“I wouldn’t do that…” Sora sighed.
“You’d be surprised how many shop owners are like that around here in Shizukuishi.”
Apparently, dealing with those owners gave Natsuki a headache. She walked with purpose in her greige pantsuit; her glossy, flat, black shoes struck a brisk, staccato rhythm on the road.
They covered a distance that would have normally taken twenty minutes in fifteen and came to a tall building a little ways away from the train station.
“Is it because you’re based in a neighboring town?” Sora couldn’t help but ask as he looked at the sign proclaiming ODAJIMA CONSTRUCTION on the rooftop above the twelfth floor. It was unusual for a company of this size not to have an office in the center of the city, but he could tell they had close ties with general contractors.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I apologize for being blunt, but even if it’s only a subsidiary, the main company seems too large to hire a tax accountant from a small town as its consultant.”
Sora was treading carefully, keeping his distance from Natsuki. It wasn’t as though her tone had any edge to it, but she was someone who would force you into giving her a contractual thumbprint.
“You’re sharp. I’m impressed, Mr. Oushuu. I knew I’d picked the right fraud examiner,” she declared with a nod, though Sora doubted she’d had any other choice. Carefree as she was, there was no knowing what she’d do next. He couldn’t trust her at all.
“Mr. Odajima’s a drinking buddy of mine. To be more precise, we met at the bar just over there. Near the station.”
“So he was chatting you up…” Sora’s voice was laced with fatigue now. Natsuki’s pace was truly exhausting.
“No, no! He ordered this expensive sake for me, his treat.”
“That’s just flirting…”
“He’s like that with everybody! That’s the way he is! As soon as he takes a liking to someone, even just a little, he’ll treat you to anything. Sometimes he doesn’t even pick up the receipts. The waiter asked if he wanted one, and he just went, ‘Oh, I’ll skip it today,’ so I was like, ‘Hold up, man.’ And that’s how he asked me to work for him.”
Sora had never heard of someone flirt-scouting a tax accountant like that, but coming from Natsuki, it sounded believable.
“So as you can imagine, he’s our biggest client. Well, I say that, but we’re only in charge of the subsidiary company up in the northeast. As for Mr. Odajima, he’s an old man who doesn’t even glance at his account books.”
Sora followed Natsuki into the entrance hall of the company building. Before he walked in, he caught sight of the cornerstone and saw that the structure had been completed fifty years ago. The interior showed the years, but he could feel the modern air-conditioning. They must have done large-scale renovation at some point in the past.
“What are you doing? Follow me,” called Natsuki, gesturing to him. She’d picked up an ID for each of them while Sora was staring at the high ceiling.
“Anything interesting up there?” Natsuki asked as they waited in the elevator hall.
“This building was completed fifty years ago, but—”
“How did you know that?!”
“It’s engraved on the cornerstone. But the AC system seems new, and the ceiling is well maintained. That’s a sign the company is comfortably in the black.”
“Way to go!” Natsuki suddenly slapped his back in full force.
“…!”
“I like it! You don’t miss a trick! I live by intuition, Mr. Oushuu, so I wish I could hire you.”
“Living by intuition seems completely unreliable for a tax accountant, but hiring…”
I wouldn’t say no to that, Sora thought, but he didn’t say it out loud.
The elevator was as spacious as the building, a large and speedy box.
Sora heaved a big sigh. He had a feeling that kind of broad-stroke intuition was important to succeed as a business owner. The way he worked involved focusing on minute details, and that was leading him into a financial bog.
“As a construction company, the condition of their office building is the first step to gaining trust.”
“Don’t you think it’s a waste of space, though? They’ve got several departments in the headquarters, too, but the ones in charge of the large-scale public construction projects are all successors in regional branch offices. If all Mr. Odajima has to do is hold meetings and foster ties with clients, I feel like it’s enough for him just to have a small office in the city center.”
As they talked about the company, they reached the twelfth floor.
“But he says this is where he started, so he likes this place. I get how he feels, but still.”
The twelfth floor in Nerima afforded a view over a variety of things. Clusters of office buildings spread out before them, skyscrapers rising in the distance. On a sunny day, you might even see Mount Fuji, but the distant parts of Tokyo were faded today.
“I’m starting to see why you get along with Chairman Odajima, considering how you feel about high-rises,” observed Sora, looking out at the scene. The greenery was sparse here—neither an urban cityscape nor a traditional old-town neighborhood.
“We’ve been awaiting your arrival, Ms. Koudera.”
A woman neatly dressed in a suit greeted them with a smile, standing in front of the elevator on the top floor, where the chairman’s room was located.
“Hello, Ms. Miyaizumi. How are you?”
“I’m always in tip-top shape. You’ve brought company today, I see.”
The woman, who looked close to Natsuki in age, turned to Sora and bowed graciously.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Oushuu.”
He returned her bow and was about to take out his business card when Natsuki gave him a sharp jab with her elbow. Ah, right. If he revealed his true profession now, they would be on the alert.
“This way, please.”
Miyaizumi led them to the chairman’s door and opened it gracefully without a sound as Sora bowed.
“Hello! How are you, Mr. Odajima?” said Natsuki brightly.