In the afternoon, Tokai Shizen stood in the kitchen.
Maruzensky quietly walked behind Tokai Shizen.
Tokai Shizen was currently making soup for dinner, which required almost no effort.
And looking at Tokai Shizen like this, the worry in Maruzensky's heart still could not dissipate.
Although she knew that Tokai Shizen had no intention of contacting Rudolph, some worries, once they appeared, would expand infinitely.
Standing behind Tokai Shizen, she looked at Tokai Shizen's long hair, tied up high to prevent hair from falling into the dinner she was preparing.
And her nape, usually hidden by her hair and unseen.
Looking at such a nape, the first thing Maruzensky thought of was that it might be better to put a collar on it, and fasten a chain.
If she did that, Tokai Shizen would absolutely not be able to do anything that would cause her worry.
However, this thought only appeared for a moment before Maruzensky suppressed it.
She was not like some of her juniors, who had an overwhelming possessiveness that was difficult to control.
Or rather, she didn't seem to have such strong possessiveness.
So, Maruzensky didn't make many movements; she simply stretched out both hands and embraced Tokai Shizen.
Although there was a significant height difference between the two, because Tokai Shizen was standing on a stool, Maruzensky's arms could just wrap around from under Tokai Shizen's chest.
Finally holding her.
At first, when her hands first touched Tokai Shizen's ribs, her body trembled.
The next second, she stopped again.
And now, with her hands pressed against the other's body, Maruzensky could feel that at this very moment, Tokai Shizen's body was still trembling slightly.
As if she was afraid.
The instinctive reactions of her body conveyed a lot of information to Maruzensky.
And feeling these slight tremors...
Maruzensky merely buried her head in Tokai Shizen's nape, took a breath, and then spoke: "Tokai..."
"Hm? What's wrong? I'm right here."
There was a slight tremor in her voice, and if combined with the slight trembling of her body...
Maruzensky saw something she hadn't noticed before.
That was, although Tokai Shizen was afraid of what she might do, she was still trying to act calm.
Feeling the slight trembling in Tokai Shizen's body...
Maruzensky simply thought for a moment, then spoke: "Tokai, won't you resist?"
"...Mm, I won't."
Her body trembled even more severely.
Feeling the trembling coming from Tokai Shizen's body, Maruzensky just thought for a moment, then spoke: "Shizen, tell me, will you run away?"
She spoke the thought that had just popped into her mind.
Maruzensky waited for Tokai Shizen's response. Tokai Shizen's body trembled even more severely, but then, in the next second, Tokai Shizen's trembling completely disappeared.
It was as if she had made a decision.
"No, it's just..."
The ladle in her hand stirred lightly in the pot, and Tokai Shizen lowered her head slightly.
This made it even harder for Maruzensky, who was already behind Tokai Shizen, to see her expression.
"Mochizuki... no."
Hearing this response, Maruzensky let go of her hand.
She walked to Tokai Shizen's side.
Looking at Tokai Shizen from the same position, she said, "It was just a joke."
Maruzensky, having said that, spoke again: "Chiaki told me about her plan to buy you a storefront to open a shop, but I thought you probably wouldn't accept a direct gift, so we plan to buy the shop with three or more people investing together, and then employ you to run things."
Casually putting away the emotions that had just filled her heart, Maruzensky continued, "But rather than employment, it's more like renting the storefront to you. The monthly rent will be determined by the revenue, and a portion of the profit will also be taken, with the rest being yours."
"That's why I asked that question just now."
Maruzensky's smile was as usual.
Looking at Maruzensky's smile, Tokai Shizen just opened her mouth.
She could feel that the question Maruzensky had posed earlier was absolutely not a joke, despite what Maruzensky said.
However... since Maruzensky said so, Tokai Shizen would treat the facts as such.
She could see the truth, but she couldn't see the truth.
So, Tokai Shizen responded:
"I won't run away, Mochizuki is still here."
Saying this, Tokai Shizen turned her gaze back to the soup base simmering in front of her. Looking at the slightly cloudy broth, Tokai Shizen remained silent for a few seconds before speaking again: "Besides, you've been very kind to me, so I won't run away."
Tokai Shizen's words were simple and direct.
Watching Tokai Shizen respond in this way, Maruzensky was silent for a few seconds before speaking again: "That's good. If our investment goes to waste, it would be quite troublesome. Although Representative Chiaki and I can use our prize money as we please, the third person might..."
Listening to Maruzensky's words, Tokai Shizen did not intend to say much on this topic, because there wasn't much to consider regarding this issue.
So, Tokai Shizen simply picked out another person's name from the conversation.
"I don't really care who the third person is. After all, you and Chiaki can decide these things. I... won't interfere."
Saying this, Tokai Shizen shifted her gaze slightly, then spoke again: "By the way, when is Chiaki coming back?"
"Ah, as for her, I'll try to contact her."
As Tokai Shizen expected, after the topic was slightly diverted, Maruzensky naturally changed the subject.
Looking at Maruzensky, who had taken out her phone, Tokai Shizen just glanced at the ingredients in the stew pot before speaking: "By the way, if Chiaki plans to go to the supermarket, ask her to buy some meat, but not too much."
Listening to Tokai Shizen's words, Maruzensky simply typed these contents into an email on her phone.
Then she sent it directly.
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Representative Chiaki, hearing her phone ring, took it out and saw the email.
Looking at these emails, Representative Chiaki frowned.
Her intuition, once that of a Triple Crown Uma Musume, told Representative Chiaki that someone was ahead.
Although she didn't know where this feeling came from, it still made Representative Chiaki frown.
After frowning and sending a reply email, Representative Chiaki put down her phone and continued to deal with the documents in front of her.