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Do you dare to keep reading the scriptures of this forbidden novel?
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—Which direction do we go?—.
—Oh, daddy—.
-Come on-.
Holding hands, Shio pointed the way to go.
Walking a few blocks, waiting for the traffic light to change, Shio looked back.
—Daddy, what is that?—.
—Hm? That's a bank.
-Bank?-.
—It is a place where people's treasure is kept—.
-Treasure?!-.
With shining eyes, he approached the bank doors.
—Yes, they have a huge treasure, you see Onii-san standing there with an evil face, he is the one who protects the treasure from bad men—.
—Ohhhh!—.
Listening to the father-daughter interaction, the guard stood at attention, making a mean face, and Shio laughed. For someone whose world was four walls, everything sparkled, and he found even the most boring things interesting, pulling Javier along.
—Hey, do you want to come in?—.
He asked, but he already had one foot inside the bank.
—Shio wants to come in—.
He stated already inside the bank.
—But it's boring. The only good thing about the bank is the air conditioning. After that, waiting in line is a pain, and sometimes the system crashes. It's boring and not fun at all.
Javier, who was not trying to suppress his voice of dissatisfaction with the bank's system, saw several people lining up, including secretaries, office workers, and others in casual attire.
-Then don't come!-.
They screamed in their minds.
—Look, daddy, what the Onee-chan and Onii-san are doing—.
—Mm, those are the ones who keep the money and the ones who give away the saved money—.
—...—.
Having no words for a child's imagination, Shio headed to customer service.
—Daddy, and this Onee-chan—.
—They are responsible for solving problems that arise within the bank, for the user, and also for giving out a lot of money.
—Onee-chan give me a lot of money—.
He asked, raising both hands, to the secretary behind the desk.
—...Shio no, no—.
Suppressing laughter, Shio tilts her head in confusion.
—Ojo-chan, what do you need?
With a smile, the secretary turned her gaze to Shio.
—Daddy said Onee-chan gives a lot of money, Shio wants money to buy something for Mommy—.
-Fence-.
With concern, the secretary looked at Javier.
Javier calmly, not caring about the looks of the people inside the bank, approached Shio and massaged her head.
—Listen, Shio, the Onee-chan here certainly make money, but for that you need to have a business; give an account of what you earn and how much you ask for, you also need a lot of paperwork and that takes a few days if not weeks.
—It all sounds complicated, Shio doesn't quite understand—.
—Ahaha, it certainly is complicated… come on, let's go to other places now—.
—Mm—.
Nodding obediently, Shio takes Javier's hand and walks toward the exit. At that moment, a group of masked men enter with guns.
—This is a robbery!—.
Tatatatata!!!
—Kyaa!!—.
Charging at the guard outside the door, with a revolver, they point it at the second guard inside, who only managed to resist so that they wouldn't kill him.
Entering with the other accomplices, leaving behind a pool of blood, one of the robbers steals his gun.
—D-daddy—.
Frightened, she snuggles up to Javier, who remains calm about the situation.
-As a God, I'll let this happen, even if Shio might be scared, this is also okay, plus what some simple robbers with guns can do-.
Thinking like this, Javier joins the others and sits on the floor while calming Shio on his legs.
—Hey, quick, open the door or we'll shoot people!—.
Having no other choice, the employees behind the glass open the door and press the red help button.
Whether they took that fact into account, the well-organized robbers, one of whom remained at the door to prevent it from closing again, and two others entered with guns in hand.
While this was happening behind the glass, two other men with shotguns pointed at the hostages and, using plastic bags, took everything of value.
Woof! Woof! Woof!
—Damn, they set off the alarm, bitches!!—.
—Kya!... I didn't hit myself!.. it hurts!!—.
—S-stop…—.
As companions, the friend wanted to intervene, but the muzzle of the gun pointed at his temple, falling on his buttocks, scared with his face pale.
—Tch, asshole… hey, put that down and move with the bag.
Taking the four bags full of money, they left and in the hallway the companions took cover behind the pillars to avoid being shot.
-How many?!-.
—8 police cars!, alone—.
Walking over to one of the sad clown masks, he pulled out a device with a single button and pressed it.
Boon!!
