Starting a New Life in Tokyo by Inheriting a Shopping Street [5]

Look forward to the gift, huh?

As he watched the twin ladies disappear into the distance, Chiba Shuuichi rubbed his chin, pondering the sudden shift in their attitudes.

I don’t know what changed, but even though they thought I was up to something shady, they still signed the contracts. Doesn’t that mean…

He pulled a small shirt button from his pocket and turned it over in his fingers, deep in thought.

The tight blouse, the snug pencil skirt, the torn stockings, the glimpse of pale, inviting skin—it all replayed vividly in his mind, tugging at his heartstrings in the worst way.

Maybe… I could test the waters?

He had no intention of coercing anyone. But if both sides were willing…

[Ding ding—]

A series of alerts suddenly rang out in his mind, cutting off his daydreams. He quickly pulled up the system interface and saw two new glowing notifications:

[Successfully signed a top-tier tenant. Administrator monthly salary +100,000 yen.] ×2

Below that, a line of smaller text:

[Top-tier tenants can attract significant foot traffic to the shopping street. It is the administrator’s duty and responsibility to establish stable, positive relationships with them to increase their sense of belonging.]

And below that, in even smaller font:

[“Top-tier” status is determined across multiple criteria, not limited by gender or age. Exceptional appearance, capability, or intellect may all qualify.]

The font was so tiny that Chiba hadn’t even noticed it before—though his attention was quickly pulled to the next alert:

[Ogawa Fumika’s sense of belonging +10. Administrator monthly salary +100,000 yen.]

“Huh?” Chiba blinked. “Sense of belonging? What the hell is that?”

He opened the system’s shopping street map and located the two newly leased stores. Both had cartoon avatars over them—stylized to resemble the two sisters.

Clicking on one of the icons brought up a basic profile.

It wasn’t detailed—just a name and one attribute:

[Ogawa Sayuki – Sense of Belonging: 10]

Chiba studied the screen thoughtfully. Alright. If a top-tier tenant feels at home in the shopping street and runs a stable business, the landlord earns more. Makes sense.

Sense of belonging—clearly meant how welcomed or integrated the tenant felt. A high value probably indicated a strong connection with the community, comfort in their environment, and good rapport with the administrator.

That must’ve been what the system meant by “maintaining good relationships” with top-tier tenants. If they felt happy living and working here, and were satisfied with the administrator, their sense of belonging would increase.

But what exactly qualified someone as a top-tier tenant?

Getting nowhere with that, Chiba switched to Fumika’s profile.

[Ogawa Fumika – Sense of Belonging: 20]

Wait, ten more than her sister? Was she just easier to satisfy? Did finally securing a storefront bring her peace of mind?

He pondered that, then noticed something new: the shops rented by the Ogawa sisters were noticeably brighter on the system map.

Clicking one brought up a new info window:

[Gym – Current Effect Bonus: 10% (Administrator Bonus: 100%)]

Effect bonus?

Chiba immediately scrolled to the fine print.

[Shop effect bonuses scale based on business type and tenant sense of belonging. Maximum 100%. Administrator receives up to 1,000%.]

The explanation wasn’t overly precise, but it was enough.

In other words, if he used the gym, his workouts would be twice as effective as normal—at the current bonus level, anyway.

Chiba glanced down at his own rather scrawny arms. “Not bad. This might actually help me bulk up… but still, 100% is kinda low. I could use more.”

After checking the gym stats, he opened the beauty salon’s window.

[Beauty Salon – Current Effect Bonus: 20% (Administrator Bonus: 200%)]

“Damn,” Chiba muttered. “A 200% bonus at the salon feels a bit wasted. If only I could swap that with the gym.”

Of course, that was just wishful thinking. It wasn’t like he could ask the sisters to switch businesses for his convenience.

He spent a while fiddling with the new system functions, but eventually his attention returned to the topic of salary.

When he’d first taken over the shopping street, rent revenue had nothing to do with him. He’d only received a “management stipend” of 100,000 yen a month—a figure no better than basic part-time wages, and earned with more effort too.

Barely enough to scrape by.

Now? His monthly pay had jumped to 400,000 yen. Things were finally starting to feel a little less tight.

Chiba mentally ran the numbers. According to the system, each top-tier tenant with full belonging (up to 100) could net him 1 million yen per month.

If all 49 shops on the street reached full-belonging status with top-tier tenants, that’d be a whopping 49 million yen monthly.

Plus the base stipend of 100,000 yen, of course.

But then he remembered how, just last month, he hadn’t been able to close even one deal. The dream deflated instantly.

Where the hell was he supposed to find that many perfect tenants?

And it was clear boosting their sense of belonging wouldn’t be easy either.

With those thoughts spiraling, Chiba continued flipping through the system menu and noticed a new note attached to the "Summon Steward" button.

[In the course of managing the shopping street, administrators may encounter numerous challenges. Assistance is available for a fee.]

So summoning the steward for contract signing was free—but anything else would cost him?

A bad feeling crept into Chiba’s chest. Seriously? My salary just went up and now you’re launching the cash shop? This feels way too much like some greedy game developer move…

Grrrr…

His stomach growled loudly.

He’d been busy nonstop since classes ended. The sun was already setting. Time for dinner.

He went upstairs to change into casual clothes and headed to the Yoshinoya at the entrance of the shopping street. The food wasn’t great, but it was close, and it filled him up—that was enough for now.

While he ate, he discreetly studied the store manager behind the counter, wondering whether there was a way to… swap in a better one.

If he could install a top-tier manager here, he could offer them a rent discount and boost his own salary. Win-win.

That night, Chiba Shuuichi had a dream—he was wrapped in a soft, warm cloud, gently drifting along the Sumida River…

...

The next morning, he was woken by his alarm.

Technically, with the shopping street under his belt, school wasn’t even that important anymore. But the ownership wasn’t fully his yet—he was still just drawing a salary.

And after being chewed up and spit out by society once already, he couldn’t help feeling a little nostalgic about school life. Especially in Japan, where campus days could still be colorful and carefree. Why not enjoy it this time around?

After washing up, he stuffed some bread and a carton of milk into his bag for breakfast and headed out the door.

Right at the entrance, he ran into the Ogawa sisters.

Fumika gave him a small, nervous bow, her eyes flitting away. She held out a wrapped box with both hands. “Th-these are… some sweets I made myself. Please accept them, Chiba-san. Sorry for all the trouble yesterday.”

Chiba accepted the box with a warm smile. “Thank you.”

Sayuki handed over a much smaller box, her expression mysterious and amused. “Open this when no one else is around. You’ll like it.”

---

T/N: FAISFIASHFIOASHIOFASHAFHS

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!