"So do you even know where we’re going?" Klaus asked.

He was no longer in his heavy leather armor or anything remotely similar to his usual combat gear.

Instead, he was dressed in standard, highly inconspicuous commoner clothes... a simple brown tunic and dark trousers that offered absolutely zero defensive stats whatsoever.

He walked with his hands buried deep in his pockets with his bare face exposed to the crisp morning air as he looked over at Zephyra.

Valeria was in his soul and they would experiment on Soul Mana together... for now... He needed to get a better place.

"Also, you need to buy some clothes for yourself too," Klaus pointed out flatly.

"What are you talking about, Hubby?" Zephyra asked with a small radiant smile spreading across her face.

Currently, she was utilizing a high-tier layer of Disguise Magic.

Serra apparently knew the spell so the blonde healer had meticulously altered Zephyra’s striking, impossible-to-miss royal appearance.

Her glowing purple eyes were now a dull, common gray, and her pristine silver hair had been shifted to a highly average shade of raven black.

She looked incredibly similar to Klaus in coloring, but even looking like a standard commoner, the gravitational pull of her underlying beauty still drew lingering glances from absolutely everyone they passed on the cobblestone streets.

"I prefer wearing your clothes." Zephyra hummed happily.

Right.

...She was currently wearing his spare clothing since she didn’t actually own anything besides her other stuff.

The oversized white button-down shirt and dark trousers fit her surprisingly well, despite the massive generous proportions of her chest pressing heavily against the fabric.

It was a surprising fit, but it was undoubtedly good.

"And besides, Hubby, I do know where we’re going to... The Galen Real Estate Office," she said with her voice practically bubbling with absolute domestic excitement.

She skipped slightly as her shoulder pressed warmly against his arm. "We need a bigger place to stay, so what do you think, Hubby? Should we get a bigger inn or a house? We already have one in Rivera, so one here wouldn’t be bad either."

Klaus ran the financial calculations through his mind.

Well, she wasn’t wrong. Purchasing an actual, permanent house with solid foundations and customizable defensive wards would be significantly better than continuously renting out a cramped, one-bedroom inn.

Besides, Galen Town wasn’t a bad place to establish a home base when he actively didn’t want to be constantly surrounded by the high-stress, cutthroat politics of a major capital city.

It was genuinely one of the few towns in the world of Artemis Online that didn’t inherently breed massive amounts of stress and catastrophe at every corner.

He offered a slow compliant nod. "Why not? Let’s do it."

Immediately, Zephyra reached out and aggressively grabbed his hand, interlacing her slender fingers with his own.

"Let’s go, Hubby~ I hope it comes with a really big bed, hehe~"

Klaus chose to aggressively ignore the terrifying implications of her giggle allowing her to pull him along the bustling street.

The morning air of Galen Town was sharp and clear.

As they navigated away from the merchant stalls and the lower-end commercial district, the architecture around them began to noticeably shift.

The cheap wooden siding and thatched roofs of the local taverns were rapidly replaced by heavily fortified stone, pristine glass windows and clean swept avenues.

Within twenty minutes, they arrived outside their destination.

The Galen Real Estate Office was a massive, highly imposing structure that looked vastly more like a heavily defended bank than a place to browse property listings.

It was constructed entirely from polished white stone, completely surrounded by a thick, ten-foot-tall wrought-iron fence.

Standing dead center at the locked iron gates was a heavily armored Gate Guard, his chest puffed out with absolute professional authority as he gripped a long steel halberd.

As Klaus and Zephyra approached the entrance, the guard immediately stepped forward to intercept them with his eyes sweeping critically over their cheap highly basic commoner clothing.

His posture screamed bureaucratic dismissal however, the exact second the guard’s eyes locked onto Klaus’s face, the man’s entire demeanor violently shifted.

The bureaucratic arrogance evaporated in a single microsecond and the guard’s spine snapped perfectly straight, his heavy iron boots clicking together loudly against the cobblestone.

He instantly dipped his head in a highly respectful, incredibly stiff nod.

