13 Mink Street

Chapter 112: Buying A House

The Allen family’s driver dropped Karon and the others off at a gas station in the suburbs, and at Alfred’s urging, returned the car to the manor.

There was a small convenience store and a fast-food shop near the gas station, and Karon chose one. Because he had a cat and a dog with him, he chose a corner seat.

Four cups of coffee were brought over first. Pu’er leaned in and licked a sip, then stuck out her cat tongue in displeasure. Hmph, the taste of cheap instant coffee.

Karon reached over and patted Pu’er on the head. “I don’t believe that while you were at the Immers house, Tiz brewed coffee for you.”

Pu’er puffed out her cheeks and turned her head away. The young lady had just lived in her childhood home for a while and had enjoyed the high-standard treatment. Now she found it hard to go from luxury back to more mundane treatment.

Soon, three different meals were served.

The difference between this and a rice bowl with toppings was simply that the dishes were not placed on top of the rice. There was rice with pieces of fried chicken and a thick tomato sauce soup beside it.

Alfred chose the same simple meal as Karon, while the golden retriever, Kevin, was given three big hamburgers with double meat patties added.

As for Pu’er, she had an eel dish, which was the most expensive item on the menu.

Yet she ate in misery. She was not deliberately picking at faults, even Karon could smell a fishy odor coming from the meal. It was likely that few people ordered the eel, which led to the ingredients not being fresh. It was even possible that the owner had forgotten how to cook the damned eel.

Still, Karon thought his fried chicken was quite good. The rice smothered with the tomato soup tasted oddly sweet and sour, yet happened to neutralize the greasiness of the fried chicken. His thoughts might seem affected, but Karon truly felt the meal tasted much better than the exquisite dishes the Allen family served regularly each day.

The chef at Allen Manor made authentic aristocratic Veyn cuisine, which felt like placing a nutrition meal made from various expensive ingredients in front of you. There was no feeling of enjoying the food, just a clear awareness of which nutrients your body needed as you ingested the meal.

After lunch, Karon and the others walked out of the fast-food shop. At the gas station’s exit, a blue Pons sedan was parked. It was an old model, probably secondhand, valued at around ten thousand rels. It was the lowest-tier business model.

“That’s the agent’s car,” Alfred observed.

Because Karon did not intend to go straight to the hotel, Alfred had simply called and arranged for a real estate agent to pick them up to view houses.

The agent was a middle-aged man, slightly plump, with a somewhat round face that did not look greasy. He first busied himself loading the luggage into the car, then circled around Alfred, who had been his direct contact, to hand his business card to Karon. “It is my honor to provide you with my service.”

Karon accepted the card and glanced at it. The name was Alaia Hill, and the title read Regional General Manager, York City District, Bluebridge Real Estate Agency.

Instinctively, Karon felt that this Bluebridge Agency likely did not have many branches. “Mr. Hill—”

“You can simply call me Alaia.”

“Alaia, thank you for your trouble,” Karon said with a smile.

“You are too polite.”

Alfred still sat in the front passenger seat, while Karon sat in the back with a cat and a dog.

“Here is the list I compiled based on your requirements. You can look through it and decide which homes you would to see first.” Alaia handed Karon a printed sheet.

Taking it, he scanned it. He had a habit of starting with the largest area, but unfortunately, of the seven listings, the largest was only ninety square meters.

Ninety square meters was not a small house, but in Roja City, he had lived in a detached villa, while Allen Manor was an entire estate. Returning to “normal” so suddenly inevitably felt somewhat difficult to adjust to.

All seven houses on the list were used. There were no new homes, and the prices all sat within a specific interval, which clearly meant that Alfred had already shared Karon’s requirements with Alaia. Karon had no interest in renovating a house for the time being and hoped to move in as soon as possible.

The sheet even included hand-drawn floor plans, which Karon studied carefully a second time. “Alaia?”

