The Demon Lord Is An Angel
Chapter 211: House Hunting

Chapter 211: House Hunting

The night after finding out he would be moving, Kir paid a visit to Noir’s grave. A tombstone with a small epithet describing how he’d helped face Maledict had been added not long after the burial, and next to it, a similar tombstone bore the name Kir Gale.

As weird as it was to be standing next to his own grave - a "necessary pretense" as it had been described to him when he found out - he set aside his dissonance to stand before his dead lover and friend, as he had done once a week since waking up.

As was his habit, he had a one-way conversation, pausing at times to sort through his emotions. As was Kiryu’s habit, the ghost of Kir’s past remained silent out of respect for the dead.

"Hey, Noir," he spoke to the grave. "Sorry if I won’t be around as much, but I guess I’ll be moving. Lumin’s turning the mansion into student dorms if you can believe it..."

"Sam’s in the same boat as me, but at least Lumin’s giving them a stipend. Even offered them a job working security at the new Academy..."

"Did I tell you what they decided? They’re going to name their child Nimba Caroon Starios. I can’t believe they never told me their last name until now, but... I’m just glad they still want to be friends. They don’t want to move in with me, but they said they’d get a place nearby. We’re going to do some house hunting tomorrow and... I wish you could be with us."

For a long time, Kir paused to just remember. Then, with a final sigh, he went back to his room to sleep.

*

The next morning, Kir woke up to a small but constant itch in his wings.

As he walked through the city with Kordia, Stella, and Sam, the scene in the upper district was one of relative peace and calm. Their first destination would be the city hall, at the very heart of the upper ring, where one office dealt with abandoned properties and the building-related estates of the dead.

Kordia’s suggestion was that they both look for places the city didn’t want to leave abandoned. Since most of the properties in the upper ring were spoken for, it was a long shot but one that would fit Kir’s needs.

His backup plan was to find a place near the gate in the middle ring, but such places were typically reserved for artisans.

And the backup to the backup... Was not viable. The back alley shop he technically owned had burned down during the siege, and the entire lower ring was being rebuilt from scratch.

The city hall was a grand building, roughly octagonal, faced with green marble, and topped by a golden dome. It rose to about five stories - not including the dome - and was decorated with statues of scholars. Surrounding the building were offices for various individual guilds and across from it was a lawn that ended at the Mayor’s house.

The heart of the city had long since moved down the promontory, but it wasn’t hard to imagine that this building would have been at the very center back when Norneau was founded.

Once inside, Kir sensed that the scale of the interior was made to make anyone feel small.

A circular hole lead up through the floors, giving people a view of the many frescos that had been painted in each square of the dome’s interior. The gleamingly polished stone floor was a tile mosaic telling a story about mages coming west across the lake, fleeing some ancient Heavenswar as it burned the east.

After a few moments to explain to the attendant at the front desk what they were there for, they were directed to an office on the fourth floor, where they found a very skinny human woman with black hair streaked by silver.

"Oh, hi, are you my first appointment?" she asked as soon as Kir ducked under her door. Her nameplate read Farah Falavji, Housing Clerk.

"Actually, we just walked in," Kir said as Kordia and Sam slid in behind him. With no other seating available in the cramped office, Stella just leaned against the door. Kir introduced everyone, and himself as "Kiryu Nasumi".

"Walk-ins..." Ms Falavji said in a slightly off tone. "Yes, I do those. Good of you to come early in the morning, I’m very, very booked otherwise."

"Why’s that?" Kordia asked.

"Because I have hundreds of new houses to inspect and register and lots of people trying to sell before the next demon attack."

"Don’t you have people to inspect the houses for you?" Kir raised an eyebrow.

"Oh Heaven, I wish. Normally this is a quiet job. Just one or two sales or estates or repossessions a week. I even had a month with no work at all, haha. Curses on me for thinking it would last." She shuffled some of the papers on her desk before sliding them into a tea box that was functionally an in-tray. "Now!" she clapped her hands on her desk. "How can I help you? Here to sell to the city?"

