Chapter 3: The Progress of Room Introduction is Especially Fast Before the Deadline
Translator: Pingas
After finishing breakfast and doing the dishes, Hikari introduced her home to Ayu.
This building has a basement and 5 stories. There are 3 apartments on each of the floors from 1/F to 4/F. All of them are 1LDK apartments. Hikari is the only one living on the 5th floor.
Hikari’s home has an open kitchen connected to the living room, 3 western-style rooms, and a Japanese room. Then, there are the bathroom, toilet, and roof.
The western rooms are Hikari’s 3m2 studio room, a 4m2 bedroom plus entertainment room. The other 4m2 room is basically a storage for random things.
Ayu immediately felt speechless after entering this storage room.
There are a couple tall shelves that can nearly reach the ceiling. They are filled with books, game consoles, board games, CDs, Blu-rays, plastic models, figures, cameras, dolls, crafts, glass decorations, ceramics, toolboxes, make-up boxes, drawing tools, DIY tools, sports equipment, nail-polishing packs, and more.
Even though she did classify them, it’s still way too chaotic. It’s hard to imagine only one person is living in this house.
It’s more like 5 siblings with totally different ages, sexes, and personalities are sharing this space.
“…Do all of these belong to sensei?”
“Yes.” Ayu asked her formally. Hikari nodded in agreement.
“Also, the walk-in closet there has formal dresses, cosplay stuff, camp items, and fishing tools.”
“How should I say this? You have…a lot of hobbies.”
Ayu said that in surprise and shock. Hikari smiled bitterly.
“All of these are just used to find new ideas for my novel and change the mood. I’m not really committing my time. There isn’t really anything important here. You can use them how you want if you’re interested.”
“Oh, sure. …Thank you.”
The only thing that Ayu used to be passionate about is probably karate. All of the items here are in the realm of unknown to her. It can take her a whole day to consider which one to try out first.
“Right, I just arranged Ayu-chan a Japanese room. Do you prefer a Western room? You can use this room if you…”
“N-No, I’m fine with a Japanese room!”
It’s going to be a big project to move everything in this room to the Japanese room.
After that, they came to the roof.
The roof takes up a third of the space. There’s a brand-new garden table, two chairs, and a clotheshorse made with stainless steel. That’s it. It’s very spacious.
“Wow, this is amazing!”
Without much thinking, Ayu dashed to the edge of the roof and observed the view.
A 5-stories building isn’t a tall one. However, since there aren’t many skyscrapers around, the view is very wide and far.
She saw the tidy streets and the pedestrians walking on them. There’s even a park filled with greenery a bit further.
The image of Tokyo she got from the news and shows is pretty chaotic. However, this high-end residential area is completely different from what she expected. This place is elegant and quiet.
I’ll be living here starting today-
On one hand, she’s glad that she ran away from home. However, on the other hand, she’s worried about whether she is qualified to live in a place like this.
“Did you see anything interesting?”
Hikari came to her and asked.
“N-No, but…the view is beautiful.”
“Really? Hikari tilted her head.
Views like this should be very common to Hikari. It must be just a part of her life, right.
“C-Can I ask, …sensei.”
“What?”
“Do novelists, …well, uh, …get paid this much?
Ayu asked the question that she had been curious about since yesterday.
“Hmm, …a very popular novelist earns good money. I think it’s pretty extreme.”
Hikari answered quickly. She wasn’t offended by Ayu’s question.
“Well, is Kairou-sensei on the popular side too?”
“Hmm, I’m not really sure what it’s like in the publishing industry as well. Among all the authors partnering with Branch Hill Bunko, I should be low high-class or high middle-class.”
Hikari wasn’t being humble. She just described a fact objectively.
“High middle-class, …530,000 yen per hour.”
Ayu gulped in surprise. However, Hikari asked her in shock. “530,000 yen?” Ayu was the one confused after seeing Hikari’s reaction.
“Eh? It’s because sensei said your pay is 530,000 yen per hour…”
“Ahh, I was just joking.”
“Ehh!?”
Hikari confessed and shocked Ayu.
“Did you really think I was serious? Sorry, sorry, …pfft.”
Hikari couldn’t contain her laughter as she apologized.
“It’s not my fault. …I don’t know anything about this industry.”
Ayu blushed. Her lips curled down.
“…But you’re popular enough when you can live in an amazing place like this, right?”
“Hmm, …well, I can if I cut some corners. However, I don’t want to rent this house using my own money.”
“Eh?”
Ayu tilted her head. She still didn’t know what Hikari meant.
“My family is rich.”
Hikari said that directly. Her tone didn’t sound reserved or diffident.
“My dad’s the CEO of a big company. My two brothers and sisters are also presidents of related enterprises. Onii-chan gave me this house since he’s in the real estate industry. I asked him, ‘I want to live alone. Please give me a house, onii-chan.’ He agreed and gave me this apartment.”
Hikari said that half-embarrassedly, half-chicly.
“He has skyscrapers and mansions too. I thought I would waste a lot of time taking the elevator if I chose a skyscraper. However, a mansion is too big for me. That’s why I decided to live here.”
…She can easily get an apartment in a luxurious building when she says she wants it. That’s the family Hikari is born in.
A daughter of a billionaire CEO doesn’t just exist in shows. It’s in reality too. Right. If billionaires are real, so should their daughters. It’s just that this person is coincidentally in front of me.
