BXBX NOVEL Chapter 171
As Oliver walked into one of the branches located in District T, a portly man approached him, who seemed to be an employee of the company.
He had a wide smile on his face, but despite his jovial appearance, his eyes were sharp and revealed a calculating demeanor.
The employee greeted Oliver warmly and asked,
"Welcome, sir. How are you today?"
Oliver replied, "I\'m here to look for a house."
The employee showed interest and asked,
"What kind of house are you searching for? Can you give me an idea of your budget?"
Oliver shared his requirements, saying,
"I\'m looking for a house located between District K and District O, with good security being my top priority. I prefer a standalone house over a multi-family dwelling, and I\'m looking for a long-term lease of at least two to three years. I am OK paying the rent either monthly or upfront, but I definitely need a house with a large warehouse. Money is not an issue."
The employee listened attentively and responded with a calm and professional demeanor, his eyes shining with excitement at the opportunity to assist Oliver in his search.
"Uh…I\'m sorry about this. Can you follow me for a moment, Sir? I spoke without recognizing the precious guest?"
The employee nervously rubbed his hands together and led Oliver to the office.
Upon entering, the employee quickly scanned the neatly organized cabinet, pulled out several files, and handed them to Oliver.
"Please, take a seat and make yourself comfortable," the employee politely gestured for Oliver to sit down.
The employee opened one of the files and encouraged Oliver to take a look.
"You made the right choice in coming here, Sir. As you know, the real estate market in Landa can be quite competitive, and there are individuals who try to inflate prices or even engage in fraudulent activity. Here at our company, we ensure a safe and reliable experience for our clients."
Oliver nodded, he had heard similar things before.
Landa, known as the world\'s most developed city, had sky-high real estate prices, enough to exceed the bounty of the leader of the Kell Liberation Army.
And this has led to a high rate of fraud and scams in the market.
That was probably why Oliver chose to come to this company.
"Um… I like these five places."
Oliver chose five properties from the files presented to him by the employee.
The price seemed a little high, but it didn\'t matter. Thanks to his hard work, he has enough to handle.
The employee grew softer after seeing Oliver\'s demeanor.
"Oh, my… I didn\'t even serve coffee to the precious guest. I\'m sorry. If you wait a little bit, I\'ll prepare it, but if it\'s fine with you, would you like to go see the properties right now, Sir? I\'ll get my car right away.”
Oliver did not refuse.
Though it wasn\'t urgent, he wanted to move in quickly if it was possible.
When the employee and Oliver were about to get up they heard someone approaching from outside.
"Excuse me, manager."
A female employee approached with a puzzled expression after opening the door.
"What is it? Can’t you see, I am talking to the customer?"
“I’m sorry. That… the customer’s lover came to visit.”
"…..??"
Oliver was momentarily taken aback at the word ‘lover’
“Oh, did you plan to meet here, Sir?”
Oliver was about to deny it, but then he paused. "Where is she now?" he asked.
"Over there, in the waiting room," the female employee replied.
Oliver made his way to the waiting room to meet the person who had claimed to be his lover.
Walking down the hallway, he saw a woman dressed in a simple, neat crochet dress.
At first glance, Oliver might not have recognized her, but he immediately recognized her emotions and knew who she was: Miss Coco, an information dealer and a member of the Sisterhood.
"Ms. Coc…"
"… Shh."
Coco, who dressed differently than usual, raised her thin finger to her lips with the same pale pink lipstick as her clothes and gestured to be quiet.
Oliver did as he was told.
"…..Shall we go out for a while?"
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
A cafe that was located a distance away from Eggshell.
Coco took Oliver there, and he followed her without knowing the reason.
He had to apologize to the annoyed employee at Eggshell for his absence.
"I\'ll have tea and scones. What would you like to order, Dave?"
"Me?"
"Yes, you need to order something if you come into the store."
Oliver realized she was correct.
"I\'ll have tea too. And, do you have any pie?"
"Yes, we have tart pie. I recommend it."
"Okay, I\'ll have that, please."
The employee smiled in a friendly manner, a characteristic of those who work in service.
"Thank you, I\'ll enjoy the meal."
"Am I paying for it?" Oliver asked, surprised.
"Of course, it\'s the rule for a man to pay."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. Haven\'t you been on a date before?"
"What\'s a date?"
"Are you kidding me?"
"……"
"You don\'t know what a date is? Oh my God. Haven\'t you ever been alone with a girl? … Don\'t tell me if it was for work."
At that moment, a woman’s figure flashed in Oliver’s head.
"Once," he said.
"Oh, that\'s good. I was surprised because I thought you had never been on a date before."
"Is it that important?"
"Yes. By the way, was she pretty?"
Oliver took a moment to think about the sudden question before answering.
"She was beautiful, but I don\'t know now."
"Oh, how beautiful. Who is she?"
"Well… I don\'t think it\'s appropriate to talk about someone else\'s story without their permission."
"Oh, that\'s boring."
"Are you here to ask about this?"
"Of course not."
Coco abruptly stopped talking and pondered.
"Well, let\'s get one thing straight first. Dave has to pay for the food here. It\'s for my pride as a woman."
Oliver didn\'t understand, but Coco was sincere in her words. So, he simply nodded. The meal wouldn\'t be too expensive anyway.
"Instead, I will give you some valuable information. I am, after all, an information merchant,"
"What information?"
"Don\'t rent a house from the company, Eggshell,"
"Why?"
