Kotori and her spirits hung around and avoid the guards that roamed the streets until the sun rose.

They avoided running into any guards since it would be suspicious to be roaming the streets at that hour.

Soon the sun rose, and people began to disperse into the streets, and Kotori after asking a few people found her way to the merchants guild.

The merchant’s guild handled all the private land purchases in the kingdom and incidentally, nobility could be bought there. Many merchants would buy nobility, so the merchants guild always had a few extra titles on hand for anyone with the money.

The Merchants guild was a large building with a white stone exterior not too dissimilar to the stone on the palace. The guild was one of the more opulent buildings in the city which was likely due to the nature of their profession.

Of course, the practice that made the most money would have the nicest buildings.

[Damn Capitalist!] Kotori thought

Kotori had Umi and Shu walk up the desk. Buying nobility was a rather public process and Kotori wanted to avoid having too much attention placed on her.

Umi approached the desk. In the spirit manifestation form, she was mostly indistinguishable from a normal human. At worst she would look like lizard kin which was only slightly unusual in the human-dominated kingdom.

With the armored Shu next to her she looked like a noble lady who had come to commission art or buy some new goods.

The counter was empty. The merchant’s guild was a place for the rich and thus didn’t have many people milling about.

Kotori and Layla watched from a corner while Umi and Shu walked up to the counter and politely asked to buy some land with nobility status. The young male receptionist seemed to freeze for a moment.

“Um, excuse me did you say you wanted to buy nobility” he looked confused. It was obvious she already thought Umi was nobility.

“Yes, if you could give us your cheapest title that would be great” Umi said smiling

The male receptionist blushed

“I see… can you please wait a moment?” He asked

“Of course” Umi said politely

The man quickly ran into the area behind the counter his face red as a tomato

[Umi you virgin killer!] Kotori thought watching the scene. Umi was a level above other noblewoman in terms of her beauty so it was no surprise the male receptionist was flustered upon seeing such a beautiful woman smile at him.

Umi was beginning to attract the attention of the few other merchants who were waiting around. Although the merchants guild’s building was sparsely populated there were still a few merchants milling around.

“Hello, miss who are you” A male merchant asked. He had styled brown hair and well-defined features. He was definitely a comely man but not excessively attractive.

“Ah, I am from the north, my merchant father sent me to the capital to buy nobility for myself” Umi answered

It was a fabricated story that they had decided to make. Umi was a merchant’s daughter who was buying Nobility for herself. Since Kotori had come from the southern end of the country, she had Umi come from the north to deflect any possibility they were associated.

“Might I ask for the name of your respected father?” The merchant asked

“You would not have heard of him. He sells armors and weapons he’s not very prominent. He saved up money so that I would become nobility. He hopes to marry me to a noble house” Umi answered

[Good answer Umi!] Kotori thought watching the conversation. The merchant was obviously trying to hit on Umi and she had indirectly turned him down by saying that she was destined to be married off.

“I see… have you toured the city yet? I can show you around the city and let you see all the best sights” the merchant said giving a gentlemanly smile. I would love to talk about your father

[Hey buddy back off! She’s mine!] this merchant was being surprisingly persistent. It almost seemed like he didn’t care that Umi had other marriage plans

“unfortunately I have other plans today and I can’t accept that offer” Umi said

“What a shame, well if you need anything let me know. He handed Umi a small wooden card which Kotori assumed was some type of business card and then walked off.

The receptionist came back. With a few large rolls of paper when he unfurled them it appeared to be a map of the kingdom with a few area’s dotted that showed land that could be bought.

“Well we have these plots of lands you can buy. I would recommend this one over here it has an old estate that can be renovated and serve you perfectly” He said. The receptionist seemed nervous. They were both hunched over the map and Umi’s head was quite close to his.

“I have no need for an estate” Umi said

“Then how about this plot right here, it’s located near a small village” He offered

[Near a village that sounds good!] Kotori thought

She tried to signal to Umi to say yes.

Umi thankfully caught the signal and accepted the offer.

“Okay that will be 100 gold coins 50 for the land and 50 for nobility. With a deposit of 20 gold coins and yearly installments of 10 coins each…” The receptionist started to explain

“That won’t be an issue I’ll pay in full”

Umi pulled a small sack from her dress and dropped it on the table. The sack made a heavy thump as it fell on the table.

The receptionist opened the sack. Inside was many glittering golden coins. He was wide-eyed

“O-Okay I will just process this,” He said stammering. It was obvious he had not expected Umi to pay in full.

Umi had now caught the gaze of other merchants who were now staring at her. It seemed nobody paid for nobility in full.

[Oh dear, we still caused a scene] Kotori thought

Kitsura

Umi too cute

Cute is justice

Umi = Justice

That is all.