Buying an Estate

After spending the night in a luxurious inn and enjoying the kind of service nobles received in this world, Donald set out early in the morning with his butler and attendants for the Giant Stone City branch of the Kingdom's Noble Council Administration Office.

The reason he had arranged the auction of his ancestral treasure was not only to earn some Elemental Crystals to put away. His main goal was to make enough Gold Sol to buy an estate.

Noble estates had a long history. Whether they were court nobles with only honorary titles, lifelong lords or knights with titles but no lands, or Highlords who ruled over a region, they would all own at least one estate, to use as a vacation retreat and to help cover their expenses.

The Celt Royal Family, too, owned many famous and beautiful estates. The best known was Sherlock Manor, one of the Kingdom's three great vacation destinations and the source of the top-tier white wine known as Sherlock Wine. It was the private property of generations of His Majesty the King.

When Donald had first arrived in this world, before he had successfully opened the Book of Truth, he had already set his sights on buying a home and land.

In his previous life, Donald had been a Chinese man who worked and lived in a crowded metropolis. His greatest ambition had always been to own a home of his own, so he could stop living in a cramped apartment and struggling to make ends meet. That was a common outlook among people of his generation.

In this life, he held a noble title. Though it was extremely difficult to obtain a new fief, buying an estate to provide an income for his daily expenses was perfectly reasonable.

After all, most nobles in this world had no territory, or else owned only a small, barren fief. For great nobles, an estate was merely an added luxury. But lesser nobles with tight finances usually owned one or several estates that produced cash crops. The profits helped cover the enormous costs of maintaining their respectable noble lifestyles. This was especially true of court nobles with no actual fief. They were worse off than some of the lowest-ranking lifelong nobles, who had received titles as rewards and could buy property in the countryside to live comfortably. Court nobles who had to serve in the Royal Capital needed to maintain appearances and socialize regularly, and the produce from their estates was their only means of covering all those expenses.

Now that he had plenty of money, Donald had come to learn about the procedures and requirements for buying an estate. If he found one that suited him, he would buy it today.

In human society, estates could only be bought and sold between nobles. Naturally, their sale was overseen by the Council of Nobles, which was run by the royal family. The commissions collected on these transactions were also one of the royal family's largest sources of income.

Anyone without a noble title was forbidden from buying or selling an estate. In other words, no matter how rich a merchant was, if he was not a noble, he could not own land of his own apart from a shop or private residence in the city.

That was why wealthy merchants clamored for noble titles and racked their brains trying to obtain noble status, even if it was only the lowly title of a lifelong lord, with no territory and no right to pass it down.

Some merchants even partnered with impoverished nobles, using their names to buy estates and then sharing a portion of the profits with them. That way, they helped support the nobles while fulfilling their own dream of becoming estate owners. It was a win-win arrangement.

The Noble Council Administration Office was a two-story building in Giant Stone City's noble quarter. The reception and office hall was on the ground floor, while the upper floor held meeting rooms for officials to receive visitors. Since nobles could not be governed by commoners, the officials at local Noble Council Administration Offices were either appointed by the royal family or chosen from among the local nobility.

After entering the main hall, Donald first looked around. Then an attendant at the reception explained the requirements for buying an estate and the procedures involved. Of course, Donald tipped him one Silver Moon. Tips were the income these attendants, who served nobles, looked forward to most. Sometimes they even earned more from tips than from their wages.

They especially loved it when a truly generous noble came by, rather than a butler acting on a noble's behalf. Those stern, stingy butlers wouldn't give them more than a few Copper Horns without their master's permission!

Armed with the inside information, Donald headed straight for the official in charge of estate sales, with his butler and attendants in tow.

There were only three actual officials in the building. One handled records of disputes among nobles, another carried messages and documents between the royal family and local nobles, and the third was responsible for recording noble territory taxes and handling estate sales.

The first two were easy jobs. The last was a lucrative position with real money at stake, and it was difficult to get without the right connections.

The Sir Jesse Donald had come to see was an official appointed by the royal family to Giant Stone City.

Sir Jesse was around thirty, but his well-maintained appearance made him look like a noble youth barely out of his twenties. Many of Giant Stone City's nobles had praised his elegant manners, saying he was every bit the nobleman one would expect from the Royal Capital. But to Donald, the man seemed a little affected.

Though his appearance was undeniably striking, Sir Jesse reminded Donald of a character from an anime in his previous life. The man's overly familiar tone and gestures also made Donald feel queasy, and his expression turned a little strange. After all, in his previous life, otaku and fujoshi had always been two opposing extremes. The two groups never got along and often started arguments on internet forums!

"Sir Jesse, this may be our first meeting, but Donald has heard your famous name for a long time!"

