Chapter 92. In Search of a House with a Strange Rumor (1)

Cronin barely managed to get Radel away from that spot.

He wanted to get far away from Radel, who kept asking the residents strange questions, but he couldn't bring himself to do so.

“Listening to the residents' stories, time seems to have flown by.”

Radel followed Cronin with an awkward smile.

Anyone watching would have thought he was reluctantly leaving after listening to the residents' grievances.

But Cronin knew the truth. That prince had been listening carefully to ominous rumors about where someone had died.

No matter how you looked at it, he wasn't normal.

His father's request had never been this burdensome.

He thought he had to get away quickly after introducing the broker to the prince.

“Here we are.”

The place Cronin took Radel to was a small brokerage office.

It was small, but it was well-known enough that most of the properties in Marcellent passed through here.

Tinkle.

As they opened the door to the brokerage office and entered, a lily-shaped bell above the door rang.

The broker, who was reading a newspaper inside, saw Cronin and Radel, and his eyes widened.

To be precise, he jumped to his feet upon seeing Radel.

“A-are you by any chance His Highness, Radel Silvert Credian?”

Radel quickly scanned the interior at his reaction, who even stuttered slightly from how flustered he was.

The bell above the door was also in the shape of a lily, but there were also lily-carved decorations on the wall.

‘A follower of the Supreme Deity Order.’

Radel, having assessed the situation, answered with a gentle expression.

“That is correct. Excuse me, but do you know me?”

“Oh, my goodness! Supreme Deity!”

The broker trembled with emotion and clasped his hands together.

He was a very ardent follower of the Supreme Deity Order.

It was only natural that he, who often heard stories of the deeply faithful 8th Prince during sermons, would recognize Radel at a glance.

The 8th Prince, who steadfastly strives to practice the word of the Supreme Deity in the Imperial Family that forgets the existence of the Supreme Deity more and more each day!

To the ardent followers of the Supreme Deity Order, the existence of the 8th Prince, Radel, was a light and a beacon that illuminated this dark period.

“How could I not know Your Highness? Anyone with eyes and ears would be able to recognize you from afar. It is truly an honor to meet you like this.”

“I am just grateful for your warm welcome.”

Cronin, who had come with Radel, was more surprised by the broker's heated reaction.

‘To this extent?’

It was a known fact that the 8th Prince was popular in the Supreme Deity Order, but he didn't know it was to this extent.

Rather, Radel's attitude of acting as if he were used to the broker's reaction was so natural that Cronin even got slight goosebumps.

“Ahem, it's been a while.”

“Ah, Mr. Cronin Spear, you're here too.”

The broker finally recognized Cronin and greeted him after Cronin cleared his throat.

They had known each other for several years, yet he was pushed behind the 8th Prince.

Cronin felt like he had somehow lost and opened his mouth.

“That's right. I brought His Highness here because he is looking for a property.”

“You did well. As it happens, I have some properties that are just right for His Highness.”

The broker cheerfully took out a bundle of documents.

On them were organized the houses that had recently come onto the real estate market.

“How about this building, Your Highness? It was built in the best location in the downtown area.”

The broker flipped through the documents one by one and showed them to Radel.

On them were a map, the building's location, a floor plan, the area, the owner's name, special remarks, and even a drawing of the building's exterior.

“It's wonderful.”

Radel answered the broker and sneakily checked the price written on the document.

Seeing the endless procession of zeros, he could roughly guess the market price.

“This house has a wonderful view. It's a place favored by retired high-ranking officials.”

The broker showed Radel the properties in order.

“As for this one, it's a house built with the latest construction methods, and it's very convenient as it has magic circuits installed on each floor. It's not a very important feature for Your Highness, since you know how to use magic, of course.”

“Haha. Still, it would be convenient.”

Listening to the broker's explanation, Radel realized that the budget he had in mind did not match the actual price.

As it was a famous city, the overall market price was high.

Even if he combined all his personal assets, including the money he received from the Emperor upon enrollment and Armandy's ransom, he wouldn't be able to buy even a small house in Marcellent.

‘I'll have to go with what I originally planned.’

Fortunately, what Radel wanted was not an expensive and good house.

“How is it, Your Highness. Is there a house among these that you like?”

The broker looked at Radel with an expectant expression after introducing the best properties he could show.

Radel paused as if in thought for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Can I also see properties that no one wants to buy?”

* * *

‘What is the prince thinking?’

Cronin Spear's expression hardened at Radel's words.

Wasn't this just flat-out rejecting the good properties he had gone to the trouble of picking out and showing him?

The already shocked broker waved his hands in denial.

“How could I possibly show such a building to Your Highness. It's absurd!”

He could not dare to do so to the 8th Prince, staking his entire real estate broker career on it.

