"No matter whether it's your rent or your friend's rent, I'll waive it."
"As long as when I come to see Hikari-kun every week, you pay me a little friendship fee. Hehe!"
Looking at Asou Miyuri's mischievous little hand, Hikari naturally knew what she meant by "friendship fee."
It was definitely something similar to last night's "inspection" of the apartment layouts.
As for that proposal, though, Hikari didn't really think he was losing out.
After experiencing it for himself, he had discovered that Miss Landlord Asou Miyuri really was very good at taking care of people.
She always knew exactly how to satisfy him.
So after only a brief moment of thought, Hikari agreed.
Hearing him agree, Asou Miyuri immediately beamed.
Unable to hide her excitement, she asked, "Hikari-kun, do you like cosplay?"
Hikari replied, "It's okay. I don't mind it. Why?"
Smiling, Asou Miyuri said, "I have tons of clothes at home, all kinds. I also like changing into different styles."
"So if Hikari-kun likes it, then whenever I come over each week to collect the 'friendship rent,' I'll do a proper cosplay."
Hikari immediately said, "Then it turns out I actually like cosplay quite a lot."
"Giggle!", Asou Miyuri laughed so hard she almost honked like a goose.
The two of them lingered together for a while longer.
Only when it was almost time for class did Hikari pack up his things and leave the Aso Apartments.
After reluctantly seeing him out, the landlady, Asou Miyuri, diligently started cleaning up the room for him.
Humming to herself, she threw the bloodstained bedsheets from last night, along with the dirty sofa cover and carpet, into the washing machine.
Although walking was still a little inconvenient for her, the landlady was obviously in an excellent mood.
After all, she'd finally had the good stuff, and from now on she no longer had to drive a manual.
———
Meanwhile, Hikari hurried to school and almost arrived late.
Although Miss Landlord's wake-up service had gotten him up early, success was thanks to the landlady, and almost being late was also thanks to the landlady.
Asou Miyuri had clung to him for quite a while before letting him leave.
So by the time he reached school, the warning bell had already rung.
Fortunately, he still made it to the classroom in time.
"Good morning, Yoshida."
After putting down his school bag, Hikari tapped the shoulder of Saki Yoshida, who sat in front of him, and greeted her.
"Good morning, Hikari-kun!", Seeing him greet her first, Saki quickly turned around.
"How's staying at the hotel been lately?", Hikari asked.
"It's been really nice. The room is big, the bed is soft, someone cleans it every day, and the manager is really kind to me...", Saki said with a smile.
"But it still doesn't feel like home, right?", Hikari asked.
Saki nodded, "Yeah... I know this sounds... kind of ungrateful. But living in a hotel all the time really feels strange. Sometimes it even feels a little unreal."
"Ah! But Hikari-kun, don't misunderstand. It's not that I have any complaints. After my mother abandoned me and I had nowhere to go, you even let me stay in a luxury hotel. I'm already incredibly grateful. I really don't have any dissatisfaction."
Seeing Saki suddenly become nervous halfway through, Hikari smiled, "Relax. I was just asking casually."
"Besides, I've already found you a permanent place to live. You won't need to stay at the hotel anymore."
"Huh?", Saki immediately became curious, "Where can I stay?"
Hikari took the lease agreement out of his school bag and handed it to her.
"In the same apartment building as me. It's the room directly above mine. I already talked it over with the landlord yesterday. You just need to sign."
"Eh? Really?", Saki's eyes widened in surprise.
"I can really live in the same apartment building as Hikari-kun? And you'll be living right downstairs?", Happiness had come so suddenly that she still felt a little dazed as she looked at the contract in her hands.
"Of course it's true," Hikari smiled at her absent-minded expression.
Saki looked at the lease with overwhelming joy, clutching it tightly in both hands.
After excitedly signing her name, she suddenly realized something and looked at Hikari worriedly.
"Hikari-kun, renting another room must cost a lot more, right? I-I'm sorry... I've made you spend even more money..."
Seeing Saki lower her head guiltily, Hikari waved his hand, "It's fine. The landlady and I are friends. We don't talk about money."
As he spoke, he unconsciously rubbed his kidney.
He and Miss Asou really didn't talk about money anymore. Now they mainly talked about feelings.
Even so, he still had to pay out several hundred million.
That's Tokyo, where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold.
Hearing Hikari brush it off so casually, Saki was moved.
Having left her family behind, she was no longer the naive high school girl who knew nothing. She now understood how difficult life really was.
Her eyes grew a little moist as she said, "Hikari-kun, you've been so good to me. I owe you far too much. It feels like I could never repay it in this lifetime. But I'll definitely work hard to earn money in the future. Even if I can only pay back a little at a time, I will!"
Seeing Saki on the verge of crying in the classroom, Hikari quickly stopped her, "There's no rush. Just take it one step at a time."
With Hikari's reassurance, Saki managed to hold back her tears and gradually calmed down.
Although her emotions settled, the gratitude in her heart remained.
After several classes passed and lunch break finally arrived, Saki packed up her books, intending to invite Hikari to eat lunch together.