"Actually we’re looking to buy," Kir said. "My friends and I just moved to this city, and I was hoping to get a place in the upper ring."

"Oof, that’s a tough ask. Most of the available properties are in the third and fourth rings."

"Third and fourth?" Kir asked.

"New naming policy. The city actually expanded after the siege, and it’s kindof a weird flow with people coming here from the east and people from here trying to sell and get out because of it..."

"Sounds chaotic," Kir said.

"The first casualty of war is the truth," Kiryu sagely intoned.

"It is what it is. Prices are lower the further out you are, but you said you want a place in the first ring? Do you have proof of income?"

"I am going to be a professor at the Academy, if that helps," Kir said.

"Oh! That certainly warrants some consideration. The Academy is pretty much the lifeblood of this city, now that the students are coming back. Most of them, at any rate... I heard a rumor Montmorency is trying to build their own academy for the students that refuse to come here."

Kir just shrugged.

"Let me see... how do you feel about music? I have a singing house for sale that might suit your needs. The mortgage is five orichalc a month."

Kir grimaced. "I was hoping for a regular house. It can be small, I’ll mostly be spending my time at the Academy anyway."

"I thought wolfkin preferred larger spaces," the clerk said, tilting her head a bit.

"I’m not a typical wolfkin," Kir scratched behind his head. "Like I said, I’ll mostly be at the Academy so I mostly just need the house for sleep and privacy."

"Well in that case..." She turned, having to half-rise from her seat to grab a folder. "Let’s see... I have one mid-sized property available. The owner died in the siege, so it’s still fully furnished. We sent the customary letters to his next of kin but have yet to get a response."

"How long do they have to respond?" Kir didn’t want to wind up in a situation where he was evicted halfway through a semester.

"One year, but given the Heavenswar, the grace period has been extended to three years, barring the needs of the city, of course."

"What else have you got?" Kir asked.

She flipped through the folder. "I do have one other property close to the Academy... But, oh, you might not like it."

"Why not?" Kir asked.

"It’s next to a property that’s a sibliary house. You’d have some very loud neighbors, and I know wolfkin have sensitive ears..."

As Kir had learned, a sibliary house was a gender-neutral version of a fraternity and sorority. Only students above three years of education at the Academy could be invited to join one, and there was a separate sibliary just for special status students. Until recently it had been less about housing and more about having a place to stay off campus for personal projects that weren’t allowed in dorms.

Kir felt a tug on his elbow and looked at Kordia. Her eyes were bright. It didn’t take much to guess her thoughts.

"Actually, I’d like to take a look at it."

"Great! I’m actually visiting the property in two days. Will it just be you or...?" She looked from Kir to Kordia to Sam to Stella.

"Oh, just me and my partner," Kir turned and waved to Stella. Disguised as a human, she waved back. "Kordia here is something of a protege, and Sam is looking for their own home. They have some trouble communicating because of their mavenry." The four of them had worked out their cover stories beforehand, to avoid uncomfortable questions.

"Ah, pardon my misunderstanding. Do you know which ring you’d like to live in?" she asked Sam gently, noting her pregnancy.

"Second," they said without hesitation.

"That’s normally reserved for crafters. Do you have a trade you’ll be practicing?"

Sam nodded. "Want to... blacksmith..."

This surprised Kir, who had assumed Sam would take the job they’d been offered by Lumin.

"Right, well, fortunately for you I have a larger number of available properties there. A lot of craftsmen are moving to the third ring now that prices are so cheap, some of them are practically building their new shops with city funds... but that’s not my problem, thank the gods," the clerk chuckled. "Perhaps we can make an appointment for next week? That will give you plenty of time to get me a proof of trade or apprenticeship, as well as income," she turned to Kir, "and for you to get me a proof of employment and income."

Sam nodded.

"Sounds great," Kir replied, shaking her hand as she offered it.

"Wait until you do it a thousand times in one month," Farah laughed, slightly manic. "It was a pleasure."

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