“So, you bought a house, huh?” said Azu as he leaned back in the sofa and gazed around the guest room. “You didn’t hold back, did you?”
Now a teacher, he came draped in a black robe of considerably finer quality than the gray one Renya remembered. Silver accessories adorned the robe in a rather mage-like fashion, lending him a very convincing air.
His housewarming gift lay on the table in the form of a fruit basket filled primarily with citrus fruits. Unlike those of Renya’s original world whose peels were unsuited for consumption due to pesticides, these were as organic as they came. He told Frau to keep the fruits in the food storage bin in the kitchen, making a mental note to savor even their peels later.
It was worth noting that food storage bins under the care of a Silkie were a real marvel. Through magecraft, Frau maintained constant control over both the humidity and temperature of the bins. In other words, it was both fridge and freezer, and could even be used to age meat — dry or wet, his choice. When he first learned of this revelation from the fairy, he could barely suppress the urge to shamelessly shower himself with praises. It was a brilliant idea to buy this house, and he sure was glad he did.
“I still owe a ton of money, but oh well. Either way, we would have eventually needed a place to stay.”
“Indeed. You can travel far and wide all you’d like, but it’s important to have a home to come back to. With that said, though…”
Azu shifted his gaze from the sofa across the table where Renya sat, looking past him at the short figure of a maid currently busying herself with the task of preparing tea. With the aid of a stool, she stood just tall enough to reach over the back of the sofa and hand Renya his cup.
“Another one,” he said in a voice of mild awe. “And a fairy this time… How much longer until you complete your harem?” Relying perhaps on his magely expertise in such matters, Azu managed to discern Frau’s true identity with one look.
Originally, Renya had his reservations about allowing Frau to be seen by others, but upon consulting Rona, he learned that fairies were not as rare as he’d thought. In an ironic discovery, he was also told that in terms of walking freak shows, between a fairy and a Wanderer, the latter would by far draw the bigger crowd. Rona further mentioned that while the presence of a Silkie in a home might have bumped up its price before sale, now that he had officially signed the contract, there was no way for anyone to make the Silkie case anymore.
“Watch the slander, buddy,” said Renya, furrowing his brows. “Besides, look at her. It’d be a criminal offence if I tried to get my hands on her, right?”
Azu’s reply, however, caused his brows to furrow further.
“You know it’s pretty common for nobles to marry once they’re past ten, right? Sometimes, they’re born engaged. Not to mention there are plenty of thirty-year-old men in the nobility who wed twelve-year-old girls from lower houses to make them thirteen-year-old mothers.”
“How do they even get… Honestly, I think I’m a little impressed.”
“It’s half-compulsory at times. Almost like an obligation. In fact, there’s some good money to be made with drugs of that sort.”
Azu chuckled, explaining that drugs for enhancing stimulation and improving endurance were very popular. They enjoyed great demand and fetched a high price on the market.
“Are those legal?”
“Of course? You do realize the guild puts out missions for gathering raw materials, right?”
Faced with Azu’s recommendation to give it a try if he was short on money, Renya remained wordless, silently swearing to never go on such a mission — at least not with Shion and Rona present. Behind them, Frau did not so much as bat an eye at the nature of their conversation. Fairies were not to be taken lightly; they had composure in spades.
“Speaking of money, I assume you’re going to need some more stuff now that you’ve bought a house like this.”
“Yeah. There are the costs of keeping it maintained, and I still have to pay back the loan. I’m going to have a constant need for money.”
“Your contract sounds pretty damn generous, though. To be paid back at your leisure with no pressure from the lender?”
It was, according to Azu, a pointless contract that was practically saying they didn’t care even if he defaulted on the payment. This was not an overstatement; since the lender could not pressure him, as long as he kept claiming he couldn’t pay, he’d never have to. That was, however, not the option he wanted to take. Despite there being no requirement of immediate repayment, he still decided that he’d try to his best to pay it back sooner rather than later. From the perspective of a merchant, the longer it took to collect a payment, the less the profit. He didn’t want to make life hard for merchants.
“On a different note, there’s actually two reasons I came here today. One is of course your housewarming, but I also have a favor to ask you. There’s a job I want you to do for me. You’ll be paid for it.”
“Huh. You’re bringing me work now? I certainly appreciate it, but what kind of work is it?”
There was a vast difference between a request from a stranger and a request from Azu; he felt far safer with the latter. If it earned him good money, then all the better. Even if it wasn’t lucrative, so long as it didn’t involve anything too crazy, he was willing to do it for a friend.
“I think you’re aware that I took up a teaching position in a school that fosters adventurers?”
“Yeah, you told me that before you left last time.”
“Right. About that. You see, I was put in charge of a class with a lot of kid nobles and, well… I now have a problem on my hands.”
“Problems dealing with nobility, huh…”