The cold winter air was beginning to make itself known in NQSC. Uriel let out a sigh, releasing a puff of white vapor from his mouth. His expression was a mix of anger and disappointment.
Anger because he hadn't managed to find the mysterious island, and anger because it was being guarded by a Corrupted Terror. Honestly, he didn't want to fight a Corrupted Terror again at the moment.
His confrontation with Amalgamation left a sour taste in his mouth. Even though he had obtained his new armor after its death, he gave them a burial, making a tomb for them so they could at least rest—even if he did it to feel better about himself.
Carrying the Royal coffee cup, he took the last sips before wrinkling his face. Looking at a trash bin, he threw away the now-empty synthetic cup. He put his hands in the pockets of his red coat.
Hearing the sound of his communicator, Uriel took it out and answered the call he had been waiting for for almost three weeks.
Uriel heard a voice on the other end that had a tone of respect.
"Everything ready? Great! So, when can I...? Today, really? Well, then I'll be there at three. Alright, see you later."
After ending the call, Uriel hung up the communicator, staring at the black screen for a few moments. A strange look was on his face.
Finally, he had secured his own personal space to live. It wasn't that he hated living with other people, but he didn't like living off someone else. He felt he was taking advantage of someone just to have a place to live.
After extorting Griffith, in the first week after returning from his second Nightmare, he had spoken with an agency to get his own personal place in a quiet area of NQSC.
The house he had bought was in a very quiet place with clean air and near a park. And finally, after almost a month, it was ready for him to move into.
'I guess now we begin our lone wolf stage,' commented Shade with a playful voice.
'Yeah, finally we have our own house, Shade. Do you know what that means?'
'Hiring a bunch of big-ass goth girls and making it Sodom and Gomorrah?'
Uriel blinked.
'You're sick,' said Uriel. 'But no. No hookers in my house.'
'You know it's mine too, right?'
'No, it's only mine. Besides, I don't charge you rent for living in my mind.'
'Dumbass. We're the same person. Well, in a way, we have our differences, but in essence, it's the same. So, hire those big-ass goth girls now.'
'Absolutely not!'
'Tsk... boring.'
...
When it was around three o'clock, Uriel was walking toward where his place—which he could call his own—was located. It was a bit away from where Sunny lived, perhaps a few hundred meters away. Currently, it would take him only fifteen or twenty minutes of walking to get there. Of course, he could move through the darkness, but he didn't see it as necessary.
He liked walking and seeing how humanity survived in one of the few human cities before being drawn into the Dream Realm.
While walking, he received quite a few looks, which he ignored. Even using a cosmetic Memory to change his hair color from black to dark blue, he still got looks.
There were large banners on top of buildings with his image for the government's political propaganda, which he had been "obliged" to participate in to boost humanity's morale.
Letting out a cold sigh, he continued walking at a calm pace. It only took him about twenty minutes to finally reach his destination.
He observed in front of him a two-story house with gray walls and a slanted roof. It was standard architecture for civilian constructions in NQSC. As for the clans that had their bases in the city, the architecture was totally different and more spacious. An example of this was the Valor Clan's complex or the Song Clan's.
Uriel observed that the house had a synthetic wood porch, a lawn, a garage for a PTV, and a wooden fence separating it from the neighboring houses.
Uriel tilted his head slightly, then his face wrinkled a bit.
'Why can't I remember where I lived before coming here?' thought Uriel.
He remembered that he still lived with his parents and siblings. After all, before coming to this world, he was around twenty or twenty-one years old, attending university. But the detail of remembering his own house was non-existent.
"Ahem... Master Uriel? Sir?"
Uriel snapped out of his reverie upon hearing a masculine voice. Turning around, he observed the man who had called him. He was tall, towering over him by about two heads, wearing a tailored, quite expensive suit. A luxury watch was on his wrist. Uriel looked at his face, noting that he didn't seem to be more than forty years old; his face was calm and exuded confidence.
"...Royman, right?" asked Uriel.
The man, the representative tasked with equipping his new home, belonged to a real estate agency to arrange everything necessary in his home.
