Buying A House

I followed the directions Kenny gave me and was now in the inner residential area. And what I ended up reaching was... by no means a house. No, it was a freaking Mansion!

How is this a place to buy a house?! This looks like a millionaire's mansion! Look, they even have guards! I bet this is some noble's residence.

Hmm, did I take a wrong turn somewhere?

The location I followed should have an office or store for the house broker but this place didn't give that feeling at all.

Being unsure what to do, I asked the guard on duty if this was the right place to enquire about buying a house.

"Yes, it is. Head inside." (Guard)

I was let inside the main gate, towards the side garden which had a pretty fountain with a beautiful tea-drinking space.

I believe they are called something… But I don't remember what. Never had the luxury to see one in real life. At least until now.

The scenery from inside was quite eye-pleasing. I was unsure if I had entered the right place, even after the guard had affirmed my doubt. This was all too fancy.

A butler soon came up with a cup of tea and baked snacks and asked me to wait.

"The Master would soon join you, sir. Please enjoy these snacks and tea until then." (Butler)

"Thank you very much."

I sat there enjoying the tea and snacks and looking at the garden.

"I wish I could afford a house with such a lovely garden. But it probably costs a fortune. I'll have to sell all of my organs and even then I might not be able to afford them. Sigh. Seriously, rich people are insane."

After a quarter of an hour, a man with fancy clothing, seemingly in his mid-30s with blonde hair and a neatly trimmed mustache, came to me.

Seeing his persona, I subconsciously stood up.

"Welcome, dear customer. My name is Fredrick Garcell, the owner of this fine land and a merchant and landowner by profession. I was informed that you seek housing. Is that correct?"

"Ye-yes. I asked the Adventurer's Guild and was told to come here."

"That's splendid! You've come to the right place. So, what do you have in mind for your house? Any preference?"

"Uhm, I'm looking for a nice cozy home with a garden and a bath in a secure location. Preferably in a quiet place in a good neighborhood. Could you also please tell me how much would something like that cost me?"

"I see. I see. I certainly have some that come to mind. As for the estimate, it'll depend on individual houses, their land taxes, and locality, but it can go from anywhere around 1 Gold for the houses in the outer residential area to 100 Golds in the inner residential area. Most inner residents are well-built mansions with 10s of rooms and wide gardens so it's only natural they will be costly."

"Ah, I'm not looking for something too big since I'll be probably living alone. (With Shiro) So, something like a medium-sized house will be great. My current budget is around 40 Golds but I would like the price to be under that."

"Oho? With such a good budget I can surely provide you with good options. I have more or less understood your requirements. How about we head out to see some sites right now? Is that okay with you?"

"Ah, yes. I'm with that."

"I'll order for the carriage, then."

We entered a fancy carriage which seemed to be Mr. Garcell's private carriage and headed off to see the properties.

Thinking about it now, why did I decide to buy a house and not rent it? Oh well, not that it matters now. Since I have the funds, I might as well.

The first house he showed me was a small single-floor house in the outer district. He showed me the cheapest first since I had asked so. It was quite good for a single person, me, but I didn't like the stone bath and there wasn't much of a garden that I was wishing for. Perhaps seeing Mr. Garcell's garden made me want to have one as well. Because before that, I wasn't particularly looking for it. The house was pretty cheap though, sitting at just 3 gold coins. After that, he showed me a few more outer district houses but none seemed to tickle my fancy.

So we moved to the inner residential area to look for fancier ones.

Here, the houses were pretty big and spacious. Each of them had at least 7 to 10 bedrooms with a kitchen, living room, dining room, and bathrooms. Some even had sheds on the side and basements for storage. Every single one of them had a nice garden filled with a variety of flowers and primed bushes.

They were certainly nice to look at, but I felt like managing all that might be very hard on my own. I didn't want mansions in the first place.

No, before that, did they even fit in my budget range?

"These houses are all good but it'll be pretty difficult to handle the cleaning and such on my own."

Maybe I should select one from the outer distinct after all.

Even if they didn't quite have everything, they were quite okay though. Besides, I wasn't going to live in the house here forever. It was still a temporary stay after all.

"Dear customer, if it's the housing chores, why not buy slaves and let them do it? It's indeed unreasonable to do the cleaning yourself when you're spending so much money on these beautiful properties. Hiring live-in servants is also an option but seeing you, I would personally recommend slaves."

"Seeing me?"

Do I look like someone who would like to have slaves? What the hell?

My face was about to make an ugly expression at his comment but he gave his explanation before that.

