I heard that Martina was going to the capital, but I never expected to meet her here.
I looked at Martina as she approached us with a delighted face. It had been a while since I had seen her out of her school uniform. Given her flashy outfit, she must be on a date or something.
As I rolled my eyes and glanced around, I spotted a middle-aged man staring at us. Did she come with her father? I turned my attention back to Martina and asked.
“I take it you came with your father?”
“Yes, that’s right. We were visiting a noble’s residence nearby for work and are having a meal on our way back.”
“Long time no see, Lady Martina.”
“Ah, Lord Bolt! It’s been a while since I saw you. How is your wife?”
“Of course. These days, she’s taken a liking to gardening, so it’s hard to catch her.”
Looks like he knows Lord Bolt too. This guy has quite the network.
“Sounds like quite the hardship.”
“It’s just part of my duties as a successor. By the way…”
Martina trailed off, quietly looking at me.
“…Who is the lady beside you?”
Martina’s gaze was precisely on Rue. Karina… seems to have caught on already. We’ve known each other long enough that changing hair color and eye color wouldn’t help conceal identities.
“…This is Rue.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ll explain the details later, but let’s leave it for now. It’s a bit…”
“Ah, I understand. She’s a guest, then.”
[I’m not a guest—]
“Shh!” I shot a glare at Rue and then spoke to Martina.
“We’ll meet again later. I have something to discuss—”
“Oh my, saying that in front of a lady isn’t polite, you know.”
I know. That’s why I’m currently being pinched in the side. I forced a smile, trying my best not to show it.
“I know. I just want to talk about ‘business.’”
Being accustomed to politics, Martina seemed to catch on quickly and replied with a smile.
“Oh, it seems you brought an interesting item. I look forward to it, Sir Quartz.”
Martina returned to her seat. I turned to the long-abandoned Lord Bolt, who was watching me with curiosity and smiling.
“I didn’t expect Sir Quartz to have an acquaintance like Lady Raymond.”
“Well, with the escort duty taking me into the classrooms, I’ve gotten to know the students quite well.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Guests. The appetizers have been served.”
Is it already time to bring out the menu? We grabbed our forks and knives as the dishes were placed on the table.
—————–
“This is the third mansion.”
“…It’s pretty standard.”
“Yes. You know, the more unique a house is, the more of a hassle it is to live in, right?”
I half-listened to Lord Bolt’s response as I surveyed the mansion. The first mansion was to the west of the capital, the second to the south, and this one to the east.
But aside from the location and roof color, they all looked quite similar.
It’s somewhat disappointing.
“Are the structures similar?”
“Yes, all three buildings were built around the same time, so they have similar layouts.”
“Hm… Are there any other mansions available?”
“Anything better would cost an arm and a leg. Are you okay with that?”
…It seems like he assumed I didn’t have much money, focusing mainly on the cheaper houses—a considerate but unnecessary gesture.
“It’s fine.”
“Then I’ll show you a few more.”
We immediately boarded the carriage and headed to a mansion closer to the center, differing from the others we’d seen.
“This was the property owned by Count Alva. After his family fell from grace, the mansion was naturally put up for auction.”
“It’s huge here! It looks at least twice the size!”
“Hehe, yes, it does.”
Definitely better than the cheap places. The garden is spacious, the mansion larger, and the design feels more upscale. If the previously seen mansions barely qualified as mansions, this one certainly radiated the vibe of a ‘luxury mansion.’
“I want to take a look inside, is that possible?”
“Of course! This way, please!”
Lord Bolt pulled a set of keys from his pouch, inserting one into the old door’s keyhole. With the creak of rusty hinges, the door opened, and we stepped inside to explore the mansion.
“What do you think?”
“It’s worth the higher price.”
“Haha, of course, with the price doubled, that’s to be expected.”
Double would be about 10,000 gold coins?
That’s quite expensive.
Not that I can’t pay it.
“Are there more mansions? Ideally, something even better.”
