"Then she must be looking for Residential Areas! Let's go! We need to get her into our Residential Area!"
Within a few seconds, Vaan's group was surrounded.
"Hey, are you looking for Residential Areas? Then stop looking, forget everything this man told you, and come with me, we have the most affordable residential areas here!"
"Affordable? What the hell are you even talking about? Miss, come with me, you don't even have to pay the rent if you decide to stay in our Residential Area and I promise you, the facilities you will receive will not be any less than what these people are offering you!"
"Haah!? You think you are the only one who can do that!? Miss, come with us and we will offer free accommodations to all four of your friends!"
"Miss, we will even provide the food and it will be free as well!"
"Tsk, you all sound so desperate."
While all the students had surrounded Elara and the others and were making their offers, a voice full of disdain was heard.
All the students instantly turned silent and turned towards the source of the voice.
It was a blonde man wearing the Academy Uniform, indicating that he was a student as well. A confident smile appeared on his face when he realized that his words had gained enough attention, then, he directly looked into Elara's eyes and,
"Miss, there is no reason for someone of your caliber to spend your time in the pathetic Residential Areas they offer, although they make it sound like something grand, in reality, it is just a huge apartment with numerous floors and numerous rooms in each of those floors.
The 'residential areas' these people are talking about are merely a single room with an attached bathroom and kitchen, there is not even a hall or a living room, and the furniture inside will be subpar at best, as for privacy,
Well, there will be room under your room, one above your room, one in front, 2 on either side, it would be so crowded although they would say you will have full privacy because you can 'lock' your room, in the end, whenever you leave or enter, whatever you do inside, everything can be seen solely because there will be too many people around you.
Honestly, these residential areas are no different than glorified slums, not a place where a Star Student like yourself has to stay.
Come with me, I am from the Mystic Stay, unlike these people, who are merely residential representatives, we, the Mystic Stay, are an official Club that deals with renting out posh areas that are suitable for actually talented students, students like yourself.
Our rent may be a little high, but we offer you a luxurious and spacious living space. It would be no different than the mansions that you are used to back in your homeland, actually, we might even be better.
In the mansion, we provide 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, a huge hall, a living room, and high-end furnishings, we even have a swimming pool, a beautiful garden, and a location that is close to a Teleportation Portal. We also have servants who will take care of your basic daily needs and we also have other different technologically advanced facilities that you can explore once you stay there.
I dare say that as a new student, you will not find a better place to live than this one."
As the blonde man said this all, the other students turned silent,
"Shit… he is here…"
"Those Mystic Stay bastards…"
"Why are they aiming for a Star Student…?"
"Why would they not aim for a Star Student…?"
"But their rents are simply too high. Four bedrooms and all that he said, I can tell what place he is talking about, it must be the Celestial Gardens Villa. The rent there is 10,000 Academic Points a month.
That is 100 Gold Coins per month. What sane person would pay that amount? Even the old students won't be able to afford a rent that high let alone the new ones."
One had to know, that 1 Elemental Stone cost 1000 Gold Coins and Elemental Stones were extremely rare, the Instant Spells made from these stones were no different than second life for the Mages.
Spending a tenth of that as monthly rent… although it may not be a big thing for big and influential families, if the ones bearing the cost are the students without any sort of family support, renting a place like this was simply absurd.
However,
"Of course, as a Star Student, you don't have to pay any rent either."
The blonde spoke and as he did, the other students widened their eyes in surprise.
"What!?"
"He is giving away the Celestial Gardens Villa for free!?"
They were shocked, however, the older students were different, they looked like they were already expecting it.
"I knew they would pull off something like this."
"Tsk, I should have known when they rejected a student who was even willing to pay the rent. They never planned to generate money from the Celestial Gardens, that place was meant to be an investment. An investment for their future."
"What do you mean?"
While the students continued to discuss with each other, Vaan, who had been silent for an oddly long time suddenly stepped forward and,
"Oi, Blonde."
He called out.
"I am Lucas Serv-"
"Yes, Lucas Blonde."
"Lucas Ser-"
"Blonde."
"…" Lucas turned silent.
"I will only ask one question. That will decide whether we stay in whatever place you offer or not.
Why?"
Lucas glanced at Vaan for a while, then, he glanced at Elara, and in a moment, he understood that the Star Student would do whatever this man wanted her to do, he found it strange, but rather than pointing it out, he used this opportunity to convince Vaan and decided to answer honestly,
"Miss is a Star Student, people who get an Excellence Star as soon as they join are extremely rare and all of them, without fail, become someone of high status. We are trying to bet on that fact, in exchange for providing you free and one of our best lodgings, I hope the Miss will take care of us as she grows and doesn't abandon us."
"So you wish to benefit from our name when it spreads all over the Academy?" Vaan spoke.
"That is correct." The man nodded. Honestly, he didn't really care about Vaan, he only had eyes for Elara since she was a Star Student not him, however, if the woman was willing to listen to this man, he had nothing against him.
Lucas was a good judge of knowing which thigh to grab and when to do it.
Vaan was satisfied.
"Alright Blonde, take me to this 'posh' mansion you talk about," Vaan spoke.
"Hmm? All four of you?" Lucas frowned.
"Is there a problem? You said you had 4 bedrooms, no?" Vaan frowned.
Lucas then looked around, and then, "Umm… Sir…"
"You can call me Vaan."
"Yes, Sir Vaan, can I talk to you in private?" Lucas spoke and pointed in a certain direction. Vaan frowned, then, he nodded and followed Lucas, getting away from the crowd.
"What is it?" He questioned.
"Are you not close to Miss? I noticed you were holding her hand all this while."
"She is my fiancée." Vaan didn't hide.
"O-Oh! She is your fiancée! No wonder!"
"Did you bring me here to ask about my relationship?"
"No, no, that is not it. I was just confused as to why would you want to bring those 2 people along with you as well. It is not like you have to pay the rent.
I mean, wouldn't you want to use this chance to stay in a mansion alone with your fiancée? I doubt you get a chance to live like that back in your homeland."
The moment those words left Lucas's mouth, Vaan's expression changed.
He didn't think about it at all!
A chance to live with Elara in a single mansion, how could he possibly miss it?
Thinking about it, a wide smile appeared on Vaan's face, then, he put his arm around Lucas's neck and, "Blonde, you are much smarter than what I give you credit for."
"T-Thank you?"
"Hahaha~ I like you. What Club did you say you were from? Well, it doesn't matter, I will take care of you guys in the future, don't worry." Vaan spoke as he continuously patted Lucas's back. Then, he walked towards Elara and the others and glanced at the 2 other mages,
"I do not wish to hinder your progress by spoiling you, Academy is a place where you earn what you earn by your own efforts,
So find a suitable place to live on your own.
I and Elara will be living in the Celestial Gardens, alone."
Vaan had already decided. Even if this Celestial Garden wasn't as grand as these people make it out to be, it didn't matter.
Heck, if it was with Elara, Vaan was even ready to live in a single room made out of mud.
"Blonde, show us the place," Vaan spoke as he grabbed Elara's hand. Then, he leaned over to Elara's ears and,
"I am making it clear right now,
Even if they have 4 bedrooms, I am not planning on using all of them,
We only need one, okay?
My. Dear. Fiancée~"