"They're more trustworthy and you don't need to worry about paying them or them stealing from you. For an adventurer who spends most of his time outside doing quests, it's much better to have trustworthy servants. So, unless you know of someone who can be like that, slaves are your best choice."

"Well, it certainly makes sense but still…"

I don't know if I can buy slaves.

No, it isn't a matter of can and can't. I shouldn't!

"Having slaves with me might not be good for my mental well-being."

I thought it would be too depressing. Could I even look a slave in the eye? An eye that was probably gloomy and lifeless since it has a bleak present and future with no freedom.

"I'm sure you know, but the life of an adventurer is full of uncertainty. In the absence of family or a lover, it's nice to come home and still have someone serve you warm food and service."

He gave me a warm smile.

"No, I get that, but it's slaves, you know. I would feel awful to have such unfortunate people. Slavery doesn't go well with my morals."

I don't know why I was giving various excuses and why he was listening and replying but our discussion on slaves continued like this.

"It is a matter of how well you treat them. I own slaves too. Mine, if I do say so myself, are very happy to serve. I am grateful to have such loyal servants. I take pride in them."

Mr. Fredrick Garcell. What a crazy person to casually say such things! Alas, as he said, it was common sense here. This is just how their society was structured.

Well, from his perspective this was a normal conversation. There was nothing he said that was considered offensive or rude. He was just stating facts. It was me who got his mind messed up from it.

Going by that argument, slaves seemed like normal servants. Perhaps slavery wasn't as horrible in this world as I was thinking. The shopkeeper before did say slavery wasn't that bad in this country.

"Well, no need to rush things. It's your choice what kind of servant you want. But if you do decide to buy them, my acquaintance is a reputable slave merchant. I will give you his address. I'm sure you've heard but the famous brothel around the entertainment district is his. I personally guarantee his products. The slaves I mean, not the brothel. I haven't visited that place. My wife would murder me if I did hahaha."

We laughed at his light-hearted joke. This person initially gave off the feeling that he might be high and mighty when I first saw him, but he was surprisingly normal and used polite language. He didn't look down upon me or anything and was very properly doing his job.

We fell silent for a while as he appeared to be thinking about something, but then he spoke.

"I have this particular property I would like to show you. It's been sitting empty for a while but I can guarantee its location, features, and size. It also fits within the range you're looking for. It has a nice garden and a decent bath. Of course, the cleaning will be done by us so you will get a clean house. How about it? Shall we take a look?"

"Oh, okay. But may I ask why it's been empty?"

It's not bad property, right? Surely he won't show me a troublesome property.

Perhaps he read my thought, he immediately cleared it.

"Ah, that's not because the land is problematic. It's a beautiful house with legal paperwork, but there's been a spirit living inside the house for generations. And it won't accept most people that come to live here. With such an issue, people tend to avoid this house and it has fallen into my hands. I've been looking out for possible suitors but haven't yet found any. The spirit isn't the evil kind that needs to be exorcised but most people don't take kindly to an unaccepting spirit casually living in their home."

A spirit, eh? I'm curious.

So, not only did spirits exist here, one was actually living inside a house I was supposed to see and possibly buy.

"That's quite intriguing. I've never seen a spirit before. What does it look like?"

"From the few eye-witnesses, they have seen a green light, so possibly a forest-type spirit but they have mostly witnessed things moving on their own and even heard noises of a girl at night. It sounded less like a spirit and more like a wandering ghost. You can see why they felt uncomfortable living in such circumstances."

Certainly, that would be a scary experience. I'm not particularly afraid of ghosts but I'm quite curious about this one.

"How do you know it's a spirit and not a ghost?"

"Because the house has been exorcised. Any remnants of ghosts would have been purified from that. But since it didn't work, the priests concluded it is a spirit rather than a ghost."

"And why is it that you think I'll be able to live there?"

I mean, if the spirit doesn't accept anyone, then I'll probably suffer the same fate.

"Hmm, I don't know. I just made that recommendation on a whim. It's not like we have much to lose by checking it out. If by any chance it doesn't work, then I'll just have to look for other houses for you."

"I see. Then it's fine, I guess. I'm looking forward to meeting a spirit in real life. Haha."

"Ah, seems like we've reached our destination. Do you see that house over the small hill? That's the one."

Where Mr. Fredrick pointed stood a two-floor high house with a peculiar roof. There was an overgrown garden surrounding the house, and a wooden fence covered the house and garden in a square-like boundary. There were a few trees on one side of the garden that seemed like a nice place to have an afternoon nap on a warm summer day. The surrounding houses were quite a distance away so it felt quite open.