“Better than this mansion?”
“Yes.”
“But houses of better quality than this go for…”
“How much are we talking?”
“Pardon?”
“How much are we talking?”
“The contract, I mean, Johann has plenty of money!”
“Johann, don’t spend too much…”
“It’s fine. This level of spending is manageable.”
“At least double that…”
“That’s acceptable. Let’s proceed, but it must meet the conditions I mentioned.”
Lord Bolt reluctantly took us to a mansion in the north of the capital.
The mansion he introduced looked a bit smaller than Count Alva’s, but the material of the building and the surrounding transportation were all impeccable.
What I liked most was that there was a hill behind it, and that hill was included in the mansion’s grounds. I couldn’t tell why, but from my perspective, it was a good deal.
“I’ll show you the interiors as well.”
As we had done before, we entered the mansion to start our exploration. It was clear that this place boasted an extravagant price; the materials used in construction appeared to be of premium quality, and the soundproofing was impressive.
Unlike the previous mansions, this one did not show its age as prominently. While the others seemed to be decades old, this mansion looked relatively modern.
“When was this mansion built?”
“Three years ago.”
“Quite recent. But why is it still empty?”
“The noble who built this mansion fell into gambling…”
Lord Bolt trailed off at the end, but I figured out what he meant. He lost it all to gambling.
“I see, that’s unfortunate.”
“It has been quite a while without a buyer, but no one has decided to purchase this mansion.”
“Is there a particular reason?”
“When buying a house in the capital, usually it’s for local nobles to have a place to stay. So, expensive houses like this one are hard to sell. Moreover, this isn’t a trending style, and due to its material, renovating the mansion is also no easy feat.”
“Material… what type?”
“That mansion is built with granite directly sourced from a volcano far away. Thus, renovating it would require a lot of effort and money… It would be more convenient to secure a decent mansion in the capital’s downtown.”
“Interesting.”
Must be quite a distance to get materials from a volcanic area?
Whoever it was really put a great deal of effort into it. If they took so much trouble in this era, it must have been costly.
“Rina, what do you think?”
“I think whatever Johann chooses will be fine.”
“What about me? Aren’t I allowed to ask?”
“What’s the point of asking your opinion?”
The one licking the wall, remarking on the material’s uniqueness.
Rue glared at me as if displeased, but I quickly flicked her forehead and spoke to Lord Bolt.
“I’ll take this one.”
If I want to do something secretly, a house in this location is perfect. Plus, it’s easy to modify it into a shelter with a bit of creativity.
“30,000 gold coins isn’t a small sum… are you sure?”
Taking a piece of paper from my pocket, I said,
“Just call someone to bring the gold.”
——————-
“Wow! This mansion is huge! Lulu! Terry! Let’s go explore! Johann! I’m off to explore the mansion!”
“Got it, meow!”
“W-wonderful…”
“Wow… Uncle sure spent a lot of money. Can I really stay here?”
“Incredible…”
“I can’t even put it into words. Johann, to think you can stay in such a mansion…”
“Johann, how much did you spend?”
“30,000 gold coins.”
“What?”
What’s with all the surprise? I glanced at Sif, whose tail and ears shot up in shock upon hearing the amount.
“30,000…? A month’s worth of meals at Yeomyeong-gwan is about 60 gold coins, so that’s around 42 years…”
“Calm down, Sif.”
“A-a-a-a-am I allowed to live in a place like this…?”
Her voice completely broke down. With a cute cat-girl trembling in my embrace, I said,
“You can live here as long as you want.”
“Johann…”
“Johann, that’s unfair. I want a hug too.”
“Ah, Karina. Of course.”
The two looked up at me from my arms, their lovely eyes glistening with yearning. I pretended to ponder for a moment before scooping them both up and bringing their faces close to mine.
“…Why would a solo suffer?”
Ignoring Renny’s grumbling from behind, I pulled my lips away and looked up at the mansion.
Now that’s what you call flexing.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.