Hearing a loud bang that left everyone deaf, Javier covers Shio with his body from the imploding glass.
[You're okay, Shio]
He spoke directly to Shio's mind.
—Da… pi…—.
In a state of shock, tears began to flow non-stop down Shio's face, wiping away the blood on her cheek from some glass, which must have grazed her cheek.
[Everything will be okay, Shio, now close your eyes and, as I taught you, count to ten.]
—Da... pi—.
[Let's go one]
—U… one—.
With fear he closed his eyes and began to count.
Seeing this, Javier changed his friendly gaze to a serious one. Leaving Shio alone, he stood up.
[Two]
—T-two—.
Seeing the first thief with a smiling clown mask, closer.
Javier takes a run-up while already behind the assailant.
—Mm, cough—.
Before he could turn around, an elbow landed in his neck. Before he could finish, he grabbed him by the neck and slammed the assailant's leg, knocking him off balance and falling forward even harder as Javier pushed him.
[Three]
—T-three—.
Leaping, Javier reached two assailants together, with quick movements of his hands, he hit the muscles of the spine, and like puppets cut the strings, they fell.
—Hm, who are you?!!—.
[Four]
-... Four-.
He didn't seem to mind being noticed, below the waist, as if he were crouching. He jumped like a rabbit, and before the assailant could figure out what had happened, he received a punch in the pit of his stomach.
[Five]
-Five-.
Taking the body of the assailant who was leaning forward vomiting, Javier uses him as a human shield running towards the nearest assailant who already had the shotgun pointed at him.
Without hesitation, he shot his companion.
[Six]
-Six-.
Without bothering to carry a dead man whose spine was destroyed by friendly fire, Javier, treating him like a bag of garbage, threw him at the man who had stolen the guard's pistol and was pointing his revolver at him.
Seeing that the robber in the crying clown mask, who had fired his shotgun at his partner, was now aiming for Javier's head. But before he could pull the trigger, Javier was close enough that, fearlessly and with an open palm, he slammed the barrel down, causing the shot to hit the ceiling.
—W…—.
[Seven]
-Seven-.
Unable to get any more words out of his mouth, Javier had given a karate chop to the throat to continue grabbing him by the throat, pulling him straight to the ground, hearing a dull thud.
[Eight]
-Eight-.
Trying to get up while pushing aside his dead companion, Javier takes the shotgun at his feet and throws it as if it were a carbine, hitting the forehead with the shotgun handle.
—Coffee—.
Falling backward with his eyes rolling back, Javier, without having time for the French knife at his throat to pierce him, continued contact.
[Nine]
-Nine-.
—He dies—.
Knowing the situation had gotten out of hand because of a single man who had killed his companions in his perfect assault, the man in the sad clown mask slit Javier's throat. Imagining the blood spurting and seeing him fall writhing as he choked on his own blood, he sneered, but his face immediately changed to terror.
—M-monster—.
—You're wrong, I'm God—.
He whispered, barely reaching the assailant's ear.
Grabbing him by the face with his bear claw, he lifted him up. The assailant, scared to the point of urinating in his pants, kicked out, thrashing at Javier's body and hands, grabbing his arm to force him to let go.
—¡¡¡¡Aaaaaaaaa!!!!—.
Bam
Unable to bear the assailant's shrill voice, Javier slammed him against the ceramic floor to stop him from screaming.
[Ten, you can open your eyes now, Shio… Shio, you didn't obey me]
—S-sorry, daddy—.
Javier looked back at Shio with her eyes wide open, lowering her head, thinking she would be scolded.
Smiling, Javier approaches and takes her in his arms.
—I'm not angry if you think so, but I didn't want my Shio to see something so ugly—.
—Mmm, strong daddy, why didn't you help before?—.
—I didn't tell you when I was telling you the story, I'm not a hero, I'm God. A God can't help with every problem people face—.
Not understanding what Javier meant, Shio stared at him.
—W-what happened?—.
—Hey, you beat them—.
-Thank you so much-.
Gathering around Javier, thanking him, the bank employees who were behind the glass began to leave.
—Hey, you! If you could beat him, why didn't you get the helpers first?
—Wait katachi, there was nothing I could do, they had weapons—.
"No, Momoka."
He pointed his finger at Javier.
