Chương 12: Chapitre 10 : Partie 2 : Le guide

Another LARPer. Emma remained perfectly still behind her desk for a few seconds. Since joining the agency, she had dealt with demanding clients, owners convinced their tiny studio was worth a fortune, investors who could never make up their minds, students without guarantors, and even one man who had tried to negotiate the price of an apartment by offering a collection of wine bottles.

But she could say without hesitation that none of them had walked in wearing a full suit of armor, carrying an enormous sword across their back, and wearing the solemn expression of a knight returning from a crusade. She wondered if this was some kind of hidden camera prank. Her eyes discreetly scanned the room, looking for a phone mounted on a tripod or someone hiding behind a potted plant. She found nothing.

The man simply continued to look at her with disarming calm, as though naturally expecting her to welcome him. Emma set her pen down on the file and put on the professional smile she reserved for new clients.

"Good morning, sir. Welcome to Horizon Real Estate. How can I help you?" Aldric inclined his head in greeting, exactly as he would have before an allied lord or the master of a merchants' guild.

"Thank you for granting me your time. I was told this guild oversees the allocation of dwellings within this city. I wish to establish a fortress from which to set up my headquarters." Emma's smile faltered. She remained silent for two long seconds, convinced she had misheard him.

"I'm sorry... a fortress?"

"Yes."

"You're looking for a house?"

"A house will suffice, provided its defenses are adequate." Emma took a quiet breath. She had dealt with role-playing enthusiasts before. They were usually energetic, talkative, and constantly joking. The man standing before her was nothing like them. His face remained completely serious. He wasn't smiling. He wasn't trying to be funny.

"All right. Let's start from the beginning. So you're looking for a place to live."

"Exactly."

"A rental?"

"If that arrangement allows me to establish a stable base of operations, then I accept it."

"All right." Emma opened a new file on her computer.

"What's your budget?"

"What is a budget?" Emma's fingers froze above the keyboard.

"You don't know what a budget is?"

"No."

"It's... the amount of money you can spend on housing."

"You wish to know the size of my treasury."

"If you want to put it that way..." Aldric immediately unfastened the small pouch from his belt and placed it on the desk. The metallic clink of coins echoed through the office. Several of Emma's coworkers briefly looked up before returning to their work.

"These are my current resources." Emma cautiously opened the pouch. Dozens of perfectly minted gold coins rested inside. Each one looked ancient, heavy, and of exceptional quality. Several silver coins completed the collection.

"Are you part of some historical reenactment?"

"No."

"Are these props?"

"No."

"They're real?"

"They were minted approximately three centuries ago, according to my kingdom's calendar." Emma closed the pouch. She decided it would be wiser not to ask any further questions about that last detail.

"I... see." In reality, she understood absolutely nothing. She slid the pouch back toward Aldric.

"Landlords won't accept this kind of currency."

"Why?"

"Because they want to be paid in euros."

"But I possess gold."

"Yes, but that's not how it works."

"Gold has universal value."

"In theory."

"Then why does everyone refuse to use it?" Emma opened her mouth, then closed it again. She knew the answer perfectly well. Because those were the rules. Yet, when phrased that way, the rule suddenly seemed far less logical than she had always believed.

"Landlords prefer to be paid by bank transfer."

"I do not know this man." Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

"It's not a person."

"Then why does it bear the title 'bank'?"

"It's not a title." She discreetly pinched the bridge of her nose. This day was going to be a long one. Somehow, she managed to keep her composure.

"Do you have a bank account?"

"No."

"An employment contract?"

"Not yet."

"Pay slips?"

"I do not know what those are."

"A guarantor?"

"The king trusted me completely."

"I mean someone who agrees to pay your rent if you can't."

"A vassal?"

"Not exactly."

"A knight bound by oath?"

"Still no."

"A member of my family?"

"Yes... that's closer... someone close to you who has an income." Aldric shook his head.

"My entire family died several years ago."

"I'm sorry."

"You have done nothing that requires an apology." Silence returned for a few seconds. Emma glanced quickly at her screen.

"Without an income, a guarantor, a bank account, or an application file, I'll be honest... no landlord will agree to rent you an apartment."

"Fortresses in this kingdom are remarkably difficult to obtain." Despite herself, Emma allowed the faintest smile to appear.

"Yeah... I guess you could say that."

"Is there a quest that would improve my chances?"

"A quest?"

"A series of objectives that must be completed before obtaining a residence."

"Actually... yes." She took a blank sheet of paper and began to write.

"First, you'll need a valid ID." She wrote down the first item.

"Next, a bank account." Second line.

"Then a stable job." Third.

"A steady income." Fourth.

"And only after that will you realistically be able to look for an apartment." Aldric studied the list carefully. His eyes moved over each line with the focus of a commander examining a battle plan. When he reached the final point, he gave a slow nod.

"I understand." Emma expected him to argue or give up. Instead, he folded the sheet and tucked it beneath his breastplate, beside the address Samir had given him.

