After a short time, Isaac reached a large three-story building with a crux sign on top of its front door and a slanting roof made of white tiles.
The walls of the room were painted yellow, and the stairs leading to the front door were decorated with marble.
There was rush hour with the front door opening and closing.
When a door opened, there was always a sound of talking traveling through the slight opening before disappearing again.
Isaac walked up the stairs and entered the City Hall. It was a loud and chaotic building, filled with the sounds of shuffling papers and staplers being snapped together.
On the second floor, there were two stairs leading up to the second floor, and just a short distance away, there were dozens of rooms where the whole process of buying a house to selling a house took place.
Isaac saw a sitting area not far, mostly full, with only one chair available. Then, next to him was a small machine stuck in the wall with a message that said take a number.
"Hmm…" Isaac pressed the button, and one small scrap of paper was puked out of the machine. The number showed 232, and it was his turn number.
When Isaac turned around toward the rooms, there was a massive sign hanging from the ceiling with the number 198.
"This will be a long wait…" With long sigh, Isaac walked to the last remaining seat and sat down.
The number went up painfully slowly. There were few seats that emptied around him.
After a while, more people began leaving the rooms. Some had looks of excitement, while others were just saddened while holding a wrinkled old paper, slowly getting crushed by the man's fist.
There were also many who came to City Hall to start their own business, but many failed to get approval and had to leave empty-handed.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Isaac, with a side glance, saw an anxious-looking young man tapping his feet to the floor. His face was pale and nerve-wracked.
"I have to get the approval… I have to…" The young man bit his lip and muttered under his breath, "Otherwise, my family will be disappointed in me… I have to get approval for Church… I have to!"
Isaac's eyebrow rose, 'The strangeness of his City also increased by a notch.'
Beep! Beep!
Then, the sign began beeping, and the number 232 became visible.
"Finally…" Isaac heaved a sigh after waiting close to an hour. He stood up, and under the watchful eyes of others, he went to the third room on the right and entered.
After stepping inside the room, it was pretty empty with only one desk, a man sitting on the other side with papers in his hands.
"Please, take a seat." He pointed at the seat on the other side of the desk.
Isaac nodded and took a seat.
"Well then, gentleman. What is your purpose here?" He asked while putting the papers in proper order and cleaning the mess on the desk.
"I am here to buy a house," Isaac replied.
"Are you new to the City?" He asked. The man was dressed in proper suit with a nametag hanging from his chest. It showed his name, Ray.
"Yes."
"Alright…" Ray took a sip of the coffee, then said, "Housing has been a big problem in the City of Priesthood. That's why the number of Hotels and Inns had increased."
"Ah… I see."
"While many choose to live there, the price of the houses also increased vastly."
"How much, exactly?" Isaac leaned closer and asked.
"Well… One million monthly is the usual price." Ray said with nonchalant expression.
Isaac's eyebrow twitched, 'Holy shit!'
Looking at his White Coins, there was no way he would buy house as expensive as that!
[White Coins: 1,204,568]
"Cough…" Isaac coughed out his shock and asked, "Well then, are there any two-floor stores selling?"
"Ah, yes." Ray said and took one paper from the sea of papers, "The stores we have a lot, and this one is in a nice neighborhood."
Ray showed a map of where the store was located and how it looked from the outside and inside.
Isaac nodded thoughtfully, 'Price is also 100k per month… It's affordable.'
"I take this," Isaac said, and Ray's face beamed.
"Good, it hasn't been in use for long time, so it needs some cleaning and fixing, but otherwise, it is in prime location!" Ray quickly fetched paperwork, and Isaac gave his signature.
After ten minutes, the paperwork was finished, and Isaac paid the starting amount. Then he received the keys and the exact location of the store.
After that, Isaac left the room, and while walking toward the exit of the City Hall, he saw the trembling young man walking toward the room where he had just left.
Creak!
Isaac left the City Hall and began strolling toward his new residence. There were a lot of things to do before the sky became dark.
The blue sky had changed to a vibrant orange hue, while an orange haze covered the horizon.
After half an hour of skipping through the City, he found his store. It was on a street that was precisely in a prime spot.
The market area wasn't that far, and Church was only walking distance away. That was one of the reasons why the building was expensive. For many, Church being close was a blessing.
His store was surrounded by other stores, like Book Store and Equipment Store.
Isaac's store was lined up with at least a dozen stores, and many were bustling with activity.
He pulled out his key and twisted it on the store's door. After it opened, a thick, musky scent of dust reached his nostrils and forced him to take a step back.
The first floor was filled with thick layers of dust, and the floor was just unhygienic and dirty.
Even the windows were filled with smudge, making it nigh-impossible to see the indoors of the store.
After Isaac stepped inside, he saw a semi-large first floor with stairs at the other end of the room leading to the second floor.
The first floor was otherwise empty, except for one desk, previously used as a counter, and a broken wooden stool.
Behind the desk were dusty shelves and empty photo frames.
"Damn…" Isaac waved his hand, trying to push the dust away. He took the key from the keyhole, placed it on his Inventory, and closed the door.
The store, which had been vacant for years, had its first owner for a long time, and the owner turned out to be quite special.
