by a distant relative of mine. He finds the commercial atmosphere here too intense and noisy and has always wanted to sell it.
"As you know, shops on Élysée Garden Avenue are always in high demand, but residences here are hard to sell, so he's asking for a reasonable price."
"My relative's asking price is two hundred Écus, but I know he urgently needs the money, so he would accept one hundred fifty Écus."
Charlotte thought to himself, "My entire net worth is only eighty Écus. Is this a price within my means? Did Miss Anne misunderstand my financial situation, or is she simply not sensitive to the value of money?"
Sensing Charlotte's thoughts, Anne raised her delicate eyebrows and said, "He's willing to accept installment payments, with only fifty Écus as a down payment to move in."
"I could even persuade him to waive the interest on the installments."
After touring the first floor with Anne, Charlotte found himself liking the house. The first floor featured a large banquet hall, which might seem modest to nobles since it could only host a small ball for up to fifty guests. But to Charlotte, who had traveled from Earth, the hall was impressively spacious. It was a large, open space, about three to four hundred square pimi in size, just shy of a standard basketball court but large enough for half-court play.
And that wasn't all; the first floor also included a reception room, a dining room, and two studies. There was a staircase leading to the basement from the dining room side, and according to the customs of the Falser Empire, the basement must house the kitchen and storage rooms.
The staircase leading upstairs was on the banquet hall's side, completely separate from the one leading to the basement.
Charlotte mused, "In my previous world, you couldn't buy such a large house for two to three million, not even in the countryside."
"Moreover, it allows installment payments with no interest—the seller is practically the most charitable person I've encountered since my transmigration."
"But where will I find the remaining seventy Écus?"
"With my weekly salary as a thirty-seventh-level civil servant of six florins and fifteen denarii, how long would it take to pay this off?"
After doing some quick mental math, Charlotte was stunned.
It would take him less than three years to pay off the house with his government salary!
This was ten times shorter than the mortgage terms he briefly thought of from his previous life on Earth.
Charlotte couldn't help but marvel at the realization, "It seems that transmigrators really are the protagonists!"
"Praise the true gods."
"And praise Miss Anne."
Suppressing his excitement, Charlotte said, "My weekly salary is about six florins. Will your relative accept a long-term payment plan over several years?"
Anne Brittany giggled and said, "Of course, that's not a problem. Anyone who can pay off a house within ten years is considered a prime buyer."
"But…"
"Mr. Mecklenburg is already a thirty-seventh-level civil servant? You look like you graduated recently."
Charlotte smiled slightly and said, "I graduated two years ago."
Anne Brittany let out a small gasp, her eyes sparkling, and her cheeks flushing with admiration. She felt even more favorably toward him.
A young man who had graduated only two years ago and had already risen to the thirty-seventh rank in the civil service was clearly more charismatic than the average government official, who might spend years waiting for the triennial promotion opportunity.
The residence was quite "old," weathered by time, but still solid. In the Falser Empire, centuries-old buildings were common. Houses with history didn't lose value; instead, they often became more desirable due to their age and the stories they held.
Charlotte didn't bother to check the second or third floors. He and Anne discussed the details, and he handed the ten fifty-florin bills he had earned from selling the flail to the young woman.
Anne called the coachman in and gave him some instructions, and the coachman drove off.
Though the house was occasionally cleaned, a thin layer of dust still coated the surfaces, making it unsuitable for an extended stay.
Charlotte, ever the gentleman, invited Anne to a nearby café.
Anne gladly accepted.
Élysée Garden Avenue was never short of tasteful cafés. Although they rarely catered to nobles, the empire's writers, painters, sculptors, musicians, and even orators loved to frequent these cafés. Many of them had left behind famous works and stories in these establishments.
Charlotte led Anne to a café called The Cat and Clover, just a few dozen meters from No. 58.
Many things in this world were similar to Earth, such as feline creatures. However, the domestic cats of this world didn't have as many breeds or beautiful coat patterns as those on Earth.