Chapter 179
We followed the directions to the Merchant’s Guild with no problem .
The problem was that Fer and the rest of my companions were attracting a lot of attention, which was never a good thing . Let’s finish the matter quickly .
I headed straight for the teller counter window and showed them the letter of introduction from Yoran-san .
“Please wait a moment . ” The receptionist took the letter and left her seat .
A short while later, a man in his mid-40s with a short moustache and wide physique came .
“Mukouda-sama, a pleasure to meet you . My name is Domenico and I am the Assistant Guild Master of Neihoff’s Merchant’s Guild . Thank you for coming to visit us . The Guild Master himself would have come to meet you, but unfortunately, he is not here at the moment and has left me in charge . ”
Yoran-san’s letter of introduction must be very powerful . It even brought the Assistant Guild Master out . Moreover, the guy was really polite and ready to be helpful too .
“Thank you for your kindness, I would appreciate it if you could assist me in this matter as soon as possible…”
“You wish to rent a large residence where you can stay with your Contract Demons, right?”
“That’s right, I would like to rent it about a week to 10 days, I don’t mind if the price is a bit high . ”
Assistant Guild Master Domenico-san took out some documents from the back and looked through them before spreading fishing a few out from the stack .
“There are about three properties that fits your needs . ”
Three, that’s quite a few .
Domenico-san then explained the properties in detail .
The first one was a 7LDK [1] residence highly recommended by Domenico-san . It was owned by a workshop operator and was relatively close to the centre of the city . The building was also relatively close to the Adventurer’s Guild too .
Compared to the other two properties, it was slightly smaller, though still large enough to accommodate a Contract Demon of Fer’s size . Due to its good location, the rental for this property was 60 gold coins per week .
Hold on, just what did he mean by a ‘small’ 7LDK residence?
I was still pondering over this oxymoron when Domenico-san introduced the two other, even more amazing, residences .
The second property was a bit farther away from the city centre . It was a 13LDK mansion was once a nobleman’s villa . Its main feature was a spacious garden and the rooms were all very spacious and gorgeously decorated since it was once owned by aristocracy .
Despite all its gorgeous features and generous spaces, the rent was only 63 gold coins per week due to its distance from the city centre .
As for the third property . It was a large 10LDK mansion once owned by a merchant . Since the property was rather old and furthest away from the city centre, the rent was only 45 gold per week .
Of the three properties, the first one seemed best suited for my group . The fact that it was close to the city centre and the Adventurer’s Guild was good enough recommendation for me .
Though Domenico-san had called the property ‘small’, a 7LDK property was still a huge deal for me [2] .
Anyway, I asked Domenico-san to show me the first property with the most features that matched what I needed and highly recommended by the Assistant Guild Master himself . If I happened to like it, I would take it .
“This way, please”
With Domenico-san as the guide, I was brought to see the first property .
When the gate was thrown open, my senses were immediately shocked by how wide the garden was . There was no mention of a garden when you recommend this place to me Domenico-san . However, after blinking several times, the garden with its red, yellow and pink flowers was still there . There was even a small fountain!
“The garden is a little small, but it’s well managed . ”
Eh, this is a small garden?
It was about the size of two tennis courts, so I’d say that’s plenty big for me .
“Well then, shall we go inside?”
The building itself looked quite amazing with its western-style brick walls and slanted roofing . It was the very image of a dream mansion from my point of view . Nothing like the Japanese ‘mansion’ which was in reality, a fancy name for condo with more than 2 rooms .
The entrance to the house was an arch-shaped double door, large enough for Fer to pass through easily . I tried to imagine Fer trying to squeeze into my humble apartment in my other life and-
Anyway, everyone followed Domenco-san into the mansion . A real mansion!
I stepped inside and was surprised again by the size of the entrance hall . Was this the ‘L’ in the 7LDK? It certainly was bigger than any residence I had ever been to before . The hall was designed in the open atrium-style, large enough for everyone to sleep in it comfortably .
“Not bad, not bad at all . ”
“Ho~ It certainly is quite spacious . ”
“Wee!”
