Starting a New Life in Tokyo by Inheriting a Shopping Street [34]

Chiba Shuuichi quietly lifted the curtain, finding Nase Sumire still sleeping soundly and peacefully.

But her face remained flushed—clearly still feverish.

He gently touched her forehead again with the back of his hand. "This isn’t good… It's slightly better, but still hot. Should I call the nurse back?"

Nase-sensei didn’t stir, continuing to sleep deeply. Chiba stood still for a moment, silently watching her.

After several minutes, Nase-sensei’s eyelids fluttered slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes, appearing somewhat dazed.

“Chiba? Why are you still here? What time is it—shouldn't you be back in class?”

Chiba studied her carefully before responding, “It's 10:30. Five minutes left before PE class ends. No need to worry about oversleeping, Sensei.”

“Oh… Then you should head back to the classroom soon. Next is math, don’t even think about skipping that one,” Nase-sensei lightly warned.

“No rush. I'll wait until the nurse comes back—I can't just leave you alone here.”

Before she could protest, Chiba casually added:

“Speaking of which, Sensei, you’re really a deep sleeper. With all the noise I made earlier, I’m surprised you didn’t wake up.”

Nase-sensei instantly stiffened, eyes shifting slightly as she rubbed her face. She quickly retrieved her glasses from beside the pillow, slipping them on.

“Probably because I'm sick and tired. What noise did you make? The nurse’s office should stay quiet, so don’t do it again. You might disturb others.”

Chiba smiled faintly. “Nothing much—my video accidentally played out loud on my phone.”

“Oh, is that so? Be more careful next time,” Nase-sensei replied with a casual nod, pretending not to care.

Just as the conversation was slipping into awkward silence, footsteps sounded from outside.

A striking female teacher entered, her curvaceous figure rivaling Ogawa Fumika’s. She wore a white lab coat over a purple turtleneck sweater, paired attractively with black stockings and a short skirt. Her shoulder-length hair added an extra charm.

“What were you chatting about? Why did it go quiet as soon as I walked in?” Harada Akane, the school nurse, greeted them warmly.

“We were talking about you, Harada-sensei,” Chiba responded effortlessly.

Beside him, Nase-sensei gave him a subtle sideways glance.

Since when did this guy become such a smooth liar?

“Oh? What about me? Were you secretly badmouthing me?” Harada teased playfully.

“We were saying how attractive Harada-sensei is. Honestly, if you weren't already engaged, I'd probably try to ask you out once I graduate,” Chiba replied with natural charm.

Because of her good looks, news of Harada-sensei’s engagement last year had spread quickly among male students.

Hearing this, Harada laughed melodiously and glanced teasingly toward Nase Sumire.

“Is this boy from your class? He's quite the sweet-talker—though I assume you didn't teach him that, did you?”

Clearly, the two teachers were close friends.

Nase Sumire rolled her eyes. “You know very well I wouldn’t teach him that. He used to be pretty dull, actually. Who knows what happened to turn him into such a slick talker now.”

Right, sudden wealth happened—damn rich people!

But being rich really boosts a person’s confidence…

Chiba spread his hands helplessly. “Is Nase-sensei holding a personal grudge? Just because I said earlier you weren't my type, but complimented Harada-sensei instead, you're accusing me unfairly? If I was truly just flattering people, obviously I’d start by complimenting my homeroom teacher. Clearly, I meant every word.”

Harada giggled delightedly, while Nase Sumire nearly exploded in frustration.

Does this kid have a vendetta against me? What good comes from provoking me like this?

Of course there’s something to gain!

Chiba had a clear goal: recruiting capable shop owners who met his system’s standards to open stores in the shopping street.

Even though Harada-sensei was engaged, her situation stable, and her job decent, there was no harm in planting a few friendly seeds in advance. After all…

Life is unpredictable.

Cough, he reminded himself, not to overthink things. Maybe one day Harada-sensei would want to quit her job. At that point, she could easily run a pharmacy or clinic on the shopping street.

If his shopping street had a pharmacy or clinic with boosted effects, that’d be a valuable personal safety net.

Living long enough to enjoy everything life offered—that was a hard lesson learned from his previous life.

Harada having a fiancé was a minor issue. The system tracked "sense of belonging," not some dating-sim-style affection points he needed to cultivate personally.

With so many empty shops, it was better to put them to use now rather than later. Besides, maybe Harada-sensei had relatives who fit the criteria perfectly?

With Japan's high divorce rate, an engagement wasn’t exactly foolproof…

Chiba quickly shook off those thoughts. I can't keep thinking this way—I’ve definitely been corrupted by Akiyama Tsuki!

“What are you spacing out about? Harada-sensei is back now; hurry back to class already,” Nase-sensei reminded him irritably.

“Oh? Why was it important to wait for me?” Harada asked curiously.

“Nase-sensei is sick, and you weren’t here. I helped her measure her temperature, gave her fever medication, and insisted she rest until you returned. There should be no issues, right?” Chiba explained promptly.

Harada smiled approvingly, giving him a thumbs-up. “Nicely done! If you hadn’t watched her, she definitely wouldn’t have rested properly.”

“I’ll leave things to Harada-sensei then. I'm off,” Chiba said simply, hearing the class bell ring, and promptly left the nurse's office.

Watching him go, Harada chuckled. “That student of yours is pretty interesting.”

“Interesting, my foot,” Nase-sensei muttered through clenched teeth, irritated again by the memory of being insulted.

Harada teased gently, “Are you actually bothered because he complimented me and not you?”

“You…” Nase-sensei struggled to sit up, then suddenly froze, quickly retreating under the blanket again, tightly pressing her legs together. “Just wait until I'm healthy again!”

“I’m not waiting; revenge should come immediately.” Harada picked up a tongue depressor and casually grabbed the stethoscope. “Come here, let me give you another checkup.”

“No need, I'm already feeling better,” Nase-sensei protested weakly, visibly shuddering at the sight of the stethoscope.

“Stop being difficult, you're an adult. Hurry up!” Harada pressed the tongue depressor lightly against her face.

Reluctantly, Nase opened her mouth, enduring the examination of her throat and tonsils, followed by an even more reluctant heart-and-lung check.

“No major problems,” Harada concluded, returning to the desk. “Just recheck your temperature. If your fever’s down, there’s nothing to worry—wait. Did you take anything besides fever medicine?”

“No?” Nase shook her head, puzzled.

“Are you sure?” Harada questioned again.

Nase firmly denied it once more.

Harada checked the medications on the desk suspiciously.

If Nase didn’t use it, then why is a suppository-type cold medicine missing?

But if Nase had used it, why hide it? Considering their close friendship, there’d be no reason to keep it a secret…

Suddenly, an image of the earlier male student surfaced in Harada’s mind—along with memories of the oddly intimate atmosphere between teacher and student, and Nase’s subtle annoyance when he'd praised Harada instead…

Harada gasped softly, suddenly connecting the dots…

---

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!