Chapter 48: A Look at the New Home
After officially forming their party, Jin and the others decided to spend five of every ten available days together taking subjugation requests and to use the remaining five days as each saw fit. How they used that time varied—some took days off, others helped at the clinic or focused on personal training.
In Jin’s case, he spent nearly all his time studying, either under Bean’s instruction in alchemy or practicing the study of magic script, rarely taking any real breaks. And today, after finishing another alchemy lesson with Bean, Jin was on his way to visit Orto of the Galdin Trading Company. It had been about a week since their last meeting, and the guild had informed him that Orto wanted to discuss a rental house.
"It’s probably about time I moved out of the inn," Jin muttered to himself as he walked through town with a carefree smile. The inn he stayed at was comfortable, and he’d grown friendly with the staff, so he felt attached to the place. Saying he wouldn’t miss it would be a lie—but staying at an inn was expensive, and the constant cost weighed on him. Since he had recently been promoted to D-rank, Jin figured this was the perfect opportunity to start living on his own.
He walked on and soon arrived at the Galdin Trading Company without incident, where he was able to meet with Orto immediately.
"Good afternoon, Jin-san. Sorry to have called you over like this."
"Not at all, I should be the one apologizing for taking up your valuable time."
Jin felt a bit flustered by Orto’s polite greeting. As the manager of the trading company, Orto was surely a busy man, and even taking the time to handle this matter of a rental house was purely out of his personal kindness. Jin knew he should be grateful.
"I think it’s better to discuss this at the site. Shall we head there now?"
Of course, Jin had no objections. Feeling humbled yet again at being personally guided, he followed Orto to the property.
The house was located in a residential district not far from the Galdin Company. Every home in the area was impressive, complete with its own yard. The property they stopped at was no exception.
It faced south toward the road, with a two-story building standing slightly toward the back, leaning a bit to the west. The house was somewhat old, but not run-down. The grounds were enclosed by a fence about one and a half meters tall, with a proper gate at the entrance. From the gate to the front door stretched a stone-paved path. The yard itself was simple—no tall trees or elaborate landscaping—but the open space looked wide enough to be used for training or light exercise.
With Jin’s experience in housing sales back in his previous world, he estimated it to be a plot of roughly 100 tsubo (around 330 square meters) with a house about 60–70 tsubo (roughly 200–230 square meters) in size. In short, it was far too large for one person to live in alone.
If not for the matter of the bath, Jin probably wouldn’t have even considered such a place—but since it had a bath, he figured it was inevitable that a house of this size came with it.
Opening the gate, they entered the property, and Orto spoke as they looked at the building.
"They originally said remodeling or additions could be done freely, but since that would take time and delay the move-in, we decided to pass on it. Still, the condition remains—if you’d like to remodel it however you wish, you’re welcome to. The owner seems to plan on selling it eventually."
The freedom to remodel was appealing, though Jin felt a headache coming on at the thought of cleaning such a large place.
He walked along the stone path, observing the exterior, and stepped inside. Like Burke’s house, homes in this world typically opened directly into a room with no separate entryway—it was normal to wear shoes indoors. Or at least, that was supposed to be the case.
However, this house had a tiled genkan—a proper Japanese-style entry space. Beyond that was not a room, but a small entrance hall. Raised one step above the tiled area, the hall was roughly four tatami mats in size, with a staircase ahead. The open ceiling design gave a sense of spaciousness, and the light filtering in from the second floor made the space feel bright and airy.
Simply put, it looked surprisingly similar to the entrance of a typical, spacious Japanese house.
"Unusual, isn’t it? Apparently, it was built by one of the previous owners, several generations back."
Orto explained as he slid open a nearby door.
Inside was a six-tatami-sized room with a small window letting in natural light. The floor was tiled like the entryway, and several sturdy built-in shelves lined the walls. There was also another door leading to the neighboring room and the hall.
"This space was apparently meant for dropping off gear after returning from an adventure. The builder was an adventurer himself, and you can see touches of that all throughout the design."
Orto returned to the hall and walked in with his shoes on. Jin hesitated for a moment, instinctively reluctant to step in with his shoes in such a Japanese-style space—but he followed after him nonetheless.
From this entrance hall, the layout was as follows: the entire east side formed the LDK (living, dining, and kitchen area), while the west side held two rooms. The north side contained the water facilities—the bath and related areas.
