"What? You want to live with Chiya? Are you joking? No. Absolutely not!"
The moment Akikawa Yayoi heard Hayakawa Tazuna's words, she rejected them on the spot.
This woman had once left Chiya in such a weakened state that Akikawa Yayoi had almost fought her. Afterward, she had repeatedly warned Tazuna that she was not allowed to do anything like that again, or she would forbid her from seeing Chiya. Only then had Hayakawa Tazuna restrained herself, and she had not made any excessive requests of Chiya again.
And now she suddenly wanted to live with Chiya?
How could Akikawa Yayoi tolerate that?
They had already done something close to fake cohabitation before, and Akikawa Yayoi had even placed her under restriction for it. If they really lived together now, were they planning to turn Tracen's dormitory into their newlywed home?
"Director, I'm trying to save Chiya. He's about to walk down the wrong path."
"Letting the two of you live together would be the wrong path. I'm not denying your relationship, but can you at least not be so blatant? If you move into the male staff dormitory, what will Chiya's colleagues think?"
"Then Chiya can come live in my dorm."
"Don't go too far, Tazuna!"
She actually wanted Akikawa's younger brother to live in the female staff dormitory. Was that not sending a sheep straight into the tiger's mouth?
"So what exactly happened?"
Akikawa Yayoi tapped her fan.
Why would Tazuna suddenly say something so lacking in sense? Although Tazuna's intelligence always seemed to drop whenever Chiya was involved, this time it had fallen further than ever.
Hayakawa Tazuna hesitated.
She had not told Yayoi about Chiya's situation. The reason was simple. She wanted to know more about Chiya than Yayoi did. When they were young, Chiya had been very close to Yayoi, and that had made Hayakawa Tazuna quite jealous. Even now, she still remembered how Akikawa Yayoi had held Chiya in her arms and shown him off to her.
It was rare for Tazuna to hear Chiya's secret from her mother, so there was no way she would easily tell the other woman.
Besides, although Akikawa Yayoi appeared indifferent to Chiya on the surface, in truth she had long wanted to hold him in her arms and spoil him. If not for the fear of breaking Central's confidentiality agreement, and the sudden change in identity affecting Chiya's life, Akikawa Yayoi would have done it long ago.
"Tazuna, if you won't tell me, I won't agree to anything."
"Chiya… recently, he has been having frequent contact with uma musume. I think someone needs to supervise him."
"He's a trainer. Isn't it normal for him to have contact with uma musume?"
"I mean in his room."
"Hah?"
"In short, I mean someone needs to monitor the situation between Chiya and the uma musume inside his room, to prevent any accidents."
Akikawa Yayoi fanned herself and thought for a while.
"What you said does make sense."
"Right, Director? So I…"
"But I have another solution. One that solves both problems perfectly."
Akikawa Yayoi smiled.
…
"You want me to move my dorm room next to the Director's? Are you joking?!"
After receiving the notice, Fujiwara Chiya's jaw almost dropped in shock.
The Director had a detached dormitory inside Tracen, as well as a garage. Rather than calling it a dormitory, it was basically a house inside Tracen. The room beside hers was also part of that building. If he lived next to the Director, that was the same as living in the Director's house.
Fujiwara Chiya had never heard of anything so absurd in his life.
This was way too sudden!
Why was he suddenly being made to live with the Director?
When he arrived at the Director's office, Fujiwara Chiya asked tremblingly,
"Director, can you tell me the reason?"
"I received a report, Chiya. Recently, you have frequently been bringing uma musume into your dorm room. There is suspicion of improper relationships. We have decided to place you under supervision and investigation. You are required to move into the detached dormitory and accept monitoring."
"What!? I was reported?"
Who was it?
Don't tell me it was that brat Yota!
I'll kill him when I get back!
"Of course, it's not as if you're never allowed to return. As long as your behavior is good during the supervision period, you can come back. You may also go to your dormitory during the day to pick up things, but you cannot stay there for long. At night, you must return to the detached dormitory."
Akikawa Yayoi continued, the corners of her mouth rising uncontrollably.
"Of course, you may also have your uma musume go there, but I must be present."
"Now go back and pack your things, Chiya. I'll wait for you at the dormitory."
My god.
I'm actually going to live with the Director.
What kind of joke is this?
Did that not mean that anything he did in his room could be heard clearly by her?
Having your boss live next door was more terrifying than a horror story!
But Fujiwara Chiya had no real choice. He could only nod. Besides, the fact that he had inappropriate relationships with uma musume was technically true. He could only hope the Director would not notice anything.
After Fujiwara Chiya left, Hayakawa Tazuna returned to the room. She had a smile on her face, but the aura around her was almost sharp enough to tear someone apart.
"So this is what you meant by a solution that solves both problems, Director?"
Her emerald-green eyes were practically shooting fire.
"That's right. It prevents your relationship from attracting attention while also supervising Chiya, so he doesn't do anything excessive. Doesn't that solve both problems?"
Hayakawa Tazuna's fingers cracked with a series of sharp sounds.
When it came to Chiya, the two of them had never gotten along.
This time, she had been careless. She had not expected Akikawa Yayoi to seize this chance and counterattack.
Next time, she would not let this short winter melon succeed again.
On the other side, Fujiwara Chiya returned to his dorm room and began packing his luggage. Katsumura Yota, who lived next door, came over and knocked.
"Chiya, let's play cards…"
"I'll fight you to the death!"
Fujiwara Chiya directly lifted him up.
"It was you, wasn't it, you brat! Because of you, I have to move now! If I'm leaving, then don't think you get to live either!"
"What happened? What did I even do this time?"
Fujiwara Chiya's shouting drew everyone out. One by one, they poked their heads out to see what was going on. In the end, Nishizaki Ryu stepped forward and pulled the two apart.
After hearing Fujiwara Chiya explain what had happened, Nishizaki Ryu patted him on the shoulder.
"Honestly, Chiya, just don't make any noise at night, or the Director might come over and pff—"
Before he could finish speaking, Nishizaki Ryu covered his stomach and burst out laughing.
"That's right, Chiya. Look on the bright side. This might be your chance for a promotion and raise. You'd better seize it!"
Hearing their gloating voices, Fujiwara Chiya seriously considered simply beating all of them up.
"I'm innocent, okay! It has nothing to do with me! I don't even know what you were doing in your room!"
Katsumura Yota declared his innocence.
If it wasn't you, who else could it be?
Fujiwara Chiya refused to believe that someone who had gone to his room had sold him out.
Unable to find the real culprit, Fujiwara Chiya could only swallow his anger.
After packing his luggage, and under everyone's cheerful send-off, Fujiwara Chiya arrived at the Director's home, the detached dormitory at the far eastern side of Tracen.
Standing at the entrance, Fujiwara Chiya pressed the doorbell.
A few minutes later, Akikawa Yayoi opened the door, wearing a white dress.