Nagumo Sian's Request
I asked Nagumo Sian whether any uncles or aunts had stopped by because the recent Black Moon Hall incident felt like one of the heirs was using the organization to achieve some personal goal.
It could have been something Minamoto orchestrated, but these heirs were the type of people who would kill even their own siblings if it benefited them. I couldn’t rule any of them out.
After all, Taira Foods was neutral in the succession race, so they probably figured it didn’t matter if the company took some damage. Or maybe they deliberately created this crisis just so they could swoop in with military support and pull the company into their own faction.
My intelligence network was still too weak to know the exact truth. All I could do was make a few educated guesses. Predictions like these were important, but first I needed to focus on the problems right in front of me.
When I finished the call, Aris and Mimata Chieri were chatting away between themselves. Hmm. Were they bored while I was on the phone? Still, it was nice to see them getting along better than before.
“I spoke with Nagumo Sian-nim and managed to secure the Seryu Military Company job for us.”
“Actually, I received word that the team members who were out on a mission have all returned. She said she would introduce them to you today or tomorrow, Director.”
“Ah, today is…”
I trailed off awkwardly while looking at Aris. She was probably already a little upset because of Mimata Chieri. If I suddenly made dinner plans, she would throw a full-blown tantrum. After all, Aris wanted to spend time alone with me.
“You invested in another company too, right? I want to meet those people as well.”
“Really?”
We hadn’t had a huge fight or anything, but given what happened with Mimata Chieri, I doubted Aris would be thrilled about meeting the Seryu Military Company crew. Especially since Sawayanagi Azuma was there—the one who basically shot hearts out of her eyes every time she looked at me. That was going to be a problem.
“Then, Senior, let’s have dinner with the Seryu Military Company people. Please contact them.”
“Understood, Director!”
The Seryu Military Company had set up shop in a seven-story building near the East Weapon headquarters. Technically the building belonged to me, and they were just renting the space. I wasn’t charging them rent yet. I planned to start collecting once they began earning money from jobs. This request from Taira Foods would be their first real step.
I walked over to Aris and asked about the conversation she’d been having with Mimata Chieri earlier.
“By the way, what were you and Senior talking about while I was on the phone?”
“Oh, with Mimata? We were just talking about Ryuta. Hehe…”
It sounded suspicious, but I simply nodded. Mimata Chieri, who had just ended her own call, approached us and announced that we would be having a welcome dinner together with drinks. She suggested we head to the Seryu Military Company office first.
When I asked why, she explained that I needed to greet the four members who had returned from their mission. So before dinner, we made our way to their office.
Since the Seryu building was only a short walk from the East Weapon headquarters, we decided to go on foot. In less than three minutes we arrived at the building with Seryu Military Company written on it and headed straight for the president’s office on the F floor. Because the company didn’t have many personnel, the top three floors were being used as temporary living quarters.
They had only just moved in, so they were staying in the company building for now. They said they would eventually find their own places. Since the money from selling the company had been split equally among the ten of them, none of them had to worry about housing costs. Still, I was a little concerned. These people had been dirt poor for so long that I worried they might blow all their money on frivolous things. I’d probably need to assign them a financial manager later.
Hmm. On second thought, if they all moved out and lived separately, they might get picked off one by one by Black Tech again. Maybe I should prepare some dorm-style housing for them? There were so many expenses piling up. Actually, no—if I thought of it as eventually collecting rent, it wasn’t really a loss.
“Investor-nim!! It’s been so long! And thank you so, so much for the new building!! We were using that crumbling old office before, and now we have this? It’s amazing!”
Sawayanagi Azuma greeted me like a puppy seeing its owner after a month apart. It had only been about a week.
But the moment she saw Aris practically glued to my side—just like Mimata Chieri had been—the two women looked at each other and started smiling knowingly.
However, Sawayanagi Azuma, who had spent her childhood as a lab experiment, never attended normal school, passed the Japanese high school equivalency exam, and lived most of her life on the battlefield, lacked a lot of social experience.
Unlike with Mimata Chieri, even though she was smiling, she was stuttering badly and clearly flustered.
“U-um… w-what e-exactly is y-your r-relationship with our I-Investor-nim?”
“Fufu, we’re very close.”
Aris seemed much more relaxed now, probably because she had already gone through this once. Sawayanagi Azuma let out a small sigh and appeared to beat a tactical retreat.
“I’ll call the four members who just finished their mission, Investor-nim.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting them all.”
“They’ve all been dying to meet you.”
Well, it made sense. I had participated in the operation to rescue Sawayanagi Azuma and pulled them out of Black Tech’s clutches. Of course they wanted to see me. Plus, during that rescue mission I had taken some drugs and gone on a rampage, which naturally revealed that I possessed supernatural abilities. So the Seryu people felt a certain sense of kinship with me.
They must have been waiting right outside, because less than a minute after Sawayanagi Azuma called them, four people entered the president’s office.
