'Poor punks?'
Eren raised his eyebrow at the audacity of the woman who had just spoken.
She didn't bother to put up a polite face.
When he looked at his friends, he saw all of them smiling wearily, not even bothering to correct her remark.
Strangely, Eren didn't even get angry at their response.
In the past two years after coming into this world, he had realized the messed-up way society worked here.
The powerful and the rich could do whatever the fuck they wanted without facing consequences, while poor people who had no power couldn't even raise their voices against them.
If they did, most of their complaints would be ignored, and sometimes they would even face absurd retaliation from the people in power.
Even the security officials were the same.
Just like in his previous world, laws and restrictions were only for common people, but in this world they were doing it more openly.
Eren had seen such scenes many times and had mostly become numb to them.
"Jessica, don't be like this... Even if they are poor students who came for enquire about renting and not buying, they are still our valuable customers. Do your job and show them the facilities they need. That's our job, isn't it?"
The man whom the woman called Alex said this with a tired tone.
His face looked a little haggard, and there were black circles under his eyes, indicating a lack of sleep.
He reminded Eren of himself from his past life, someone who had overworked himself before quitting his job in frustration.
"Tsk, why would I have to do that? It's not like I can get a commission fee from a rental contract... Chairman himself said I can choose whatever customers I want and don't want, didn't he?"
When the woman mentioned the chairman, Eren noticed the pure disgust that appeared on the man's face as he looked at her, though he immediately hid it.
Alex didn't bother to speak further with her and turned to look in their direction.
"Did you all come here to check the details of our workshops?"
Eren's friends nodded their heads and were led by the man into another room inside the building.
"Please take a seat..."
The man poured water into their glasses and placed them on the table before taking his own seat.
"Tell me your requirements..."
Eren silently watched as his friends recounted all the things they needed.
Kael stated his requirements for a smithing workshop with a proper ventilation system, a cooling water system, storage for ores and tools, and equipment such as an anvil, a blacksmith hammer set, tongs, a quenching tank, and a grinding wheel, all at Tier 2 quality.
Dorian specified his needs for 2 acres of spirit-rich farmland with balanced moisture and nutrients, along with water pumps with automatic watering arrays and a protective array.
He also required equipment like a hoe, shovel, sickle, and seed planter tools of Tier 2 quality, as well as crop storage barns, drying racks, and herb processing tables.
Rowan stated his needs for:
Alchemy Cauldron – main brewing container
Heating Furnace – controls potion temperature
Glass Flasks and Bottles – storing finished potions
Mortar and Pestle – grinding herbs and materials
Distillation Apparatus – purifying ingredients
He also needed an ingredient processing area with drying racks for herbs, grinding stations, and essence extraction tools, along with a storage room and a research room with reinforced surroundings.
Finally, Lyra started mentioning her needs for a kitchen layout along with equipment details.
Alex nodded his head while noting down everyone's requirements, a slight smile appearing on his face.
"It seems everyone came here after doing some proper research... That's a good thing. A lot of students who come here for the first time don't even know what kind of workshop they need or which direction they should head in first. But you four seem to have a very clear idea of what you are doing."
"Come with me. I will show you all the workshops that are available and meet your requirements one by one. Take your time and decide which one is more comfortable and convenient for renting."
Alex thought Eren and his friends had come there only to ask about renting properties, not to buy them, but no one bothered to correct him.
All of them were led by Alex and soon arrived at the Artisan Quarter of Tidewatch City in his car.
The Artisan Quarter was an area specifically designated to train lower-tier lifestyle profession holders under the supervision of guilds and trading companies.
"All the workshops on these streets belong to our company," Alex proudly declared as he walked in front of them, pointing toward the different buildings along the street.
He showed them several smithies, alchemy facilities, farming lands with storage barns, and many different kitchens spread across the area.
Within two hours, he had shown them more than thirteen places without taking a break or asking Eren and his friends to make a decision immediately.
He was extremely patient while dealing with the students.
Eren's friends gradually became more comfortable with him as they listened closely to his explanations and asked a lot of questions about the best locations, which ones they should choose, the rental details, and the total cost of buying them with tax.
Alex calmly answered everything he knew.
"You guys were lucky to come within the first week after your awakening. Usually, most of our workshops are already sold or rented out within the first month after the Awakening Ceremony.
The longer you wait, the fewer options you'll have, and you'll end up accepting lower-grade workshops."
"There are more than thirty workshops in this single district already! These many workshops would be sold within a single month?!" Dorian exclaimed.
"Each of them costs 20 million, right? Does our city really have that many rich people?" Rowan added in disbelief.
Alex smiled warmly at their shocked reactions.
"Haha… Why do you think our Golden Plains Agency keeps buying vast lands and building these workshops nonstop? This is one of the hottest businesses right now.
Every year, thousands of students like you awaken lifestyle professions. Even though many people give up on their professions after facing reality, the number of lifestyle professionals still keeps increasing.
This also increases the demand for proper workplaces for them.
And it's not only useful for lifestyle profession holders, it's also a great investment opportunity for others.
Each year, the price of these workshops increases by 6 to 10 percent, depending on demand. Even I own two workshops that are currently rented out, earning me 400,000 per month without me doing anything."
A series of gasps escaped from the four of them.
Eren also listened with great interest.
Such an investment providing 1% of the principal as monthly rent was incredibly attractive.
"No wonder 'they' asked us to buy everything… It's such a great way for rich people to make more money!" Kael muttered.
The other three also agreed.
Eren looked at them with a blank expression.
'Nope, I have no idea about this!'
Hiding his true thoughts, Eren simply went along with the flow as Alex continued showing them the remaining workshops.
"Okay, this is the final one. Have you all decided which ones you want?" Alex asked.
The four of them turned to look at Eren as if asking for confirmation.
Eren nodded in return.
"Mr. Alex, we want to book Smithy No.144, Alchemy Lab No.208, Farmland with Barn No.197, and Kitchen No.47."
Alex smiled with an appreciative look.
"Good choices… Then I will draft the rental contract right away. You'll need to pay a booking fee of 400,000 now for the four workshops, and the monthly rental fee will be 200,000 for each-"
"Mr. Alex, we don't want to rent these workshops. We would like to buy them," Eren interjected in the middle.
Alex's whole body flinched when he heard that, and he looked at everyone from head to toe.
"Are you guys serious? Booking four of them for purchase alone will cost you 20 million upfront, and you will have to pay the remaining 60 million within a week."
"Yeah, we know that…" Eren said with a confident look on his face.
Even though he currently had less than 30 million, he was very sure that his items would be sold within a week.
So spending 80 million was nothing to Eren right now.
"Are you all… rich?"
"Yes…"
Eren answered immediately, not giving his friends any time to react at all.
"Okay then…"
Still doubtful, Alex led them back to the agency to draft a contract.
Upon opening the front door, all of them ended up witnessing an absurd sight.
"Oh~ Jessica, you really know how to make rich customers happy… uhh~"
"Ah~ you are such a naughty customer~"
All of them saw the woman named Jessica who spoke harshly to Eren and his friends, sitting on the lap of a fat, middle-aged man with a bald head.
His hands were tightly grabbing her breasts as he buried his face between them.