“Well then, shall we start looking at some of the properties? What is your estimated budget?”

I gestured two fingers to answer the woman’s question.

“Two silver coins? That will be a little too small. Well, don’t worry. It’s still enough for a single person.”

No, what I meant was two refined silver coins. In fact, it wouldn’t have mattered if the house cost two gold coins, but I lowered the budget since I felt such an expensive house wouldn’t exist in this small neighborhood. Before I could even correct myself, the middle-aged woman brought out some drawings of rooms and buildings.

Does she not have any pictures instead of drawings?

“This room requires a deposit of one silver coin and 20 refined bronze coins. The monthly rent is 10 refined bronze coins, but it’s convenient to live here since it’s close to the market.”

The floor plan shown by the middle-aged woman was a studio ideal for living for one.

“Excuse me, but I’d like to find a place to stay until the civil service examination. Would that be possible?”

If that wasn’t possible, let’s just buy a house. It was too noisy and distracting to study at an inn.

“Until the examination… unfortunately, it’s not possible to rent houses that way.”

I think it might be a better idea to just buy a house. Even if I had to go to school for the training, since I had the confidence to get good grades, buying a house did not seem like a bad idea.

“Well—”

As I was about to say that I’d like to buy a house, the middle-aged woman cut me off and said, “How about boarding? The owner of this house is considerate to allow people to board at his place for a month. Afterward, you can sign a contract to stay longer if you like the place. The price is a bit expensive though.”

“How much is it?”

“It’s 40 refined bronze coins a month without any deposit.”

“For boarding?”

Renting a house cost 10 refined bronze coins a month, so it didn’t make sense that a boarding house would cost 40 refined bronze coins. If I lived in this boarding house for three months, it would be equivalent to the deposit fee of the one-room studio I saw earlier. This was no different from saying that they were not interested in finding boarding students.

“Yes. The room is big, there is a garden, and it’s also close to the market. Meals are served in the morning and evening. But the landlord says that if he doesn’t like you during the one-month stay, you’ll have to pack your stuff and leave.”

“What? The landlord will kick the boarding student out?”

What kind of boarding place kicked out the tenant just because they didn’t like him?

“Yes. Actually, the grace period of one month is more like a time for the landlord to get to know the tenant rather than them being considerate. Staying at an inn will actually be a little cheaper and you may also be able to negotiate prices if you’re planning on staying there for a month.”

Certainly, if I were staying at an inn, it was possible to get a discount since I would be a long-term guest. Besides, there usually weren’t a lot of guests during the weekdays.

“Is the house quiet?”

“Yes, the boarding house is located on the streets where the nobles live, so it’s quiet and has good security.”

Security was certainly something important to consider. Good security meant that there was a reduced risk of being disturbed by strange accidents.

“There won’t be any problems like the landlord coming into the room when I’m not there right?”

“I heard that he’s not such a person.”

“Could I take a look?”

“It’s an expensive place and you could be kicked out later. Are you fine with that?” the middle-aged lady asked again.

“Yes. Please guide me to the house.”

At my firm request, the woman led me to the boarding house as a real estate agent. The house looked much better than I had imagined. It was safe to say that this was a mansion of a noble family. The middle-aged woman rang the bell and spoke into the intercom.

“Hello? I’m a real estate agent on Wellcon Street. There’s someone interested in boarding at this place. May I come in?”

Rather than an answer, the iron door opened automatically, accompanied by a sound. It was a much more developed country than I had thought.

“Shall we go in?”

“Yes.”

The garden on the way to the porch was filled with pink flowers. Although I did not know the name of the flower, I could tell that they were well maintained. Also, I sensed the presence of a lot of people.

The real estate woman knocked on the front door, it was opened as if someone had been waiting inside.

“Ma’am, long time no see.”

When the real estate woman greeted her, the woman inside the house gently nodded and gestured for us to enter.

“Agent Pope, long time no see. Is this the new tenant interested in boarding?”

“Yes, he is.”

“Would you like to come inside and have a cup of tea?”

“I’m sorry. It’s an honor, but I can’t leave the real estate agency unattended for a long time. May I drop by next time?”

It was easy to tell at a glance that the real estate woman was stiff and tense. It seemed that the landlady was a noble.

“Of course. Agent Pope, please feel free to come see me anytime.”

The woman looked really disappointed.

The real estate woman took a step back a little stiffly and said, “This lady here will introduce you to the house. If you need to find another house, please feel free to come to the real estate agency anytime.”

She bid her farewell and headed out to the front door.

For a friendly woman like her to become nervous, was the landlady actually a scary person or a high-ranking aristocrat?

“Come in.”

The landlady guided me inside the house.

As expected from a mansion, the interior of the house was very luxurious. After being guided into the living room, I sat on the sofa next to the table at the recommendation of the landlady. It was very soft. Unlike the rough sofa made out of demon hide back home, this felt comfortable on a different level.

The landlady poured me tea and spoke as she handed me the cup.

“First of all, excuse me, but may I take a look at your ID? My son doesn’t like to have people in my house who haven’t been verified. I apologize if this makes you feel unpleasant.”

