Chapter Index

    Takayama flinched at Yamamoto’s shout, but he didn’t spring into action right away.

    Yamamoto’s forehead was vein-bulging madder than ever, seemingly more enraged by Takayama’s hesitation.

    “What are you doing! Bow your head to this man right now, you useless brat! Do you really need to be put in your place before you come to your senses?”

    Yamamoto’s fierce scolding rang out.

    Takayama shot me a glance before biting his lip hard. It was clear he was furious.

    Still, he gradually backed up about five steps to follow the orders.

    In a moment, he kneeled, first resting one knee on the floor and then the other.

    Even while kneeling, Takayama’s gaze remained locked onto my eyes, filled with fury and humiliation.

    Pressing his hands to the floor, he slammed his forehead down hard.

    Thud!

    The mighty impact echoed through the room, as if he aimed to shatter the ground.

    Takayama remained motionless in that position for a while.

    I watched him in silence. With no one speaking, an almost unbearable silence settled in.

    As the heavy atmosphere stretched on, Yamamoto spoke up first.

    “I’m sorry, Chairman Kim Mu-hyeok.”

    Yamamoto, who was sitting upright across from me, also knelt.

    “My subordinate’s mistake is my mistake. Please forgive us. I promise it won’t happen again.”

    He bowed his head, but I shook mine.

    “I do not wish to accept an apology.”

    In this situation, the person being apologized to required the offender to maintain their low posture.

    At my firm response, Yamamoto spoke quickly.

    “I will do anything you say. So…”

    “If you carry out what I instruct smoothly, only then will I consider accepting your apology. Until then, I will not accept it.”

    “…Chairman.”

    “By the way, are we just going to leave that poor guy in that position? He looks like he’s struggling quite a bit.”

    “If you don’t forgive him, he won’t lift that stance.”

    “Oh really? Then tell him to stay in that position for the rest of his life.”

    I shifted my focus from Takayama and fixed my gaze on Yamamoto.

    As I looked at him without a trace of emotion, Yamamoto lowered his eyes.

    Once I confirmed that his spirit had deflated, I finally brought up the topic at hand.

    “Let’s continue from where we left off earlier.”

    Yamamoto no longer pressed me to accept an apology.

    Nor did he issue a command for Takayama to lift his head.

    He was treating Takayama as if he was nonexistent.

    “The reason I’m here to see you, Yamamoto, is about Heaven Church. Do you know of a religion called Heaven Church in Japan?”

    “You’re referring to Heaven Church? I believe we have some members who follow that religion in our organization.”

    Heaven Church had deeply rooted itself in Japanese society.

    I had a rough idea of it, but it seemed to have penetrated even further than I thought.

    After all, if they have followers within the organization, it must be quite ingrained.

    “There was an incident where we imprisoned the leader of Heaven Church and pushed for his successor, San-nam. Yet, suddenly, a Japanese politician asked me to release him.”

    Yamamoto nodded as if he understood how things had unfolded.

    “It’s an open secret that politicians from the Liberal Democratic Party attend Heaven Church events.”

    “If I don’t release him, I’ll be obstructing my work.”

    “Excuse me? What do you mean? Did a politician oppose your activities? Has your relationship with Prime Minister Koizumi soured?”

    I shook my head slightly.

    “It’s not him. I just came from discussing several matters with Prime Minister Koizumi today. By the way, Yamamoto, do you know Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki?”

    At the mention of Hiroyuki, Yamamoto’s eyes flickered slightly.

    Knowing that a politician of the Liberal Democratic Party frequently attends Heaven Church events would cause someone to be surprised upon hearing Hiroyuki’s name.

    Is Yamamoto possibly in league with Hiroyuki?

    I feigned ignorance and asked again.

    “You don’t know the Liberal Democratic Party member Hiroyuki?”

    At my inquiry, Yamamoto quickly nodded and replied.

    “No, I know him. He’s the current Chief Cabinet Secretary, isn’t he?”

    “So you’re aware. He has demanded that I release the leader against my will.”

    “…Was he a follower of Heaven Church?”

    Seemed like he was. Upon hearing about Heaven Church, his eyes darted.

    “Yes. He seemed quite deeply invested. Almost fanatical, you could say. I didn’t realize it at the time. Did you know that, Yamamoto?”

