Master of the Machete Style Manga

Chapter 103 Should I have a child with him? (Please subscribe~)

Originally, Mikazuki Haruna was supposed to be a little follower, but now she feels like she's become a little sidekick.

Sakamoto Ken ignored her scheming thoughts and walked straight into the real estate agency called "Dongdu Real Estate".

The shop is small, and the glass walls outside are covered with various floor plans and housing information.

It's not peak season for renting now, and it's a weekday, so there are very few people coming and going in the residential area. There are no other customers in the shop.

However, several staff members dressed in white shirts and black trousers were still sitting in front of the computers, pretending to be busy.

"Ding dong!"

The sensor at the door beeped, and a young man who looked to be in his early thirties immediately stood up and quickly walked over.

Hello, are you inquiring about a property? Are you looking to rent or buy?

Ken Sakamoto stated his purpose directly: "I want to rent a detached house."

My gaze swept over the name tag on his chest: Tanaka Hiko.

Tanaka Hiko glanced at Sakamoto Ken's age and clothing, then gestured for him to enter the store.

"Please have a seat here, both of you. Let's discuss your needs in detail."

Mikazuki Haruna followed behind, curiously looking around at the small shop.

Is this the place I'm renting?
She owns many houses, but none of them are rented, and she has never personally participated in this process before, so everything feels quite novel.

Mikazuki Haruna sat down with Sakamoto Ken at a small round table in the negotiation area. Tanaka Hiko poured two glasses of iced barley tea and then sat down opposite them.

"Do you have any specific requirements regarding location, size, and budget?" Tanaka Hiko took out his tablet and opened the filtering system.

Tanaka Hiko tapped and swiped on the tablet, and a dense list of properties immediately appeared on the screen, most of them accompanied by photos and detailed data.

After a moment's thought, Ken Sakamoto said, "First of all, the first floor must have a large enough space to accommodate at least five drawing workbenches."

"A drawing workbench?" Tanaka was somewhat surprised.

Ken Sakamoto nodded and said, "I'm a manga artist, and I rent this place mainly to use as a studio."

"Oh, so you're a manga artist, teacher!" Tanaka Hiko, knowing that Sakamoto Ken was a manga artist, became more respectful in his tone.

“However… I’m sorry, I’m not sure how much space the teacher’s workbench needs,” Tanaka Hiko said.

Ken Sakamoto estimated for a moment and said, "The hall area should be at least 15 square meters."

Upon hearing this number, Mikazuki Haruna whispered, "Huh? Is that enough?"

Ken Sakamoto turned to look at her and said, "Three or four assistants, plus my desk, is that enough?"

Haruna Mikazuki considered it for a moment and shook her head: "But we also need space for the equipment, right? Scanner, printer, computer, and bookshelves for storing documents and reference books... all of these take up a lot of space."

Ken Sakamoto shook his head slightly and said, "Don't compare it to your house. Your living room is bigger than the editorial office, isn't it?"

“That’s true…” Mikazuki Haruna responded and nodded.

But then she suddenly remembered something, her eyes fixed on Ken Sakamoto, and quickly asked, "Have you seen my living room?"

Ken Sakamoto calmly shook his head: "No, but even a fool would know it's a mansion."

Thinking about it carefully, 15 square meters is indeed a bit cramped, just enough to fit everything.

There's no need to be too stingy with the budget now; renting a larger apartment only costs a few tens of thousands of yen more per month.

Ken Sakamoto said, "Tanaka-san, besides the five tables, considering the activity space and other things, how much area do you estimate we need?"

“It needs at least 12 stacks, which is about 20 square meters or more,” Tanaka Hiko said. “It’s not just the aisle for people to walk through, but also the space needed to move chairs. We also need to see if the teacher wants to set up a dining table.”

He scrolled through the list and quickly clicked on a set.

"How about this one? The monthly rent is 33."

He turned the tablet toward the two of them.

That's more than ten times the price of that apartment now. Tokyo is truly a place where every inch of land is precious... Although he's now received his royalties and his finances are a bit better, Ken Sakamoto is still a little taken aback by the price.

