Private Beach? Private Bitch!
During the flight, I listened to Konoe Akina’s story. She seemed hesitant, like she was debating whether to speak at all, so I told her firmly to just say it. That was when she admitted she had lied to me before.
She had spoken as if both her parents were still alive, but the truth was her father had passed away. It must have been weighing on her—especially after I suggested buying her a phone and said she could call her parents. She probably couldn’t risk dragging them into a dangerous place like that.
According to her, her father, Konoe Kiyoto, had died suddenly three years ago. When she said she missed her parents right before boarding the plane, she had actually meant she wanted to see her father’s memorial tablet and her mother back home.
The head of the ancient and prestigious Konoe family had originally been her father. After his abrupt death, a temporary successor had taken over—none other than her uncle, Konoe Sainoshin. He was only meant to hold the position until Akina came of age.
Hearing that her uncle was currently running the family made several things click into place. When I first learned she had been locked in an underground prison in Krasukino, I had been too shocked to think clearly. But now the inconsistencies stood out like blood on snow.
Why would a daughter of a noble house travel to Russia—a chaotic, post-World War III defeated nation—during summer break? How had she been kidnapped if she surely had bodyguards? And why had there been zero uproar in Japan for an entire year after the disappearance of a Konoe family heiress?
If I searched for any news about it, nothing came up. Not a single article. And the fact that she had been held for a full year in Krasukino, which wasn’t even that far from Russia, meant no one had seriously looked for her. The slavers themselves had only known she was Japanese. If they had realized she was the daughter of a powerful Japanese clan, they would have either returned her or tried to ransom her for a fortune. The fact that they hadn’t suggested they knew nothing.
In the end, everything pointed to one conclusion: Konoe Sainoshin, the temporary head who would have to surrender power once Akina turned twenty, was involved in her kidnapping. If I let my thoughts run darker, it was even possible he had orchestrated her father’s death as well.
Akina herself couldn’t be unaware of any of this. She must have spent the longest time turning these suspicions over in her mind. I couldn’t even imagine the thoughts that had run through her head during that year trapped underground.
So if she returned home now, there was a high chance she wouldn’t be welcomed with open arms. In fact, her life could be in danger…
“If going home is dangerous, I can arrange a place for you to stay,” I offered. I had gone through the trouble of rescuing her. It would leave a bad taste if I sent her back just to die.
But Konoe Akina shook her head at my suggestion.
“No. My mother is still at the main house, so I must go. And I want to look my uncle in the eye and ask him directly. Did he kill my father? Or was Father’s death a coincidence, and he simply got greedy once he became temporary head and allowed me to be taken…”
Her crimson eyes glowed with dangerous light. I didn’t need to worry about her. She possessed Mystic Eyes, after all. If anything, it was Konoe Sainoshin I should feel sorry for. One wrong glance and he could drop dead.
“I understand your resolve, Konoe. In that case, I’ll contact East Weapon and arrange a few bodyguards for you.”
No matter how powerful her Mystic Eyes were, her physical abilities were still those of an ordinary person. She would be vulnerable to surprise attacks, so bodyguards were necessary.
“Thank you, Ryuta.”
“I’ll bill you later.”
“Of course. Bill me as much as you like.”
She really did seem grateful—her eyes were even glistening with tears. To be honest, this was better for me in the long run. If she could defeat her uncle and become the true head of the Konoe family, I would benefit greatly.
“Excuse me for a moment. I need to make preparations if I’m returning to my family.”
“Go ahead. Since you’re doing it, do it properly.”
“Yes.”
Konoe Akina nodded with a small smile at my encouragement. Mm. Women really do look better smiling than crying.
While she made calls to various places, I contacted East Weapon myself to hire bodyguards for her. I could have gone through Mimata Chieri, the company president, but she was probably in the middle of a meeting with Taira Foods executives about the eighth district project. Using my authority as a director, I arranged the hires directly.
After telling them to send people immediately, I idly checked my phone for recent events. Before I knew it, we had arrived at our destination—Haneda Airport.
We disembarked. Seryu Tai and the others headed to the Seryu Military Company headquarters in a pre-arranged vehicle (I had told Daenghwa and Yang Shueshi to move to a certain location I had in mind). I loaded Konoe Akina into my car that had been parked at the airport, planning to stop by East Weapon to pick up the bodyguards before heading to the Konoe family estate.
The children from Krasukino were saying their goodbyes to Konoe Akina, knowing they wouldn’t see each other for a while. They weren’t parting forever—Sawayanagi Azuma had mentioned putting them through basic adaptation training similar to military boot camp, so they wouldn’t be tasting normal society anytime soon.
“Yong-tae-hyung!”
“I heard you’re going separately too, Ryuta-hyung?”
