Fake Survivor 44

Chapter 44

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Edited by: Kanaa-senpai

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 ”Okay, this is Room 404 that I want to show you.”

 *Click, creak…*

 Ms. Tora said this as she opened the door with the key.

 I felt something odd about the room number, but it was just that the last digit was xx4.

 In Japan, they often skip numbers like that because it’s considered bad luck, but here it’s used normally.

 Well, I heard that skipping those room numbers has been decreasing in Japan lately.

 The room, about 8 tatami mats (≈ 12 sq m / 13 m2) in size, had one set of a desk and chair, and just a bed without a mattress.

 A single… no, maybe a semi-double.

 ”Hmm… are the things in here yours?”

 ”Yes. When you move out, you either have to leave these behind or buy them if you want to take them.”

 I see.

 If I rent this place, what should I do about the furniture?

 Considering the quality, I’d want to get “Imitation” furniture, but… even though I don’t plan to bring anyone over, someone might see it from the entrance.

 Since the door opens outward, I could hang a curtain inside to create a little barrier for privacy.

 Well, I’d be putting in furniture more for storage than for living anyway.

 Thinking about that, I decided to ask Ms. Tora about something that caught my attention.

 ”Ms. Tora, what about the water supply here?”

 ”There’s a well in the back, and on the first floor, there’s a place that serves as both a kitchen and laundry area.”

 It seems the well is shared with the surrounding area, and they bring water from there.

 Considering the sewage system, you can’t just dig a well anywhere.

 Well, if it’s right outside the building, that’s pretty good.

 ”Where do you hang the laundry?”

 ”Well, you see, you tie a string to the protrusions over there and over here, and for smaller items, you hang them on that string. For larger items, you can use the rooftop or the backyard.”

 ”Wow…”

 In the room, there are a pair of protrusions installed on opposite walls, and it seems like you hang things on those.

 Small items are dried inside, while everything else goes outside.

 I heard that only women live here, so they probably worry about theft of underwear and such.

 When I asked, I found out that the toilet is on the first floor and it can flush to the sewer with water.

 Well, you have to fill a special tank with water beforehand to flush it, though.

 Water-related things are quite a hassle.

 But… aside from the toilet, I can just get rid of anything I make myself, and since I’m not living here permanently, it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

 ”Okay, then, next is the water area…”

 Since the place isn’t very big, Ms. Tora was about to show me the water area after finishing the tour of the private rooms, but I stopped her.

 ”Ah, that’s fine. I’ll basically just use it as a storage.”

 ”Is that okay?”

 ”Yeah. So, what’s the rent here?”

 ”It’s 70,000 Oar a month.”

 That’s definitely cheaper than staying at the “Horned Ox Inn” every day.

 However, if I end up going deeper into the dungeon, I probably won’t be able to return to the inn every day, so in that sense, it could be considered expensive.

 If I really want a storage space, I should look for a proper warehouse, which would likely be cheaper… but in the worst-case scenario, if Iris gets chased, his place could be used to hide her.

 So…

 ”Well, I think I’ll decide on this place.”

 I told Ms. Tora.

 ”Oh, okay. You’re not going to negotiate the rent?”

 ”Could I have?”

 ”Rent is something you keep paying as long as you’re renting, and usually, people try to lower it a bit.”

 ”I see… well, I just need to earn more, so it’s fine.”

 When I replied like that, she looked relieved and smiled.

 ”Is that so? Since you’re connected to Mrs. Frederica, I was worried about what would happen if you tried to negotiate a big price drop…”

 ”Ah, to be honest, we’re not that close, so you don’t have to worry too much about it, okay?”

 ”That’s not how it works… Ah, about the payment…”

 ”Yes. What kind of payment method?”

 ”Basically, it’s a lump sum at the end of the month. Prepayment is also possible.”

 ”End of the month, huh… so it’s kind of like taxes.”

 ”That’s right. And if you leave for personal reasons… if you’ve already paid for that month, you’ll get a refund for the days after you return the keys.”

 So if I only lived there for half a month, I’d get half a month’s rent back.

 That’s nice for the renter, but it seems like a hassle for the landlord… huh?

 ”Um, who do I pay?”

 ”You pay the landlord, who is the owner of the room. Well, in this case, it’s the manager, Ms. Sakura.”

 ”Oh, I see.”

 That means if I need a refund, it’ll be a burden on her.

 Well, if she’s only in charge of this property, it shouldn’t be too much of a burden, so I can ask for a refund without hesitation.

