127 A Place to Return P1

Morning 7 AM. Earth.

A humble one-story, small house right on the borders of Goldfield Ghost town. The Elysian city-state of Phoenix.

Eren opened his eyes and felt puzzled.

Something was amiss. He felt puzzled because this was not his room. He felt like he had been brought to an unknown place.

‘Was I drunk last night?’

Eren shook his head and sat upright on the bed.

‘Naah. The hangover would have been much worse than just a sore back.’

Eren thought to himself as he stretched his arms. The bed he had slept on last night was as stiff as a rock. However, his strained back could be fixed by channeling his mana throughout his body. So it wasn’t something to mull over.

Eren looked around himself. He had slept on an oddly placed bed in the middle of an oddly shaped room. There were a bunch of unpacked boxes lying around the bed.

The place reeked of old people and custard pies. It wasn’t dusty per se. But it needed a thorough cleaning.

This room was a bit smaller than Eren’s usual room. Yet, the windows were larger, letting plenty of sunlight enter his room.

There were no expensive gadgets in the room. It was as basic as basic could get. Just some wooden furniture that wouldn’t be missed if it just went and disappeared in the next moment.

The place gave off a feeling of desolation. As if someone had just left the house to be occupied by someone who didn’t seem that interested in renovating.

This was not the Green household he had come to associate himself with during his childhood. This was as if…

‘Oh!’

Eren was reminded why the room felt different. This was his room. This was his own house. He had bought the place last night.

Eren smiled bitterly as he looked around the room with newfound realization. The guy couldn’t be blamed. It was as if he had been living two lives ever since he was introduced to the world of Gilaahan.

A worthless buy.

This was what Reece had called the place after she learned that Eren was buying this house that was just a block away from her own house. It had been bought by him from an old mortal couple who were happy to sell it to him for the price he paid.

Reece had tried to tell Eren that he didn’t need to buy any property back on Earth. This is because just like her, he had also planned to move to Gilaahan when he reached Awakened rank. That and the fact that he was always welcome in the Green household.

Reece had also tried to tell Eren that her mother Rumi would have also objected to him buying the house instead of spending his newfound wealth on ranking resources. The most infuriating thing for Reece was the fact that Eren had agreed with her logic.

“I know this would be seen as a worthless purchase, Reece. But I want to buy the place nonetheless.

My reason is simple. Before starting my journey, I want a place that I can call home. A place to return to. A place that beckons me to come when I am out and about.’

Eren had tried to reason his buy with Reece. The girl just didn’t know where his talk of ‘needing a place to return’ came from. She had thought that her house served that purpose well.

But Eren managed to sweet-talk Reece into following along with his wishes. She had also come to understand that this was more of an emotional decision than something that was based on practicality.

Eren also made Reece see that his house was only a minute away from her house on foot. As such, nothing really changed in their routine. This realization soothed Reece up. She then helped him pack his things and move them to his new place.

The old couple had kept the house in pretty decent condition. So Eren decided to not add or replace anything to it. After moving his stuff into boxes, he slept on the bed he had purchased in the sale.

‘Buying things on sale is never a good idea.’

He said to himself and shook his head in disappointment.

Eren didn’t have much stuff, to begin with. Plus, his storage space came in handy. He didn’t have to struggle like the mortal couple.

Eren couldn’t tell Reece that the original Vik in him was still alive. He had lived his entire life on the run– always moving. He had lived a nomadic life in a true sense until he died.

As such, now that he had been given a second chance, Eren wanted to change that part about him. He might become more nomadic in the future because of the existence of Numbered Oases. Weeks, months, or even years would go by before he would be able to enjoy his time back on earth and back to his house.

Plus, buying a house was not a one-time expenditure. He would have to pay the taxes. Taxes in the Elysian city-states weren’t something to be laughed at.

But Eren didn’t care. He knew he could always get more money as long as he was active in the Numbered Oases. After all, he was able to buy the place after completing just one kingdom-level mission.

Bulal Blood’s bounty reward had given Eren the confidence to buy the place. He still had about 100 Mana Quartz remaining on him even after buying the place. To the previous Eren, this amount would have been enough to last for months on end.

Reece had suggested Eren should pay his loan instead of buying the house on Earth. But Eren begged to differ. The loan amount was still too high for him to be done with it even after he spent all the money he had earned.

He might as well buy the place and worry about the loan amount later. He wasn’t thinking of breaking away from the Stardust guild just yet. It had just received a three-star rating. It was bound to rise to new heights. Eren wanted to make use of the guild’s success to further his ranking journey as well.