Chapter 71

Chapter 71: Has My Yakuza Identity Actually Been Exposed?

Early the next morning, Nagayama Naoki drove out in his beloved car.

As expected, the morning temperature was pleasantly cool, and traffic on the roads was smooth.

When he arrived at the meeting place in Akihabara, he discovered that Fujita Keiko was already waiting. After more than half a year, dressed in a white blouse and black skirt with a neat, efficient appearance, she now carried an even stronger office-lady aura.

“Keiko-san, you came this early? Have you been waiting long?”

Seeing Nagayama Naoki step out of a convertible sports car, Fujita Keiko was once again amazed by his earning ability.

“I haven’t been waiting long. Naoki-san, did you buy this car yourself?”

“Yes, I’ve had it for quite a while.”

Fujita Keiko repeated her familiar phrase: “As expected of Naoki-san, you’re amazing!”

Hearing that familiar praise again after several months gave him a strange sense of déjà vu. Were compliments in Japan always just variations of “amazing”?

The shop in Akihabara was a ground-floor commercial unit, about twenty tsubo in size. The price was not expensive—only 80 million yen, far cheaper than properties in Shibuya.

After confirming the location, there was little else worth examining. In any case, the place would eventually be rented out.

“Keiko-san, there’s no problem with this property. I’ll buy it.”

“Yes! Then let’s head to the next location,” Fujita Keiko said. As expected, Naoki-san made decisions quickly.

With Fujita Keiko driving ahead and Nagayama Naoki following behind, the two arrived at a residence in Chiyoda Ward.

It was a typical Japanese detached house with only thirty tsubo of land, yet built in a Western two-story style. The first floor contained the living room, kitchen, storage area, and bathroom; the second floor had two bedrooms and an additional toilet, along with a spacious protruding balcony.

From the outside, it somewhat resembled the Makino house Nagayama Naoki had once rented. The price was 42 million yen.

The owner had already emptied the house. Inside, Naoki observed that many fixtures still felt modern: an open kitchen with marble countertops, crystal ceiling lights, and solid wood flooring that remained seventy to eighty percent new.

Behind the living room stood full glass sliding doors leading directly to a wooden corridor outside, and in the yard grew a cherry blossom tree.

While guiding the tour, Fujita Keiko explained:

“This house was newly built and decorated a few years ago. The owner is a businessman engaged in foreign trade who only stayed here occasionally. He has now emigrated to the United States for development, so he wants to sell the property.”

“The overall style leans Western but incorporates Japanese elements. The living room, kitchen, corridor, and garden on the first floor are connected by traditional Japanese sliding doors. It seems a designer was hired.”

Anyone able to build a house in Chiyoda at that time was usually quite wealthy.

And emigrating to the United States was something many people envied.

After walking around several times, Nagayama Naoki found no issues. The garden would need some maintenance, but the blend of Western and Japanese styles looked quite appealing.

“Keiko-san, everything seems fine. Let’s go with this one.”

“Yes, I’ll proceed with the paperwork as quickly as possible.”

Fujita Keiko was delighted to have closed two major deals and even wanted to treat him to lunch.

“Naoki-san, shall we have lunch together to celebrate buying two properties?”

“Sorry, Keiko-san. I have to visit Shogakukan Publishing this morning. Let’s eat another day,” Nagayama Naoki politely declined again.

“Will it take long at the publisher? I could wait and we can eat afterward~” she insisted, unwilling to give up.

“It should take some time. I need to sign a copyright contract.”

“Eh? Naoki-san, did you publish a book?”

“Yes. I wrote a novel some time ago.”

“Eh?!”

In reality, the visit to the publisher was very brief. All conditions had already been discussed, the contract was standard, and veteran editor Morikawa Kuniharu explained everything clearly. The entire process took less than an hour, finishing before ten o’clock.

Naturally, there was no lunch afterward. They agreed that once the first batch of novels was produced, he would treat her then.

At noon, Nagayama Naoki found a restaurant serving sashimi. With the weather so hot, only cold food stimulated his appetite.

Since he had woken early, he felt drowsy after filling his stomach. By the time he drove home, it was the hottest part of the day.

After parking the car, he suddenly remembered that the refrigerator upstairs was empty.

Unwilling to go out again in the afternoon, he stopped by a convenience store to restock supplies.

Passing a flower shop on the way, he recalled yesterday’s events.

He bought some flower seeds and pots, planning to grow some plants himself. Cosmos flowers were included among them.

When he arrived downstairs at the apartment, as expected, the three kids—Haruyama Kazuya, Haragami Shida, and Akita Shi—were once again playing in the old house.

Under the shade in the yard, they were enthusiastically playing a game similar to hopscotch, drenched in sweat yet showing no intention of stopping.

Nagayama Naoki felt speechless.

Were kids nowadays not afraid of the heat?

“Hey, you three~”

Seeing the older brother who had once seemed scary but later bought them cola, they hesitated to speak. Akita Shi finally stepped forward, putting on a street-wise expression.

“Oyaji, do you have any orders?”

Oyaji? Nagayama Naoki laughed. Wasn’t that how yakuza addressed their boss?

If they were going to call him oyaji, shouldn’t they at least roll their tongue properly with a “Kono yarō~~~”?

“Kono yarō~~~” Nagayama Naoki immediately demonstrated. “So you guys actually know? Has my yakuza identity been exposed?”

The sudden remark left the kids completely at a loss.

Oh no, did they run into a real one?

After satisfying his brief mischievous impulse, Nagayama Naoki laughed.

“Alright, alright. Stop playing yakuza games. Be careful or you might actually become yakuza someday.”

“I’ve noticed you come here often to play. Doesn’t the old man mind?”

“Yes, Grandpa Nagai said as long as we keep things clean, we can borrow the yard!”

“I see.”

Nagayama Naoki began guiding their thinking.

“If someone shows you kindness, have you considered how to repay it?”

Haruyama Kazuya, Haragami Shida, and Akita Shi looked at one another.

It seemed they had never considered repayment at all.

“Maybe we could treat Grandpa Nagai to soda?” Haruyama Kazuya suggested.

“Are you stupid? Old people don’t usually like soda!” Haragami Shida replied. “Maybe help clean?”

“Grandpa Nagai doesn’t seem to like people entering his house. It looks very dark inside,” Akita Shi said.

“Could there be monsters?”

The other two immediately let their imaginations run wild.

Seeing the topic drifting away, Nagayama Naoki quickly redirected them.

“Actually, repaying him is simple.”

Three pairs of eyes turned toward him.

“Nani?”

“Look at this yard. Now that the weeds are gone, it feels empty. You could decorate it a little.”

“Move some stones? Build a fake mountain?” Haruyama Kazuya proposed a poor idea.

“We’d also need sand. We could make a dry landscape garden,” said the bespectacled boy, surprisingly reasonable.

Akita Shi ended the idea with one sentence: “Wouldn’t that cost money?”

Watching their discussion become increasingly unrealistic, Nagayama Naoki spoke directly.

“I just bought some flower seeds. I can give you some. Planting a few flowers and plants should be enough.”

He took out a small bag of seeds, about the size of a palm.

“So few? How many flowers can this grow?”

“Probably several thousand, if they survive.”

“That many?”

“Just scatter them like salt, lightly cover with soil, and remember to water them.”

After that, it would depend on the weather. No one knew how many cosmos flowers would ultimately grow.

Watching the three children scatter seeds across most of the yard, Nagayama Naoki returned home feeling expectant.

Perhaps in autumn, the entire garden would be filled with blooming flowers.