How could he do that to someone who should only enjoy the most precious things in the world!

“Brother, in truth, I do not wish for a splendid and magnificent building. Although I am a prince of the Empire, the standards of the world mean nothing to me. It seems the Supreme Deity is guiding me toward a life of simplicity.”

To Cronin, it meant this.

I am a prince of the Empire, but I don't have enough money to buy a splendid and magnificent building. So show me something cheaper.

‘In the end, isn't that just a roundabout way of saying it?’

So that's why he said earlier that the more flaws a building had, the better.

Cronin saw through Radel's scheme.

The prince had no intention of buying a decent building from the start.

However, the broker was looking at Radel with an emotional gaze.

“As expected of Your Highness. I was foolish. To think I judged Your Highness by the standards of the secular world!”

And so, the three began to wander around Marcellent, looking for properties that no one wanted to buy.

Cronin, who had originally planned to introduce the broker to Radel and then leave, couldn't bring himself to go when he saw the broker mesmerized by the prince's strange words.

The broker was truly passionate in his search, guiding Radel only to houses that wouldn't sell.

Houses that the owners had put up for sale, but that no one wanted to enter.

In front of a house that looked like it would collapse at any moment, the broker said to Radel.

“This is an unfortunate house that has become a nest for blue ants due to a problem with the timber used when it was built. People don't live here long because of the blue ants.”

Listening to the broker's story that it would be better to just tear it down and rebuild it to fix this, Radel looked at the document.

It was certainly cheaper than the splendid and luxurious properties, but it was still quite expensive despite being so inconvenient to live in.

It was the same for the other houses.

At this rate, he couldn't meet his budget.

Radel, who had been looking at houses that were too old or inconvenient for people to live in, opened his mouth again.

“Is there by any chance a house where people keep dying?”

Cronin inwardly clicked his tongue.

At first, he had thought he was a prince who knew nothing of the world, but now his thoughts had changed.

“A-a house where people keep dying?”

The broker's face turned pale.

“How could I show such an unholy……!”

It was an unimaginable thing for him.

Of course, there were houses where people died.

Houses that were cursed or haunted by evil spirits.

Terrible places that even priests and holy knights couldn't solve, so they had to be left alone.

What if something happened to the precious person after introducing such an ominous house?

Radel calmly said to the broker, who was shaking his head, saying absolutely not.

“Brother, are not such houses the ones that everyone turns away from? But if even I turn away, then who in the world will go to those houses? I am truly fine.”

What in the world is that nonsensical talk……?

Cronin thought there was no way the broker would be persuaded by such ridiculous words.

What kind of trouble would he get into for introducing a cursed house to a prince?

But the broker's eyes were moist.

“……Your Highness! My thoughts were short. It was none other than I who took the lead in turning away from such houses. I am ashamed as a broker.”

This is persuasive?

Cronin couldn't believe this situation, but the atmosphere had already flowed in a strange direction to voice a different opinion here.

“This is the place, Your Highness.”

Before he knew it, Cronin was standing with them in front of a somewhat dreary building.

They had ended up at a cursed house after all.

The broker began his explanation with eyes full of passion.

“As for this building, its location is good as it's near the downtown area, and as you can see, it's a property with two houses facing each other that came out together. It was originally built for two brothers to live in together.”

Radel nodded at the broker's explanation and examined the building.

From the outside, both houses looked decent.

On top of that, looking at the price written on the document, it was a price that Radel could fully afford.

“But both brothers passed away in this house in an unfortunate accident. And the same happened to the family that moved in next.”

The broker lowered his voice and said.

“The same thing has been repeated ever since. Moreover, they say you can hear strange noises at night. The residents of this neighborhood are so scared that they don't pass by this area at night.”

The story was that the current owner of this house was also eager to sell it as soon as someone offered to buy it.

However, people who knew the reality did not want to buy it.

Because they could die after buying it, lured by the cheap price.

It was similar to the story Radel had heard from the residents earlier.

A rumor that there was a house nearby where people kept dying, and that it had recently become a haunted place.

It was said that you could hear sobbing and giggling sounds from the empty house late at night, and also the sound of things rattling or something breaking.

It seemed that the house in the rumor was this very house.

Radel looked at the house, which looked fine on the outside, and listened to the rest of the broker's explanation.

“Beyond hearing strange noises at night, there are also stories of a ghost being seen in the window of the right house every night. It's a truly unbelievable thing, though.”

If this were just a rumor, the house would have been sold long ago.

The fact that it wasn't selling even though you could buy two houses for less than the price of one meant that the rumor was close to the truth, didn't it?

The closer he got, the more he felt a faint demonic energy…….

Even in Radel's eyes, this house was strange.

Because it was strange, he liked it even more.

‘The more I look, the better it is.’

Radel followed the broker and entered through the main gate.