“Yes, please ask.”

“Does this house in the Elmshade Community include an attic?”

“Yes, sir. The attic is bonus floor space, but it isn’t very large. It can only fit a desk for someone to sit at. If you stand up, you need to bend at the waist, and there’s a rather stifled feeling. I don’t really recommend that you choose that one; You don’t have children. If you did, that room would be very suitable for a child’s room.”

“That’s true.” After learning it was not a split-level, Karon’s interest in this unit faded.

“Do you want something that feels more spacious?” Alaia asked as he drove, checking Karon’s expression through the rearview mirror.

“Yes. I’d like something that feels roomy, even if it’s only a sense of it.”

“If that is the case, what I have on that list will be difficult to meet your requirements. None of them have very large areas. Most of them are within high-end communities. You must understand, housing prices are clearly linked to the quality of the community. However, some communities are actually clean and tidy, and their public security is also quite good, and the residents have good standards. While they cannot compare with high-end communities, and the commute time might be a bit longer, I think the value is excellent. The houses are cheaper, and there are more choices. I misunderstood your requirements before, believing you intended to invest. It now seems that you want to live in it yourself, given that you brought your luggage and pets.”

“Yes, I want to live in it. As for an investment, I do not plan to consider such options for now.”

“Do you need to go to work? I feel that your job does not have particularly great commuting pressure.”

“For now, there is no such pressure.”

“Then I will recommend something else...” Alaia pulled over by the roadside, took another sheet from his briefcase, which had photos clipped to it.

Karon took it and glanced at it, seeing a description of a five-story apartment building. From the hand-drawn plan, the available unit was on the third floor, and was a typical split-level.

Alaia turned around to introduce it to Karon. “The first-floor area is not very large, but it has two levels. There’s a shared staircase on both sides of the exterior wall. The unit is on the side, so going up and down is very convenient, and both the third floor and fourth floor can function as entrances. Additionally, the balcony is your exclusive area. This is tacitly allocated by the residents on the top floor. The previous owner put a flower bed on the top floor and built a sunroom, all of which has been retained. Also, look at the photos; The furniture is not new, but is well maintained. The furnishings can be negotiated for a very good price if you purchase them all and continue using them, which would make it convenient for you to move in directly. The layout is also good; Lighting is not a problem. Internally, the lower level includes the kitchen and one bedroom, while the upper level is a study and another bedroom. There is plenty of extra area. If you need it, you can even partition another room on the upper or lower level yourself. And it isn’t far from a large supermarket, a pedestrian street, and a cinema. The only problem is that there is no tram stop nearby.”

“So when you say it is not far from the supermarket and pedestrian street, you mean by car?”

Alaia smiled and nodded. “Yes, you are correct. Driving is very convenient, but public transportation is not complete due to certain historical issues.”

“This community is called Bluebridge Community?”

“Yes, that’s right. My company is in this neighborhood, and is separated from the apartment building you are viewing by a small road.”

“And the price?”

“You don’t need to worry about the price, given the budget you shared with me before. You can use just half of that, and that is even with keeping the furniture. The previous owners’ son works at a colonial development company. He now has a small manor in a colony. The owning couple has gone with their son, and entrusted me to sell the house.”

“They trust you that much?”

“Of course. Ask around in the Bluebridge Community; Both my connections and my character are beyond reproach.”

“Then let’s go take a look.”

“Alright.” Alaia excitedly started the car again.

Alfred sounded rather doubtful as he asked, “Which agency are you actually a part of?”

“It is like this, sir: I have my own small agency, but I also work for a large agency because they have high-end listings. You called and asked them to receive you, but they probably found it troublesome, so they pushed the job to me.”

Hearing this, Alfred immediately turned around to Karon in the back seat. “Young Master, this was my oversight.”

Alaia continued smiling even after hearing that.

Karon shook his head. “I think Alaia is very attentive.”

