บท 49: Chapter 48: Offer.

If you see any mistakes, feel free to write. I'll fix it.

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"Talk." Blake was taking deep breaths. It was hard for him to move his body, and his body was covered in sweat. He licked his lips and tasted his sweat. His wet hair was sticking to his forehead.

"S-Sir, are you in a special situation? If so, I can call you later."' A hesitant voice came from the phone on the other side of the room. The person predicted with Blake's heavy breaths and seemed to act accordingly.

"I said talk." Blake leaned his arm forward. Even though his muscles healed in the next second, every move hurt him. The strings tangled around his body tensed with his movements, making it more difficult for him to move.

"Y-Yes. I've got where you want it. Tokyo Olympic Stadium will undergo renovations. Companies are competing with each other to renovate the stadium, and if you let us, we will go into this renovation.''

"Does it suit my wishes?" Blake's knowledge of Japan was too much to underestimate, but he only knew the name of Tokyo's Olympic Stadium.

"Yes, if you'll let us, we'll get you as good as you want."

"Okay, get in the bidding." Blake could feel the rope rubbing against his skin. Various parts of his body were burning from the friction.

''Yes, sir. We're in right now. Have a nice day.''

The phone hung up, and the sound of meat hitting meat again dominated the room. The sound of juicy meat clashes was accompanied by the gentle creak of the stretched rope.

"I didn't know you had a company." In the room, Rumi's wild voice was heard. There was a distinct excitement in her voice.

"The companies of the villain I've beaten. Rather than disappear with them, I preferred to take it for myself.'' The sound of slapping juicy meat reappeared. The sound of forced pushing of the air could be heard.

"It's a good idea. Should I do that? I want to benefit our family." Rumi's eyes were burning with the desire for war, with a wild smile on her face.

"Our family, ha. Yes, you can."' Rumi's words caused Blake to smile warmly.

"Anyway, let's finish this. Nejire will be here soon."

''Ok. I was starting to get hungry.

Blake took a horse stance. He spread his feet wide and lowered his center of gravity. He tensed his muscles, aligning his fisted arms on either side of his stomach.

Grggg!!

The strained voices of the ropes were heard along with Blake's movements. Starting from various parts of the room and ending in Blake's joints, the ropes stretched to the limit with Blake's small movements.

The mood changed with Blake getting serious, an unconscious pressure fell on Rumi's back. But she wasn't afraid, smiling wider than before, burning with a desire to fight.

Rumi bent her body, placed her hands on her sides. Her posture looked like a rabbit ready to jump. Equal to Blake's, the rope stretched with every move, working her muscles more than she should have and increasing the power used.

That was the purpose of this room. The goal was to make things that are normally simple for them more challenging by restricting Blake and Rumi's movements as much as possible and to provide noticeable improvement in people who are difficult to develop like them.

And it was working. Especially Rumi, whose melee development and physical strength development had stopped, loved this room. She already loved fighting with Blake, but after this room, it had become a daily activity for the duo.

First of all, Momo Yaoyorozu was a girl who had met with what could be called nobles and lived her life as a noble. Yes, even though she was rich, she didn't see herself as a princess, but she grew up among rich people with a different stance and self-confidence than normal people, and she was a girl who knew what to do or what stance to take in such situations.

But in the current situation, she certainly didn't know what to do.

Especially after the last show at school, she didn't know how to treat Teka Todoroki next to her. She wanted to show her respect she didn't even show for All Might, but she worried it might be too much.

"Let's go in." Nejire, a member of their small group, smiled at the group before opening the door in front of her and inviting others inside.

"Welcome to our little poor house," Nejire spoke with little, childish joy. She always wanted to say that word she saw in the movies.

"I don't think it's a poorhouse. It's as good as our house, it's just smaller." Momo walked away from Teka in a few steps, put her hand against the doorway, and stroked the boards before entering the house. The material she felt and the general structure of the house was familiar materials, and as far as she knew, they were not cheap materials at all.

Fuyumi looked down at the ground, but she was looking around. It would be a lie if she said she didn't wonder what the house blake lived in was like.

