Money! Money! Money!

Chapter 17: Money! Money! Money!

Three days later, Sunday, 10 AM, inside the Keqin Exorcist Agency.

Shu Yunwen was woken up by Matsushita Heisaburo's phone call that morning and rushed over to the Keqin Exorcist Agency.

In the president's office, Shu Yunwen looked at the financial report Matsushita Heisaburo handed him with a headache, pressing his forehead with his hand. "Matsushita-kun, is this the financial situation of our agency? How can our accounts only have five hundred thousand yen left? And in three days, it's time to pay salaries again? The total salary expenditure is a staggering thirteen point five million yen? Was the agency's financial situation always like this?"

Matsushita Heisaburo stood respectfully before Shu Yunwen's desk and bowed. "Yes! Yunwen-san, as I mentioned before, two months ago, due to an exorcist's professional error, one of our exorcists failed to properly handle an exorcism request, leading to the death of an innocent person. Because the client was very powerful, our agency had to take responsibility for the deceased and paid nearly twenty-five million yen in compensation. Furthermore, because that request was not handled properly, our agency's reputation suffered greatly, and the number of people who have requested our exorcism services has decreased significantly over the past two months."

"...Of course, we are currently working on various strategies. As long as we overcome this difficult period, everything will return to normal..."

Shu Yunwen frowned and recalled.

Matsushita Heisaburo seemed to have mentioned this matter on Tuesday.

Two months ago, an experienced exorcist master at the agency took on a job. It was at a construction site in Beika Town, where strange noises were often heard at night, and accidents had been frequent since construction began. The main investors contacted the Keqin Exorcist Agency to handle the situation.

In normal circumstances, strange noises at night and frequent accidents at a construction site are not as mysterious as they might seem. The noises at night could be due to construction materials piled up at the site not being stacked properly, sliding down in the middle of the night and making impact sounds. It could also be wild animals randomly entering the site, or even people causing trouble within the construction area. As for frequent accidents, they could be due to worker carelessness, equipment malfunctions, and so on.

However, Japanese people are generally superstitious, and those in high-risk professions are even more so. They insisted on finding a master to "drive away" the "things" causing trouble at the construction site before they would resume work. Following this, the investors found the Keqin Exorcist Agency.

After receiving the job, the exorcist master prepared some "tools" and went to the construction site. Then, as usual, he wandered around the site, randomly shouting a few phrases in a corner, such as "Demons, receive my attack!", "Little devils, die!", "Behold my magical artifact!", and so on. Of course, while shouting, he also fiddled with his "tools" in a seemingly professional manner, even though he had no idea what these tools were actually for...

Anyway, after a while of messing around, he clapped his hands and told the construction site manager that everything was done, and the "evil entities" at the construction site had been eliminated. He then advised them to pay attention to safety in the future and avoid dangerous operations, and so on, rattling off a string of words. He looked like a "safety production promoter."

After giving his instructions, the construction site manager immediately ordered the workers to resume work. Seeing that the exorcist master had declared everything safe, the workers happily got back to work. However, as soon as the elevator started, an unlucky fellow was hit by a falling rock and died on the spot.

The above is the daily work routine of a certain incompetent exorcist master.

Finally, during the responsibility assessment, the construction site believed that the casualties were entirely due to the master's failure to successfully exorcise the site. Therefore, they forced the agency to bear the compensation.

That twenty-five million yen expenditure came about in this way.

"Who was the investor for that construction site?" Shu Yunwen asked, frowning.

Matsushita Heisaburo respectfully replied, "The investor was Daito Construction Company. And the actual controlling party behind Daito Construction Company is Sadao Teito, the fifth generation leader of the Sumiyoshi-kai, who is also the chairman of the Sumiyoshi-kai's operations committee..."

"Uh..." Shu Yunwen rolled his eyes.

How did the Sumiyoshi-kai even get involved?

However, upon hearing the name Sumiyoshi-kai, Shu Yunwen understood why the agency had meekly accepted the compensation.

It seemed they had encountered someone they couldn't afford to offend.

Of course, Shu Yunwen didn't have the energy to clash with the Sumiyoshi-kai now. He was just an entry-level sorcerer, and confronting the Sumiyoshi-kai was beyond his capabilities! Well, once his strength increased, he could consider seeking retribution.

"What is the current situation at that construction site?" Shu Yunwen asked after thinking for a moment.

Matsushita Heisaburo immediately replied, "Accidents are still frequent at the construction site. In the past two months, they have also hired several exorcists and onmyoji to investigate. They have started work eight times, and each time an accident occurred. It has now been completely shut down."

So ominous?

