CH 40: UNDERESTIMATED?

The day followed in a seemingly calm fashion but I knew that it was the prelude to the storm.

Nowadays, different news and reports always come to my table. Some were just regular updates while others were crucial information.

Black lotus was a rather large organization composed of both elites and Cannon fodder. It would be foolish to simply rush towards them without enough preparation. I didn't simply want to crush them. I needed to absolutely eradicate them.

On the bright side, the legal procedure to attack the Gasai was going well. It was impossible for me to completely swallow such a big cake, so I enlisted the help of the Bami, the Busujima, and Anna's Mother.

The division of the cake was rather simple and clear. 40% for the Karino and 20% for each of them. The negotiation behind that wasn't so simple. It was only because they knew that they didn't have to do much and that the major part of the risk was on us that they accepted. It also helped that Anna's mother was unconditionally on my side.

Politics, politics, politics.

It was such a bore. But it was necessary.

During all those events, Mia and her law firm proved to be an inestimable help.

I was smart. Really. I could scheme and plan. But compared to those old bastards from the powerful clan? I was just a pup. If I went alone they would have devoured me without even spitting the bones.

Yuno 3 sometimes comes and urges me, but I wasn't in a hurry. To tell the truth I didn't really care about Yuno 4 or any Yuno for that matter. Yandere or not, it didn't matter. She wasn't a loved one so her suffering was inconsequential to me.

If it wasn't because I feared that Yuno 3 would snap, then I wouldn't even have urged the plan so much and would have waited for a few years to act.

Another thing to note was that the previously cold relationship between Rem and me had somewhat warmed up. It wasn't possible to call them friends, but at least it wasn't as low as it was in the past.

I sighed as I pinched my eyebrows. A fourteen years old boy shouldn't have to deal with all this shit.

I could have left everything to Wilhelm, Mamako, and the others, but I refused to be a simple bystander in this situation.

"Aki, You have a guest."

Lifting my head from the documents that littered my desk, I frowned as I looked at Ram,

"A guest?"

I didn't have many acquaintances in this world. If it was someone I was friendly with, Ram would have told me his name. But from the way her expression was clouded, I could guess that it wasn't someone I would be happy to see.

"Is Mamako currently at home?"

"Indeed. She was already notified, but she said that she wouldn't appear this time."

I nodded, not surprised. Mamako was taking a handoff attitude in this affair. I was rather relieved about that. She didn't try to smother me, but rather let me do as I wanted.

"I see. Then let's go. Don't bother Wilhelm, the two of us alone will be enough."

"I fear that we will be underestimated if we go with such a formation." Ram talked nonchalantly as she took a step behind me.

"Underestimated? I would like to be underestimated."

Being underestimated by those you wanted to stab was always a good thing. I was sad because since I entered this world, no one ever did so. Why were they so cautious?

…Sigh.

Anyway, "Who is it?"

Ram hesitated a little, before speaking, " Koichi Shido."

"Oh?! Hehehe. I see. Let's go, I think it's time to entertain our guest."

----RAM POV

Ram looked worriedly at Akira.

'He is doing it again.'

Akira always smiled. It was very very rare to see him without a smile. No matter what the situation was.

So, over time, she had begun to differentiate his mood depending on the kind of smile he had. And right now, as she watched his cold smile and nearly closed eyes, she knew that he was extremely angry.

Well, not that she couldn't understand him. Gasai aside, that Shido was truly a piece of shit that was worthy of being killed.

From what she knew, he was somewhat of a love rival to Akira, because he was one of the fiance candidates for the hand of Saeko. Even though Saeko had vehemently rejected him, it seemed that some of the elders of the Busujima clan wanted to have more influence in the political world.

Koichi Shido was the son of Ichirou Shido, a rather powerful member of the parliament who was also the political enemy of Sophia Nishikinomiya, Anna's mother.

Like Akira, Koichi was someone who always smiled. But in Ram's eyes, his smile was the most disgusting thing in the world.

Onis were extremely sensitive to emotions and aura. If Akira's smile was one that always hides his emotions, then Koichi's smile was one that hides all his vile and disgusting thoughts. The way he looked at her and Rem the first time they had met made her skin crawl in disgust.

At the pace they walked, it didn't take long for them to reach the room specially designed to receive guests.

Once at the door, she stopped a little to inspect Akira's clothes one last time to be sure everything was in order. Enemies or not. It was unacceptable to appear sloppy in front of them.

"Yosh. It should be alright."

She patted his suit with a satisfied smile before giving him the green light and then entered the room behind him.

"Hello! Gentleman! I am sorry for making you wait. It's just that your arrival was slightly...let's say sudden?"

Well, it seem ed like the show was on. Let's see how it will end. She had no doubt that today's would be the start of a new arc in their stories.