—That boy had the strength to beat them, look, he didn't even break a sweat to do it—.
—B-but—.
Still hesitating, Momoka looks at Javier holding Shio in his arms.
At that moment, another man who had waited in line had cuts on his face, turning his mint green shirt red.
—You're absolutely right! If you had the strength to defeat them, you would have defeated them from the start. Look at my face!
Under the man's harsh retorts, several began to join together.
—Why didn't you help us before!—.
—If you had shown up earlier, this wouldn't have happened!—.
Like a snowball that couldn't be stopped, accusations began to pour in from all sides, including those who had initially thanked him. Shio, who was watching everything, saw something else: the jars filled with colorful candy, a gray mist enveloped them, and a gray candy fell out.
—Dad—.
Trembling with fear, she hugged Javier with all her strength.
[Everything is okay, I'm here, nothing will happen to you]
Calming his mind, Javier begins to walk to the now destroyed exit.
—Wait where you think you're going!—.
A hand touched Javier's shoulder.
—We're not done yet!—.
—He must have been the robbers' accomplice!—.
—You're right, don't let him escape!—.
Wanting to surround Javier, a hand goes straight for Shio. Just as the hand is about to touch Shio, Javier pushes him away, sending the man tumbling to the ground.
—If you dare touch my daughter, I'll make that hand useless.
With a piercing stare, the man nearly peed his pants. At the same time, boots were heard coming from outside.
The Japanese police force appears.
—Get on the floor, everyone on the floor!—.
—...—.
—Sir, these are the attackers!—.
Hearing the shouts of the black-clad police officers with assault rifles, everyone knelt except Javier, who remained standing with Shio in his arms.
—Damn you, get down on the floor, get down on the floor!!—.
—Shut up! Don't you see that you're scaring the girl?
Responding, Javier walks to the overturned waiting seat. With all the police officers pointing at his back, he indifferently kicks the chairs together, seating Shio.
—Shio, stay here, don't let those bad-tempered police officers intimidate you—.
-Hmm-.
Nodding, Shio, Javier turns and looks at the police officers who are keeping an eye on Javier's movements.
—This is squad, we're requesting medical assistance, we have the situation under control, over.
—Here in the central office, a group of paramedics is waiting for you to leave.
—Understood… Help them out, let them wait to take their statement.—
—I refuse—.
Listening to Javier's voice, which seemed to lose no intensity, he was once again in the police's sights.
—What did you say, asshole?—.
—What you heard, my daughter and I have a hard day enjoying our time together, we have lost half an hour because of these guys, I am not going to wait any longer, I will give my version and I will leave—.
Under the pressure of Javier's calm voice, the police leader was stunned, but quickly recovered.
—Then don't waste your time and follow me... Hey! They don't take them, they're waiting for an invitation!—
—But captain! These guys can't move.
—So, since they just robbed the bank, don't talk nonsense and make them walk.
Linking arms, they left the bench. Javier took Shio in his arms and covered her eyes with his chest.
—Don't look, Shio—.
—I understand, but daddy, it smells strange in here and it's very noisy.
Not wanting him to see the scene around him, paramedics could be seen picking up pieces of bodies that had once been police officers, now wrapped in bags.
With the street closed, police helicopters were circling the skies, and like ants smelling the sweet nectar of news, independent cameramen and television crews were already arriving to report the news.
—Hey, can we speed this up, I don't want my daughter to see these things—.
—Sorry, young man, come this way, do you have any injuries or does your daughter have any?—
Escorted by Japanese riot police, paramedics began treating the wounded.
-------
—As you can see behind me, there is a war scene straight out of a movie, when 7 terrorists tried to rob the Mashua Bank, the alerted police went immediately, but the terrorists detonated a bomb in the middle of the street, the number of deaths is unknown, but behind me the special forces police have already entered after seeing no movement of the terrorists—.
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Moka Kyoka, having finished her journalism degree at the young age of 22, had been hired by TV Tokyo, and had been working there for two years since she joined. Her minor reporting roles had included reports on missing persons and community issues.
Moka, someone with a strong thirst for news, from high school to college, satiating her unsatisfied hunger for news. But one piece of news changed her life, turning her monotonous future upside down.
