Chapter 31 : A Room
Moving jobs had become a regular part of Aldric's routine. Yet one problem remained unchanged. Every evening, he returned to the same hotel room, and a large portion of his wages vanished immediately to pay for another night's stay. Emma knew it just as well as he did. Until he found a real place to live, this newfound stability would remain fragile. As usual, they met at the café where they often spent time together. Emma's laptop was already open, her notebook resting beside her coffee, and a long list of apartment listings filled the screen. She picked up her phone.
"All right. Let's try again."
For several weeks now, Aldric had become familiar with this routine. Emma would call landlords, explain his situation, answer the same questions, then jot down the outcome in her notebook. Every conversation followed the same pattern. "Hello, I'm calling about your listing... Yes, he has a job... Yes, he's a temp worker... Yes, he has a contract now..." At the beginning of each call, her smile never wavered. Then, almost inevitably, there would be a long silence. Emma would listen, nod politely, then reply in a calm voice, "I understand. Thank you anyway. Have a nice day." She would hang up, draw another line in her notebook, and move on to the next number.
"Rejected?" Aldric asked.
"Rejected."
"For what reason?"
"They're looking for someone with a permanent contract."
Aldric nodded. Ever since Patrick had explained the different types of employment contracts, he had already known how the conversation would end. A permanent contract was always considered the safest option in the eyes of landlords. Despite working regularly, his status as a temporary employee still inspired little confidence. Emma opened another listing and immediately began the same routine again. "Hello... I'm calling about your studio... Yes, he has a job..." Once again, the conversation lasted only a few seconds. She set her phone down and let out a quiet sigh.
"No again?"
"No again."
She rubbed her temples before opening another listing. Aldric watched her in silence. Since the day they had met, she had devoted an enormous amount of time to helping him without ever asking for anything in return. She had helped him find a job, write his résumé, understand job interviews, and now search for a place to live. Yet despite all her efforts, they kept running into the same obstacles.
"I'm sorry for making you spend so much time on this."
Emma immediately looked up.
"You're not wasting my time."
"And yet we keep getting turned down."
A faint smile crossed her face.
"Welcome to Paris."
"Is it normal for finding a room to be this difficult?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
She closed another listing and opened the next one.
"A lot of people are looking for a place to live. Landlords usually have several applicants to choose from, so they tend to pick the one who seems the safest."
"So I'm not."
"You are... they just don't know you."
It had been the same in his former world. A captain would always rather recruit a soldier whose abilities he already knew than a complete stranger.
The calls resumed. Minutes passed, the rejections continued to pile up, and Emma's notebook slowly filled with new notes. More than once, she felt tempted to call it a day, yet she always dialed one more number. At last, as she scrolled through the remaining listings, her eyes stopped on a tiny attic room in an old building. The apartment was incredibly small, but the rent was still within Aldric's current budget.
"Wait... this one's new."
She dialed the number. After a few rings, someone answered. Emma introduced herself, explained Aldric's situation, and mentioned that he was now working regularly for a moving company. Unlike the previous calls, this conversation lasted much longer. She answered several questions, checked the documents in her folder, then wrote down an address in her notebook. When she finally hung up, she looked back at Aldric.
"He agreed to meet with us tomorrow afternoon."
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It was only a viewing, nothing more. The landlord could still change his mind, the room might not suit him, or someone else could rent it first. Even so, after so many rejections, that single answer was enough to give them genuine hope. Emma closed her laptop.
"This time... we might actually have a chance."
The following afternoon, Emma met Aldric outside the building the landlord had given them. The knight was still wearing his armor, with his sword strapped across his back. A few pedestrians gave them curious looks before continuing on their way.
There was nothing remarkable about the building. An old façade, a few wrought-iron balconies, and a weathered wooden door. After they rang the bell, a man in his sixties answered. His eyes settled on Emma first before drifting toward Aldric. They lingered for a moment on the armor, the sword, and the metal gauntlets.
He blinked.
"Uh..."
Emma immediately smiled at him.
"Don't worry. There's a medieval festival going on for a few days. He's one of the performers."
"Ah... that makes sense."
Aldric looked from one to the other, unable to understand what they found so unusual. The landlord invited them inside. They crossed a narrow entrance hall before beginning the climb up the stairs. The steps seemed endless. By the third floor, then the fourth, Emma could already feel her legs protesting. The landlord, however, kept climbing without slowing down. When they finally reached the sixth floor, he pulled out a ring of keys and stopped in front of a small door tucked beneath the roof.