Teka folded her arms under her chest and continued to follow the trio in silence.

The quartet came together for different reasons.

The four of them met at school. Before the events at the school started, Fuyumi had asked Momo if Blake was at the school. When she got a negative answer, she asked him if she knew about Blake's house, and as a result, she learned that she had plans to come here too, and asked her to guide the two of them.

They ran into Nejire just as they were leaving school. She came like a rocket and started asking Teka questions without caring about anything.

Nejire's questions were so irrelevant and disconnected that even the high IQ Momo, let alone normal people, had a hard time keeping up with her.

Teka, the target of the questions, answered the questions in her way without any problems and kept up with Nejire. When Nejire saw that she could keep up with her, he increased the amount and speed of her questions.

Contrary to what was expected, Teka did not resent these invading questions or worsen her attitude towards Nejire by answering the questions she wanted. Of course, the biggest factor in this was that Nejire's questions had no ulterior motives, only to satisfy her spotless curiosity.

Even someone as stern and cold to strangers as Teka could not resist Nejire's infantile nature or give her a bad response.

Nejire regularly put her shoes on the side and walked in with a relaxed smile on her face. She folded her hands behind her back and bounced down the hall.

"They should be down there by now." She made her way down the stairs to the lower floor.

"What about them? Do you have guests in the house?'' Momo turned at the end of the corridor and went downstairs. He tilted his head again. If they had guests, they could fulfill Blake's promise later.

"Guest? No, Rumi-nee-chan is not a guest." Nejire turned her head to Momo and shook it.

"Rumi-nee-chan?" Fuyumi and Momo couldn't make sense of Nejire's words. They knew that Rumi and Nejire had been close lately, especially since Momo had seen them quite close yesterday.

But Nejire's words were extremely sincere. It was like she was calling out to her real big sister.

Nejire saw their confusion but instead of answering, she kept walking. They were going to find out soon enough.

The four of them went downstairs. The lower floor was a training ground twice the size of the house. Inside were various physical education equipment, Quirk training rooms, and a large arena. It looked more like a QYM facility than a basement.

But they didn't stop here. Nejire took them to the other side of the room.

Teka began to look around as she walked a few steps behind the trio. The size of the downstairs didn't surprise her, but the man her grandchild fell in love with was beginning to pique her interest.

Unlike the others, she could see that every tool here could benefit one's development. There were no unnecessary tools. In addition, all the tools came from Teka's companies, some of them were custom-made, no expense was spared.

She was wondering who could put so much money into the whole house. What would have happened to make the house safe, the general structure and every part of it so high quality and safe?

As Teka's steps followed, she forgot the girls' voices. All she could feel was the unknown feeling rising in her heart.

It was as if his world would change the moment he met the person behind the door. She didn't know how, but today, she felt like her whole life was going to change here.

She shook his head, a self-desiring smile appeared on her lips. She brushed aside these ridiculous feelings. She must have been affected by the emotional turmoil she's been experiencing lately.

Nejire came to the door and opened it. He revealed the room and what was inside.

''What?''

***

Blake turned his right leg, a full circle over his shoulder, and took a hard step to the ground before punching the bunny woman who approached him.

Bam!

He put his foot on the ground, the floor shook slightly. The dust on the ground is up in the air.

Blake saw the opportunity coming and punched forward. While the layer of dust wasn't enough to hide his fist, it was enough to create an illusion, and that's what he wanted.

The layer of dust was split in two by the body that came over him. After the sheet, Rumi came out with a smile that did not match the momentary situation.

As soon as Rumi emerged from the layer of dust, she was faced with a punch. But she wasn't surprised or hesitated, forcibly flipping her body through the air between the ropes that strained her movements, and grabbing Blake's arm with her legs.

It all happened so suddenly. Rumi wrapped her legs around Blake's arm and put her head back, dodging the punch. She turned Blake's arm, bent her body slightly, and gave her weight to Blake.

Rumi quickly wrapped the rope around Blake's neck, which wrapped around her left ankle. She swung her other leg around Blake's arm and tied his entire arm to herself with rope. With one swift movement, she wrapped the various strings of her arms around Blake.