“No. You should check since I’m here to board. Here you go.”

When I pulled out my ID and handed it to her, the landlady was slightly surprised and said, “Oh, you’re a noble. Excuse me for this, I’m very sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s not like I have the word noble written on my face, nor do I have a title. I’m just a plain noble.”

The landlady bowed slightly at my words.

“Thank you for understanding. My name is Arscilla von Di Paiola Arthemius. You can call me Mrs. Arscilla.”

I did feel that this place looked like a nobleman’s mansion, and it turned out to be true.

Based on how she had the name of a territory “Di Paiola” in her name, she was at least the wife of a noble family or the lord’s mother. This was because, among a lord’s direct lineage, only his parents, wife, and heir were assigned that name.

For some reason though, the name sounded familiar.

“Yes, Mrs. Arscilla, I understand. As written on my ID, my name is Den von Mark. Please call me Den. But ma’am, your name sounds familiar for some reason—”

When I spoke my last words, the landlady looked a little embarrassed but also full of pride.

“Oh, I believe Mr. Den is familiar with my name because of my son.”

Son?

If I were familiar with the name of a nobleman in just a short time after leaving my hometown, it must have been because of the information on nobles I bought from the intelligence agency. This person must have considerable power in the capital for me to be familiar with his name.

I pondered for a moment.

Arscilla Di Paiola Arthemius… Di Paiola Arthemius…

Wait?! Arthemius?!

“No way—”

Mrs. Arscilla nodded while slightly blushing with embarrassment.

“That’s right. Although my son is lacking in many aspects, he’s serving in a high position as a prime minister.”

Arcanta von Di Paiola Arthemius …

The young prime minister of the empire. Indeed, the name was familiar.

He was one of the most influential nobles in the empire that occupied the first page amongst all the nobles in the document. The emperor’s right-hand man. He was a genius that could have advanced the world ahead of the Butterfly Tribe had he trod the path of a magician. He was one of the names most frequently mentioned in my uncle’s letters.

Indeed, there had been a reason why the real estate woman had been so nervous just by meeting Mrs. Arscilla face to face. But why was the wife of a duke receiving boarding students for a house that was too small when considering the authority that a prime minister held?

“What do you mean lacking? Who would say that the prime minister is lacking? Your son is a person that even someone like me hailing from a remote region has heard of.”

“Thank you for saying so.”

“This could sound a little rude, but why is someone like you looking for a boarding student?”

Mrs. Arscilla answered with a kind smile, “It’s not really a rude question. The reason why I’m providing a boarding house is that I like people. It was fun to walk around when I was back in my territory, but I haven’t been able to move around freely ever since coming to the capital. So I asked my son for a small house so I could receive boarding students.”

Ding-dong-!

The doorbell suddenly rang.

“It looks like the kids who are going to board at my house today are here. Since you haven’t taken a look around the house yet, would it be okay if I gave you a tour with them?”

“That won’t be a problem.”

Mrs. Arscilla stood up and walked towards the front door.

I thought as I looked behind Mrs. Arscilla. This was dangerous. If I were to stay in this boarding house, it was no different from saying that the prime minister himself would find out who I was. The prime minister was very close to my uncle. In other words, if the prime minister found out who I was, Uncle would immediately hear the news.

Should I leave now? No, it was already too late.

I was wondering why there had been the presence of so many people around the mansion. They were all bodyguards. It was possible that the news that I had set foot in this house had already reached the ears of the prime minister.

This was a real dilemma.

It was too strange for a guy who came to look around the boarding house to leave right away without looking at his room. It could even look as if the purpose of my visit was to come see Mrs. Arscilla. But it seemed unlikely that they wouldn’t investigate my identity after I had spent time with the landlady for a while to look around the house.

Should I just be crazy and board at this house?

My ID was forged perfectly already, and I had written the address on my card as a remote region located on the map to make it seem as if I was a noble from a fallen family. I wondered if they would investigate a mere boarding student to that degree, but they definitely would at my current state. It was also questionable whether a fallen noble like me would pay such expensive rent to board at a place like this.

What should I do? Should I run away?

Mrs. Arscilla brought in the people who rang the doorbell.

“Oh? Den?”

One of the people Mrs. Arscilla had brought in shouted my name. Surprised, I turned towards the person who had called my name. There was a sucker looking at me with a bright face.

“Oh, do you know each other?”

“Yes, ma’am, He’s a traveling mate who came all the way to capital with me.

A mate when I’ve only known you for a few days… no, wait!

I could use this situation to my advantage.

“Yes, ma’am. He’s a mate who I came up together with to the capital. I received a lot of help from Mr. Lisbon.”

“No, I was the one who received more help.”

I nodded in response to Lisbon’s words and began to talk as we sat down and chatted together. I had to prove my identity to the prime minister as much as possible by making Lisbon and Alice identify me. It was a steep gamble, but it was the only way to take the civil service examination without causing a stir.

If this went well, not only would my identity be guaranteed, I may also be able to see the effect of hiding under a lamp. Of course, I would run away immediately if I got caught.

By the way, it was hard work to pretend to be close friends with someone.