"Wait!"
Sato stared at Asuna in astonishment, rubbing his forehead with a headache.
"How did this suddenly turn into you moving to my place?"
Asuna looked at him curiously.
"If I don't move there, how are you supposed to guide my training?"
Sato opened his mouth, only to realize he couldn't argue with that. It really did make sense.
Something like this couldn't possibly be done through verbal instruction alone.
Still...
Sato frowned slightly.
"But don't you live in Tokyo? Moving over to my place all by yourself..."
A gentle smile bloomed across Asuna's face.
"It's fine. I'll explain everything to them."
"As for transferring schools, that's easy too. If I remember correctly, Master's school is a private school, right? As long as we donate some money, transferring in now won't be a problem."
Sato: "..."
"In that case, just do whatever you think is best."
After thinking it over, Sato realized Asuna wasn't some immature child. She undoubtedly had her own plans, so he decided to let her handle it as she wished.
"Mhm!"
Asuna nodded.
Beside them, Katou Megumi gave Asuna a long, meaningful look.
...
After logging out, Sato lay on his bed.
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, as if he had overlooked something important.
"What is it exactly?"
...
Sato hadn't expected Asuna to arrive so quickly.
The day before school started, she called him.
Strictly speaking, Asuna didn't have his phone number. The number she had called was the one he had left with the real estate agency.
There were still a few vacant rooms in Aoyama Apartments that hadn't been rented out, so he had entrusted them to nearby agencies.
Yesterday, he had forgotten to mention that to Asuna. Unexpectedly, she had seen the rental listing at the agency.
"Hello, is this the landlord of Aoyama Apartments?"
Sato: "..."
After a long silence, Sato said,
"Asuna?"
The other end also fell silent for a long while before a tentative voice came through.
"Master?"
"Uh... I forgot to tell you yesterday. I bought this entire apartment building last year."
"So... Master's the landlord now?"
"That's right."
"..."
"My mistake. It didn't occur to me yesterday. I'll come pick you up when you arrive."
"Oh, and don't call me Master anymore. We're about the same age, so just call me by my name."
"I still think calling you Master is better."
"..."
"Forget it. Do as you like."
...
As the daughter of the family behind one of Japan's leading electronics companies, Asuna naturally didn't need Sato to pick her up.
That afternoon, two vehicles pulled up in front of Aoyama Apartments.
One was a black Toyota Crown, while the other was a small cargo truck.
After Asuna stepped out of the Toyota Crown, people immediately began unloading the truck behind it.
Overall, she hadn't brought that many belongings.
Asuna wore a white dress. The pure white fabric complemented her fair skin, and together with her gentle temperament and breathtakingly beautiful face, she looked as though she had stepped out of a painting.
She looked up at the towering cherry blossom trees in the apartment courtyard, surprise flashing across her eyes.
"What beautiful cherry blossoms!"
It was hard to imagine that such magnificent cherry trees could still exist in the middle of this urban residential district. The branches, covered in full bloom, were like spirits of spring, announcing its arrival to everyone.
"Asuna!"
Sato had noticed her arrival the moment she got there. Walking to the apartment entrance, he greeted her.
Seeing her looking at the cherry trees, he turned to glance at them before smiling.
"So? Aren't these cherry trees nice?"
Asuna nodded gently, then said with a hint of regret,
"It's a pity they'll wither before long."
"That's true, but they did bloom in all their glory. At that moment, they possessed a beauty that surpassed everything else."
"Miss, everything has been unloaded. Where should we take it?"
Just then, a bodyguard in a black suit and sunglasses walked up behind Asuna and asked respectfully.
As he spoke, the eyes hidden behind his sunglasses quietly sized up Sato.
Sato noticed immediately. Frowning slightly, he turned to look at him.
What sharp awareness!
Remembering Madam Chairman's instructions before setting out, the bodyguard immediately lowered his head, not daring to look again.
Smiling, Sato turned to Asuna.
"There are still a few vacant rooms. One is on the far right of the third floor, another is on the far left of the second floor, and the last one is on the left side of the staircase on the first floor."
"Which one would you like?"
"Which room does Master live in?"
"Me? The second room from the left on the third floor."
Asuna lowered her head and thought for a moment before looking back up.
"Then I'll take the one on the far left of the second floor."
"Alright, I'll show you."
As Sato led Asuna toward the apartment, the accompanying bodyguard signaled to the cleaning staff who had come along behind them.
"Let's go."
When they reached the second floor, Nishimiya Shouko happened to open her door.
Holding a bag of trash, she froze the moment she saw the two standing outside.
Huh?!
Seeing Shouko, Sato smiled and greeted her.
"Shouko, let me introduce you. This is Asuna. She's moving into the room next to yours."
Only then did Nishimiya Shouko remember that Sato was the landlord of this apartment building.
A new tenant?
She looked Asuna up and down, unable to hide the admiration that flashed through her eyes.
She's so beautiful!
Little did she know that Asuna was thinking exactly the same thing.
"Hello, I'm Asuna. I look forward to getting along with you."
"Hello, I'm Nishimiya Shouko."
After the two girls exchanged bows, Sato smiled.
"Shouko, I'll take Asuna to have a look at the room first."
"Mhm."
Once Sato unlocked the door and led Asuna inside, the group following behind filed into the room one after another.
While Nishimiya Shouko was still standing there in a daze, she suddenly heard someone muttering behind her.
"Big Sis, your troubles are only getting bigger."
"Hm?"
Confused, she turned to look at her younger sister, Nishimiya Yuzuru.
Yuzuru casually played with the strands of hair hanging over her forehead and said in a thoughtful tone,
"If I heard correctly just now, that scumbag called her by her name directly. That means they're very close."
"Big Sis, you've got another rival."
Finally, Nishimiya Yuzuru looked up at Nishimiya Shouko with a sigh.
Shouko's face instantly turned red.
"Yuzuru, don't say things like that! And don't give Sato weird nicknames!"
Yuzuru immediately pouted.
"Am I wrong? Besides, it's not like you didn't see how many girls there were that day!"