Chapter 100: Strange offer

"Maybe this one?"

After following the first few steps from the list that the Dean gave to Fen, the young man quickly received a nicely heavy bag filled with the coins. Leaving the academy grounds right after, it was true that the young duo went north into the Khateria's district, but as soon as they reached a huge bridge that connected two parts of the city together, Fen didn't hesitate even for a second to change their direction.

Still, by this point no one could be any wiser about where the two of them were going towards… but that statement could hold true only for the time that they spent on the bridge itself. As soon as their feet reached the stable ground, Fen and Arla took the right turn, completely ignoring the Katheria's district, and aiming for the lands that the academy dean advised them to leave alone.

"Are you really sure? I understand that you don't want to put a burden on our finances, but we will be living there for an extended period of time! Don��t you think we should look for something… more presentable?"

The streets in the Gauna city were nearly as busy as they were in Akhaz, making it kind of dangerous to openly speak in negative terms about something close. With how it was still their first day in this place, neither Fen nor Arla had any idea how the people would react to it if even. 

"Well, that's why I told you, you should pick yourself. I don't mind living in the worst possible place as long as I get to live with you."

Pulling herself even closer to Fen's side, the girl cleverly used him as the current breaker that shielded her from the constantly shifting flux of the crowd. Instantly seeing through the girl's intention, Fen only smiled.

'It's lovely to see how the confidence that she has in bed, is slowly starting to appear in her daily activities.'

To the young man, observing the slow changes happening to Arla was akin to watching some kind of small pet that he took care off and watched as it grew. Feeling how strongly the girl was grasping his fingers in her hand, Fen only shook his head before moving away from the building that had the sign that it was available too rent. After all, if the paint was already scalding down its walls and the roof was clearly filled with holes, the quality of life that one can live inside was definitely below the minimal level that Fen was willing to settle on.

"Hey, how about that place?"

Noticing yet another sign, identical to the one that was hanging on the ruined building that Arla pointed at before, Fen couldn't hold his excitement back. From the several tries that they made in the previous possible places, they already knew what were the possible prices for different types of places. Depending on the quality, distance from the main city roads, distance from the academy and marketplace, the price for a house could fluctuate from just two silvers a week all the way to over forty of them! Obviously, given how neither of them was willing to be silent at night as it was still one of the greatest perks of getting together in the way the two of them did, looking for renting juts a single room was out of the question!

"Don't you think it might be… quite expensive?"

Just a quick look at the building that Fen pointed out was enough for Arla for her face and entire body to shake a bit. From this reaction alone the young man could tell how excited she was at the prospect of living in such a nice place, yet didn't dare to show it openly, anxious she would appear as typical gold-digger to him.

"There is nothing wrong with seeing it and asking for the price, is there?"

Moving a few tens of steps further, the two of them finally arrived in front of the building that Fen took notice off. Compared to the other houses in the vincity, it was relatively small, instantly doubling its price. Given how densely populated the entire city was, it wasn't anything uncommon for the buildings to grow several storeys high, turning them from a single house to a shared one, where each level would correspond to a single house that one could rent. 

That's why low-rise buildings were as expensive as they were uncommon. Once added the fact that the place had a front-yard filled with flowers and a small garden surrounded by hedge on its backside already proved that getting a good price for it would be a tough nut to crack.

"Hello?"

After knocking a few times on the front door, Fen backed out from the entryway as to not startle anyone who would come from the inside. Taking a quick look at the pastel colours of the pain that covered the entire outer elevation of the building, Fen couldn't help but wonder how the insides of this building would look like if the outside presentation was already so cosy.

"I'm coming!"

An authoritative, deep voice resounded before the thick doors that barred entry to anyone without the keys opened, revealing a monstrous figure of the biggest man that Fen ever had a chance to see. While Mark, his former teacher in Akhaz, had quite a presentable figure as well, when compared to this beer in a human skin that showed himself with a smile on his face, the Mark would come out as nothing but a midget!

"So, how can I help you two?"

Just a single glance at the pair was most likely enough for the man to gauge the reason behind their visit. Not even waiting for the reply, the man moved back into the room as the doorway was not even close of being big enough to house his enormous build before turning sideways and reaching his hand towards the insides of the building.

"Come on in."

Nodding with respect at the nice invitation, Fen tightened his hands on Arla's face before making his way inside. And right off the bat, the two of them noticed that the outer look of the building belied what was inside of it.

