A private courtyard home

In truth, Li Qiuzhi had very little worth moving. Even the kettle and bedding had been provided by the Knights of Favonius relief station.

He could not take them, nor did he want to. He would be too ashamed.

Apart from his hunting bow and quiver, a few changes of clothes, towels and other daily necessities, the two books he had borrowed from the library, and, most importantly, his Mora, there was nothing else.

So he did not need the ladies to help.

Still, carrying Mora around became inconvenient once he had more of it. He would have to find time to deposit it at the bank, which would also spare him the worry of a thief stealing it from his home.

Valberry Street was in the western district of Mondstadt City, close to the city walls. It was named after the local specialty, valberries, which felt rather fitting.

Getting there from the Knights of Favonius relief station took quite some time.

Eula and Amber walked ahead. Their two pairs of over-the-knee, high-heeled boots made crisp, pleasant sounds against the stone paving. Their hair, different in color but equally silky, swayed gently with their movements.

It was as though a faint breeze were stroking it with a hand.

On the street, passersby walked in twos and threes, casting curious glances at their strange trio, especially with Eula among them.

Out of respect for her status as a member of the Knights of Favonius, they kept their unfriendly feelings off their faces, but their body language still gave them away.

Was Eula really that unwelcome in Mondstadt?

Of course not.

There were still many open-minded people in Mondstadt City. They remembered the dark era of the old aristocracy, but they would not go so far as to blame its descendants a thousand years later.

The Knights of Favonius, who governed and protected Mondstadt, were one such example.

Since even Mondstadt's rulers did not mind, more and more people in the city would eventually treat members of the Lawrence Clan like anyone else.

There was nothing he could change, nor any need to change it. He could simply let things take their course.

"It's getting dark. Do you want to stop at a general store along the way and buy whatever you need? You'll need a kettle and cleaning supplies, won't you?"

Amber, who had been walking beside Eula up ahead, suddenly stopped and turned around. Resting both hands on the soft curves of her waist, she looked at Li Qiuzhi and asked.

"Yes, those really are necessities." With his hands already full, Li Qiuzhi chuckled and said, "Looks like I'll have to trouble you two after all. Sorry about that."

"No problem!"

Before long, all three of them had their hands full. They had bought pretty much everything he needed for cooking, cleaning, bedding, and daily life.

The price was that the hundred thousand Mora he had just earned from his commission had almost all been spent before he could even get used to having it.

"Miss Eula, this is the vacant house you were talking about!?"

When Li Qiuzhi arrived on Valberry Street and saw the vacant house Eula had mentioned, he suddenly felt the urge to turn around and go back.

Before him stood a walled property. Through its imposing iron gate, he could see a front courtyard overgrown with grass, which looked as though it had gone untended for quite some time.

An elegant two-story house stood in the middle, with two-meter-wide passages between it and the walls on either side. There seemed to be a back courtyard as well.

Overall, it struck Li Qiuzhi as a simply furnished villa. Though not large, it still looked rather upscale. Could he really afford to rent it?

He felt as though all the Mora he had would not even cover a month's rent.

"What? Is something wrong?"

With a faintly calm expression, Eula smoothed the ice-blue hair beside her ear with her right hand. Her softly curved legs shifted slightly apart as she walked to the iron gate, ready to open it.

"Don't you think a house like this is a little too luxurious for me?"

Left with no other choice, Li Qiuzhi told her the truth. Had he known the Lawrence Clan was renting out such an upscale house, he would not have come. A single day's rent might have been enough to cover a whole month's living expenses.

"This place was originally built to rent to foreign merchants who came to Mondstadt to trade. Unfortunately, once most merchants learned about the Lawrence Clan's reputation here, they refused to stay, afraid it would affect their business in Mondstadt."

Eula picked up the padlock hanging on the iron gate. Amber had dragged her over to see Li Qiuzhi as soon as she had finished her mission, so she had not brought the key.

Of course, that was no problem for her.

"So rather than leaving it vacant forever, I don't mind renting it to you for less." Eula continued holding the padlock as wisps of cold flowed into its keyhole.

The sound of ice forming inside the keyhole rang out.

At last, Eula held a key formed entirely from Cryo between two fingers. With a gentle twist, the mechanism turned, and the padlock opened easily.

Li Qiuzhi's eyelid twitched at the sight. Wasn't that a little too convenient? With a trick like that, she would probably never have to worry about forgetting her keys.

"How about a hundred thousand Mora a month?"

Eula pushed open the iron gate and stepped into the front courtyard. Left untended for so long, the grass had grown wild, reaching just high enough to brush her ankles.

"Looks like we'll need to spend some time cleaning this place up." Amber's fair face showed a hint of ruefulness. The weeds in the front courtyard were so thick that she could not even see the ground.

Li Qiuzhi, meanwhile, was thinking about the rent.

A hundred thousand Mora a month was indeed cheap. With a single drink at the Cat's Tail Tavern costing five hundred Mora, it was an excellent deal, and one he could afford.

He had earned that much just today by taking a relatively dangerous commission to clear out monsters.

Even without accepting dangerous commissions like that, he could earn around a hundred thousand Mora in a week by helping people find things, running errands, and delivering letters.

So even with the Lawrence Clan's bad reputation, there was no reason to rent it out so cheaply.

Eula had definitely made this decision for Amber's sake. Besides, during their brief time together, she had also developed a little fondness for him.

Thanks to his character specialty, [Damsel's Savior], which made it easier to touch people's hearts, her affection had reached level two. They could now be considered ordinary friends.

It was only with all these factors combined that Eula was willing to rent him this house, which could quite reasonably be called a private courtyard home, at such a low price.

"Miss Eula, a hundred thousand Mora is certainly within my means. I'd like to rent this place."

Although it felt a little shameless, Li Qiuzhi still decided to rent it.

He was not going to make a fuss. He liked the place, and refusing would mean wasting Eula and Amber's kindness. After all, they had come specifically to help him.

Though they might not care about such little things, Li Qiuzhi did. He could not help it; he was simply a sensitive person who did not want to cause others any trouble.

"Good. I'm relieved you're happy with it."

A smile appeared on Eula's snow-white face. She folded her arms over her upper abdomen, lifting her breasts slightly and accentuating their full, soft curves.

A pale-blue tie adorned with intricate golden patterns lay lightly over the sheer black fabric of her outfit.

"Mm-hmm... next, let's get this place cleaned up!"

Amber lifted one foot behind her, looking full of enthusiasm.

After spending so long in Teyvat since crossing over, the protagonist was finally going to have a place of his own. Hooray!