The next morning, Lin Yuan walked in as soon as the real estate agent opened the door.
The old house in the shop window is located on the southeast side of Magnolia. It's only a ten-minute walk to the guild, and the riverbank is just across the back street. The house has two floors and a fairly large yard in the back, but it has been vacant for half a year, and the roof and windows need repair.
The agent spread the blueprints on the table. "The asking price is 20 million J. The owner has already moved to the capital. If you pay in full upfront, we can lower the price to 19 million J."
Lin Yuan glanced at the number at the bottom.
Lin Yuan currently has 17 million J. Based on the reduced price, he's only 2 million J short.
He didn't haggle; he simply asked, "Is anyone interested in buying?"
"A couple viewed it a few days ago, but they thought renovations would be too much trouble." The agent glanced at the long sword on his back. "If you just want to rent, there are cheaper places nearby."
I'll think about it.
Lin Yuan put away the address he had copied down and returned to the old dormitory in the guild's backyard.
The room was almost unchanged from two years ago. The bottom shelf of the wardrobe held the money he had saved from completing past missions, which Makarov hadn't touched since his disappearance. Even with the reward he received from Echo Canyon, it still wasn't enough.
That noon, Lin Yuan took an escort mission from the task board on the first floor.
The mission required delivering three cartloads of medicinal herbs to a small town in the east. The journey would normally take two days, but he cleared out the monsters along the way and found a road that had been damaged by rain. The convoy finally arrived on the evening of the second day.
After receiving his payment, he did not stay in the town to rest, but took the last train back to Magnolia that very night.
The second task was to capture the long-tailed beast that had stolen the farm's livestock.
The client had only requested that the animals be driven away, but Lin Yuan followed the tracks to the nest in the mountains and brought back all the lost livestock. The farmer gave him an extra bag of freshly harvested potatoes, which he took back to the guild kitchen, and Natsu ate most of them that very night.
The third task came from a warehouse in the city. Several mole rats were digging through the shelves underground. Lin Yuan couldn't use large-scale True Magic, so he could only use spatial perception to confirm their location and then knock them unconscious one by one with his sword sheath.
For more than ten consecutive days, he set off every morning and returned in the evening or the next day. His payment increased steadily, and the house plans tucked inside the task sheets were repeatedly creased from being folded.
Lin Yuan didn't just focus on the first house.
When traveling to nearby towns to carry out commissions, he would also keep an eye out for houses for sale on the street. Some were cheaper, some had larger yards, and one was very close to the station and required almost no renovation.
He also took some time to look at one of the houses with a local agent. The house had a large open space behind it, and the price was only half that of Magnolia's house. Standing in the yard, he couldn't hear the guild bells, and the nearest train only ran twice a day. If he returned late from a mission, he would even have to wait at the station until the next day.
Lin Yuan only looked around once before leaving.
But those houses were all too far from Fairy Tail.
He will eventually return to Magnolia, pass by the same agency, and glance at the shop window to see if the blueprints have been taken down.
After completing yet another mission, Lin Yuan sat at the bar and tallied up his earnings.
Mira placed a glass of water in front of him. "Are you short of money lately?"
"Still a little short."
"Are you in debt?"
Lin Yuan shook his head.
Mira watched him put the money back into the envelope, and then noticed the house plans underneath.
"You want to buy a house?"
"Um."
When was the decision made?
A few days ago.
Mira pulled out the blueprints and looked them over. Lin Yuan only marked the dimensions of the yard, the thickness of the walls, and the distance to the guild; the conditions for the kitchen, water supply, and roof were left blank.
Have you been inside?
"Not yet."
"Then how do you know it's habitable?"
"The wall is very sturdy."
Mira looked up at him. "The cave walls are quite sturdy too."
Lin Yuan did not refute.
She put the drawings back on the table. "How much more is needed?"
"Including transfer fees, it's 2.2 million J."
Mira didn't offer to lend her money; instead, she turned to look at the quest board. "At your current pace, three or four more regular quests should be enough."
"Um."
"But you'd better take a look before you pay. I don't want to go to you one day and find you've bought a warehouse without a kitchen."
Next, Lin Yuan took on three more commissions and left Magnolia for almost half a month before returning. The house plan was still posted in the real estate agency window.
Lin Yuan paused for a moment as he passed by, then entered the guild and took down a quest with a yellow warning from the top of the quest board.
Hordes of armored beasts have appeared in an abandoned mine outside the city. Although the mine is no longer in use, the underground supports and storage equipment must not be damaged. The mission requires you to eliminate the monsters while ensuring that the mine tunnels do not collapse. The reward is 800,000 J.
The compensation was just enough to cover the remaining difference.
Makarov reviewed the commission and stamped it on the back.
Lin Yuan put away the task sheet and recalculated his savings once more.
As long as I can receive the full amount of the payment, it's not bad.