“Ryuta…”
After saying farewell to Akina, the children came to me, expressing their reluctance to part. I bumped fists with the boys, then ruffled Jeong Da-rim’s and Alexandra Smirnova’s hair. Jeong Da-rim grumbled verbally but seemed to secretly enjoy it, while Alexandra, who had always liked my head pats, closed her eyes in contentment.
“If you want allowance money, you have to earn it by working.”
I took out ten-thousand-yen notes from my wallet and gave each of them two. I could have given more, but the cash I had on hand totaled exactly one hundred thousand yen after handing these out. The children still clung to me, reluctant to leave, until Sawayanagi Azuma—who had been loading luggage into the vehicle—came over.
“It’s not like we’re parting forever, so don’t be too sad.”
She herded the tearful children into the waiting vehicle. Then she approached me. Despite her own words about not being sad because it wasn’t forever, her eyes were glistening with tears.
“What am I going to do? I’ll miss my investor.”
“You’re looking at him right now.”
“Aww~. Don’t tease me.”
“It’s not like we’re parting forever, so don’t be too sad. We can meet anytime.”
“Okay. I’ll hold it in. But you have to give me a reward next time we meet, got it?”
She repeated my own words back to me without any sense of irony and demanded a reward. A reward, huh? What should I give her? When it came to rewards with her, there was really only one thing.
“Next time, I’ll fuck you all night long. Look forward to it.”
“Ah… I will♥”
That seemed to be the correct answer. Sawayanagi Azuma blushed and nodded before climbing into the vehicle.
After saying goodbye to the rest of Seryu Tai and sending them off, I took Konoe Akina with me to the airport parking lot where I had left my car.
“Is this your car, Ryuta?”
“Yeah. It’s been parked for a while, so it’s pretty dusty.”
I had gone from Haneda to Akita, fought Kurotsuki Doo, gone to Korea, come back, fought Kurotsuki Doo again, and returned from Akita to Haneda. It really had been quite a long journey. I almost got sentimental thinking about it, but with Konoe Akina right in front of me, I shook it off and got in the car.
First, we needed to pick up the bodyguards from East Weapon. I had requested three, so there was plenty of room in my car.
“Did you finish all your preparations?”
“More or less.”
I asked while driving, glancing sideways at her. Her expression was stiff—probably nervous about seeing her mother for the first time in a year and confronting the uncle who might have killed her father.
“Is there anything I can help with?”
When I asked to ease her tension, Konoe Akina nodded.
“There is one thing.”
“Tell me. I’ll help.”
“My uncle Sainoshin will probably try to kill me immediately before I can meet with the other elders of the family. Please stop him from doing that.”
From what she described, it sounded like she planned to gather the family elders, shape public opinion within the clan, and confront her uncle directly. She was asking for my help so she wouldn’t be killed before that could happen. No matter how strong her Mystic Eyes were, they couldn’t stop bullets.
“You want me to stay by your side the whole time?”
“No. Just tell my uncle that you mentioned to my grandfather that you’re dating me as a friend. If you do that, he won’t be able to kill me right away.”
Ah, so she wanted to borrow the Taira family name to prevent an immediate assassination. That much I could do.
“I can do that much. Do you need anything else?”
“No. This is my family’s matter and my revenge. I can’t leave it to others. If I receive any more help, it won’t be my revenge anymore.”
I wasn’t sure if this was her original personality or if she had changed after a year in that underground prison, but Konoe Akina had a determined spirit that didn’t match the typical image of a sheltered noble daughter. That was right. Revenge had to be carried out with your own hands. If you left it to someone else, it wouldn’t be complete.
“Understood. Still, if it gets dangerous, contact me. You have my number.”
“Thank you for even saying that. I don’t know when I’ll ever be able to repay this kindness. You saved me from the slavers and now you’re even helping with my family matters…”
“I told you. I’m going to bill you.”
When she kept looking burdened by gratitude, I joked again. Of course, I hadn’t helped her for purely altruistic reasons. A Mystic Eyes user and the daughter of a prestigious family would eventually prove useful to me—that was my calculation.
Our conversation was interrupted when the bodyguards waiting in front of the East Weapon headquarters building arrived. While driving, I explained to them that Konoe Akina was the daughter of a noble house and strictly ordered them to ignore any commands from other family members and only follow her orders. I also promised them a two-hundred-percent bonus if they handled this well.
The mention of the bonus made their eyes burn with passion. This should be reliable enough.
After driving a bit more, a massive mansion came into view—smaller than the main Taira residence but still enormous. That was the Konoe family’s main house.
Konoe Akina became visibly emotional at the sight of her family home, but she quickly collected herself, biting her lip and opening her eyes wide with determination. We parked in a nearby lot and walked toward the main gate. The large front gate of the Konoe estate was firmly shut.