The Funeral (3)
****
During the Tsuya, my grandfather, Taira Danjo, called for me, so I went to the study.
What is it?
Does he need something from me again?
"This is the only inheritance your father, Saburo, left behind."
What Taira Danjo held out were a few sheets of paper.
I skimmed through them, and it seemed to be about giving me some kind of stocks....
He said earlier that he left nothing behind, but it seems there was a little something after all.
"It's one percent of the shares of Taira Bio and Taira Robotics, respectively. The governance structure of our Taira Group is complex, but Taira Bio and Taira Robotics control most of the affiliates. This means you have become the owner of a one-percent stake in each of these two companies."
Wow…
How much would this be worth?
It's only one percent, but if I sold it, couldn't I live off it for the rest of my life?
"Didn't I say earlier that Saburo left nothing behind? These stocks are as good as nothing, too. If you want to live, you must continue to hold these stocks. You must not cash them out, and you must not sell them to one of your uncles. Think of them as your lifeline and hold onto them tightly. Make sure you remember that."
Right, this is the world of megacorps, where there's no blood or tears.
It was a world where people would kill their siblings, children, and parents to become the chairman of the company.
Does Grandpa Danjo's statement mean that as long as I have these stocks, I'm safe?
He's right, if I sold them to one, the other wouldn't leave me alone.
Even if I sold them half and half, they'd complain about why I didn't sell all the shares to them, so just as Grandpa Danjo said, the only option is to hold onto them.
"But Grandpa, how much of Taira Bio and Robotics do I need to own to have the Taira Group?"
"Bah!"
At my question, Taira Danjo suddenly shouted "Bah!" and got angry.
Bah!
This is the first time I've seen someone use that in real life.
I'd only ever seen it in chimpanzee memes on online communities.
"With your skills, it's out of the question. These are just stocks I'm giving you so that my bloodline doesn't die, so you just do your job diligently in your position. Do you understand?"
Of course, Grandpa was a hundred percent right.
Just a young kid who had nothing and had just graduated from high school.
That was me, so even asking the question could be seen as excessive greed.
"I was just curious. And shouldn't I know how useful the one percent I have is?"
"Hahaha! Just curious, you say.... It's simple. Do you know how much of a stake you need to move the company as you please, even if everyone opposes you?"
"....Fifty percent plus one share."
"Correct. Your one percent is small, but if you hold onto it, there will come a time when it will be useful."
Grandpa Danjo gave my shoulder a single pat before heading outside.
When I also returned to where the Tsuya was being held, Alice Fitzgerald's eyes went wide as she looked at me with an expression that said she was seeing me in a new light.
"You're not scared of Grandpa?"
"Why would I be? He's my grandfather."
"He got angry earlier, didn't he? I heard him shout 'Bah!' all the way from here. Anyway, it's amazing that Grandpa can shout so loudly at his age."
"Well... let's just say it was a slight misunderstanding."
"Aww, what? I'm curious. Can't you tell me what kind of misunderstanding?"
This noona is cute.
She was only 21, just one year older than me, but her actions were incredibly cute.
Things like being scared of her grandfather, and other actions that appeared from time to time, really stimulated something in a man.
Is it okay for a cool-beauty Caucasian model to be this cute?
"If you're still curious by the time we have that meal, I'll tell you then."
"Oh, come on!"
When I made a promise for next time, Alice Fitzgerald placed both hands on her hips, puffed out her right cheek, and glared at me.
After the Tsuya ended, the monk chanted the sutras, and after the farewell ceremony where the mourners put their hands together in prayer and wished for the peaceful repose of the deceased, Taira Saburo's body was placed in an incredibly luxurious limousine hearse and headed for the crematorium.
Of course, we, the blood relatives, followed all the way to the crematorium.
In Korea, many people cried when the body entered the flames, but here, perhaps because it was a cold-hearted chaebol family or because they were Japanese, almost no one cried.
Only Taira Saburo's wife, Taira Yukiko, shed sorrowful tears.
Seeing her like that, she does look pitiful.
Her husband had died, and the woman who had borne her husband's child had brazenly attended his funeral.
After Taira Saburo's remains, now returned in an urn from the crematorium, were enshrined in the family's Buddhist altar, the funeral was over.
According to Japanese custom, we had to come to pay our respects on the seventh, thirty-fifth, and forty-ninth days, but for now, the funeral ceremony was finished.
My mother and I got into the car driven by the men in suits who had brought me and headed back home.
Before we left, Alice Fitzgerald waved her hand cheerfully, and I waved back, then held my hand to my ear in the shape of a phone to show that I'd call, and she nodded her head twice like, "Uh-huh! Uh-huh!" which was incredibly cute.
