Chapter 74: Chapter 33

At this moment, inside an above-average but slightly worn two-story house, Kageyama Hakari sat on a pale velvet sofa.

She was still impeccably dressed in her sharp business suit, her posture rigid and powerful, flanked by two imposing bodyguards in dark suits.

In front of her, the reality of their collapsed life was playing out through the misery of two women.

They were two identical figures, both possessing long, striking white hair and sharp features.

One, a beautiful older woman, Himejima Yuko, the mother of Haruka, lay collapsed on the floor, her hands pressed to the carpet.

Her normally vibrant blue eyes were swimming with tears as she stared at the single, legal-sized contract spread on the floor before her.

The contract was the formal documentation of her husband’s crimes of stealing the company’s money, and the condition where the company would not report him in exchange for his ’property’.

Yuko’s heart felt completely shattered as she read the precise legal language: it detailed the sale of their very identities, basically selling them off as properties to the Kageyama corporation to offset the debt Himejima Sakuma owed.

Beside her, standing ramrod straight, her expression utterly still, was her daughter, Himejima Haruka.

Her red eyes were dull and stoic, her white hair flowing down her back like a cascade of silk.

She had also read the contract, internalized the consequences, but her face remained as impassive as always, betraying not a single ripple of emotion.

Hakari leaned forward, a curious, analytical look in her red eyes as she observed Haruka’s stillness.

"I am surprised, Himejima Haruka," Hakari stated, her voice cool and measured. "Your father, Sakuma, has basically signed your mother and yourself over to my care so he could run away to another country and start a new family with a massive stolen nest egg. Yet you remain so calm."

Though, Hakari thought to herself, a cold, predatory smile briefly touching her lips, Sakuma has probably already become food for the fishes in the Pacific Ocean by now, courtesy of my enforcement team. He won’t be starting any new families.

Haruka finally responded, her voice unnaturally even, almost robotic. "There is no point in overreacting, Madam. What happened, happened. It is irreversible. There is nothing I can do to change the legal outcome, and being emotional wouldn’t change anything."

Her gaze was fixed on a point just above Hakari’s head, acting as if everything that happened really did not affect her.

Hakari blinked slowly, then raised a perfectly manicured finger and pointed directly at Haruka’s cheek. "If you truly believe that, then why are you crying, child?"

Haruka’s stoicism fractured for a brief, blinding moment, her eyes widened, a flicker of profound confusion crossing her face.

She hesitantly raised a trembling hand to her own cheek. It was wet, slick with silent, warm tears she hadn’t realized were falling.

The tears had tracked a smooth, clear path down her otherwise frozen face.

Her body began to tremble without her conscious command, a subtle but undeniable tremor starting in her hands and traveling through her frame.

Her voice, when it finally emerged, also seemed to tremble despite her best effort to suppress it.

"Crying... is a purely biological, bodily function," she insisted, desperately clinging to her rational facade. "It is an involuntary release of fluid, unrelated to conscious thought. My mind is still perfectly clear and entirely unaffected by sadness, nor rage. It is simply a physiological reaction."

Hakari stared at her for a long moment, sensing the profound chasm between Haruka’s forced logic and her body’s undeniable truth.

She chose not to pursue the matter further, recognizing a complex, fascinating psychological damage that might prove useful.

She picked up a small, glossy photo from the sofa table and extended it towards Haruka, as the mother, Yuko, remained catatonic on the floor.

"In any case, reality requires attention. You two must pack your belongings immediately and move out," Hakari instructed. "Your new residence will be at my son’s house. You will be residing there to take care of him and his needs, ensuring his comfort and security. The one in this photo is my son."

Haruka took the photo, her hand barely steady, and her eyes scanned the image of the handsome, casually dominant young man, and her stoicism broke again, replaced by sheer surprise.

"Kageyama Seijirou?" she muttered, the name leaving her lips on a rush of air.

Hakari, who had heard the name clearly, raised an eyebrow. "Yes. Do you know him?"

Haruka nodded slowly. "He is a classmate of mine. In Class 1-A."

Hakari gave a cold, satisfied smile. "Excellent. That makes the introduction significantly easier."

She then smoothly stood up, her two bodyguards moving instantly to shadow her. "I will wait for you both to finish packing. Your ride is already waiting outside—a black sedan—to take you to my son’s home. You have thirty minutes."

