For Sale: Male Lead, Obsession Included - Chapter 139

Using the river that split Raptero east to west as the boundary, the west was home to the Imperial Palace and the nobles’ Royal Street, while the east was where commoners, lowborn people, and beggars lived.

The residents of the east lived their entire lives harboring the dream of someday buying a house in the west. That was the same for Feyden.

Memories of the past, when he crossed the bridge every day and vowed that someday he would end this poverty and live in the west together with Truu.

Because of that, when looking for a house, Feyden didn’t even consider the east from the start. He tried to find a house in the west, across the Peach Bridge, no matter what. Among those options, he aimed to get a place around the Peach Bridge area, where prices were at least somewhat cheaper, but because of some unidentified rich person sweeping everything up, property prices around the bridge had skyrocketed for no reason.

Having saved most of the salary he’d received from Estira for a little over four years, Feyden had about 2,400 gold on hand.

A huge sum he’d never even dreamed of possessing in his lifetime.

Yet even with that much money in his hands, the fact that he couldn’t buy even a single house across the bridge left a bitter taste in his mouth.

It was because of the stark contrast in the lives of common people, divided by just one bridge. With 2,400 gold, he could probably buy a hundred buildings in the east and still have some left over.

If land prices hadn’t shot up, he could have bought at least one old building.

When the broker suggested that he go a little farther out instead, Feyden bit his lip in frustration.

Of course, if he went to the outskirts, he could find a proper house with better scenery and a larger yard than here.

But the outskirts were far too distant for Truu to attend school, and Feyden himself felt more at ease closer to the east, so he decided to put off buying a house for the time being.

Since Truu could continue living in the dormitory, there was no urgent need to secure a house.

After seeing Truu back to school, Feyden headed to the Zaki Mercenary Corps for the first time in a while.

“Hey. Well, look who it is.”

“Oh my! Feyden!”

“You look way better, brat.”

“You seduced some rich young girl and your fate really changed, huh. Heard you’ve been looking at houses in the east?”

Feyden smiled silently as he received the mercenaries’ rough greetings.

As expected of a mercenary corps that also doubled as an information guild, news that he’d been house-hunting had already reached their ears.

A rough-looking man with a beard grown down to his chest approached Feyden and casually slung a hand over his shoulder.

“Have some fun on your honeymoon? Looks like you’re picking out a place to live with that little bride now, yeah? Heh.”

The man grinning at him had yellowed teeth and reeked.

Feyden didn’t like the familiarity of someone who had ignored him when he was a minor and had constantly been busy skimming money off him.

“Zaki’s really gone downhill, believing stupid rumors like that. Whatever. Where’s Lily.”

“Riiight heeere~!”

At Feyden’s insolent reply, the mercenary’s eyebrow twitched and he was just about to raise his thick hand.

At that moment, a crash rang out from the second floor, and Lily appeared on the stairs, leaping clean over the railing and landing with a thud on the first floor. As always, she was wearing a top that showed off her proudly exposed upper body.

The bearded mercenary flinched and backed away at the sudden appearance of Lily.

At a glance, she might look like a foolish street woman who only knew how to seduce men, but Lily was the captain of the Zaki Mercenary Corps and the most skilled fighter here.

Lily flashed a crooked smile and stretched both arms wide toward Feyden.

“My baby! Do you know how much this big sis missed you! When I wasn’t looking, why’d you get so big! Are you insane! You got even more handsome!”

When she tried to throw herself at him, Feyden pushed her forehead away with a single finger and glanced upward.

“Let’s go upstairs and drink.”

“Drink? Driiink? Our youngest can drink alcohol now!!”

Lily shouted with an overexcited face.

“Handveil! Bring out the most expensive booze! Let’s throw a welcome party for Feyden! Close up shop, you bastards!”

“Woooo!”

At the very top floor of the building, the mercenary corps’ office, the top-shelf liquor was set out in front of the two of them as they sat facing each other.

“They say this is alcohol brought over from Dongguk. Thought you’d like it, Feyden, so I got it. What do you think? Like it? This big sis’s sense any good?”

Dongguk.

Even at that short word, a trace of longing passed through Feyden’s eyes. There was no way Lily, a sharp-eyed assassin, would miss that.

“The real estate scene’s been noisy lately. Who is it?”

“You really were trying to find a place to live with that little bride?”

“Stop changing the subject.”

“Hmmm. Supposedly it’s some foreign male noble called Aiheyt Tira. Made his money in mining, and he’s young.”

Lily tucked her short blond hair behind her ear as she explained.

“At a glance, he’s obviously a ghost. Buying up buildings through a proxy. It’s definitely some central noble messing around.”

“For what purpose?”

“Because of dark mages, the Empire’s been in an uproar inside and out lately. The temple’s relationship with the Holy Kingdom has gotten worse too. Looks like they’re planning to take advantage of the overall instability, stir up the commoners’ sentiments, and use it for political maneuvering.”

“Any signs of war breaking out?”

“It looks like the Emperor’s doing everything he can to keep it from going that far. He keeps giving speeches saying now’s not the time to be wary of each other, that the greatest enemy is the dark mages, and that they can’t afford to divide their strength.”

“When’s that old man planning to step down from that seat?”