 After that, Ms. Monoka agreed to be my guarantor, which was a condition we had decided on beforehand. If I ever miss a payment, she will pay for that month.

 In return, at that point, Ms. Monoka will no longer be my guarantor, and I will be treated as not a resident, meaning the belongings in the room will belong to the building owner… but that’s not going to happen, so it’s not a problem.

 Once we were taken to the place, if it was made with “Imitation,” I could just return it to magic.

 Well, since it’s a contract violation for not paying rent, I have to make up for it with something else.

 So, Ms. Tora, who had brought the documents and writing tools, created the contract on the spot, and we each signed it.

 ”Is it normal to make a contract on the spot?”

 ”It is, if you don’t want to let someone escape~♪.”

 ”I see.”

 It seems I was judged as a good customer because of Frederica’s influence.

 Hmm… It’s convenient, but I need to be cautious about what she’s planning.

 Once the contract was complete, Ms. Tora put away the documents and handed me the key.

 ”Here you go. From today, this is Mr. Koji’s room.”

 ”Thank you. Well then, should I greet Ms. Sakura? Oh, is it customary to bring a gift for the neighbors in situations like this?”

 Especially since Ms. Sakura had a somewhat awkward expression about my move-in, I thought it might help to bring something, so I asked…

 ”No? In places like this, that’s not really done… Was that something from Mr. Koji’s hometown?”

 ”Oh, no. I just heard that some places do that.”

 It seems that bringing a small gift for greetings isn’t common here.

 Even in Japan when I was alive, it seemed to be less common in urban areas, and since this is a world where carrying weapons is quite normal, it’s better to go empty-handed.

 So, we went to the first-floor manager’s office empty-handed.

 Once again, Ms. Tora called out to Ms. Sakura, and when she came out, she was told about my move-in… and as expected, she had a somewhat awkward expression.

 ”Ah, I see… um, there’s one thing I want you to be careful about.”

 ”What is it?”

 Is she trying to find a reason to cancel?

 I was thinking that when she looked back and forth between me and Ms. Monoka, her face turned a little red as she brought up a very reasonable point.

 ”Please don’t make too much noise at night. I’m not saying you can’t, but… just keep it moderate.”

 I had already said that I would be the only one coming in and out, but it seems like she thinks I’ll bring Ms. Monoka along.

 For now… I’ll just brush off Ms. Monoka’s heated gaze, which is making her face red, and say that I don’t have any plans for that at the moment.

* * *

 After finishing my greeting to Ms. Sakura, Ms. Tora went back to the store, and Ms. Monoka offered to help with cleaning, but thanks to Ms. Sakura’s work, it wasn’t necessary, so I sent her home.

 Even though I can ask her to sort the magic stones, I think I should prepare a small thank-you gift.

 While thinking about that, I head to the guild to check on the status of the magic stone appraisal.

 Frederica said she would put it in the guild’s account if it was done, so I could go to the front guild reception, but I decided to go to the dismantling area where she is to report that I was able to rent a room.

 I did some awkward things to make it less easy for people to approach, like squeezing my chest, but it can’t be helped.

 After all, I’ll probably run into her again.

 So, I arrived at the dismantling area and headed to Frederica’s reception. She noticed me and looked up from the documents she was reading.

 ”Did you find a room already?”

 ”Yeah, well. I signed the contract.”

 Frederica made a subtle face at my attitude as “Koji,” but she seemed to accept it and continued the conversation.

 ”Well, that’s good. It’s fine to bring Iris along, but I’d like you to bring Monoka too, if possible.”

 ”I told you I have no intention of doing that, right?”

 I thought it wasn’t something to be shared with others, so I leaned over the counter and replied in a low voice.

 In response, Frederica also leaned closer to me and spoke quietly.

 ”But I told you, right? It’s her own wish. You say that because you don’t want to be used by me, but… I don’t intend to force you into anything, so you don’t have to hold back, okay?”

 ”We’re not in a relationship where I can take those words at face value. We’ve only known each other for 2 or 3 days.”

 Frederica opened her mouth with a gloomy expression in response to my words.

 ”There are people in this world who get married to someone they’ve never even met, you know? Compared to that, isn’t this better?”

 ”You’re talking about arranged marriages, but… since the purpose is clear, that might actually seem better.”

 ”Ugh…”

 Frederica seemed to find some truth in my words, hesitating and groaning.

 From her expression, it was clear she didn’t have a good image of arranged marriages… but even though it was Ms. Monoka who brought it up, we were ultimately doing something similar.

