Master of the Machete Style Manga

Chapter 104 Ah Jian, Ah Jian

Chapter 104 Ah Jian~ Ah Jian~ (Please subscribe~)
Ken Sakamoto, Haruna, and a real estate agent named Hiko Tanaka arrived together at a detached house in 2-chome, Taito Ward.

It's only 700 meters from Akihabara Station, within walking distance.

It's only a ten-minute drive to Shueisha, making its location absolutely perfect.

The entire three-story building underwent a complete renovation last year, and the exterior paint and doors and windows look brand new.

Next to the house is a slightly old four-story apartment building.

Tanaka Hiko took out the key and opened the door.

"Please come in, gentlemen."

He led the two of them through the entrance hall and carefully looked them over from beginning to end.

Apart from the specially modified room on the third floor, the interior layout of the entire house is no different from that of a typical detached house.

The decor is minimalist, and all the furniture has been moved out.

Ken Sakamoto stood in the spacious lobby on the first floor, stretching out his arm and gesturing in the air.

"One here, one here... um, and my workbench is by the window, that should be enough space."

While gesturing and estimating the placement of each drawing table, he quickly formed a rough layout in his mind.

He was very satisfied with the whole house and immediately confirmed it with Tanaka.

The next steps are not complicated: sign a lease agreement, pay a deposit of one month's rent plus a key money payment.

The so-called "gift money" is meant to thank the landlord for being willing to rent the house to you.

In the old days, it was indeed rare to find a place to stay when traveling far from home. However, in modern society, this outdated practice is still being used by most landlords.

After all, this is an extra income equivalent to a month's rent.

Ken Sakamoto paid the initial fee of 990,000 yen directly, and after the keys were handed over, the right to use the detached house officially belonged to him.

Nearly a third of the more than three million yuan in royalties was gone in an instant.

Ken Sakamoto couldn't help but sigh, realizing that manuscript fees could only cover basic living and creative expenses; to truly achieve financial freedom, one had to rely on the massive sales of collected volumes.

With the rental agreement in hand, they returned to the house. This time, only Sakamoto Ken and Mikazuki Haruna were there.

After entering the house, Mikazuki Haruna wandered around the living room, her feet, encased in black pantyhose, making a "thump-thump-thump" sound as they stepped on the polished wooden floor.

She took steps to estimate the length of the room, and finally stood in the center of the room, saying, "There shouldn't be a problem putting six tables in the living room."

As she spoke, she quickly walked to the kitchen and dining area that connects to the living room.

The kitchen counter is set along the wall, leaving a large open space in front of it.

"When the sliding door in the front is open, this area connects to the living room, Ah Jian... You can put a bigger desk here, as well as a scanner, printer, and stuff like that..."

Ken Sakamoto looked at her as if she were living in a rented apartment.

Ken Sakamoto didn't interrupt her reverie and turned to walk up the stairs.

"Eh? Wait!"

Seeing this, Mikazuki Haruna quickly jogged after him.

There are three separate rooms on the second floor.

Kensho Sakamoto pushed open all three doors one by one.

The rooms on the left and right are standard six-tatami mats in size, but the middle room is smaller, only four and a half tatami mats.

Mikazuki Haruna walked into the small room in the middle, looked around, and couldn't help but say, "This room is so small."

"Have you read The Tatami Galaxy?" Ken Sakamoto asked casually, leaning against the doorframe.

“Of course I’ve seen it!” Mikazuki Haruna replied immediately. “Shimogamo Yusui-so! I went to Kyoto for the first time specifically for this work’s pilgrimage!”

“A four-and-a-half tatami mat room is actually quite large,” Ken Sakamoto said. “It’s big enough to fit bedding, a desk, and a bookcase. Many famous writers have come from such small rooms.”

After hearing what Sakamoto Ken said, Mikazuki Haruna carefully examined the room again.

On the floor, four tatami mats are neatly arranged in a spiral, with the gap in the middle just big enough to fit half a tatami mat.

This was exactly the same style she had seen in the anime, even the window was on the same side of the wall. Mikazuki Haruna's thoughts began to drift outward, imagining what it would be like to live here: "Yeah, a smaller space actually feels quite safe."

She thought that staying here would definitely be a different experience from her current room.

Meanwhile, Ken Sakamoto had already turned around and started walking up the stairs to the third floor.

"Hey? Slow down!"

Mikazuki Haruna snapped out of her daze and started walking after him again.

Ken Sakamoto only glanced at the room on the third floor before leaving. There was nothing special about it; it was just an empty rectangular room.

The real focus is the renovated room next door.

Ken Sakamoto pushed open the door, which looked much heavier than an ordinary door.

The room was dimly lit, mainly because the windows were small and heavy soundproof curtains were hung, and the walls and floors were made of dark-colored sound-absorbing materials.

Sakamoto Ken turned to look at Mikazuki Haruna, who had followed him, and said, "Tanaka-san said this room has a very good soundproofing effect, can you test it for me?"

Haruna Mikazuki entered the room and asked curiously, "How do we test it?"

“I’ll close the door now, and you speak from inside, getting louder and louder until I hear you, then open the door,” Ken Sakamoto explained.

Mikazuki Haruna thought about it and, having no objections, nodded in agreement.

Ken Sakamoto slammed the door shut without hesitation.

"Bang" sound.

Darkness instantly enveloped Mikazuki Haruna completely.

She quickly took out her phone and, using the faint light from the screen, groped her way to the light switch on the wall.

She breathed a sigh of relief when the lights came on.

Standing in the center of the room, Mikazuki Haruna indeed felt that everything around her had quieted down, so quiet that she could only hear her own breathing.

She cleared her throat and said in a normal voice, "Hello! Hello! Mr. Sakamoto Ken, can you hear me? If you can, please open the door."

There was no movement outside the door.

She raised her voice even higher: "Sakamoto Ken-sensei! Can you hear me?!"

She tried several times, her voice almost screaming, but there was still no response from outside the door.

Haruna Mikazuki reached out and touched the uneven soundproofing panels on the wall, secretly marveling at how effective this setup was at soundproofing.

She shouted a few more times.

"Sakamoto Ken-sensei! Sakamoto Ken-sensei!"

"Sakamoto Ken!"

"Ah Jian~ Ah Jian~"

In the end, she called out Sakamoto Ken's name directly.

There was still no response from outside the door.

"Jian~ Can you hear me? Huh... Eh?!"

Before she could finish speaking, she saw the doorknob in front of her suddenly turn.

Haruna Mikazuki was startled and quickly shut her mouth, swallowing the rest of her sentence back, almost choking on her own saliva.

The door was pushed open from the outside.

Mikazuki Haruna opened her eyes wide, and the two met eyes.

Her lips twitched slightly, and she took a step back guiltily before speaking cautiously, her voice trembling almost imperceptibly.