“Excuse us…”

Jane and I entered a carpentry workshop. This was a place I knew fairly well since I used to work here as a journeyman carpenter about seven years ago. It was basically an open place with a bunch of worktables, tools, and lots of sawdust. There was a series of private rooms in the back. I recognized some faces as well. Whether they would recognize me, I was unsure, because I was a forgettable existence back then. I hoped that they wouldn’t since I didn’t want to tell Jane about my past. I mean, I wanted to be cool in front of her.

“What can we do for you?” A man in his late 20s or early 30s greeted us. I knew the guy. He was the son of the head carpenter. He was in line to take over the shop once his father retired. I was fairly sure that he’d recognize me since he was the one who decided that I wouldn’t advance past journeyman class. I didn’t have any grudge against him because I knew that I wasn’t good enough.

Blinking his eyes a few times, he looked at me funny. “Faro? Is that you?”

I put on a fake smile and replied, “Hello, sir. It’s been a while.”

“It has been!” He looked glad to see me. I didn’t, but whatever. “How have you been …” He didn’t finish his sentence because he noticed that I was missing an arm.

“It’s a long story,” I replied with a sad grin. Jane was standing by my left side and she immediately embraced my torso with her arm.

“I, I see. Ehm…”

The air was awkward for a moment before he finally noticed Jane. “Who’s the girl with you?”

“She is my wife,” I declared. The head carpenter’s son, whose name was Galdin by the way, looked shocked and took a step back. He looked at me and her repeatedly as if he was in doubt.

“I am his wife,” she followed, ensuring that I wasn’t joking for the sake of keeping a face. He had always looked down on me. While he didn’t bully me actively, he tried to get in my way more often than he should have. And there was something else; Jane was a cute girl. Her appearance was above average for women around here. I mean, there was a reason I pursued her over other girls. My gut feeling was that Galdin got immediately jealous over her because his wife was a thug. He tried to brag to others that the woman was a beauty, but nobody was falling for that. I heard that it was an arranged marriage, meaning he had little choice in the matter. His dad wanted to expand his business influence, and Galdin needed to marry a certain woman to achieve that easily. You know what? I chose Jane, and she chose me. She had options, yet she chose me. There was something oddly satisfying in that fact. I started to understand what my mom said about men seeing their women as some sort of trophy. Jane was my achievement for others to see, and she was above average. Anyway, Galdin cleared his throat.

“I, I see,” he said, finally snapping out of his internal defeat. Clearing his throat once again, he fixed his buttoned shirt. “So, what can I do for you?”

“We are looking for a house,” I told him.

“I see. What kind? A shed with two rooms?”

I snickered internally. The dude was totally looking down on me. Fucker.

“We are looking for a proper house with at least four bedrooms,” I declared, and Galdin took a step back once more, looking mildly shocked.

“I am sorry, but do you have any idea how much that would cost? Are you looking for a house inside the walls or outside?”

Houses outside the walls would be obviously much cheaper. It was time to nuke him once again.

“Inside the walls.”

“Do you even have the money?!” he exclaimed back.

“How much does one usually cost?”

He fixed his shirt once again. He wasn’t good at hiding his internal emotions. “At least over a gold coin. More if you pick a prime spot.”

“We can afford that.”

“Don’t lie!” he barked, having had enough seemingly. “You must be playing me! And she is not your wife, is she?!”

His voice started to attract other carpenters in the workshop. I was about to talk back, but it was Jane who spoke up as if she had enough of this bullshit.

“HOW DARE YOU!” Taking a step forward, she puffed her chest and exclaimed. “We’ve come to inquire about purchasing a house, and this is how you treat your customers?! What kind of nonsense is this?!”

Others in the workshop exchanged hurried whispers.

“Are you the head of this workshop?!” she demanded, to which Galdin stammered in response.

“W, well…, I, I, am actually not …”

“Bring out whoever is in charge! I am filing a formal complaint!”

“I…, no…, wait …”

“What is going on here?” A heavily wrinkled man in his 50s was walking slowly from inside. He had a walking stick and was limping a bit. I recognized him. He was Galdin’s father and was the owner of the workshop. I worked under him technically although I barely saw him. I was mostly under Galdin’s supervision.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

“Derdin, the owner of this place. Who are you and what is going on?”