Blake fell to the ground with Rumi's attack, he had to fall. With Rumi's stance and her ropes wrapped around him, he had no choice but to fall to the ground.

Pat!

The two fell to the ground in a loud voice.

"Give up?" Rumi raised an eyebrow.

"I can still go on." Despite Blake's condition, he spoke in a relaxed voice.

Blake's arm was in the arm lock by Rumi. Rumi's long legs extended below his chin, allowing her to cradle his head in the lock. He could feel enough force in his arm, shoulder, and head that most people's bones had already shattered.

Rumi's and Blake's bodies were constrained. Rumi's ropes were used to her advantage, making the lock even worse. Blake would never be able to get out of this lock as long as Rumi didn't pull her legs.

"What do you want to eat?" Despite all this, Blake spoke with a relaxed demeanor. Although his arm, neck, and head were locked, it did not affect his speech in any way.

''Hm, how about meat? Nejire praised your meat dishes several times. I want to try it." Rumi accompanied Blake. Without loosening her grip in any way, she told Blake her request.

"Steaming, frying, scalding... Which one do you want?'' Blake put his head against Rumi's leg and started looking up at the ceiling. It was as if he had no intention of moving or getting rid of the lock.

"I want something steak-style." Rumi's voice had an aspirational tone. She'd never eaten Blake's meat meal, and she knew it'd be great at it like any other meal, so she was already getting hungry.

"Then we're eating Steak today." Blake acted as he spoke.

He gave strength to his legs to lift his body. His body was lifted into the air with the help of his legs. Just as Rumi was about to react, he dropped his body to the ground.

BAM!

Rumi's back hit the ground, air forced out of her lungs. Her grip loosened for a second. That's what Blake needed.

He forcibly broke the lock on his arm, untied the strings in a tenth of a second, and threw himself at Rumi.

"Checkmate," After placing his arm in Rumi's neck and his leg under her lung, he spoke.

Rumi's eyes moved quickly. She started looking for a way out of here. However, there was no way out of this situation, as her body gave up as Blake's leg pressed against her lungs.

"I lost." Contrary to her words, she had a nice smile on her face. Rumi was a woman who didn't care about losing or winning in wars, all she cared about were fights that could improve her and make her stronger than she was.

This fight had given him so much. Although she did not experience a qualitative increase, she could feel her combat experience and the power she could unleash increase. And that was enough for her.

"159-157. I'm ahead." Blake pulled his hand back and placed his head around Rumi's neck. After immaculately sighing at his lover's sweaty feminine scent, he placed his lips on her skin and kissed her lightly.

Rumi was surprised by Blake's move. But the surprise was scattered with Blake's kisses and replaced by a warm, charming smile. The smile came from the deepest part of Rumi's heart. Her eyes lit up with love.

She wrapped her arms around Blake's head and buried her face in his hair as white as he. She inhaled Blake's masculine, fresh, sweaty scent. She started rubbing his hair with one hand and pressing his head against the back of his neck with the other, intensifying the kisses.

Her skin tingled slightly as his lips touched hers, the kiss turning the tingling into a sweet flame. Blake's heavy breathing tickled her neck. The fact that they were wrapped in ropes made their hug even stronger.

"What?" As the two immersed themselves in their moments, two shattering shouts echoed through the room. Blake and Rumi stopped what they were doing and looked where the voice came from.

There were four people in the open door of the room. These were Momo, Fuyumi, Teka, and Nejire, in turn.

The voice came from Momo and Fuyumi. As the two stared at them with puzzled expressions, an extra bit of pain appeared in Fuyumi's sad expression. Teka frowned in anger as she gave Blake a confused look.

"Oh, Welcome." Blake didn't expect to see Teka here. Still smiling towards the group, he waved his hand without hesitation to show them his awkward situation with Rumi.

***

The living room of Blake and the girls' house had a tangible tense atmosphere. No one in the room was opening their mouths, eyes were talking instead of mouths. The trio, who had just arrived home, was trying to digest what they had just seen.

