Bab 44: Kazuno Mei
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Mei was taken aback by this sudden revelation. Being handed a company over on a silver platter was not just something someone would or could do on a whim. From Kazuya's descriptions and explanations about the company, she figured that his vision had been unique and this was in no way going to be small company for long. If Kazuya's plans were to succeed, it wouldn't be difficult to stand in the lines of both the Kuroganes and Kouzukis.
"I was going to surprise you about the initial funding of the company tomorrow but since I've already revealed the biggest secret, might as well reveal this one was well" Kazuya noticed the perplexed look on Mei's face. He was worried that he would be rejected since a real person in the business considered facts more important and barely listened to ideologies or theories.
Kazuya took out a newspaper and an envelope from his desk before handing them both to Mei. She was curious as to what gave this boy so much confidence about the funding that he hardly even considered it as a potential problem. A frown couldn't help but form on her face as she opened the envelope to reveal a lottery ticket. The confident boy in front of her wanted to rely in such a unrealistic game of chance?
"This is why I didn't want to tell you about it until tomorrow. You haven't even checked the second thing I've handed to you" Kazuya's smile remained unfazed.
Mei humored him and took a look at the newspaper. She didn't expect anything out of it but she almost lost her wits as soon as she saw the winning numbers published. She couldn't piece things together. She was approached by Kazuya before this lottery had even started but the winning numbers in the ticket matched those printed on the newspaper no matter how many times she confirmed.
"This… Kazu you…" her hands were trembling. In her hand was a lottery ticket worth over 400 million yen. All the doubts she had about the company's funding was blown out of the water. She even recalled the words Kazuya said about this only being the 'initial' investment.
"This will be the initial funding of the company's establishment. I'll leave other things to big sis aside from the initial acquisition of some of the main researchers and projects the company will be working on. The company will be yours to manage and I will only be involved with some of the projects that will jumpstart this company into the scene"
Mei shuddered after hearing it again. Kazuya's ambitions were clearly bigger than she ever imagined and this was prompted because he learned about the threat Kyouko's company faced. She couldn't help but feel envious of Kyouko for having someone go this far for her. What she still hadn't realized was that Kazuya was also doing this because of her as well.
She couldn't help but sink into her thoughts. Mei had always held gratitude for Kyouko for all the help she's given. Her treating Kazuya as her own kin and being overprotective of him was because of Kyouko as well. Mei didn't know if she was worth it but this mother and son pair treated her more than she thought that she deserved.
Kyouko had given her chance to break away from the harshness of reality. Now, her son Kazuya was giving her a chance to rise above and live in the clouds. A mere assistant like her would suddenly be able to walk alongside the boss she admired and always wanted to be like. This was the reason why she would always joke about marrying Kazuya. She wanted to be a Kouzuki just like her role model.
If she was asked honestly, her attachment to Kazuya was mainly because of his mother. He was just a child and she found no danger in acting like she wanted around him. Her unique way of treating him was just a way to tease Kyouko and both of them knew it. She felt Kazuya could also instinctively tell as well which was why he always tried to avoid her before he lost his memories.
It wasn't until Kazuya had suddenly lost his memories did it all change. She found out the reason why he had been avoiding her and was genuinely touched. He cared for her more than she ever imagined and even went as far as bearing with abuse. This made her affection towards him more than just a way to mess with Kyouko.
The way she saw Kazuya changed. He was no longer 'Kyouko's son' but a little brother named Kazuya. This little brother who treated her really well and always considered her with whatever he thought. This little brother also enrolled in her former school so she was worried about him after having bad experiences in the same institution.
Like she noticed earlier, this little brother of hers had a knack for attracting all sorts of girls. She was worried that he would end up being like those arrogant rich boys she met while she was still a student so she used her status as his 'big sis' to make sure that he wouldn't stray towards that path. This obedient little brother of hers was really obedient and didn't fail her expectations.
Strangely enough, after she had moved to the Kouzuki household, she began to experiences some changes. She couldn't quite put a finger at it but not only her health has improved, but even her physical prowess together with her senses. The weirdest part about it was that she would always feel a strange warmth and comfort whenever she came into contact with this little brother of hers.
Needless to say, she considered the Kouzukis to be her lucky stars. Now this little brother of hers was giving her a chance to be like the person she looked up to the most. She would no longer just be Kyouko's assistant but another person in the field of business with her very own standing. Being under Kyouko for so long, she was confident she would be able to do well since she did train under the best.
Mei hesitated however. Could she just leave the Kouzuki Corporation just like that? She already moved to the Kouzuki household so how would she explain it if she just suddenly quit her job? What would be the reason for her to continue staying with them if they would keep this plan a secret? What about Kyouko? How would she cope without her around? These were some of the problems she thought about.
"Kazu I… what about boss? If I quit the Kouzuki corporation then I would have to leave this place…"
"I didn't say you needed to leave the Kouzuki corporation right away big sis. Didn't you learn from mom? How does she find the time to be distracted by me while leading such a big corporation?" Kazuya's statement made her give a dry laugh. She knew what he meant. "besides, the small company would be in the initial phase of research and development once it get's established. By the time it would require your full attention, it would also be the time where we can tell mom what we were up to"
What Kazuya meant was how most of Kyouko's work was given to her assistants and employees. Mei was not Kyouko's only assistant but the only one who could interact with Kyouko personally. Still being considered a newly established company, she can make assistants do most of her work for her after giving her own directives.
