Every Journey has a Bump

I sleep at night; I pray before I get up. Then I go out and exercise my body. I work until the afternoon and enjoy a tea break with Belfast. I study then I sleep again. Such is the monotony of my daily life.

While it was dull, I admit I had fallen in line with the routine. Honestly, I sometimes slip away during the weekend to do various quest I can't get the chance to do. Even then, sometimes a trouble will always pop up, usually mundane it can be solved easily. But they are really testing my patience already.

I was halfway close to my eyes, staring at the table as I leaned on my cheek. Listening to the woman who practically barged in and disrupted my schedule. The only keep me waking up is the aroma of Belfast tea. Hayasaka has gone somewhere probably tending my father business.

"Like I said, I don't mean to be rude, however what are your intentions regarding your new company?" The woman said, garbed in a typical government issued black suit and short pencil skirt. The only solace is probably her rather large breast. Well even if they sent me a honeypot, it wouldn't work that well on me.

"I'm surprised they didn't put a leash on you already. We're just an aspiring enterprise trying to gain a foothold here. Is this how you get your paycheck? Hounding on some poor man's fortune." As far as an aspiring enterprise practically backed up by the Shinomiya, if in name only, we were swamped by droves of applicants, mostly from opposing families, yakuza, or foreign corporations, hoping they would plant whatever insidious crap on a possible Shinomiya heir or at least a core family member.

Some were honest to good men looking for a job, or those coming from smaller families hoping to gain some favor or relationship in a way, we didn't refuse them if they're competent and honest enough. I had the leeway to spare some budget for training those who didn't have any skills or experience.

The woman said, trying to sound polite. "I have my assignment. I'm sure you have already figured out the previous service this company offered before it got frozen 12 years ago."

Intelligence and Defense services, while it sounds glamorous, it not really is. It's basically a freelancing company acting as an information broker, bodyguard service, and infiltration. Or so I infer from cracking various activities record my mother's company did back then.

The interesting part is however that it's forcibly frozen by exploiting a loophole in the legal law before the government is able to seize most of the assets after my mother married my father. Shinomiya is possibly the biggest Zaibatsu group there is in Japan, its influence can't be underestimated. Fashion, entertainment, media, press, infrastructure, nothing they could not own except one. military and intelligence industries.

By marrying my mother, Shinomiya has, basically, gained a powerful asset in the form of her company. Connection to powerful military industry overseas and intelligence services that practically have everyone's dirty laundry list, it has it all. Shinomiya will undoubtedly have supremacy in regards of that department, and no one will be able to deny any of its influence anymore.

Safe to say, it has grown too big. Crisis happened, and Shinomiya averted it albeit slightly by frosting the company. However, they only snuffed the fire, the powder keg is still there.

I scoffed at her words, picking up the cup. The weather is good today, so I looked outside the window before speaking. "We only inherited the name. I don't even know my mother to even share one of her visions, however sad that maybe, nor was I really enthusiastic to follow one of father whims." I chuckled at the thought, but our vision may align, if only a bit, "While I'm indeed flattered, you expect too much from 9 years old. I'm no genius, what I have is just a bit of luck due to my birth."

Really, I can understand why father would be so obsessed with obtaining the company. We survived the Tokugawa period and came on top as one of the revolutionary forces, expanding the family horizon to every sector. We built the Yamato, funding the armies and the war effort. For all that, we were stripped of our fang once it was all over, generations of culture and tradition were simply tossed aside like heap trash. It's a luck that grandfather is able to walk off the negotiating table at the cost of our pride. Well in a way, we're a bitter loser huh.

The woman nodded at my word, having already forgotten her name the moment it came out of her mouth. "Also, would it be agreeable if we send an inspector once every few weeks?" I get that they're trying to be wary, but this is simply too much. I don't want some government rat scurrying over under our office.

"A few weeks? How about every few years, we're barely fledgling company at best, trying to land a foot in another trade. Rolling the red carpet every few weeks is simply asking too much."

In the end the argument comes in full circle. I didn't relent to any of their demands and she said she would come over again to renegotiate. Bloody shite of piece. I need to prioritize hiring security as soon as possible.

In the business world it's normal to escort one of the guests out, but sadly they have extended their invitation. Belfast is simply too precious to waste her breath on walking out some rats.

"Is that alright, Master? I'm not sure but aggravating the government sounds like a bad idea."

Belfast spoke behind me as I simply stared out the window from the third floor of the executive office. I understand her worry, and I doubt Shinomiya would bail or cover the company out once it's sinking which won't happen under my watch.

I doubt the government is behind all of this, behind all of the bureaucracy, there's various factions fighting for the seat of power. Factions that had the backing and the bidding of large or numerous financial powers. Even Shinomiya is not an exception.

"The first rule in negotiation is to stand up and never relent to any of the opposition. You lose the moment you accept it. Remember Belfast, we don't choose, we don't beg, we demand."

A beggar can only accept whatever scraps are given to them. Those who had the luck to choose, inevitably will fall to pick between the lesser of two evil. I refuse to be such a thing.

In the worst case scenario, they would open up a competing business right in front of our doorstep which I doubt would do anything once we reached the target. The second plausible scenario is that we would be under their watchlist and monitored to search for a slight mistake in our parts.

I continued before placing the now empty cup, leftover remains of grinded leaves on the bottom. "They asked us to turn over our belly, and stepped on it like a willing slave. If something happened…" I leave the word hanging in the air.

"Then they will have the worst awakening in their whole life."

The rest of the evening was a pleasant affair until Hayasaka came back and continued her nightmarish lesson.