Fer glanced about the room but did not have anything bad to say about it . From the way Dora-chan was zipping around, he seemed to like it too .
Sui was happily bouncing around .
Just past the large entrance hall was a spiral staircase .
I’d only ever seen houses with a spiral staircase on TV .
“Please, allow me to guide you . ”
We followed Domenico-san into what was the real ‘L’ of the 7LDK . The actual living room was 30 tatami mats wide, with sofas, tables and other assorted furniture to indicate that it was, you know, a living room .
The one we had passed through just now was just the entrance hall or receiving hall .
Beyond the living room was a large dining room with a dining table large enough to seat 10 people . All the furniture inside the house gave off a very high-class feeling . The design was not ostentatious but everything was very finely crafted and high end in the demure muted style of the very, very rich and classy .
Our next destination was the kitchen . Instead of a little cottage style kitchen, the size and type of equipment here were closer to restaurant-grade than a private kitchen .
“Both Magic Stove and Magic Fridge are fully functional . ”
The Magic Stove here had four stoves, just like mine . Very cutting edge design . As for the Magic Fridge, it was probably more appropriate to call it a Magic Cold Room . The whole thing was about 3 tatami mats wide, as though someone had decided to turn a small room into a huge refrigerator .
The mansion was really quite amazing
It looked like something a celebrity would live in .
After that, we were guided upstairs to the second floor . The master bedroom was 20 tatami mats wide and thickly carpeted . I felt my foot sink into the plush carpet and had to wonder just how expensive is this carpet?
There was even a canopied, king size bed in it .
The rest of the rooms were not quite as large as the master bedroom, but all were laid with the same plush carpets and equipped with a canopied queen-sized bed .
Naturally, a luxurious house such as this would not be complete without a bathroom . A fine bathroom with a bathtub that was 1 . 5 times bigger than mine and had a flowered pattern on it .
If I was not mistaken, bathtubs with patterns were more expensive than ordinary-looking ones
Domenico-san appeared very proud to see my surprise, he went on to say, “It’s not easy to find such a nicely patterned bathtub of this size, but we are a town that specializes in pottery making after all . ”
Apparently, this was where those ridiculously expensive and magical bathtubs were made .
As expected of a pottery town, they really were incredible .
Since Fer, Dora-chan and Sui all seemed to like the house as well, I certainly have no objection about renting it .
It was pretty much a house anyone would dream about . Spacious, luxurious, and a great kitchen with all the dreamy appliances any cooks could wish for . With the bonus of being close to the city centre and the Adventurer’s Guild, what more could we want?
I don’t have a single complaint about this property .
I immediately signed the contract to rent the place for one week .
“The rent for one week is 60 gold . ”
I gladly handed the gold over to Domenico-san .
“Yes, I have received the exact amount . Please accept the key to this house . If you wish to extend your stay, please drop by at the Merchant’s Guild . We shall be very happy to serve you . ”
Domenico-san handed me the key and headed back to the guild .
For one week, this place will be our base of operations .
Somehow, just by standing here, I felt like I’ve transformed into a celebrity .
Aah, that’s right . It’s nearly time for dinner so let’s put that great kitchen to use right away .
What should I make…
… Aah, I should make that!
I’ve restrained myself from making it since it has a particularly powerful odour . Since this was a detached house, a real mansion, it should be fine since the neighbours were some distance away .
Just thinking about it makes me want to eat it so badly .
Yes, I absolutely must make it today .
[Gumihou: Uuuhhh, I’m jealous of the fine, fine kitchen ~ ~]
[1] 7LDK – 7 rooms + Living Room + Dining Room + Kitchen
[2] Just a little fun fact, a 3LDK is already considered a ‘mansion’ in Japan . The ‘mansion’ in question was really a condo, but they like to call it ‘mansion’ for some reason . Imagine my surprise to see all the ‘mansions’ for rent when I first went to Japan . As a poor student, I considered it a great luxury to have a room and a toilet to myself, having to share the kitchen and shower with 8 other residences .
