Story ~Cycle ⑮~

《15》

In that instant, I desperately swallowed the strange sound that was about to escape my throat.

Everything he had said and done until now had sounded as if he were looking at his father's company from the outside.

"Don't worry.
Since it's my father's shop, I've already asked them to give us a discount."

Even so, I had assumed he was working at the store as an employee...
I never imagined he would appear before me as a member of the secretary's office...

Yuzuru noticed me too,
and for a split second his smile stiffened, but he immediately returned to a cool, composed expression.

"I will show you to the president's office."

Mr. Yamanaka led us forward as if he hadn't noticed a thing.
A plate reading "Executive Office" was mounted on the impressive door.

"Knock, knock, knock"

When Mr. Yamanaka knocked,
a short voice replied from inside, "Come in."

When the door opened, a spacious room spread out before us.
Bookshelves lined the walls on both sides, packed tightly with books.
There was a reception set in the front, and further back, a large desk with smaller office desks on either side.
And sitting at that large desk was a silver-haired man.

"I have brought Mr. Kono and Mr. Sasaki from Wako Trading."

Yuzuru announced.
—So this is Yuzuru's father, and one of the key figures in this land sale.

"Mr. Kono, thank you for the other day.
Mr. Sasaki? Nice to meet you, I'm Mitsui."

The man who walked around the desk to stand in front of us
had a sharp smile and physique that belied his age.
That friendly smile seemed to have been passed down to Yuzuru as well.

I offered my business card and greeted him.

"I'm Sasaki from Wako Trading.
Thank you for your time today."

When we were prompted to sit at the reception set, Mr. Yamanaka left the room,
and Yuzuru moved to the office desk next to the president's seat.

"I understand you are here regarding the land sale today. Is there some kind of problem?"

Mr. Mitsui cut straight to the point without any circumlocution.

Kono responds.

“As we proceeded with verifying the land in question,
we found that the current owner is not Mr. Mitsui, but Mr. Nishioka.
Since you mentioned in our meeting the other day that you were the owner,
I came to confirm.”

Mr. Mitsui nods and answers in a calm voice.

“Ah, I spoke that way the other day for Mr. Mukumoto's sake, but
as it stands, it is not my land.
Was it Mr. Nishioka?
I have been proceeding with a sales contract, and we just signed it the other day.”

It makes sense. But—.

“Regarding this land, a registration prohibiting disposal had been filed.
Does this mean the sale was concluded with all the heirs?”

When I interjected, Mr. Mitsui's expression stiffened slightly.

“What do you mean?”

Kono presents a certified copy of the real estate register.

“This is a copy I obtained yesterday.
As you can see, a registration prohibiting disposal was entered in [Month/Year] of the Reiwa era.”

Mr. Mitsui stares at it intently and gives an instruction.

“Yuzuru, please obtain the registration information.
...Mr. Kono, Mr. Sasaki, I don't mean to doubt you, but
I would like to verify this again.”

“Yes, that is fine.
Where did you obtain the information for this land?”

Kono asks in a calm voice.

“I have been receiving advice from a consultant regarding land transactions for some time.
This land was also introduced by him.
He told me that since it is a candidate site that a certain company is considering for purchase,
I could make a profit even with a short-term transfer.”

With a hint of impatience, Mr. Mitsui continued.

“I was introduced to Mr. Mukumoto while I was proceeding with the land verification and setting the sale price with the consultant.”

“Was our Mr. Mukumoto introduced by the consultant?”

I open my mouth to confirm.

“Yes, that's right.
He told me he was someone from a company looking for land.”

Mr. Mitsui thought for a moment before answering.

--In other words, that consultant and Mukumoto are connected, aren't they?

Kono opened his mouth.

If you don't mind, could we see the sales contract that was signed the other day?

Ah, Yuzuru...

Before he could finish, Yuzuru walked over here with a large binder in his hand.

The certified copy will take a little more time.

He said that and handed the binder to his father. We received it from Mr. Mitsui and checked the contents.

--Party A: Shintaro Nishioka.

Only the name of Mr. Nishioka's eldest son was there. There were no other names, nor was there an attachment of a division of estate agreement. This is completely out.

With this content... it's a contract with a non-entitled person. What about the deposit and the exchange of money?

I asked the question while feeling dizzy looking at the deposit amount listed in the contract.

It was scheduled to be deposited today... but with this, there is no reason to pay.

Mr. Mitsui muttered as if chewing on something. I made eye contact with Kono and felt a small sense of relief.

As if timing it perfectly, Yuzuru handed the certified copy he had obtained to Mr. Mitsui. The content was identical, word for word, to the one we had brought.

Kono-san, Sasaki-san... thank you for your help. I had been doing as the consultant said and making a profit, so my verification was lax. I will call him in immediately and question him.

We accepted Mr. Mitsui's thanks and decided to leave.

After packing our things and exchanging a few words, Yuzuru came to see us off to the elevator.

The moment we left the room, in a voice so small only I could hear,

Yosuke, thank you.

they whispered.

I kept my hand down and gave a thumbs-up in response.

After leaving Mr. Mitsui's office building and getting into the car, I checked with Kono.

"What should we do about confirming Mr. Nishioka?"

Kono thought for a moment before answering.

"It's clear that it's a scam, and I feel like we don't need any further confirmation."

However, I shook my head.

"I think we should go for the interview."

It was obvious that the land sale wouldn't go through. I understood the logic that there was no need to waste time. Still, a small doubt remained in my mind.

"...If you say so, I have no objections. Let's head there now."

Kono accepted my opinion surprisingly easily.

"You're being quite agreeable..."

I let it slip out, and Kono, while still looking ahead, paused for a moment before saying,

"Your intuition saved us this time. And there's something about Mr. Nishioka too, isn't there? I'll trust that."

"...I see."

I could only respond hollowly.

The car was heading toward the address provided by Fukushima—the home of Mr. Shintaro Nishioka. His character was unknown, but considering his father, Mr. Yasutaro, was ninety-five, he was likely in his sixties or seventies.

"Hey, Sasaki... is this really the place?"

At Kono's voice, I also looked outside.

—Nishioka Rice Store.

Rice bags are lined up in the storefront, but they can hardly be called impressive, and
there is no sign of it being a thriving business.
I parked the car in a nearby coin-operated parking lot and headed toward the shop.

"Excuse me."

My voice echoes, but there is no reply.

"Excuse me!"

When I called out a little louder,

"Coming~"

an elderly man appeared from the back, shuffling along.

"Are you Mr. Shintaro Nishioka?"

Kono asks.

"That's me, but who are you people?"

"My apologies.
I am Kono from Wako Trading, and this is Sasaki."

After we exchanged greetings, Mr. Nishioka said with a sigh.

"It's about that land in Minato Ward again, isn't it?
I'm having trouble with my younger brother's heirs over it, so I can't sell it or anything."

His voice was laced with clear irritation.

"Uh..."

Kono cannot hide his agitation.
But I whispered quietly to myself.

--Just as I thought.