Donald stepped forward to introduce himself and explain why he had come.

"I've come to buy an estate. But given your enormous contributions to the nobles of Giant Stone City over the years, please allow me to offer you a small personal gift. I hope you'll accept it!"

"Sir Knight Merlinar, you've truly taken me by surprise!"

When Sir Jesse opened the leather pouch Donald had handed him, the gleam of gold dazzled him. His voice immediately grew at least three times warmer with excitement.

Nobles of equal or higher rank could only address lords with lifelong titles and no actual territory as "Sir." They could not call them "Lord." Many noble families' younger sons, as well as illegitimate children of the royal family, were granted such titles along with a small portion of the family's wealth when they came of age, allowing them to leave home and make their own way. It was a good tradition that kept the number of nobles in this world from growing out of control.

Meanwhile, commoners who distinguished themselves on the battlefield were awarded lifelong knighthoods and became the envy of everyone—the "Knight Lords." This was one reason so many young people eagerly joined the military. But commoners who succeeded were one in ten thousand. Most either died on the battlefield or returned to their hometowns with a body full of injuries and a meager pension, where they spent the rest of their lives.

Nobles born into noble families, with titles but no real power, were often no wealthier than ordinary merchants. To improve their standard of living, become true hereditary nobles, or even acquire land of their own, most joined an institution of the Kingdom or a local government and became officials. Some even joined the army, hoping to earn military merit and rise in rank.

Sir Jesse was a typical example. He came from a great noble family in the Royal Capital, but he was not a legitimate heir—he was merely an illegitimate son. He had secured his current position only because his father doted on his mother, who had been his mistress.

But Jesse, though lower in status than others, had not given up on himself. Instead, he worked hard to advance his position, hoping to obtain the title of hereditary lord before the age of forty and establish a new noble family.

The sight of the young man before him, already the heir to a hereditary knighthood at such a young age, had stirred his jealousy at their first meeting. He had heard that the other man's family had owned fertile estates and a small fief a few decades ago, but had lost their territory early on. This young man had been born into decline, and the thought had given Jesse a measure of satisfaction.

But when he learned that the other man wanted to buy an estate—and had presented him with such a generous gift—Jesse felt both envious and delighted.

When he had been driven from home, Jesse had used the property allotted to him to buy his position. Back then, he had been ambitious. After living in Giant Stone City for a few years, though, he realized that his dream of becoming a hereditary noble before forty was now a distant hope. Without achievements or powerful backing, he would be lucky to receive another empty honorary title before he died. That would be all the royal family's favor he could expect.

Now that he was nearly thirty, his goal had changed. He wanted to get at least one estate before the age of thirty-five, so he could secure his future.

That was why Sir Jesse occasionally accepted bribes under various pretexts. As someone with a little real authority, it was fairly easy for him to rake in some Gold Sol. But a good estate cost a fortune. In the past few years, he had saved only two thousand Gold Sol. And now Sir Knight Merlinar had given him a hundred Gold Sol as a gift at their very first meeting. How could Jesse not be overjoyed?

This was the first time he had ever accepted such a large bribe, and he couldn't help feeling uneasy. But after a moment's thought, Jesse couldn't resist the temptation of the Gold Sol, and chose to accept the man's generosity.

It's a willing exchange, and no one else will find out. With these hundred Gold Sol, plus the commission from his estate purchase, I'll have enough to buy a small estate in the most fertile area near Giant Stone City.

At worst, as long as I don't break the Kingdom's laws, I can put some extra effort into this matter and find him the best estate.

Without showing a trace of his thoughts, Jesse slipped the heavy pouch into his clothes. Only then did he smile and continue:

"Sir Knight Donald, you're a model noble of the Kingdom! You're looking to buy an estate as well? Then please, come with me!"

Donald saw that the other man had accepted his gift and was taking him upstairs to a lounge rather than conducting business downstairs. That told him the Silver Moon he had given the attendant had been well spent.

"Sir Knight Donald, take a look. These are all the estates near Giant Stone City that have been listed for sale at the Noble Council Administration Office over the years. These few are excellent estates that have only recently been listed and haven't yet been announced to the public. You can have first pick."

After they had taken their seats in the meeting room upstairs, Sir Jesse pulled a three-foot-square animal-hide map from a drawer. It showed the terrain across the vast stretch of land around Giant Stone City, painted in color. A number of red paper slips had been scattered across it and stuck in place, clearly marking the estates for sale.

Donald studied the map carefully. He found that the estates were clustered around Giant Stone City and to the south, along the borders with other territories. There were far fewer to the north, toward Green Cloak Forest and the Cloud-Rising Mountains.

Sir Jesse certainly earned his bag of Gold Sol. He enthusiastically pointed out several popular estates in the best locations, with the richest resources and most fertile soil.

