With Haruno back, the four of them went downstairs together to the cafeteria for lunch.
After eating, they rested for half an hour. Then Haruno left with Utaha and Yukino, heading to her company. After handling a few matters there, she planned to bring her designers along to take a look at the new villa Ichin had just bought.
Although the villa belonged to Ichin, Haruno had long since decided that she would shamelessly move in as well. Especially since Yukino had already decided to live there too—Haruno definitely didn't want to stay alone. That would be far too boring.
After the three of them left, Ichin returned to the GARO team and continued working with everyone on the final parts of the development project.
Judging from the current progress, they should be able to complete 99% of the development by the end of March. The remaining debugging work would absolutely be finished within the first half of April, after which they could move on to mass production.
Everything was going smoothly. There were no issues at all.
By the time it was 2:30 in the afternoon, Ichin had just fixed a section of code. He stretched lazily, picked up his phone and mug, and headed to the pantry.
Pouring himself a cup of coffee, he drank while opening the photos and messages Utaha had sent him.
They had already arrived at the villa and were discussing renovation details with the designers from Haruno's company. Haruno had also picked out a bedroom for herself.
With such a large villa, Ichin had never planned on living there with just Utaha and Yukino. He welcomed Haruno moving in as well.
Later on, his parents and Utaha's parents could also stay there. With three floors, it would be no problem at all to set aside several guest rooms.
One of the rooms was going to be used by Utaha as a shared studio for herself and Ichin. The space was large enough that there was no need for separate rooms—they could just use it together.
Another room would be turned into an audio-visual entertainment room, where they could play games and set up a large projector screen for watching movies.
On the first floor, they could also convert a room into a home gym, making full use of the space.
The only slightly disappointing thing was that the villa didn't come with a swimming pool, so they wouldn't be able to swim there in the summer.
But having a pool also had its downsides—if it wasn't used for a long time, cleaning it before use would be a huge hassle. If they didn't do it themselves, they'd have to hire professionals.
If they really wanted to swim, Eriri's family could arrange a private beach without tourists. That would actually be more comfortable.
After reading Utaha's messages, Ichin put his phone away.
Just then, Yagami Kō walked into the pantry as well.
After pouring herself a cup of coffee, she came over to Ichin and said with a smile, "So the new villa—are you starting renovations already?"
Ichin nodded. "Yeah. Once Haruno-nee's design plan is finalized, we'll start immediately. Since the place already has basic renovations, it should take less time than starting from scratch."
"Ahhh~ that's really nice. I saw photos from Utaha—the place is huge."
Looking at Yagami Kō's envious expression, Ichin said, "Kō, you and Rin have some savings too, right? You don't need something that big. A smaller one would be fine, wouldn't it? Even if you don't pay it off in full, installments are totally doable."
"That's true, but we're pretty happy where we are now. We don't really need a villa or anything." Yagami Kō waved her hand dismissively. "Maybe in a couple of years we'll consider buying a place, but for now we'll just keep freeloading in your dorms. The environment's great."
As for buying a villa like Ichin's, neither Yagami Kō nor Toyama Rin had ever really considered it.
The prices were what they were, and they didn't need something that big anyway. Buying a detached house somewhere else in Tokyo would make more sense.
Taking a sip of her coffee, Yagami Kō bumped Ichin's shoulder and teased him. "So tell me—how does it feel, being together with both Utaha and Yukino? Do you get tired?"
"Can you not drive the conversation in that direction?"
Glancing at her, Ichin thought for a moment before replying, "Honestly, it mostly feels like a dream. There's always this strange sense of unreality. If I hadn't taken Utaha for a health check recently, I might've thought she was settling her affairs or something."
"You even thought that far ahead?"
"What else was I supposed to think?" Ichin shrugged. "Anyway, things have already come this far. All I can do now is treat them well."
"So… are you tired?"
"..."
Ichin really didn't want to answer that question. Holding his mug, he left the pantry, while Yagami Kō followed behind him with a grin, continuing to tease him.
With the combined discussions between Haruno's designers and Utaha and Yukino, the renovation plan for the new home was finalized very quickly. Haruno then dispatched a construction team, and work on the villa began.
As the renovation progressed day by day, time passed, and soon it was April.
College started.
Ichin and Utaha became fourth-year students, while Yukino entered her third year.
Oh right—and Eriri too. She had become a third-year student at Tokyo University of the Arts. Just like Yukino, her third-year coursework was heavy, so her time at the company would inevitably decrease.
After breakfast in the morning, Ichin drove Utaha and Yukino to campus together.
They compared their schedules and found that on Mondays, all three of them only had morning classes. In the afternoon, none of them had classes, so after lunch they could leave campus directly.
On the other days, Ichin and Utaha didn't have that many classes either. Yukino, however, except for Fridays, was basically fully booked from Tuesday to Thursday, with only the occasional free period.
Sitting in the car, Utaha looked at Yukino's schedule on her phone and sighed. "That's really a lot of classes. And it feels like so much of it is memorization. Also, you should be able to take the bar exam soon, right?"
Nodding, Yukino said, "Besides the bar exam, when I went to register yesterday, one of our department professors suggested that I continue on to a master's program. I'm still thinking about it—I haven't decided whether I want to keep studying."
Hearing this, Ichin said immediately, "You should go for it. As long as you're confident, there's no problem continuing. It'll be good for you too. If you keep studying and later open your own law firm, it'll be a strong credential to have."
"I'll think about it a bit more."
Even though Yukino said she would consider it, Ichin could still see the interest in her eyes through the rearview mirror.
Unlike other majors, in law, continuing on to a master's degree was actually a very good option.
Once today's classes were over and they got home, they could talk it over with Yukino again.
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