"Mister Klaus!" the Gate Guard greeted loudly, his voice filled with genuine, unadulterated awe. "It is an absolute honor to see you this morning. Please, excuse my initial hesitation. A B-rank Adventurer of your immense reputation is highly welcome anywhere in Galen Town."

Klaus offered a polite, tired nod, slowly getting used to the fame he had though he knew it was from the fact that people knew he had bought Four Resource Dungeons in a day.

Before he could speak, Zephyra leaned forward.

Her disguised gray eyes narrowed into a highly possessive glare that completely contradicted her commoner appearance.

She pulled Klaus’s arm closer to her chest.

"Hey," Zephyra interjected, her voice dripping with sickly sweet honey that barely masked a terrifying underlying threat. "I’m his fiancée, you know. You should be greeting me as well."

The heavily armored guard physically flinched as a cold bead of sweat immediately rolled down the side of his face.

He didn’t possess any magical sensory skills, but the overwhelming pressure of her aura leaking through the disguise was enough to trigger his biological fight-or-flight instincts.

"O-Of course! My deepest apologies, Madam!" the guard stammered out rapidly, violently bowing his head toward her. "It is an absolute pleasure to meet the fiancée of our hero! May I respectfully inquire as to what business brings such esteemed guests to the office today?"

Zephyra’s terrifying aura instantly vanished and she smiled brightly, entirely satisfied with the groveling.

"I wanted to buy a property in Galen," she announced cheerfully.

The guard visibly relaxed, letting out a long breath.

"Buying a property? That is a truly wonderful idea, Madam. If I may be completely honest, not many people actively seek to buy permanent properties here in Galen Town because it doesn’t have the massive flashy names or the high-end markets attached to it. But it is incredibly nice to see powerful people wanting to settle down here!"

With a wide, accommodating smile, the guard turned and grabbed the heavy iron latch, pulling the massive gate open and gesturing for them to enter the pristine courtyard.

"This building is actually quite big for such a town, Hubby..." Zephyra commented in genuine surprise as they walked up the short flight of marble steps leading to the main double doors.

Klaus pushed the heavy brass handles inward, and they stepped directly into the main lobby.

The interior of the Galen Real Estate Office was bustling with a surprising amount of people.

The lobby was incredibly spacious. Several large, polished mahogany desks were spread out across the tiled floor.

At one of the desks near the center, a massive heavily scarred burly Adventurer was loudly arguing over property taxes with an older, highly exhausted woman holding a stack of papers.

Several other townsfolk were sitting in wooden waiting chairs, quietly murmuring among themselves.

Normally, if a traveler was just looking for a temporary place to crash, they would have completely bypassed this high-end building and gone straight to a standard Inn Center.

But since they were actively seeking to permanently purchase an entire house, this was the absolute only place in town with the legal authority to draft the deeds.

Klaus and Zephyra bypassed the arguing adventurer and walked directly toward a quiet pristine desk tucked away in the far corner of the lobby.

Sitting behind the desk was a highly polished snooty-looking receptionist. Her hair was pulled back into an incredibly tight, severely strict bun, and she was currently adjusting a pair of thin-rimmed reading glasses as she meticulously stamped a massive stack of legal documents.

Zephyra completely ignored the concept of waiting in line or observing basic bureaucratic courtesy. She marched directly up to the mahogany wood, planted her hands flat on the desk, and leaned over.

"I want to see the manager..." Zephyra demanded.

The receptionist didn’t even flinch. She slowly stopped stamping her papers, let out a highly exasperated, long-suffering sigh, and looked up at the disguised royal with an expression of pure corporate disdain.

"Excuse me, Madam," the receptionist interrupted formally while speaking a bit condescendingly. "But the Branch Manager is an incredibly busy man. You cannot simply walk in off the street and demand an audience. If you wish to discuss property acquisitions, you must file the proper paperwork, undergo a financial background check, and then make a proper schedul—"

Zephyra didn’t say a single word.

She simply reached into the invisible spatial pocket of her own ring and with a highly aggressive flick of her wrist, she violently slammed a small, completely solid-black metallic card directly onto the center of the mahogany desk.

CLACK!

The heavy thud of the metal card echoed sharply.

