Madam, believe me, how can I be a minotaur?

The other apartment was right next door; it only took a few steps to reach.

Asano Makoto unlocked the door and led the two inside. He then stepped aside to allow them to inspect the place more thoroughly.

“Take a good look around and see if there are any problems. If everything is okay, we can sign the contract now.”

Asano Makoto paused before continuing, “Of course, if you’re not comfortable, you can stay one night and decide whether to sign the contract in the morning.”

This was the first step in Asano Makoto's plan: to show goodwill as a landlord and quickly close the distance between himself and the other party.

Sometimes, people are quite simple. If you treat them sincerely, they will treat you sincerely in return.

This is especially true for newcomers like Yamada Yuta, who have just graduated and are new to the unspoken rules of society.

In Japan, everyone is divided into different strata based on status, age, and gender.

In this hierarchical society, everyone does their part according to their stratum and follows the unspoken rules of society.

The most basic rule is that the lower stratum must show respect to the upper stratum.

For Yamada Yuta, a recent college graduate, Asano Makoto, who owns at least two luxury apartments in Tokyo at such a young age and is likely to become his landlord, definitely belongs to the upper stratum.

This is why he has always been so respectful towards Asano Makoto.

But now, Asano Makoto, who is of a higher stratum than himself, actually cares so much about his thoughts, which makes Yamada Yuta feel flattered.

So, after feeling the goodwill released by Asano Makoto, he immediately stopped looking around and bowed to Asano Makoto to express his gratitude: “Mr. Asano, thank you so much for your trust! We have no problems here, please sign the rental contract with us!”

Miyajima Eriko, who was still carefully inspecting various parts of the room, quickly walked over after hearing this, leaned close to Yamada Yuta's ear, and softly advised, “Yuta, we haven’t finished checking yet. Wouldn’t it be a bit much to sign the contract directly?”

However, before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Yamada Yuta's impatient wave.

Seeming to feel that he had lost face in front of the “respected” Asano Makoto, Yamada Yuta said in a somewhat reproachful tone, “Eriko, there won’t be any problems. Mr. Asano is a good person. He trusts us so much, and we can’t let him down!”

Yamada Yuta spoke very loudly. He did not deliberately hide these words from Asano Makoto, or perhaps he said these words deliberately for Asano Makoto to hear.

Although he has only just entered society, he is, after all, someone who has already started working, and he knows some of the most basic flattering skills.

Hearing this, Miyajima Eriko opened her mouth as if wanting to say something, but in the end, she said nothing.

Chapter 4: He just wants to save his little brother, what’s wrong with him!

In Japan, men have more rights than women.

Reflected in most Japanese families, men decide all matters, big and small, while women basically have no say and can only offer suggestions at most.

Miyajima Eriko knows her boyfriend’s personality very well, and she also knows that she cannot change the decision he has already made.

So, in the end, she remained silent and continued to carefully inspect the room.

She now only hopes to find the problems here as soon as possible and then solve them as soon as possible, because they will likely be living here for a long time.

On the other side, Yamada Yuta, who had apologized to Asano Makoto and chatted with him for a few words, had already started taking money out of his pocket.

He took out a thick envelope from his briefcase and handed it to Asano Makoto: “This is the deposit and the first month’s rent, a total of 200,000 yen. Please count it, Mr. Asano.”

Asano Makoto took the envelope, opened it, and took out a stack of Fukuzawa Yukichi (the person on the 10,000 yen bill) to count it simply.

A total of 20 bills, no problem.

However, after confirming that the amount was correct, Asano Makoto did not speak. Instead, he showed a somewhat troubled expression and began to ponder.

Seeing Asano Makoto's appearance, Yamada Yuta and Miyajima Eriko, who was standing beside him after inspecting the room, couldn't help but feel nervous.

“Mr… Mr. Asano? What’s wrong? Is there not enough money? There shouldn’t be any problems, do you want to count it again?” Yamada Yuta asked nervously.

“Ah!” Asano Makoto said as if he had been awakened by Yamada Yuta’s voice after spacing out, “No, that’s not it. The money is indeed enough, but…”

Speaking of this, Asano Makoto hesitated visibly.

After waiting for a while, he continued to say with that somewhat troubled look, “To be honest, this is actually my first time being a landlord, so I didn’t know the specific market conditions in this area before.”

“After you contacted me last night, I went to look at the apartments rented out by the landlords in the neighborhood and found that in terms of price…”

Hearing this, Yamada Yuta and Miyajima Eriko knew what he wanted to say.

Asano Makoto continued apologetically, “Let’s put it this way, a rent of 100,000 yen is actually not enough. You found me on a rental website, so you naturally know the prices of apartments in this area. They are generally 200,000 or even 250,000 yen or more, and even if a room like mine with such good conditions were rented for 300,000 yen, there would be no problem.”

With each sentence Asano Makoto spoke, the expressions of Yamada Yuta and Miyajima Eriko became dimmer.

They naturally knew the prices of houses in this area and how low Asano Makoto's rent was.

So low that Yamada Yuta initially thought it was some kind of new scam, maybe it was just someone's prank, maybe the address left on the website was just a ruin.

It was only after Miyajima Eriko checked on the map software that the corresponding address did have a luxury apartment, and persuaded Yamada Yuta to say, “There’s no harm in taking a look. If it’s a scam, we just won’t rent it,” that they decided to contact Asano Makoto on the website to view the apartment.

“But Mr. Asano—!”

