Elora was still rather young, even by Human standards, so it was rather difficult for her to make big decisions like the one she was currently making. Her brother and her had been working for Veronica for just around a month when they had been informed the second floor of the dungeon would be unlocked. As it was tradition and an important safety protocol not to enter a dungeon until a month had passed, things would be no different from them. However, since the previous inn had been closed, there was no longer anywhere for them to stay.

They had chosen to invest in a tent to share so they could camp in the woods, a far better alternative to the back alleys where they could easily be pickpocketed, or worse. However, it was really not the best solution in the long term. They needed to obtain property of their own to live in so that they could have somewhere to live even if they lost their current jobs. That was harder said than done when you were considered orphans as they would normally need guardians to sign the paperwork for them.

Seraphina had hardly been eager to help them, but she wasn't exactly a heartless person either. So, she had agreed to arrange for them to have a meeting with Lord Goldenleaf today to ask for help, but she was unwilling to do anything more than that. As the older sibling, Elora took the lead as she curtsied to the resident's staff and announced their appointment. The staff didn't question their young age, merely confirming they were in fact expected as guests.

They were sat in a parlor and made to wait for a while before a woman came out to greet them. Elora and Eldrin stood up, each politely greeting

"Good afternoon, Lady Mariona Goldenleaf!"

They didn't stand back up, much less sit back down until gestured to do so. The older Elven woman smiled politely as she inquired

"Ah, you must be Elora and Eldrin. I regret to inform you that my husband is still occupied with his meeting. However, I wished to speak with you personally and understand your circumstances. I must say, I am quite surprised to see how young you both are. If it is not too painful, would you kindly share with me how it came to be that you were orphaned?"

Elora had been expecting a similar question, but her brother was still far too young and immediately stiffened. She squeezed his hand in comfort as she replied

"When the previous dungeon in our city retired, our parents were caught up in the process and lost their lives. We've been forced to live on the streets since then, but were recently offered jobs in the local dungeon. While it hasn't been long since we were first employed, we are being paid well enough that I'm hoping we can make a down payment on a house if we combine our incomes. I've done the market research and-"

Lady Mariona held her hand up, which immediately stopped Elora in her tracks. Smiling briefly, she gestured for the servants to bring them refreshments before turning back to them.

"I understand all of this is likely quite stressful for you. I do apologize, but a full explanation of why you are here today is not necessary at this moment. Please save that for my husband, Lord Goldenleaf. It seems likely that we will need to register you as your younger brother's guardian in order to move things along. I conducted a background check on you before our meeting, but the details of what happened to your parents were unclear. Now that you have explained, it makes sense that their deaths were likely not reported to the adventurers' guild due to the extenuating circumstances."

Elora wasn't sure what to say to that, so she just waited for Mariona to ask something else.

"Might I ask, how has the Dungeon Master been treating you?"

Elora smiled a bit as she replied

"Lady Veronica has been quite kind. She actually made the clothing we are wearing today for us. We've been avoiding wearing it outside as we don't want to dirtying it as this is the only nice clothing we own. I've been tasked with cleaning the inn rooms and helping in the taverns most nights while Eldrin carries supplies for the tavern, washes dishes, and serves meals in the tavern. He has also started practicing with the sword, but he doesn't have a proper tutor, so I'm afraid he isn't very proficient at it. We get to eat the same food that is served at the tavern, share one of the large inn rooms, and are paid a magic crystal each week for our efforts. It almost feels too good to be true, honestly."

Lady Mariona quietly sipped her tea as she listened to her explanation. She took her time replying when Elora finished her explanation.

"It would likely be best to put in a request at the adventurers' guild if he is adamant about learning swordsmanship. While simply fighting dungeon [Monsters] and growing more comfortable with a weapon will help to some extent, nothing compares to learning from someone with more experience."

Just then, Lord Goldenleaf entered the room, which prompted both Elora and Eldrin to rise from their seats as they greeted

"Good afternoon, Lord Sylvar Goldenleaf!"

Lady Mariona excused herself, which left them to discuss their more important business matter with her husband. Elora found that she felt a bit more confident after having talked with Lady Mariona, which made it easier to discuss the more important topics of the day. The meeting itself was kept rather short, but she wasn't at all unhappy with the results. Even with combining their income, they couldn't afford to pay for a house outright, but they were able to arrange for monthly payments for a pre-built home, which would allow them to own it after a period of time.

They were hardly looking to purchase a fancy manor, so they would only need to combine most of their current savings with another three month's pay to cover the full cost. Magic crystals, regardless of type, were considered quite valuable as they were rarely found outside of the upper floors of dungeons. Since that meant adventurers had more of a risk to their lives and they could only be harvested in small quantities, that drove the value up even higher. Of course, Lady Veronica rarely just gave them one type of crystal either. If she gave them something more valuable like a light or fire crystal, then they could make far more than they would with something like an earth or wind magic crystal. So, it was unlikely they'd have to go without any luxuries just to pay off their new home either.

After finishing the meeting, one of the resident's staff escorted them to their new home. After handing them the keys, they were on their own. Their new home was dirty and didn't have any furniture, something they wouldn't be able to afford to remedy anytime soon, but it was still far better than camping in the woods, so they were hardly going to complain about it. Besides, it just gave them a goal to work towards. They now knew they had a bright future ahead of them so long as they continued to work hard.

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