Sadly, in the worst possible meaning of it.

"Ugh… I'm sorry, but seeing how it looks… I'm nearly certain we won't be able to afford it."

Unable to move even a step deeper into the house in worries of dirtying its perfectly polished floor with his shoes, Fen could only shake his head in disappointment. If one could have high hopes for this place just by looking at it from the outside, then the insides could be considered to reach the level of a palace!

"Well, it's not as expensive as it looks like. I can rent it for just twelve silvers a week, and bring down this price to ten if you were to rent it in long term. Obviously, in that case, a deposit of two months worth of the rent would be necessary."

Quickly explaining himself with an uneasy smile, the man proved that he was as anxious about the entire thing as the Fen and Arla were.

"I'm sorry… But given how we are just a pair of poor students at the academy, there is no way we will be able to afford it. Heck, if I had this kind of allowance in the first place, we wouldn't need to play tricks with the dean to find a place to live in this district!"

Sensing something strange about the man that owned the room, Fen decided to go all in. Worst case scenario, they would be thrown away from the place, losing the face to all the people that were outside… But how could one be bothered with it? 

As someone who faced death on multiple occasions in his short life, Fen couldn't really care less about stuff like saving his face or growing his reputation. Right now, he was completely unknown in this city, so no matter how greatly he would fail in his early days, no one would ever remember it if he were to become someone commonly known in the future!

"Oh, so you are students! You should've said so from the very beginning!"

Suddenly erupting with tubal laughter, the man got so overjoyed that he actually had to hold his belly with his hands, as if worried that his impressive stomach would use this opportunity to escape from his body.

"Since you are students… I might have two offers for you. Come with me."

Ignoring the stunned and curious at the same time gazes of the young pair, the huge man gestured at them as he moved towards what looked like a simple and small staircase. 

"Down there, there is a basement. Since I work and live as a mercenary, I store all my weapons and amour there. This house… Is something that I built for my wife. Now that she's gone, I just hoped to rent it to someone who could take proper care for it."

Taking a quick look behind, the burly man sent a wink to the young guests of his.

"Hence the high price for this place. I thought that if someone will try to haggle for the price too much, that would be a clear giveaway that he wouldn't care for the place either. But going back to the topic."

Standing at the head of the corridor that barely allowed him to walk straight, the huge man pointed at the three, tightly shut doors.

"One of these places is a basement, the other one is my personal storage while the third is just a spare room that Leila wanted to turn into her workshop. If you can promise me three things, I'm willing to cut the price in half for you."

There was a reason why the man introduced them to this place in a way more detailed way than any of the homeowners that they asked for it did previously. Noticing what this huge man was hinting at, Fen only sighed heavily before asking.

"And what would be that three things?"

His question couldn't make the man happier. With even the glints of sadness that appeared in his eyes once he mentioned his wife disappearing, he pointed at each respective door.

"First, I will keep the free room for myself. Whenever I will be back in the city from work, I will use it as my sleeping place. You should know better than anyone how costly it is to rent a place for the night in this town."

Smiling mischievously at his own memory, the man moved his hand over the next set of doors.

"The storage promise. Given how I don't really care about the mundane duties, whenever I will be back in town, I don't want to think about stuff like cooking or cleaning. If you can promise that whenever I'm back you will cook proper meals for me, I will consider the second promise to be fulfilled."

While this demand sounded quite weird, Fen could understand what the man was hinting at. During the times back in the village, before his life turned on itself, Fen would hate the moments when after coming back to the orphanage with his prey, instead of taking proper rest, he would have to spend hours on the mundane duties. For the two of them, helping this man out in this regard wasn't anything more than a slight bother, but it could be paid for with way lower price!

"And the last thing, since you are from the academy and you spoke about the dean, I assume you are not only arcanists but also the promotion token holders!"

Suddenly, the man's disposition changed. No longer his eyes seemed to be completely filled with energy and joy, now replaced by an immense load of hate and relentless anger.

"If you promise me that after receiving the sufficient teachings, at least one of you will help me avenge my wife, I will consider the third promise to be fulfilled."

As sudden as his previous change was, the man returned to yet another self of his, now presenting the complete lack of interest in the decision of the two people in front of him.

"That, or you will join the modernist faction with me being the beneficiary so that the Ratheath would provide me with the help I need by themselves. Those are the three promises I need you to give me if you want to pay just five silvers per week for this house!"