Starting a New Life in Tokyo by Inheriting a Shopping Street [69]

"Where is it? If it’s not too far, we could try it."

"I’m in, too."

"Probably northern Taitō Ward? Less than an hour by train."

"Eh—that’s pretty far. I’m not really feeling it."

"We could stop by Ueno Zoo and see the pandas? Or visit Sensō-ji? And if it’s northern Taitō Ward...isn’t that Ryūsen? Ichiyō Memorial Museum is around there too—I’ve always wanted to check it out."

"You have to line up at least two hours for the pandas... But well, it's worth it."

"What’s the Ichiyō Memorial Museum?"

"The female author Higuchi Ichiyō! You don’t even know her? Read a book sometime."

"So... are we going for ramen or not?"

"Yeah, let’s go after seeing the pandas. But forget about Ichiyō whatever—I have zero interest."

"You... Higuchi Ichiyō is the lady on the 5,000-yen bill!"

"Eh??? Really?! Then I'm interested! Let's go, let's go!"

"..."

Watching the three girls’ playful bickering, Chiba Shuuichi stroked his chin thoughtfully. Speaking of pandas... he'd never actually seen one.

Now that he wasn’t as busy as in his previous life, and since he lived close enough to Ueno Zoo, he should probably see one with his own eyes.

It'd be a shame to miss it twice in two lifetimes.

"Don’t stare too much, Chiba. They're from a different world. Guys like us are destined for solitude."

Uchida Yae had appeared by his seat at some point, patting Shuuichi’s shoulder with a dramatic, chuuni tone.

Chiba Shuuichi glanced up at him. "We aren't the same."

"..." Uchida opened his mouth, hesitated, then closed it again. Finally, he gave up and said, "Alright, I already know what you're going to say—don’t bother."

"Very good, Uchida. You’re growing up nicely. Congratulations," Chiba Shuuichi teased.

"..." Uchida Yae immediately went blank-faced.

...

At noon, Chiba Shuuichi and Akiyama An quietly left the classroom separately, then secretly met up on the rooftop. Shuuichi still hadn’t returned the picnic blanket he'd borrowed last time, so they just used it again.

As he spread the blanket, he noticed An-chan furtively looking around, clearly plotting something sneaky.

After confirming no one else was around and her sister wasn’t here yet, An-chan leaned forward, poking Shuuichi’s shoulder with her slender finger.

"Chiba-kun, I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" Shuuichi sat cross-legged and looked up at her.

An-chan took a deep breath, carefully wrote the character for "person" on her palm, and then swallowed it.

Shuuichi watched her antics with amusement. "What are you doing? Confessing?"

"Eh? Chiba-kun guessed already?" An-chan paused, then tightened her expression seriously. "That's right, I want to confess to you, Chiba-kun."

"Oh. Please continue, then."

Shuuichi waited eagerly to see what she’d do next. He had no idea what was running through this dumb glutton’s head—how had she locked onto him, just like her older sister?

But to be honest, this was his first confession, ever, in both lifetimes. He intended to savor it.

An-chan, having lost her momentum from the interruption, straightened her thoughts a bit before seriously bowing and declaring loudly:

"I like you, Chiba-kun! Please go out with me!"

"So...what exactly do you like about me?" Shuuichi asked, genuinely confused. Especially since the minds of everyone in the Akiyama family seemed to operate on entirely different circuits from ordinary people.

"I don't know," An-chan stood upright and shook her head confidently.

"You don’t know? Then how can you say you like me?" Shuuichi stared at her speechlessly.

"Because you have to like someone to go out with them, right? So since I want to date Chiba-kun, obviously I must like Chiba-kun," An-chan said, feeling her logic perfectly sound.

Shuuichi’s brain nearly crashed. What kind of reasoning was this?

"Chiba-kun? So...will you date me?" Seeing him silent, An-chan waved a hand in front of his face.

For a moment, Shuuichi felt like he'd gone back to a week ago. "No."

"Oh, okay. Then I'll ask again tomorrow."

Rejected once again, An-chan showed no hint of disappointment, treating it like just another daily task.

In her worldview, she clearly intended to imitate her mom’s method from back then—persistently confessing until all rivals were beaten, and they finally dated.

"Rooftop confession mission failed. Next time...maybe chocolates?" An-chan quietly murmured to herself, hesitation clearly visible on her face.

"Chocolates… gulp …maybe I should switch to a love letter… Chiba-kun might not even like chocolates... Mm, that's right..."

Shuuichi listened helplessly, caught between laughter and tears. Seriously? Confessing but unwilling to part with chocolates—just how gluttonous could one girl get?

At that moment, footsteps came from the stairwell.

An-chan jumped nervously, quickly whispering to Shuuichi, "Chiba-kun, remember to keep my confession a secret! Don’t tell Onee-chan, or she'll nag endlessly, maybe even sabotage me."

"…Alright." Shuuichi held back his laughter and nodded.

When Akiyama Tsuki arrived, An-chan was already seated properly. Seeing her sister's posture, Tsuki immediately grew suspicious.

"You did something deserving of punishment again, didn’t you?"

"I did not! Onee-chan can't slander me without evidence," An-chan protested, her eyes wandering off to the side.

Tsuki sighed, too weary to press further. "Next time, when you lie, sound more convincing and don't look away."

"Oh, got it!" An-chan nodded as if enlightened.

Chiba Shuuichi and Tsuki exchanged glances, both silently understanding each other’s thoughts.

Now you see how tough I have it?

Yeah, you've worked hard. This little idiot really is hopeless.

"Chiba-kun…"

In just that short exchange, An-chan had already opened her bento and started eating, casting longing looks at Shuuichi’s lunchbox.

"Alright." Shuuichi laughed, opening his lunch and passing her some tempura.

"Chiba-kun, you're the best~" An-chan happily stuffed it into her mouth, squinting blissfully.

"Oh right, three girls from class are planning to eat at your family’s ramen shop this weekend. What are your thoughts on that?"

While eating, Shuuichi suddenly remembered what happened during break and mentioned it.

Tsuki swallowed her food, thought briefly, then replied casually, "Doesn’t matter. Everyone knows what my family is like already. I don't care what they think."

"Has something like this happened before?" Shuuichi asked.

"Yeah, it’s not a big deal. Mom has experience dealing with it. I'll just remind her again tonight," Tsuki said, not concerned at all.

"Good to hear," Shuuichi didn’t say more. But somehow, given Akiyama-san’s personality… could she really handle it smoothly?

He wondered if Tsuki had felt troubled in the past. After all, teenagers’ pride was fragile…

"Chiba-kun…"

Shuuichi looked up at An-chan’s call, only to see her eyes again fixed longingly on his lunchbox, drool sparkling on her lips.

Alright. Clearly, this was a dumb glutton utterly incapable of embarrassment.

---

This is a fan translation of 从继承商店街开始东京生活 by 净消尘土 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!