Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 444 - Home Maintenance

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And so, Sunday arrived, and with the meeting with Luviya and Iluna set for the afternoon, Shard did his laundry in the morning and left the house. Following the business card provided by Priest Augustus, he found a renovation team that could maintain the house and inspected the specific damage to the third floor.

Because the staircase had collapsed, they had no choice but to use an extendable metal ladder to move between the second and third floors.

Mia was the only one who had been to the third floor in the recent months, and today was Shard's first time entering his own third floor. Following the workers up the metal ladder, what they saw was a dim corridor. The entire structure of the third floor was almost identical to the second floor, with two rooms adjacent to the corridor.

The entire floor was dilapidated and damp, with a layer of dust on the ground that would leave footprints when stepped on. Mold spots were everywhere on the ceiling and walls. But at least the church had cleaned the place thoroughly before cutting off the staircase to the third floor many years ago.

Although one could see some traces of blood using the "Echo of Blood", there was no garbage here, so there were no rats either. Even more bizarrely, just like the basement, first floor, and second floor, this long-abandoned third floor had no signs of spiders or cobwebs. Shard, with the help of the workers, opened the rotten doors of the two rooms and even climbed up to the attic, where the roof was leaking, but there were no signs of any insect existence.

This was indeed curious.

The house had seen multiple owners die within its walls, and as far as Shard knew, the third floor had witnessed many famous accidents. The renovation team checking the extent of the house's damage knew that someone had once disappeared on the third floor of No. 6, Saint Delan Square.

They vanished without a trace, and that incident had become a hot topic on Tobesk's tabloids years ago.

After a preliminary inspection, they returned to the second floor to discuss the matter. The construction team manager, who looked experienced and had somewhat dark red skin, offered his opinion:

"The building itself has suffered significant damage. Aside from minor issues with the flooring, walls, and windows, the serious problem is the roof, which needs a new waterproof layer as well as the floor. Additionally, if you need to install steam pipes and gas pipes, you will also need to contact the gas company and steam company to lay the inner wall pipelines. I just noticed that there are cracks in the walls of the third floor corridor; those will need to be checked and reinforced."

That sounded quite troublesome.

"Can you help with the gas and steam pipe arrangements?"

Shard asked.

"Of course."

"In addition to maintaining the third floor, please also include the painting of the basement, the next-door room on the second floor, and the overall walls on the first floor, as well as maintenance of the house's exterior walls, chimneys, and fireplaces. Please give me a specific quote, and then let me know the timeframe."

The middle-aged man in work pants pondered for a moment:

"During the third floor repairs, it's best not to have people living on the second floor. If you also want to repaint the first floor, we suggest you leave one room temporarily unpainted so you can stay there; otherwise, the smell of paint will be unbearable. If you want to start quickly, we can begin work tomorrow, but accelerating the timeframe will cost extra."

This request seemed reasonable. Holding his cat, Shard thought it over:

"Use the best materials for the floors and paint; I plan to live here a long while... How about if I ask for completion within a week?"

The professional manager of the construction team took out his notebook and did some calculations, then went outside to direct the workers who were inspecting the third floor to measure the walls in the first floor and basement as well.

This professionalism made a good impression on Shard.

Finally, the two returned to the second floor and calculated the costs in the study:

"Since you're referred by Priest Augustus, we will charge you the lowest fee. Including material costs, labor costs, gas and steam pipe installation fees, as well as the downtown house maintenance permit application fee—which isn't cheap because you have a direct view of the Yordle Palace, and working in the surrounding streets requires an application—it all comes to 200 pounds."

Even though Shard could afford this amount, he still furrowed his brows:

"Sir, that amount of money could buy a house with a garden in a more remote part of the city."

"I know it's a lot, but there's also a lot that needs to be done. Maintaining a house doesn't only include the cost of labor but also adds value to the property itself."

The patient manager explained:

"You yourself know what the normal valuation of a house in the nearby area is, Mr. Hamilton. This is a reasonable range, and I've squeezed it down to the lowest price for you. We would like to waive the markup based on the property's value, but the industry association wouldn't agree to that."

"Industry association?"

Shard queried again, perplexed, and the middle-aged manager continued his explanation, showing his own dissatisfaction:

"That's the union for the construction industry, responsible for introducing business but also supervising every deal quoted within the city to prevent fluctuations in the industry's fee standards caused by malicious price hikes or cuts. The organization's original intent is good, but it also means that we can't charge too much lower than the competition, otherwise we'd be ostracized."

Shard gawked for a moment before nodding, surprised by such a predicament:

"May I ask, then, how much overhead does the 200 pounds include?"

