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Chapter 49: The Ship of the New Era
Inside another room of the estate.
Soichiro Takagi sat perfectly still on a woven meditation cushion, his eyes closed. A sheathed katana rested horizontally across his lap, his hands resting lightly upon the scabbard.
Beside him, a small incense burner released thin, swirling tendrils of white smoke, filling the air with a calming fragrance designed to aid meditation.
Behind him, a massive scroll bearing a single, masterfully brushed kanji character for "Tranquility" hung on the wall.
He was currently engaged in the traditional practice of mokusou, intended to temper the mind and spirit.
Slide—
The wooden screen door opened, and Yuriko stepped into the room.
Soichiro slowly opened his eyes, directing his gaze toward her. "Well? Is the boy willing to join the Takagi family?"
He was, of course, referring to Suyan.
Soichiro held a very high opinion of the young man his daughter constantly talked about.
To possess the sheer skill and nerve required to safely transport Saya across a city completely overrun by flesh-eating monsters on a simple motorcycle...
That feat alone proved the boy possessed extraordinary capabilities and immense courage.
Given the apocalyptic chaos currently engulfing Tokonosu City, the Takagi family desperately needed a talent like Suyan.
However, conscious of Suyan's status as a top-tier Tokyo University student, Soichiro had deliberately chosen not to approach him directly, fearing he might accidentally offend the proud youth. Instead, he dispatched Yuriko—the second most influential figure in the family—to handle the negotiations.
He was confident she would return with the desired outcome.
He hadn't expected the negotiations to take this long, but he assumed she had simply spent the time carefully wearing down Suyan's resistance.
He knew Yuriko incredibly well.
If she determined a goal was achievable, she would relentlessly pursue it, regardless of the time or effort required, until she succeeded.
Conversely, if she deemed a goal impossible, she wouldn't waste a single second attempting it.
Yuriko's judgment and execution were universally flawless.
"No," Yuriko answered plainly.
"No?"
Soichiro blinked, genuinely surprised. The fact that she had spent so much time with the boy and still failed to recruit him was highly unexpected.
However, he wasn't overly disappointed. He had approached the recruitment with a fatalistic mindset: If I get him, I am fortunate; if I lose him, it is fate.
He waved his hand dismissively. "I understand. It's late. If there's nothing else, you should return to your quarters and rest."
"There is something else. I came to bid you farewell."
Yuriko's expression remained perfectly blank, as if she were discussing the weather rather than resigning from the syndicate.
"Farewell? Why?"
Soichiro frowned in confusion.
Did she have some sort of external operation to handle?
Given the horrific situation outside, that seemed entirely reckless.
The estate had more than enough food stockpiled for the foreseeable future.
There was absolutely no reason for someone of Yuriko's status to personally venture outside the walls.
"Because," Yuriko's eyes practically glowed as she spoke, a fiery intensity replacing her usual calm demeanor, "I have finally found the most magnificent investment opportunity in the entire world."
Even her voice trembled slightly, betraying her overwhelming excitement.
"What?! I absolutely forbid it! The Takagi family needs your leadership now more than ever!"
Soichiro finally realized she wasn't talking about a mission. She was talking about permanently severing ties with the family.
He couldn't comprehend it, and he absolutely refused to accept it.
He glared at her, his posture radiating the terrifying, oppressive aura of a caged beast preparing to strike.
"You forbid it?"
Yuriko let out a mocking scoff. "I think you're fundamentally misunderstanding the dynamic here. I am not asking for your permission. I am informing you of my departure."
"Old man, I highly suggest you don't provoke me right now. I'm in an exceptionally good mood, and I'd hate to have to slap you."
As an investor, having just bought into the most incredible project of her life and immediately receiving an unimaginably massive return on her investment... how could she not be ecstatic?
Initially, she had harbored some lingering doubts about Suyan's 'forced awakening' process.
But the moment his hand touched her, and she felt every single aura node in her body forcefully blown wide open, her life energy rapidly venting out like air from a punctured tire...
Faced with something so utterly beyond the realm of logic and science, she had genuinely panicked.
But she had drawn on every ounce of her willpower, fighting through the terror to grasp control of the fleeting life energy within her.
She had successfully harnessed the mystical power known as Nen!
And in doing so, she had successfully secured her ticket onto the ship of the new era!
That was the true reason her conversation with Suyan had taken so long.
"Why? Is this because of that boy, Suyan?"
Hearing Yuriko's absolute, unyielding tone, Soichiro knew it was over.
Yuriko was a woman of her word. Once she made a decision, neither heaven nor earth could force her to change it.
But he still needed to know why.
He fully admitted that the methods he used to manipulate her into joining the family years ago were underhanded, but he truly believed the Takagi family had treated her with the utmost respect and reverence ever since.
How could she be so ruthlessly cold to just abandon them now?
Especially when the family was facing its darkest hour?
Yuriko waved a hand dismissively. "You wouldn't understand. Dinosaurs like you and the Takagi family should have gone extinct years ago. The only reason this family is still standing is because I've been single-handedly holding it together from the shadows."
"Over the years, the wealth and power I've secured for this family have more than repaid whatever minor debt I owed you. I owe you nothing, Soichiro. And I certainly owe the Takagi family nothing."
"Therefore, what I want to do, what I will do, and where I go from here... is none of your damn business."
To the outside world, Soichiro Takagi was the indomitable pillar supporting the entire Takagi syndicate.
But Yuriko knew the truth. Soichiro was a stubborn, short-sighted, arrogantly self-righteous man.
She had always violently opposed the family's extreme right-wing politics.
If Soichiro hadn't been so obsessively fixated on his archaic ideals, Yuriko could have easily expanded the Takagi family's influence far beyond Tokonosu City years ago, instead of them being permanently trapped in this insignificant regional pond.
"You!"
Soichiro glared at her, his hand gripping the hilt of his katana so tightly his knuckles turned white. It looked as though he was a fraction of a second away from drawing the blade and striking her down.
But deep down, he knew she was right.
The Takagi family's methods were flawed. He knew it. But they aligned perfectly with his romanticized vision of the samurai path, and they aligned with his personal philosophy.
Slowly, his hand released the hilt. He stared at Yuriko, taking in the vibrant, practically glowing aura she exuded.
It reminded him of the fiercely independent, unstoppable woman he had first met in America all those years ago.
Soichiro's voice was hollow when he finally spoke. "Do you believe the Takagi family can survive this?"
"What do you think?" Yuriko retorted coolly.
She didn't need to answer; Soichiro already knew.
He seemed to age twenty years in a single second, his broad shoulders slumping under the weight of inevitable defeat.
After a long silence, he spoke, his voice raspy and hoarse. "If that is the case... then I shall fade into obscurity alongside the Takagi family, a relic of a bygone era."
"But Saya... I beg you, take her with you onto this 'ship of the new era' you spoke of."
He trusted Yuriko's judgment implicitly. If he didn't, he wouldn't have gone to such extreme lengths to force her into the family in the first place.
If she believed Suyan represented the future, then it was an absolute certainty.
Even if the Takagi family was destined to be crushed by the coming storm...
As long as his daughter, Saya, could board that ship and survive, he was willing to accept his fate.
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