Beautiful Barking Tsundere

Chapter 3

Original Author: ひのはら (Hinohara)
Date Submitted to Kakuyomu: 2021/09/13

Aira stops in front of a towering apartment building.

For Aira, who lives in a detached house, apartment buildings are a subject she's unfamiliar with.

Is this newly built or do they just take cleaning very seriously?

As she walks down the entrance lobby with her suitcase rattling, she doesn't encounter a single piece of trash.

The map app stopped guiding her once she got here, so surely this must be the right place, but...

"Are you kidding me...?"

This place is way too big and there's no way a newly graduated 23-year-old can pay the rent here.

This seems to be a highly-secured building with an auto lock, so she presses Ema's room number to get her to open the door to the main lobby.

"Yes?"
"This is Hoshimiya Aira..."
"I'll open the door now. Please wait for me on the sofa in the lobby."

The door opens to reveal a lobby that looks like a high-class hotel.

There's a concierge on duty. The sofas and tables are in the corner.

She feels a bit out of place as she sits down on the sofa.

Despite the bustle of the city, the only things visible looking out the window are beautiful flowers and abundant greenery.

Her family isn't poor but can't be called wealthy either, so Aira can't settle down in this situation.

Aira waits quietly, meek as a lamb, when a door in the opposite direction of the entrance opens.

"Thank you for waiting."

Even though she is just wearing a casual T-shirt and shorts, Ichijou Ema's looks are still as impressive as ever.

She has blonde hair and pretty brown eyes, even though she doesn't wear colored contacts.

Even a girl like Aira can tell that this 23-year-old has a beautiful face.

The innocence of a high schooler Aira remembers from their last meeting has disappeared and she has grown into an adult woman.

"You've grown bigger, haven't you?"
"Well... I was still in elementary school the last time you saw me."
"Anyways, let's go to my apartment."

Ema holds a card up to the sensor next to the door and the black door slowly opens.

Once Aira goes through it, she sees three elevators. Ema once again holds up her card to the sensor next to the elevators.

"You can't ride the elevators without a key card."
"Isn't that overdoing it for security...?"
"That's pretty normal. Come on, get in."

Once Aira is in the elevator, Ema holds up her card once again before pressing the floor to her apartment.

"I live on the 24th floor. The elevator won't let you get off on any other floors except the one you live on."

To demonstrate, Ema presses the button to another floor but it doesn't light up like the one for the 24th floor.

"...Isn't this place expensive?"
"No more than the other places near this station."
"What do you do for a living?"

The elevator arrives at their designated floor and the door opens. The sight Aira sees after exiting the elevator makes this place seem even more like a fancy hotel.