Chapter 49

Two Sides of a Coin

That same morning, Lila sat with Nova in a rental office on East Street.

The storefront was small, walls papered with listings. The agent was a tall, thin man whose teeth flashed white when he smiled. First thing out of his mouth: they'd come at the right time.

"With a kid, far is the last thing you want." He spread a floor plan on the desk, finger moving fast. "School, market, hospital—you've got to cover all three. You adults are already worn down with work. Kid walks that extra stretch every day, and the whole day burns on the road. And whether a place feels like home—that matters for how a kid grows up too."

The first place he showed them was a back alley off East Street, close to the school, a few stalls not far downstairs. The rooms weren't big, but the windows were clean and bright. Nova went straight to the glass. From there you could make out the school building.

"This one's good," he said, very quiet.

Lila didn't answer right away. She asked the price first.

The agent named the monthly rent, then stacked on the agency fee and the deposit. Added up, Lila's face went stiff.

"Any way to cut the deposit?"

"This is already low." The agent smiled. "Locations like this don't wait. Don't lock it in today, it might be gone tomorrow. You save a little now, live farther out, the kid runs himself ragged, adults don't sleep—that's the real loss."

Lila didn't take the bait. She only drew Nova a little closer.

"Show us something else."

After that they followed him through a few more.

One sat even closer to the school, window on the main street—busy by day, but so small you could barely turn around. Another looked roomier. The agent praised the street, the light, the neighbors, laid it on thick—then named a rent that was still absurd. Lila folded the flyer neat and didn't refuse him on the spot.

Near noon she brought Nova out of the office and stood at the alley mouth for a breath.

"Everything this morning sounded fine. Run the numbers—none of it works."

Nova tipped his head up. "So what do we do?"

"Keep looking." Lila squared the listing sheets. "Leave the agents for now. We look ourselves."

They checked notice boards, asked around the market, and finally found two places on their own.

The first sat in a narrower alley. The landlord was a woman with gray in her hair. She led them past the lane mouth. The door opened onto a rush of damp.

Nova sniffed.

Lila checked along the walls. Old water stains by the window frame. A scrap of blackened paper still hanging in a roof corner. The landlord said it had only seeped once in a recent rain, already fixed.

Lila touched the plaster. Wet grit came off on her fingers.

"What's the lease term?"

"Six months minimum," the landlord said. "Less than that, no deal."

"We just got into town. Nothing's settled. Can we do month to month?"

The landlord shook her head at once. "Month to month isn't this price—and the deposit goes up. You walk whenever you like. I don't need the hassle."

Lila smiled once and didn't bargain further.

After that they finally saw the cheapest place.

It sat on the southeast edge of town, far from school, not too far from the processing plant. The stairwell was so narrow two people had to turn sideways. Half a torn demand notice clung to the wall. The door opened and something crashed next door, then a man's muffled cursing.

Nova edged behind Lila without thinking. The guide shrugged like he'd seen it before. "Cheap's cheap for a reason. If you don't mind the nights being loud, it's a bargain."

Lila stood in the doorway and didn't go in.

One small window faced a narrow yard stacked with junk. A few older kids squatted against the wall smoking. They saw Nova and looked him over together. Farther back someone dumped dirty water from a second-floor window. It slapped the stones. The smell was sour and sharp.

"We're leaving," Lila said.

The guide blinked. "Not going to look inside?"

"No need."

That morning she'd thought the town was big enough—they'd find something decent. One day of looking taught her what she wanted sat out of reach, and what she could reach, she wouldn't put a kid in.

She folded the agent's flyers and tucked them into her coat.

"One more loop," she said. "Something'll turn up before dark."

They were heading back by the southeast street mouth when the sun was already tipping west.

Passing the morning's rental office, the tall thin agent jogged out, still short of breath, and waved them down.

"Miss Lila—wait."

Lila stopped. She didn't step closer. "What is it?"

"New listing just came in. Fits you well." His smile was oilier than it had been that morning. "My boss is inside right now. He told me to bring you back in for a talk."

Lila's brow tightened. She'd spent half the morning in there while they pushed high-rent places. Suddenly a perfect new listing? Sales pitch, most likely.