 I don’t like being pushed together for someone else’s benefit.

 ”Anyway, I have no intention of accepting Ms. Monoka without knowing your true intentions.”

 ”Haah, I guess there’s no helping it. I understand.”

 Frederica let out a light sigh and showed a sign of giving up for now.

 I had considered bringing up the matter of investigating “Gem Snake” and its movements regarding Iris, but maybe because of my words saying that it could be handled no matter what, they might have wanted to avoid completely cutting ties.

 For now, since we got into the topic of the 1st District, I’ll move on to the original purpose.

 ”Well, let’s put that aside for now… has the appraisal of the magic stones been finished?”

 ”It’s done. The sorting was done properly, so I only needed one girl from next door to help.”

 ”Next door?”

 When I peeked into the next reception area, the receptionist girl was looking at me with a glare.

 If she had a normal expression, I might think she was cute, but… is this expression because she knows I’m the reason she had to help with the work?

 As I was thinking that, she cautiously spoke to me.

 ”W-what is it…?”

 Her voice sounded weak compared to her expression.

 That difference felt strange, but… well, it’s fine for now.

 ”No, I heard you helped with the appraisal of the magic stones I brought in. Thank you.”

 ”No… I just did my job.”

 ”Ah, I see. Then…”

 Judging that it would be better not to continue the conversation due to her cold attitude, I returned to Frederica’s reception.

 ”Welcome back. Did you like it?”

 ”I didn’t go to look for that reason.”

 ”I know that. So, here’s the appraisal sheet… what do you want to do?”

 ”What do you mean?”

 There were 2 appraisal sheets presented on the counter, showing the counts of goblin and magic wolf magic stones.

 Together, it was just under 2000… this can’t be all that was sorted, and since there are also the ones absorbed, the number of monsters defeated must be even higher.

 In my case, I can find monsters quickly, and defeating them is just a matter of capturing and processing them.

 However, there were some points that caught my attention about those 2 documents.

 There was a big difference in the number of magic stones listed, with Frederica’s name on the one with more stones and Jill’s name on the one with fewer.

 The receptionist next to me must be the Jill mentioned, but it seemed a bit low for her to have only about 500 stones, considering I had her help.

 Did Frederica hold back, or was she able to ask Jill for help partway through?

 She doesn’t seem like the type to hold back, so it might be the latter.

 While showing me the assessment sheet, Frederica asked me something, and when I asked her to clarify, she explained her question’s intent.

 ”If this number is for just one day… then it’s certain that the staff who handled this document will take notice, right?”

 ”And it wouldn’t be surprising if some staff members sold information, huh?”

 ”The penalties for such rule violations are severe. You’d be wanted and targeted by adventurers, and the buyers would likely silence you… well, if they can think straight, they wouldn’t do it.”

 ”Then…”

 I was about to ask if it would be okay, but Frederica answered first.

 ”The problem is that such a small group made this much profit. That means each person’s share is high, and they’ll try to win you over with sympathy or charm.”

 I remembered the situation with Nero at the orphanage.

 ”I see… so what if I say that I exchanged the amount I had saved up?”

 ”You’ve only been in the city for a few days; there’s no way you could have saved that much, right?”

 ”Couldn’t you say it was from before coming to the city?”

 ”Did you really come into the city carrying that kind of load?”

 When I thought back to that question…

 ”Well… I guess it was just enough to fit what I brought for the appraisal.”

 ”If that’s the case, you might be able to get away with it this time, but you’re planning to earn more next time, right? Have you thought about that?”

 ”Now that you mention it… not really.”

 Do I really have to hide how much I’m earning from the guild too?

 Well, for now, it seems like Iris hasn’t caught the attention of the “Gem Snake,” so it’s better to stay low-key.

 Things have already gotten complicated, and now even more trouble might come up.

 As I was thinking about what to do, Frederica, looking around, leaned in closer.

 ”Ah!”

 She was so close that our lips almost touched, and even though she was someone to be cautious around, I couldn’t help but feel a little flustered since she was a beauty.

 Since she stopped just before contact, it didn’t seem like it was on purpose, so I turned my ear toward her, thinking it was a secret conversation.

 It turned out to be just as I expected; Frederica leaned in even closer and whispered in a very small voice.

 ”…Pass it to Wendy on the side.”

 ”Huh!?”

 Surprised by her words, I turned my face toward Frederica while trying to suppress my voice…

 And our lips touched.

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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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