“Thank you for your affirmation, Young Master.” Alaia immediately changed how he addressed Karon.

Bluebridge Community was not particularly remote. By the standards Karon had used in his previous life, it would have counted as a fringe inner-city district. In an imperial capital, that was already quite respectable.

The awkward part was that York City had not been built in a concentric expansion from a central point. Its most prosperous district, the so-called central commercial quarter, sprawled along the port by the sea.

Bluebridge’s position, while technically within what might be considered the outer inner-city zone, happened to sit on the far western edge, so the label carried a certain degree of exaggeration.

As the car drove in, Karon saw many shack-stall vendors along the road. It was very lively. Because each stall had been planned and designed, it did not look messy, but rather quite orderly. He also saw many men and women in workers’ clothes walking on the street.

“Are there factories here?” Karon asked.

“Young Master, there are several textile mills nearby. Please be assured, there is no chimney pollution. This can be said to have the best air in York City.”

As they continued deeper into the neighborhood, many people along the road voluntarily greeted Alaia. He rolled down the window so that he could respond to them. Clearly, his local reputation was as good as he claimed.

At last, the car stopped in front of a storefront with a sign that read Bluebridge Real Estate Agency.

The door was not locked. Inside, a woman was helping a child with his homework; likely Alaia’s wife and son. After getting out of the car, he waved to greet them, but did not go inside to speak. He instead led Karon and the others directly across the road.

Their luggage remained in the car for the time being, and because it contained a valuable notebook, the golden retriever was responsible for guarding it.

Karon carried Pu’er across the road with Alfred, following Alaia. The apartment complex offered a sense of high-end refinement. It consisted of six buildings and a security guard at the entrance. Alaia went over and greeted the guard, then returned to bring Karon and the others inside. The landscaping was decent, though there was no underground parking. Fortunately, there was plenty of open ground, and parking would be no trouble.

“This apartment complex was developed by the Allen Consortium. Although they aren’t the largest developer in York City, they have always emphasized brand and reputation.”

Upon hearing “Allen Consortium,” Karon and Alfred instinctively exchanged a glance. Still, this should only be a coincidence. Karon had warned Bede, and he had promised that he would not secretly interfere by giving Karon a house, and the man would not be foolish enough to do someone a favor in a way that could be considered obnoxious.

It could only be said that the Allen Consortium’s scale was vast, and through coincidence, Karon happened to run into it.

They climbed to the third floor via a side staircase. Alaia took out a key and opened the door. Once inside, they found it was very clean, the renovations and furniture arrangement offering a very comfortable feeling. Pu’er even wagged her tail, clearly surprised that she also found it rather good.

The first level had a small kitchen, a small living room, one bedroom, and one washroom. Not even the kitchen tableware or the bedding in the bedroom had been removed. Everything was kept.

“It was my suggestion to the original owners that they leave as much as possible. They couldn’t take it away anyway, and selling it would not fetch them much. It is better to leave it all to create a better impression for viewing clients, and while also allowing greater convenience when negotiating the price.”

Karon nodded. Holding Pu’er, he went up to the second level. It was a spiral staircase. After going up, there was a small tea nook with chairs and a tea table. Continuing inward led to the master bedroom. The bedroom’s window faced south. It was spacious, with a coffee-brown color scheme.

After stepping back out, Karon walked into the study opposite. The study window faced north. The desk, bookcase, floor lamp, sofa bed, and so on were all arranged well. One could see the original owner was a person with taste.

“Do the books come with it?” Karon asked.

“The original owner has already taken the books he wanted. Everything here was left behind. You know, old books... do not sell for much, heh.”

Karon pulled out the chair behind the desk and sat down. He instinctively opened the central drawer beneath the desk. It was empty, with only one letter inside.

“Is this a letter the original owner left?” Karon asked.

“Yes, left for the next owner.”

Karon picked up the envelope. It had been opened long ago. In it, he found that it appeared that several people had read it before, likely previous viewing clients.

