"Grandpa George, what are you doing here?"
Seeing the familiar, kind smile of George sitting in his room, Rinji was a bit surprised.
He had met this old man when he was very young—one of the first to work with his father. Back then, George often played with him, bought him gifts, and treated him like a grandson.
Though not his biological grandfather, George had always taken care of him. Given his age, Rinji called him "Grandpa George."
George stepped forward and ruffled Rinji's golden hair.
"It's been so long, Little Rinji. You've grown so much. I came all this way just to see you," George smiled. "Are you settling in okay here in Japan?"
"Yeah, I've gotten used to it."
Ishigami sat nearby, listening but clearly not understanding a word.
That was because George and Rinji had naturally switched to English. Being academically challenged, Ishigami's listening skills were nowhere near good enough to follow along—if they were, he wouldn't be failing English.
Wanting to give the two time to talk, Ishigami put down his controller and headed to the living room.
"You two keep talking. I'll sit outside for a bit."
"Oh, no problem. We'll wrap up soon," Rinji said.
After Ishigami left and closed the door, only George and Rinji were left in the room.
"Rinji, I heard the Shionomiya family gave you some trouble here in Japan?"
"I caused the trouble, actually… I was twelve and didn't know any better. I acted on impulse," Rinji said with a bitter smile. "I lashed out when I was angry, and cooled off right after. I left a mess behind. I just wasn't mature enough back then."
"So are you no longer angry now?"
"No. I probably will act again when the time comes—but I won't use IW's resources to do it."
"Why not? That organization was founded by your father. As his son, you have every right to use it."
"You know how IW operates—it's not a hereditary organization. It's merit-based. President Soryo earned his position through capability. I don't have what it takes to manage IW right now, so I won't try to use its resources."
"But if you ever wanted to become IW's president, everyone in the Elders' Council would back you. I believe the leadership across all branches would support your command," George said.
Many of them viewed Rinji as the rightful heir to IW.
"We'll see in the future."
"Alright, alright. Just say the word if you ever want the seat."
Seeing Rinji's lack of interest, George didn't press further.
"By the way, Rinji, I heard you went to the Middle East battlefield… because of a heartbreak? That's what Soryo told me."
"Pretty much. I confessed and got rejected. I've already moved on."
"Someone rejected you!?"
George was shocked, then fell into thought.
"I know! Rinji, I recently bought an uninhabited island near Panama under the guise of an environmental project. I'll give it to you. We'll throw a party at the villa, invite some debutantes and celebrities—you can take your pick."
"No, no, no, that's way too much."
Rinji turned him down without hesitation.
"Come on, don't be so polite with your Grandpa George."
"I'm not being polite."
Rinji knew that if he'd gone to the U.S. instead of Japan, George really might have spoiled him beyond belief.
"I also heard from Soryo that besides fighting in the Middle East, you also shipped goods in international waters for a while?"
"Yeah, just making a little money."
"That's odd. Didn't the boss give you any spending money when he sent you here?"
"He did. One hundred million USD over five years. I lost a lot in bad investments, made some of it back through war and shipping. I've got about twenty-three million left."
"One hundred million over five years…"
George frowned.
"Is the boss getting stingy?"
"I don't know. But as pocket money, it's more than enough."
"Hmph… That won't do. Here, your Grandpa George didn't bring much this time, but take this."
George pulled out a wallet from his jacket, and from it, he drew a black card with a Roman centurion's profile on it—an American Express Centurion Card.
"Here, take it."
"No no no, you really don't have to. I don't need it."
"Take it. I never use it anyway. Just use it for whatever you need."
George forcibly shoved the black card into Rinji's hand.
Knowing it was pointless to resist, Rinji reluctantly said "thanks" and slipped the card into his wallet.
He really didn't need it—because it was his fourth one.
The first card was from another elder when he first arrived in Japan.
The second was from the Southeast Asia branch chief when he left Japan.
The third was from a woman in the operations department—someone who apparently had a close relationship with his father.
Basically, everyone was afraid he'd starve to death.
Truthfully, Rinji's daily expenses were minimal. Aside from occasionally buying premium ingredients to cook with, he usually got by with just a red bean bun.
"Oh, right. The organization still owns a few oil fields in international waters. I can authorize two of them under your name…"
"No!"
Rinji grabbed George by the shoulder.
"Seriously, Grandpa George—you didn't come to Japan just to give me money, right?"