The receptionist’s condescending lecture died instantly in her throat. Her eyes darted down to the desk, peering through her thin-rimmed glasses at the object.

For two agonizingly long seconds, the woman just stared at it then, all the color completely and violently drained from her face.

Her strict, snooty demeanor shattered into a million pieces, replaced by panic.

The woman violently shoved her chair backward, jumping up from her seat so fast she nearly knocked over her expensive inkwell. She turned to a junior receptionist sitting at a smaller desk directly behind her.

"Cover my desk! Immediately!" the woman ordered.

The receptionist spun back around, practically throwing herself over the desk in a highly submissive ninety-degree bow directly toward Zephyra and Klaus.

"My absolute deepest apologies for my unforgivable ignorance, esteemed guests!" the woman gasped out, her hands trembling as she carefully, almost reverently, picked up the black metallic card. "I will personally lead you directly to the Manager’s Office right this very second!"

The sudden highly dramatic display of absolute subservience immediately drew the attention of everyone else in the lobby.

The burly adventurer stopped arguing and the older woman dropped her papers.

The entire room went dead silent as they turned to stare at the two seemingly common-looking individuals receiving the highest level of VIP treatment the town could physically offer.

As the highly panicked receptionist hurried around the desk and began rapidly leading them toward a grand, sweeping staircase at the back of the lobby, Klaus leaned his head closer to Zephyra.

"What exactly is in that card?" Klaus whispered, keeping his voice incredibly low so the trembling guide wouldn’t hear him.

Zephyra simply smiled with a highly innocent, completely oblivious look crossing her face and she casually shrugged her shoulders, her black hair bouncing slightly.

They quickly ascended the wide carpeted stairs.

The second floor was vastly different from the loud lobby. It was completely silent, heavily soundproofed by expensive magical wards.

The floors were lined with plush, crimson carpets, and the walls were decorated with highly detailed landscape paintings of the continent’s various capital cities.

The receptionist led them to the very end of the long hallway, stopping dead in front of a pair of massive, ornately carved double oak doors.

She raised a trembling hand, knocked twice, and without waiting for a verbal response, pushed the heavy doors open then she stepped to the side and bowed to gesture for them to enter.

Klaus and Zephyra stepped into the Manager’s office.

The room was highly opulent.

A massive crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting a warm, expensive glow over a sprawling, polished black-wood desk.

Sitting behind the desk was a portly, well-dressed man dabbing at his sweating forehead with a silk handkerchief.

The receptionist didn’t say a word.

She quickly scurried across the room, gently dropped the solid-black metallic card directly onto the center of the manager’s desk, bowed one final time, and practically sprinted back out of the room, pulling the heavy oak doors shut behind her.

The Manager let out a highly annoyed huff, lowering his handkerchief to look at whatever the frantic receptionist had dropped on his pristine workspace.

The exact second his eyes processed the black metal, the man’s eyes widened to completely comical proportions.

He choked on his own breath, entering a violent coughing fit as his mind stalled out in pure shock. The man scrambled to his feet, nearly knocking his expensive leather chair backward onto the crimson carpet.

This was a Premium Black Card!

In this world, that specific card wasn’t just a sign of immense wealth. It was a highly exclusive untrackable token given out strictly by the City Real Estate Branches only when the person in question had successfully purchased between fifty and one hundred Premium Properties across the entire continent.

It meant the holder possessed enough liquid assets to literally buy small cities.

Klaus watched the portly man practically have a heart attack over a piece of metal.

He still didn’t know exactly what the card was or how much it held, but looking at the terror on the man’s face.

The manager violently cleared his throat, desperately attempting to regain a sliver of his professional composure as he frantically adjusted his silk tie.

He practically threw himself over the desk in a deep highly submissive bow.

"My Lady and My Lord!" the Manager greeted. "What an absolute honor to have you grace our humble Galen branch! What may I possibly get for you today?" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Zephyra didn’t waste a single second with pleasantries. She completely bypassed the introductory negotiations and stepped forward, placing her hands on her hips.

"I want a big house," Zephyra demanded as her eyes sparkled. "I want something that is quite a bit luxurious, with a massive amount of rooms, and..."