Momo was the least surprised of them all. She wasn't that surprised as she glanced at the two girls sitting comfortably on the couch in between and Blake preparing dinner in the kitchen.

The biggest factor in that was what she saw yesterday and what happened before. It was well known to the school that Rumi toured with Blake and Nejire at the sports festival, and she had a few doubts after what she saw yesterday. What was surprising was that they were so close.

However, after thinking about it for a while, she decided that it was quite normal. Blake, like them, should have started an internship in his first year, and even though their relationship started after a year, they still had two years, and it was only natural that they would improve their relationship in the meantime.

Teka was more angry than surprised at first. Not only was Blake the one who broke Fuyumi's heart, but she was mad at him for cheating on a naïve girl like Nejire, and she was planning to beat him up. But what Nejire said afterward caused her to be surprised.

Nejire had said that she approved of Blake's harem request and the relationship. Stranger to them, Teka didn't need to say a word, as the second party agreed.

Fuyumi was the most shocked of them all. She was shocked to know that her first love was a harem request

An idea like the Harem wasn't that much of a thing. She's heard before that people who have gained power in some countries do so. The men who gained power began to create harems, succumbing to their desires.

But this was not so common in the modern world. Young girls like Fuyumi, let alone valuing their love, were very possessive and opposed to the idea of sharing the men they loved. They wanted to live their love alone and have the man they loved alone.

Although Fuyumi wasn't that possessive, she wanted the man she loved to be just her and to have her in his eyes. To be a little selfish, she wanted to have all of Blake's love.

But that love has already been cut in half, and two women have already taken up a place in the heart of the man she loves. As it further complicated her complex feelings, the pain in her heart grew.

On the one hand, there was a tiny glimmer of hope inside him. Maybe he too...

"So you're saying you're in a harem relationship. And both girls agree with that?'' Teka crossed her charming leg over the other and asked as she sipped the offered tea. She opened her closed eyes slightly and looked at Blake.

''Yeah. Nejire, what do you want?"While the girls were sitting in the living room, Blake was cooking in the kitchen. She asked Nejire, who was sitting on the couch.

Nejire pressed down on the seat with her knees, her body propped up against the seat. She rested her chin on the back of the chair and began to shake her hands and legs. "I want a steak too."

"Okay, I'm getting it ready." Blake returned to Momo and the others after Nejire. "Do you want anything?"

"No, thank you."

"I won't take it."

"If it doesn't bother you, I can have one."

Fuyumi and Teka refused, while Momo asked. The taste of the leaf Blake had made was still on her palate, she had not forgotten since yesterday. She wanted to taste Blake's dishes once again, and she wanted to taste this dish that the two had been waiting impatiently for.

Blake shook her head with a friendly smile and began to prepare.

"Good choice, Momo-chan. Ne~ You know? Blake's food is very good, but especially the meat dishes are sooooooooo delicious. The meat he makes is so juicy, you can feel the broth in your mouth with every bite. It's also very soft and delicious..." Nejire straightened her seat and stared at the ceiling. As she described his meat dish, she brooded as if she were eating it.

Rumi's ears were sewn up, her belly roared in the words of Nejire. Nejire's narrative was implicit, but her heated expression and swallowing after each speech increased Rumi's hunger.

"Teka, why did you come here?" Blake habitually sang in a style close to Teka. The girls turned to Teka at Blake's words. Fuyumi, in particular, did not expect that Blake would address her grandmother in such a close tone.

Blake stopped cooking. He bit his tongue. That's what he called her because of his habit. He waited a few seconds for a reaction from Teka.

"The real reason we're here is to beat you up. It's also Nejire's suggestion." Contrary to expectations, Teka did not respond to Blake's mistake.

"And please address me with the appendix of respect." Still, she decided to warn him. He knew he needed to draw a line in their relationship.

"I'm sorry. It's my fault."'

No more words were said. Teka sipped her tea while Blake continued to cook. The girls continued to stare at Teka and Blake, amid the awkward air between the two.

"So why do you want to beat me up?" Blake's finished marinating the meat. He asked when he dipped the meat in the mixture he made.