She’s a beauty, a daughter of a rich family, and a novelist who was acknowledged by everyone.
From her tone, when she talked about her family and siblings, they must have a good relationship.
Hikari is way too different from a runaway girl. It’s even too arrogant and useless to compare these two.
Sigh, -she’s so far away, too far away.
The pain of melancholy is scorching Ayu’s heart.
“Oh, right!”
Unaware of Ayu’s feelings, Hikari suddenly yelled.
“What?”
“Let’s have dinner here tonight.”
“Here?”
Hikari smiled.
“Yes, I was actually planning to have roasted beef and grape wine here. Mya-san spoiled my plan. Even though there’s nothing to see here during the night, the stars above are pretty visible.”
“…………”
Imagine having dinner together on a spacious and aesthetic roof under the starry sky.
Ayu thinks this is an excellent idea.
“…Excellent. I should work harder to prepare dinner.”
“Yeah, I’ll look forward to it.”
A wave of good luck was suddenly bestowed on her after she lost everything. Well, she should just accept everything for now-
*
“Okay, let’s confirm again.”
They went back to the living room after the introduction. Yukari Ebiwara explained Ayu’s job to her.
“Hmm, the Roomba will basically take care of the corridor, living room, and the kitchen. So, you just need to sweep the corner sometimes. You don’t need to clean my studio and bedroom. The storage room just needs to be vacuumed every two weeks. You can clean the entrance and the roof if you think it’s dirty. As for the toilet, …I guess once a week will do? Clean it if there are clear dirty marks. It’s just that you have to take care of the bathroom every day. I’ll leave your room up to your decision. …That’s all for cleaning.”
“I-I got it.” Ayu nodded.
“Hmm, cleaning, doing laundry, cooking- these are your jobs. As long as you remember to do all three, the rest is your free time.
“Eh?”
Ayu gasped.
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
“Uh…”
Ayu lowered her head as she looked at Yukari in fear.
“Miya-chan asked me to watch over sensei and make sure you’re working…”
“You can just forget about that.”
“Eh!?”
Yukari’s tone is pretty resolute despite smiling. Ayu bulged her eyes after hearing that.
Yukari smiled even more and exerted her pressure gently.
“You’re taking orders from me, not Mya-san, right? Isn’t it fine if I’m okay with it?”
“B-But the only reason I’m working here is that Miya-chan asked me to. …She even said I can break your collarbones if you try to run away.”
“Ohh, Mya-san actually said something like that…”
Yukari’s smile solidified. She continued.
“It’s fine, Ayu-chan. I’ll work even if you don’t watch. Trust me.”
She directly looked into Ayu’s eyes and persuaded her with a serious tone.
Ayu blushed and looked away.
“B-But didn’t Miya-chan come here because you weren’t working yesterday?”
Ayu’s accusation is right on the point, but Yukari isn’t moved at all. She continued.
“I was dragging my feet. I’ll admit that. …However, a novelist’s job isn’t just writing novels.”
“Eh!?”
“The actual time spent sitting in front of the computer and writing only accounts for a few percent in a novelist’s schedule.”
“Ehh? What does that mean?”
Yukari’s face turned stern and explained to the confused Ayu.
“The most important for writing novels are new excitements.”
“New excitements?”
“Yes, the easiest examples are heading out to get ideas and materials. Aside from that, while something looks unrelated to work on the surface, they develop my sensibility. Whether it’s reading, gaming, or watching movies. Even if I’m traveling to a place irrelevant to the novel’s setting, perhaps it can be a reference to my future works, right?”
“I guess…you’re right…?”
“Exactly!”
Ayu emphasized that with a determined tone. She pressed on.
“Also, of course, health management is an important task too. Playing, eating good food, drinking, and sleeping is vital to rest the mind and body. It’s a way to adjust my attitude. In summary, a novelist is already working when she’s just living 24 hours a day!”
“L-Living is already working…!?”
Ayu dropped her jaws after hearing such a shocking revelation.
“Right, talking to you right now is also work for me too. In theory, as long as I’m a novelist, it’s impossible for me to not be working. So, there’s no need to watch over me. So? You get it?”
Ayu’s expression still looked unconvinced, but she still nodded. “…Okay, …I got it.”
Hoho, easy.
Suppose it was Miyako or other experienced editors. In that case, the first thing they say must be, “You’re just trying to procrastinate with all that BS. Prepare your collarbones!” But Ayu is still a child. She was convinced of this easily. How adorable.
Just as Yukari snickered inside her heart, Ayu took out her phone and started typing something.
“Hmm? What are you doing?”
“I’ll check this with Miya-chan first.”
Ayu said that as she showed her screen to Yukari. The message bar in Line writes:
<Is it true that living is already working for a novelist?>
“W-Wait, don’t send-“
Yukari quickly tried to stop Ayu, but Ayu pressed a button and sent the text to Miyako.”
“Ahh!?”
She immediately read the message. Miyako replied right away. If Miyako’s still awake right now, it means that she must have stayed up all night working since yesterday.
“…………”
Ayu showed her phone screen to Yukari silently.
<Break that idiot’s collarbones for me.>
Yukari imagined Miyako’s utterly pissed expression. Cold sweat is dripping off her entire body.
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