We exited the carriage and I was led inside the house through a small verandah. Its walls seemed to be made up of circular stones. It gave the feeling of being old but it wasn't run-down. The inside was bright from the window lights. On the ground floor, there was a living room, kitchen, dining room, a bedroom, and a middle-ages styled toilet near the back. There was also a door near the kitchen that led to the backyard which was also quite big. I could make small farms here with so much space and grow my own vegetables and spices. Shiro would also have plenty of space to jump and jump around.

The upper floor had 3 more bedrooms and a decent-sized balcony facing the front and another, much smaller one, facing the back. One could place some chairs and a small table and make it a nice spot to relax and look out at the sky and garden. The view from up there was also lovely since the house was at a higher elevation than its surroundings.

The house was, simply, beautiful. I immediately fell in love with it. It was the kind of house I wanted to live and grow old in. It was just the coziest home I had seen around here.

"This house is really beautiful. I honestly have no complaints."

"I'm glad to hear that. The land tax here has been reduced and as you can see it's not so congested as the houses in the outer district. The spirit might come in contact with you if it feels like it, but if you don't mind that, I think this could be it. What do you say?"

"I haven't seen the spirit but I love this property. I would like to buy it."

"Splendid."

Honestly, I was still curious about the spirit but in any case, I wanted this house.

"How much does it cost?"

"Let's head to the carriage as we discuss the price."

We left the estate and riding the carriage traveled back to Mr. Fredrick's mansion. During the ride, he told me the price

"Including the land tax, maintenance costs, and other things, I think a total of 40 Golds would be suitable for the whole place. I'll hand over the house in a prim and proper condition, with rooms all cleaned and the garden mowed. You can move in immediately once it's ready."

"40 Golds, huh."

That was most of the Gold coins I possessed at the moment.

"You told me about the discount…"

"Discount, huh?"

What do you mean? Don't tell me you forgot.

"That's understandable. I also desire to have that lovely estate sold so... How about 35 Golds and 5 Large Silvers? It's a great price. I have tried my best to reduce it so it's perfect, well under your budget of 40 Golds.

I still didn't know if it was a good price or not, but it was indeed within my budget. And I did quite like the house.

"Okay, then. I guess we'll go with that."

This is probably fine, right? I managed to haggle it down by 5 Gold coins.

Damn, I wish my mom was here right now. She might have been able to tell. My knowledge of this is almost negligible.

Even the apartment that I lived in before I got here was something my mother found and rented. She managed to reduce the price to two-thirds of what the landlord asked for. Housewives were the real MVP when it came to such things. Ignorant man-children like me were only there to get looted. Perhaps I was also paying more than I should have. But since I couldn't do anything about it, I decided to stop thinking about it.

Mr. Garcell seemed to brighten up with this deal.

"Wonderful! I'll prepare the contract once we reach my home. As for when I can hand it over, I would like to request a week to make it all ready for you to move in. Does that suit you?"

3 days, huh? I think I can manage. He'll give me an agreement though, right?

"Yes. That's fine with me."

A while later, we reached Mr. Fredrick's mansion. I was once again made to wait in the tea garden place for a while when he came back with an official contract paper, a fancy feather ink pen, and a stamp.

The agreement discussed the standard rules and regulations about the handling and usage of the land, building and explained the yearly tax which was about 2 Gold coins. Since I owned the land, I was allowed to do anything I wanted on it. This was the benefit of having your own property rather than renting it. I could do whatever I liked with that place. It was all mine to adjust to my liking. Though, I liked the way it looked originally.

I signed the contract and paid 20 Golds in advance. I was told that the rest of it can be paid once I get my hands on the estate keys.

Also, the tax money for the first 5 years had already been included in this payment so I didn't have to worry about that for the time being.

I was given a copy of the same contract as proof. There were a total of 3 copies. One for the city council, one for Mr. Fredrick, and one for me. Each of them was identical. I was made to read each of them carefully to see if there were any discrepancies in them.

With my contract established, I was ready to leave the place. By the way, he also gave me the address of the slave trader and a big merchant shop to buy furniture and other necessities. I was still not sure if I was going to buy slaves, though. I would be thinking about it later when I reach my inn room to relax.

The rest of the day I just fooled around checking out the town and eating more street food. I also found a restaurant which had a good crowd. Seeing the crowd and happy customers, I concluded they must have great food. I would one day visit it and try some of their dishes. I wasn't short on funds. Yet.

***