"This stupid grandchild is in love with you." Teka pointed to Fuyumi, who sat next to her with her finger, giving occasional glances at the environment and Blake.

''!!!'' Fuyumi didn't expect Teka to reveal her feelings so definitively. She clung to Teka's arms as she blushed up to her ears.

"Grandma, what are you doing? Please stop talking nonsense. I-I... Its... not... I'm not ... in love with him."' She brushed aside her fear of Teka and began tugging at her arms. Her voice was getting hoarse. She hid her flushed face like a ripe tomato behind her arm.

"I know, but you're not going to come to beat me up for this, are you?" Blake turned his head to them.

''D-Do you know?" Fuyumi was surprised that the man she loved knew how she felt about him. She buried her face deep inside Teka's arm. The redness on her face had spread to her neck.

''Yeah. With reactions like that, only an idiot wouldn't understand that." Blake nodded, pointing at her flushed face. He had realized Fuyumi's love for him in their second meeting.

How could he not? A girl comes up to him and blushes every time she looks at him. While even this reaction alone was enough to understand things, Fuyumi's cute and timid demeanor helped him confirm her feelings every second that passed.

He couldn't believe it at first. He had a neutral view of the love at first sight, but he didn't expect someone to fall in love with him in such a way. However, over time he accepted this and tried to develop his feelings for Fuyumi. Even though he learned about Fuyumi's feelings, he would tell her his feelings.

"Ummmmm...". A shameful moth came out of Fuyumi's mouth. She didn't dare look at Blake's face. She hid her head in Teka's back and waited to die in her shame. Right now, dying or going somewhere and hiding seemed like a very good option.

"Here, this stupid girl is in love with you. But yesterday she saw you kissing someone else, or rather Nejire, and she is heartbroken. I've come to make my grandson regret that you lived it."

Blake nodded with understanding. That's the kind of person Teka was. No matter how invasive she was, she was a woman who would regret anyone who upset her family.

"Girls, which one of you is the main woman?" Teka left the tea plate in an elegant gesture and put her hands on her legs. She stopped talking to Blake and abruptly changed her target.

Teka knew that there was order in harem relations. Rankings such as first, second, and third woman were common in this relationship, while she was counted as the leader of the main women's group and the most influential.

Each woman's word was important, but in one case, if the main woman had spoken, no one could open her mouth. It would be fair to say that you're the one who has the biggest say after the man in charge of the relationship. In some relationships, she might even have more say than a man.

"Main woman? There's no such thing in our relationship. We're both Blake's lovers." Rumi opened her hand and refused. One of her favorite things about their relationship was that Blake didn't discriminate or put anything like the main woman.

Two of them were her precious lovers. There was no distinction, there was no difference in attitude, there was no position and there was nothing like it. Their feelings for them may have been different, but that didn't change the fact that they both took up equal space in their lives.

"Although, he doesn't love us equally, but he cares equally. There is no distinction in his desire, there is no distinction in our place in his arms. His trembling on us is equal and he cares a lot about our opinions."

Rumi turned her head to the man he loved. Blake was mumbling in a light shambles as he prepared food for them with a smile on his face. His meticulous actions and careful preparation washed Rumi's heart with a warm feeling.

"It's a good relationship." Teka nodded with approval, her lips curled up, creating a charismatic smile.

Normally, she didn't like relationships like this. Especially a peer like the Harem Lord and her careless attitude towards her women infuriated her. But Rumi's honest and sincere words made her appreciate their relationship.

"What do you think of other women who will come into Blake's life? As you can imagine, you won't be the only woman in his life." This time it was Momo who asked. She was intrigued by the subject and was curious about the attitude of these women.

"I don't care as long as I can be with Blake."

"I was against it at first, but as long as my future sisters are like Rumi-nee-chan, I accept it." Apart from valuing her relationship with Blake, Rumi cares for Nejire, she was also someone who did her best to fight alongside Blake. She didn't mind if her future sisters were like this.

