Chapter 156 Elisa's Apartment Rental Diary
The commoners couldn't believe it. "Sir? Is what you're saying true? We can stay in the houses and pay rent after earning coins?"
"Yes!" Vincent replied earnestly. "This is a benefit from Henry. Remember his kindness. When you have enough money, you can buy a house in the residential area. The prices there are not high."
Tears welled up, especially among the penniless orcs. Many of them had planned to sleep on the streets, but now it was like a godsend for them.
"How much does it cost, sir?" someone asked with a trembling voice.
Vincent looked toward the commoners. It made sense that the commoners from Hyratos had some coins.
"A 1000-square-feet house would cost around four silver coins," Vincent calmly stated.
Was this price expensive? In reality, for the commoners, it would take about ten years of work to buy a house, or maybe two to three years if they saved every coin.
Many breathed a sigh of relief. The price was fair. It was much more expensive than building a house with their own hands, but who would choose a mud-brick house when there were rental houses available? They also wanted to live better.
"Now, all of you, come and register, and get your temporary residence permits," Vincent said as he approached a building, which served as the rental office.
Several tables were set up, each with a person sitting behind it, holding papers and quills.
"Name? Who do you have in your family? How long do you plan to stay in Eldoria?"
A series of questions were answered honestly by the orcs and commoners, and in return, they received a card with their name, an identification number, and the most prominent words was Temporary Residence Permit.
"This card is your identification and allows you to move around Eldoria," Vincent said solemnly.
"If you stay for a full year and decide not to leave Eldoria, you can apply to become an official resident. This way, you can enjoy many benefits, such as paying only a third of the house price upfront and moving in. You can slowly repay the remaining amount."
This was the down payment for real estate. Henry controlled all the houses and land in the territory. He would implement restrictions to prevent a massive influx of private ownership, or else it would create an illusionary bubble economy.
"Moreover, only the commoners of Eldoria can purchase a second house," Vincent added.
Vincent's family owned two houses, a large one for his son Kyle, and his grandson; and a smaller one, only 700-square-feet, for him and his wife to live in, so as not to disturb his son's privacy.
As for the third house, they would have to wait for their grandson to grow up, build a new family, and have a separate household registration before they could buy it.
Of course, all this was not particularly appealing to the orcs and commoners at the moment. After all, it was a distant dream for them, as they didn't even have a house of their own.
As the number of people registering for temporary residence permits dwindled, only a dozen or so remained, and one person caught Vincent's attention.
Elisa felt someone's gaze and casually glanced at the old man who had been talking.
She breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn't a young or middle-aged man staring at her, there was a fifty percent chance it would be a bounty hunter.
No one would believe that Elisa was the White-Haired Witch, as she had disguised her hair as gray, covered her pointed ears, and dirtied her delicate face. She was dressed in a set of baggy linen clothes, with a bundle on her shoulder.
Elisa appeared to be a refugee, and no one paid much attention to her, which allowed her to blend in with the commoners and enter Eldoria.
What surprised Vincent was that Elisa was alone. If it had been a man, he wouldn't have found it strange, but it was rare to see a woman traveling alone.
Coincidentally, Vincent was the one in charge of Elisa's registration.
Vincent asked, "Name?"
"Elisa!"
"What about your family?"
"I'm the only one left!" A hint of sadness flickered in Elisa's eyes.
Vincent continued, "How big of a house do you want to rent?"
"Just a single room." Elisa had already made up her mind about this.
Vincent nodded and said, "There are two options, a room with a bathroom, kitchen, and toilet, or a one-bedroom apartment with a kitchen and bathroom. The latter option costs fifteen copper coins."
Elisa calculated her money and immediately said, "I'll take the one-bedroom apartment."
"Alright, please sign your name here and leave a thumbprint." Vincent wrote on a card, stamped it with a seal, and handed it to Elisa. It showed "Temporary Residence Permit".
After Elisa signed her name, she was handed a card and a piece of paper. She asked curiously, "What are these?"
"Proof of tenancy. You'll need it for rent and other matters," Vincent explained casually.
"Okay" Elisa nodded in confusion.
"Will you pay the coins now, or should we deduct them from your future salary?" Vincent asked.
"I'll pay now!" Elisa took out her money pouch and emptied all the copper coins onto the table, a total of sixteen.
She had no intention of working who just needed a place to stay temporarily.
"Give you one back!" Vincent quickly counted and pushed one copper coin back.
"Alright!"
Elisa picked up the copper coin and glanced around, noticing that the others only gave her a passing look before losing interest.
Elisa did this intentionally to let everyone know that she was poor and had only one copper coin left, so no one would pay attention to her.
"Alright, follow me now." Vincent took out a key from the drawer and stood up. "Your apartment is on the other side!"
Elisa was stunned. An immediate thought crossed her mind, would her identity be discovered?
"No one would rent a one-bedroom apartment. Most commoners would choose a shared room to save money," Vincent said.
Vincent could tell that Elisa was already very poor. He persuaded, "You don't need to rent a one-bedroom apartment as a girl. A single room would be more cost-effective."
Elisa fell silent. She couldn't possibly reveal that she had silver coins in her package, could she?
They walked in silence for a while...
"Here we are." Vincent pointed to a two-story building. "There are four sets of rooms, but they are all empty. You can choose one!"
Elisa felt a surge of joy. If the whole building was empty, she wouldn't have to be so careful when going out at night.
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