Chapter 29

"Miss, Young Master." Rodney came to Nalasha and Gongsun Murong, slightly bending his waist and lowering his head in greeting.

"Uncle Rodney, you did a great job. I'm very sorry, Murong and I forgot to give you money, which made you have to find a way to provide food and a place to rest for your family."

Nalasha was very satisfied. She believed she could be envied by others because she had a good butler.

A butler, not an ordinary person. Although Moses and Kellyser were nice, they couldn't be butlers.

"No, Miss, I should be the one to apologize. I took advantage of others in the household, including the children, selling part of their labor and even their dignity. I used their status as people from remote areas to get money, but I didn't want to borrow. Please forgive me, Miss and Young Master. When conditions improve, I will make it up to you."

Rodney admitted his mistakes.

He believed that the other servants of the master should only serve the master, not others, especially in terms of dignity, which belonged to the master.

At this moment, Moses ran over with a large glass of wine. Who knew where he got the alcohol in the morning.

He burped when he got close, and said drunkenly, "Stover, don't say that. Do you know? We come from remote areas, where there are endless deserts, and everyone lives a hard life. We're not afraid of being used; we're afraid of losing our value.

"You can't imagine how cruel it is there. The struggle never stops.

"Even more terrifying is that once you leave the city gates, your life is no longer in your own hands. You have to be on guard against everyone, everyone is a bad person, everyone is your enemy.

"Of course, Miss and Young Master don't count."

"Moses, I think you've had too much to drink. Do you need me to help you sober up?"

Nalasha threatened. She didn't really care if the former adventurers around her drank; they never drank to the point of losing consciousness.

She just didn't want them to waste time drinking. It would be better to use that time to cultivate their battle qi.

Moses shivered, handed the wine glass to Rodney, and said, "Miss, please don't act. Look, I gave the wine to someone else, not saying I won't drink anymore. Miss, your loyal Moses will work hard."

Nalasha didn't pay attention to Moses. Once they settled down, she would deal with anyone who didn't train seriously. She couldn't have the master handle every little thing, especially when the master also had to attend classes and work hard.

She said to Rodney, "Uncle Rodney, Murong and I have been granted the title of Viscount, but we don't have a fief. The Grand Duke gave us ten thousand gold coins, and we have over forty thousand gold coins in total. Where should we buy a place to live? Winter is coming."

Rodney's eyes widened. He was very surprised. He heard a lot of information from Miss's words.

Most importantly, the title "Grand Duke" indicated that last night, Young Master and Miss had formed a good relationship with the most powerful person in the duchy.

Secondly, the title of Viscount meant that Miss and Young Master had become nobles. As for a fief, he believed they would get one if they wanted it.

Finally, it was about money and a place to live. With money, they could find a place.

But clearly, Young Master and Miss wouldn't stay in an inn.

So, which house in the capital was for sale recently?

None. Even the most fallen nobles wouldn't sell their houses. They would rather let others mock them by providing houses for gatherings in exchange for money than sell their properties.

What about merchants' shops? It seemed they wouldn't get a good deal, and the shops weren't suitable for the master to live in.

Rodney felt a lot of pressure. It was time to show his professional skills.

As Moses said, they weren't afraid of being used; they were afraid of losing their value.

Where was his value?

Rodney fell silent. Half a minute passed, which felt longer than half a year to him.

His eyes lit up, and he asked, "Young Master, Miss, are you willing to take a risk with your servants?"

"Oh, I love adventures. Is it about getting rid of an evil noble? In secret?" Nalasha was eager.

"Miss, I wouldn't cause such trouble for the master. Look, there are many houses in the northwest slums. They are all one-story buildings with sheds. If we turn them into two or three stories, we'll have a lot more space."

Rodney guided, looking at Gongsun Murong, his Young Master.

Nalasha started to imagine and asked, "Do you have a map? I want to see."

Rodney shrugged. Who would dare to draw a map of the capital and sell it?

But he misunderstood. Nalasha wasn't asking him.

Gongsun Murong reached into his pocket, fished around, and pulled out a stack of paper, which made Rodney's eyes shine.

This white paper was more precious than animal skin paper.

When the stack was unfolded, Rodney almost fainted. The paper was connected, forming a large map.

"I recorded the searchable range along the way," Gongsun Murong explained.

Nalasha pointed at the map, indicating Rodney to choose.

Rodney realized he didn't understand his masters well enough.

Who drew such a detailed map? How did they draw it?

This map alone was worth another viscount title.

"My master is the best," Rodney said first.

Moses, who had taken the wine glass back, added, "Yes, I fully agree. It's a pity you didn't experience those days; you wouldn't know how terrifying the master is."

"Uncle Moses, do I scare you that much?" Nalasha pouted.

"No, no, not at all, absolutely not. You make me feel the warmth of the sun and a cool breeze from the depths of my soul."

Moses quickly denied, remembering the battles with Miss and Young Master.

Especially the last one. If he had to describe it with a word, it would be... "Desert Battle."

It was the power of a domain, close combat, ranged attacks, support, and coordination. One time was enough; it didn't give anyone a chance to resist.

Moses didn't care about the number of deaths; killing and being killed were the eternal melody of the desert.

He just felt fortunate. He had a sense of crisis, but Young Master and Miss trusted him, and he should work hard to improve his battle qi.

Rodney hadn't experienced those days, but he could see that the master's guards were very respectful.

In simpler terms, they were afraid.

And he could sense that their fear wasn't of being punished by the master but of being abandoned.

It was hard to understand. Did they fear that if Young Master and Miss didn't want them, they couldn't survive? Frontier adventurers had high value in the capital.

They were a group of people who fought with their lives. Once they attacked, they wouldn't retreat.

Almost all nobles wanted them as guards, but their personalities were too difficult to control.

He didn't know why Young Master and Miss could control them so easily.

Miss looked cute, and Young Master, though not talkative, gave off a refined aura.

Confused, Rodney shook his head and pointed at the map. "Miss, Young Master, look here. The northwest slums are not next to the middle class but the noble district.

"At first, I didn't understand why, but now many nobles like to live there. They can enjoy the envy and admiration of the poor.

"They are only one street apart. Many pretty girls in the slums try to dress up to catch the attention of passing nobles.

"They hope to be noticed by noble sons and become noble ladies, or mistresses, even for one night, or even..."

"Stover, I think you should get to the point," Moses reminded.

"Yes, my point is to buy this area. Give part of the houses to the poor, and the rest will be ours.

"Other nobles wouldn't do this; they think it's shameful.

"But I know, after experiencing many things, that face doesn't matter where you live but in your strength.

"The northwest corner of the capital is better than remote rural areas, but aren't the frontier adventurers strong enough?

"Yes, they might not be strong enough because they lack resources, and their battle qi ranks are not high.

"But everyone knows that in a real fight, even the capital's warriors, who are several ranks higher in battle qi, can't withstand their desperate charge.

"So why can't we bring the desert's ruggedness to occupy a place? Why can't we develop the slums?"

Stover Rodney was very excited. He believed he was making the right decision for his master.

His only concern was that the master wouldn't agree.

Because the face of a noble was very important.

But he didn't understand that for Nalasha and Gongsun Murong, this so-called face didn't matter.

In the desert, selling water was either a normal transaction or a life-and-death struggle; there was no third option.

Ten pounds of water for five copper coins, did they need face?

Most importantly, they could even owe money. Were they so poor that they needed to mention a big figure and not pay?

So, in the transaction, there was only paying, acknowledging, and fighting; no compromise.

Once you acted, if you found you couldn't win, you had no chance to speak. Nalasha would show you what a life-and-death decision meant.

So now, Nalasha directly agreed with the butler's plan, provided the funds, and let him operate.

As for face, let those without power but obsessed with it talk about it.

******

Butler Rodney left with Kellyser and twenty other adventurers.

First, they bought small gifts with copper and silver coins and found a cart to push them.

Then, they found the manager of the capital bank, placed a gold ticket worth forty thousand gold coins on the table, and asked the manager to send someone to issue a certificate and handle the transaction on-site.

The remaining thousands of gold coins were put into bags in physical form, and the adventurers carried them to the northwest slums.

The bank wanted to exchange the thousands of gold coins for a gold ticket, but Rodney refused.

The bank had to send someone to follow and collect the money later.

Rodney had a very good memory. He could remember anyone he had seen once and wouldn't forget their names.

So, when they arrived in the slums, he greeted the people he knew warmly and gave them small gifts.

Then, he would discuss buying houses with them.

He offered three options: one, buy the house outright; two, give part of the money, and the original owner could still live there, but the area would remain the same; three, give some money to rent a place temporarily, and after the new houses were built, they could return to live in a house twice the original size.

Most importantly, he set the minimum area at fifty square meters. Even if the original area was only ten square meters, they would get a fifty-square-meter house.

Of course, if the original house was thirty square meters, they would get a sixty-square-meter house.

His goal wasn't just to solve the master's housing problem in the city but also to build momentum for the master.

He believed that a qualified butler must have such professional skills.