She paused with an inappropriate blush completely flooding her face as she looked back over her shoulder at Klaus. "Ooh~ A custom-built master bed, too."

Klaus’s left eye violently twitched but the manager didn’t even blink.

He aggressively nodded his head up and down so fast it looked as though a highly zealous pastor was violently preaching to a congregation.

"Yes! Absolutely! Without a single doubt, My Lady!" the manager agreed frantically.

He immediately turned his head and gave a sharp, commanding nod to a personal assistant who was standing completely frozen in the far corner of the VIP section.

"Bring out the absolute most luxury Houses we currently have for sale! Bring the Black-Tier files!" the manager ordered.

The highly panicked assistant practically teleported across the room, reaching her hands into a very big magically locked shelf built directly into the mahogany wall next to the main table.

She rapidly disengaged the magical locks, reaching deep into the shelf, and pulled out exactly five thick, heavy files.

She rushed back across the expensive crimson carpet and carefully placed the files directly onto the center of the manager’s polished desk.

The files had highly distinctive heavy gray covers made from expensive magical leather. The manager proudly extended his hand, sweeping his palm out over the gray folders like a showman presenting a grand prize.

"My Lord, My Lady," the manager said with his voice dropping into a highly serious persuasive tone. "These files represent the absolute highest quality, pinnacle residences we currently hold within Galen Town... These are estates fit for kings."

He then smoothly motioned his hand toward the far side of the massive office.

There, situated perfectly next to a massive, floor-to-ceiling glass window that offered a stunning, panoramic view of the bustling town below, was a private viewing area featuring a polished glass table and highly comfortable, plush leather chairs.

"Please," the manager offered graciously. "You may take the files, sit there, and take all the time you require to look at the properties in complete peace."

Klaus didn’t need to be told twice. He stepped forward, seamlessly sweeping all five of the heavy gray files into his arms.

He walked directly over to the window area, taking a seat in the plush leather chair with an exhausted sigh.

Zephyra happily skipped right behind him, pulling out the chair directly next to his so their shoulders were physically touching as they sat down at the table.

The afternoon sunlight poured perfectly through the massive glass window, illuminating the five gray files resting in front of them.

"Alright," Klaus muttered, cracking his knuckles. "Let’s see what kind of ridiculous real estate this town actually has to offer."

He reached out and flipped open the heavy leather cover of the first file.

The moment the file was opened, a small, highly intricate magical projection flared to life above the pages.

It displayed a perfect, three-dimensional glowing blueprint of the property, slowly rotating in the air.

Beneath the blueprint were several magically captured, high-definition pictures showing the physical exterior of the house, the insides of the rooms, and the high-end customized furniture already included in the purchase.

’Wow...’

Klaus and Zephyra leaned in close with their heads practically touching as they stared at the first option.

"This one is located near the eastern border," Klaus analyzed. "It’s a massive three-story brick manor."

"It looks incredibly boring, Hubby," Zephyra complained, pointing a delicate finger at the projection. "Look at the walls... They are just standard brick and mortar. There are absolutely no visible runic defensive arrays or fortified mana barriers. If someone tries to attack us while we sleep, the whole house will collapse."

Klaus nodded slowly. She wasn’t wrong especially with how strong her and Taula were.

He unceremoniously closed the first file, extinguishing the projection, and slid it to the side.

He opened the second file as the glowing projection flared to life again, displaying a highly modern, incredibly tall, five-story stone manor situated near the center of the commercial district.

"This one has highly advanced defensive wards..." Klaus noted, tapping the detailed specifications.

"But Hubby, it has five entire floors," Zephyra pointed out, her gray eyes narrowing at the blueprint. "The master bedroom is located entirely at the top of the tower. If the magical elevator ever breaks down, you will have to physically walk up five massive flights of stairs every single day just to go to bed."

Klaus completely froze.

He stared at the rotating tower projection. The thought of adding an agonizing cardio workout to the very end of his already highly exhausting life-threatening days made his physical stomach turn.

He was on vacation dammit!

"Absolutely not," Klaus declared flatly. He violently slammed the second file shut. "I am not walking up stairs. Next."