Leonard nodded slowly, just remembering what Anika had said.

"Right… I remember those spots now. Some of them looked abandoned, but if the rent's cheap and the roof doesn't leak, that's good enough for now. Maybe we can ask some guys to clean it immediately."

"Ohhh! Right!" Anika's eyes brightened at the mention of that. She looked a little relieved and also energetic. "So, what about we check the far end first? I think I saw a couple of empty sheds there the last time we passed by."

"Sure."

With it, the two of them made their way through the busy street. Walking, Leonard greeted a few familiar faces along the way. It was the people who frequented his den. Some were walking towards his den, while others had work to do before they could gamble.

He asked some of them casually if they knew of any available places nearby.

Most shook their heads, but there was one guy who pointed down the road.

"Try there in the corner. There's one shed there that's been empty for months now since the owner moved out of town. There's a caretaker for the place. It's not much to look at, but I heard the place is at least decent."

Leonard thanked the man and motioned for Anika to follow him. They followed the man's words and turned to a corner. Soon enough, they potted the shed, which looked questionable.

The shed was located in the middle of two small buildings. It was already abandoned, with half of it already covered by vines and old trash at the side.

"Well…" Leonard muttered, eyeing the place in uncertainty. "It's definitely not pretty..."

"You didn't say we were looking for pretty, you said we were looking for cheap and usable." Anika laughed softly.

"…Fair point," Leonard sighed as he stepped closer. They looked for the caretaker of the shed. However, when they found no one, they just decided to go in. After all, the door was open.

Leonard pushed open the old wooden door. As they stepped inside, dust floated through the air..

Inside, the shed was fairly empty except for a few broken shelves, some leftover nails, and a small table with a cracked leg. The floorboards looked aged, and the roof was also uneven.

One glance and you could already tell that it was not in good shape to store the barrels for their alcoholic drinks.

"I guess we should just move on to the next one."

"Yeah…" Even Anika quickly agreed to it. The space looks so sketchy and out of place. Even she wouldn't want to stay here.

Leonard and Anika stepped out of the old shed quickly, both coughing lightly as they waved away the dust from their faces.

"Ugh… that place smells like something died in there," Anika said, scrunching her nose.

Leonard chuckled at her. "Yeah, if we left the barrels there, they'd probably start fermenting on their own."

"Let's just move to the other end," she said quickly, brushing off her sleeves. "I remember seeing better ones there. Ones that actually look like sheds and not haunted houses."

"Alright, lead the way." Leonard laughed under his breath and nodded.

The two walked further down the road, passing through the livelier part of Alder Street. They even passed by the gambling den, which was now filled with people shouting and cheering.

After walking for more, they managed to arrive at the end of the street.

"Hey," Anika called for Leonard's, pointing ahead. "See those? There's like three empty sheds lined up."

Leonard's eyes followed her finger. Sure enough, there were really several storage sheds at the far end. One of them was even larger than the rest, with two smaller places beside it.

They still looked nice, while the first one looked recently repaired. Each one of them had a small sign that said 'For Rent' nailed to the front for people to see.

"Now this looks more promising," Leonard said with a grin.

They walked over and saw a man sitting on a stool outside, reading a newspaper. He looked to be in his forties, wearing a dusty vest and hat. When he noticed them, he folded the paper quickly and stood up.

"Hello, are you looking to rent this place?" the man immediately greeted them with a friendly smile on his face.

"Yes, Sir," Leonard replied, returning the smile. "We're looking for a decent-sized storage space. Something that is dry and safe."

"Well, you came at the right time," the man said proudly. "All of these three places are available! The smaller ones go for five gold coins a month, and the big one's ten!"

"Huh?" Leonard blinked. "Five gold coins? That's it?"

"That's… honestly cheap." Anika's eyes widened, too.

The man nodded. "They're older sheds, sure, but they're still pretty nice and sturdy. The roofs don't leak, and the walls are solid, and I maintain them every month. The only condition is," he pulled out a small rolled-up parchment from his pocket.

"You have to sign a one-year rental agreement. That's the deal."

Leonard took the parchment, reading over the neat handwriting. The terms were straightforward. It just stated that they need to rent for at least a year, they need to pay 2 months upfront, and keep the place in good shape. The most important thing there is that no illegal goods should be stored.

He exchanged a glance with Anika, who smiled encouragingly at him.

"It's actually a good deal, Leonard! We were planning to keep the business going long-term anyway, right?"

Leonard thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Yeah. I guess there's no reason to hesitate."

"Alright," He turned back to the man. "Can we check first and see the small shed?"

"Sure, young man!" The man sounded enthusiastic when he heard their interest.

The man led them toward the smaller shed, humming as he fished a ring of keys from his pocket. The sound of metal jingling echoed softly as he stopped in front of a wooden door that looked freshly varnished.

"This one's the smaller unit," he said, sliding the key into the lock. "Don't mind the size when I say it's small."

With a small click, the door swung open. Leonard and Anika peeked inside and both of them blinked in surprise.

"Wait…" Leonard stepped in, looking around. "This is supposed to be small?"

The inside was surprisingly spacious. The floor was made of sturdy wood planks, and sunlight streamed through a small square window near the top just to let enough air in so the inside wouldn't be moldy.

Dust floated in the light since it was a pretty empty space, but otherwise, the room was clean and well-kept.

Anika walked in beside him, her footsteps was light against the floor.

"Wow… I wasn't expecting this," she said, turning slowly as her eyes scanned the place. "It's not bad at all!"

"Yeah," Leonard quickly agreed before walking around. He made a rough estimate with his steps. "Hmm… I think we can fit around ten barrels in here, maybe more if we stack them on top of each other neatly."

"And there's still space near the wall. We can put a small table and a few chairs there so we have a spot to sit when checking the goods." Anika nodded quickly to add to his words.

She walked toward one corner, brushing her hand over the wall. "The wood feels solid, too, and I see that there were no cracks or holes."

Leonard tapped his knuckle against a beam. It gave a firm sound, not hollow.

"And the roof looks fine. Doesn't seem like it leaks either."

"I yold you it's well-maintained. The last person who rented it used it for storing flour and dried goods. When he moved out, I made sure everything was cleaned and repaired." The caretaker smiled proudly at their reactions.

"It's way better than I expected, honestly." Leonard nodded, genuinely impressed.

"So," the man said, crossing his arms, "what do you think?"

Anika turned to Leonard with a grin. "I think we just found our spot."

Leonard smiled back, the decision was already clear in his mind. "Yeah… this will do perfectly."

"Then it's settled!" the caretaker said cheerfully. He handed Leonard the parchment and a small ink pen. "Just sign at the bottom, pay the two months upfront, and the place is yours."

Leonard signed the paper without hesitation, while Anika watched with a huge smile on her face. When the man handed over the brass key, Leonard turned it over in his palm, feeling its cool weight.

"Congratulations," the man said warmly. "It's all yours now."

"Five gold coins a month for this? That's a steal!"Anika couldn't hide her excitement.

Leonard laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Yeah. I can't believe we actually got lucky today."

She grinned, nudging his arm.

"Guess luck's finally on our side." Is what they thought.

Because as soon as they went outside to pay, a group of men suddenly appeared on the street, walking towards them.

"Hey you!" One guy said as he pointed at Leonard.

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