    “Not at all.”

    “Does this have nothing to do with you?”

    I casually tossed the question out there to gauge Yamamoto’s reaction.

    But he had no answer.

    There’s definitely something. Staring straight into his eyes, I asked once more.

    “I’m asking if Yamaguichi-gumi and Hiroyuki have no ties whatsoever.”

    With a deep sigh, Yamamoto finally spoke.

    “…He’s a politician we’ve been paying extra attention to lately.”

    Look at that? I couldn’t help but chuckle quietly.

    This is why keeping a close watch on dark-haired beasts isn’t wise.

    “This is unbelievable. You’re paying attention to Koizumi’s political rival? Do you know what that means?”

    Just leaving well enough alone led to them sneaking around behind my back.

    This is why I can’t ally with the Japanese.

    “You’ve been having second thoughts behind my back.”

    Yamamoto bowed his head deeply.

    “We have no choice but to make this decision for our survival. While Koizumi’s influence is still strong, we don’t know what the future holds. So we acted first.”

    “Did you do it directly?”

    “No. The deputy chief sitting next to me took charge of the Hiroyuki faction.”

    I redirected my gaze towards Takayama, who remained frozen in place, still kneeling.

    “So, Yamamoto, you’re handling Koizumi while letting your deputy tie connections with Hiroyuki? That’s a dirty move, not even petty criminals do that. Ahh, I get it now. So you were testing me? Or was it Hiroyuki’s order?”

    Yamamoto urgently replied.

    “No! We’re only at the stage of querying. We do not have a close relationship!”

    I needed answers, not excuses. Just as Yamamoto tried to say more, I raised my hand to halt him.

    “I want to hear Takayama’s answer, not yours.”

    Only then did Yamamoto turn and look at Takayama.

    “Takayama. Lift your head and answer the Chairman.”

    With Yamamoto’s prompting, Takayama slowly raised his bowed head.

    Fresh blood beaded on his forehead. It seemed his head had split open when he slammed it into the floor earlier.

    Takayama, eyes lowered, spoke in a subdued voice.

    “…It wasn’t Hiroyuki who ordered it.”

    I examined Takayama’s gaze for sincerity. The humiliation still lingered in his downcast eyes.

    “Hiroyuki had no part in this?”

    “…”

    “Takayama!”

    When Takayama only bit his lip and remained silent, Yamamoto called him in alarm.

    “No, right?”

    In response to Yamamoto’s question, Takayama answered.

    “No, Chairman. However, I did receive a message from Hiroyuki saying that a man named Kim Mu-hyeok is in Tokyo, so I should meet him. But today’s events had no connection to Hiroyuki.”

    “This is insane.”

    Yamamoto rubbed his forehead.

    I smirked at Yamamoto, lifting one corner of my mouth.

    “Is this still a misunderstanding?”

    I hadn’t anticipated Hiroyuki and Yamaguichi-gumi being interconnected.

    While the relationship between political circles and the Yakuza is akin to that of a crocodile and a bird, it was rare for a single organization to straddle both sides of opposing politicians.

    “This is truly a misunderstanding, Chairman. We haven’t established any substantial ties with Hiroyuki yet. We merely attempted to make a connection, without doing anything further. Takayama, tell me exactly what passed between you. Was today’s act of rudeness at the behest of that Hiroyuki?”

    Yamamoto was no longer agitated.

    With a chilled tone, he spoke towards the still bowed Takayama.

    “…It wasn’t.
    Hiroyuki just told us to meet and listen to what he wanted. If everything goes smoothly, he said he’d look after us in the future if he were to become Prime Minister.”

    “This is crazy. Just plain insane.”

    “Wasn’t that what you wanted, Chairman? To create ties with Hiroyuki by any means necessary? We are the Yakuza. Isn’t catering to their request one of the easiest things for us?”

    Yamamoto let out a coarse sigh before erupting with anger.

    “You crazy brat! Didn’t I tell you to talk about Kim Mu-hyeok?”

    “…”

    “Do you not recognize that Koizumi—ahem, Chairman Kim Mu-hyeok—is more important than Hiroyuki? Do you know this yet still act the way you do?”