With that, Hakari walked out of the house, leaving the mother weeping on the floor and the daughter standing rigidly holding the photograph.

Haruka stared down at the image of Seijirou’s confident, familiar face, and a small, involuntary sigh of relief escaped her lips.

At least, her master was someone she knew—and not some random, obese, balding middle-aged man, which was the scenario she had morbidly prepared herself for.

The circumstances were humiliating, but the subject of her new servitude was, at the very least, physically tolerable.

With a sigh, the weight of her new, compromised life now finally settled over her.

*

*

*

Seijirou led the way, his group trailing behind him, along with the small, bewildered figure of Rei still clutching the bills in her hand.

They had taken a short taxi ride to the edge of the city, and when they arrived, Suzune gasped, halting the entire group.

"This is our base?!" Suzune exclaimed, pointing a shocked finger at the building.

The structure they stood before was the abandoned three-story corporate building they had claimed weeks ago, but it was virtually unrecognizable.

It had been professionally repainted in a sharp, modern gray and black.

Every broken window had been replaced with tinted, secure glass.

A new, stylish sign hung above the entrance, illuminated by recessed lighting, and the whole place looked less like a gang hideout and more like an official, high-end establishment.

"Holy crap! It looks so good!" Renji exclaimed, his previous disappointment forgotten, his eyes wide with admiration.

Sakai, ever practical, stopped chewing his chips momentarily. "Shou! What did you put on all the floors? Does it have a kitchen?"

Shou, already slipping back into his familiar listless posture, supplied the details.

"The first floor is for arcades. High-end, custom-built machines—fighting games, racers, shooters, all the good stuff. The second floor is a full bar, top-shelf liquor, proper mixology equipment, the works. And the third floor," he added, a slight smirk touching his lips, "has several VIP rooms for exclusive meetings, and also our main office and private quarters."

Rei, who was just starting to process the scale of the operation, turned sharply toward Shou, her eyes wide with shock. "How did you even manage to do all of this? This must have cost a fortune! And the permits?"

Shou merely shrugged, adjusting his collar. "Used Boss’s connections and money. When you have Kageyama influence and capital, anything can be done, Tachibana. It’s just a matter of logistics."

Touka, who had been observing the building’s façade with quiet intensity, finally looked at Seijirou.

She spoke for the first time since leaving the library, her expression unreadable beneath her bangs.

"Kageyama-kun," she asked, her voice calm and even. "Do you plan on just using these facilities for yourselves, or do you plan to monetize the space and earn money from it?"

Seijirou shrugged casually, leaning against the renovated brickwork. "I don’t know. What do you think, Touka?"

Touka straightened immediately. In that instant, she seemed to shed all traces of her timidity and shyness.

Her voice lost its habitual softness and any trace of a stutter, becoming serious, strict, and incredibly professional.

She looked less like a high school girl and more like a seasoned CEO.

"If you plan to earn money from this place, particularly with a mixed establishment like this, you need to implement a strict and layered business strategy," she declared, her red eyes locked onto his, completely stunning everyone—especially Seijirou.

"First," she continued, counting off on her fingers, "you need comprehensive liquor licensing and age verification protocols for the bar, coupled with highly visible security to deter underage access, otherwise, you risk losing everything in a single raid."

"Second, the arcade needs a rotating stock of cabinet games to maintain interest, and a membership system for regulars to ensure loyalty."

"Third, you must establish three distinct income streams: bar revenue, arcade token sales, and VIP room rental fees. You should not rely on one."

"Furthermore, given the location, you need to establish a network of reliable, clean suppliers and avoid any high-interest loans, which in your case you probably don’t need it."

"You must also implement a detailed inventory control system for the liquor, as high-value stock is easily susceptible to internal theft."

Touka paused, taking a breath, leaving the entire group—Renji, Sakai, Shou, and even Suzune—staring at her with their jaws slack, shocked at the sheer depth and practicality of her business knowledge.

She was a different person entirely.

"Finally," she concluded, her voice sharp, "you should not advertise aggressively at first. Rely on word-of-mouth exclusivity. This is the only way to establish a high-value, protected clientele while keeping official scrutiny minimal."

Seijirou blinked, and only then did he finally remember.

Touka was the only heroine whose life did not end in tragedy, but instead was full of sunshine and rainbows, and the only one to suffer was the player.

In her route, she became a successful multi billionaire who owned a global tech conglomerate.

And now, even as just a highschooler, her talent for business already began to show.