Chapter 350

The foundations of America and Europe, the clans of Korea, the factions of China, and the schools of Japan.

Though they have slightly different names in each country, they all share one commonality.

They are all charitable and non-profit organizations, and at the same time, they are unincorporated associations.

While individuals pursue money, the organizations themselves are non-profits, allowing them certain tax benefits and making it easier to operate in a closed manner due to their unincorporated status.

Some say that recently, magicians seem to be even more obsessed with money than businessmen.

However, due to the guillotine matches that take place every four to six years globally, the National Assembly members dared not touch the inviolable realm.

Japan’s situation was no different.

“But what is this?”

Amidst sorting through unreported funds exchanged secretly among the numerous factions of the Liberal Democratic Party.

The Chief Financial Officer of the Katsuhata Financial Group grew suspicious over the unaccounted sum of five billion yen.

“Is this also a slush fund?”

It wasn’t a small amount to be openly disregarded.

The CFO was a person who had been thrust into the job without any handover after his predecessor died of acute myocardial infarction.

He ultimately took the liberty of directly contacting the Katsuhata School to inquire about the source of the five billion yen.

[Wasn’t that something thrown our way when selling the Bio-Akashic? Let’s take a look.]

“The Bio-Akashic…?”

[Recently, Johnson & Johnson acquired a Korean startup.]

“Oh, I just recalled. Are you saying the Katsuhata Group was an early investor?”

He quickly searched for translated Korean articles online.

“Wow, it really was… If I’d known it would grow this large, our group would have considered a formal investment at the level of our organization. You have extraordinary insight.”

[Then, have all your matters been resolved?]

“Excuse me, but I have one more request. Since this has made it to the news in Korea, it might be a bit difficult to categorize it as slush funds.”

[How could you possibly count something that large as slush funds? Just accurately reflect it in the accounting.]

“That’s what I’m saying. According to our internal regulations, any cash flow exceeding ten million dollars must have the representative’s seal. I’d appreciate it if you could relay that I’ll need to visit the head of the clan.”

[Hehe… That might be a bit difficult right now, you know?]

“Yes? Is there something going on?”

[The head of the clan went to Korea for a training camp with the successor. I’ll give you the address, so if you want to get approval, you’ll have to visit in person.]

Beep beep—

The call was disconnected.

And despite being in a cutting-edge era, Japan was still using an analog payment system.

“Ugh!”

The CFO clutched the back of his neck.

His predecessor’s cause of death was undoubtedly due to stress or work overload.

* * *

“I’m sorry, but there’s an insufficient balance…”

“Insufficient balance?”

“Do you have another card? I can try again.”

“Oh, that can’t be! An insufficient balance?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Could you please check it one more time?”

“Still insufficient balance…”

“Saetbyeol, I’ll just pay instead.”

Adella stopped by a convenience store on her way home.

In the end, her friend paid instead and saved her from the crisis.

“How strange. Thanks for paying for me, Dahee. I’ll definitely pay you back tomorrow.”

“Saetbyeol, if your family is having a tough time, should I help you find a scholarship? Korea has surprisingly good welfare in that regard…!”

Adella momentarily hesitated at Dahee’s words.

“Huh? What? Scholarship? No, my family is doing fairly well! This bag even cost three million won!”

“Wasn’t that fake?”

“Who said that? This was bought by our… no, the… no, by Dad at the department store.”

“You couldn’t even buy cosmetics until now.”

“Do you really think I’ve been misunderstood for not wearing makeup? It’s not that I couldn’t; I just didn’t.”

“How can a high school student not wear makeup, especially a pretty girl like you?”

Adella finally understood the sympathetic gazes she had received over the past week.

She thought she had to clarify the misunderstanding before her image became irreparably fixed.

The area where Adella lived might have contributed to the misunderstanding.

Just the Parthenon Apartment Complex alone was located at the boundary of a slum.

“Ugh… I’m home from school.”

Back at home, Adella placed the snack in the freezer and took out one stick to suck on.

NaeMe, still wrapped in her blanket, crawled out from the room to greet her.

Having just woken up, her face looked quite haggard.

“I’ll have one too.”

“It’s over by the freezer. Are you still feeling sick?”

“Almost better. By the way, it seems you really like this. Is it because it looks similar to Churu?”

“No, the ridiculous thing is that Churu is actually so disgusting I can’t eat it. I thought I was going to seriously throw up.”

“You actually tried it…?”

NaeMe looked at her with a disdainful gaze.

“Aw, why not? I was curious.”

“No. Nothing.”

“Oh right, NaeMe, I think my card got hacked. Today, it showed insufficient balance everywhere at the convenience store. Where should I report this first?”

“You don’t need to. I transferred all of it.”

“Transferred? Where to? It’s my money!”

“Why is it your money? I used it to pay off the debt to the manager.”

“Are you crazy? All two hundred million?”

It felt like a bolt from the blue.

Adella couldn’t accept the sudden change and collapsed dramatically to the floor.

“Aaaah! I was going to buy so many things today! I’ve saved every bit over the past six months like this…!”