Dear unknown friend. Thank you for being willing to use your life to continue warming this house of mine. I am very attached to this house because it carries the most beautiful memories of my wife, my son, and myself...

In the middle, there were many words describing the original owner’s story with the house and various details of life and furnishings, and Karon skimmed through them.

Only at the final blessing did Karon’s gaze tighten slightly, because the blessing the original owner left was, May the Light forever suffuse your life and guard your faith..

In Mr. Hoffen’s notebook there were many records about the Church of Light, all of which was considered forbidden content. Karon remembered a similar chant the man had used before casting the Church of Order’s Arts: Oh great God of Order...

In the Church of Light’s chanting pattern, there was also a similar passage: Oh Great God of Light, let Your radiance descend; suffuse my life and guard my faith, which is devoted wholly to You.

After that, one could append a basic Art. Had the original owner simply seen similar words somewhere, written them down, and liked to use them, or did the original owner himself have faith in the Church of Light?

At least this confirmed that this house truly had nothing to do with the Allen family. They would not dare touch matters related to the forbidden Church of Light, and it was even less likely that they would joke about such things.

If clergy saw this, they might find it to be a terrible offense, yet Karon was an exception. After all there was an old man at home who liked to curse, saying that the God of Order was born of a prostitute.

Whether the original owner was a believer of the Church of Light did not matter. The important thing was that Karon liked the layout, the renovations, and the furnishings. As for the commuting issue, he could simply have Alfred buy a secondhand car off the market. It would not be expensive.

“I want to go up to the roof and take a look.”

“Of course, of course. Please, go up from here.”

Karon walked up to the rooftop. Illegal construction was severe on the roof. Basically, every top-floor resident had enclosed a bit of the space, and because of that, privacy was very good. Karon’s roof area was separated from the neighbor by a wall of bricks.

On the north side, there were many potted plants.

“The potted plants were also left by the original owner. During this period my wife and I have been watering them.”

Karon nodded and opened the door to the sunroom. It was not a large space, but it held a small tea table and two rattan chairs. In the southernmost corner there was also a small wooden rocking horse that a child would enjoy, sitting there and swaying back and forth.

This should have been the toy that had belonged to the elderly couple’s son when he had been young, because the paint on the little wooden horse had long since worn away, leaving only some faint mottling.

One could see that in the past the original owner couple liked to lie here in the sun while watching their child play on the wooden horse, yet the sunroom roof was currently covered by a black cloth, making it rather dim inside.

Alfred touched the glass door and asked in puzzlement, “Young Master, this glass seems a bit of a special material.”

Pu’er hopped out of Karon’s arms and stretched out her paws to scratch once at the overhead glass. She then looked at her claws with some confusion.

“Is there a problem?” Karon asked if there was any danger.

“No,” Alfred said.

“Meow.” Pu’er also wagged her tail.

“Young Master, shall I pull the cloth down for you so you can see what it’s like?” Alaia asked.

“Please do,” Karon said.

“It’s no trouble, Young Master. You see there are four hooks on the outer wall of the sunroom. Normally, this cloth is fixed like this. There are two ropes here. Pull one rope down and it drags the cloth off. Pull the other rope and it covers it back again.”

As Alaia spoke, he pulled one rope, and the black cloth was dragged down.

The soft afternoon sunlight shone in, but after being refracted by the glass, Karon felt as if intense early morning sunlight was shooting straight at him. Caught off guard, the sudden change caused his vision to waver, and he instinctively raised his arm to block it.

Through the shade of his arm, Karon looked toward the little wooden horse in the corner. From this angle of light, the remaining colors of the wooden horse were completely washed out, leaving only a black shadow.

It looked like a person kneeling and prostrating before him.

—

Light Epoch, Mythic Overview, Volume One, Chapter Three: The darkness before you kneels, awaiting the radiance soon to come.