Chapter 150 – Buying a House

*** Goddess of Fertility ***

"You come to mock me?" I ask out to the void.

"Never," Goddess of the Sea says. "I just wanted to see how you are doing."

"Like shit," I say. "How else would I be doing? Bitch Nature and Justice keep me from doing anything with my own damn champion, and I get to watch her breakdown as Royalty gets to laugh."

"Has Goddess of the Future said anything more?" she asks, sitting down in a pew.

"No, she won't say shit to me," I say, falling onto my own alter.

"Well, we knew Alzi would be sold and that we would need her to come to us. I heard you got with one of your daughters," Sea says. "That you helped her get a temple, and her belly is showing."

"Heard or saw?"

"Both," Goddess of the Sea says. "Had to see for myself and now I can see you had some fun with someone."

"Shut up," I say, chains stretching out to my limbs from the pillars.

"Your maids always hide when I'm around your house," Sea says, standing back up to join me by the altar. "Are they caring for your children?"

"Just carrying."

"What does that even mean?" She says, circling me. "And why did you chain yourself up. I'm the only one here."

"They haven't given birth to any children of mine," I tell her. The chains wrap around my wrists and ankles, then pull tight.

"That must be painful."

"We prefer it."

"Kinky."

"Do you want your child now?"

"You want to make a ritual out of it?" the Goddess of the Sea asks, kneeling by my head.

"Is that a problem?" I ask her, ready to call the angels into the main chamber.

"I was hoping for something a bit more personal," she teases. "Are you trapped?"

"No. I would never let myself get trapped again," I say. Maybe I could do it with Goddess of the Sea.

"I suppose that is a smart thing to do. But it does hurt you, don't trust me," she says with a stupid little pout. "I don't have anything I need with a ritual, and I don't like seeing you this desperate. Trust our plan. I know you haven't used the miracle from the first ritual yet. You can bring the world to their heels if needed with that. And if it isn't enough, I'll be back, and you can place me on that altar. My naked form resting on the cold stone, ready to help you once again."

"Hmph, fine," I say, turning the chains to dust. "Are you done gloating?"

"I'm not gloating," the Goddess of the Sea says. "I'm checking in on a good friend. I'm happy to see you using your temple here again. Remember, Justice is so controlling of the world because if civilization collapses, the last thing anyone cares about is Justice. They care about food, water, shelter, happiness, and building something for the future. The people will hate nature, turn a blind eye to her Justice, and look to us. The ones she hates."

"She is looking to make a champion," I say.

"Yes, yes," Sea says, her face hovering over mine. "I have an idea of making my own. She is a bit old, but she will make a wonderful champion and great partner for yours."

"Kiss me or get out of my fucking face," I say.

Immediately, I regret my words. A silly grin showing on the pretty face of a Goddess. I don't know if she loves me or just likes messing with me. And this kiss isn't helping at all. Her stupid fucking tongue fights to get into my mouth as I taste her soft lips.

Fucking bitch.

She releases me with her stupid grin still there. "I'm happy you are feeling better, Fertility," the Goddess of the Sea says. "Remember, Alzi is a dragon and has plenty of mana. Even if she is a slave for a hundred years, it would be just a short time of her life. She'll have plenty of time to fill the world with her offspring."

"Go away."

"Fine," she says. "Don't fret too much. I like the way the world is looking right now."

"Of course you fucking do," I mumble as her figure disappears. "What classes can Alzi get next?"

"Depends on how much healing she does till compared to how much sex. She still has some flexibility in choice," the stupid angel says. Always a stalker.

"What fun."

*** Alzi Mother Armirynth ***

"Let me get this straight," the woman at the counter says yet again. "You want to buy a house big enough for ten."

"Yes, well, we need seven for the people living there, a guest room, and a room for kids. I'm expecting, and so is another woman living with me," I tell her. Yuki promised I would have a noble here to help me, but when I got to the counter, the woman still hadn't shown up. I'm okay with my numbers, but the amount of gold I was given makes me nervous about actually choosing a house.

"Well, those normally go to the nobles," the woman explains.

"I am living with a Princess of the Kitsune realm. Her name is Yuki um. she hasn't shared her last name with me. But Yuki is famous, I think. White tails and ..."

"Yes, I know who Yuki is. I don't think she is living with an old dragon that barely has any mana," the woman says.

"That is where you are wrong," comes from behind me. "Sorry, I'm late, Armirynth. My shift didn't end when I thought it would."

"Hi, you are?" I ask the new woman.

"Audrey. Yuki asked me to come by and help you get a new house," the human woman says.

"Thank you. I was getting worried," I say. "I don't know much about the big houses and really could use the help."

"Of course. Now, can we start touring some houses? I don't think they have any maids, so keep them on the smaller side," Audrey says.

"Yes, my Lady. I'm Feid and will be happy to help you," the woman at the counter says. She ducks down and pulls out a book, flipping to a page before presenting it to us. "This will house ten and has a small garden. The details are listed here."

"Audrey. Um, I can't..."

"I know. This would work for you. Yuki told me what to look for. Are there other options?"

"Not really. Just three more like this. The rest would require a maid to help," she says. "Would you like a tour of them and pick from there?"

"Is it a long walk? I'm getting kind of far along here," I say. I don't know how my stinker of a daughter could handle all those stairs. Most of my body aches and my feet have swollen.