—Hirano-kun, where are we going this time? Tell me you have something good and not reports of annoying citizens.
Hirano, a slightly overweight man, his job as the cameraman and driver for the beauty named Moka, laughed stiffly, averting his gaze as he stood at a red light.
—... There seems to be a lighting problem—.
—Again! Ah, I can't go on like this for a long time. I want juicy news, star scandals, murders, the Tokyo Tower exploding! I want something more entertaining, don't you think, Hirano-kun?
Stressed and bored at not being able to do what she herself wanted to do, she took it out on Hirano, who had been accompanying her for a year.
—Haha, wouldn't it be funny if they really blew up the Tokyo Tower?
—I know, it's just a figure of speech. How many years have you been here? How many reports have you done that cover a big story?
—But if I don't go out, I just record—.
—... Never true—.
—I wouldn't say never, you know, I've worked hard on recording typhoon disasters.
—You can do that every year, I want something more exciting, you know what I mean.
—Yes, Moka-chan—.
Being on first name terms in a close friendship, Hirano accepted everything he said, whether good or bad.
Boon!!
Braking in a hurry as he felt an explosion in the distance, a column of smoke began to rise in the distance.
-... What was that?-.
He asked with shining eyes.
-Don't know-.
—And what are you waiting for? Hurry up, I smell news, hurry up, hurry up, Hirano-kun! It's our time.
—Yes, yes, yes—.
Not caring about breaking some traffic rules, Hirano accelerated against the flow of traffic until he reached the center of the explosion.
—This is... Fabulous!! The camera! Quick, get the camera out!—
Fixing her hair and looking at herself in the rearview mirror for a flawless image, Moka began recording the incident where Javier would appear for the first time.
--------
Back in the moment, Moka was still reporting live on television, her face serious but her eyes beaming with happiness.
—We tried to approach the officer in charge of this rescue operation, but so far he has refused an interview… Something is happening, please look, the Japanese police special force is taking out the terrorists, the police force has captured the terrorists! You can see that there are two dead, as we understand from people nearby, a shot was heard at 8:32 AM, at first we don't know if it is a civilian or one of the guards. Let's try to approach the special force that entered the bank—.
Like ants ready to tear out everything known, Moka, along with her cameraman Hirano and other journalists, blocked the way to find out what was happening.
—Officer! Officer! Tell us what happened, what happened to the terrorists...—
—There is a criminal network behind this attack!...—.
—Please give me space! Space, gentlemen! We need to put these criminals behind bars!... Make way!—
Pushing aside the news-crazed press, Moka, annoyed inside at not having much information from the police, notices a young man with a bloody cut on his cheek, holding a little girl in his slightly disheveled arms.
"Hirano-kun..."
While filming the terrorists getting into the police cars, Hirano heard Moka's voice and went in her direction.
Not having to ask, having been at that job for almost two years, Hirano and Moka approached Javier who was leaving the bank with Shio in his arms, hiding against Javier's chest.
—Excuse me, good morning! Young man, you were one of the bank hostages.
—Uh, ah, yes, I am—.
Sensing Javier's nervousness, Moka, who was at work, began introducing herself. After asking for consent, she began introducing herself.
"Here, Moka from TV Tokyo, we're standing in front of the Mashua Bank, where the massacre of terrorists trying to escape has left several police officers dead. "Beside me is one of the victims of the robbery by these terrorists, barely rescued by the special forces. Young man, can you tell us his name?"
—Javier Valderrama, and my daughter Shio Kobe—.
—¡!...—.
Moka was a little surprised to see that Javier was not yet 18 years old, so she continued with the report.
—Mr. Javier, can you describe what happened in this unfortunate terrorist act?—
—As we were about to leave the bank, seven guys came in. One of the guards tried to pull out his gun, but unfortunately he was shot by the one with the shotgun.
—One guard dead… And what happened to the other guard?—.
—They took him hostage, removing and imprisoning him with his handcuffs, we gathered in a single group, while we waited for all this to pass, the police sirens were heard, the thieves who seemed to have just stolen and would escape, one of them took out a device, seconds later a deafening explosion was heard, I was barely able to protect my daughter with my body from the glass that was thrown out—.