"It\'s a poor company. They usually receive large amounts of money from tenants as monthly rent and make a profit in the process, but the flow of funds has been disrupted due to a recent prison raid,"
"Is it that bad?"
"Imagine all the blood vessels in your body being twisted,"
"Oh…how do you know about this?"
"That\'s because it\'s our talent," Coco answered as the store clerk brought their tea and dessert.
"Sisterhood?" Oliver asked.
"Yes, I can\'t reveal the details as it\'s a trade secret. You understand, don\'t you?" Coco said before taking a sip of her tea.
"Did you use that trade secret to find out my location?"
"Well, the method is different, but the principle is the same. We may not have physical strength, but we have many talents,"
"May I ask what you\'re doing here? If it\'s because of a request, I think it would have been appropriate to visit Forrest,"
"There are two reasons," Coco said before taking a bite of her scone.
"First, I tried to make a request, but Forrest said you wouldn\'t take the job because you\'re on a break."
"That\'s right," Oliver confirmed.
"Are you kidding me? Then why did you tell me to visit Forrest?" Coco replied with a hint of frustration.
"I\'m sorry. I have a personal situation," Oliver apologized.
"Ha…the second reason is that it\'s a bit challenging to work under these circumstances. My ‘client\' is not in a very comfortable position and cannot afford the commission for Dave, whose reputation has increased," Coco explained.
"Client?"
"I use the term professionally, but it\'s more like conveying the words of a close acquaintance,"
"Is it really not a request from Sisterhood?" Oliver asked skeptically.
"Yes, it is," Coco confirmed. "I wouldn\'t have come here dressed so plainly if it weren\'t for that."
"I apologize, Miss Coco," Oliver said, "but I…"
"… Can you at least listen to what\'s going on?" Coco interrupted. "Even if I\'m just a messenger, I\'m not trying to be reckless."
Oliver was silent for a moment.
"Please don\'t be too dismissive," Coco said pleadingly. "Listen to me, Dave. I\'m confident that you won\'t be disappointed. And if you want, I can introduce you to some reputable real estate options besides Eggshell."
After considering her words, Oliver felt that Coco was genuine and possibly even worried for someone. This piqued his interest.
"Alright, go ahead," Oliver agreed.
"Are you accepting the request?" Coco asked eagerly.
"No, I\'ll just listen to it," Oliver clarified. "After all, you stopped me from making a contract with Eggshell and prevented me from incurring any financial losses."
"I\'m glad you understand," Coco said with a relieved smile. "If you had declined, I would have brought up the contract issue and requested it."
With that, Coco\'s demeanor changed back to her original self.
"Before we proceed to the request, I would like to know who the client is," Oliver asked.
"It’s Jane,"
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
"Hahahaha."
In the corner of the Forrest restaurant, Forrest, the broker, let out a hearty laugh.
"Are you alright?" Oliver asked with concern.
"Don\'t worry, I\'m just amused that I’m speechless," Forrest replied. "I sometimes forget how intimidating women can be. I never expected her to make a request like this, especially not through you. I thought you weren\'t interested in this kind of thing because you were so stoic. Was I mistaken?"
"I\'m sorry, but what do you mean by that?"
"Why did you accept this request?" Forrest held up Jane\'s request for Oliver to see.
Just like Jane\'s father Edith Rock’s previous request, the request this time was also to be a bodyguard, for a four-day period at an auction house.
The compensation was 80 million, with half to be paid in advance and half at the end.
Oliver admitted, "I liked the extra pay. More than that, I can buy a black magic book while on the job."
Forrest nodded. The auction that Jane will participate in was a fairly large-scale auction organized by Crime Firm, and it was said that in addition to legitimate auction items, stolen items from the shadows are pouring in.
A kind of year-end giveaway, used to dispose of stolen goods piled up in the warehouse.
Of course, the auction house also implicitly accepted it because it judged that it was more beneficial to the overall profit.
Truly a movement worthy of this city.
"I heard that only those with tickets can participate, and I plan to purchase the book while guarding Jane," Oliver said.
"As a bodyguard, you must always stay by Jane\'s side. Will you have time to buy the book?" Forrest asked.
"Ms. Jane said she\'ll buy it for me, so I don\'t think it will be a problem,"
"That girl knows how to persuade you," Forrest commented with a shake of his head.
"Is there a problem?"
"I can\'t say there isn\'t. I have turned down quite a lot of requests saying you’re on a break. So, now the other clients may feel bad if you accept this job so easily. It\'s a service industry and complaints may pour in."
"I hadn\'t thought of that," Oliver admitted.
"I thought so," Forrest said. "Do you still want to accept the job?"
"Yes," Oliver answered without hesitation.
"Well, there\'s nothing I can do," Forrest sighed. "It\'s been officially accepted. I\'ll try to talk to Jane."
"Thank you,"
"It\'s surprising, though," Forrest commented. "I thought Jane would live the rest of her life quietly and comfortably with the property her father gave her, but she\'s daring enough to go there."
"It\'s just an auction house, isn\'t it?" Oliver asked.
"On the surface, yes," Forrest explained. "But if you look deeper, it\'s also a social hub where people in Landa network and make connections by showing off their wealth and good taste. Of course, she may be searching for a suitable husband, but I doubt it."
Oliver remembered that Jane had attended a social gathering at a hotel a few days ago.
"What\'s the point of going to such a gathering?"
"Who knows? Maybe she doesn\'t want to waste away the property her father gave her and live a quiet life,"
(To be Continued)
OR
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