"That's me. Ah, I'm honored that someone like you could remember my name. It's very flattering, sir. Truly," expressed Royman animatedly, then pointed to the house. "Do you like it?"
"Yes, it's fine," he expressed, looking at the exterior.
Royman nodded. Both remained silent for a few moments.
"Of course, a person of your caliber must be accustomed to much more luxurious accommodations. But I assure you the work will not disappoint! This house may not be as luxurious as what you're used to, but we did everything according to your specifications. Although I must say, the choice of location didn't pose a challenge, especially regarding maintaining discretion about the exact nature of your modifications."
'Why do they always talk too much?' thought Uriel, superficially listening to Royman with a calm face.
"By the way... if you don't mind me asking, sir... how does this beautiful house compare to your previous residence? I'm interested from a purely professional point of view. Of course, consider it a client survey!" said Royman quickly.
"Well... my previous residence was much larger, built of black stone, beautifully carved in marble, with antique wooden furniture, with the best views in the entire area, and it was always protected by a fearful Saint."
Royman stared at Uriel for a while with the same professional smile. However, little by little, his face turned gray.
"Marvelous... that's marvelous... ahem, shall we take a look inside?"
Uriel nodded.
Both entered the house. It was of minimalist taste, governed by a design philosophy that seemed elegant, spacious... and a bit empty.
The first floor housed a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, a pantry, a bathroom, and a guest bedroom. Everything was furnished and fully equipped, including a state-of-the-art refrigerator similar to the one he had seen in Sunny's house, only with the difference that it was full of expensive food.
Uriel simply listened without listening to Royman's long speech, only hearing the part about the reinforced armor hidden between the lining, the wide windows equipped with titanium shutters that closed at any moment, and the air and water filters that could withstand any known toxic or biochemical substance.
The house was connected to the city's electrical grid, but there was also an autonomous power source for emergencies. The power units were easy to obtain and lasted a long time.
After exploring the first floor, they moved to the second floor. The second floor was simpler, focusing on the bedrooms. There were three bedrooms: one master and two smaller ones, each with its own bathroom and a bright office. He also mentioned several times the soundproofing system of the master bedroom.
That made Shade excited.
Finally, they went down to the basement, which was a large space with walls, floor, and ceiling covered by thick ceramic armored alloy plates. This was so that an Awakened could train without worrying about destroying their home. Of course, for a Master like him, this room was like paper.
Uriel observed a special sleeping capsule. It wasn't the capsule that Awakened used; it was something else.
The device had a pod and a heavy lid. It wasn't designed to house a human body for a long time. Of course, this was a Dreamscape capsule that would allow him to enter the advanced virtual reality simulation that existed between the boundaries of technology and magic.
...
Finally, they returned to the first floor.
"I hope everything has been to your satisfaction, sir?"
"It is," said Uriel.
"Great! Would you like to sign up for our active security service? Many Awakened benefit from having a dedicated security team... watching..."
"It's not necessary. Do you think I'm someone who needs to be protected?" asked Uriel, looking at Royman, who only let out a nervous laugh.
"Hahaha! No, of course not. Excuse me, sir."
"In any case, as you can see, the interior is quite empty. We left spaces for you to place your... ahem... things. If you don't mind me asking, when are the movers coming?"
"They aren't. I don't have many things."
Royman nodded.
"Well, if no one is coming, we can close the deal right now. I wouldn't want to take up too much of your time!"
Uriel nodded, signing some documents. All payments had been made in advance, so it was just a formality.
After a few minutes, Royman had finally left. Uriel stayed outside his own house.
"I guess this is the first thing I can really call my own property."
'It's the second. The first is the communicator you have,' said Shade.
"Why do you always have to ruin the moment?"
'Because I like to do it,' Shade smiled mentally while saying that.
Uriel went up to the second floor, where he entered the master bedroom. Observing the bed, he stored it in his dark storage and then simply took out the bed he had taken from the castle, which was larger and much more comfortable. Of course, he had to clean it properly and put sheets on it, as well as a set of soft pillows.
Once he had finished, he left his house. It was around four in the afternoon. Tomorrow morning, after picking up the things he had at Sunny's house, he would officially move in.