"Thank you very much for your information. As you heard, a guard died in the line of duty. Mr. Javier, can you tell us if you saw the face of the person who pressed the button?"
—I didn't see his face, but the clown mask the assailant was wearing had a sad expression.
—Please step aside! Step aside, reporters! Come here, we need to hear your version.
As they got closer to the scene, they began to push away all the journalists who had burst onto the scene.
At the police station, Javier is inside an interrogation room, sitting across from the inspector.
—Hey, I hope you take good care of my daughter, you'll see if you scare her.
—You don't have to get upset. One of the officers is taking care of that. Now, let's review. According to your testimony to the press, which you shouldn't have done, and your written testimony, the recordings from nearby cameras and those from the bank, along with the testimony of the other witnesses, you never said you were the one who defeated the terrorists.
—I'm too lazy and it's a pain to explain, besides, you already saw it on cameras.
The inspector, listening to Javier speak with the slightest disinterest in things, hits his palm on the cold table.
—Listen, this isn't a game! We saw you pointing at the bank, and the same guard said he heard you say something about the treasure.
"Look, Inspector, what that guard told you was something I was explaining to my daughter. She's barely been out in the world, much less to a bank. Her interest was either that, explaining it in a childish way, or that she would accuse me of entering the bank."
—...—.
"If you don't have an answer, I can go. You know I was going to take my daughter on a tour of the city today."
Fearing nothing, Javier sat relaxed. The inspector, knowing he couldn't do anything without evidence implicating him, entered a police officer, bringing Shio with her.
—Daddy!—.
—Shio, did they do something to you? Tell them, Daddy, I'll give them what they deserve.
Not having eyes for the police, Javier took Shio by the armpit and sat her on his knee.
The inspector, noticing this, looks at the police officer; she hands him some papers and whispers in his ear, nodding several times before leaving the room.
—Well, well… Javier Valderrama, age 16, born in England, in a town of Geddington, Japanese mother Kyoko Misaki 34 years old, British father Arvel Valderrama, 36 years old, you had a younger sister Misaki Misani, newborn in Orlando where you lived, but all of them died in a plane crash a year ago, just a month ago you arrived in Japan and bought a mansion, you live with your cousins who also lost their relatives in that accident. You emancipated yourself to have your parents' insurance, am I correct?
—Japanese intelligence is doing a good job.—
Stiff expression and voice, Javier tried to sound as calm as possible, but even innocent Shio sensed his behavior.
—Daddy, are you okay?—
—I'm fine, very fine—.
—I'm sorry if I touched on a sensitive topic, but we can't let anything slide, not after the images have already spread to the news.
Calming himself with a soft sigh, he taps his finger rhythmically on the table.
—They have a good intelligence system, but they can't keep the media calm, what a shame.
—Haha, if you put yourself in the middle of the media they will run over you, that's the power they have in the world, now what about you, daughter?—.
—I took her as my daughter, I have her mother's permission—.
—Daddy, it's Shio's daddy—.
—Mm, we're still checking the people around you, but this is as far as we can hold you, but before that, can you help me with those two you knocked down? —
The inspector stops, and Javier just nods and follows him. Shio, wanting to walk, goes downstairs, holding hands.
—Here you are, let me in.
With two police officers guarding the door, they saluted and opened it, smelling the typical disinfectant odor.
Inside, there were medical supplies, several occupied beds, and four police officers guarding two men handcuffed to the bed in the corners of the room.
These men were sweaty, with their eyes open, looking everywhere.
"No matter what we did, they can't move. The doctor at the station said you hit their spine."
—I hit them, but only their muscles are pressing like their nerves… tell your men to turn them—.
-Mister-.
Asking the inspector for permission, he signaled them to wait.
—You can't do it, as they are without turning them—.
—If you're worried they'll make a fuss, no problem, they won't get up.
—...Okay, you guys untie it and keep watch.
Handcuffing them, they turned them around. When they tried to remove his shirt, Javier told them it wasn't necessary, and the officers stepped aside, but they didn't hesitate to draw their guns.
—... Close your eyes Shio... and no cheating—.
-Hahaha-.
Caught looking through the gaps in his toes, Javier walks up to the first man. He stands on the bed and lifts his foot.
—Aaaaaaaa...—.
