Starting a New Life in Tokyo by Inheriting a Shopping Street [14]

Akiyama-san gave Chiba Shuuichi a long look, as if trying to figure out what kind of relationship he had with her daughter.

“You must be Akiyama-san’s mother, right? If she hadn’t said she was coming with her mom, I honestly would’ve thought you were her older sister.”

That wasn’t just flattery—Chiba genuinely meant it. Akiyama-san looked remarkably youthful. Only the slight weariness in her eyes and the faint roughness of her hands hinted at the passing of years.

“You hear that? He said I look like your sister!” Mrs. Akiyama beamed, tugging her daughter toward her as if to show off. “Boys these days really know how to sweet-talk!”

“Then your actual sister might not be too happy about that. Still, I agree—Mom does look more like my older sister,” An quipped, half-serious.

Watching their banter, Chiba suddenly understood where Akiyama An got her adorably airheaded charm.

“So, what kind of shop are you planning to open? And how much space do you need?” he asked as he led them into the shopping street.

“A ramen shop. Doesn’t need to be too big—about 20 square meters would do. But say, are the second floors here livable?” Mrs. Akiyama looked around with curiosity.

“They are,” Chiba nodded. “Most of these buildings are mixed-use. How you divide the space is up to you.”

“That’s perfect. No more running back and forth between home and the shop.” Mrs. Akiyama clapped her hands in delight.

“Mm-hmm! And I’ll get to sleep in a bit longer in the mornings. Plus, it’s a little closer to school—less of a rush,” An chimed in happily.

Chiba raised an eyebrow. This is “closer”? It’s still at least a 40- or 50-minute trip to school. Where were they living before?

Still, considering Japan’s average commute is around 38 minutes, he supposed this street wasn’t too far off.

Once they arrived at the management office, Chiba had them take a seat and handed over a folder with available property listings. But after flipping through them, the Akiyama women both looked disappointed.

“Nothing the right size,” Mrs. Akiyama sighed.

“Yeah, too bad… I really like this area,” An added with visible regret.

Chiba tilted his head. “I mean, ramen shops don’t need much space, but isn’t a bit more room a good thing? You’d have more flexibility.”

“But wouldn’t the rent jump up a lot?” Mrs. Akiyama pouted like a teenager, cheeks puffed out in distress.

“You’d be the manager, right Mrs. Akiyama?” Chiba asked.

“Well, yes—but don’t call me Mrs., it makes me sound old.” She feigned indignation, gently correcting him.

Chiba chuckled helplessly. “I can’t exactly call you onee-san, can I? An wouldn’t stand for that.”

Mrs. Akiyama rested her chin in one hand, sighing theatrically. “That’s true… With both Tsuki-chan and An-chan all grown up, I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll grant you a special exception, Chiba-kun.”

They really are two of a kind, Chiba thought. How did either of them survive this long?

The Akiyama sisters were well-known at school, so word about their family situation had spread. Their father had passed away early, and their mother had raised them alone.

Chiba had expected a woman worn thin by life’s burdens, with eyes dulled by exhaustion—but clearly, that wasn’t the case at all.

He glanced at the system pricing. Fortunately, it had marked her as an “Excellent Proprietor,” meaning he could offer her a discounted rent. Without that, he really would’ve had to send them away empty-handed.

Still, the price was absurdly low. Discounting it a little was fine—he could blame it on the neighborhood being old, or the shop’s poor location. But the system’s favoritism for competent shop owners was way too blatant.

Last time, he’d been caught off guard. It was his first time seeing the system offer a true discount. And besides, both Ogawa sisters were opening women-only businesses—beauty salon and fitness studio. Any “rational” explanation for the price cut would’ve made him sound even more suspicious.

Now, the system displayed a new message:

[An outstanding poster girl can boost store traffic and serve as a living advertisement for the shopping street. Building a stable relationship with such poster girls is one of the administrator’s duties.]

Poster girl…? Chiba looked at An, and the pieces clicked. No wonder the discount’s even bigger than with the Ogawa sisters.

So that was it. The system offered lower rent for high-value poster girls.

Wait, does that mean if the Ogawa sisters had hired someone pretty to work front-of-house, the rent would’ve gone down even more?

That thought came and went in a flash—he quickly dismissed it. The system had emphasized “stable relationship.”

Unlike owners, poster girls were high-turnover positions. The best ones wouldn’t work long in some rundown shopping street—they’d go for busy city centers, where the pay was better.

Hiring a beauty, scoring a discount, then firing her the next day? The system wasn’t about to let anyone exploit that loophole.

Shaking off those thoughts, Chiba turned back to Mrs. Akiyama and handed her a folder.

“If that’s the case, why not take a look at this one? Two floors, sixty square meters total. Rent is 60,000 yen a month—plus one extra condition.”

“Sixty thousand?” Mrs. Akiyama blinked, then beamed. “That’s so cheap! Wonderful!”

“It’s a great deal,” An agreed. “I didn’t think Chiba-kun’s recommendation would be so good!”

Then she turned to him, smiling brightly. “What’s the extra condition?”

“Oh, that.” Chiba waved it off. “Since you’re opening a ramen shop, I’d like to eat there for free. That’s all.”

That excuse wouldn’t have worked for the Ogawa sisters, with their women-only businesses—saying he wanted a “free beauty treatment” would’ve just made him look like a creep.

Even with this condition, the rent was clearly unnatural.

But Mrs. Akiyama didn’t give it a second thought. She even seemed to find the idea funny.

“Even if you hadn’t asked, as An-chan’s classmate, you’re welcome to free meals anytime~”

“But this shop must be in high demand, right? Is the shopping street office even open today? Can we rent it now?”

“Oh, right!” An suddenly realized.

“…” Chiba truly didn’t get it. Mrs. Akiyama is one thing… but An’s supposed to be a top student. Why is she this ditzy?

He rapped his knuckles on the table. “Akiyama-san, haven’t you noticed where we’re sitting?”

“Huh?” An looked around, blinking. “This place… is the shopping street’s management office?”

“Mhm. And those files over there? What do you think they are?”

“Store listings?” Mrs. Akiyama offered, eyes wide with innocent curiosity.

“So, why do you think I’m sitting here, showing you all this, even throwing in extra conditions?” Chiba’s gaze swept over both of them.

An’s eyes lit up. “You know the shopping street manager!”

“That’s great!” her mom said, completely delighted.

“……” Chiba sighed in defeat. I give up. “Fine, I’ll just spell it out—I’m the owner and administrator of this shopping street. You can sign the lease directly with me. I don’t take weekends off.”

“Eh? No way! What a coincidence!” An blinked, big innocent eyes full of surprise.

“Yeah. What a coincidence. So, did you bring the documents you need to rent the place? If so, we can sign everything now.”

At this point, Chiba had no fight left in him. Should’ve just lied from the start… much easier than explaining all this.

“Yes, yes, we did!” Mrs. Akiyama rummaged through her handbag and pulled out a neat stack of paperwork.

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T/N: damn these two are floating up in the sky

This is a fan translation of 从继承商店街开始东京生活 by 净消尘土 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!