"I shall begin this quest chain immediately." In all the years she had worked at the agency, she had delivered hundreds of rejections. The reactions were almost always the same. Some clients argued, others tried to negotiate, and a few became angry at the landlords or the rent prices. Aldric did none of those things. He didn't argue. He didn't try to persuade her. His reaction completely disarmed Emma. The longer she watched him, the more convinced she became that he wasn't playing a part.

Beneath the battered armor, the enormous sword, and the strange way he spoke, there was neither irony nor any desire to impress anyone. He genuinely seemed to be discovering a world whose rules he knew absolutely nothing about. She turned her monitor toward herself and opened another series of listings. One photograph after another scrolled across the screen, revealing tiny studio apartments, more spacious flats, and a few houses on the outskirts of the city. The prices climbed as the properties grew larger.

Emma already knew the answer before she even continued searching. Without an employment contract, a bank account, a guarantor, or an application file, no serious landlord would agree to rent to him. Even so, instead of closing the listings immediately as she would have done with any other client, she kept browsing for a few more moments, as though an unexpected solution might suddenly appear between two photographs.

"I'd rather be honest with you," she finally said, looking up from the screen.

"Today, I can't offer you an apartment. Even if you had the money to pay for it, landlords would still ask for the same documents."

"So the fortresses of this kingdom are protected by administrative rules rather than walls." Emma couldn't help smiling.

"That's one way of looking at it."

"The defenses are effective."

"Very effective."

"Then I must begin by overcoming each of these barriers before I can hope to obtain a residence." Her phone vibrated on the desk. She quickly answered a landlord who wanted to change the time of a viewing, jotted down a few notes, promised to call a contractor that afternoon, then hung up with a sigh. When she looked up again, Aldric was still standing in exactly the same spot. He showed no sign of impatience. He wasn't looking at his phone, since he didn't own one. He wasn't even watching the other employees.

He was simply waiting for her to finish, as though his full attention should remain devoted to their conversation until it reached its conclusion. That almost ceremonial politeness was so unlike the behavior of her other clients that Emma found it strangely unsettling.

"You really don't have anyone here?"

"No one."

"No friends?"

"I have met a few people since my arrival, but I cannot ask them to vouch for me."

"If you leave now, you'll probably spend the whole day searching without even knowing where to go."

"That is correct."

"And more than anything, you'll waste a lot of time."

"Time spent learning is never wasted." She gently pushed back her chair, folded her arms for a few seconds, and looked around. Several coworkers were busy with their own appointments. Her schedule was empty. She knew perfectly well that she wasn't obligated to do anything more. Her job was to show properties, not escort strangers around Paris. And yet, a persistent feeling told her she would regret letting him walk away without any real explanation.

"Wait here for a few minutes." Aldric inclined his head respectfully. Emma stepped around her desk, grabbed her jacket, slipped her phone into her pocket, and quickly told a coworker she would be away for about half an hour. He looked from Aldric to his armor, then to his sword, and finally to the way he stood patiently waiting by the entrance before giving Emma a look that was equal parts confusion and amusement. She answered with nothing more than a shrug.

Honestly, she wasn't entirely sure herself why she was doing this. A few moments later, they left the agency together. The bell chimed behind them as the noise of the street immediately surrounded them. The café terraces were now bustling, cars crept through the Paris traffic, and several pedestrians turned their heads at the sight of Aldric's armor. Some discreetly pulled out their phones to take a picture, while others exchanged a few amused words before continuing on their way.

Aldric seemed completely unaware of the attention. Instead, he studied the buildings, the signs, the shops, and the streets with the curiosity of an explorer discovering a foreign city.

"First, I'll show you the important places," Emma said as they started walking.

"City Hall, a bank, a few government offices, and the neighborhoods where it's easier to find a first job. You probably won't find a place to live today, but if you understand how everything works, you'll avoid making a lot of mistakes."

"You are giving me invaluable assistance. I will remember your kindness."

"You know, you don't have to thank someone every time they do you a small favor."

"In my kingdom, forgetting a debt of gratitude was considered a serious failing." They had walked only a few dozen meters when a translucent window appeared before Aldric's eyes. △ NEW CHARACTER DETECTED △ Potential Party Member Compatibility Analysis... In Progress... He looked at Emma, who kept walking while pointing toward a large building at the end of the street. She spoke naturally, completely unaware of the new interface that had appeared.

For the first time since arriving in this world, the system wasn't presenting him with a quest, a reward, or a skill. It was analyzing a person.

"Are you coming?" Emma asked, turning around when she realized he had stopped. Only then did Aldric tear his eyes away from the window.

"Yes." He resumed walking, though he couldn't quite take his eyes off the strange notification. Emma, meanwhile, let out a long sigh inwardly. She still had no idea why she had decided to help this man. One thing, however, was already perfectly clear. This day was going to be much longer than she had expected.