Shirou Amamiya was secretly taken aback.
He really had been looking into housing lately, all in secret.
If Sakura found out, she would definitely start crying again. And if Shinji found out, there was no telling how much trouble he would cause.
He hadn't told a single person, yet Old Man Raiga already knew?
But he quickly realized why.
Lately, he had been treating Raiga Fujimura like a kindly grandfather who always found excuses to slip him pocket money. In reality, the man was the boss of a yakuza group.
The Fujimura Group, based in Miyama Town, had risen under him, a man who started as a low-status live-in son-in-law and worked his way up step by step to become the boss.
Shirou didn't try to hide anything and simply nodded.
"That's right."
Raiga Fujimura said, "What do you think of this place?"
Shirou looked at the mansion in the blueprints and brightened.
"Grandpa Raiga, are you giving this to me? That's way too generous… thank you—"
"Idiot! Who said I'm giving it to you for free?!" Raiga Fujimura roared.
"Aww~ Grandpa Raiga is so stingy~"
"Guh…!"
"Boss!"
Fuyuki's number one hardboiled Showa-era man clutched his chest and collapsed on the spot. The yakuza clones rushed forward to catch their boss.
Being called stingy by a child he liked dealt Raiga Fujimura a devastating emotional blow.
Taiga Fujimura stepped in to explain the origin of the mansion on behalf of her emotionally wounded grandfather.
In short, it was a property left vacant due to debt issues.
The original owner had apparently fled overseas, and the Fujimura Group had taken over the asset.
Although it looked massive, it had been neglected for so long that the buildings and facilities inside had fallen into serious disrepair, practically abandoned.
The Fujimura Group planned to carry out a full renovation, but before that, they intended to hire Shirou to clean it up.
Raiga Fujimura snorted.
"You're free all day anyway. It's just weeding and basic cleanup. Even an elementary school kid can handle that.
Once you're done, I won't stop you if you move in. If it stays empty too long, the police and the courts will start nagging again."
Taiga Fujimura covered her mouth and giggled, leaning close to Shirou's ear as she whispered,
"Grandpa really can't be honest~ He clearly just wants Shirou to live there."
"Shut up!" Raiga Fujimura snapped, turning his head away. "I'm just having Shirou watch over the Fujimura Group's property."
"So, what do you think, Shirou? Can you take this job?"
Shirou stared at the mansion blueprints and nodded without much hesitation.
"Yeah, I'll take it."
"Alright~~~"
Taiga Fujimura excitedly rubbed her hands together, stood up from the sofa, and grabbed Shirou by the arm.
"Hehe, no time to waste then. Let's head out! Starting today, we're going to be busy!"
"Fuji-nee, you're coming too?"
Shirou blinked. From the way she said it, she clearly intended to go to the abandoned mansion and help with the cleanup.
Taiga Fujimura replied as if it were only natural.
"Of course I am! There's no way I'd let Shirou handle that kind of heavy work all by himself!
Even if the Japanese Child Welfare Act and Labor Standards Act allowed it, I absolutely wouldn't!
Oh, but I'm going to slack off for an hour every day. You'll just have to pretend you didn't notice, okay?"
Shirou's lips twitched.
After all, Fuji-nee was still a middle school student. She had schoolwork to deal with, plus kendo club activities and competitions.
And on top of that, she was the granddaughter of the employer, a proper yakuza heiress. It didn't feel right having her do this kind of manual labor.
Shirou said, "You don't need to help, Fuji-nee. I can handle it myself. I'll be the one living there anyway.
Let me think… if I use time after school and weekends, it should take about a month and a half at most to finish."
"What are you talking about?"
The ponytailed girl rolled up her sleeves, full of energy.
"Of course I'm moving in too. As your guardian."
Shirou: "…Huh?"
...
...
How did things end up like this?
Shirou stood in the abandoned yard overrun with weeds, at a loss for words.
Around him, workers bustled about in high spirits.
"Leave the warehouse to me, Shirou! You handle the central courtyard!"
Taiga Fujimura's cheerful voice rang out across the huge estate.
"Shirou! Are there any spare brooms? I can't find one anywhere!"
For some reason, a wild Shinji Matou had appeared.
"Shirou-nii-san! I brought some wagashi from home, so please have some when you get a break."
And of course, Sakura Matou was never going to miss this.
Taiga Fujimura: "Whoa, there's so much stuff piled up in the warehouse! What even is all this? Ah, I found two carts! Lucky~!"
Shinji Matou: "We can just pile all the weeds we pulled out here and burn them, right, Shi... huh? Waaaaaaah! That cockroach is huge, Shirou! Help! Hurry and save me!"
Sakura Matou: "Brother, are you alright? It's only a bug. Please stop shouting like that. Honestly."
The once-quiet abandoned mansion had turned into a scene straight out of chaos.
Still, even if it was messy, the cleanup was definitely making progress. It was far more efficient than if Shirou had done it all by himself.
While Fuji-nee was taking the siblings out to dump the trash, Shirou secretly used Magecraft as well to speed things up.
Along with an emerald-green Magic Circle, a gust of wind swept out of nowhere through the mansion, carrying off the dust and mildew that had built up over the years.
As expected, the mansion's facilities were badly worn down, with holes and cracks everywhere.
That part was beyond what three elementary schoolers and one middle school girl could handle.
The next day, Raiga Fujimura arrived leading a troop of yakuza clones.
Thanks to real estate, the yakuza in this country had deep ties to the construction industry, so this was practically part of the Fujimura Group's core business.
The yakuza clones got to work repairing the buildings, and during that time, Shirou and the others finally got a bit of rest.
"Let's clean the inner courtyard after lunch," Sakura Matou said.
"I'm eating!"
Taiga Fujimura shamelessly snatched a rice ball from the elementary school girl's hand.
"Ah, this is so good~ Sakura, your cooking is amazing. You're already ready to get married anytime~"
"All I know how to make are rice balls."
For some reason, Sakura Matou's cheeks turned red as she stole a glance at Shirou beside her.
"B-but I'll work hard to learn how to cook from now on... um, Shirou-nii-san, aren't you going to eat?"
"I'm going to throw out this batch of trash first. Hey, Fuji-nee, Shinji, leave some for me."
With that, he picked up the garbage and walked out of the mansion.
After stepping outside the gate and tossing several large trash bags into the combustible waste collection area, Shirou circled around the massive estate and came to a corner by the wall.
There, standing suspiciously by the wall, was a girl.
She looked about Shirou's age, an elementary school girl with glossy black hair tied into cute twin tails, peeking into the mansion grounds.
Shirou walked over and tapped her on the shoulder.
"How long are you planning to keep spying?"