But Donald wasn't satisfied with the terrain or size of any of them. Then he noticed the location of Red Maple Town. Two slips lay beside each other nearby. This was the northernmost part of North Shire, and there were no slips at all farther north.

Donald's interest was piqued. He pointed to the spot and asked:

"Sir Jesse, why are these two estates listed together? Is there some story behind them?"

When Sir Jesse saw what Donald was pointing at, he seemed to recall something. His brows furrowed, and his tone grew slightly grave.

"Sir Knight Donald, these two estates have been listed for sale at our office for years without attracting a single buyer. I'd advise you not to take an interest in them."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Well, the place originally belonged to a lord who was granted a hereditary title for his military service. After he offended a great noble in the Royal Capital, he was sent to Giant Stone City in North Shire, the Kingdom's most remote city. The land was originally a small part of the outskirts of Green Cloak Forest. After that lord cleared it, it became the richest land around Giant Stone City. The smaller estate on the left belonged to him, while the large tract of land on the right was his direct territory. But a few decades ago, the magical beasts of the Cloud-Rising Mountains went on a rampage. The lord's territory was right on the edge of the forest, and his newly established fief had no strong defenses like those of Red Maple Town. It was quickly trampled flat by the beasts pouring out of the forest!"

"Poor man. The lord was killed by the magical beasts, and he had no heir, so the royal family reclaimed his title and took possession of his estate. They listed it for sale at the administration office and reserved the territory for future grants. But after the lord's tragic fate, nobody dared accept the fief for decades. In the end, the royal family decided to turn the not-very-large fief into a single large estate and sell it together with the smaller one next door, so they could bring in some revenue!"

Donald considered this, then asked, "Sir Jesse, how much do these two estates cost?"

Sir Jesse's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He hurriedly said, "Sir Knight Donald, you're not really thinking of buying these two estates, are you? You mustn't! I'll be honest with you. These two estates are much larger than the others, but they're nothing more than a trap the royal family set to get their hands on cash!"

Seeing Donald's puzzled expression, Sir Jesse explained:

"Other people have been tempted by the low price and bought them, intending to make a fresh start. But within six months, they fled in disarray. The large estate has been abandoned for years, and its fertile soil has turned into barren wasteland. The soil on the smaller estate is still fertile, but it's constantly harassed by wild beasts and magical beasts. It's a money pit—whoever buys it loses money. Even the royal family doesn't care about these two plots of land. They've lowered the asking price year after year to tempt nobles into buying them and make a profit. So, Sir Knight Donald, you must think it over carefully!"

After hearing Jesse's sincere advice, Donald couldn't help feeling a little more favorably toward the flamboyantly dressed young noble. But the more Jesse tried to dissuade him, the more interested Donald became in the two estates. With the divine artifact that was his Book of Truth, he had plenty of ways to deal with magical beasts. What others saw as the biggest obstacle was hardly a problem for him!

The barren soil would be even easier to deal with. Some basic agricultural knowledge from his previous life should be enough to improve it. More importantly, the two estates were remote, which suited Donald perfectly, since he had plenty of secrets he didn't want outsiders to know. And because the land had once been forest and wilderness that the lord had to clear himself, the royal family had compensated for its size, making the territory far larger than the fiefs of most knights or lords.

By now, Donald had made up his mind.

"I've made my decision. I want these two estates. You don't need to talk me out of it, Sir Jesse. What's the price?"

Sir Jesse saw that Donald looked serious. He didn't seem to be joking or making a spur-of-the-moment decision. Jesse tried to dissuade him once more, but Donald smiled and stood firm, so Jesse could only say helplessly:

"If you've already decided, Sir Knight Donald, I won't say anything more. As for the price of the two estates, they're very large, but since no one has bought them for years, the royal family has lowered the price to 1,800 Gold Sol. If you pay today, I can shorten the surveying and paperwork to three days. Three days from now, the official contracts for the estates can be delivered to you."

Donald was naturally very pleased. He made an excuse about returning to the inn to collect his funds, but in reality, he took 1,800 Gold Sol from his Space Mark. He then checked out and rode back to the administration office by carriage. After paying, he smoothly obtained a purchase agreement for the estates.

After Donald and Sir Jesse exchanged contact details and agreed to meet again at a future gathering, Donald got back into his carriage and headed for another destination.

That attendant's tip had been spot-on. If I hadn't won Sir Jesse over, I wouldn't have been able to buy the estate I wanted, and the preliminary survey would have dragged on. By the time I finally got the estate, I would have missed the best planting season and had to wait until spring next year to start clearing the land.

A hundred Gold Sol was pocket change to Donald now. It was worth it if it meant he could secure the estate without a hitch.