到了第二天下午，十二颗晶莹的冰焰猎犬蛋全部孵化了出来，十几只毛茸茸的小狗精神抖擞，在房间里蹦蹦跳跳，到处乱跑。为了方便辨认，洛伦特给它们取了个简单的名字，小一、小二、小三……一直到小十二，简单又实用。不过席拉姆看着小狗们时，总是忍不住露出同情的目光，这让洛伦特很不爽。
当然，洛伦特不会把这些小家伙都留给自己。最终，它们会找到自己的家，只有那时，它们才适合拥有自己真正的名字。现在，有办法区分它们就足够了。洛伦特心里想着，他应该尽快给它们配上不同颜色的项圈，以帮助区分这些几乎一模一样的小狗。
在和小狗相处了几天后，洛伦特发现自己最初的兴奋感已经消退，开始想要逃跑。这大概是每个新父母都会经历的体验，洛伦特也早早尝到了其中的滋味。另一方面，当小家伙因为试图抢走兄弟姐妹的奶碗而变得如此焦躁，以至于从尾巴上射出一个拳头大小的火球时，西拉姆开始对这些小恶魔怀有通常只对光之神怀有的崇敬之情。
洛伦特毫无愧疚之感地将这两个小捣蛋鬼交给了自己的哥哥，独自沿着主干道向城里走去。
在这个世界，因为魔兽的存在，并没有马、牛之类的交通工具，普通百姓只能依靠自己的双腿行走，当然，高等级的骑士和魔法师有特殊能力，可以强行制服1级魔兽当坐骑，或者用魔法解放双腿，再加上传送阵的普及，这个世界已经出现了明显的分化，有钱人或者职业人士可能前一刻还在莫普兰，后一刻却在霍兰多，前一刻还在洛普洛山脉守护智慧生物的第一道防线，后一刻却已经在教会圣地圣拉维斯沐浴着圣光。
然而洛伦特本人却尚未享受到这个世界的便利，对于他这样出身普通的人来说，这个世界大多充满了不便，幸好他家住在距离莫普兰城最近的一个小镇，人们称之为“一环小镇”，步行十分钟就能到达城墙。
这座庞大的城市名叫莫普兰，据说是因一千多年前骑士职业创始人的女儿而得名。骑士城四周环绕着高耸的石墙，从外面看就像一座巨大的堡垒。城中心矗立着一座依山而建的巨大城堡，据说普通人绕城墙走一圈也要花上两三天的时间。莫普兰的外城就是围绕着这座宏伟的城堡而扩建的。
如今，莫普兰被八条主干道划分为八个主要区域，每条道路宽逾百米，从城门直达中央城堡。每个区域都以骑士的美德之一命名：谦逊、荣誉、勇敢、牺牲、仁慈、精神、诚实和正义。
The district closest to Lorent’s home was "Humility," where the city’s middle class resided. The largest building in the district was the Knight Academy, so naturally, the majority of the residents here were students, teachers, and their families.
Lorent, well-versed in navigating the area, peeled off a large piece of bark from a tree just outside the city gate, placed a few sticks beneath it, and tied it to the soles of his shoes with grass ropes, serving as makeshift temporary lifts. The reason for this became obvious once he entered the city gate, where Lorent couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose and cover his face.
It was hard to imagine, without experiencing it firsthand, just how filthy and chaotic a city could be. The nobles invented high heels and wide-brimmed hats not for fashion, but to avoid stepping in... what the second-floor residents dumped from their windows, and to avoid stepping directly into... well, less pleasant things on the streets. So naturally, the air in this city wasn't exactly fragrant.
Walking along the edge of the main road that led straight to the central castle, Lorent continued for about ten more minutes until he reached the door of the Adventurer’s Guild. This was the branch of the Adventurer’s Guild for the Humility District. The Guild was a five-story building, with the first floor open to the public as a general mission hall, while access to the floors above required a higher adventurer rank.