Because it was only a verbal agreement and the contract had not yet been signed, even if Asano Makoto wanted to raise the rent or even not rent to them in the end, there would be no problem, but Miyajima Eriko still wanted to try.

After all, in Shinjuku, it is basically impossible to rent such a good house for 100,000 yen.

Seriously, even if the monthly rent for Asano Makoto's apartment were to increase to 200,000 or even 250,000 yen, they would still be making a profit.

But the problem is that the money they have left is not enough for the increased rent.

Yamada Yuta is just a graduate who has not been working in Tokyo for long and has no savings.

And she used to help out in a small shop in her hometown. She was only recently brought to Tokyo by Yamada Yuta. After coming, she has only been doing housework at home.

And because she ran away secretly from her parents, she has no extra money on her at all.

So, the money they have is actually not enough.

After taking out the deposit and the first month’s rent, they only have enough money to barely live for a month, and even the next month’s rent will have to wait until Yamada Yuta gets paid to pay it.

As for those houses outside that require three months’ deposit and one month’s rent in advance, they don’t even dare to think about it now.

Moreover, after she carefully inspected it just now, she found that this apartment was not only very large and had good lighting, but it actually didn’t have any minor problems, which made her want to live here even more.

So in the end, Miyajima Eriko still opened her mouth in a flustered manner, wanting to say something.

It's just that before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Asano Makoto.

“Of course, of course, Miss Miyajima, I know what you want to say, but please don’t get excited.”

Asano Makoto raised his hands in front of Miyajima Eriko, signaling her to calm down first, and then continued, “This is an error caused by my negligence, so of course it is my responsibility.”

“As an apology and compensation, I can still rent the house to you at the original price.”

Hearing this, Miyajima Eriko, who was originally a little flustered, finally felt relieved.

However, soon, she, who had completely calmed down, showed a vigilant expression again.

Because she suspected that she had been deceived, her beautiful eyebrows were furrowed together, and her cheeks were subconsciously puffed up slightly.

Yes, she had begun to suspect that her boyfriend’s previous guess was true, suspecting that this was a scam.

What Asano Makoto had just said about renting out a house for the first time was likely a lie, and he was likely harboring some other purpose from the beginning.

Miyajima Eriko had even begun to think about whether she should call the police immediately or leave here to avoid accidents.

As for Yamada Yuta, he had long been excluded from the topic.

When Asano Makoto said that this money was not enough to pay the rent, he was stunned aside, speechless, as if he had been betrayed by the person he trusted most.

It must be said that, despite looking a little naive, Miyajima Eriko, who had been helping her family run a small shop since finishing high school, clearly had more social experience than Yamada Yuta, who had just left university.

Just then, Asano Makoto continued, “As an exchange for renting the house to you at a low price, I hope you can also help me with a small favor.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the vigilance on Miyajima Eriko’s face reached its peak, and Yamada Yuta slowly came back to his senses.

Everything was as Asano Makoto had planned.

Facing the gazes of the two, Asano Makoto tried his best to control his expression and put on a sincere smile on his face.

Forgive him, he doesn't want to be a cuckold, he just wants to save his little brother.

Chapter 5: Exclusive Housekeeper

“Then… may I ask, Mr. Asano, what do you need us to help with?”

Miyajima Eriko was still thinking about countermeasures, when Yamada Yuta, who had just come back to his senses, hurriedly asked.

Obviously, he did not see through Asano Makoto's intentions, nor did he see that Asano Makoto had a purpose from the beginning.

In this regard, his social experience was less than his girlfriend's.

Or rather, he was too honest, just like those victims in NTR works who are “deaf and blind.”

But this is naturally a major advantage for Asano Makoto.

He pretended to sigh and showed a wry smile to Yamada Yuta and Miyajima Eriko: “It’s not clear here, you should come with me first.”

Saying that, he walked out of the apartment and then returned to his own room. After hesitating for a moment, the two behind him followed him.

After returning to his room, Asano Makoto did not directly open the door and go inside. Instead, he stood at the door, turned around and blocked the two at the door, with an embarrassed expression, as if he was a little embarrassed.

But in the end, he still turned sideways, showing the full view of his room to the two, while saying somewhat embarrassedly: “The room is a bit messy, sorry for the sight.”

With Asano Makoto's turning movement, Yamada Yuta and Miyajima Eriko finally saw the appearance of this room.

More than a little messy, it's simply unbearable to look at.

Washed and unwashed clothes were piled up randomly, and coats, shirts, and socks were thrown everywhere.

The kitchen sink also vaguely showed a small mountain of dishes, and two filled garbage bags were placed in the corner of the entrance near the feet.

A house like this would be an exaggeration to say it's smoky.

Neither Yamada Yuta nor Miyajima Eriko had the habit of peeping into other people's privacy, so they hadn't seen the situation here when they first came. It wasn't until now that they noticed how dirty and messy this room was.

Let alone Miyajima Eriko, the future housewife who loves cleanliness very much, even Yamada Yuta was a little dumbfounded.

“Actually, I live alone. Because my living habits are a bit poor, and I’m usually quite busy, I don’t have much time to clean, so in the end, the room was made like this by me, and it became more and more messy.”

“Although I always wanted to clean it up properly, I can't do it alone, and when I think that I have to clean it countless times like this in the future, I don't know where to start, so I always wanted to find someone who can help me clean together.”

With Asano Makoto's explanation, the two naturally realized the reason for his strange behavior just now, and also knew what his purpose was.

Yamada Yuta breathed a sigh of relief after learning this and accepted Asano Makoto's explanation.