"You are such a stupid person for making a decision like that." Daiki muttered to himself as he stared at the mansion in front of him. How was he going to live in such an enormous mansion?
There was a large garden in the back, with several fountains and benches all around. The house itself also looked very well put together; it had a large front porch with several chairs scattered around on each side.
This was your decision, so deal with it, idiot. He sighed to himself before ringing the doorbell.
A man dressed in white opened the door. He looked very calm, but the way his eyes darted around made Daiki nervous.
"You must be Tsukumo Daiki, right?" he asked.
"Yes, that's my name." He said this nervously, while shifting his feet from one foot to another. "Um, could I come in?"
The man nodded and smiled brightly. "Of course you can. Miss Narumi has been expecting you."
Daiki walked through the door, and the door closed behind him. "She has?"
"Yes, I have been entrusted to show you your room, then take you to the study room, where you shall meet her."
They headed down the hallways until they reached an open room. It was quite spacious and decorated in black and gray colors. There were two doors at the end of the room and a vast window, which let sunlight into the room. In front of those windows was a table filled with various documents spread over it, looking very orderly.
"This is your room, Mr Daiki." the man spoke calmly again.
"My room?" he repeated incredulously.
"Yes, your bedroom."
"Oh..." he mumbled, "Thank you."
"Drop your suitcase and let me take you to Miss Narumi's study room."
Daiki nodded dumbly and set his suitcase on the flattop of the desk near the windows. He followed the man to another room that looked just like his previous one, with only different colored walls. The man gestured towards the door, which Daiki opened and stepped inside.
Narumi was sitting at a desk, typing something on her computer. As soon as she saw him, her eyes moved from the screen to look up at him.
"Good evening, ma'am," he mumbled.
"Daiki," she said before standing up from her seat. She was wearing casual clothes, but she still gave off the vibe of someone who would wear an expensive business suit all day long. Her red hair was tied neatly in a loose ponytail.
"As you know, one of the benefits of being my personal assistant is that you are completely covered, which means aside from your monthly salary, you will be given the privilege of living in my house."
"Yes, ma'am," he replied quietly, staring at her shoes.
"Well then," she continued while putting her hands on her hips, "Welcome to the family."
Daiki blinked. "I don't get it."
"I mean, you'll be living in this place as long as you work for me. Every important document and piece of equipment that you need has been placed in your room." She explained.
"Oh..." he trailed off.
"But as long as you stay here, every rule that we observe in this family must be followed. "Do you understand?" She said it sternly.
Daiki nodded, "I do."
"Breakfast is always served at six; there is no specific time for lunch; and dinner is served at nine." She continued, looking directly at him.
"Yes ma'am." Daiki muttered.
"No smoking or drinking over here because I don't tolerate such habits at my place." She added.
Daiki frowned slightly. "Ma'am, I don't smoke nor do I drink."
"That's good." she hummed approvingly. "You can leave now, and dinner will be ready in an hour. Don't be late."
He nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.
He felt incredibly strange. He didn't know why, but a huge smile crept onto his face when he thought about the idea of living in the house with Narumi. The woman was strict, but she always seemed kind.
Daiki shook his head. Now is not the time to think about things like these.
He went into his room and looked around. Everything inside seemed nice and comfortable. All the furniture had a light brown color. His bed was pretty big, and the sheets were fluffy white. Next to his bed stood a dresser with shelves full of files.
"Mr Daiki." he turned towards the door. A maid with dark brown hair wearing some sort of uniform appeared in his doorway. "Miss Akiko has requested you join her."
"I see. Thank you." He said. "Can you show me the way to her room?"
The maid nodded. "Follow me, please."
It took Daiki a few minutes to arrive at the room. The door had an iron knocker with a lion carved into it.
"I shall leave now." The maid said politely.
Daiki nodded and knocked three times. "Akiko, may I come in?" he asked.
After a few moments, a voice called out from inside, "Sure!" and he entered the room.
He immediately noticed how everything looked completely different. The room looked more lived in; the curtains were drawn, and there weren't as many books stacked in corners anymore, but other than that, everything looked pretty normal. Akiko herself was sitting on a couch with her mother.
"Konbanwa ma," he said to Yuki.
"Konbanwa Daiki." She greeted him back with a smile.
"Good evening, Akiko." He looked at the person who had called him and hoped it was for something important.
"Good evening." She smiled.
"You wanted to see me, right?" He asked after a moment.
Akiko laughed softly. "Yes, I did. Sit down, please. We have a lot to talk about...."
He obliged and sat down next to Yuki.
Akiko cleared her throat. "I need your help."
He raised an eyebrow. "For what?"
"As we all know, my sister has become a billionaire. I see it as a tremendous achievement, so I want to host a grand party to celebrate her success." Akiko explained.
"That's a good thing." Daiki agreed.
"There's a problem, though." She told him bluntly, "She hates hosting such parties."
"Oh, why?" he asked curiously, but nobody answered him. The two women just looked at each other silently.
"What is it?" he finally demanded after a minute.
"She hates hosting parties after the incident that happened a few years ago." Akiko whispered.
"What incident?" he asked in a hushed tone.
"The party that took our father's life."