IBVFL 64

  Chapter 64 

‘Wow, this food is seriously so good….’

They said a chef from the restaurant I visited last time now works here, and the lamb melting in my mouth certainly proved it.

Even the other garnishes were seasoned just right—easy to eat and not heavy at all.

Chewing the juicy piece of meat, I picked up a perfectly grilled mushroom.

‘When I make more money later, I’m definitely hiring a chef.’

Food always tastes better when someone else cooks it.
But even with amazing food like this, the real best was—

‘My grandpa.’

He was a cheat-character who excelled at martial arts and cooking.
After eating food he made every day, my taste buds completely adjusted to his level.

‘Grandpa’s potato stew was really the best!’

Will I ever get to taste it again before I die?

If I’d known things would turn out like this, I should’ve asked him to make it again yesterday morning.

‘And Gilbert’s gone now too.’

Well, it is the time he’d normally be at the guild.

I got a few days off, but Gilbert said he had work to take care of, so he watched me eat a little and left right away.

‘What should I do after I finish eating?’

Should I just roll around in bed?
I was wide awake now, but if I lie down long enough, I could probably sleep again.

‘Or should I go out and look around?’

Maybe I should scout out a new place to move into.

‘I was originally planning to live there for a while….’

But after what happened to the roof, and since it’s pretty far from the guild anyway, moving might be a good idea.

‘Thank goodness Grandpa said he’d fix it.’

Not like I was planning to rent the place out anyway.

I bought the house so cheap that even if I rented it, I wouldn’t get much.
Honestly, Angelo wasn’t an ideal location—too far from the busy areas.

‘Even if I take a little loss, it can’t be helped.’

As long as I don’t sell it for half-price.

The house was so old that even anything above that felt like earning money for free.

‘I should check out some real estate listings.’

First, I needed to get a feel for the general prices.

* * *

“Holy sh*t, everything’s expensive.”

After walking around the real estate area once, I dragged my exhausted body straight into a café.

I downed a cool glass of orange juice in one go, and only then did my stomach feel better.

‘Did I underestimate things?’

I must’ve visited at least five nearby real estate offices.
Since the prices were all similar, it meant this entire neighborhood was just insanely expensive.

I figured it’d be pricey, but I didn’t expect this much inflation!

‘Even the underworld district is this expensive?’

Proud is located in the northern part of the capital.
Not exactly the center—slightly outside of it—and yet the prices were this high?

‘How much worse is the actual central district, then?’

I could practically hear my wallet screaming.

‘No, still… since I do have money right now, buying a decent house and renting it out later might be a good idea.’

A popular area like this would always have steady foot traffic, and buying just one solid property could give me quite a profitable return.

‘Or maybe instead of a house… I could buy a building.’

It’s not like I’m short on money, so thinking about it a bit more wouldn’t hurt.

“Haa…”

Finding a place wasn’t easy after all.

‘I really want to get this settled soon though.’

I appreciated being allowed to stay at this fancy hotel, but I couldn’t stay forever.

And Grandpa had said he’d personally help me move—he looked way too fired up at the end…

He’d definitely end up picking some wild house again.
And he would absolutely put it under my name by the time he gave it to me.

‘Honestly, I get the feeling he’d give me more than just one house.’

Kazeliden always did things beyond normal logic.

‘What if he suddenly gives me a whole building?’

Well… that actually wouldn’t be bad.

Just thinking about owning a building made my heart race—my worldly desires flaring up out of nowhere.

‘…No. Get it together. If I take a building from him, I’ll never be able to run away.’

My goal was still to make good money and break up safely afterward.

‘Where should I go next…?’

The sun seemed to be setting, so maybe I should just go back for the day.

‘I do have several days of vacation left anyway!’

I’d go back, have dinner, roll around until late, then sleep.

And then wake up late tomorrow.

‘Perfect. This is the kind of small happiness I like.’

If only Grandpa were here with me.

“Haa…”

That thought made me feel down again.

Maybe I relied on him and followed him more than I thought.

Sniff.
My nose stung again as I finished my orange juice, swallowing the loneliness.

I knew we’d have to part someday, but it happened way too suddenly.

Losing someone who felt like family left me feeling empty.

‘Maybe it would’ve been better if I’d stayed alone.’

Going back to being alone made the emptiness even more noticeable.
If I’d known, I wouldn’t have thrown tantrums, or lazed around when he told me to clean.

‘Not that I can do anything about it now.’

It’s not like I’d never see him again, but he was someone who had protected me by my side.

I couldn’t help but feel lonely.

‘Since I’m feeling down… I should order another slice of cake.’

Sweet things help at times like this.

I reached for the service bell.

That was when—

“What the hell, man! Why are you staring at me like that?!”

“…”

“You bastard, you’re not even answering! You think you can just glare at people like that?! Huh?!”

Whoa, a fight broke out.
I gently rang the bell again while watching the two men at the other end of the café.

A huge, muscular guy and a slim guy.
Their size difference was obvious.

And the big guy’s voice was absolutely thunderous.

“What’s wrong with people these days? You can’t even apologize? Is my face funny to you? Huh? You staring because it’s funny?!”

“S-sir, what happened?”

“That bastard’s been looking at me like garbage ever since he walked in!”

‘Hmm…’

After hearing his side, I turned toward the quiet man.

The blond man—wearing a mask—was just staring calmly at the angry guy.

‘No idea how he looked at him, but…’

It seemed like one of them needed to back down soon.

“What can I get you, miss?”

“Oh! One Mont Blanc, a strawberry cake, and a lemon pound cake, please. And another orange juice!”

“Right away.”

The waiter hurried off, and I finished my juice while watching the argument.

At that moment, the silent blond man suddenly turned his head.

“Hmm?”

Our eyes met, and I blinked in surprise.
He was a bit far, but he was definitely looking at me.

And as the furious guy reached to grab him—

“Ameliaaaaaaa!”

“Pff?!”

I spit out my drink.

The blond man rushed to me and plopped himself right onto my table.

“Darling, where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”