“Introduce yourselves one by one and greet him.”
At Sawayanagi Azuma’s words, a brown-skinned man in his twenties with a short sports-style haircut and an honest-looking face stepped forward. He didn’t look overly muscular at first glance, but his exposed forearms showed he was extremely well-trained.
“I’m Katayama Junichi. Nice to meet you, Investor-nim!”
Katayama Junichi had no supernatural powers, but his basic combat ability was outstanding and his dagger skills were excellent. I remembered using him effectively in close-quarters combat. I shook his hand and greeted him. His eyes were filled with incredibly friendly enthusiasm.
The second person to step forward was a woman. She was a bit taller than Sawayanagi Seari but still had the small, adorable frame of a petite adult. She and Sawayanagi Seari were basically the mascots of Seryu Military Company.
“I’m Sawayanagi Mikiyo! Please take good care of me!”
Despite her cute face, Sawayanagi Mikiyo had a bold personality and served as the team’s sniper. She had no supernatural powers either, but her eyesight was incredible. She was a highly capable sniper who could handle observation and shooting at the same time. She could also fight at close and medium range with the submachine gun she carried, making her a true all-rounder. I shook her hand as well.
Next was a slightly chubby, slow-moving man with messy hair. He approached at a leisurely pace and greeted me.
“Uh… I’m Sawayanagi Shigeru. Thanks for saving Azuma.”
Sawayanagi Shigeru was a unique ability user—what people commonly called a Speedster. He could move at incredible speeds for short periods, but because his energy source was body fat, he needed to eat massive amounts of food. Speedster abilities could be used in incredibly overpowered ways depending on the user, so high-level players in the game had loved this archetype.
The last person to appear was a Caucasian beauty with purple hair and an extremely voluptuous figure. Wow. That was one hell of a body. Not quite at Yukiko’s level, but still impressive.
“Hello! Nice to meet you~! I’m Lyanna Holden! Take good care of me, you handsome Honey!!”
She greeted me and then immediately planted kiss after kiss on my cheek and forehead. Only when Aris cried out “What are you doing~!” did she finally stop. It felt pretty good to have a beautiful woman showering me with kisses.
Lyanna Holden was the last remaining esper in Seryu. She was a Telepath. Her role was to act as an operator using her telepathy. While it seemed a bit redundant since they also had radios, being able to communicate directly into people’s minds meant there was no risk of being overheard by enemies, and she could relay information even in areas where electronic equipment couldn’t be used.
In the game, despite its somewhat ambiguous performance, the character had been extremely popular—mainly because of her outrageous combat outfit. She fought in something that was practically bikini armor, which earned her the unwavering support of every male player.
At higher levels, telepaths could also create mental shields, so her defense wasn’t bad either. Unfortunately, since this wasn’t a combat situation, she was wearing normal clothes. What a shame.
“Oh…! Yankee go home!!”
“Y-you’re a Yankee too!”
When Lyanna Holden, who had been staring intently at Aris, suddenly shouted that, Aris yelled back angrily. Their personalities seemed like natural opposites. From what I could tell after just a short observation, if Lyanna was scissors, Aris was rock. It looked like Aris had a weakness for people who were completely unreadable.
Once the four introductions were finished, the rest of the Seryu members poured in as if they had been waiting. Vice President Sawayanagi Shinya, the steel-transformation user Sawayanagi Tobe, the gothic lolita sisters Kiyona Hori and Mari, and the cutest of them all, Sawayanagi Seari, all came rushing into the office.
“Investor-nim, please show your face more often!”
“We’re going to forget what you look like at this rate!”
“Ahem. Since everyone wants to see you, please visit frequently…”
“Come often, big brother!”
“Hmph! It’s not like I wanted to see you or anything!!”
As expected from comrades who had fought alongside me, they greeted me with tremendous enthusiasm. Since I was the only one being welcomed so warmly, Aris—who was meeting them for the first time—seemed a little left out. I introduced her to everyone.
“Everyone, say hello. This is my cousin, Aris Fitzgerald.”
Eight out of the ten Seryu members were meeting her for the first time, so they simply offered polite greetings of “Hello” and “Nice to meet you.” Only the Kiyona Mari and Hori sisters stared at Aris like they had discovered some incredible treasure. Then they practically screamed.
“Kyaaaah!!! It’s Aris, the top star from this season’s Milan show!!”
“What do I do! What do I do!”
Ah, so the two of them knew who Aris really was. The Kiyona sisters eventually pushed me aside and started acting like extreme fans—calling her “Unnie, unnie,” begging for autographs, and asking for photos.
Aris… I had no idea you were such a popular star.
Lyanna Holden
Information: Telepaths rely on extremely sensitive senses, so they reduce the surface area of their clothing as much as possible. I’m not sure why, but apparently touch is also an important condition for telepathy.
My hands are always so lonely… (┬┬﹏┬┬)