CHAPTER 34: NEW APARTMENT

Rowan walked into the shop, the bell above the door announcing their arrival.

A sales assistant was immediately there with a smile on his face. "Welcomes, sirs. To—"

"We’re not here to buy." Rowan interrupted with a grin. "We’re here to rent."

The assistant blinked in confusion.

"The apartment." Rowan pointed upwards.

"Oh." The assistant’s eyes widened, and he smiled once more. "Wait here. I’ll get the boss."

"Alright." Rowan nodded, before turning back to Wade. "Most of the time, it’s the owner of the store that owns the apartment above them, so you can simply walk in and inquire. In the rare case that the owner of the building is not the owner of the shop, the owner of the shop will direct you to the owner of the building. Either way, you can just walk in and ask."

Wade nodded, taking in the information.

"I hear you fine young men are looking to rent." A man said, walking into view, the assistant behind him.

He was short, rotund, with a bulging belly, and a thick, handlebar moustache.

"Yes, we are." Rowan said, his smile still in place.

"My name is James." The man said, stretching a hand. "I’m the owner here."

"Pleased to meet you, James." Rowan shook his hand. "I’m Rowan, and this is Wade."

"Hello." Wade nodded with a smile of his own, shaking the man’s hand.

"So?" James smiled.

"Yeah." Rowan grinned. "Let’s check out the place."

"Perfect." James grinned. He led them out of the store, and to the side of the building, where there was a staircase leading upwards.

Climbing it, they arrived at the door of the upstairs apartment.

"In here," James said as he produced a key from his pocket, fitting it into the lock, "we have one of the best studio apartments in the city."

Rowan and Wade immediately shared a look, each one knowing the man was just trying to talk up the property, so he could charge more.

The lock clicked, and James opened the door, walking inside. "Here, we have a fully furnished studio apartment. Perfect for every adventurer."

Wade and Rowan walked in, eyeing the place.

The apartment was a medium sized open space, the door leading straight into the living room.

The living room had a single seater chair sofa against the left wall, and a large sofa serving as a divider between it and the bedroom.

The bedroom had a single, large bed, tucked against the wall, and at the end of the bed was a window. It was currently closed, the windows drawn.

On the right side of the room was the kitchen. Sitting in the middle was a desk and a few chairs surrounding it, providing a workstation if he needed it.

Tucked to the side was the sink, and stove, where he would do the cooking and washing, with a rack holding the utensils he’d need.

And sitting above the sink was a window, its curtains red. This was the part of the room that overlooked the street.

On the far side of the wall was another window, and at the middle was a door leading onto the balcony.

"So, what do you think?" James smiled, confident.

Wade looked around, studying the place. He walked into the bedroom, seeing the large wardrobe built into the wall, and the adjoining bathroom.

He checked the windows, seeing they had thick panes, and were fitted rigidly into the walls.

He shared a glance with Rowan, giving the man a subtle nod. He liked the place.

Rowan turned to the man with a grin. "The house is not really to my taste, but my friend would like to stay here. He’s not really that sold on it, but if the price is right, we can make it work."

"The price, you say?" James smiled pleasantly. "An apartment like this goes for 100 coins a week around here."

Wade blinked in surprise, but it was Rowan who reacted with loud exaggeration.

"100 coins?" The man said, eyes widening. "I can get an apartment down the street for just 50 coins a week."

"Not one fully furnished, and with space like this, you don’t." James grinned. "But for you guys, I’m willing to give you 90 coins."

"90 coins?" Rowan crossed his arms. "This is definitely not worth it. But we can settle here for 60 coins a week."

"60?" James scoffed. "You’ll have more luck getting a single room around here for 60. Give me 80 coins a week and the apartment’s yours."

"80?" Rowan pretended to think about it. "I’m not sure that’ll work out for us. We were hoping to get this place long term, but if it’s 80..." He trailed off, glancing at the look on James’ face.

He exhaled, nodding to himself as if he had just come to a great decision. "How about 70 coins a week? That’s the best we can do."

James thought about it and shook his head. "Nah. This is a fine apartment. I’m not letting it go for less than 80 coins a week."

"Is that so?" Rowan glanced at Wade with a brow raised, as if to ask ’are you okay with that?’

Wade thought about it and nodded. This place looked... cozy. With the space, he’d be able to practice some of the sword moves he’d picked up in privacy.

And he needed the space for his honey mead idea anyways.

"We’ll take it." Rowan smiled at James. "And how much for the deposit?"

"Just a week’s rent." James smiled toothily. "Also 80 coins."

"Great." Rowan smiled, passing the ball to Wade.

James retrieved the rent contract from his pocket, like he was ready for this from the very beginning, a smile on his face.

They moved to the kitchen table, and Wade read through the document to make sure he wasn’t signing something else.

When he verified it, he signed his name on it. He then retrieved 160 coins from his inventory, handing it to James.

The landlord spent a few minutes counting it, making sure there were truly 160 coins in the pile he’d just been given, before handing the keys to the apartment over to Wade.

"Make good care of them." He said. "If you lose them, you’ll have to pay out of pocket to change the lock. If you don’t, it’ll be taken out of your deposit."

And with that he left Wade in his new apartment.