—Hey, what are you doing?!—.
He protested to the inspector when he saw what he did.
—You didn't tell me you cured them. If it were up to me, I'd leave them like that for much longer. Who told you to scare my daughter...—
—Mamaaaaaaaaaa...—.
Passing out after writhing in pain, leaving a footprint on his back, he gets out of bed and rubs Shio's head, causing him to lower his hands.
—Daddy, where are we going? I'm bored and hungry.
—...ahh, a patrol will take you home—.
—I refuse, today the idea that we would spend the day together is still valid. Go to the house? I refuse, we barely leave.
—Well, you can ask the patrol to take you wherever you want.
—Thanks… now, Shio, how about we hang around here until they give us a patrol car?
-Bored!-.
—Is it boring? But this is where the bad guys get caught. The onee-san you were with earlier was someone from justice, just like the ones behind me.
—Ohhhh—.
His eyes shining, the inspector laughs at Shio's tender and pure reaction.
—All the bad guys come to these places called police stations, if Shio does something bad, these guys here will take you, isn't that right Inspector?
—Very true, young lady, remember to behave yourself, otherwise we'll come after you.
—...—.
—Hahahaha. You guys who are waiting, handcuff those involved and take them to prison.
—Understood—. x 2
Amused by Shio's every reaction, the commissioner opens the door for them, and they leave the room. Javier and Shio walk through the hallways until they reach the main door, where several cameramen are waiting outside the station, hoping for something.
—Wow, look at the people, listen, don't ask, but how many there were, we can tell.
—8 of ours, 4 civilians who were unlucky enough to be nearby, and the guard—.
—13, mm, well, I'm going, I think he's calling me, right—.
—That's right, I already have his phone number and cell phone number. The news will be released soon. The mayor will hold a press conference with me.
—Okay, I'm going, come on, Shio, I don't think we'll get out fast if you walk, come on—.
Escorted by officers, Javier and Shio left the police station and the reporters stood up.
—It's true that he was in cahoots with the terrorists!—.
—Mr. Javier, say a few words about your heroic way of stopping the terrorists!—.
—He wasn't afraid of being killed!—.
—Mr. Javier, why didn't you help before?!—.
—The Japanese people want to know why you didn't save the guard?!—.
—You are a martial artist, why didn't you stop the terrorists?!—.
The police, creating a human shield between Javier and the reporters, reached the patrol car, much to the media's chagrin.
Opening the patrol car, he lets Shio get in first and then gets in and drives off with the officer driving.
Walking away from the police station, Javier sighs as he looks out the window.
—Fu, they must be annoying mosquitoes—.
—Amazing daddy—.
—I don't know why you're praising me, but sit down and put on your seatbelt.
—Sir, where should I take you?—.
—To the center—.
"Tch, I lost half a day because of those unfortunate thieves. I saw myself taking the van to travel, but since I'd never ridden a bus or train before, I thought it would be a good idea. Ahhh, now what will I do? If Yuuna or Asahi see the news where I'm with Shio in my arms, I'll be in a lot of trouble at home."
—Daddy, everything is okay, Shio is okay—.
—Shio—.
Hugging Shio who seemed to understand Javier's concern that he whispered to her.
—Let's pretend this never happened. If Yuuna finds out, she might never let us out again.
—You're right, Daddy. But won't it be on TV?—
—Mmm, let's not worry about that now, they may never see it and that would be best for us—.
—Understood, daddy—.
Leaving the patrol car after dropping them off in downtown Azumi City, Javier walks hand in hand with Shio through alleys and shops until he stops at a restaurant that caught his eye.
—Welcome! Take a seat, we'll help you!—
The man behind the counter said in response to Javier and Shio's entrance as they sat near the window.
—Uhhh, that feels so good.
-Yeah-.
Both relaxing as they feel the freshness of the air conditioning, Javier leans back in his chair and Shio imitates him.
—Here's the menu, something to drink.
—For now, bring me a jug of orange juice and a portion of Karaje.
—Understood, excuse me—.
As the employee left, Javier looked at Shio who was frowning at the menu.
—Hehehe, no matter how much you frown, you won't be able to read.
—Boo, yes, I can read… a little.
—Oh, then I won't bother you—.
-Hey-.