But when she turned around, she found two somewhat unfamiliar beautiful girls already standing beside his desk.
Looking at the two pretty girls she didn't really recognize, Saki's social anxiety flared up again, and she didn't dare say anything.
Hikari was also a little surprised to see the two girls from different classes suddenly come looking for him as soon as class ended.
"Ayana? Aika?"
Standing beside his desk were two girls, one with chestnut twin-tails and one with pink twin-tails.
Both were charming and adorable.
They were none other than Takasaki Aika, the stepsister Hikari had rescued yesterday from Takasaki Souichi after his psychic powers awakened, and Kurasawa Ayana, the school's popular disciplinary committee idol.
"Hikari-kun!", Ayana and Aika greeted him enthusiastically.
"What's up? Ayana, Aika, did you need something?", Hikari asked.
"It's nothing special. You saved both Ayana and me yesterday, so we wanted to thank you," Aika said.
Ayana nodded beside her.
"That's right! We both wanted to thank you, Hikari-kun. We'd like to treat you to lunch. Is that okay?"
"Sure. Let's talk outside."
Being approached by two beautiful girls, one of whom was the extremely popular campus idol Ayana, naturally attracted plenty of attention.
Feeling everyone's eyes on him, Hikari immediately stood up and walked out of the classroom.
Ayana and Aika quickly followed him.
As they walked, Ayana suddenly reached into her pocket and stopped.
"Oh no! I forgot my wallet. I need to go back and get it. Hikari-kun, please wait a moment."
"It's fine," Hikari waved it off.
Ayana hurried back toward the classroom, while Hikari and Aika waited where they were.
While they waited, Aika's gaze kept wandering over Hikari's handsome profile.
The longer she looked, the more she remembered what had happened yesterday in the infirmary. Hikari had been helping Ayana relieve her itching, and she had found an excuse to join in...
As she thought about it, her lips unconsciously moved toward Hikari's face.
Smack!
"Aika?"
Seeing Aika suddenly hug him around the waist and kiss him, Hikari turned to look at her.
"I just couldn't help myself when I saw your face... Ah, no! I just suddenly remembered that if Hikari-kun hadn't saved me yesterday, who knows what that pervert would've done to me. So I wanted to thank you again..."
Aika almost let the truth slip, but in the end she still used gratitude as her excuse.
Looking at her bold behavior, Hikari naturally knew what she was really thinking. He also knew what had happened to her under the influence of telekinesis yesterday, so he didn't make a big deal out of it.
Seeing that he wasn't angry, Aika immediately prepared to steal another kiss.
But just as her lips were about to touch him, a stern voice suddenly rang out.
"What are you two students doing?"
Startled by the harsh scolding, Aika froze.
Turning around, she saw a teacher in uniform striding toward them and hurriedly let go of Hikari's waist.
"M-Matsuura-sensei?"
Looking at the suddenly appearing Matsuura Anju, Aika looked completely stunned.
Anju stood there with knitted brows, glaring at the two of them with a stern expression.
During the break, she had been resting in the faculty office, but the childcare conversations among the other female teachers didn't interest her. She had come out under the pretense of going to the restroom for some fresh air.
She had barely walked a short distance before spotting two students acting intimately in broad daylight.
When she got closer and realized one of them was Takasaki Aika from her class, while the other was Hikari, a student she knew all too well, Anju immediately became flustered.
"What are you two doing here? Why are you standing so close together and acting so intimate?"
Anju quickly walked up to Aika and Hikari, sternly questioning them.
Because she was still young, beautiful, and hadn't been a teacher for many years, her scolding lacked the intimidating presence of the older teachers. With her round eyes glaring wide, she looked more adorably annoyed than truly frightening.
Seeing her like this, Hikari didn't react much.
But Aika panicked.
After all, Anju taught her class, not Hikari's.
And the one who had tried to kiss him just now wasn't Hikari, it was her.
So under Anju's stern gaze, Aika stammered, "N-Nothing..."
Seeing how flustered Aika was, Hikari immediately stepped in.
"Ayana's been gone for quite a while just to get something. Aika, why don't you go see what's taking her so long?"
"Uh... okay!"
Seeing the look in Hikari's eyes telling her she could leave first, Aika hurried away.
For some reason, Anju didn't stop her.
Although she had said she was scolding both of them, from the moment she appeared, her eyes had been fixed on Hikari.
"Matsuura-sensei...", Hikari was about to say something.
But Anju interrupted him, "Come with me!"
Seeing her turn and walk away, Hikari had no choice but to follow.
She led him to a quiet corner of the hallway.
As soon as they reached the secluded spot, Anju put one hand on her hip and adopted the posture of a teacher lecturing a student.
"Hikari-kun, don't you think you've been getting a little too close to Aika? Our school doesn't allow students to date."
Hikari explained, "We're not dating. I just helped Aika yesterday, so she wanted to thank me."
"Even if it's gratitude, you shouldn't be acting that intimately...", Even after hearing his explanation, Anju still looked dissatisfied.