“What do you have to buy?”

“I have to buy summer clothes, cosmetics… concert tickets.”

“I don’t care. You’ll earn it from streaming today.”

“KariRi said the settlements are done at the end of the month!”

Adella anxiously bit her nails.

The income from being a VTuber was substantial, but she didn’t receive pocket money.

But that also meant she had to live broke until the settlement came through.

“Just this month, if I can endure, I need only a hundred thousand won… I’ll make sure to pay it back double.”

In the end, Adella chose to kneel and plead for help.

“Okay, thirty thousand won.”

“Really?”

“It’s not a gift; I’m lending it to you. In exchange, can you do one errand for me?”

“Yeah, anything!”

“Just go get me a wooden sword that matches my height from up ahead.”

Adella’s eyes reflected confusion.

“Where on earth do they sell wooden swords in our country?”

“How would I know? I’ll give you a strict two hours, just find out and bring it back.”

* * *

Roll, roll—

Tap.

Roll, roll—

Tap.

The distinct sound of bamboo harmonized with the water sounds, soothing the heart.

But outside the limousine window, the scenery was all asphalt and concrete.

The leader of the Katsuhata School, Katsuhata Akitaro, was enjoying a deep sleep while listening to ‘Shishiodoshi ASMR 10 Hours.’

“Katsuhata Leader, we have arrived at the hotel.”

“Cough, cough? Did we arrive?”

“Yes.”

“It seems the road was quite congested.”

“I’m sorry. I failed to consider the rush hour on the way back.”

“It’s alright. Just unload the luggage and quickly go in to rest.”

“Yes, understood.”

The leader put away his pink rabbit sleep mask in the drawer and briefly admired the landscape of Gangbuk.

In Bukchon, Jongno-gu, Seoul, a long limousine parked in front of a traditional house hotel.

The dusty, polluted air of Seoul welcomed them.

Generally, the training sessions of the Katsuhata School are held amidst nature, where the mountains and water are excellent.

For them rooted in Taoist philosophy, training in nature greatly aids in enhancement.

But this year, with the leader’s strong will, they opted for Korea against the stubbornness of the backroom elders.

A daunting schedule of thirty-four nights and thirty-five days.

As the venue for the 2052 national exchange competition was decided to be Tokyo, Japan, victory was essential.

However, recklessly entering Korea would provoke extreme right-wing forces in Japan.

Thus, the Katsuhata Leader completed the entry procedures secretly at Gimpo Airport, even taking a private plane.

“From here on, it should all be our people, right?”

“Yes. The training hall is booked for five weeks until the last day of June.”

“It’s nice that there are no reporters around, so I can relax. Hahaha!”

Katsuhata Akitaro laughed heartily.

In reality, the position of the leader of a faction is often more political than martial.

It means that holding a pen becomes more familiar than wielding a sword.

From early May to late July is a time of hardship for the faction members.

Yet for the leader, it might even feel like a vacation.

Since the exchange competition would be held in Japan, there was a justification for guided training, and he had flown to Korea to personally participate in the activities.

‘Korea isn’t participating again this year, so there’s no worry about strategic leaks. Of course.’

His secretary, who had just unloaded all the luggage, suddenly asked the leader.

“But was there really a need to be in Korea?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“If you wanted to escape the elder’s interference, wouldn’t it have been better to choose Singapore, which has better infrastructure and security?”

He was questioning the reason behind the sudden change to Korea.

“Didn’t you see the sports competition?”

“What? The sports competition…?”

“Whatever it is, there’s something like that. I’m busy now, so I’ll explain later.”

As the leader stepped into the main gate, everyone who had already lined up bowed in unison.

Without the slightest hint of disorder, it was the most respectful greeting—Saikeirei (最敬礼), a bow bent at 45 degrees.

“Everyone, thank you for your hard work. Was there any inconvenience at the hotel?”

The closest aide to Katsuhata, Koizumi Yoshihiro, stepped forward to answer.

“Everyone is particularly determined about this training session. Uncomfortable sleeping means the training wasn’t satisfactory.”

“Ah, Koizumi, you’ve truly worked hard taking care of our kids. The atmosphere seems so tense already; it’s clear you’ve managed to rein them in from the start.”

Everyone’s gazes were icy.

Wasn’t it like the appearance of a warrior?

Akitaro looked around at the faction members and was momentarily lost in nostalgia.

“Huh? But where is Katsuhata Emika? I can’t see her at all…”

Suddenly, the atmosphere grew tenfold heavier.

‘Are they all stiff because of Emika?’

That was the answer.

The main character of the training session was missing.

It was unlikely that the quiet girl had run away.

“What is Emika doing right now?”

Leader Akitaro inquired about her whereabouts from her master.

“Well, Katsuhata is…”

Koizumi hesitated in his words, then made a firm resolution and confessed.

“She has a head injury and is unconscious for a bit.”

Dud—

The phone in the leader’s hand dropped onto the stony ground of the garden.

Once again, it struck the screen side and cracked the display.