Tanaka Hiko explained, “This detached house has 16 tatami rooms on the first floor, which is about 26 square meters. It’s spacious enough, and there’s also a lot of space next to the entrance hall. You can put bookshelves there, and with a little design, you can even put a dining table in front of the kitchen counter.”

Ken Sakamoto looked at the photo and was fairly satisfied with the layout.

Tanaka Hiko then asked, "Excuse me, is the upstairs part of the house used only by you and your family?"

Ken Sakamoto nodded: "Yes, I don't plan to have my assistants live at home."

If the assistants need accommodation, we can help them find apartments nearby so they can live in the studio. Firstly, it would cause inconvenience to his daily life, and secondly, it would make him seem like the kind of heartless boss who makes his employees live in the company...

"Ok, I see."

Tanaka Hiko glanced at the house's notes again and said, "By the way... if I may ask, do you two have children, or are you planning to have children soon?"

Huh? Have a child with him?

Haruna Mikazuki was completely stunned, looking at Hiko Tanaka with a bewildered expression, and then at Ken Sakamoto beside her.

Ken Sakamoto's expression remained unchanged, and he calmly said, "I don't have that plan for the time being."

Haruna Mikazuki opened her mouth slightly, wanting to immediately clarify that they were not husband and wife, or even lovers.

But Sakamoto Ken's words didn't seem to imply that they were a couple...

Furthermore, Tanaka Hiko had already interrupted her train of thought and continued speaking, so she could only purse her lips and swallow her words.

Tanaka explained, "That's right. The landlord of this house doesn't really want to rent to families with children, because he's worried that the kids will damage the tatami mats, wallpaper, and the like."

Then he added, "Of course, it's possible to compensate for the damage at cost, but the landlord's original renovation cost was very high, and a lot of special materials were used."

As Mikazuki Haruna listened to Tanaka Hiko's explanation, she felt as if she and Sakamoto Ken were truly a family, looking for a family house to live in...

She felt a strange urge to laugh, a mixture of smugness, pride, and a touch of shyness. She bit her lip tightly, barely managing to hold back her laughter.

Ken Sakamoto looked at the pictures of the house very carefully and said, "Don't worry about that. They're all adults; they won't damage the house."

“Then this house perfectly meets your requirements, teacher!” Tanaka Hiko said. “The first floor can be used as a manga studio, the second floor has three separate rooms, and the third floor has a large room plus a storage room.”

The so-called "indoor unit" is actually a space that cannot be called a formal room because its window area does not meet the lighting requirements for "rooms" in the Building Standards Act.

These rooms are typically used as studies, entertainment rooms, or dressing rooms.

However, the unit in this detached house is even larger than the adjacent living room, which was specially designed by the landlord when it was built.

If this room is properly soundproofed, it could be completely transformed into a great entertainment room or cinema.

As he was thinking about how to arrange the furniture, Tanaka Hiko had already opened the video of the house's interior that he had filmed earlier.

"You can get a feel for it through the video first."

The video begins in the entryway and shows the living room, dining room, kitchen, and bathroom on the first floor before going up to the second and third floors.

When the camera panned to the third floor and opened the door to the storeroom, both Ken Sakamoto and Haruna Mikazuki became interested.

The room was completely empty of furniture, but the decor was quite unique.

First of all, the door looks much heavier than a regular door.

The walls inside the room were not covered with regular white wallpaper, but with a rough black sound-absorbing material, and some sound-absorbing panels were also installed on the walls.

The flooring wasn't made of wood or tatami mats, but rather a porous board similar to a sponge.

Tanaka explained, “The landlord used to play in a band, and this room is used as a rehearsal room for the band, so it has been professionally soundproofed. The walls and floors may not be suitable for use as a regular room, and I need to let you know that in advance.”

Haruna Mikazuki looked curiously at the room on the screen and said, "It looks pretty good. If I watch a movie in here and turn the volume up all the way, it won't disturb the neighbors, right?"

Tanaka Hiko said with a smile, "We tested it. Even with the music playing at maximum volume inside, as long as the door is closed, you can't hear any sound even if you're leaning against the door."

Ken Sakamoto nodded in satisfaction and said, "Great, let's go check out the place in person, and if it's suitable, we'll rent it today."

(End of this chapter)