TBE Chapter 110

TBE Chapter 110

Edward and Simon followed Ezekiel and his brothers to their room so they could talk.

“Do you have any other requirements for the house that you want to buy?”

“Let me be specific, then. There should be five to six bedrooms for the family members and guests, and rooms for servants. Other than that, just make sure that the facilities are serviceable. A nice backyard would be good as well. For the store, just any normal store will do, but please find a two-story one. Will you need the coins?” Ezekiel asked Edward.

“No. I will talk to the seller first and inspect the house and the store. Once I find the properties match your requirements, then I’ll bring you to inspect them yourself and pay for them,” Edward replied.

“Please make sure that the properties will not exceed 1000 gold coins,” Ezekiel told the minstrel.

Edward nodded and left everyone at the inn. The four of them decided to explore the shops nearby, and luckily, there was one that sold pastries. The four boys devoured a lot of sweet breads, but with comments from Luke that donuts and cakes were more delicious.

Luke was particularly loud, so Ezekiel was a little embarrassed, but he didn’t shush his brother. He didn’t want to form the habit of silencing his brothers in public and would teach them good manners in private. When they were all full, they explored the rest of the shops nearby, but not going too far since they didn’t want to get lost. At least, that was the excuse that Ezekiel gave his brothers. After a while, they all returned to the inn and saw that Edward was waiting for them there already.

“Sorry about that,” Ezekiel told the minstrel.

“That’s fine. I found a house for you already. It’s around a 30-minute walk from here, but if you like it, you can pay for it, and you can even move tonight as long as you purchase beds, bedding, and stuff. You can fill the house with the furniture that you want in the next days, but I recommend that you keep your rooms here at the inn so you can leisurely furnish your new house without rushing yourselves,” Edward said.

“How much is it, and have you found a store yet?” Ezekiel asked.

“The house was 300 gold coins, but we can probably drive it down to 250. Just let me do the talking.”

Everyone followed Edward, and after 40 minutes of walking, which took longer than usual because of the children’s shorter legs, they arrived at a nice neighborhood.

“This neighborhood was one of those where well-off merchants live. So the security and cleanliness are top-notch,” Edward commented.

They arrived at a two-story house with a nice front lawn. The house looked inviting, and that was a plus already with Ezekiel. It was one of those brown houses that people usually would fall in love with immediately. A man was waiting by the door. Edward greeted the property agent and they all followed him inside.

The living room looked nice, but at that moment it was empty of furniture. The kitchen looked serviceable. The toilet was large enough, and it was located beside the kitchen to the left. There were two small bedrooms downstairs to the right of the kitchen that  Ezekiel assumed were for servants, and there was a back door that would lead to a small backyard. At that moment, the backyard was dilapidated and full of weeds, but Ezekiel could imagine having a nice garden back there.

When they went upstairs, Ezekiel was pleasantly surprised that there were four bedrooms. He decided then that he want the house and he nodded at Edward.

They all returned downstairs after inspecting each of the room, then Edward went and talked to the property agent. In the meantime, Ezekiel and his two brothers explored the whole house by themselves.

After a while, Edward called them and told them that the pricing was settled. Ezekiel was truly impressed by the minstrel since the man managed to bring the price down to 250 gold coins. They would need to follow the man to the government offices where he could issue the ownership title of the house, and luckily, it was also one of the places where they could settle their permanent resident identification. With extra gold coins, the man who sold them the house would also handle everyone’s permanent permit.

They arrived at a huge building reminiscent of government buildings, possibly in every dimension. It was a monstrous structure devoid of any warmth. Ezekiel paid a total of 300 gold coins for the house and their resident permits, and because of their supposed “generosity”, their permanent resident permit and identity tokens were given to them immediately.

Ezekiel noticed that Edward didn’t get a resident permit, and that showed the man’s intention of not staying in the city, but the minstrel promised that he would stay until they were all settled comfortably.

The whole group then went to a nearby restaurant to eat an early dinner then they all returned to the inn. Edward would be busy the next day finding them a good store property that he could purchase for Ezekiel, while the rest would be busy finding furniture for their new home.

He also told Edward that before he left, he would need to sell a few more spices at the kingdom so Ezekiel would have more funds that they could use while they were living at the city. With enough funds, Ezekiel could take his time on deciding what business he would do with the store that he would own.

They spent the evening at the inn’s common room, enjoying the ambiance there, but when it started to become chaotic, Ezekiel drove his brothers upstairs even though the boys complained that they still wanted to stay.

“The rest of the evening is for adults only!” Ezekiel told his brothers.

When Robert asked why, Ezekiel explained patiently to the boys that adults would start talking to each other about things that could only be heard by adults, and the minstrel would also start singing about topics that should only be heard by adults. He told them that those topics were about the relationship between men and women, and not in a respectful way, but in a vulgar way that would taint a child’s mind.

“Not only that, some of the men and women there, if they saw children listening in, they would get angry, and rightfully so,” Ezekiel added.

Robert and Luke’s eyes were wide when they heard their brother’s explanation, so they didn’t insist anymore. Instead, the three spent the rest of the evening playing with their Lego set that Robert carried from the cart using a backpack.

After a couple of hours of playing, they all went to sleep, and since they had a busy day, Ezekiel and his brothers were asleep soon after.

The next day, the three woke up early and they all went to the inn’s bath to wash themselves. After that, they saw a red-eyed Edward and Simon in the common room, and the two looked hungover.

Ezekiel didn’t mind as long as they did their jobs properly. Once everyone had eaten breakfast, Ezekiel, Simon, and the two boys went outside the inn to shop for furniture for their new home, leaving Edward behind.

With Simon asking for direction, they arrived at what was called the Wooden Quarters, where furniture and other wooden things were being sold.

“Both of you will need to stay in one room for now since you two are still too little to have your own room each. Do you want a bunk bed or a single large bed?” Ezekiel asked his two brothers.

“What is a bunk bed?” Robert asked, and Ezekiel explained to the boys that it’s a bed on top of another bed. The other one could sleep at the bottom, and the other would need to climb to sleep in the top bunk.

The boys then shouted they wanted the bunk bed, and they both shouted they wanted to sleep in the top bunk. Ezekiel left them to fight it out for themselves.

They arrived at a recommended furniture store, and Ezekiel asked the salesman if they had a bunk bed. The man beamed at them and told them that they did have several bunk beds, and the salesman led them to the back of the store, which looked as big as a warehouse.

There, they saw several beds in different styles. Ezekiel pointed out the bunk beds to his brothers, and Robert and Luke ran to one of them to inspect them. They chose the more elaborate one that was decorated with carvings of swords and shields. It was costly at a gold coin, but Ezekiel told the salesman that he wanted that one.

He then told the man that he needed three beds for medium rooms and two beds for small rooms for servants. The man became highly excited when he heard that they were a huge customer, and Ezekiel told the man that they recently purchased a house with no furnishings.

Ezekiel haphazardly chose the beds in the warehouse, and the total was 5 gold coins with free delivery. He paid the man and gave his address while the receipts for the bed were being prepared.