"I have a carriage we can take to the houses," Audrey offers.

"Oh, then it would be best to look at the houses," I say.

Audrey doesn't say anything back; she just turns around and walks out. I waddle to catch up. The woman at the counter takes some large strides to catch the noblewoman.

We follow her to a nice carriage and get in.

"Can you tell me what is near each of them?" I ask. "Wondering what is nearby for food and supplies."

"Yes, all of the houses are on the edge of the upper-class district. A mix of the larger business owners and merchants. Being on the edge will make it so you have a bit of a choice on shopping. Inside the district, you'll find the higher-end shops, and if you move out to the middle-class area, which you are currently in, you'll find the stuff you are currently shopping for. You will be on the opposite side of the upper-class shopping but close to the middle-class shopping. Likely closer than you are now. I didn't have time to find your current home on the map. I will show you each of the houses on the map back at the center when we are done with this trip. But to give you an idea. You'll be just a few blocks from where you currently shop while seven or eight blocks from the upperclass shopping."

"Oh, I don't think we'll need the fancy shops. The current ones have everything we need. I would like a shorter walk. Thank you. Are there any parks or places for kids to play?" I ask, the kids giving their poor mother a few kicks to remind me to think about them. I wish Alzi was around to help them settle down some.

"By the temples have most of the gardens for walks. There are a few green areas that children can run around in close by, but far enough away, you would want someone to walk them over to it."

"It is a city, I guess." Alzi never had far to go to find a spot to play. She was always chasing something.

"Here we are," the driver calls back as the carriage lurches to a stop.

Feid leads us out of the carriage and into a two-story building. Windows dot the front of the house, and a small walkway splits a small yard.

"I don't know if we can maintain a house this size," I mumble. Ilka and Akhae have joined up with Mai to do small tasks with the guild, and Kelly is busy starting up her healing and potion business. Yuki and Nakuma are only ever here for a night, leaving pregnant me to do a lot of the work.

Mai will have to stop soon due to her pregnancy. They already only do small tasks like delivering things in the city, and when she can't do that anymore, she won't be able to do the chores. Maybe I can have Ilka and Akhae stay back to help? But what about after the children are born?

"You may need to look at getting a few maids anyways," Audrey says as Feid opens the door for us.

"Now this house has the asked for ten bedrooms. Five on this floor and five on the second. Then a kitchen and dining room, drawing room, bathroom with a standard bath, laundrey room, and then two rooms left to your choice. This is the entranceway, obviously. The stairs to the second floor are here and then the drawing room will be to our right and the dining to our left. Through this hallway here will take us to the other rooms. This is the basic floor plan for all the houses I had marked out."

"Can I see the kitchen and a few bedrooms?" I ask.

"Yes, we can tour it. This way, please," Fleid says, walking to the left. We can go through the dining room first and then go to the kitchen from there. "The house isn't furnished, so most rooms will just be empty. But the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry room have the basics already set up for you. As you can see, the dining room has plenty of space for ten and some guests if you get the table for it."

She isn't wrong about the room. As we walk through it to the next door, it feels like it never ends.

"Through here is the kitchen," Fleid says. "Swing door to make it easy to carry things through it.

Through the door is another massive room. A wall covered with cupboards for all the pots, pans, plates, bowls, and silverware a family would need. The opposite side has some fancy mana contraptions that I'll need Kelly to explain to me.

"This has a stove, fireplace, oven, and sink that can give you both cold and warm water. All mana is controlled with plenty of extra storage, so even those without mana can use them for more than a meal. This house doesn't have a cellar, but it does have a cooler to keep food and wine cool and a freezer to get ice or keep food frozen if needed," Fleid explains. "Also, as you can see, it has some room for extra appliances if needed. When you are done looking, we can go to a bedroom. These styles of homes don't have a master bedroom so all are the same."

"We can go to one now, I think," I say. I don't even know how to check if these are any good. Is it possible to sell bad mana-controlled items? I should've fought Yuki more about not showing up.

"This way."

Fleid leads us through another door to a hallway, where we turn right. "Left would take us to the laundry, and right across was the bathroom," she explains. She then leads us back towards the main entrance. "This here is the bedroom."

Through the door is a simple square room with a closet. A single window lets in some light and lets me see out to the small garden that looks well-maintained.

The room feels bigger than the one we currently have, so it should work out for us. I don't think Yuki's room is bigger than ours, so it should be fine not having a master bed, and Audrey said it met Yuki's needs.

"I think this is good for us. Now it would just be picking a place," I say. Audrey is constantly looking towards the door, ready to bolt.

"Very well, back to the carriage then."

The ride back is quiet. Fleid is confident she has her sale, and Audrey looks like she wants us both to disappear. I'm not sure what Yuki did to get her help, but I don't think it made Audrey owe us a favor. It seems more like she was threatened to be here.

"Um, Fleid," I say. "Can we just buy the one closest to the middle-class markets? I think Audrey has somewhere to be so we can make this fast."

"Oh yes. You said you were with Yuki, right?"

"Yes," I say. "Yuki said we would be selling our current house, but we need her to come back to move. We don't have enough storage to do it ourselves."

"Oh, no problem. I think Yuki will want it in her name. So, just have her come down when she is available, and we can finalize the purchase. I'll save the house for you," Fleid says.

I guess she believes me now.

"That sounds great," I say. Glad I'm carrying so much gold I won't be using.