Nova tugged her sleeve. "Let's go. Listening doesn't cost much time."

Lamps were on inside. Behind the counter stood a young clerk in a gray shirt pressed sharp. He saw them come in, stepped aside at once, and tipped a hand toward the back room.

"Mr. Mansour—your guests."

The curtain stirred. A man walked out.

Medium height, neither heavy nor thin. Hair combed flat. Temples and nape shaved clean. Dark coat cut close; cufflinks threw a cold flash under the lamp. What stood out was the sunglasses—still on, even indoors.

He came to the desk.

"Faisal Mansour. With Iron Crystal Realty—the… head of it." He held out his right hand as he spoke. "Mansour is fine."

The title snagged her. She couldn't place why someone like him would see her himself. She still took his hand. "Hello."

Mansour didn't jump to the listing. He rested a hand on a chair back, tone like small talk.

"Just arrived in town, miss? First day looking?"

"Yes. Got here the last few days."

"Ah. That explains it—haven't seen you before. The boy—yours…?"

"A friend's. I'm looking after him."

"Figured. You're young for a kid that size. How long you planning to stay in Rusak? A year?"

"Not decided."

A few more lines and Lila was already out of patience. She cut in.

"Mr. Mansour—can we talk about the place first? Could you give us the basics?"

"Of course." Mansour tipped his head at the tall agent. "You take it."

The agent jumped in. "Two bedrooms, one living room, second floor. About a ten-minute walk to school, fifteen or so to the southeast processing plant. Cross-breeze, north and south. Off the main street. Quiet at night."

Lila asked again. "Safety? Stairwell get rough after dark?"

"No trouble. That block's solid."

Lila didn't answer right away. Experience said: the better the place, the uglier the "deal."

"And the rent?"

Mansour pushed the sunglasses a little higher. The lenses still hid his eyes.

"Rent's always negotiable," he said. "You name your budget first."

Lila named a low number.

The agent's face froze, like he wanted to speak. Mansour lifted a hand and pressed lightly—stay quiet.

"No problem. We can talk," Mansour said. "Want to see it first?"

"Yes. Let's look."

The walk wasn't long. The alley was cleaner than the ones they'd seen by day. Walls freshly painted. Window frames and locks new. Inside, the space was large, the layout clean—light and air both fine. Nova circled once, stopped at the window, and said soft, "This one looks all right."

Lila had worried it was another agent line. Looking at it, it wasn't. Another worry rose right after.

She turned to Mansour and eased her voice on purpose. "Place this good—how does it just show up?"

Nova pressed close and added, quiet, "Maybe Red Tea put in a word?"

Soft as it was, Mansour still caught it. A smile rose slowly.

"A friend did pass word," he said, catching it clean. "Relax. I'll take care of what's due."

That settled her a little. If it was Red Tea's favor, odds were he wasn't a straight con.

"All right. Money. Deposit—and can we sign month to month?"

Mansour pushed at the sunglasses again. "Lease can follow your pace. Deposit's one month's rent."

Lila held his gaze. "Agency fee, utilities, extras—anything else later?"

He didn't answer the fine print right away. He turned and asked the clerk two short questions. The clerk flipped a ledger for him. Only then: "Standard billing. No add-ons."

Lila didn't haggle further. Her voice dropped. "Month to month's already tight. Deposit plus first month up front—we can't put that down at once."

Mansour watched her, still even. "Don't worry about that, miss. There's a bank rental loan. Bank pays up front; you pay them back by the month. If you've got work in town, approval's usually not hard."

Lila frowned on reflex. "A loan? What's the interest?"

Mansour didn't name a number. "Those details you can sort later. Our agent will walk you through them."

"You've got the kid. Steady roof matters most. Everything else—we can talk."

It sounded like care. The way he said it sent a crawl of goosebumps up her arms.

"All right. We'll think it over."

"Of course." Mansour nodded. "Run your numbers. Decide tonight or tomorrow morning—either's fine."

He stepped back and let her go first.

When Lila led Nova out of the office, the light was already going.

Nova looked up. "Can we take this place?"

"The place is fine. We just owe another favor."

"When Eren gets back, we tell him."