Whispers of Stars beneath the Quantum Sea

Settling down.

Having accepted Natasha's offer, Vivere started his life as a mercenary.

Natasha returned his items and money. She gave him a note with an address and kicked him out of her apartment.

Natasha: Tomorrow, 8 PM. Your training starts then.

She shut her door, but Vivere stopped the door before it was fully closed.

Vivere: Wait!

Natasha: What?

Vivere: Where could I stay?

Natasha: If you want luxury, down the road from here is a hotel "for the richest". If you want affordable, rent a run-down apartment. Go straight, turn left, and keep walking forward until you see buildings that are at the same height. Off you go, kid.

Natasha slammed the door on him.

Vivere: What... Well, that's something.

Vivere hummed as he made his way to the first floor. She seemed like a nice lady, albeit a little cold. He exited the building and... froze.

Vivere: Where to the apartment area again? Fuck me.

He shrugged and started walking. There was no way he could get lost, right? After all, he was a decent assas-

He somehow ended up on the outskirts of Arc City.

Vivere: Where... to go?

He looked at his phone and noticed that Natasha had already saved her number in it. He sighed in relief and called her.

Natasha: What do you want, kid?

Vivere: I'm a bit... lost... tee hee!

Natasha: Hah... Is there anything around you that can be used as a guide?

Vivere: Uhm... There are a lot of trees.

Natasha:...

Vivere: Are you there?

Natasha: You know what? There's a "Maps" app on your phone, enter this location and follow the directions. You can do that, right? You're not that dumb to fail such an easy task, right?

Vivere: I should be, thanks!

He hung up and started typing the address Natasha sent through text. On Natasha's side, she rubbed her temples as she slowly regretted her decision to recruit him under her wing.

Vivere reached the building and asked to rent a room for a month.

Landlord: What kind of room?

The landlord asked in Mandarin, which Vivere understood nothing of.

Vivere: Excuse me?

Only learning basic English, he figured he'd have a hard time communicating with the people here. He was glad that Ms Natasha was Siberian and used Russian like him.

: What kind of room do you want to stay in?

She repeated herself, in English, slowly.

Vivere: There is more than one type?

The landlord sighed and brought up a sheet of paper with 3 separate apartment images on it. One was luxurious, decorated with expensive furniture and a king-sized bed. One was more casual, with simple amenities and a full-size bed. The last option was a single-bedroom apartment.

Vivere: Uhm... What are the cost differences?

Landlord: Luxurious rooms cost 5k to rent monthly, normal rooms cost 1k monthly, and the cheapest rooms cost 500 monthly. However, there is no more vacancy for the most affordable option. So what will it be?

Vivere: What did she just say? I blanked out! Blyat!

Vivere: C-can you repeat that?

Landlord: Oh my Lord... We have 2 types of rooms available now: luxurious and casual. Luxurious costs 5000, Casual costs 1000.