“How much are the houses outside the city?” Arad asked with a smile.

“All of our houses are outside the city. The prices range from about forty gold coins and up to a few platinum coins depending on the size, condition, and other factors.” The receptionist explained.

“I’m not looking for anything fancy. Any regular house would be fine.” Arad said with a smile. Ask for one in the dangerous part of the forest. No one lives there, and it’s a good place for you to start a lair.

“I would also appreciate it in the forest with monsters. I do hunt them for a living, after all.” Arad added.

The receptionist looked down, “I see, a monster hunter. There are a few houses like that, but can you check this one?” She showed the paper to Arad, and he looked confused.

“The land is large.” The house looked like a small shed but included the land around it.

“We bought it a few years ago for cheap, but nobody would buy it from us. They fear monsters.” The woman sighed, “The director told me to recommend it to anyone who wants a house in the area. I should be able to get you a heavy discount on it.”

“Aella, what do you think?” Arad looked at Aella.

“We elves are used to living in the forest. I would like more than a house in the city. Monsters aren’t a problem.” she smiled, staring at Arad with a smirk, “I was expecting it sooner or later. I expected a cave, to be honest.”

“A cave?” The receptionist stared at her, confused.

“Nothing, it’s between us,” Aella smiled, hugging Arad’s arm. He’s a dragon, and she was waiting to see what kind of lair he would get.

Dragons usually lived in caves or high peaks. Some took the forest as a home, and others liked the desert snow.

With all the burrowing Arad was doing, she expected a cave.

“Is he a barbarian?” The receptionist asked with a smile, “I’m a sorcerer,” Arad sighed.

“Well then, how does five gold coins a month for a year sound like? That would be a total of sixty could coins.” The receptionist smiled, “I could cut the payment up to five years with one gold coin a month.”

Even if you won’t live in it now, as you get stronger, owning land where you can build a lair is good. Monsters won’t be a bother to a dragon.

^You’re right. As long as I own it, I can use it later on.^

“Can we see the house and the land? And can I bring someone to help me deal with the legal stuff?” Arad asked.

? “If you’re buying through the guild, they will deal with all the legal matters. You can also bring someone with you in case you aren’t that comfortable buying a house alone.” She smiled, “And, of course, you can try the house. Since it’s quite the undesired location, I will give it a week’s test for free instead of a day.” She stood.

“Feel free to stay in it for a week before deciding. But I don’t recommend wandering around the house at night due to monsters.” She gave Arad a slight bow, handing him the house’s key.

“A dangerous home, Should we give it a look?” Arad asked, looking at Aella with a smile.

“Of course,” Aella smiled, “Can I build a tree house?”

“You can,” Arad replied.

“You can’t.” The receptionist replied.

Arad and the receptionist looked at each other, and she spoke first. “It’s a rule. Modifying the lent homes isn’t allowed. It’s a general rule that was put in,” She approached Arad and whispered in his ear, “I doubt the director would mind since building something will increase the house value in case you didn’t buy it. The rule is to protect the other properties and was generalized.”

“So we can do it after we buy the house?” Arad looked at her.

“Yes, after you buy it. We won’t own it anymore, and our roles don’t apply.” The woman smiled, “Even if you paid monthly. You can use the house as you like after the first payment.”

Arad and Aella stood to leave, “Wait a moment. Do you need anything else? We offer a lot of services.” The receptionist called them.

^I’m with my wife. How can she suggest that?^ Arad sighed inside, glaring back at her.

“If you’re on the menu,” Arad replied, trying to embarrass her.

The receptionist tilted her head, “Ah! I wasn’t talking about that.” She smiled, “We have a connection with the slave market and the maid school. If you want a helping hand we can arrange for you to hire some workers. You can also buy furniture and gardening equipment from us, and we would take care of the delivery.” She gave Arad a small piece of paper. “Our most popular service is water. We can deliver any amount you want from one hundred to five thousand liters a day.”

The woman approached Arad again, whispering, “There was a well in that land, but it was buried in the renovation. You can consider digging it up again.”

Aella stared at her, “Aren’t you getting a bit too close?”

The receptionist smiled, “I’m trying to sell a product. What did you expect?” She smiled, “We also sell a lot of elvish seeds if you want to grow something,”

Aella’s face lightened, “Do you have an elvish seedling house?”

Arad stared at Aella, “What is that?”

The receptionist smiled, “I see. You know your plants. We had two left, an apple and a lemon. Each one is ninety gold coins.”

“Expensive!” Arad gasped,

“Cheap!” Aella smiled, “Arad, can we get one?”

“Wait, what is that?” Arad asked.

“It’s what we elves build out houses with. You can plant it, and it will grow into a full treehouse in a week. Add to that the fruit bore by the tree has magical properties. Apple reduces hunger, and the lemon can be used to make stamina potions.” She explained with a smile on her face.

“It’s cool, and all to give a tree house grow from seed. And even get the fruits, but is the house even decent?” Arad couldn’t imagine a decent house growing on its own.

“The smallest tree house has ten rooms, and the trees can grow to be massive depending on the elf growing them.” She said with a smile, “I could grow it for us.”

“They are cheap since they need an elf to grow them. And live in so they won’t die. You would buy them for over a platinum coin in the elvish nation.” the receptionist explained.

Arad nodded, “For now let’s look at the house. And decided if we will buy it or not and then we can talk about. Then we can talk about buying more stuff.”

Arad and Aella walked out and headed to the destination the receptionist showed them. The house was located on the eastern edge of the forest, in the middle of what Nina described as a dangerous zone. But to their surprise, they didn’t see a single monster on their way there.

“It’s safer than I expected.” Aella said, looking around, “Not that many monsters attacked us.”

Weak monsters can smell the wyrmwolf in you and turn the other way. Only monsters with slightly high intelligence would attack you. Like goblins and kobolds.

^I see. What will happen when I grow into a full dragon?^

Monsters will approach your lair seeking protection. They will usually offer food as payment. So expect dire wolves to be dropping some prey at your door when you grow up, 𝒷𝒹ℴ𝓿𝓁.𝓬𝓸𝓂

^That would be strange?^

It’s not. Dragons are powerful, and most monsters would want such beings to know they aren’t a threat. A creature like kobolds knows that a hungry dragon is a dangerous one. You can find them serving older dragons in exchange for protection, but they kill the young ones if possible.

“Arad, I can see it!” Aella pointed into the distance. Between the thick trees, a small shed appeared. It was made of dark oak wood with a single door and two windows at the front. From that distance. They could see a small chimney, but that was it.

The shed was barely maintained with veins growing on its sides and the remnants of a garden behind it. When Arad pushed the door open, it cried, screaming for oil, and a huff of dust rushed out, causing him to back away. “The mine was cleaner. How could there be so much dust in here?” Arad tapped the wall to get the dust. CRACK! But the wooden wall cracked.

“Arad, look!” Aella pointed toward the wall, “I think this is the reason. Wood ant,”

Arad looked and sighed, “This place needs a full renovation to be usable,”

“It would seem so, but the size of the land alone is enough to justify the price and more. We don’t care about monsters, right?” Aella looked around.

“We would take it and start the renovation. I want a quiet place.”