Chapter 14

A/N:- 6 chapters a week from now on.

Mrs. Akiyama scrutinized Shuichi Chiba, seemingly trying to figure out his relationship with her daughter.

"Are you Akiyama-san's mother? If she hadn't said she was coming with her mom, I would have thought she was coming with her sister."

Shuichi Chiba's compliment wasn't insincere; Mrs. Akiyama did indeed look quite young. The only signs of age were the faint weariness on her face and the slightly rough skin on her hands.

"Did you hear that? He said I looked like your sister. Are boys nowadays this good with their words?" Mrs. Akiyama said happily, proudly showing off to her daughter.

"Well, I suppose my sister might not be too pleased about that, but I think she looks more like Mom." An Akiyama remarked with a hint of sarcasm.

Shuichi Chiba observed the interaction between the mother and daughter and suddenly realized where An Akiyama's endearing clumsiness came from.

"So, what kind of business are you planning for the shop? How much space do you need?" Shuichi Chiba asked as he guided them through the shopping district.

"A ramen shop. It doesn't need to be too large—around 20 square meters will be sufficient. By the way, is the second floor available for residential use?" Mrs. Akiyama asked, curiously surveying the surroundings.

"Yes, that's correct. The second floor can be used for both commercial and residential purposes. You can plan it out as you see fit." Shuichi Chiba confirmed with a nod.

"In that case, it's perfect. I won't have to shuttle back and forth between the residence and the ramen shop." Mrs. Akiyama said, clapping her hands with delight.

"Mm-hmm, I can sleep in a few extra minutes in the morning now. Plus, this place is a bit closer to school, so I won't have to rush as much." An Akiyama added, expressing her satisfaction.

Shuichi Chiba looked at her in surprise. It still takes 35 to 40 minutes to get to school from here—how is that considered close? Where were you living before?

However, the average commute and school time in Japan is about 31 minutes, so Chiba's place is fairly close to the average.

When they reached the management office, Shuichi Chiba invited them to sit and showed them the information on available commercial spaces. To the disappointment of the mother and daughter, none of the spaces were suitable.

"There aren't any shops with the right size."

"Yeah, it's such a shame. I really like this place." Mrs. Akiyama said, visibly disappointed.

Hearing this, Shuichi Chiba asked, "Even though a ramen shop doesn't need a large space, wouldn't a slightly bigger one be better? It would provide a bit more room."

"But the rent will be much higher." Mrs. Akiyama said, looking troubled. Even though she was worried, she still pouted like a young girl.

"So, the shop manager is you, Mrs. Akiyama, right?" Shuichi Chiba inquired.

"That's not quite right," Mrs. Akiyama corrected him with a playful frown. "Yes, I am the manager, but you can't call me 'Mrs.' It sounds too old-fashioned."

Shuichi Chiba chuckled, "I suppose I can't call you 'sister' either, as Akiyama-san might not approve."

Mrs. Akiyama sighed and propped her chin up. "True, Yuki and An are grown up now. Well then, you can just call me by my name, Chiba-kun."

Shuichi Chiba couldn't help but think that the mother and daughter duo were both delightfully eccentric. How had they managed to grow up this way?

Since the Akiyama sisters were quite well-known at school, details about their family had circulated. An's father had passed away a long time ago, and Mrs. Akiyama had raised her two daughters on her own.

Chiba had expected her to be a widowed woman worn down by life's hardships, her eyes devoid of luster, but instead, she was full of vitality and quirks.

Looking at the system's panel, Shuichi Chiba breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, the system had approved them as excellent tenants. Otherwise, he would have had to disappoint them.

However, the price was still very cheap. While a slight discount might have been understandable—perhaps justified by the neighborhood's aging infrastructure and less-than-ideal shop location—the system's preference for outstanding shopkeepers had led to a rate that was hard to justify.

Last time, the situation had been unexpected, and it was the first time he'd seen a genuine discount from the system. Moreover, the previous tenants, Fumika and Sayuki, had operated women's beauty salons and fitness gym, so the reasons he could come up with might not apply here and could even raise suspicion.

