Bonus (3/4)
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Chapter 57: Apartment Hunting with Haruno Yukinoshita.
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"Both units are available?"
Haruno Yukinoshita's eyes sparkled with predatory mischief. She turned a sugary sweet smile toward the others. "In that case, why don't little Yukino and I move in too? It would be like a permanent sleepover."
"What?! Why on earth would I want to live next door to a person like him?!" Yukino's face flushed a deep crimson as she shouted, her cold composure shattering instantly.
"Wait, flatty is moving in too?" Seito asked, his gaze drifting pointedly toward Yukino's distinctly flat chest.
"Pervert!" Yukino grit her teeth, her voice trembling with indignation. "My name is not 'Flatty,' you total creep! It's Yukino!"
"Tsk." Seito clicked his tongue, looking disappointed. "No, no. Your delivery is all wrong. There's no soul in that 'Pervert.'
Amou, show her how it's done—you know, the high-tier version from our middle school days."
Amou kirukiru blinked, then a smirk of realization crossed her face. She straightened her posture, tilted her head back to look down her nose at Seito, and let her eyes go cold and hollow—as if she were staring at a particularly repulsive piece of trash.
"Disgusting. You pervert."
"!!"
Seito's shoulders shivered. Perfect! That's the high-grade stuff! In his previous life, how many "cultured" men would have paid a fortune to be looked down upon by a beautiful 2D girl with that exact expression of pure disdain? For a second, Seito almost felt the urge to shout "More, please!" but he caught himself. If he actually said it, the 'Pervert' label would officially become a legal fact.
(T/N: Really, You Guys?)
He turned back to Yukino with a smug grin.
"See that? Did you learn anything? If you're going to call someone a creep, you have to infuse it with true loathing. That's how you get the message across."
Yukino stood there, stunned into silence by the sheer absurdity of the lesson. She wasn't sure if she should be impressed by the technique or horrified by the man teaching it.
"Alright, enough games," Haruno interrupted, stepping in with a sharp clap of her hands. "Seito, let's head out. I'm serious about those units. I want to secure the one right next to yours."
"You're coming along?" Seito nodded. "Fine. Let me get the owner's number."
He didn't see a reason to refuse. Having familiar neighbors would make his "Harbinger" operations much easier.
"Yukino, you'll stay here for now. We're moving you out of that lonely rental apartment the moment the paperwork is done," Haruno added, leaving her sister no room for rebuttal. Yukino opened her mouth to protest, but seeing Haruno's "I'm not asking" smile, she simply slumped her shoulders in defeat.
Seito stepped out into the hallway. The owner's contact information was taped to the door of the vacant unit. He dialed the number immediately.
"Hello? Who is this?" a young man's voice answered.
"Hello. I'm calling about the apartment listing. I'm interested in buying both units. Are you available to meet?"
"Oh! Perfect timing. Listen, I'm at the Wind-Lantern Cafe nearby. Table 3. Can you meet me there in thirty minutes?"
"No problem. See you then."
Twenty minutes later, they entered the Wind-Lantern Cafe. Seito spotted their target—a man who looked like a twenty-eight-year-old salaryman named Kazuma, sitting with a pregnant woman who was likely his wife.
Seito and Haruno walked over and took the seats opposite them.
"Wow, you're younger than I expected," Kazuma remarked, offering a friendly, albeit tired, grin.
"I manage. I'm just starting high school," Seito replied casually.
"Starting high school and already buying property with a beautiful partner..."
Kazuma's eyes drifted to Haruno. "I'm guessing she's the 'Onee-san' in this relationship?"
"The 'Onee-san' type has its undeniable charms," Seito joked. "I'm Seito. This is Haruno Yukinoshita."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kazuma, and this is my wife, Aimi."
Kazuma's eyes flickered with a brief flash of recognition at the name "Yukinoshita." No one with money in this city was ignorant of that family's influence. What struck him most was that Haruno, a member of that elite house, was staying silent and letting Seito handle the business.
Kazuma straightened his posture. "Listen, I'll be blunt. My father back in our hometown is ill, and I need the money to move back and cover medical costs. Once these are sold, I'm not coming back to the city."
"The market value for each unit is 1,000,000 (100 million yen). Which one were you looking at?"
"What do you mean 'one million'?" Aimi suddenly interrupted, her voice sharp and abrasive. "We aren't letting these go for a cent under 1.1 million each! We need the extra for the baby!"
Seito, Haruno, and even Kazuma winced at her tone.
"Aimi! Let me handle the negotiation,"
Kazuma snapped, looking embarrassed.
"Why should I? You bought these for us, didn't you? That means I have a say in the profit!" Aimi's voice rose, drawing stares from the other tables.
"You...!" Kazuma's face turned a frustrated shade of red. He had wanted to build a good rapport with Seito—and by extension, the Yukinoshita family—and his wife was poisoning the well within the first five minutes.
"It's fine, Kazuma-san. Don't let it get to you," Seito said, raising a hand to de-escalate. "Pregnancy can be stressful. Let's keep talking."
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Thank you for reading.