—Ehehehe don't make that face, come on—.
Walking past Javier, they both read the menu, deciding what they wanted. The waitress came over with what they had ordered before—the pitcher of orange and the portion of Karaje—to order what they were going to eat.
-----------
Meanwhile, Javier and Shio enjoyed the crispy karege and waited for what they had ordered to arrive elsewhere.
[Akikaze Corporation]
On the outskirts of Hachioji Prefecture, in a remote location, was the Akikaze Corporation research center responsible for the development of new technologies.
50 years since its founding, they have expanded into software and aerospace equipment improvement.
In that place, seated on leather furniture, face to face, separated by a glass table, a man in the prime of his life and an old man you might find in a park feeding the birds.
Yusuki Kaga, CEO of the Akikaze Corporation and in front of him his father Haru Kaga the former CEO, sharing physical features, such as; his upturned nose, bushy eyebrows, small eyes with light green irises, and short olive-colored hair, but which Haru Kaga mostly had white.
—How is my granddaughter?—.
Asking about his granddaughter first, Yuzuki, who understood that her father had softened towards his daughter, answered him before drinking a glass of water.
—That's very well, Father, but that's why you came. You know I'm busy.
Serious and strict, as expected at first glance from a CEO with hundreds of employees under his command and a clear business image, he did not take his eyes off his father, Haru Kaga.
"Now you've finally decided to pass the baton to me. I'll change this office. Too much space for just two armchairs and a table, three flowerpots, your desk and chair."
—Jojojo, if that's what you want to do, you're at your disposal.
—So why did you come to me, Father?—.
Firm in his words, but not changing his way of expressing himself, since for both of them it was his way of being. Yasuki, who understood that he was not only his father, mentor, but also the leader who built the Akikaze Corporation in a generation, just like him, or rather, father and son, have never shown any naivety.
—I want you to check these envelopes, if possible right now.
—... You couldn't have ordered it from human resources.
Even as he said that, Yasuki was already reviewing the papers with information and a brief summary.
—I didn't teach you that you should never relegate these kinds of tasks to others.
—That's why you went as a spectator at the open fair—.
—Ho ho, this old body still has plenty of energy to go to a place full of youthful energy...—.
Contrary to his appearance, with wrinkles on his face and hands, a testament to his old age, he stood up fully erect with firm steps and walked to his old desk to look out at the mountains through his office window.
—Yasuki, what do you think is necessary to improve in a company?—.
—Good employees and strong management to give you job security—.
—That may be true, people wouldn't go to work for a company with bad conditions, but one hires employees every year, and of those hundreds of interns, few stay for life. Nothing is known about them, only what they want to show at first glance.
An entrepreneur stands at the top and is the pillar of the company. If the pillar has cracks, ants nest inside, gnawing away until they tear it apart. Yasuki, you are the pillar at the top of this company, but you are also at the bottom.
You can't misinterpret just because you're in a position of superiority. It's essential to conduct regular inspections, correct and remove these bugs if necessary, and plug any holes.
Entrepreneurs, like us, are like farmers who cultivate their gardens. That's why we held the Science and Technology Open House every year with other companies, but look at the results.
No one wanted to join, cunning, no. It's wise for anyone to want the best for their future career, but one thing life has taught me is that, although the fruits may be the most appetizing to the naked eye, the ones hidden by their still-unripe branches are the best.
—I always hear you say that to me… From what I heard, the best ones at the fair were brought in by the biggest companies…—.
Standing next to Haru, Yosuke looks at the scenery that will accompany him until his retirement.
—Unlike in past years, when there were few and some lacked the courage to excel and were discarded, this year there are some promising ones.
—Hohoho, I'm glad you understand that immature knowledge doesn't always mean worse than fully formed knowledge. I want you to go to those kids' schools and attract them.
—Yes, President Haru—.
—Even though I'm not the president anymore—.
He said cheerfully as he watched Yosuke leave after bowing and taking the envelope from the glass table.
Well, once we bring the seedlings to our garden, we have to take care of it and let time do its thing.
Whether it was a coincidence or not, the old man, who had visited Rei Stark's booth at the Science and Technology Fair, was actually the former CEO who started his own company that was sought after inside and outside the country called Japan.