Shu Yunwen now somewhat believed that there must be something unclean at that construction site.

Shaking his head, Shu Yunwen said, "Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore. To make a long story short, this financial report you gave me is to tell me that our agency is out of money, right?"

"Yes, Lord Yunwen," Matsushita Heisaburo nodded. "Since the agency was established, we have never had a precedent for delaying salary payments. Therefore, we must raise fifteen million yen before payday..."

Shu Yunwen's mouth twitched twice. "Matsushita-kun, how about we discuss it, and you remain the president? What do you say?"

Damn it! You make it sound so simple! This is fifteen million, not fifteen hundred!

Speaking of which, Shu Keqin, his cheap old man, did leave Shu Yunwen some inheritance, and quite a substantial amount too, two hundred million. However, this inheritance came with a will, and Shu Yunwen could only withdraw one hundred thousand yen per month for living expenses until he graduated from university. Any more than that was out of the question...

Ah, this is such a depressing situation!

After all, this is the world of Conan! Shu Yunwen was prepared to spend twenty years in his second year of high school.

Going to university would mean waiting until his next life, right?

He originally thought that after becoming the agency's president, he could spend "public funds." But now, after just buying a mobile phone, he had to worry about fifteen million yen – it felt like a loss no matter how he looked at it!

Matsushita Heisaburo immediately said, "Lord Yunwen, you are the president of the agency."

Shu Yunwen rolled his eyes and waved his hand at Matsushita Heisaburo. "Never mind, you can go out first, and also help me think of a solution..."

"Yes!" Matsushita Heisaburo responded.

After Matsushita Heisaburo left the president's office, Adachi Roppei entered, poured Shu Yunwen a cup of coffee, and then left.

Shu Yunwen pondered for a while, and besides thinking about robbing a bank, nothing else seemed reliable.

Shaking his head, Shu Yunwen turned his head and saw the remote control beside him. He casually turned on the TV in the president's office and started watching.

At this time, the morning news was being broadcast, and the announcer's sweet voice came from the television:

"...Last night, the leader of an Italian robbery group, Tino Cabana, who was arrested in a building near Tokyo Tower, still refuses to say a word. The police are still pursuing Cabana's accomplices who have escaped, but there are still no leads. Furthermore, the fifteen thousand Maple Leaf Gold Coins they stole are still missing..."

"...These Maple Leaf Gold Coins are commemorative coins specially made by the Italian government. Each coin weighs 12.41 grams. The front features a maple leaf icon designed by a famous painting master, and the back has a pattern of the Italian government's office building. They have a certain collection value, and a single coin is now worth forty thousand yen. This means that the total value of the stolen coins is as high as six hundred million yen..." (Okay, this is all made up by me)

"What the hell? Six hundred million yen? If that was mine, I wouldn't be worrying about money right now..." Shu Yunwen glanced at the screen and muttered to himself.

However, immediately after, Shu Yunwen abruptly stood up, his eyes wide open. The executive chair beneath him, due to his hasty movement, hit the wall and bounced back.

He remembered!

These fifteen thousand Maple Leaf Gold Coins also appeared in the anime. It seemed that Conan and the other kids found a piece of paper somewhere, which depicted the location where the Maple Leaf Gold Coins were hidden. As for the clue to finding the coins, because it was interesting, Shu Yunwen remembered it very clearly. It seemed to involve looking for neon light patterns at night.

This means that if he could find these Maple Leaf Gold Coins first, he could indeed take them!

Narrowing his eyes, Shu Yunwen sat back down in his office chair and made an internal call. He then summoned Matsushita Heisaburo. "Matsushita-kun, did you watch the morning news today?"

"Yes, I did," Matsushita replied.

Shu Yunwen continued, "Then... did the morning news mention the Italian robber group and the stolen Maple Leaf Gold Coins?"

"It did mention them," Matsushita nodded. "It seems like it was fifteen thousand Maple Leaf Gold Coins, with a total value of six hundred million yen..."

Shu Yunwen asked, "Matsushita-kun, if I were to obtain these coins, do you have the confidence to get rid of them smoothly?"

"You... can find those coins?" Matsushita Heisaburo was surprised, then immediately said, "If you can truly find those coins, selling them is absolutely no problem. Our agency has connections with several yakuza groups in Tokyo, and they are very good at handling these kinds of matters. However, we might have to pay a commission. For six hundred million yen, we might only get four hundred million yen."

A third of the commission? That's still reasonable.

After all, this batch of Maple Leaf Gold Coins wasn't exactly legal. Some ruthless individuals might take half, or even two-thirds.