"Mom, what did you talk about with the uncles?"
"They asked if there was any inheritance coming to me, and if I would sell it to them."
I briefly met the eyes of the man in the suit through the rearview mirror, but I didn't mention my shares and continued to question my mom.
"Are you inheriting something too, Mom? To be precise, you're not his wife."
"That's right. So I told them I have nothing to receive, so I have nothing to give."
"Aha. Still, I got a job at a good company, you know?"
When I showed her the employee ID for the Taira Human Resources Development Center, my mom burst out laughing with a "pfff!"
Then she slapped my back a few times.
"Did you get in because you're so skilled? Geez!"
After that, we rode home quietly.
We didn't really have anything else to say, and I was tired, so I fell asleep on the way home without realizing it.
***
A luxury limousine from Taira Motors.
Inside, Taira Danjo sat in the back seat.
"I wonder if that preposterous kid knows the reason why I assigned him to the Human Resources Development Center."
Taira Danjo, who had his eyes closed in the back seat of the car, opened his mouth.
At the chairman's question, his chief secretary and driver, Fumimoto Takayuki, shook his head as if to say no.
"Wouldn't he be clueless? Master Ryuta has just graduated from high school.... It's a bit harsh to say, but he's a greenhorn. Moreover, his high school grades were not good, so he couldn't even cross the threshold of a university."
"University doesn't matter. What's important is what you're born with. The founder of our Taira Group, Taira Kiyotaka-sama, also established the Taira Group after graduating from just elementary school."
Taira Danjo seemed to be refuting Fumimoto Takayuki's words.
However, Taira Danjo also knew well.
Taira Kiyotaka had built the Taira Group by riding the wave of the chaotic period after Japan's defeat in World War II, and he was well aware that in an era like this, university was also important.
"No matter how important natural talent is, what you learn from a young age is also important. Didn't Master Ryuta's other cousins and uncles learn the art of ruling since they were young?"
"Hmph…."
At Fumimoto Takayuki's disparaging assessment, the car was wrapped in silence for a moment.
"I wonder if that kid will do well in corporate life."
"Won't it be one of two things? Either he'll be flustered and bumbling around, or he'll be overconfident in his bloodline and act like a hooligan."
"Then that will be his limit."
"Still, wouldn't the life of Taira Ryuta be better than the life of Hata Ryuta?"
To Fumimoto Takayuki's question, Taira Danjo replied softly, "I wonder about that."
"Still, I don't think he'll end like that. Maybe it's because it's been so long since I've seen a member of the Taira clan who doesn't fear me...."
"Chairman, the ignorant do not know fear. The other members of the Taira clan fear you because they know you."
There was conviction in Fumimoto Takayuki's words.
Fumimoto Takayuki himself was afraid, so close relatives would be even more so.
Even now, Taira Danjo had not shed a single tear even though his son had died.
Of course, a few other children, wives, and relatives had died while Taira Danjo was growing the company, but even then, he showed no tears or regret.
The only thing Taira Danjo did was carry out brutal revenge.
The fact that it wasn't revenge for killing his son or wife, but revenge for touching the Taira Group, showed Taira Danjo's ruthlessness.
"Alright, that's enough talk about my grandson.... Have you found the one who ordered Saburo's death?"
"A large sum was transferred in the account of the dump truck driver who hit Master Saburo's car. About 500 million yen...."
"And of course, the origin of that money has been erased, I presume?"
"Yes."
The chairman fell silent for a moment.
The back of Fumimoto Takayuki's head tingled.
The chairman was emitting a murderous aura.
Fumimoto Takayuki broke out in a cold sweat without realizing it.
"It's either Minamoto or Taira."
"What? Taira?"
He was so nervous that he had answered foolishly without thinking.
The chairman was suspecting not only his rival, Minamoto, but also his own company, the Taira Group!
Once the chairman's suspicion began like this, a storm of blood always swept through the company.
Even now, he was planning to use his son's death as an excuse to purge the dissatisfied elements within the company.
How could anyone not be afraid of the chairman?
The family, in particular, feared Chairman Taira Danjo even more.
"In this country, right now, who is capable of erasing the transfer records of an account itself?"
"Our Taira Group and the Minamoto Group."
"For now, anyone who is capable is a suspect. Don't go poking around in strange places; investigate Minamoto and Taira thoroughly, Fumimoto."
"Yes, Chairman!"
Fumimoto Takayuki answered Taira Danjo's command resolutely.
Even if a storm of blood swept through the company dozens of times, Fumimoto Takayuki would gladly obey Taira Danjo's command.
Because in the end, it was always revealed that Taira Danjo had been right.