Apocalypse Landlord: My Tenants Are All Beautiful Heroines.-Chapter 8: Trust Me Bro

"So the basic quest assignment price is a thousand bucks?"

[Yes.]

"And putting bonus quests costs three hundred dollars per quest?"

[Correct.]

Aiden hummed in response before leaning back on his sofa. After taking a shower and feeding Lily, Alisha had left for her apartment. It left Aiden with time to focus on his future plans.

"James has accepted the quest, not like he had a choice," Aiden chuckled, just as he did, another notification flashed before him.

[Drifter: James Irwin has slain a lvl 2 Goblin Scout.]

[$32 added to funds.]

So that’s how I make money.

Another mystery was solved, but Aiden wasn’t interested in that. He quickly used [Landlord’s Supervision] to see what was going on with James.

It’s hard to believe that a coward would go out of his way to complete a sub-quest.

Aiden had thrown the bonus quest just because, he never expected James to do something about it.

Aiden’s vision faded away before he found himself in a dark room.

"Why is it so dark in here?"

He looked around and realized it was a convenience store. Aiden was confused. He thought James would head to a gun shop or something to get weapons, not to get some kitchen knives.

"That’s what I get for not specifying what type of weapons," Aiden sighed, shaking his head. Just then, he saw someone. "There you are."

James was huddled in a corner, and the makeshift spear was pointed outwards. He was holding one end, while the other end had impaled a goblin’s neck.

So that’s what happened.

James walked into the store thinking he could steal some knives and run back. Unfortunately for him, a goblin found him.

Aiden knew a lot about goblins. In the Otherworld, they had served as foot soldiers in his army once. The lower-ranked goblins lacked intelligence and just lunged at any human they found.

The critter tried the same thing with James. Unfortunately, the man had a spear and an awful lot of luck.

He probably panicked and just pointed the spear at the goblin. The goblin stumbled on this empty can, and the rest is history.

Aiden was debating whether to praise James or envy his luck when he caught something else.

Footsteps. Lots of them.

James heard it too and dove behind the counter, just to see a skeletal figure staring back at him. Just like that, the fool passed out.

...what will I ever do with you?

Ignoring the knocked-out guy, Aiden turned towards the entrance and saw six people walk into the store. Leading the group was a guy using a car door as a shield, the man next to him wielded a baseball bat.

The purple-haired female twins entered behind them, holding what seemed to be wooden swords. Other than them, two children were carrying strange looking knives.

As they walked deeper, their eyes fell on the goblin’s corpse. Aiden could see the little ones’ eyes shine as they dove towards the dead beast.

Before he knew, the children shoved their blades into the goblin’s chest and began ’cleaning’ it.

Are they planning to eat it?

For a demon lord, the sight of children digging into a corpse wasn’t strange. He had seen that happen often in the case of war orphans.

However, he found it strange that the adults didn’t pay any attention to them and kept looking around. Only after they were done checking the perimeter did they return to the children’s side. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Found anything?" the guy with the door asked.

"Yes!" the children replied in unison. "Seven bullets. Two candy bars."

Aiden couldn’t believe his eyes. The children had been hacking away at the goblin’s corpse, and somehow, the body parts they harvested turned into bullets and candy bars.

And here I thought my class was weird.

The man took the bloodied bullets and put them in his pocket before ruffling the children’s hair.

"Good job, little ones," the man smiled, and the group prepared to leave.

Aiden wanted to follow them, but because his surveillance was limited around James, he couldn’t follow the group.

"You moron, ruining my plans even when you’re not doing anything."

Aiden shook his head as the skill duration ended and he once again found himself in his apartment.

***

Three hours later...

[A drifter is attempting to enter a restricted area.]

"Let him in," Aiden said, getting off the sofa to open the door. "Already here, good."

He had barely said those words when James collapsed on his knees. The knife, toolbox, and massive wrench he brought with him clanked on the floor.

Aiden looked at the ’weapons’ and then looked at James, shaking his head.

"It’s not what I expected, but it’s better than nothing."

[Reinstate tenancy privilege of Drifter: James?]

"Yes, but restrict his movement to his own apartment."

[Tenancy restored.]

[Current Tenants: 3/5]

As Aiden expected, James let out a sigh of relief and smiled. Unfortunately, the smile didn’t last for long.

"Alisha! I’m here to take you home!" he yelled and rushed inside Aiden’s apartment.

No sooner had he taken a step than he collided with an invisible wall. Alisha saw it but didn’t react. She just grabbed Lily and stepped out of sight.

"Alisha! Alisha! I’m sorry! Just listen to me—"

"You yell too much," Aiden frowned and shoved James back outside.

"Y-You! What did you do to her?"

"I didn’t do anything," Aiden replied, patting his shoulder. "It’s all you."

The images of him trying to choke Alisha replayed in his mind. Then his eyes focused on Aiden. He grasped his legs, tears overflowing his eyes.

"I-It was a mistake! I-I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I swear!" he stammered.

"I know," Aiden sighed, putting on a sympathetic face. "Things happen, but right now she wants nothing to do with you. You get it?"

"B-But—"

"Hush. She won’t come back to you, at least not until you rebuild the respect you lost."

"W-What do you mean?" James stammered.

"Show her that you’re strong and independent. Once you do, I’m sure she’ll fall for you again," Aiden said, not a hint of malice in his eyes.

He continued, "I can help you with that. The quests I give you, keep completing them. Slowly, you’ll get strong, and I’ll put in a good word for you when I think she’s ready. Alright?"

James looked at Aiden as if trying to decide whether he could trust him or not.

[Tenant: James Irwin’s trust has increased to 23%]

"Thank you... for helping me," James mumbled.

"Don’t worry about them, I’ll take good care of them while you prove your worth." Aiden smiled and patted his back.