The Corrupted Daily Life of an Alchemist Who Returned on His Own - Episode 14: Present

Episode 14: Present

“Ah, um, Chairman!”

“Let him in.”

A flustered man in black opened the door.

Well, I can understand how he feels.

As I pass by, I give him a quick wink—his face looks completely lifeless.

What the hell. I was just trying to lighten the mood.

“Izaki-kun, is this a playground or something?”

I slump back into the seat, hands still in my pockets. Chairman Shiranami gives a wry smile.

Kimura-san reacts the same way.

“Huh? It’s not?”

They both sigh deeply at the same time and look down.

“Now, now. Oh, right. I already gave this to Kimura-san before coming here. Today, I’ve brought a present.”

“Hm? Do you know something?”

I glance sideways at Kimura-san.

“…Ah, that. Please wait a moment.”

He starts looking for it.

“Ah, that… Hold on.”

He pats his pockets hurriedly, nose raised in panic.

He’s clearly flustered.

Seems it was in his back pocket. He pats his chest and hands it to the chairman.

“…Hm? What’s this?”

“Chairman, it’s your birthday next week, right?”

“You know that? Yes, it is.”

“It’s a small gift from a kid like me.”

I raise my brow a little and pout my lips—he then snorts a laugh through his nose.

“Hmph. Well, Izaki-kun is like a grandson to me. Being visited like this doesn’t feel bad.”

He puts on his glasses and looks at the contents.

“Hm? This is──”

“How is it? Might help you make a bit of pocket money.”

“Izaki-san. Are you sure about this?”

“Oh my, Kimura-san, you hadn’t seen it yet?”

The chairman leans back in his chair, eyes wide, staring at me.

“What’s going on? You’re not doing this for no reason, are you?”

“No, I’m telling you—it’s your birthday, right? If you don’t trust me, why not just try putting a little in?”

As I say that, the chairman holds up three fingers.

“Whoa, three fingers from the chairman sounds dangerous. Make it 300 or 3,000, please.”

I mean, his wealth is already insane.

Even this house—it’s super huge.

There’s a garage, and even a wine cellar with crazy amounts of wine.

In other words, he’s loaded.

“Izaki-san. He gave one to me too, but…”

“Yeah. I’m not sure about your salary, Kimura-san. But hopefully you can go on a family trip at the end of the year or start of next.”

I stick my tongue out from a half-open mouth to tease him.

“Oh my, Izaki-san, you’re a kind person.”

“You’ll probably laugh when it all works out.”

No need to stay long. Business is done.

I stand up, hunching a little, raising my hand as I walk out of the chairman’s office.

“Ah, should we escort you home—?”

“I’m fine. I can get home by myself.”

Since I’ve told my family I specialize in investment, I need to show some results.

• • Genhou

• • Rixy

• • Hirisato Communications

• • Saber

• • Larries

Looking at these stock names on the screen of my flip phone, I grin as I turn the corner of the long hallway.

*

“What a stormy kid.”

“Yeah.”

The two of them frowned at the door like they were watching a problem child.

But that calm atmosphere shattered instantly.

“Chairman!”

The man in black who followed Izaki earlier rushed in, flustered.

“Aihara, this is still the chairman’s office, you know? Show some care.”

Kimura adjusted his glasses as he spoke. But judging from Aihara’s heavy breathing, it was clear something unusual had happened.

The chairman watched the whole scene calmly. He asked,

“What happened?”

“I—Izaki-sama…”

“”Hm?””

The two looked at each other when the shared name came up.

“What about Izaki-kun?”

“I—I tried to escort him home, but…”

Aihara looked pale, like in a horror movie.

“I followed him, but—he was already gone.”

“Hm? He came on foot?”

“Yes, I believe so. But that would be strange, given his speed.”

With a glance from the chairman, Kimura quickly contacted security.

“Seems like Aihara’s telling the truth. The surveillance cameras show he came on foot like usual. Left through the front gate as well.”

“Did he run off or something?”

“You know that long hallway, right? He left, but I was only a few seconds behind. Even if he sprinted at full speed, not even the world’s fastest runner could disappear like that.”

“Hm… just in case, let’s install security cameras inside too. This is bizarre.”

The chairman forced Aihara out of the room.

But to be honest, the chairman didn’t seem all that concerned.

He continued discussing stocks and investments with Kimura.

The true impact of Izaki’s memo would hit only six months later.