Lorent entered the first floor and headed directly to the task window at the back. Behind the tall wooden counter stood a round-faced girl with two braids draped over her shoulders. Lorent knocked on the counter. "Hello, I’d like to check on the status of my posted tasks."
Lorent handed over a small stone with faintly glowing runes inside — a token he had received when posting a task here previously. When an adventurer registers with the guild, they receive this basic magical token, which must be presented every time they post or accept a task. Since Lorent’s task was a fixed-price purchase request, he only needed to register it here and then go back home to wait. As for when someone might submit the requested items, well, this basic token had no way of providing updates — one could only guess.
Of course, if you advanced your adventurer rank and acquired a higher-level token, it was said that you could receive notifications within a certain distance.
A month ago, Lorent had posted a task to purchase shards of ice and fire attribute crystals to make a special feed for the crystal ice-flame hounds. Now that the pups had hatched, they could only drink the nutrient formula for another two or three days. Although the general nutrient potion could sustain both magical beasts and pets, a specialized formula would help the pups develop better. If they were fed well from the start, they would be able to use all of their innate abilities in about a month. Lorent had high hopes for this batch of pups, wanting to raise them plump and strong as the first mascots of his future pet shop.
“Alright, please wait a moment.” The girl gave a standard smile and busied herself behind the counter. “Sir, you currently have several active tasks posted with the guild.”
“Currently, the tasks that have received feedback are: ‘Purchase 10 Striped Grass, 5 silver coins each,’ ‘Purchase 10 Bewitching Flowers, 5 silver coins each,’ ‘Purchase ice attribute crystal shards, 20 silver coins each,’ and ‘Purchase fire attribute crystal shards, 20 silver coins each.’”
She rattled off a long list in one breath and then took a big gulp of air.
“And finally, there’s a task for the purchase of a live ‘Brain-Eater Monkey’ with a negotiable price. Last week, a team from the Camquo Region left a message saying they’d be heading to the Black Forest next week and were interested in negotiating terms with you. If the price is right, they’d consider accepting the task.”
Lorent was quite pleased. The purchase requests for the two common plant-based Level 1 magical beasts weren’t surprising, and crystal shards were often used by mages, clerics, and high-level knights to replenish spiritual power and aid in their training. Each crystal could be infused and drained of spiritual energy multiple times, but when its capacity was reached, it would lose its power and become a shard. So, in theory, even in the Knight Academy stronghold, while crystal shards weren’t as abundant as in the mage capital of Sacolon, they still weren’t particularly rare. For most professionals, crystal shards were essentially useless garbage after being used, so Lorent’s offer of 20 silver coins was enough to buy a large bag of them.
But the most delightful news was about the "Brain-Eater Monkey." Lorent’s other B-grade breeding path was blocked by this Level 2 magical beast.
“I’d like to view the information left by the adventurer team.”
“Of course, sir. The Black Gold Purple Cedar Team is a registered Level 4 adventurer team with the guild. They’ve left word that they’ll be staying at the Battle Axe Inn on Forest Street until next Wednesday. If you’d like to meet, you can do so there at your convenience. Negotiation times are from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.”
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“Great, thank you.”
Lorent chose not to take out all the items he had collected for the purchase — he still had other things to do, and carrying too much would be inconvenient.
After leaving the Adventurer’s Guild and walking through several streets, Lorent arrived at Mauplan’s Real Estate Trading Office. Due to its vast land and large population, Mauplan had a special office dedicated to managing real estate transactions.
The last time Lorent had been here was six months ago, when he had first arrived in Mauplan. The Knight Academy staff had brought his family here to handle their rental paperwork. Unlike the bustling Adventurer’s Guild, the trading hall here was only half its size and much quieter. After all, real estate transactions were far less frequent. The five or six clerks behind the counters all looked drowsy.
When Lorent entered, they barely lifted their eyes. Seeing that he was just a young boy, most of them laid their heads back down, except for two young women who stole a couple of glances at his handsome face. Lorent couldn’t help but marvel at how similar civil servants in this otherworld were to those he remembered back home. It made him somewhat envious.