Additionally, a new system prompt appeared this time—[An exceptional shop girl can make a store very popular and serve as a vital attraction for the shopping district. Maintaining a good relationship with a reliable shop girl is also part of the administrator's job.]

A shop girl... Shuichi Chiba glanced at An Akiyama and suddenly understood. It all made sense now—no wonder the discount was even more generous than what had been offered to the Ogawas.

So, it turns out that an outstanding shop girl can indeed qualify for a discount.

Shuichi Chiba wondered if the Ogawas could have secured an even better rate if they had hired an exceptional shop girl.

However, this thought was quickly dismissed. The system had emphasized "stable relationships." Unlike a store manager, a shop girl is a highly temporary position. A truly outstanding shop girl would not stay in an outdated shopping district for long.

They would prefer to work in bustling commercial centers where the income is significantly higher. The system wouldn't allow loopholes like hiring a top-notch shop girl just to get a lower rent and then dismissing her the next day.

Shuichi Chiba snapped back to reality and handed Mrs. Akiyama a set of shop details.

"If that's the case, why not consider this one? It's a two-story space totaling 60 square meters, with a rent of just 60,000 yen, plus… an additional condition."

"60,000 yen?" Mrs. Akiyama blinked in surprise and then beamed. "That's incredibly cheap. This is wonderful."

"It's definitely a good deal. I didn't expect Chiba-kun to have such a reliable place," An Akiyama agreed, nodding. She then looked at Shuichi Chiba with a bright smile. "What's the additional condition?"

"It's simple. Since Mrs. Akiyama plans to open a ramen shop, all I ask is to get free meals." Shuichi Chiba said nonchalantly.

The two previous tenants, Fumika with her beauty salon and Sayuki with her fitness gym, clearly wouldn't have been able to use such an excuse. Bringing it up might even suggest ulterior motives.

Even with this condition, the rent still seemed unusually low.

However, Mrs. Akiyama didn't give it much thought, and she didn't take the additional condition seriously. With a smile, she said,

"Well, even without that, Chiba-kun, as An-chan's classmate, you could always come by for free meals. But I assume this kind of shop is in high demand, right? Is the shopping district management office closed today? Can we actually secure it?"

"Oh, right." An Akiyama suddenly realized.

"..." Shuichi Chiba couldn't understand it. Even though An Akiyama was academically good, why did she also have such a clueless side?

He tapped the table. "Akiyama-san, haven't you realized where we're sitting right now?"

"Hmm?" An Akiyama looked around, a bit slow on the uptake. "It seems… we're in the shopping district's management office?"

"Yes," Shuichi Chiba said with a nod. "And what were the documents you were looking at just now?"

"The shop details?" Mrs. Akiyama blinked, replying innocently.

"Exactly," Shuichi Chiba said, his patience wearing thin. "So, do you understand what that means?"

An Akiyama's eyes widened as realization dawned on her.

"So, do you understand why I'm able to sit here, freely show you these documents, and even propose additional conditions?" Shuichi Chiba's gaze swept over their faces.

An Akiyama's eyes suddenly lit up with realization. "So, Chiba-kun is an acquaintance of the shopping district's manager."

"Is that so? That's wonderful." Mrs. Akiyama said cheerfully.

"..." Shuichi Chiba sighed, feeling completely defeated. "Alright, let me be straightforward. I'm actually the owner and manager of this shopping street. You can sign the contract directly with me. I don't take weekends off either."

"Eh? What a coincidence?" An Akiyama blinked, still processing the revelation with her clear, naive eyes.

"Yes, it is quite a coincidence. Did you bring the necessary documents for the lease? We can sign the contract shortly."

Shuichi Chiba, feeling exasperated by the mother-daughter duo, thought he should have just kept it simple and not gone into so much detail.

"Yes, we brought them." Mrs. Akiyama said, quickly pulling out a stack of documents from her handbag.

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