Merry Christmas Everyone...Yohohohoho...
-x-
The dusked sky finally hid the sun behind it. It was late evening when Orion finally staggered out of the Guild Hall, barely able to walk.
Even his flasks were useless against Eina's relentless lectures after he went ahead and went deeper into the dungeon.
'Even after I went through all the trouble of exchanging my today's haul with another guild member… Eina learned it somehow. That elf woman is scary sometimes…' he muttered, finally letting the fresh, somewhat cold air of the evening city put some life back into him.
'And once again I missed the best time to go house hunting. Man… I'm not going to Eina next time right after a dungeon raid. Might as well let her lecture me to death till night. At least I'll have a place to go back to sleep to…'
Orion, for once, even wondered that perhaps… maybe, possibly, he was too hasty in choosing his advisor. There were other less concerned advisors there, like that red-haired lady, Rose.
She looked like someone who didn't care whether you lived or not, completely given up on the race called Adventurers. Her cold and uninterested eyes sometimes even made Orion wonder why she was still getting clients.
Now he knew why, because sometimes, perhaps, the concerning nagging type is not the best one.
Sigh…
But again, as he recalled after the long, life-sucking lecture, the elven onee-san sighed and slowly caressed his face while her breasts were pressed against his sides, telling him not to put himself in danger next time.
'I guess it's worth it…' Orion just smiled.
Looking at the almost pitch-black night sky, he sighed once again. He wouldn't be getting any place at this hour.
But still, he tried. Thanks to Eina, he had learned a few places that would take male adventurers in.
Little did he know that time wasn't as much of a factor in his problem as money. It turned out Orario wasn't a city that believed much in sleeping. He still found many apartments open to rent at that hour.
He just had to know where to look. Once again, he had to thank Eina.
So no, time wasn't the issue. Money was.
For being the heart of the world where gods themselves dwell, Orario was fucking expensive. It's like modern-day New York or Hong Kong.
His earlier estimation about the money he collected lasting him for a month or so was flushed into oblivion almost instantly.
"How much did you say the place cost?"
"5 million Valis… and you have to give a 3-month advance…"
Orion felt like the ground beneath him was disappearing.
[Such blatant thievery in the light of day… even mortals have the decency to hide their sins.]
Marika cursed beside him. For a queen, she had no hard concept of money. She could have anything she demanded. Only after seeing Orion's own journey so far had she realized that earning money wasn't that easy.
Currently, he only had 2.5 million Valis on him. That was not nearly enough.
'And 3 months' advance… are you here to loot new adventurers or what…' he wished to curse.
For a new adventurer, his new haul for just two days wasn't that bad. However, unfortunately for him, bosses don't leave behind any monster cores, meaning no money coming from them.
Most of Orion's time was spent fighting bosses these two days. He even teleported to the last level he reached and restarted from there again. No real grinding for money.
In this case, 2.5 million wasn't bad.
'It's like a country bumpkin goes to the city with all his life savings, only to learn it's not even enough to spend a single night there…' For some reason, Orion could feel a sharp pain where his heart was supposed to be.
"Thank you… but sorry, this one is way out of my budget…" he said, and with a downcast look, just walked out.
"OI, wait kid. I have other apartments, cheaper ones as well." The man who tried to make some money out of the new kid, after showing him one of the better apartments, called out in a hurry.
However, even he didn't know what kind of damage he did to Orion's poor little frugal heart. He left without saying anything else, downcast.
This wasn't the first agent he had seen today. This was the third one. Turns out everyone tried to scam him.
One was okay, and two were fine as well, but if everyone was showing him expensive houses, didn't that mean the city was just that expensive…
At least, Orion had that perception now.
"I'm dirt poor…" Tears seemed to stream down his eyes while he marched wherever his hungry, raging stomach led him.
Marika wasn't much better in this regard either. She had no conception of money. For once, even she felt that the city was way too expensive.
Orion's belly roared as he walked past a pretty little inn, the smell of tasty delicacies making his stomach do somersaults.
He wished to rush in immediately, but then recalled his monetary situation. The apartment the agent showed him was a bit fancy, but even then, it was ridiculously expensive.
He had to cut back on his expenses if he were to rent a good place for himself.
"Poor people don't deserve to eat… I guess." He lamented and with difficulty, dragged himself away from there.
Marika deadpanned at this… what did being poor have to do with not being worthy to eat?
Even her own city back in the Lands Between had social classes, but never once was there a restriction on people's food intake. That was cruel, even for her.
[Gold may weigh heavy upon the mind, Tarnished, yet even poverty is no excuse to neglect the vessel that bears your will. You have taken nothing this morning but dry bread, and that alone is an insult to the labor you demand of yourself. Go now. Take proper nourishment, restore your strength, and return steadied. A Tarnished who starves himself serves neither fate nor grace.]
She said, pointing for him to get something to eat. However, Orion denied it.
"Nah… the place looked expensive. I'm not idiot enough to starve myself over a bit of money, but at least for a little while, until we get ourselves our own place, I have to go with cheap street-side snacks." He shook his head, reluctantly dragging himself away from the inn radiating an enchanting fragrance.
Marika wanted to argue. However, she let it go. They had been together for only a few days, but in that time she had figured out his personality.
Telling him anything immediately after he made a decision like this was useless. Nay, she'll talk when he is a bit more hungry and a bit more desperate.
So he kept going, letting his legs do the thinking, until he found himself in front of a familiar stall.
"Orion-kun… what happened to you?" Hestia blinked when she saw the familiar boy looking at her and her Jagamarukun with pleading eyes…
"Poverty…" Orion muttered to himself, looking like a kicked puppy.
"Please give me some of your Jormungandr-kun…"
Hestia blinked, urging to say that he was saying it wrong again, but seeing the downcast look on the boy's face, she relented.
Only after filling his stomach halfway did he start to talk.
"Oh, so that's what happened. Those greedy agents heavily hike their prices to sell the apartments that give them the most commission. You shouldn't worry about them, Orion-kun… normal housing is not 5 million here in Orario, as long as you're not looking to rent a small mansion or something…" Hestia sighed.
"Really…!" Orion felt like someone had poured cold water on him.
"Yeah… usually the houses near the core city, mostly closer to the dungeon tower, go sky-high in prices. However, if you go a bit further toward the outer side of the city, the apartment prices are pretty reasonable." She beamed.
"Anyways… how much do you have for your apartment, Orion-kun? I might not look like it, but I have some connections. I might be able to hook you up with a good dealer who'll show you an apartment under your budget." Hestia patted her generous chest proudly, fully confident about the matter.
"Ah… I got 2.5 million."
"What!…"
Hestia's heart almost dropped there.
"B-but you said you're po… poor." Hestia muttered, feeling betrayed.
"Well, that's all I have after two days of toil," he said sheepishly.
"Tw-two days. Only two days…" She froze.
She had been working hard for two months by herself and had only saved 180,000 Valis…
Needless to say, she broke.
'Am I the only one under the poverty line in this city…' Hestia felt a sting to her eyes.
xXx
A/N : A little comedic elements here and there. And again, natural story progression.
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