Japan, Kyoto.
Here stood a brightly lit, antique courtyard.
This was the old residence of the prestigious Shinomiya family.
The gray-haired man lying on the sickbed was Shinomiya Gan’an, the head of the Shinomiya family.
He was also the helmsman of the Shinomiya Zaibatsu, whose market value exceeded two hundred trillion yen.
He was one of the most powerful people in all of Japan.
“Fortunately, your condition has not worsened.”
“If it has not worsened, are there any signs of improvement?”
“This…”
The doctor hesitated for a moment.
In the end, he could only say tactfully, “Shinomiya-sama, the degree of your cerebral infarction is very severe. Recovery is not something that can happen in a day or two. You will need a long period of quiet rest.”
Shinomiya Gan’an smiled but said nothing.
At this moment, the butler quietly walked in.
Only after the doctor left did he softly say, “Master, Seiryu-sama is outside. He wishes to visit you.”
“Oko sent him here to see whether I’m dead yet, didn’t he?”
How could Shinomiya Gan’an not understand what his eldest and second sons were thinking?
He calmly said, “Tell him to go back and live his life properly. I’m not dead yet.”
After a pause, he brought up his youngest daughter.
“How has Kaguya been lately?”
“Kaguya-sama has just entered Shuchiin. Everything is still fine.”
The butler hesitated.
“It is just as you know, Master. Kaguya-sama has a cold personality. Aside from the second daughter of the Fujiwara family, she does not usually interact much with her classmates.”
“Is she cold by nature, or does she feel people without value are not worth befriending?”
“This… perhaps both.”
Hearing the butler’s stammering answer, Shinomiya Gan’an opened his eyes and glanced at him.
Just one glance.
The dignity and pressure accumulated from years of holding power emerged like a severely ill tiger opening its cloudy yet ferocious eyes.
The butler instinctively lowered his head.
Shinomiya Gan’an narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Do you think I made a mistake by letting Un’yo educate Kaguya?”
How could the butler dare answer such a question?
Shinomiya Gan’an seemed to fall into thought.
But soon, he asked again, “Is there something else?”
“Yes. DA’s board of directors wishes to hold a meeting regarding this year’s funding.”
“The other families have all agreed. They want to know whether you will attend, Master.”
“Heh. Here to ask for money again.”
DA.
Its full name was Direct Attack.
This intelligence and agent organization had a cooperative relationship with the government and could be considered a semi-official secret organization.
Behind it stood the support of Japan’s major conglomerates.
It was mainly responsible for secretly protecting public security in Japan’s major cities and responding to terrorist attacks from extremists both inside and outside the country.
The organization mainly selected and trained its members from orphanages.
Under it were the agent units Lycoris, the female force, and LilyBell, the male force.
A gun in one’s hand naturally required money for maintenance.
“Let Oko handle this matter.”
“Yes.”
After the butler quietly left, Shinomiya Gan’an took a photo out from under the blanket.
In the photo was a woman as clear and beautiful as water.
She was Shinomiya Kaguya’s mother, Shimizu Nayotake.
He still remembered that back then, Shimizu Nayotake had been the top hostess of Ginza’s nightlife district.
Countless wealthy men were willing to spend fortunes on her just for one night of spring pleasure.
Shinomiya Gan’an had also been drawn in by Nayotake’s unique charm.
He had fallen completely into love.
When Nayotake’s congenital heart disease acted up, he had even begged the doctors to save her.
Even if it required transplanting his own heart, they had to cure Nayotake’s illness.
But all of that had scattered with the wind.
The beauty had passed away, leaving behind only one daughter.
Kaguya.
Although everyone in the Shinomiya family believed that Kaguya was definitely another man’s child, Shinomiya Gan’an insisted that Kaguya was his daughter.
He even refused to take a paternity test.
But deep in his heart, he was also very afraid that Kaguya was not his biological daughter.
He did not know how to treat her.
That was why he had kept his distance from her all this time.
In truth, Shinomiya Gan’an cared deeply about Kaguya.
He had already secretly left twenty percent of his inheritance to her in his will.
He also planned to hand some companies over to Kaguya for her to manage.
“That child will probably find it strange when the time comes.”
Shinomiya Kaguya would definitely find it strange.
From the time she had memories, her father had always been cold and heartless toward her.
Yet he would actually leave her so much inheritance.
Thinking of his neglected youngest daughter, the aged man put away the photo and smiled silently.
He decided to sleep for a while.
Suddenly…
Shinomiya Gan’an’s eyes widened.
He saw with his own eyes that the air in front of his sickbed began rippling like water.
Immediately afterward, a young man he had never seen before appeared openly in this room.
He appeared inside the heavily guarded Shinomiya old residence, where not even a mouse should have been able to enter.
Shinomiya Gan’an’s entire body tensed.
He stared fixedly at the other party.
At the moment his worldview collapsed, his thoughts were as messy as weeds.
But within a single breath, he quickly calmed down.
“I thought you would scream.”
Hayashi Makoto clapped his hands and smiled.
“In the end, you are a man who controls a massive conglomerate. I have to admit, your ability to maintain composure is excellent.”
“And fortunately, you can remain calm.” Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
“That gives us a good start for our conversation.”
He looked around.
“Such a fine old residence. If possible, it is better not to stain it with blood.”
Hearing the ferocity in the young man’s tone, as if human lives meant nothing to him, Shinomiya Gan’an became even more cautious.
“May I ask why you have come here?”
“The Shinomiya family still has some power in Japan. I wonder if there is any way we can be of service to you.”
A surprised expression appeared on Makoto’s face.
“Your attitude is better than I expected.”
Shinomiya Gan’an could not help smiling bitterly.
“When facing things that cannot be explained by common sense, people had best maintain the most basic sense of awe.”
“This can be considered this humble one’s tiny bit of wisdom for surviving in the world.”
“Very good.”
Makoto smiled.
“I like talking to smart people.”
Then he spoke of the main matter.
“I can make you healthy again.”
“More than that, I can even extend your already drying lifespan.”
“!!!”
Hearing the first half, Shinomiya Gan’an could still remain calm.
But the second half completely shook his mind.
Clinging to the last bit of reason, Shinomiya Gan’an asked in a trembling voice, “I presume I will have to pay a very great price?”
Makoto laughed.
“In heaven and earth, yin and yang, where there are benefits, there will naturally be a price.”
“And the price you must pay is this.”
“From now on, you and the Shinomiya family must obey me, serve my command, never defy me, and never betray me.”
“This…”
“As long as you have any thought of defiance or betrayal, all the blood in your body will immediately explode.”
Makoto’s tone remained calm.
“You will die without question.”
Amid hesitation and dazed disbelief, Shinomiya Gan’an saw a pill appear before him.
A brown pill.
Plain and ordinary.
Only a strange, clear fragrance came from it.
Just smelling it made his spirit feel greatly refreshed.
“Take it, and I guarantee all your illnesses will vanish. Your lifespan will be extended, and you will no longer suffer from disease and pain.”
“Take it, and become my servant and hound.”
“From this moment onward, your life and death will rest in a single thought of mine.”
Makoto had packaged his own blood into a pill.
After all…
Compared to something like blood, a mysterious divine pill that could extend life and cure all diseases was much easier for both sides to accept.
…
…
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