"Then…" Teka turned to Fuyumi, who was still hiding on her back. The redness on Fuyumi's face was gone, leaving only a few healthy reds on her cheeks. She had lost much of her shame, and it looked like her head would soon come out of hiding.

"How about joining them, Fuyumi?" Teka suggested, pointing at the girls.

"Ha?" Fuyumi's rash disappeared, she looked at her grandmother's face with pure confusion. She didn't know what kind of face she should put on when she was trying to make sense of her words.

'Just think. Blake does not discriminate between his lovers. He values every one of them. There is no such thing as the main woman or rank in their relationship. Also, the two girls are good guys, especially

Nejire and they're open to their new sisters. If Blake wants you too, there's nothing wrong with being with him, right?"

Fuyumi raised her finger and wanted to refuse. Her logic was that it wasn't true and that in many ways it was wrong. There should only be one man and one woman in a relationship. Having more was a big problem.

But she also knew it was her only chance with Blake. Blake wouldn't leave the two girls just for her. If she wanted to be with his first love, the opportunity before her was her only way.

Fuyumi's feelings were in turmoil. Her logic tells her to reject it; Her heart told her to accept it and take one chance to have a relationship with her first love.

Amid Fuyumi's complex emotions, she felt a hand stroking her hair. Thinking it was her grandmother's, she closed her eyes and tried to calm her feelings as she felt the tender touch.

"You don't have to push yourself. I can wait for you." But it wasn't her grandmother who patted her on the head. Instead, it was the man who monopolized her heart, but also the man who broke it, the creator of her current situation.

She opened her eyes. She saw Blake looking at herself with compassion. He had a gentle smile as he rubbed her head.

Babump! Babump!

That image was too much for her heart. Her face was getting warmer, her heart was beating every second. A mixture of shame and happiness, emotions prevailed over all other emotions and gained a place in her heart. She did something she didn't expect of herself.

"I don't want to refuse, but I'm hesitant to accept it. How about I fake a relationship for a while and disapprove of my feelings?'' She could never do that in normal times, but the strength of Blake's attitude made her do it.

Blake looked at her with enlarged eyes before nicely looking at her the next second. He didn't expect that from this girl.

"Of course," He was not one to reject the girl he was interested in. He was going to give the girl a fake relationship opportunity to confirm her feelings. Of course, he would make sure that he had drowned her in so much emotion in his fake relationships that she couldn't escape.

"T-Thank you." She held her hand, which was stroking her head, and closed her eyes. Blake's head caress felt better than she thought.

"Go with the girls. I've prepared something for you." After a while, Blake pulled her hand back and suggested it.

Fuyumi didn't want to let Blake's hand go, but she didn't think she could stay like this any longer. The scent caressing her nose was very appealing, and she was curious about Blake's cooking, though she didn't say it outright.

After receiving approval from her grandmother, she moved to the table an uncertain time ago and turned to the girls waiting for her. The look on the girls' faces, it was like they knew she was coming here.

Blake looked at the girls. When the girls began to eat their meals, he sat next to Teka.

"It's been a while since I've seen you, Teka-san." Blake leaned his back against the seat and threw his head back and began watching the ceiling.

"Yes, it's been a while, Blake-san." Teka held her tea gracefully and sipped it. Unlike her old relaxed demeanor next to Blake, her graceful stance and words clearly showed her distance from Blake

Rumi's ears trembled as she was eating. As she continued to eat, her ears turned to the side of the duo.

Blake spoke after watching the ceiling quietly for a while.

''With Yoshino... how did it go?"Teka's hand stopped in the air. The fingers holding the teacup were clenched. A bitter expression appeared in her sky-blue eyes.

"It doesn't look like it's gone so well. Do you want me to be involved?'' He raised his head slightly and looked at Teka's face. As he said before, he would take responsibility if necessary.

"You don't have to. There are some things you don't know, and it's already come out of you." Teka sighed tiredly. If things hadn't grown that way that night, she might have accepted Blake's offer. But because of Yoshino's unexpected words, things were already out of Blake's way.

''All Right. But if you need my help, no matter what it's about, just says it. I will be there.''

"I know. Thank you."' Teka shook her head. She knew Blake would do it.

