Seiya immediately plugged in his smartphone. While it charged, he checked his incoming calls and his inbox.
First, he wrote an email to Handa-san from the real estate company, apologizing and telling her he’d call her the next day. He also had emails from Tricen, Ashe, Moffle, and Macaron— These were all about work.
Moffle seemed to have noticed something amiss about the business trip (good intuition, the rat had), and had emailed him to say, “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but if it’s important, you’d better tell me soon, fumo.” Seiya punched out a response that skirted the issue and sent it.
He had emails from people outside the company, too. Ebisu Real Estate. Saganuma-san.
“......?” That was another real estate agent who’d been helping him find possible sites for AmaBri, and they were offering him a number of candidates.
<<Maple Industries, Kanie-sama>> the letter began.
<<Greetings. This is Saganuma of Ebisu Real Estate. Regarding the matter we discussed the other day, I’m sorry to say that I haven’t found a property that meets your exact specifications. I’m afraid such a property may be difficult to find within the metropolitan area. With the above in mind, let me offer three properties that may come close to what you’re looking for:
(1) 203 Nishitani, Tokishima City, Hiki District, Saitama Prefecture.
This is a golf course that closed in 2009. It is 20 minutes from Meikoku Station. It has good access from the city center, and the area is about 250,000 square meters, which is about one half of what you requested.
See the link below for details.
http://www.xxxxxxx.xxx
(2) 4341 Ogino, Midori Ward, Sanami Lake City, Kanagawa Prefecture
This is the former Sanami Amusement Park, which closed in 1996. The land area is about right, but unfortunately, access is bad. Prefectural Highway 524 is very narrow and unaccommodating to large buses. Other than that, it’s a promising site.
See the link below for details.
http://www.xxxxxxx.xxx
(3) 2-1-3 Kamikita, Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.
This is just for reference. The land area is 1/100th of what you hoped for, and the price is 100 times your asking price. In other words, it’s not what you wanted at all, but it’s in a great location in the heart of the city. You can’t beat it for access. It’s just a five minute walk from Shibuya Station. The land was used to house a theater owned by a troupe that broke up last year. After the earthquake, it was pointed out how bad the foundations were, and more importantly there’s pending litigation over an accident in the theater in the past, so it’s a major steal at the moment. It’s just for reference, though.
http://www.xxxxxxx.xxx
I hope you’ll consider these offers,>> the letter concluded.
A depressed mood fell over Seiya. Of the three sites that Saganuma-san had proposed, the most promising was (2); it was the same one that Handa-san had offered them through Kagaya Estates, the ruins he had wandered around just that day.
Regarding (1), the land in Saitama, he’d checked it before. Unfortunately, it was too small, and the access wasn’t as good as Saganuma-san suggested. Even the Sanami Lake property might be better.
Then as far as (3), the land in Shibuya, went... I almost feel insulted, Seiya thought angrily. Did the agent even listen to me? I’d said it had to be within the metropolitan area, a ways away from the city center, with plenty of land—those were my conditions. Who the hell is going to pay to put it in that expensive-ass place in the middle of the city? And 100 times the price?! For 1/100th of the area?! I’m not trying to rent out offices and shops. I want an amusement park out in the country where I can sit back and relax. I mean... in the heart of the city? What a joke!
Biting back his annoyance, he wrote a reply: <<Thank you very much. I’ll have a look at these offerings, but I hope you’ll continue looking for other properties.>> ...Or something like that.
Seiya was finishing up a few other things when he heard the sound of a hair dryer in the bathroom. His focus on work emails had caused him to forget about Isuzu’s current state. Now, he was feeling a little anxious again. He finished sorting through his work folder and found two emails in his private one.
One was from his step-sister, Saki; a boy in her class had asked her out, and she wasn’t sure whether to accept or not. <<What do you think, Seiya-kun?>> she was asking.
<<How should I know? You’re always getting asked out. Isn’t this the fourth time? You’ll just turn him down anyway, so stop bothering me about it.>> He typed out that clipped reply, then sent it.
The other one was from Mikasa, a girl in his class and his aide on the culture festival cafe. She wanted to discuss when to hold the first meeting to bring all the department heads together. He was annoyed; couldn’t they discuss that the next time they saw each other at school? The email’s content regarding the culture festival was just a few lines, but was followed by a baffling run-on sentence. This seemed to be the long and short of it: <<I never thought you’d offer to be manager>> and <<I’m really impressed>> and <<I hope this helps you fit in with the rest of the class>> and finally, <<I’ll do my best, so ask me anything.>>
“Hmm...” This girl, Mikasa, seemed to have the wrong idea about something. Seiya wasn’t really interested in fitting in with his classmates, and he didn’t especially care about holding a great culture festival. His acceptance of the job had been a mere whim on his part—a retreat from the realities of the park, perhaps. It annoyed him to have it interpreted this way, and he didn’t want her getting her hopes up.
But then, how to reply? These were the most annoying times to have to write an email or LINE. It was hard to convey nuance in text. A short, offhand response would give a bad impression, but writing an essay would be exhausting. Maybe I’ll just perform... he thought, typing in quickly: <<Thanks! I’m definitely doing my best! I’m sure it’s hard on you, too, but let’s make the cafe a success together!>> Would it be so chipper it was suspicious? Would she think he was making fun of her? He was holding his finger over the send button, hesitating, when Isuzu came out of the bathroom unannounced.