A few days later, when the contract was actually signed, Mrs. Yoshida still looked somewhat dazed.
It had... really been completed that quickly?
The speed at which the transaction had been finalized was completely beyond her expectations.
She had only put up the notice that day and hadn't even had time to contact a real estate agent before she ran into Sato. Shortly afterward, the two of them had already reached a purchase agreement.
And most importantly, after verifying his assets, Sato really could afford that much money!
Mrs. Yoshida looked at Sato with a trace of suspicion and surprise.
Just who exactly was this tenant of hers?
At that moment, Sato was speaking with a middle-aged man dressed in a business suit.
The man wore undisguised respect on his face, even a hint of humility, but his voice remained steady.
"Mr. Nohara, there are no issues with the contract. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Musashi."
"The honor is mine."
Musashi smiled.
He was a dedicated lawyer employed by the Hero Association. Although he was an ordinary person, he knew some things about the hidden side of the world.
After all, this was still a modern society. Legal measures were often necessary, and people like him served as the claws and fangs attached to the Hero Association.
The fact that Sato had been able to borrow his services through the Hero Association indicated that he held a fairly high status there, at least B-Rank or above.
And B-Rank wasn't low at all.
The Hero Association had only officially recognized sixty-three S-Rank heroes.
There were fewer than fifteen hundred A-Rank heroes.
B-Rank heroes numbered fewer than five thousand worldwide.
That was a global statistic.
In other words, if divided by country, Japan only had around a hundred or so B-Rank heroes.
Break that down further by prefecture, and each prefecture would have at most four or five B-Rank heroes.
"Goodbye."
After Lawyer Musashi respectfully departed, Sato let out a sigh of relief.
The man's respectful attitude had honestly been difficult for him to get used to.
"Mrs. Yoshida, let's first verify the funds in this bank card, then handle the transfer procedures."
"All right."
...
After everything was completed, Sato returned to Aoyama Apartments.
Standing at the entrance once more and looking at the building before him, his feelings were different from before.
In his eyes, the apartment building somehow seemed much more familiar.
"So this place belongs to me now..."
His expression looked somewhat absent-minded, as though he still hadn't fully processed it.
Come to think of it, wasn't this decision a bit hasty?
Well, money sitting around was still just money sitting around.
At the very least, he could become a landlord in the future.
That wasn't bad at all.
A faint smile soon appeared on his face.
...
"Sato?"
Nishimiya Shouko's voice suddenly sounded beside the contemplative Sato.
Turning around, he saw the graceful girl standing behind him.
She was carrying several shopping bags filled with vegetables and other groceries.
"Let me help."
He took two of the bags from her hands.
They were surprisingly heavy.
"Thank you."
Nishimiya Shouko smiled sweetly.
Then she noticed the contract in Sato's hand and asked curiously,
"What's that?"
"This?"
Sato smiled.
"Just a contract."
He didn't elaborate.
Nishimiya Shouko seemed to think for a moment.
Soon, a look of shock appeared on her face as she realized something.
"This couldn't be..."
"Shh. Keep it a secret for me."
"Ah... okay!"
Nishimiya Shouko nodded hurriedly.
However, the shock on her face lingered.
Sato had actually bought Aoyama Apartments?!
The fact that Sato had become the landlord of Aoyama Apartments didn't cause much of a stir.
Since he hadn't started collecting rent yet, nobody knew who the new owner was.
However, all of the tenants had received a message from Mrs. Yoshida informing them that the apartment building had changed ownership.
Because rent was paid quarterly, rent collection wouldn't happen until the following year.
"Sigh, as long as my rent doesn't go up, I don't care who owns the place."
Gabriel sprawled across the floor, supporting her head with her right hand while watching television.
With her left hand, she continuously stuffed potato chips into her mouth.
Crunch. Crunch.
Chip crumbs scattered all over the floor.
Vignette, who was cleaning the room for her, cast her a helpless glance before looking around.
"Honestly, Gab, it's kind of a waste for you to live in this room. All the apartments here are suites, but you're living alone."
"Doesn't matter. Other apartments wouldn't be much cheaper, and they wouldn't be as spacious."
Suddenly, Gabriel froze.
"Hey, Vigne..."
"Hm?"
Vignette looked up from mopping the floor.
To her surprise, Gabriel had somehow moved right in front of her and was staring at her with sparkling violet eyes.
"Eek!"
Startled, Vignette took a step back.
"Vigne, let's be roommates! Let's live together! There's an extra room here anyway. If we share the apartment, we can save a lot of money!"
Vignette hesitated.
She was actually a little tempted.
Sensing an opportunity, Gabriel pressed on.
Like a devil whispering temptation into someone's ear, she said:
"Your allowance has gone down a lot too, right? If we share the rent, you'll save plenty of money. Then you can use it to buy clothes."
"Well..."
For a brief moment, Vignette's resolve wavered.
But she quickly came to her senses.
"N-No! If I moved in, wouldn't I basically become your servant? I'd have to cook for you, clean for you, do your laundry..."
"Tch."
Gabriel curled her lip.
"As if you don't already do all that when we're not living together."
Vignette: "..."
That made far too much sense.
She suddenly found herself unable to argue.
Taking a couple of deep breaths, she looked at Gabriel and said,
"Let's talk about that later. I think you should worry about the fact that the teacher told you to bring a parent to school first."
"Eh?!"
Gabriel froze.
Her hand stopped halfway to her mouth.
She stared blankly at Vignette.
The next second, she stood up, walked to the entrance, and properly put on her shoes.
Vignette watched in confusion.
The door opened.
Gabriel went outside.
A moment later, Vignette heard knocking from next door, followed by Gabriel's desperate scream.
"Sato, save me!!!"