Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Selfish Desires (4)
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Iwamoto Industry.
This was a fairly successful mid-sized company in the city where Alice in the Multicolored Garden was set. Its president, Iwamoto Yoshio, was a man who won over many people with his kindly appearance and genial demeanor.
He had succeeded as a businessman and had a beautiful, devoted wife and a smart, cute daughter to boot. He was truly a winner in life.
Iwamoto Yoshio hoped this daily routine would continue forever.
"President."
"What is it?"
"Someone wants to see you."
"Me? Where are they from?"
"They said you'd know if they mentioned 'Jericho Tower'..."
But on this day, Iwamoto Yoshio's fate took a slightly different turn.
Yoshio tilted his head at the mention of "Jericho Tower" but stepped into the reception room anyway. There, on the sofa, sat a man in a black suit. He had dyed his hair yellow, wore sunglasses, and had his hands slung rudely over the back of the sofa, giving him a thoroughly insolent air.
As soon as Yoshio opened the door, the man curled up one corner of his mouth. It was already torn that way, making it look like a perpetual sneer.
"Iwamoto Yoshio. You really made a spectacle of yourself."
Of course, Yoshio had no idea what the man was talking about. He scowled like a beast robbed of its prey, but having pulled himself up by his bootstraps and dealt with all sorts of people, this thuggish face was nothing new to him. So Yoshio just smiled casually and replied.
"What brings you here? A spectacle? Are you here about my daughter?"
These days, even teachers pursued individuality, so he half-wondered if this guy might be one from school. As he said this and took a seat, the man dropped his arrogant posture and chuckled.
"Nah. Nah. Your daughter's got nothing to do with it. She's just an elementary school kid, right? What could she possibly know to stir up trouble?"
Yoshio nodded at the man's words.
"Haha, right. Kids these days might be smart as whips, but they're still just kids. What do they really know? So, what's your business? You mentioned 'Jericho Tower,' but I haven't the foggiest."
The man twitched his eyebrows at Yoshio's words. He interlaced his fingers and wiggled them as he continued.
"Sally."
At that, Yoshio's expression changed too. Now he had an inkling of why the man had come.
"There we go, now your face is worth looking at. That girl Sally? She's someone we need."
"Hearing that, I think I know where you're from."
Yoshio scowled.
He'd known it was coming sooner or later.
After the Jericho Tower bombing, Epsilon Corp had slapped the development and maintenance team leader with a massive civil lawsuit. This man was surely from Epsilon Corp, here to pressure Sally into giving testimony against the team leader.
The man nodded at Yoshio's words, then smirked and asked.
"Sounds like you were expecting us."
"Ever since we hired Ms. Sally, I figured you'd come sniffing around somehow."
He hadn't imagined it'd be this brazen. He'd expected a big corporation like them to start with paperwork or emails, legal back-and-forth. The man said.
"How'd you know who we are?"
Yoshio scowled briefly at the question. Living in this town—no, this country—it was harder not to know Epsilon Corp's name. Especially for a subcontractor like Iwamoto Industry.
"Anyone scraping by in this line of work learns the name eventually."
"Hahahaha!"
The man laughed. Unlike his sleazy looks, it was a hearty guffaw. While Yoshio tilted his head, the man stopped laughing and spoke.
"So, what’s Sally up to these days?"
"Doing work essential for our company and its future. A young, talented person has so many options, don't they?"
Sally was currently in the facilities management team, studying for certifications on the side. Yoshio was covering all her academy fees.
Unexpectedly, the man looked pleased with Yoshio's answer. Yoshio hadn't seen that coming.
"Right. Talented youngsters have plenty they can do. And Iwamoto Industry? I think you've got plenty you can do too."
Yoshio felt his heart skip a beat. The other side was Epsilon Corp, a giant Iwamoto Industry couldn't compare to. He forced down his tension and chuckled lightly.
"You mean you'd like to do some business with us...?"
"Exactly. We want to do business with you. We'll select a project site for you, so get started on some research. For the future. For the world."
Yoshio's face lit up with excitement.
Evidently, they weren't from Epsilon Corp after all. Some other company must be after Epsilon's talent and proposing collaboration through us.
Work pouring in out of the blue like this—he had no idea why they'd choose them, but it smelled like a jackpot.
Yoshio's instincts were whispering to bite.
Seeing Yoshio smile, the man chuckled along too. Their laughter and conversation filled the office.
The Iwamoto Industry sign gleamed brightly. Even as an old company, the care put into its exterior revealed the president's temperament. The man with yellow hair, sunglasses, and a scar on his lip stepped outside and immediately called someone on his cellphone.
"Yeah, success. The talk with Iwamoto Industry went great."
A woman's voice rang out from the phone, languid and drawling.
"Oh? What was that president, Iwamoto Yoshio, like?"
A black sedan pulled up in front of the man. He slid naturally into the back seat and continued.
"Real piece of work. Right off the bat, he tried using his daughter as a shield. Rumors say he dotes on his family, but looks like rumors are just that."
He said it like a joke, but when Iwamoto Yoshio shamelessly brought up his daughter, it had set his nerves on edge.
[What brings you here? A spectacle? Are you here about my daughter?]
Serika, Yoshio's daughter, had pulled the lever right before the Jericho Tower bombing. She'd picked up Sally too, according to CCTV. And here he was, throwing his mere elementary school kid into the conspiracy whirlpool while playing dumb and asking if it was about his daughter.
The man had sensed right then that Yoshio was no ordinary guy.
"Surprised me. We'll need to revise our assessment. Self-made guys like him are different, alright."
"He seemed to have a rough idea who we were. Lit up like he'd been waiting when I mentioned Sally."
"Really? How'd a piddly mid-sized company prez figure us out?"
Hearing the woman's question, the man closed his eyes.
[Anyone scraping by in this line of work learns the name eventually.]
He recalled Iwamoto Yoshio's words.
He'd said "this line." Meaning Yoshio was involved in things beyond his public face. Come to think of it, being a self-made mid-sized company president was suspicious too. Could be a front title for other ventures.
"He called himself one of 'us.' Means he's dipped his toes in this world. Makes sense—otherwise, he wouldn't stick his neck out so boldly into our business."
"So, what'd you settle on? A deal?"
"Iwamoto Industry's a solid-sized outfit in this city. Perfect for disguising research. He knows it too—that's why he approached us this way. Satisfactory deal."
The languid woman's voice laughed in satisfaction at the man's words.
"Hehehehe..."
The man started laughing too.
"Hahahaha!"
Their laughter echoed through the speeding car.
"Oh, Serika! Come on in. We were just about to cut the cake."
When I got home from school, Mom and Dad were dressed up, waltzing in front of a cake. It was from a famous bakery, and classical music blared grandly from the gramophone nearby. I set my bag down in the living room and asked.
"What's going on?"
Mom said, dancing her waltz steps lightly.
"Well, your dad just signed a huge deal with a big corporation!"
"Whoa, really?"
It was great news.
I squeezed in between Mom and Dad's dance and started hopping around joyfully myself.
See? You gotta do good deeds.
Look.
Save someone, and your family rides the wave too, right?
Yep, yep. Our family will cruise down the easy path from here, no hitches.