Looking around, he walked over to one of the girls who had been looking at him.
“Hello, I’m interested in any large plots of land for sale or rent outside the city,” Lorent said.
The girl blinked in surprise, clearly not expecting such a young boy to ask about large plots of land. Her first thought was that this kid must be joking with her, and any pleasant impression of his good looks immediately vanished.
“There are some, but not many,” the clerk said reluctantly as she stood up and rummaged through a nearby cabinet. “Could you be more specific about how large a plot you’re looking for? That way, I can provide you with more detailed information.”
“Well, as large as possible...” Lorent rubbed his chin. His family’s current yard was about 500 square meters in total, with the magical beasts tightly packed together, which wasn’t sanitary and made it inconvenient for him to work. Not only did the magical beasts need more space, but the magical pets he would breed in the future were all precious treasures, and naturally couldn’t be crammed together like the current beasts, where survival was all that mattered. The pets would need ample space to move around, a clean and comfortable environment, and plenty of toys.
In Lorent’s ideal world, he would have a breeding ranch like a zoo, where his magical pets could grow up comfortably. If he couldn’t buy a large enough area right away, then at least he wanted a place without close neighbors, so he could expand later.
“Well, if possible, I’d like to see the largest properties currently for sale, and then I’ll make a decision.”
The clerk let out a quiet sigh, further convinced that this kid was just wasting her time.
“One moment, sir.” She made no effort to hide her lack of enthusiasm as she lazily continued to search through the documents.
Lorent wasn’t in a hurry, so he found a random seat in the hall and started daydreaming.
After a while, a girl with a mushroom-shaped haircut hurried over to him, carrying a large stack of papers in her arms.
“I-I’m sorry for the wait,” she stammered, nervously fumbling to place the stack of documents on the low table in front of Lorent. “Just now, Sister Mary said... oh, you wanted to see larger plots of land for sale outside the city, so I brought all the properties currently listed that are of considerable size.”
Lorent nodded and leaned forward attentively.
“The largest property currently for sale is a manor located outside the second ring of the ‘Valor’ District. It covers an area of about 340 acres and was originally a brewery. The owners are moving to Holando and have decided to sell the manor. Here’s the map of the property.”
The girl explained with passion and earnestness, completely different from the previous clerk's indifferent attitude. Lorent couldn’t help but look up in surprise. Her level of enthusiasm made him guess she was likely a new employee at the office, which would explain why she’d been sent to handle the task the senior staff didn’t want. And her zeal was genuinely unexpected.
“What’s the price?” Lorent asked.
“The seller hasn’t listed a specific price, but the last time a property of this size and location was sold, it went for around 80 million gold coins...”
Lorent’s jaw twitched.
Eighty million! If he were to sell each crystal ice-flame hound for 50,000 gold coins, he’d have to sell 1,600 of them to afford it!
Lorent quickly did the math in his head, regaining his composure. Just 1,600 crystal ice-flame hounds — that’s not an impossible number! As long as he could keep acquiring claw wolves, it would only be a matter of time.
“What about other options? Are there any others I can take a look at?”
Although Emma was a newcomer who hadn’t been at the office long, she was no fool. She understood that a young client like Lorent, with no background or connections, being assigned to her was a clear sign that this was not a serious client. When she first saw Lorent, she knew that the senior staff had handed this off to her because the boy probably wouldn’t complete any transactions.
But she didn’t get discouraged; every rookie had to go through this experience. Even if she couldn’t close her first deal today, it was still a good opportunity to gain experience. However, when she mentioned the price of 80 million gold coins, the young man’s reaction was intriguing. He looked surprised at first, then seemed to come to some sort of realization, quickly regaining his calm before continuing to ask questions — and even more confidently than before.
It was as if...
It was like seeing a strange vegetable at the market and assuming it must be some rare and expensive delicacy, only to find out it was just an ordinary one-copper-per-bunch item.
Suppressing the strange thought, Emma moved on to the next document.
“Besides that manor, all the other large properties for sale are located in the ‘Sacrifice’ District, which borders both the Black Forest and Camquo. The area is quite chaotic, so the prices are relatively lower.”