"Here we are," he said as he unlocked the door. "It's not very big, but it's quiet."
He stepped aside to let them enter. The room truly was tiny. One glance was enough to take it all in. Once a bed was in place, there would barely be enough room to walk around. A small kitchenette occupied one corner, and a narrow door led to an equally cramped bathroom. The sloped ceiling reduced the available space even further, forcing anyone tall to duck their head.
Emma turned toward him with an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry..."
Aldric walked farther into the room. He ran a hand along the edge of the kitchenette, studied the sloping ceiling, measured the distance between the walls with his eyes, and finally stopped in the center of the room.
"We can keep looking," she said. "You don't have to settle for this one."
He walked over to the room's only window. His fingers closed around the handle, and he turned it. The shutters swung open at once, letting a gentle breeze drift inside.
His gaze wandered beyond the rooftops. From the sixth floor, Paris stretched out before him. Rows of chimneys formed a forest of stone. Gray rooftops reached all the way to the horizon, broken here and there by the taller silhouettes of famous landmarks. The afternoon sun bathed the city in a soft golden light, making the windows shimmer and casting long shadows across the buildings.
"What a magnificent fortress."
Emma had been certain he was going to turn it down. She had been convinced he hated the room. Instead, he stood there admiring the view with the wonder of a traveler discovering a legendary city for the very first time.
"You really like it?"
"Of course. This room sits high above the city. It offers a clear view over much of the surrounding area, and there is only a single entrance to defend. It may be modest, but it is exceptionally defensible."
Emma couldn't help letting out a quiet laugh.
"You're still trying to defend a castle."
"A home is always worth protecting."
The landlord, who had been watching the scene from the doorway, frowned.
"Excuse me..."
He pointed toward Aldric.
"Is he serious?"
"He always is..."
The landlord spent another few seconds watching the young man gaze at Paris with childlike wonder, then simply shrugged.
"Well... that's a first."
Aldric turned back toward him.
"This room will do nicely."
"Are you sure? Wouldn't you like to look at a few more places before making up your mind?"
"It is more than sufficient for one person."
The landlord gave Aldric a few moments to take one last look around the room. He was used to visitors who hesitated, compared several apartments, or asked for time to think before making a decision. Even Emma expected Aldric to ask for her opinion or want to visit a few more places before choosing.
Aldric turned away from the window and walked back to the center of the room. His eyes swept over the sloped walls, the tiny kitchenette, and the compact bathroom one last time before settling on the landlord.
"I'd like to rent it."
"Are you sure?" Emma asked.
"I was looking for a place to live. I've found it."
"Perfect. I just have a few formalities to take care of," the landlord said.
"I'll need both of your full names."
They gave them, and the landlord wrote everything down in his folder before closing it.
"I'll have all the paperwork ready for tomorrow. We'll meet here again to sign the lease, and then I'll be able to hand you the keys."
Aldric gave a slight nod.
"Thank you."
"My pleasure."
They left the apartment.
"That room..."
A smile spread across his face.
"...will be mine."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
MAIN QUEST
Find a Home
Progress: 83%
Objective Remaining
Sign the lease
Obtain the keys
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Once she arrived home, Emma set her bag down by the door before taking off her jacket. Her eyes drifted toward her phone. She found herself thinking back to the genuine joy on Aldric's face when he had discovered the tiny attic room.
She found the landlord's number in her recent calls and tapped the green icon. A few seconds later, a familiar voice answered.
"Hello?"
"Hello, this is Emma. We visited your apartment this afternoon with Aldric."
"Ah, yes. I remember you."
"I'm calling about his application. I know he only recently arrived in France. He doesn't have many guarantees yet, and I completely understand why that might concern you. So... if you're willing, I'd like to be his guarantor. And if necessary, I can also pay the security deposit in advance."
"Have you known him for very long?"
"Not very long."
"But I trust him."
The man let out a quiet sigh.
"You don't hear people say that very often anymore."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"In that case, we'll take care of everything tomorrow when we sign the lease."
"Thank you very much."
"No, thank you for being so upfront with me."
The call ended. Emma gently set her phone back down on the coffee table.