"Well, we'll use this inn as our base of operations for a few days. If there are no problems in this town, we'll rent a house and make it our clan home. Is that okay?"
"No objections!" (x6)
After completing the application to move their base at the guild, both parties looked over the information board and checked what requests were available in the city on the request board, then gracefully avoided a party that tried to call out to them and quickly left the guild. After having dinner at a nice-looking restaurant, everyone gathered in the room that the Crimson Vow had booked at the inn they had reserved before going to the guild, and held a "Clan Meeting."
Even though both parties had yet to establish credibility in the city, renting a house wasn't a problem as long as they paid the rent upfront and a deposit in case anything happened. It wasn't like a copy of their family register or a guarantor was needed. Instead, if the unpaid rent exceeded the amount of the deposit, you'd be immediately evicted, and all of your belongings would be seized and sold.
Here, the rights of landlords were respected and tenants were in a very weak position. But that's not surprising. Merchants who ran away in the middle of the night or went to another town for work and never returned. A hunter was killed by a monster. Soldiers dying in war. Security guards were slashed to death by criminals and drunks they tried to apprehend. In order to avoid incurring losses from tenants who might disappear at any time, the landlords needed to be given an advantage, otherwise there would be no landlords willing to rent out properties.
However, if you look at it from another perspective, it means that as long as you pay the money up front, even a young girl with an uncertain identity or no backing can rent a house without any problems, which was a very welcome system for Crimson Vow and Wonder Trio.
And neither party was the type to venture out and rent a house without first checking what kind of city it was. If this city turned out to be difficult to live in, or if there were idiots among the guild members, nobles, or royalty, they intended to quickly move to another country.
This was not the only country on this continent. This place was simply located on the eastern edge of the continent and was therefore the place where the Crimson Vow landed. It had the advantage of being on the sea, but that was it. There were many other countries that faced the sea, and there was no problem with being a landlocked country. All that matters was that occasionally Mile would fall horizontally to a seaside town to buy large quantities of goods.
In that case, it would be a bit of a burden for the Wonder Trio using the "Princess Teleportation System". In terms of the distance, they would have to travel on this continent, but it wasn't something they would need to use every month, and Mile would eventually come up with a means of transportation for everyone on the old continent, so they could just use that as well.
"When we rent a house, it's essential that it has a courtyard and that we can install a bathroom and toilet for myself. Also, the kitchen is spacious enough. We cook for seven people every time, and Mile makes a large amount in bulk so we can store in storage." (Reina)
There was Mavis, who ate a little more than a normal girl, and Reina and Mile, who eat abnormally large amounts for normal girls. The actual amount they made was far more than enough for seven people.
"The number of rooms will be a slightly larger room where everyone can gather and eat, and at least two other rooms, one for each party, so ideally we'd like seven rooms with private rooms for everyone." (Reina)
That's what Reina said, but—
"It's designed to have a courtyard, and there's no floor plan with just three large rooms!" (Mile)
"It doesn't have to be a courtyard, but as long as it's fenced off and can't be seen from outside, wouldn't a backyard be okay?" (Mavis)
"Courtyard or backyard, I don't care what you call it!" (Reina)
Reina was a little upset after being rejected by Mile and Mavis.
"No, there is a definition for a courtyard and a backyard, they are different things..." (Mile)
"Mile-chan, that's enough!" (Pauline)
As Mile tried to continue, Pauline stopped her.
"That's what I mean, Mile-san... You really haven't changed at all..." (Marcella)
And then there were the Marcellas and her group, Wonder Trio, who looked astonished.
"Huh? Huh? Did I say something weird?" (Mile)
Mile, was the same as always...
"As expected, this isn't an inn or a school dormitory, and a four-person room at home is a bit... At the very least, a double room. Preferably a private room. In that case, it would be difficult to find a house for an ordinary family. In that case, it might be a small merchant's house, an inn, or a particularly small and rundown property that was formerly inhabited by a poor knight family... In that case, unless you're looking for a place far from the city center, even if it's a rental property, it'll be too expensive for you to afford... Ah, no, it would be easy for us and the Crimson Vow to pay that much, but if we were to live in a really nice property, we might stand out a little too much." (Marcella)
"That’s true… We are just 'novice hunters' after all. That setting has to be respected." (Mavis)
With that said, Mavis agreed with Marcella's opinion. When you show too much power and too much wealth, troublesome people will come to you—It seemed they'd already tired of that sort of thing.
"Well, if you decide to stay here long term, you can look for a property at a real estate agency. No matter how idealistic you may be, if there is no such property, it's over." (Aureana)
And with Aureana's very common-sense conclusion, the matter was put on hold.
It'd been a week since they arrived at the royal capital. Each party, Crimson Vow and Wonder Trio, completed requests in the local area and gained a certain degree of trust as "Promising young parties that steadily and reliably complete requests." And, naturally, the competition to recruit was fierce—Especially the Wonder Trio...
In Crimson Vow, Mavis and Pauline looked like adults, and there were two vanguards, so they were thought to be a well-balanced, fully-fledged party. Moreover, they were a C-rank party. However, anyone would see that the Wonder Trio was "A trio of underage friends. A trio of magicians with no vanguard skills and the worst balance." Furthermore, they're just starting out, F-ranked. It had only been a few months since they had become hunters, and at worst it had only been a few days. Moreover, since they had bought new clothes when they came to the New Continent, it simply looked like a newbie had bought brand new magician's clothes, a used staff, and a dagger.
Seeing this, everyone, whether they had malicious intent or not, felt that they had to somehow get these girls into their party and protect them—Of course, the fact that Marcella had already revealed that she could use large-capacity storage magic also had a big influence on this. The Wonder Trio steadily completed requests, but these were requests that even an F-rank could accept, and they were all requests that could be completed if one worked hard. And that didn't include the subjugation of orcs or ogres. Therefore, the only person in the royal capital who knew their abilities was the Crimson Vow.
Mile had also revealed her storage magic, so as a magician who could also play frontline roles and had storage, naturally Mile had also been receiving offers. However, since the Crimson Vow was established as a party, it would be natural to think that the Wonder Trio, which was by no means a party, would be easier to attack—And no matter how you looked at it, Marcella was clearly a noble.
In reality, all of the Crimson Vow were nobles, and even had higher ranks than Marcella, but no one would believe them if they said that. Well, there's no point in talking about status on other continents here...
Anyway, there were solicitations, but that's only if they hid storage magic (item box)—No, even if they did, it's probably the same no matter where they went. Perhaps because this city was still the royal capital, there were no people using threats or violence to force their way in, and the security here seemed to be better than in other cities.
After buying them some ale, they gathered information from the senior hunters, and found out that the king and the upper nobles of this country were relatively decent. That didn't mean that there weren't any strange nobles, but it was a relatively good country compared to the other countries in the area. As for powerful merchant families—well, there's no way a country could exist where all the merchants in the country were honest and good people, and if such a country did exist, it would likely perish quickly, so there's no need to think about it.
...In other words, this city, and this country, had "passed."
Author's Note
The Vietnamese version of "Noukin", volumes 1 and 2 are now published!
Moreover, it comes with a special bonus!! (^^)/
I am extremely worried about whether people from countries with different cultures and customs will be able to enjoy it...and what will happen to the puns, dad jokes, and Showa-era material, but I am very happy that it will be able to be read by people in a new country in a new language, following English, Korean, Chinese, Thai, etc.
I hope that other works will also be translated and published in many languages... (^^)/