“We’ve come to purchase a house, and this man here thinks we are joking. What kind of nonsense is this?!”

Jane was an experienced guild receptionist, thus she was pretty good at exercising authority in verbal arguments. She was especially effective against idiots.

“Lad, is she speaking the truth?”

I was sure that Galdin wanted to deny but he kept on stammering, unable to mount a coherent sentence. I also didn’t know why he was reacting really badly against her. Either way, Derdin shook his head slowly while sighing.

“I’ve heard enough. Galdin, go back inside.”

Reluctantly, he headed back with sagged shoulders. His face was red with embarrassment.

“My apologies, miss.”

Folding her arms, she scoffed without saying anything. Looking around, Derdin lifted his walking stick slightly and smashed it down, creating a knocking sound.

“Get back to work, all of you!” he berated, then he addressed us with a much softer voice. “A house, you said? Are you a newlywed couple?”

“Yes, we are,” I replied with a nod. “A house with at least four bedrooms.”

“Inside or outside walls?”

“Inside.”

He nodded along. “You must realize that it’s going to cost you?”

“Yes, we are aware. We are shopping around.”

“Young man, it’s not as simple as that. Right now, Ceres is almost full to the brim inside the walls. As the new capital of the new kingdom, many nobles are looking to settle down here and somehow earn the young king’s favor.”

“How bad is it then?”

“I am afraid that all the prime spots are already taken. Some less desirable lots could be available.”

“What do you mean by less desirable?” It was Jane who asked.

“Closer to the walls, a house will get less sunlight per day. That is one of the major downsides of the less desirable lots. Another is neighborhoods. Quite frankly, money alone won’t do it. You need to be more than a commoner.”

“I am a lord,” I declared.

The old man furrowed his eyebrows. “You are? Which house do you belong to?” He must have doubted my claim.

“The Fenchel.”

The old man’s eyes went wide and stared at me for a good ten seconds.

“Just so we are clear, it’s a different branch from the king’s.”

“Lad, you cannot lie about things like this.”

He was having a hard time believing me, I got that.

“I wouldn’t lie. You can check with the palace if you like. I am a fully registered noble as the Fenchel.”

The Fenchel, regardless what branch it was, held a significant influence. There were two main branches. The Lux Fenchel was the original branch. Our king, Kamil Fenchel, was originally from this branch. He ended up establishing a new branch as the Ceres Fenchel because he ascended to the throne. The bottom line was that no matter how small, nobody was going to be granted the name “Fenchel” unless he or she was somehow related to the Fenchel bloodline.

“Well, in that case, you wouldn’t have any issue at all being able to purchase a lot within the walls as long as your wallet permits.”

“Give us a price range,” Jane asked.

“You have two choices. Buy an empty lot and build a house or purchase an existing house from someone. The price of a lot varies greatly, but you will also need permission from the king’s court to proceed. Now, if you are purchasing a house from someone, you can skip the permission part.”

Jane and I looked at each other.

“Just so you know, purchasing a house from someone else is going to cost a lot more than buying a lot and building a new house. Houses in Ceres are in very high demand.” He looked around. “Gavi, come here.”

A young man rushed toward him at once, abandoning whatever he was doing at his work table from a short distance.

“Boss.”

“Walking around is a bit too hard for me. Guide this couple around the city and show them houses and lots.”

“Got it, sir.”

“They are esteemed guests. Treat them with respect.” Then he turned to Jane. “I apologize again for my idiotic son’s behavior. That lad still hasn’t grasped the fact that he is just a mere carpenter in the end.”

“I’d change who inherits your workshop if I were you,” she said. She wasn’t really backing down. Damn, girl.

“Noted,” the old man replied with a sad grin. “Now excuse me.”

The young man, Gavi, replaced the old man with glee. He was much taller than me and had short brown hair and eyes. He had a dark green shirt with a leather vest on. He didn’t look like a carpenter.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Are you a carpenter?” I asked because he didn’t dress up like one.

“Not exactly. I am a real estate agent.”

“Real e, what?” I blurted. I had no idea what he meant.

“I am basically a shopping assistant when people are looking for lands and houses.”

“What does that have to do with this carpenter workshop?”

“The days of just building structures are over. It has slowed down greatly. Instead, people are now mostly purchasing existing homes. That is where I enter.”

