Glan Natural Science Academy

After the mercenaries left, the street regained its calm. 

After walking for a while, Ryger looked left and right. He had reached the student residential area. It wasn’t only Ryger that came here; other new students of similar age with exquisite clothing also came. 

After walking around for some time, Ryger went to the front of a real estate agency named ‘Glan Harbour’. 

“Yo, little brother, here to look for a house? Come on, come in and take a seat!” 

Ryger had only stopped in front of the store when a curvaceous lady that looked to be 27 or 28 walked out the store with a smile. Her bright red lips were like a roaring flame, brimming with passion and enthusiasm. 

The well-endowed body clung to Ryger and, before he could say anything, grabbed his hand and pretty much dragged him into the building. 

“We have all sorts of housing to fit everybody’s needs. No matter what your needs and requirements may be, you are guaranteed satisfaction! Now, I take a look at you and I know instantly that you’re a smart, young, promising student. You’ll definitely have great achievements in the future. But studying is a hard thing and really takes up brainpower. Think about it1, your brain is already tired. And if your body suffers even more, how can you study properly? Am I right? That’s why you need to find a suitable place to live in. So that you don’t make yourself suffer out here. Take a look at these listings… “

As she spoke, Ryger’s gaze fell on the transaction price of these properties. Looking at the unbelievable astronomical figures written, Ryger was struck dumb. He gulped. 

Hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of gold coins!

How can a mere house be sold at this level of price? 

Ryger spoke hesitantly, “Ermm, I want to rent…”

Before he could finish, the enthusiastic woman interrupted him. 

“Oh, little brother! As soon as I saw you, I felt that there was a special link between us! Don’t think that big sis here is nagging and hear me out. Renting isn’t worth it! Think about it, if you’re going to live here for 3 years, you’ll have to pay 3 years’ worth of rent. If we go with the average monthly rent here which is 1 gold coin, it’ll cost 12 for one year and 36 for 3 years.

“You pay such a high amount as rent but if you buy a property as an investment, its value might be higher after 3 years. And if after three years you plan to leave the Castle, you can sell the house and even make a profit. Little brother here is a scholar so you don’t need big sis to help count the difference in value for the two of them, right? What do you say? 

The lipstick coated lips kept yapping and yapping without stopping. If it wasn’t because he had no money, Ryger would’ve believed in her and bought a house.

  “I have no money.” 

Ryger helplessly said, “I just want to rent a room.” 

The woman let out a sigh. She could see that Ryger really did not have the wherewithal. “Hmm, if it’s renting a room, we also have some…” 

   With her enthusiasm doused she no longer held Ryger’s arms and began introducing the listings to Ryger in her own little world. The rent ranged from 70 silver coins to several gold coins.

This time, it was Ryger who interrupted. 

“Uh, I want to rent the cheapest sort. The cheapest!” 

“The cheapest?” 

The woman curled her lips. After thinking, she said, “Ahhh… little brother, since it looks like you have it tough, I’ll tell you something. The cheapest housing in the Academy is at the hostels in the south-eastern old city block. They’re the oldest bunch of residences in the Academy, have incomplete facilities and are far away from the lecture building. Normally, they cost about 50 silver coins a month. There’s really no place cheaper than that. We as the middleman don’t even get much money. Normally, we don’t introduce it to the public.” 

“Fifty! Is there really no cheaper place?” 

The woman rolled her eyes. “There are. The places outside the Academy are cheap. Or maybe you can go work for somebody. Who knows? Maybe they’ll treat a student who is doing part time work really well and provide free food and lodging.”

 

“Then, okay!” 

Ryger compromised. He could only accept the sky-high rent of fifty silver coins per month.  

 

Paying the deposit, selecting the place, setting the terms and conditions ,and signing the contract. 

All of it took all morning.

When Ryger signed ‘Ryger Kubo’ on the contract, the woman rolled her eyes again, thinking that he was a fallen noble. 

“Alright. Pay the rent on the tenth of each month. For each day pass that, we’ll charge an interest rate of 0.3%. This is the room key. Please keep it carefully. If the furniture in the room gets damaged, you’ll need to pay…”

Halfway through her habitual spiel, she realized that there wasn’t any furniture in that room. The woman was amused by herself and shook her head.

After the woman left, Ryger looked at the room which was about 10 square meters large, enough for only a bed and a desk. It was a mystery how long the room went without anybody staying in it. Many parts of the room were peeling and there were cockroaches scuttering around the corners of the room. Ryger couldn’t help but let out a disappointed sigh. 

To think that this kind of room needed 50 silver coins. If it were Agate Lake, the rent alone was enough for Ryger to build a room like this.

As for the poor public amenities and distance from the lecture buildings, Ryger didn’t really mind.

Ryger tidied up the cluttered room. He then found a broom and a piece of rag at the public wash area3 and began cleaning up. Time passed unnoticed.

 

Nightfall. 

“Phew, finally done!” 

He looked at the room. Although dilapidated, it was at least clean and tidy. Thinking of how he was going to stay there for a long period of time, he felt some fondness towards it. 

The tenement was located in the south-eastern part of the outer Academy where the limestone street has been eroded by time, leaving uneven patches. The several old buildings nearby were the same as Ryger’s – mini single room dormitories – and seemed to be overcrowded. Once it was night, the cacophonous sound of children crying, accordion practice, husband and wife fighting began to boil up.

Those living here seemed to have long got used to it and the whole surroundings were in contrast to the silent nights of the small town of Agate Lake.

Ryger came to the balcony and lay on it, looking at the brilliant, bright lightscape of Scholar Street in the distance. 

“In the future, this place will be the beginning of my brand new life!”

 

For a moment, Ryger felt a surge of emotion.

“Just moved in?”

Ryger turned to the voice’s direction. A 30-odd, beautiful woman with loose-fitting, grey pyjamas and a cigarette in her mouth was leaning and sitting on a windowsill. Time has left some traces on her face. With one hand holding a bottle of wine and slightly drunk, the woman exposed her snow-white legs and sat on the second floor’s balcony with the look of having nothing to do. She was looking at him.   

“Nice to meet you, I’m Ryger.”

Ryger greeted her politely. Seeing how she was scantily clad, he didn’t dare look and turned his head away. 

“Still a hatchling? Are you afraid that I’m going to eat you?”

The woman tilted her head and –gulp– drank a mouthful of wine, sucked in and puffed a smoke ring blown away by the wind. She said indifferently, “You came in through the contribution badge, right?” 

“Ah! How do you know?” Ryger questioned.

The woman glanced at Ryger and casually threw the cigarette to the street downstairs. 

“Three years for a batch. I’ve sent off quite a few scholars here. I know all the tenants in your room.”

“You are…?”

  Ryger looked at the other party in surprise.

The woman looked like she was laughing at herself and said blithely, “My first husband came in with that badge just like you. He said he would become the greatest magician and give me eternal happiness. But later, because of magic backlash2, he combusted into ashes right in front of me. 

“Huh?” 

Ryger was stunned! 

The woman laughed drunkenly and coldly and then said: “My second husband was a famous herbalist, but was killed by mercenaries from the Sealand Principality because he found a few tufts of stargrass in the Accipit Jungle. Even now, his corpse is missing, and I’m left alone taking care of our shop!” 

Crack! 

The bottle was casually thrown down the street where fortunately, there was nobody around. The woman closed her window and went back into her room. Ryger stood there dazed for a long time.

Footnotes

THINK, RYGER THINK! IF YOU DIE OF HYPOTHERMIA BECAUSE OF BAD HOUSING, HOW CAN YOU BE THE MC?Backlash or backfire. I’ll use either one depending on which one I think sounds better.