    “Today’s incident had nothing to do with Hiroyuki. I simply…”

    The hesitant words of Takayama were directed at me.

    “I was just curious about the person so highly regarded by the Chairman.”

    A preposterous reason. I couldn’t help but chuckle, which paled Yamamoto’s face.

    “Takayama! One word from Chairman Kim Mu-hyeok could obliterate the public authority that’s been shielding us. It’s not Koizumi supporting us because I’m worth something; it’s because Chief Kim Mu-hyeok’s request is why he’s backing us, you foolish brat!”

    “What—what do you mean? The Prime Minister listens to that man?”

    “Ha… It’s my explanation’s fault, isn’t it?”

    I didn’t know how Yamamoto had explained me to his members, but that was not my concern.

    It felt as if they were putting on an act to show me.

    However, I had no intention of continuing to listen to their ridiculous dialogue.

    “Yamamoto.”

    I stripped off the last respectful title, calling to him, causing Yamamoto to turn to me in a hurry.

    “How much longer do I have to keep listening to this nonsense?”

    “I’m sorry, but this has nothing to do with me. I’ll cut ties with Hiroyuki immediately.”

    “Chairman!”

    Takayama gasped, surprised at Yamamoto.

    Even Yamamoto seemed to realize he couldn’t stem the tide anymore as he ignored Takayama’s plea.

    I looked at him coldly, while my mind spun with plans.

    If handled well, this situation could be beneficial.

    ‘Though it depends on how deep Hiroyuki and the deputy chief’s relationship runs.’

    I gathered my thoughts and spoke again.

    “How deeply entangled are you with Hiroyuki?”

    At my inquiry, Yamamoto spoke to Takayama.

    “Answer as the Chairman inquires.”

    Once again, Takayama, with his head bowed, obediently replied.

    “We have reached a level of private meetings.”

    “A bureaucrat meets with the Yakuza? To meet with the deputy chief, no less?”

    That genuinely caught me off guard.

    No matter how powerful the Yamaguichi-gumi was in Japan, that was no simple feat.

    “Yes. It has been a year of cultivation.”

    “Even so, private meetings aren’t easy to arrange.”

    It appeared Yamamoto had his reasons for valuing Takayama; he seemed quite resourceful.

    “So if I give the directive, can one be arranged?”

    “…Yes.”

    Though he hesitated, the answer came back affirmatively.

    If things unfold favorably, it seems this could potentially go smoothly. I smiled softly.

    “Good. If you successfully wrap up what I instruct you to do this time, I will forgive the mistakes made today. Repay the debt through my directives.”

    Takayama merely bowed his head without a word.

    It was Yamamoto who responded.

    “I will carry out your orders, Chairman. I will make sure that whatever you command is fulfilled.”

    Whatever it was, the objective had been achieved. I nodded and withdrew my gaze from Takayama.

    “Understood. Now let’s have the deputy chief leave, and then you two can talk.”

    Yamamoto addressed Takayama.

    “Takayama. Step out now and wait outside.”

    “Yes, Chairman.”

    As Takayama stood, he swayed slightly.

    Having remained in such an uncomfortable position for too long, it seemed he was in pain.

    But neither I nor Yamamoto paid him any heed until he retreated and the door closed.

    Once that happened, Yamamoto bowed again.

    “Chairman Kim Mu-hyeok. I’m truly sorry.”

    “It’s okay. Thanks to you, I believe things will get much easier now.”

    I lifted one corner of my mouth to smile. That smile was often described as rather menacing.

    “What kind of work do you intend to undertake?”

    “Political engagement with religion is undesirable, even in Japan, isn’t it?”

    “Yes, that’s correct.”

    “Japan has even more severe issues. It was the same a hundred years ago.”

    The Japanese viewed the emperor as a god.

    They were a race inherently inclined toward fanaticism.

    Chapter Summary

    In this chapter, tension escalates between Yamamoto and Takayama as Yamamoto demands respect and obedience from his subordinate. Takayama is forced to apologize to Kim Mu-hyeok, but Kim refuses to accept it without proper service. The discussion shifts to the political landscape surrounding Heaven Church, revealing connections between the Yakuza and prominent politicians, leading to complications in the existing balance of power.

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