Of the two rooms on the first floor, the larger one seemed to have been used as a workshop, with a continuation of the tiled flooring from the entrance and plenty of built-in shelving and storage. The other room, roughly eight tatami mats in size with wooden flooring, was likely intended as a guest room.
Jin went on to inspect the living room, dining area, kitchen, and the rest of the water facilities, like the toilet, in order. Among them, the bath, arguably the main highlight, left a good impression with its spacious tub and washing area. The house didn’t seem dirty at all, as if it were cleaned regularly.
There were four rooms upstairs, with one larger than the others, probably the master bedroom. There was no balcony or toilet on the second floor; just four rooms, two each on the east and west sides of the staircase, plus a storage room.
Some furniture, like the queen-sized bed in the master bedroom, had been left behind. The mattress was gone, of course, but the furniture itself was sturdy and looked perfectly usable.
Overall, the floor plan resembled the kind of Japanese houses Jin had grown familiar with back when he worked in real estate. The only difference was that, instead of a tatami room, there was a workshop. Other than that, the layout gave off a model home kind of feel, Jin thought.
Strictly speaking, the finer details were quite different, but that was the impression he got.
"This is nice," Jin said honestly to Orto after finishing his general inspection of the house. It was perhaps a little too spacious, but that was a luxury problem—it was still a charming home.
The open-concept living, dining, and kitchen area was so large that several people could live there comfortably. The first-floor workshop could easily be used for alchemy or potion-making, and the storage space next to the entrance was convenient. The kitchen, like the bath, was wide and came equipped with a magic-powered stove and oven. As long as you had processed magic stones for fuel, you could start using it right away. Water could be drawn from a well or summoned through life magic, so that wasn’t an issue either.
Since it had once belonged to an adventurer, each room came with solid locks—better security than an inn, at least. Jin also appreciated the small details, like the sturdy wall hooks for hanging weapons and the generous amount of storage. The entrance step and hallway felt familiar too, reminding him of home and giving him a quiet sense of comfort.
As he thought about it more, Jin considered his options.
All these rooms… I could let Erza and Rachel use one each for their personal things. The big living room would work great for meetings, too. We’d probably end up gathering here often anyway. And if more party members join in the future, any male members could just live here as well. Cleaning might be a hassle while I’m alone, but as long as I don’t let it turn into a garbage dump, it should be fine. That just leaves the rent to worry about… Three small gold coins, like Orto-san mentioned before, would be barely within budget…
As those thoughts ran through his mind, Jin realized he was already set on renting the place.
"I think I’d like to rent this house, but could you tell me the exact rent amount?"
Jin asked Orto, feeling a little anxious, wondering what he’d do if it turned out to be more than three small gold coins.
"They said two small gold coins."
"What?!"
Jin blinked in surprise. A full coin cheaper was unexpected. Smiling at Jin’s reaction, Orto continued,
"The previous owner was an adventurer, you see. He said he’d rent it cheaper if it was for another adventurer."
Though Orto said it pleasantly, Jin suspected he had helped negotiate the price himself.
"You’ve really done so much for me, Orto-san. Thank you."
Jin said, bowing deeply to express his gratitude for everything.
"Oh no, the pleasure’s mine. I’m glad I could help. My family and I live nearby, so if you move in here, we’ll be neighbors. I look forward to getting along with you, Jin-san."
"Yes, of course. Likewise, Orto-san."
The two exchanged friendly smiles, then discussed the necessary procedures before leaving the house. They headed straight back to Orto’s shop and finalized the rental contract there. The property wasn’t listed through any regular real estate channels—Orto had personally handled it by contacting the owner in the royal capital.
Jin couldn’t thank him enough.
The rent was to be paid every three months, with no security deposit or key money required. Following Orto’s advice, Jin arranged for cleaning and maintenance, so he’d be able to move in after three days, which was fine, since he still needed time to arrange furniture and supplies anyway.
"Once I’m settled in, I plan to throw a little get-together with close friends."
Jin said with a grin before leaving.
"I’ll invite you and your family then. That way, I can keep my promise to Airis, too."
Naturally, Orto agreed with a smile.
And needless to say, Jin also finally bought the miso and soy sauce he’d been wanting for so long.
Previous Chapter - TOC - Next Chapter
Comments
Post a Comment