Chương 46: Manpower

"Are you sure you want to sell it for this amount?" Kazuya asked Matsuri again after viewing the deed of sale. She was selling the warehouse and her land at a relatively lower price than what both he and Mei expected.

"I am. You're already giving me an opportunity to work for you and with all the trouble I've caused you, I can't bear to ask you for more" She replied.

"You still have to make the decision whether you want to join or not after reading the contract thoroughly. It isn't your regular contract and the penalties for information leaks are severe" Kazuya reminded.

"It does not matter. I need to repay you for your grace. You won't be using the warehouse and will be reconstructing the place so I think the price is suitable" she made up her mind.

"Alright then. Please sign the papers and will immediately send you the whole amount" Kazuya took out his phone and used it to transfer the amount for the purchase.

Mei who hardly said anything was impressed. Kazuya may appear like a child to whomever looked at him but as soon as they talk to him, their perspectives would change. This boy singlehandedly handled the purchase of their future headquarters and even got a good price for it. She wanted to see him leading the company but unfortunately, he cannot legally take the helm.

"(If Kyouko were to see her son right now…)" Mei smiled. The scion of the Kouzuki family indeed lived up to his name. Kazuya was not only building his company from the ground, he was making it seem like any other child could do so.

[Transfer Successful]

"Please check your bank account" Kazuya showed the confirmation message on his phone. Matsuri called her bank with hers and confirmed that the transfer went to her account safely.

"Thank you, Kazuno-san, Kouzuki-san. I will not let you down!" Matsuri didn't need to read over the employee contract and immediately signed it.

"Sen… no… Sawada Matsuri, Since Kazu has given you this chance then I will say nothing more. I admired you back when you were my upperclassman so I hope you haven't gotten too rusty" Mei put on her usual cold demeanor as this had to do with business. "Read through your contract carefully. You may have signed it but it contains information that you need to know. Also, I may be the CEO but Kazu's commands are above even mine since he's the owner of the company"

Matsuri wasn't really surprised by this. She already knew that Mei had been very successful and was sitting at a high position in the Kouzuki Corporation. It didn't take a degree in rocket science to connect the boy to the corporation since he had the surname 'Kouzuki'.

"Understood" Matsuri's demeanor also changed. Even though she was dressed normally, she had the demeanor of a professional.

"Now that we have obtained our headquarters, I can officially register the company" Mei turned towards Kazuya. "We still need to visit contractors and designers for the company so that they can begin construction immediately"

"Before that… Sawada-san can you please call that guy waiting outside here?"

"I…" she hesitated. She remembered she still needed to settle the debt with Ousame.

"No need to worry. Your debt aside, that guy will not dare to bother you anymore after this" Kazuya reassured her.

"I will bring him right away Kouzuki-sama" she bowed politely and left before Kazuya could refute her way of addressing him.

It didn't take long before Matsuri came back with the stiff Ousame behind her. She was impressed by her little boss since this person had been very aggressive towards her. He was like a tiger who had reverted to a kitten in the presence of Kazuya.

"Y-you called for me young master?"

"I already heard the part about you needing to pay your debts earlier. You will get your payment soon since I have already bought this place" Kazuya noticed the relief in Ousame's face despite the fear he still held. "I just have a few questions for you"

"You can ask me anything young master" after learning his lesson the first time, he wouldn't dare keep anything from him.

"Are you connected to the underworld?" Kazuya looked straight at Ousame's eyes.

"I…" Ousame hesitated. He then saw the eyes of the boy slowly narrowing accompanied by an unknown pressure assailing him. "I used to be… but I was fired for not being good at collecting money. They said I could just establish a loan company so I can get used to it and come back if ever I wanted to. It was their way of telling me I wasn't needed anymore but didn't cut ties so I can be of use to them if there came a time"

"I see… then do you want to come back?"

"N-no. I found that being away from all the trouble suits me more and my 'brothers' think so as well"

"Good. You should completely break away from them" Kazuya smiled. "I'm going to offer you and your most trusted brothers an opportunity. Work for me"

"Work?" This was the last possibility on his mind. He assumed he was going to get asked to do something like gather information but this offer was unexpected.

"Indeed. If you're really serious about cutting ties with the dirty dealings of the underworld then I'm offering you an opportunity"

"W-what kind of work?"

"Security for the company I will be building here and not the regular type of security that wears those silly uniforms. All of you will be expected to work like those professional security companies working with modern technology"

"This…" Ousame didn't know what to say. Ever since he met this boy, he had nightmares of being alone on the room with him and experiencing the torture he went through again.

People who didn't have the opportunity to go to universities like them were often left to fend off for themselves doing menial or shady jobs. Ousame met his people with the same circumstances and treated them as brothers. The boy in front of him who he always thought was the devil was now giving him the chance to break free from the life they never thought they would get out of and have occupations that they would be proud of after taking their pasts into consideration.

"Of course, you already know my policy when it comes to betrayal right?" The amount of pressure Kazuya released almost made Ousame throw up everything that was in his stomach. He needn't be reminded of what would happen if he as much as got on this boy's bad side.

"I…"

"No need to give an answer now. I want you to talk to your brothers about it. Of course, I wouldn't be doing this just because I felt like it. You, like every other employee that will be working in this company will be compelled to sign a contract that will be akin to making a deal with the devil" Kazuya grinned.

"And of course, like a deal with the devil, all you need to do is perform your responsibilities well and you will be compensated adequately. Break it however… hehe I believe you can imagine it since most stories told had similar ends" Kazuya didn't give up making the last part very clear.