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The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment before pouring the water from his cup onto the coffee table and writing a few numbers with his finger. Considering this, the markup for Shard's case was only about thirty percent. He hadn't expected that, even without buying furniture, simply renovating the house would be so expensive.

The manager kept explaining to Shard:

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"Repairing the house can ultimately enhance the overall value of the building. Therefore, construction on different houses can bring different levels of wealth increase to the homeowners, which is also a reasonable explanation for the premium based on the value of the house... Here's the deal, you pay us 200 pounds, and after the union has checked this business, we will refund part of it to you. But we can't return all of it, five percent is already the limit."

This must be a concession made out of respect for Priest Augustus.

"But will this arrangement solve the issue with the accounts?"

Shard asked again, and it was then that the middle-aged man showed a smile:

"You don't need to worry about that, the accounting firm we outsource to is very professional. However, if the work starts tomorrow, I suggest you arrange a place for yourself on the ground floor as soon as possible, and lock the doors to the second floor to protect your belongings during construction. Oh, Monday will mainly be for the reassessment of the overall structural damage and for drawing construction lines, so it would be good for you to move to the ground floor by Tuesday."

This was a very sensible suggestion, after all, Shard and the cat couldn't exactly sleep on the floor of the ground level.

"But why not? What's the difference between sleeping on the floor and sleeping in a bed?"

Shard questioned inwardly and then felt the cat's little paws scraping at him. Looking down, the cat was staring at him with a dissatisfied look:

"Alright, I'll make sure you sleep on the bed."

The orange cat Mia was quite demanding about her quality of life.

In the afternoon, when Shard met Luviya and Iluna, he told them about the repair work he planned for the third floor of his house and complained about the high cost of house maintenance.

Iluna was surprised that Shard could afford such expenses, while Luviya looked up and said:

"In that case, all the rooms at No. 6 will be opened up."

"That's right."

"What do you plan to do with so much space? After the third floor is repaired, you'll have two more empty rooms and an attic. Plus, the mostly empty ground and second floors, most of the space in your house is currently unused."

"I intend to seal the windows of the room upstairs by the stairs and turn it into a darkroom for daily practice of Arcane Technique and Sorcery and to have space available for setting up rituals when needed. As for the other rooms... I'll leave them empty for now; they'll have their use sooner or later."

Luviya smiled without comment, and Iluna seemed to want to say something, but after looking at the cat on Shard's lap, she kept silent.

"Shard, you seem to have gotten a lot paler," Iluna brought up a new topic:

"Your skin seems to have improved a lot, have you been using any cosmetics recently? I remember you mentioning that you have a friend who's skilled at making Magic Potions."

"Let me tell you about what happened at Coldwater Port," said Shard with a smile, stretching his arms back and giving a big stretch. Consequently, the cat that had been lying on his lap also stood up, lowered its upper body and stuck its bottom in the air, stretching as well.

The summer sun shone through the city fog and into the room from the window. Shard was ready to tell his story:

"This story might be a bit long."

"No problem, we have time," said the seventeen-year-old girl in a skirt, glancing at the female Diviner:

"Start whenever you're ready."

Shard nodded, petting the orange cat, and began telling of the dreadful events that had occurred in the port city; Luviya leaned back on the sofa with her tea cup, smiling; Iluna touched her chin with her hand, listening intently to Shard's face.

The afternoon sun pierced through the mist over Tobesk and shone on their faces, making each of them seem to glow. But the brightest thing was actually the orange fur of Mia, the tabby-and-white cat napping on Shard's lap. Her fur caught the sunlight and sparkled.

The Coldwater Port incident was over for the time being, and Daknis would not arrive in Tobesk for another half a month. The rest of the Month of Blossoms was indeed a leisurely time for Shard.

His story really lasted an entire afternoon, and Shard consumed most of a pot of black tea, while the girls tasted the cookies Shard had brought out and occasionally asked detailed questions.

Except for not disclosing the secrets of Miss Aphrola the Witch, Dorothy, and Lecia, Shard had told them nearly everything. He hadn't admitted to Miss Galina that he was "The Chosen One," but he hadn't held back anything from the two brown-haired girls.

In Iluna's eyes, the previous half-month was just a short period of summer leisure after her return to Tobesk from the Papacy. She had not expected that Shard would have experienced such a complex and thrilling adventure during this time.

"It's just like those legendary stories, where the hero adventures while, to the average person, it seems like ordinary time... Shard, compared to you, I don't seem at all like The Chosen One."

This should be taken as a compliment from the seventeen-year-old girl.