Chapter 116 - Legal Angelica
After leaving the apartment, I first headed to Gondo's office.
He's probably the least socially acceptable person to deal with, but it's all for Angelica's sake.
Not having any official identity is inconvenient in many ways, so I want to get her some identification as soon as possible.
With a visa, Angelica can go out in public without fear of police questioning.
She might even be able to start a part-time job.
She'll definitely be happy, I thought, my cheeks relaxing into a smile as I moved forward.
Though "moving forward" isn't quite right—"gliding" would be a more accurate description of my method of travel.
I cast Concealment Magic and leaped from rooftop to rooftop to shorten the time.
My schedule has no leeway today, so it can't be helped.
Repeating leaps and landings, I cut through the wind.
After doing that for a while, Gondo's office came into view up ahead.
A two-story office building, surrounded by a concrete wall.
With an exterior that practically screams, "This is definitely for protection against gunfire," it doesn't look like a law-abiding residence from any angle.
And as for the parking lot, there's a black Benz parked there, too.
His public identity is that of a construction company owner, but I doubt any of the neighbors believe it.
They've surely figured out it's a yakuza household.
And I, a celebrity, am visiting this den of evil that has zero intention of hiding itself.
I have no idea what kind of rumors might start, so casting Concealment Magic beforehand was the right call.
I landed lightly with a soft thud in front of the office. Immediately after, I leaped up and cleared the wall.
I can't help but think I'm acting like a sneak thief, but associating with antisocial forces forces you to worry about public perception.
I used my smartphone to contact Gondo.
'I'm on the premises now. Open the front door.'
Gondo replied immediately.
This man is surprisingly quick to respond and never keeps people waiting.
Is it his personality, or are all yakuza like this?
'I know. The security cameras caught you clearly, boss. I just sent someone to get you. By the way, when I look at the front door with my own eyes, it looks like nobody's there. How are you doing that? Some kind of magic trick to turn invisible?'
When I looked up at the second-floor window, my eyes met Gondo's as he tilted his head with his smartphone to his ear.
Though he probably hasn't noticed that our gazes crossed.
'There are all sorts of techniques in the world that you don't know about.'
Just as I typed that, the front door opened.
A tough-looking man, still tilting his head in puzzlement, beckoned me brusquely, saying, "If you're there, could ya come in?"
Wasn't this the guy who attacked me when I rescued King Leo and ended up hurting his own fist?
Long time no see, pal, I voiced silently, a sound he couldn't hear, as I entered the office.
Once the door was closed and I confirmed there was no longer any need to worry about outside eyes, I released the concealment.
"Whoa, you popped outta nowhere!"
I gave a slight nod to the startled man, then started walking toward the second floor.
I proceeded straight down a long hallway, turned once, then climbed the stairs.
Along the way, I passed by several punkish men, and each time, I could hear them whispering rumors about me.
"I hear he used iPS cells swiped from some lab to regrow the big bro's pinky."
"They say he's trained a high school girl to send him erotic photos every day... and that's not enough, so he's even keeping a high school girl he ordered from overseas at his place."
"So he's doing free trade in high school girls? He's evil among evils."
"They say he's a former shut-in who only finished middle school, but that's gotta be a lie. He probably went straight to prison right after middle school."
"So it's true that the really dangerous ones dress normally."
"The types who get wanted for murder usually have plain looks, after all."
The low-level yakuza made these outrageous comments while casting frightened glances my way.
Some of them even looked at me with something like admiration in their eyes.
Being stared at with sparkling eyes by a rough-looking old man doesn't make me happy at all.
Rubbing my temple with my fingers, I finished climbing the stairs.
The president's office where Gondo is was just ahead.
Suppressing my impatience, I walked as if confirming my steps.
The metal door I'd once punched a hole through with my arm came into view.
The president's office.
Apparently, the repairs still haven't been done, and I could peek through the hole to the other side.
"Hey, boss. You came."
And then.