Shu Yunwen nodded and casually instructed, "Matsushita-kun, please prepare yourself. We're going out."

"Hai!" Matsushita Heisaburo quickly agreed and went to get ready.

After Matsushita Heisaburo left, Shu Yunwen recalled where Conan had found the treasure map. However, after thinking for a while, Shu Yunwen slapped his forehead, cursed himself as an idiot, and used the phone to call the Kojima residence.

The phone rang a few times before being answered. Shu Yunwen immediately said, "Hello, this is Shu Yunwen..."

"It's Yunwen!" Kojima Genji's voice came from the other end. "Is there something you need?"

"Uncle, hello, is Genta home?" Shu Yunwen asked directly.

The treasure hunt seemed to involve all four kids. So, as long as he found out where Genta was, he would naturally be able to find all four of them.

Kojima Genji said, "Genta? Genta went out this morning. He said he was going to meet friends and go to the Beika Art Museum together."

"Is that so... Thank you, Uncle," Shu Yunwen said gratefully.

"Shu-san, why are you asking about Genta? Oh, right, we're having ramen for lunch. Are you coming back?" Kojima Genji asked.

Shu Yunwen smiled and replied, "I was just asking. Also, I have something to do at noon, so I won't be coming back."

After hanging up the phone, Matsushita Heisaburo had also finished preparing and knocked on Shu Yunwen's office door.

Leaving the office, Shu Yunwen only brought Matsushita Heisaburo. After getting into the car, he gave an instruction, and the car drove towards the Beika Art Museum.

Around 11:30 AM, the car arrived in front of the Beika Art Museum and stopped. Shu Yunwen and Matsushita Heisaburo got out of the car and scanned the surroundings. They didn't see Conan and the others. Just as they were about to enter the museum, someone called out, "Shu-san? What are you doing here? Are you here to see the art exhibition too?"

"Uh..." Shu Yunwen turned his head and saw Tsukamoto Kazumi and a few other girls he vaguely recognized. "Kazumi-san, what a coincidence!"

Hmm... Why would I run into Tsukamoto Kazumi here?

This feels like I'm stalking her.

Tsukamoto Kazumi smiled and greeted them, "Hello, Shu-san. And... Mr. Matsushita, hello."

Shu Yunwen waved his hand and asked, "Kazumi-san, have you been at the museum all morning? Have you seen Genta, Conan, and the others?"

"You mean, Genta, Ayumi, and those kids?" Tsukamoto Kazumi replied, "I have indeed seen them... I saw them outside the museum just now. Oh, right, when they were in front of the museum, they seemed to be holding something and talking very loudly. They looked like they were heading to Tokyo Tower..."

"Really?" Shu Yunwen's eyes lit up. It seemed they should have already gotten the paper with the treasure map on it. "Kazumi-san, how long ago did they leave?"

"About ten minutes ago," Tsukamoto Kazumi answered.

"Thank you, Kazumi-san." After a pause, Shu Yunwen continued, "I'm very sorry, but I have some matters to attend to, so I must be leaving now. If you have time another day, I'll treat you to a meal to apologize."

Tsukamoto Kazumi nodded, "Shu-san, please go ahead with your business. Don't worry about me."

Shu Yunwen and Matsushita Heisaburo hurriedly got into the car and left. A girl next to Tsukamoto Kazumi spoke up, "Kazumi, is that Shu Yunwen, Shu-san? We were classmates with him in our first year of high school. He doesn't seem to remember us at all."

"Yeah! And he looked quite rude," another girl chimed in.

Tsukamoto Kazumi said, "Shu-san is indeed very busy. He's the president of an agency now. Judging by his appearance, he must have something urgent to deal with, right?"

"A high school student is the president of an agency? That's amazing!"

"It seems to be a family business. Shu-san is an exorcist now," Tsukamoto Kazumi explained.

"I remember, Kazumi, you were dating Shu-san in high school, weren't you? Are you still together?" another girl asked.

Tsukamoto Kazumi's gaze dimmed. "Shu-san lost some of his memory after he woke up. He seems to have forgotten that we were dating..."

"Really?"

"Yes. But I'll work hard to make him remember." Kazumi smiled and turned around. "Let's go! It's almost noon, let's go have lunch together. There's a family restaurant nearby, and it seems to have very good food."

"A family restaurant? Is it the one near Tokyo Tower?"

"I've been there once. Their pickles are delicious."

Then, a string of chatter from the girls ensued~

PS: Ah... ah... ah... I really went all out to include this plot point...

Also, writing Sumiyoshi-kai in the anime felt a bit jarring.

But, it still felt pretty awesome!~