Chapter 657: A GHOST FROM NOWHERE
Yagi Seiryo headed to work after leaving Misaki at school. He was in a good mood after seeing and teasing the beautiful teacher. It was a welcome surprise for his morning. He was glad he decided to drop off Misaki instead of having the chauffeur drive her.
He smiled as he thought about Emi and her angry little face. He could remember the texture of her skin, the slight waft of her scent and the annoyance in her eyes. The elation in his heart made him feel refreshed.
And he would see her soon, very soon, just as he had promised.
Yagi drove to his central hotel, Crystal Castle, and went to his office. He had considered leasing an office building because he had a lot of businesses and employees. Furthermore, he needed to ensure he could keep a legitimate face for his empire.
However, after much consideration, he decided to keep his businesses as they were. His hotels, clubs and casinos had offices, and he liked being able to move around and work in different places. He was already under scrutiny, so why put up a front?
When he stepped into his office, he found one of his assistants, Teiko, waiting for him.
“Good morning, Mr Yagi.” She said politely.
.....
Yagi nodded before sitting down and picking up the hot cup of coffee prepared for him. He took a sip and enjoyed the sweet bitterness.
“What is the progress on the downtown casinos?” He asked.
“I am still pushing on the personnel on the site, but we do not have the identity of the owner. The current sloppy management indicates that the person at the top is no longer in the picture. We are working to find the succession of the estate, but the lawyers involved are tight-lipped.” Teiko reported.
Yagi was frustrated by the lack of news. Since he inherited the yakuza mantle from his grandfather, he focused on minimising his involvement in dangerous businesses. He had cut out most of the illegal trades from his operations.
However, he had a lot of people to manage and protect. So, he put a lot of work into expanding the almost legal operations he had on his hands.
The hotels were personal businesses he established before becoming the head of the yakuza. He ran them in a completely clean way to ensure he could leave them to Misaki in the future without complications.
However, the income of the Yagi clan primarily came from other businesses, especially a line of casinos. These enterprises had been in operation for a very long time, even though the specifics changed with the times.
The casinos were particularly lucrative, and they were also in the hotel business, so it was not a major leap for him to operate them.
In the past, the purpose of the casinos was primarily for money laundering the income from smuggling, trafficking and drug trade. However, under his leadership in the last few years, the casinos were independently operational.
They could run and provide a significant income without external output.
Of course, that was not to say that he did not still run some side business. One of the illicit operations he had was handling black market diamonds and other valuables. The money was naturally funnelled through the casinos.
If he wanted to cut all relations with the underworld, he needed to develop the yakuza businesses enough to satisfy the other stakeholders. Otherwise, their group would once again fall into the depravity of opioids and worse things.
“What are our other options for taking over those casinos?” He asked.
“Sir, we cannot use force or even a hostile takeover of those casinos. They were untouchable before because of the mysterious boss. Now, they are being run sloppily, but I have noticed that the security around is formidable.” The assistant responded immediately.
Yagi nodded at the information. “Keep your eye on that situation, but I will deal with it myself. For now, I would like for you to arrange for a few girls to monitor all our nightclubs and report if there is something unsavoury going on.”
Usually, errant individuals with nefarious intentions would be less cautious when dealing with women. So, it was more likely he would get more information about any hidden operations in his clubs than if he sent in men.
“Is there anything specific?” She asked as she tapped on her tablet.
“No. That is all.” Yagi said before turning to his computer.
If his people knew the reason he was investigating his clubs, they would have tunnel vision. It was a good chance to find troublemakers. If someone could bring in that drug, a lot more could be happening right under his nose.
After his assistant left, he opened his email with anticipation. He had not found a chance to read the report on Teacher Shio Emi since he got the response. And he could not wait to see what Forest had dug up on that beautiful creature he would make his.
He clicked on the email, ignoring the subject line.
The PDF document was short, too short.
He looked at the dry document that read like a CV. No, it was more accurate to say it was shorter than a CV. Apart from her educational accolades, there was barely anything else. They were just cold facts about her current life.
Yagi called Forest immediately.
“What dead person is calling me at this hour?” An angry voice came from the phone.
“It seems that you need to spend some time training in the mountains,” Yagi responded with a cold voice.
“Boss!?!” Forest shouted before his voice changed to a flattering tone. “Boss, I was just taking a short nap. I have not rested the entire weekend.”
“Tell a more believable lie.”
“I am not lying. I already apologised on the subject line.” Forest cried. “I have searched all the corners of the real and virtual world. She is like a ghost that appeared from nowhere.”
“Watch your mouth,” Yagi warned.
“What I mean is, the only information I could find is what she has voluntarily submitted. If the Blue Monarch did not have referral letters from the universities she attended, I would not have been able to find the information.” Forest complained.
Yagi frowned. “You said you investigated everyone at the school.”
“I did a deep dive on everyone before Misaki joined. Miss Shio has only been a teacher for only six months. We checked out her credentials and sent someone to follow her for a few days. The only strange thing we found was that she lives in a very posh house in an affluent neighbourhood.”
Forest whined because he felt wrong about the whole thing. “I did not think too much because it is not that unusual for a beautiful woman to enjoy life above her pay grade. I thought she was married or living with someone.”
The explanation made Yagi even angrier.
“You will train with Matsuura for three hours every day for the next month.” Yagi ended the call and felt a little better.
The punishment would be light for almost all of his people, even Teiko.
But to Forest, it was asking for his life.