His choice of initial employees wasn't really something someone would consider but the amount of fear Ousame had of him would lessen the probability of being betrayed. Their company was going to be a full of sensitive technology so he needed to take precaution seriously.

"The amount I owed has successfully been sent to your account Ousame-san" Matsuri stood behind Kazuya and respectfully informed him. She was no longer afraid of this person because she was now a person employed under Kazuya.

"Sawada Matsuri already signed a contract and she will be my future wife's assistant" Kazuya added.

"I see… I apologize for my earlier rudeness Sawada-san" he bowed politely. He didn't care about his pride anymore since Kazuya was involved. "I will discuss this with my brothers young master"

"Good. You may leave now" Ousame wasted no time to turn for the exit.

"I will be excusing myself then…" Kazuya then had a thought.

"Hold on. You came with some guys riding a tinted van, right?"

"Y-yes. They were the ones I owed money to"

"Tell them to watch who they stare rudely at. I'll personally pluck out those things they call eyes if I ever catch them looking at my fiancé lustfully again" Kazuya took advantage of Ousame's fear to make sure those people had no funny ideas about this place. He already had a feeling that the sudden pressure Matsuri and Ousame were in was due to their interest in buying her property for cheap.

"I-I will"

"You don't need to tell me if you decide to accept my offer or not. You and your brothers only need to report to the Shiroyuki dojo if you agree. I want your real capabilities to be judged and trained a bit. I will be there to see if I indeed made the right decision" Ousame was finally able to leave. The tension in the room lessened as Kazuya retracted his dominating presence.

Mei, who was silently observing from the side was in awe. His ability to lead and gather subordinates even surpassed Kyouko's. He may have been very forceful but he was right in doing so since the more she learned about the company, the more she understood the need for confidentiality. She didn't understand it but her heart was racing and despite her cold expression, she couldn't calm down.

"(What's happening to me?)" she unconsciously put a hand over her chest trying to calm herself.

"Kazuno-san?" Matsuri noticed her being distracted and called out. She wanted to know if what Kazuya said about Mei being his future wife was true but it looked like she wasn't going to get an answer.

"We're done here so we should go to our next stop" Kazuya turned towards the two women behind him. "Sawada-san, it would be useful if you could come with us to meet with the contractors since you know this place better than us"

"Alright. I'll go get changed and recover the blueprints" she wasted no time and left the duo whose trip was a complete success.

"Big sis?" Kazuya noticed Mei's distant expression as well and called out to her. She didn't respond so he decided to sit and wait. He assumed she was thinking about a lot of things concerning the company so he shouldn't disturb her.

Outside the warehouse, Ousame approached the van and faced the rough looking man who stepped out. Kuuga had remained in the back and watched through the tinted glass. He was curious as to how it went especially since there were unexpected visitors.

"So did you get the money?"

"I did…"

"What!?" the rough man was surprised. He was expecting Ousame to come up with nothing and then they would come and offer a low price for the property but the plan had gone down to smoke.

"I got the money so we only need to go to the bank for me to be able to pay you"

"how did that woman get money to pay you? Are you sure she transferred the money to your account? She may have just told you that to trick you!"

"No. She had the money. This place has already been sold"

"What happened?" Kuuga couldn't help but frown. this had been completely out of his expectations. "(Did those two from earlier purchase the property right under our noses?)" he didn't want Ousame to know about his goal so he could only think about it.

"I don't know but the lady had an appointment with people who arrived when I was asking for the money. She gave in after they arrived so I have it now" Ousame didn't want them to know about his relationship with Kazuya since these were the same people who recommended he buy off Matsuri's debt from her deceased husband's family.

"Tsk… you better hope that you did get paid. I expect that money to be in my office tonight" the rough man was in a bad mood. They wasted their time in coming to this place.

"With all due respect, I may have already left the family I used to work for but among the different groups I've been involved in, everyone held pride in the words and promises spoken. I know that you may have had your circumstances to ask for repayment earlier but I never intended to renege on my debt. I am a man of my word and I repay every debt so I do not understand why I am being treated like this" Ousame was not happy with the way he was treated after successfully collecting the money.

"Are you saying I'm being dishonorable?" the rough man got even more agitated.

"People in our line of business have a bad reputation but none can deny the validity of our promises. I'm only reminding you of that"

"You—" the rough man was about to attack when he was suddenly pulled back by Kuuga whose hand touched his shoulder just in time. Kuuga himself had been insulted by Ousame's words since it was him who concocted the plan to buy the Sawada property but he remained calm. Ousame may have been retired but he was in charge of a group of brothers that were formidable in their own right.

"Before I leave, the young man who visited told me to remind the people riding this vehicle to be careful of who they stare at with their lustful eyes. He wanted to pass on the message to go relieve yourselves with your hands or he might just pluck your eyes out for being disrespectful to someone's wife" Ousame smiled after adding a little bit to Kazuya's warning to vent of his frustration. He left the two who silently stood there trying to swallow what message he was asked to pass to them.

"Young master… should we…" the rough man wanted to barge into the warehouse and beat the kid up. He might not have known who he just threatened but it was a threat nonetheless.

"No. That boy is the scion of the Kouzuki household. Even my old man wouldn't dare lay a hand on him" Kuuga clenched his fists. He wanted to beat the kid himself for daring to insult and threaten him but that would implicate his whole family and possibly ruin it with their retaliation.

"The scion of the Kouzuki house!?" the rough man's mouth gaped. He immediately understood what would happen if they implicated themselves. He would have died even before the boy's family retaliated for making such a blunder.

"Kouzuki Kazuya huh… you are really beginning to interest me"