The three of us were walking casually toward a gate. The carpentry workshop was located outside of the wall. And, since we were looking to buy a house inside the walls, there was some walking to do.

“It took us about only a decade to build a whole new goddamn city!” Gavi declared proudly. “The boss worked his bones off. He deserves his retirement.”

I didn’t have many memories about how the city was built up. I was simply too young and I stayed mostly within my father's tea farm. I did recall doing some work for the merchant whose name was … Julian or something? It’s where I met Esther as well. Those were certainly awkward times…

“What’s the price range we are looking for?” Jane asked.

“You are looking for a medium-sized house. On a premium lot, it isn’t really about money but connections. But there are only manors on premium lots. So, that’s out of your options. I will show you the available lots. Whether you will get permission for it is an entirely different matter.”

“Does a lot cost money? She asked.

“It depends. If a noble house like the Flissing asks for it, then I reckon it won’t cost money.”

The Flissing was another very prestigious house within the kingdom. In fact, the queen was from the Flissing, thus it was safe to assume that they were the most powerful noble house in the kingdom. As far as I knew, the Flissing did have a manor near the palace.

“Again, it’s all about connections,” he added.

“Faro, perhaps we should search a lot outside the walls. I am getting a bit scared.”

She was a commoner. Trying to settle among the wealthy and nobles must have touched her nerve. We would be looked down upon. It was probably a better idea to find a neighborhood that suited our standard of living.

“I want to settle down inside the walls,” I insisted. “We can find a lot closer to the walls. We won’t get harassed by rich neighbors that way probably.”

There was a significant difference in security living inside and outside the walls. Obviously, those living inside of the walls would be much better protected. Additionally, the central market would be much closer, making shopping much easier.

“Mr Gavi, lead us to a neighborhood where wealthy merchants or minor nobles reside.”

“Got it. Follow me.”

As soon as we passed through the western gate, I could clearly see that houses were grouped in a way that it was easy to see wealth class between them. This was something I never noticed as a child. The closer houses were to the mountain palace, the grandeur they were. By following that pattern, the house we were going to end up with was probably going to be closer to the walls. There seemed to be no way around this. And, as expected, where Mr Gavi led us was closer to the walls.

“Can we go to the Northern part?” I asked. The closer to the guild, it was probably better.

“Alright, follow me. I believe some lots are available there in fact.”

image [https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/7731/jVavgn.jpg]

The closer to the walls, the less organized houses were. The houses closest to the walls were very much clustered together without any rules seemingly. But the quality of houses were better than those found outside. They had stone foundations and properly plastered walls with proper roofs. Its inner adjacent block fared much better with each house having small, but clear, boundaries next to each other. Then we saw manors with low stone walls further in. We weren’t going to be able to afford a manor. Well, I could afford to buy it. It was just that I wouldn’t be able to maintain it for the rest of my life with just 15 gold coins and I didn’t have a stable income at the moment. Jane did have a stable income as a guild receptionist, but her wage was nowhere enough to be able to maintain a manor because she was paid 3 iron coins per shift. It was a level of income as a peasant to be honest. Even if we worked together as guild receptionists, it wouldn’t be nowhere enough. Adventuring was a temporary option to boost income, but it was never going to be stable. I mean, look at Vojmir. He was in his 40s and was already looking for retirement. It made me think about what I should do for a living because I was pretty much unemployed at the moment. While having such thoughts, Gavi showed us numerous empty lots.

“Oh, I like that one,” Jane said while pointing at an empty lot with overgrown grass and weeds. It was within the second block from the Northern wall. She clearly chose not to bother with the closest block because it was only slightly better than living in poverty.

“You are looking at a corner lot,” he said, casually walking toward the empty lot overgrown with weeds and wildflowers. “Corner lots are always in demand.”

“This one’s not taken, yes?” she asked. All three of us were standing by the lot. There was a house next to it, a two-story building with a stone foundation and wooden walls. A proper house always had a stone foundation because it did two most important things for a house. One, it helped to drain water into the ground from rain and would help to keep the house out of water at the same time. Two, it would level a house. Any self-respecting carpenters would know how important that would be. No ground was perfectly level, and building a structure on a slope without leveling it properly would spell a disaster in future.

“Not taken for sure. If it was, I would have known about it.”

Looking around, I found that half of the corner lots on this specific block weren't taken. I assumed that corner lots cost far more.

“How do we apply for the lot?” she asked.

“It’s my job to apply. Come visit the workshop tomorrow morning. We will know by then. Just so we are clear, please don’t have expectations. No lot has been approved recently inside the walls.”

“Do you need permission when building outside the walls as well?” I asked.

“Ehm, sort of. When we are building closer to the walls, we will ask. If further out, we generally don’t. I need your full name by the way.”

“It’s Faro Fenchel.”

He froze momentarily. “Fenchel?” he blurted.

“It’s a different branch,” I added hurriedly. My name was somewhat troublesome to let others know. He looked really skeptical. It was the truth, though. I had nothing to do with the king. Well…, that’d be a lie, but I had nothing to do with him really. I know I am contradicting myself, but oh well.

Gavi took my name and headed straight toward the mountain palace. Yes, the king’s palace was built inside a mountain. It was probably the first ever for a palace to be built inside. I had no idea why exactly. People called the palace the fairy castle sometimes because the place was always crawling with elementals ever since the Age of Darkness ended. Anyone with any slightest bit of dark intentions toward the royal family were shut down by elementals, or so I heard. The place didn’t even need guards therefore.

“... Do you think we will get the permission? He said no permission was given in recent times,” she said with a worried voice while watching him go. I placed my arm around her shoulder, dragging her closer to me.

“Well, we can always purchase a house. It will cost more, but the option is there for us.”

“I’d rather save as much as possible…”

I didn’t disagree. Until I had a stable job with a solid income level, even the middle tier house we were going after was going to be hard to maintain. A bigger question was what kind of job I could have. In the short term, I assumed that the journey with Duman was going to earn my keep. And then what? I needed a decent job, and being an adventurer wasn’t one.

“Faro, I want to continue working,” she told me softly. “I will eventually be a housewife but I want to work for now.”

“Fine by me. Until we have a baby, why not enjoy working. Do you want to eat something nice?”

It took her a few seconds to answer. “No, let’s just go back to the guild. I am going to do a shift.”

Our reality was that we needed money. My savings of 15 gold coins wasn’t going to last long at the current rate of spending. The house was going to cost at least a gold coin, and then there was furniture. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the reward from the dragon hunt, I did feel that Jane may have not chosen me because I’d be flat broke without the money. We would have been in poverty, unable to afford even a shed. I would have continued living in the guild to save up. Her savings of 15 silver coins wouldn’t have been able to get anything done. I took a deep breath at such thoughts and had second thoughts about having given 10 gold coins to my brothers. Perhaps, I should have kept the money to myself. My parents were rich after all. Trying to act cool made my situation only worse, it looked like. I never imagined money to be an issue when I had a sizable savings.

“I am going to run to the guild now. I want to do noon and afternoon shifts, so I will see you later or tomorrow,” she said, leaving me behind.

“Yeah, I will see you soon.” I waved at her. Vojmir had been training me in spare time, so I couldn’t quite work a shift. The method he came up with to rebalance me was that I had to move my left leg far wider, essentially shifting my center of balance so that I don’t tumble as easily. He also recommended adding a small pouch of iron weights on the left side of my belt. Then I would need to get used to it by fighting aerobically. I looked up at the sky to determine time. It was early morning when Jane and I visited the workshop. At least a few hours must have passed by, meaning it was likely late morning or noon at the most.

“Hmm, maybe I should…”

I had the stamina to be able to run for hours without tiring. I had this grand idea of catching a wild animal, a boar or a wolf, and giving Jane meat she always craved. And so I ran like the wind. My destination was a long distance away from Ceres into the woods. It didn’t take long for me to come afar to a point that all I was seeing was occasional patches of forests and flat wilderness. It was the forests I was after since monsters and wild animals made their home in such spots. This was where local hunters would get their prey predominantly. It normally didn’t make much sense that animals and monsters could continue to spawn from such small spots that were only the size of perhaps several large manors grouped together. But nobody really gave it deep thoughts since their food source was seemingly inextinguishable.

“Roseline would love to get to the bottom of it, though,” I whispered as I walked into a nearby patch of a forest stealthily. The whole area dimmed immediately as if I was entering a whole different world, and cries from bugs felt amplified. I positioned myself inside of a large bushes and waited for something to show up, and it did soon enough. It was a boar, squealing around to find food or whatever. When it smelled something weird, which was probably my scent, it froze up for a brief moment, and I didn’t miss that chance to jump out of my hiding spot and shove my sword into its throat from below. I was fast enough to do this before the boar could react, and it was down on the ground even before it could do anything, bleeding profusely. It struggled by wiggling his legs for a moment before going silent.

“Well, that was easy enough.”

If you knew how to hunt, going after animals wasn’t a hard task. I learned the tricks mostly from Duman who taught me a lot of things while I trained at the guild from the age of ten. After making sure that it was indeed dead, I tied its hind legs together and lifted it by the legs, carrying it on my back upside down. It would continue to drain its blood that way, making it easier to skin later. It was as large as my entire upper body, but it didn’t feel that heavy. My next destination was the central market, not the guild. I just wanted its hind legs. I was going to sell the rest straight to a butcher. I wasn’t sure how much I’d get but I’d soon find out.

“You want just the hind legs?” A butcher responded as I handed over the dead boar to him over a counter. The man was shirtless although he did have an apron. “I can do that. Selling the rest?”

“Yeah, how much would I get?”

He inspected the wound on its throat. The blood wasn’t even dry, implying that the meat was as fresh as it could possibly get.

“This is very fresh. I will give you five iron coins.”

“That is after I get the hind legs, right?”

“Correct.”

“Deal.”

The man carried the dead boar to the back and hung it upside down. Then he skillfully sliced off its hind legs. It wasn’t skinned yet, so it came with its fur. Fur wasn’t in demand in Ceres because it hardly got cold. Boar fur was especially not in demand for sure. He wrapped the hind legs with thick papers and handed them over to me along with the five iron coins.

“How much would I have gotten if I sold the whole thing?”

“Six or seven iron coins. Always bring it with fur intact because the fur protects the flesh from bugs.”

He recalled a whole boar costing around 10 iron coins before. Did the price go up?

“How much do you sell a whole boar for now?”

“To roast?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s 12 iron coins now. The demand is high.”

Not bad, not bad at all, he thought.

“Are you planning to hunt more?”

“Maybe.”

“If you are, bring them in as early as possible. The wealthy tend to purchase them at noon to prepare for dinner. I can sell them for more if they are really fresh.”

“I will keep that in my mind.”

While taking the hind legs in my arms to the guild, I did think about doing this regularly. I’d get seven iron coins in the morning and have my meal at the guild, which was free. For the amount of time spent, the earning was excellent. When I entered the guild, Jane was working at the counter, and there was a small line. Therefore, I ignored her and went straight to the kitchen and handed the hind legs over to the guild chef.

“For Jane,” I added. “And for me.”

“Damn, dude, you are making me jealous,” he replied with a chuckle. “I wanna get married, too.”

“Then get married, dude.”

“Easier said than done, my guy.”

I chuckled this time. That was true. The chef was in his late teens. He entered the guild to specifically become a cook. Of course, being a chef meant his opportunity to meet women was rather scarce. Then I went to the backyard to find Duman and Vojmir.

“Yo, you are a bit late,” Vojmir said. “Get ready for training.”

“Yes, sir.”

I looked at the airship. It was getting done. The exterior was already complete. A month or so was probably all Duman was going to need. Anyway, I drew out my sword and faced Vojmir. It was time to train and get used to my imbalance.

When Jane and I visited the workshop the next day, the owner, Derdin, was standing in the middle of the shop, looking dazed. Gavi was also with him with excitement on his face. There were other carpenters scattered about, minding their own businesses.

“Oh, you are here!” Gavi was the first one to greet him. His greeting snapped Derdin out of his daze. The old man looked at me weirdly.

“Lad, who are you?” he asked me all of a sudden.

“I beg your pardon?”

“It was approved!” Gavi exclaimed with glee, jumping up and down. “We haven’t built inside the walls for over a year!”

“I will personally oversee the construction,” said the old man with resoluteness in his eyes. “This will be my last one before full retirement.”

Apparently, he wanted to take on a project inside the walls before entering his full retirement and, because no lot was approved for a considerable amount of time, he had been delaying his retirement to a point that he was almost forced to retire.

“How much is it going to cost?”

“Just give me a gold coin. Do you have that much?” asked the old man.

“I do.”

“That's a bargain,” Gavi added with a smile.

I had a … bad feeling.