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Last Embryo Volume 8 Chapter 1 Part 8

No matter what happened to her father and what his circumstances were, there is no doubt that they were something that her father would rather have her not know about.

Just like Izayoi said, it is entirely possible that he might have had more than one debt to pay somewhere else. However, even if that turned out to be true, then as her father’s daughter she decided that she wanted to believe in him no matter what, so she stared back at Izayoi with her young eyes, which were moist with emotion, and while biting onto her lips, she spoke her next words as she tried to voice her desperate reasoning.

She said:

「My father… is a very serious person. Whenever there is a festival or a fair, he always gets excited with the people in the town, and when he has something to discuss, he worries about it together with me… He is a serious person with an old-fashioned temperament who just can’t refuse a request whenever someone asks him for it

「… I’ve heard that the swelling debt was also a desperate measure to try to pay the employees who would lose their jobs when the factory closed.」

If anyone else saw him do something selfless like that, they would probably ridiculed him and said that he is simply putting a cart before the horse, and usually it doesn’t make sense for the company that is about to be shut down due to the accumulation of debts to try to secure the financial stability of its employees.

However, the factory that Masami Tendo’s father owned had many employees that were either approaching or were right before reaching the retirement age, and many of them would be unable to get their lives back on track after being fired. Sure, it would be all too easy for her father to simply fire all of his employees and not care about what’s going to happen to them in the slightest, but for someone like him who actually cared, firing even a single one was no easy task.

「I truly believe that he is a clumsy person who has nothing but sincerity in his heart. That’s why I wanted my clumsy father to at least be rewarded for his goodwill towards others, so I visited the temple in Shibamata many times, so that even if no one else would do it, then I at least wanted God to recognize my father’s clumsy sincerity. But… B-But to be deceived and possibly killed even though he wanted to do good… my father is definitely not that kind of person…!」

Masami Tendo’s anxiety has finally turned to tears, which started running down her cheeks. She must have reached her mental limit after hearing so many terrifying stories in quick succession.

Since she was selected for the student council in a junior high school affiliated with Hoei University, she must be an excellent student, but if she won’t be able to do anything about her father’s debts, the she will undoubtedly have no other choice but to quit school. The reason why she visited Shibamata Taishakuten so many times must have been her attempt to ease her own anxiety, even if it would be just for a little bit.

If only there was someone who could help her clumsy father, who had nothing but honesty and good intentions in mind with anything he did. And if not to Indra himself, then those prayers of hers must have been directed towards the God of this land with whom she was all too familiar with ever since her childhood.

「Well, looks like it can’t be helped. Since you’re asking so earnestly, that I would definitely lose face if I didn’t bestow even a single one of my blessings upon you, right?」

「Huh?」

「It’s been a long time since the number of people who enthusiastically visit the shrine to pray has decreased, so I didn’t have many chances to do my job properly, but this changes things now.」

Omatsu elegantly held her hand in front of her mouth and laughed, while Tokuteru himself showed a somewhat bitter expression. Scratching the back of his head in a troubled manner, he stood up from his seat and said:

「I will accept your request. However, I’ll have you know that the price of my services is going to be quite high. Let’s see… 5 million yen as the payment for the successful competition of the request and another million yen to cover the cost of Don Bruno’s auctioneer service, so that would be… six million yen in total.」

「Eh…. EHHH?!! S-Such a large sum of money, it might be a little…」

「Oh come on now, this is not such a bad price in exchange for your father’s safe return home, right? And if you still can’t afford it, then you can always ask Ayato to lend it to you and give it back to her at your own pace!」

「T-There’s no way I could ever exploit Ayato-senpai like that!」

「Oh really? I wouldn’t mind it though.」

「Y-You really wouldn’t?!」

「Yes, but only on the condition that Tokuteru-san is going to do a perfect job with it. As for all of the expenses necessary to do so, feel free to use all of the resources from here.」

With that, Ayato took out a black credit card and threw it onto the table in front of Tokuteru with a silent *click!* sound. Receiving it, Tokuteru grinned and stood up.

「And with that, the negotiations have been completed. It’s been almost two full days since your father disappeared, right? If we won’t move right away, I feel like things might take a turn for the worse.」

「You say that, but do you even know where to start looking, Mr. President?」
「More or less. Didn’t the dealers who came to you with the proposition have a continental accent, by any chance?」

「Y-Yes, they had one indeed. And if I remember correctly, they also requested the transaction to be made in Hong Kong dollars.」

「Hee? Hong Kong dollars, you say?」

Izayoi’s eyes shined with dangerous light.

「The fact that they went out of their way to request that currency, Hong Kong dollars, specifically means that the people behind your father’s disappearance are not Overseas Chinese in Japan. These guys probably act as conduits to the buyers from outside, with other shady organizations pulling their strings from behind the scenes. In all likelihood, they are going to be tough opponents to deal with.」

「No, this time it should be easier to deal with the guys from the other side of society, so we can probably leave the handling of that particular matter up to Rasetsuten.」

「Eh? Rasetsuten-sama, you say?」

「Yeah. If it’s him, he’s also acquainted with the leader of the Overseas Chinese, so he should be able to handle that matter relatively easily. If we chose to go after them directly, that would only complicate things unnecessarily.」

Tokuteru took out his mobile phone while ignoring Omatsu’s surprised voice.

「As long as you haven’t reported it to the police, the seller won’t be able to back down easily. Nine out of ten times, people will still try to contact you again to negotiate, so you should take your family and evacuate them to one of the places where our company will be able to protect you, Masami-san.」

「Y-Yes! I will contact my family immediately!」

「All right. Izayoi, I want you to call out to everyone who is currently available. It’s an emergency.」

「Understood. Looks like we’re going to have a flashy job ahead of us after all, eh?」

Izayoi laughed lightly, and then, after Tokuteru stood up and put on his jacket, the three of them left Don Bruno’s restaurant. Masami Tendo saw them off with frightened eyes, and Ayato gently hugged her in an attempt to calm her down.

「Everything is going to be okay, Masami-san. While Tokuteru-san might be pretty unreliable when it comes to the matters related to his personal life to the point of being completely useless, but when it comes to his work, he doesn’t cut corners. I’m sure he’ll help your father out and bring him back to you safely.」

「Y-Yes, of course!」

Masami Tendo griped the amulet attached to her mobile phone tightly. It seems to have been something that she purchased at Shibamata Taishakuten. When she saw it, Ayato suddenly made a face as if her mischievous switch has been flipped in her head.

「By the way, Masami-san. Do you know what kind of god Indra is?」

「N-No, can’t say that I do. I’ve only heard that he is known as the King of the Gods and the greatest God of War in Indian Mythology. According to my father, he’s a very mischievous God.」