"That's a good plan. I'd need to train a successor to take over my position in the meantime"
"Do you have someone in mind you can trust?" Kazuya was initially worried about this because Mei was her mother's most trusted person. She had the power to sway her decisions and even have access to some of the company's most sensitive files.
"Fujiyama Yumi is a good candidate. She has talent in the field as well as interest. She will be graduating from Sacred Forest High this spring. She will be attending the college program and I can set it up so that she can be an intern at our company"
"Fujiyama Yumi…." Kazuya barely interacted with this person so unlike her sister, he hardly knew anything about this girl at all. She was usually quiet but since Mei got along with her then she wouldn't be considered as someone bad.
"Yumi-chan said that she only planned on taking a short business course and immediately wanted to work. Giving her this opportunity won't be bad for her at all. I probably need just two years or less" Mei seemed to have made up her mind.
She couldn't let down the expectations Kazuya has given her. This was also an opportunity she never thought she would have had since Mei never planned on withdrawing herself from the Kouzuki corporation.
"I'll trust big sis' judgement then. Do you have any ideas about who to hire as your assistant?"
"I do have someone in mind but I still don't know what her status is. We'll go meet with her tomorrow since we do have business with her" Mei gave Kazuya a piece of paper that wasn't included in the file she gave him of the prospective headquarters for their new company.
"This is…" Kazuya was surprised. This indeed was a good place for their headquarters. It was an old factory that was located between the school and the Kouzuki household. The only problem was the owner. "Is the owner the person you are referring to big sis?"
"Yeah. She was an upperclassman of mine that attended Sacred Forest Academy's business course. She was able to make the small business of her husband very successful but I heard that it closed down because he passed away. I wanted to see if she was still willing to work after we bought the place because it would be a waste of her talents if she doesn't get out of the pit she fell in" Mei reminisced.
"I see…" Kazuya had was hesitant. Although Mei told him of her recommendation, the person in question was not really unknown to him. She was the Kendo Club captain's mother, the one who compelled her daughter to betray Kazuya.
"Do you know her Kazu?" Mei noticed the hesitation on his face. She was confused since the two shouldn't have met before.
"I don't know her but I do know her daughter. She's the kendo club's captain" He answered honestly. "The place is indeed suitable and the price is not that bad. I want to hear what she has to say about being big sis' assistant though"
"Oh? You're worrying about your big sis?" Mei felt warmth knowing that she was not the only one being overprotective.
"Of course I am. This person must have been talented in the past to gain big sis' admiration but I have not heard good things about her recently. I want the contracts of big sis' assistants to be extra strict so that whoever gets hired must be confident in not being able to betray you"
"Is that really necessary?"
"Yes. I plan on doing the same thing to the people I choose to hire. Keeping the company's secrets will determine our success or failure in achieving our goals. I don't want to take unnecessary risks"
"You're my little boss so of course I'll listen to you" Mei knew that he was determined to do this. She really didn't have any objections since it was quite reasonable for him to want to keep their secrets safe.
"Please don't call me that or I will start to call you differently as well Kazuno-san" Kazuya gave a mischievous grin.
"Fine! I take it back! I take it back! Don't call your big sis so formally again!" She didn't know why but she felt a sense of loss the moment she heard Kazuya call her just like everyone did.
"Then let's go to bed. We have a big day tomorrow and it's already late"
"Are you asking me directly to your bed now?"
"Would you sleep in yours if I didn't?"
"No! I don't know why but I sleep better with you and feel energetic every morning"
Kazuya gave a smile. He was glad that his efforts were paying off enough for her to notice the difference. It meant that she was growing faster that she's able to notice the difference. The amount of work Mei was going to be handling together with being his mother's assistant was nothing to scoff at. He worried that she wouldn't be able to cope without his help so Kazuya wanted her to replenish her strength and enhance it as she rested.
"I'm glad to hear that. I wouldn't want my CEO to fall apart even before we release our first big product"
"Do you know something about it Kazu? I really feel different ever since I've moved here you know"
"It's because granny always uses fresh ingredients. Your body is so used to food prom the convenience store that you can feel the different effects that fresh food has to offer"
"Hmm… Maybe…" she was feeling a little bit skeptical. She knew that the smile he was giving was the kind of smile that says he knew something but wouldn't tell. "I'll make you tell me what you're hiding sooner or later" she tackled Kazuya into his bed and held him tight.
"(Women's intuition sure is formidable)" he sighed inwardly as he started circulating mana for the both of them.
"Mmmnnn…" Mei was assailed with the comfortable warmth from him. This made her unable to resist the fatigue she accumulated for the day and fell into a deep slumber very quickly. "Hey Kazu…" she mumbled.
"What is it big sis?"
"Thank you… for believing in me" Kazuya didn't know if she was talking in her sleep or not but he wiped the tear that was trickling down on her face.
"No… I should be the one thanking you big sis… for being here with me" Kazuya stroked her cheek gently and watched her sleep. He did this for a while until he finally decided to close his eyes to rest. What he didn't know that as soon as he fell asleep, Mei's eyes slowly opened again before she put both hands on her face to find it heating up.
"I should just be embarrassed for being treated like this by a child… right?"
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PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
Ruruci
Ruruci I apologize for the late release. I couldn't access the system yesterday and I was occupied thinking of opening up a new section.
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A few people on discord as well as on comments asked me multiple questions so I'm thinking of opening a small answering the comments section when I open Volume Zero which is supposed to contain character summaries of characters, etc. Depending on the volume they appear on.
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We are nearing the end of Volume One so thought I should put it out there.
Hadiah
-- Hadiah diterima Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone