Tokyo: The Manga Begins with the Funeral of Frilian

"This apartment was rented to this gentleman."

Tanaka quickly went over to greet him.

"Mr. Takahashi, the landlord of room 502, Itabashi Honmachi."

Takahashi took out a seal and documents from his briefcase and placed them on the table.

"Is the contract ready? I have other things to do tonight, so if there are no problems, let's sign it right away."

"The contract is ready."

Ayami Nitta spoke before Tanaka could.

"Mr. Takahashi, but that guest seems to be..."

After a brief pause, he was interrupted by Yuma Kamiya's words.

Takahashi was dumbfounded.

"How's it going? Feel free to ask if you have any questions."

  

"The guest had previously expressed satisfaction with the house and wanted to rent it."

Ayami Nitta explained it to Takahashi.

"Is it because the rent is too high?"

Shiori Shirakawa suddenly raised her head.

When did you say that?

"It's okay, this is normal."

Ayami Nitta smiled, but there was something about her that was unsettling.

"Many customers have had this experience: they feel the house is nice when they are viewing it, but they hesitate when they calculate the total price when they sign the contract."

Takahashi frowned.

"Should we pay the rent or not? I have some things to take care of in a bit. This house was only vacated last week, and a large group of people are coming to visit. If you're unsure, I'll make an appointment with the next group of visitors."

Ayami Nitta looked at Yuuma Kamiya with a look of regret on her face.

"Mr. Takahashi, I'm so sorry. Perhaps it's because it's your first time renting an apartment, and you don't have much of a concept of rent prices yet. It was also our oversight that we didn't confirm the budget with the client beforehand."

Kamiya Yuma's gaze did not fall on her, nor on Takahashi.

He tapped the last page of the contract lightly with his knuckles.

"Shiori, is there a problem with the contract?"

"There's nothing wrong with the terms. But the supplementary agreement doesn't have a date."

"Then let's add it."

Kamiya Yuma handed the contract in his hand to Tanaka.

"The date is today. Check-in will be completed immediately after signing the contract."

Takahashi paused for a moment.

"Isn't this a contract that can be signed? Who was it that said they wanted to back out just now?"

"Mr. Takahashi."

Kamiya Yuma finally turned to face him.

"I never regret my decisions. I really like this house, I've read the contract, there are no problems, and I'm ready to sign it. But there's one thing I need to figure out first."

"What's wrong?"

"Team Leader Nitta told you that we've decided not to sign the contract. My question is, did you hear us say that ourselves, or did she say it on our behalf?"

After staring blankly for a while, Takahashi glanced at Ayami Nitta again.

She meant that the customer might cancel the order.

"I never said I would go back on my word."

A smile appeared on Takahashi's face as well.

"Having been a landlord in Tokyo for over twenty years, what I dislike most is when real estate agents stir up trouble. Manager Nitta, you're saying the customer changed their mind, right?"

Ayami Nitta's face immediately turned bright red.

The office became very quiet.

Tanaka was sitting to one side, holding a pen for signing for guests, but he didn't know which way to look.

Shiori Shirakawa put down the contract she was holding.

Yuma Kamiya continued.

"The whole discussion has revolved around signing the contract. You kept preventing Tanaka from getting the contract and even told Mr. Takahashi that we had changed our minds and weren't planning to sign it."

He tossed a contract off the table in mid-air.

"There's absolutely nothing negotiable in the contract, and I won't reduce the rent by a single penny. From the moment I walked in until now, have I ever said I didn't want to rent?"

Takahashi's expression grew increasingly grim. He put the seal he had just taken out back into his briefcase.

"What's wrong with your shop? When a customer wanted to sign a contract, you stood in the middle to stop them and even said the customer had changed their mind."

"Mr. Takahashi, this is a misunderstanding..."

"So what kind of misunderstanding is this? I know everything. This guest needs to sign, but you're stirring up trouble. I'm the landlord; I can sign the contract directly with the tenant. I don't need you getting involved."

At that moment, the store manager heard the noise and came out from the back.

"I'm Sasaki, the store manager. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"It's good to have someone who can judge this."

Takahashi pointed at Ayami Nitta.

"The customer needs to sign a contract from beginning to end, but the team leader still came over saying the customer changed their mind. Isn't that a waste of time?"

Sasaki then spoke to Ayami Nitta.

"What happened?"

"Manager, let me explain."

"Kamiya Yuma said."

"Shiori and I came to see the apartment. After we came in, the team leader, Nitta, felt that we weren't the type of family that could rent a two-bedroom apartment, so she passed us on to a new employee, Tanaka. Then Tanaka showed us a couple of apartments, and after we chose one in Itabashi Honmachi, we came back to prepare to sign the contract. While Tanaka was printing the contract, Team Leader Nitta came over and told him that the new employee's contract should be handled by an experienced person, and that she should be given this task. I disagreed, saying that Tanaka had accompanied us to see the apartment and had been in charge of receiving us from beginning to end, so I wanted him to handle it. When I refused her, she stood in the middle and wouldn't let me talk to Tanaka."

Sasaki glanced at Tanaka.

"Tanaka."

Tanaka's forehead was covered in sweat. He would go see the manager after seeing Ayami Nitta.

"Yes."

"Just state your thoughts directly."

Sasaki's voice wasn't loud, but it was earnest and meaningful.

"You've been working at our store for almost three months now, and you haven't lied the whole time. Now, please tell us what happened."

Tanaka was holding a pen, and his fingers had turned white.

"The client I served seemed to lack sufficient funds to pay the bill, so my supervisor asked me to demonstrate. After viewing the property, the client requested to sign a contract, but my supervisor took the contract and said that new employees' contracts cannot be processed independently."

Sasaki took a deep breath and turned around to meet Kamiya Yuuma's gaze.

"And then what happened?"

"Then the landlord arrived. When the landlord asked if a contract needed to be signed, Team Leader Nitta told the landlord that the guest had decided not to rent the house. She also said, 'The monthly rent is a bit over budget, isn't it?' and mentioned, 'Many guests have this feeling; when they look at the total cost again before signing the contract, they have doubts.' The landlord was there, so you can ask him."

Takahashi nodded the whole time.

"These are the exact words."