The awkward silence reappeared. Blake continued to stare at the ceiling, Teka sitting upright, sipping her tea gracefully. An outsider could not see anything strange.

But the silence between the two was strange. Because there's never been such silence before. Whether it was daily conversations, conversations about heroes, they never stayed silent and kept talking while taking the stress out of the day.

This comfortable conversation was no longer possible for the duo.

"You still haven't told me why you're here. What did Nejire want from you?'' Blake asked the unanswered question. Teka said she came here because of Nejire, but she didn't say why.

After Teka put the teacup in, she wiped her mouth in one movement and turned to Nejire.

"I'm homeless."

"Huh?" Blake lifted his head and looked at Teka. Teka's words caused a strange expression to form on his face. He couldn't understand how a rich woman like her became homeless.

Teka's wealth was bottomless enough to buy a country, let alone a house. It seemed ridiculous to Blake that someone like her was homeless.

''Since killer stain's ideas started spreading among people, there has been an increase in the number of villains in one day and now they even appear during the day. That's why houses, hotels, etc. are scanned with great care and it is not possible to take any of them for an indefinite period."

The villain didn't know what to do. Breaking into a house, threatening people's lives for staying in a house or a hotel, etc. were among the things they could do. Despite this situation, the government, while investigating all houses and hotels, prevented purchases and stays for a while.

"In short, there's nowhere for me to stay right now. So I'm homeless."

"Your son's house?"

"Yoshino's there, I don't want to see him for a while."

"The old hotel- Oh, that's right."

He realized why she couldn't go to the old hotel. She was probably thinking about the things she had been through there with him and she thought she was cheating on Yoshino, so she couldn't stay there.

"I wanted to accept Nejire's proposal, but in her opinion, this is the house she's talking about, and I can't stay here in that situation." Teka gave him a meaningful look.

"True, but that still doesn't explain why you accepted Nejire's proposal." Blake understood everything, but he couldn't understand why Teka accepted Nejire's offer.

"I owe Nejire's parents a debt. Her father was someone who had helped me at a crucial moment in my business, and her mother had saved my life at the time. It would be fair to say that they are the people I am closest to in Japan."

"I asked them to find me a home, and Nejire seems to have somehow found out. He saw me coming home from school and suggested I stay at home. I thought she was talking about her parents' house."

"This is just something Nejire can do." Blake turned his gaze to Nejire, who ate the meat she had made with big bites and had stars in her eyes.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with you staying here. You can stay if you want." The second floor of the house had a lot of rooms. Blake, Nejire, and Rumi stayed in a room, so the rest was empty.

"As I said, I can't do this." Teka refused in a strict tone. It was hard for her to have a proper conversation with Blake. It was impossible to stay in the same house.

"But I'm not going to leave you in this position." In Blake's words, the pair's eyes intersected. An invisible electric current has emerged. Neither Teka nor Blake backed down.

After a while, Blake made a suggestion.

"Girls and I are staying together in the room near the stairs. You can stay in the room at the end of the hall, and I won't go near it unless it's necessary. We don't see each other except when you come down at mealtimes. What do you think about that?'' He knew how difficult this was for Teka.

Teka's situation was several times greater than that of a teenager who had opened up to her best friend but was rejected. There was no willfully created conflict between the two, but it was very difficult for them to look at each other's faces and talk to each other.

But in this case, Blake certainly wouldn't have left Teka alone. In a situation where it was hard to find a home even for her, he would of course open his house to his old friend.

Instead of outright rejection, Teka thought. Blake's proposal wasn't bad at all. She could stay here until she found a house and finally left. Also, with the strict rules he had set, he would have opened up a great deal of personal space for her.

Besides, she didn't have to stay home all the time. She could go out in the morning and come at night, use the house as a hotel.

"Then I thank you in advance." If it was anyone else, she wouldn't have agreed. She was a woman who would rather live outside than stay in someone else's good faith, but when she thought about her old friendship with Blake, she decided to accept it.

Teka did not know that what she was doing would be the beginning of situations that would completely change her destiny.