Chapter 24: Thrift and Household Management

Chapter Twenty-FourThrift and Household Management

Outside the window, the golden afterglow was darkening by degrees. Klein looked into Melissa’s eyes and, for a moment, could not find a single thing to say, because every line he had prepared had become useless.

He coughed twice and made his mind turn quickly.

“Melissa, this is not wasting my salary. In the future, when Benson and my colleagues come to visit, are we going to receive them in a place like this? And later, when Benson and I marry and have wives, will we still be sleeping in a bunk bed?”

“You do not even have fiancées yet. You can wait a little longer and save more money first,” Melissa answered with clear logic.

“No, Melissa. These are the rules of society.”

Klein felt a headache coming and had no choice but to use grand principles.

“If I am receiving a weekly salary of three pounds, then I must have the dignity appropriate to a weekly salary of three pounds.”

To tell the truth, having once squeezed into shared housing himself, Klein was not unfamiliar with the current living conditions. He could adapt perfectly well. But precisely because he had that experience, he understood even more clearly how inconvenient such an environment could be for a young woman. Besides, his goal was to become a Beyonder, study mysticism, and find the “path” home. In the future, he would inevitably need to perform magic rituals at home. In an apartment where too many people came and went, and where mouths were many, problems would easily arise.

Seeing that Melissa still wanted to speak, Klein hurriedly added, “Do not worry. I am not considering a detached house. I plan to look at row houses. In any case, we need our own washroom. Also, I like Mrs. Slin’s bread, Tingen cakes, and lemon cakes too. We can first consider places close to Iron Cross Street and Daffodil Street.”

Melissa pursed her lips lightly. After a moment of silence, she gave a slow nod.

“And I am not in a hurry to move. We have to wait until Benson returns,” Klein said with a smile. “Otherwise, when he opens the door, he will say in complete shock, Where are my family’s things? Where are my younger brother and sister? Where is my home? Is this my home? Did I come to the wrong place? Goddess above, please tell me whether this is a dream! How did I go away for a few days and come back to find even my home gone?”

He imitated Benson’s tone so well that Melissa’s eyes curved unconsciously, revealing the shallow dimples on her cheeks.

“No. Mr. Franky will be waiting at the doorway the entire time, demanding that Benson hand over the apartment key. Benson will never even make it upstairs,” the girl said, taking a jab at their stingy, money-loving landlord.

In the Moretti family, everyone liked making Mr. Franky the protagonist of jokes whenever the occasion allowed. That custom had begun with their elder brother Benson.

“Right. He would never change the lock for the next tenant,” Klein said with a smile. Then he gestured toward the door with a playful air. “Miss Melissa, shall we go to the Silver Crown Restaurant and celebrate?”

Melissa gave a very small sigh.

“Klein, do you remember Selena? My classmate. My good friend.”

Selena?

In Klein’s mind, a girl with wine-red hair and dark-brown eyes immediately appeared. Her parents were both believers of the Evernight Goddess and had blessed her with the name of Saint Selena. She was not yet sixteen, a little less than half a year younger than Melissa, and was cheerful, bright, and outgoing.

“Yes,” Klein said with a nod, indicating that he remembered Selena Wood.

“Her elder brother Chris is a solicitor. He currently earns close to three pounds a week, and his fiancée works part-time as a typist.”

Melissa first described the situation, then continued, “They have been engaged for more than four years. To have a stable, decent life after marriage, they are still saving money even now. They have not entered the church yet, and plan to wait at least another year…