"Phew."
Shirou stretched lazily as he stepped out of the park.
Although he had already asked Sato for directions back to the Matou house, it was still too early to return.
Alright, I'll wander around Miyama Town for a bit.
And while I'm at it, I'll ask around about the Fujimura Group. Just casually.
Shirou stopped a passerby.
"Excuse me, do you know where the Fujimura Group is?"
"Fuji…"
The office worker froze for a moment, gave Shirou a strange look, then quickly walked away.
What was that? Was I not polite enough?
If Shirou were an ordinary seven-year-old, he might have thought that.
But unfortunately, he wasn't.
I am the companion of the Savior, the ancestor king of Britannia. What kind of human nature haven't I seen?
That reaction just now clearly meant the man wanted nothing to do with an organization called the Fujimura Group.
In that case, time to use the ultimate trick.
"Excuse me, do you know where the Fujimura Group is?"
The second person also stiffened at the question, but Shirou calmly pulled out two one-thousand-yen bills from his pocket.
Getting the information was easy.
This was the first principle Shirou had grasped after coming here.
Money is everything.
In this world without calamities, a belief known as "capitalism" prevailed. As long as you had money, you could obtain most things you wanted.
It worked not only in the surface world, but even in the hidden world of Magecraft.
According to Makiri, if you had funds on the scale of hundreds of millions of dollars, you could even acquire top-tier, gem-class Mystic Eyes.
Back then, Zouken Matou had painstakingly studied ways to make money for the sake of Magecraft, and now held vast assets overseas.
Relying on money, Shirou found the base of the Fujimura Group, an old, unremarkable office building.
"Oy! This isn't a place for kids. Get lost and go home to watch cartoons!"
A tall man in a black suit and sunglasses stood at the entrance, glaring at Shirou with open hostility.
No wonder people avoided this place, Shirou thought.
"Let me in, Uncle. Just for a moment. I'll leave right after I'm done."
As he spoke, Shirou raised a finger to his lips, weaving a subtle suggestion into his words.
"Alright… just for a little while, kid."
The man in black stepped aside with a blank expression.
"Sorry about this, Uncle."
Shirou climbed the stairs and opened the office door.
The room was hazy with smoke and sparsely furnished. Two leather sofas and a low table sat in the center. On the wall hung a sign reading "Fujimura Group," along with some calligraphy of unclear meaning.
In the most eye-catching corner stood a somewhat over-the-top bamboo sword.
"Where'd this kid come from? Is Tanaka slacking off again?"
Several men in identical suits and sunglasses were lounging on the sofas, chatting. When they saw Shirou, their cigarettes dropped in surprise.
"Which one of you is the boss? I want to see him."
Shirou's gaze swept across their faces. He immediately judged that these men were just underlings left to guard the place.
For some reason, the phrase "yakuza lookalikes" popped into his mind.
"…Huh?"
"Who the hell are you, brat? Acting all high and mighty!"
"You think Raiga-san is someone you can just meet whenever you want?!"
One of the yakuza lookalikes strode toward him aggressively.
"Don't get angry. Look at this."
Before the man could react, Shirou pulled out a 10,000-yen bill.
"I want to see a man named Raiga Fujimura."
"..."
All the men froze, their expressions going blank.
"Don't get angry. Look at this."
Before the man could react, Shirou pulled out a 10,000-yen bill.
"I want to see a man named Raiga Fujimura."
"..."
All the men froze, their expressions going blank.
Huh? That's strange. Not enough money?
Shirou frowned slightly and took out another 10,000-yen bill. He had left in a hurry, so this was all the cash he had on him.
"This should be enough…"
"Smack!"
The money was slapped out of his hand.
"You little brat! Are you messing with us?!"
"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."
Shirou apologized sincerely, but the men in the room were already closing in around him.
"Kid, which group sent you?"
"Group? Oh, you mean an organization?"
Shirou proudly gave the name of the organization he had founded in the Fairy Kingdom.
"I'm from the 'Fae Round Table.'"
"Huh? You really are messing with us!!"
For some reason, that only made them angrier. They advanced on him aggressively.
I see…
Looking at the increasingly furious faces of the yakuza lookalikes, Shirou suddenly understood.
So there are still places in this world where money doesn't work.
That's actually…
Perfect.
In that case, we're back to what I'm best at.
"Ora!!"
One of the large men lunged at him. At that exact moment...
"Trace, on."
A bright green light filled the room, and a wooden sword engraved with the words "Toyako - Lake Toya" appeared in Shirou's hand.
In an instant, a gust of wind swept through the tightly sealed office.
With a casual swing of his slender arm, the red-haired boy sent the tall man flying through the air, crashing heavily onto the sofa.
"W-what?!"
"Where did that wooden sword come from?!"
The suited men panicked. One of them reached out to grab Shirou by the collar, but the wooden sword struck the back of his hand mid-motion, making him cry out in pain.
There had been seven yakuza lookalikes in the room.
In less than five seconds, six of them were already down.
As for the last one, Shirou lowered the "Toyako" and spoke calmly.
"Take me to your boss."
The man let out a strange yelp and bolted out of the office.
Shirou walked to the back, opened the window, and took a deep breath of fresh air.
"You guys should smoke less. You can't even beat an elementary schooler."
He set the "Toyako" beside him and sat on the sofa. About fifteen minutes later, the office door opened again.
The first to step in was a tall elderly man.
He had a stern, square face, a neatly trimmed gray-streaked crew cut, and wore a kimono with wooden sandals. His entire presence carried an old-fashioned aura that felt completely out of place in a modern city.
Behind him, a group of men filed in one after another.
Among the many yakuza, there was, for some reason, a ponytailed girl in a school uniform mixed in.
The Fujimura Group members didn't make a fuss. Instead, they quietly surrounded Shirou layer by layer. The old man at the front sat down directly across from him.
"So you're the one. The brat who barged in and beat up all my men.
I thought my old ears were playing tricks on me. Turns out you really are just an elementary school kid."
Raiga Fujimura, the head of the Fujimura Group, glanced at the groaning men on the floor.
"In our line of work, reputation is everything. If word of today gets out, the Fujimura Group might as well disband on the spot."
"Uwaaaaah! We're sorry, boss!"
The yakuza lookalikes Shirou had beaten cried out in misery.
Raiga Fujimura spoke in an extremely calm tone.
"Even if you're just a kid, you don't get a free pass… leave your little finger behind."
…
Note: Toyako is Gintoki's Bokutō from Gintama