Emma laid out a large number of maps on the table all at once.
“This is the largest area available, covering 360 acres. However, it’s not a manor but a plot of open land that belongs to a Level 9 knight.”
“And this one,” she continued, “used to be a village destroyed in the magical beast wave from the Black Forest a few years ago. Afterward, the Knights moved the village to a different location, leaving this area vacant.”
“The most expensive property is the 360-acre plot of land, listed for 55 million gold coins. The village land is a bit cheaper at 40 million, but the buyer would need to clean up the ruins themselves.”
“Okay, thank you. I’ll think about it,” Lorent said after seriously reviewing the documents. Then he turned to Emma. “Aside from these large estates, could you help me find some land available for rent? Preferably in an open area with the option to purchase later on, and around 100 gold coins per year.”
Reluctantly letting go of the documents for the large manors, which for now he could only dream about, Lorent brought himself back to reality.
Emma’s eyes lit up. “Of course, sir. Are there any specific requirements for the location? Do you have a preference for any particular ring around the city?”
Compared to the massive estates, this was a much more feasible request. A 100-gold-coin transaction, even in Mauplan, wasn’t something that happened very often, and for a newcomer like her, it was a rare opportunity to encounter.
The city of Mauplan was surrounded by villages and towns in concentric rings, with Lorent’s current residence being in a first-ring village, just a ten-minute walk from the city. Without the Knight Academy’s student subsidy, the rent for their house would have been far more than two gold coins a year.
Even in neighboring first-ring villages, which required a detour around the town to reach the city, renting a house the size of Lorent’s would cost five gold coins a year. The farther out you went, the cheaper the land got. By the time you reached the fifth or sixth rings, where it could take a day or more to walk to the city, a similar house might only cost five or six silver coins a year.
“No specific requirements, but it can be a bit farther out. However, the area must be quiet and not too crowded,” Lorent replied after some thought.
“Then, apart from the areas bordering the ‘Sacrifice’ District and the Black Forest, you could rent about 15,000 square meters of farmland in the second ring for around 100 gold coins. In the third ring, you could rent about 20,000 square meters, and in the fourth ring, it could be as much as 30,000 square meters.”
洛伦特想了想，在目前的情况下，一万平米，也就是他现在家的二十倍大小，应该足够了。但内心深处对土地的渴望，让他贪婪地想要更大的面积。
“黑森林附近怎么样？”
“在黑森林周围，每年可以以100金币的价格租到两三万平方米的土地，具体面积大小取决于距离森林的远近。”艾玛回答道。
“你能过滤掉任何超过 20,000 平方米的由军方直接租赁的土地吗？理想情况下，它应该有干净的水源，靠近主干道，没有近邻，并且可以选择以后购买，”洛伦特请求道。
艾玛犹豫了一会儿，仔细思考着。
“当然，这是有可能的，但是需要一些时间。”
洛伦特点头表示理解。“没问题，我一周后再来。如果你能在那时准备好信息，我将不胜感激。”
“这是我的工作！”艾玛开心地回答道。她送洛伦特到门口，然后转身开始认真地整理资料。
“艾玛，你真的要开始整理这些文件了吗？”玛丽在柜台后面看着，她对自己的预测很满意，因为她知道洛伦特问了一堆问题后就会离开，看到艾玛忙得不可开交，她忍不住问道。
“是的，玛丽姐妹，客户的要求比较广泛，所以我需要做一些研究。”艾玛回答道。
“别浪费力气了，刚才那小子，他这个年纪哪来的钱？而且一个人来这种地方，明显不是个正经的客人。”
“但顾客毕竟是顾客，我觉得熟悉一下业务也是很好的做法，”艾玛礼貌地微笑着说道，没有留下进一步争论的余地。
玛丽摇摇头，回到了自己的岗位。她只能给艾玛这么多建议，说得再多也不合适。每个人都有自己的做事方式，最好不要过多批评别人——这是莫普兰的生存法则。