Gondo spoke to me, suddenly peering through that hole from the other side.
"Yeah. ...Why haven't you fixed this door?"
"I don't have the money for that. Business is bad in our industry right now."
Yet his members' attire and cars remain as impressive as ever, so maybe he just finds it too troublesome to fix.
Or perhaps by leaving it broken, he intends to make me feel indebted.
He's a man of the underworld, so there's no telling what he might use to try and swallow me into his own pace.
I've got to stay sharp, I told myself, and turned the doorknob.
"It's been a while since we talked face to face."
I said this as I stepped into the room.
It was a cluttered space, not much different from the last time I visited.
A leather sofa. A Japanese sword displayed on a shelf. A glass ashtray.
The bookshelf was tightly packed with law books, as if implicitly asserting, "Surprising as it may seem, I'm an intellectual yakuza, you know?"
In truth, I don't know whether Gondo is actually sharp-witted or not.
His narrow, thread-like eyes don't entirely lack a sense of intelligence, but his features suggest ferocity and desire even more.
His attire was, as always, a black suit, and the fabric didn't look cheap.
"Well, have a seat."
Saying this, Gondo gestured with his palm for me to sit.
His movements were oddly gentlemanly, or rather, he seemed to be in a good mood.
Did something nice happen to him?
Well, it's better than getting into a pointless dispute.
Maybe he got a girlfriend or something, I imagined, as I sank into the sofa.
At almost the same moment, Gondo sat down across from me.
"Boss, your name's gotten completely famous now. Aren't you being pulled in every direction by TV and newspapers these days?"
"Thanks to that, yes. Which means I have to be more careful than ever about shady associations. Are you planning to use that as blackmail material?"
I smiled as I added that just being exposed as associating with you would corner me.
Deliberately exposing a weakness is also a way of showing that I don't care about such things at all.
"It's obvious that anyone who defies you, boss, is headed straight for the afterlife. I won't mess up. Besides, you brought us a sweet deal too, right? You pulled it off nicely, boss. Thanks to you, we might be able to return to our roots."
"A sweet deal?"
"I'll talk about that later. More importantly, about Angelica-chan."
This is what you want, right? Gondo said, pulling out a red passport.
It was embossed with a unique alphabet, different from English, and a double-headed eagle.
"This here is a Russian passport."
"It really is red, huh."
"The color of these things has nothing to do with a country's temperament. Even our country's is normally red."
Though some people get green ones for official business, Gondo added.
"Anyway, let me say congratulations. With this, your beloved Angelica-chan can live in Japan with her head held high."
"That's a big help. ...There were several types of stay visas, right? Like for work or for study. Which one is this?"
"Ah, about that. You see, I bought this from some poor brat who made it, so I could only get a simple student visa. With this, she can only stay for up to ninety days."
"So it has restrictions... well, it's still better than nothing."
Just as I was about to say thank you, Gondo spoke up.
"There's a way to make it effective forever, you know?"
"What's that?"
Gondo was grinning.
"You, boss, should just marry Angelica-chan. An international marriage. If she becomes the spouse of a Japanese national, she can stay indefinitely."
"Th-there's no way I could do something so immoral. I'm her foster father."
"The girl who sold that passport is nineteen years old. Meaning, as long as she holds it, Angelica-chan will be treated as nineteen. On paper, that girl has become legal. No matter what you do, the state will permit it."
"No matter what...?"
"Yeah. Even though she's really a high school girl, there'll be no complaints if she's treated as being just under adulthood. She's become a legal-evasion high school girl, that kid."
A legal-evasion high school girl, and a legal Angelica.
I felt sweat forming in my armpits at the immoral ring of those words.
Angelica, who had been illegal in every sense until now, would become largely acceptable on paper.
I couldn't help but gasp.
This makes it seem like I'm declaring I have ulterior motives.
I have no such intentions. I just want us to be a wholesome parent and child.
Ignoring my hesitation, Gondo raised the corners of his mouth even further.