NCCnovel Chapter 300 Redemption
Chapter 300 Redemption
On the second floor, there is an elegantly furnished lounge.
The heavy walnut double doors weren't closed tightly, leaving a gap of a few centimeters. Light streamed through the gap, spilling onto the carpet in the hallway.
Fujita stopped two steps away from the door. He raised his right hand and pressed his palm inward.
Yamada stood in the shadows of the corridor, holding his breath. His gaze followed the half-open door crack into the room.
In the center of the lounge, a man in a suit who appeared to be in a high position was standing in front of a coffee table.
"Young Miss".
The man lowered his head slightly.
"Security has apprehended an unidentified intruder. He's wearing a construction worker's uniform, and his motive is unclear. Should we hand him over to the Metropolitan Police Department, or simply remove him through the back door?"
Through the crack in the door, Yamada swallowed hard, his fingers unconsciously clenching the hem of his clothes.
He glanced furtively at Fujita Tsuyoshi. Wasn't he supposed to have been invited by the young lady? He doesn't seem like it at all…
Looking past the man's shoulder, Yamada saw a young girl sitting gracefully on a leather sofa.
The girl held a cup of black tea in her hand. She turned her head slightly and glanced at the night view outside the window.
"It's still raining outside."
The girl placed the teacup she was holding on the coffee table.
"He might just be a desperate man with nowhere else to turn. Bring him in and see if we can provide him with some hot food and travel expenses."
Yamada slowly loosened his grip on the hem of his clothes.
He was prepared to be detained when he was discovered. Unexpectedly, this unknown girl let him go?
Inside, the man in the suit turned around, facing the door, and nodded.
Fujita took a step forward and pushed open the half-closed wooden door.
"Go in." Fujita Tsuyoshi looked at Yamada.
Yamada walked stiffly into the bright room covered with a thick wool carpet. He awkwardly pulled his legs together and looked at the girl sitting on the sofa.
The girl nodded slightly.
"Nice to meet you. I am Saionji Satsuki."
She stretched out her right hand and pointed to the single sofa opposite her.
"Please forgive any rudeness from those below. Please have a seat."
She picked up the purple clay teapot from the marble coffee table, poured a cup of steaming tea, and pushed it to the opposite seat.
Yamada sat down on the edge of the sofa. The warm air in the room gradually dispelled the chill from his body.
"Sir, the security standards tonight are at their highest level," Satsuki said calmly. "Why did you risk all this to sneak in?"
Yamada stared at the cup of hot tea in front of him.
In this warm and welcoming space, his long-suppressed emotions and exhaustion allowed him to relax his guard slightly.
"I am... a former contractor for Matsuura Construction." Yamada's voice was a little hoarse. "The bank's withdrawal of loans drove President Matsuura to his death. The workers' hard-earned money from the past six months has all been wiped out by the court's frozen accounts. Now, we can't even afford to eat."
He looked up at Satsuki.
"We built this building. I sneaked in tonight just to see for myself whether the donations from those big shots will actually reach us."
The lounge fell silent.
Satsuki's gaze passed over the coffee table and landed on Yamada's hands, which were covered in cracks and grime.
"I've seen the bankruptcy liquidation documents for Matsuura Construction," Satsuki said, looking at Yamada. "How many workers do you have under your command?"
Yamada paused for a moment, then answered instinctively.
"Two hundred and thirty people. They are all people I brought from my hometown."
"The company president committed suicide, and the bank froze the accounts. At times like this, the workers usually scatter like birds and beasts." Satsuki leaned forward slightly. "Everyone's starving, why would they still want to follow you?"
Yamada's Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty.
"They all came to Tokyo to work with their families, and now they can't even afford the train tickets back to their hometowns. I brought them here, so I have to take them back with me."
"...Even if it means scavenging expired scraps from the back gate of the food factory every day, I have to keep them alive."
He lowered his head and clenched the rough hem of his clothes with both hands.
"Everyone's crammed under the bridge in Ueno Park right now. If I don't get good news today, someone's going to jump off the building in front of Chiba Bank tomorrow."
Satsuki listened quietly until the end.
Two hundred and thirty people. Despite the dire situation of being without pay, they maintained a strong sense of cohesion and had a natural trust in their foreman.
She looked away and pulled open the drawer under the coffee table.
She took out a "Special Funds Disbursement Authorization Form" bearing the watermark of the Saionji Finance Department. She picked up a pen from the table and uncapped it.
The pen moved swiftly across the paper, filling in a long string of numbers and her signature. Then, she took out a personal seal engraved with her name from inside the drawer and pressed a red mark next to the signature line.
"Matsuura Construction has been seized by the bank. If we go through the conventional bankruptcy liquidation process, you won't get a single penny."
Satsuki tore off the page of the authorization letter and pushed it across the table to the center of the coffee table.
"Take this authorization letter. Go downstairs to the Saionji Finance Department and withdraw all the workers' back wages directly from the relief fund pool."
Yamada's gaze was fixed on the piece of paper covered with red ink.
His breath caught in his throat for a moment. President Matsuura had begged and pleaded, even risking his life, to borrow cash from the bank, but to no avail. And now, this enormous sum, enough to save two hundred and thirty lives, had been casually approved in a matter of seconds.
A powerful sense of absurdity and ecstasy washed over him simultaneously. Yamada swallowed hard, his mouth dry. He wiped the cold sweat from his palms on his stained work pants, then stretched out his trembling arms and leaned towards the edge of the coffee table.
Just as his fingers were about to touch the edge of the authorization letter.
The man in the suit took a half-step forward. He stretched out his right hand and pressed it firmly against the edge of the authorization letter.
"Young Miss".
The man lowered his head slightly, looking directly into Satsuki's eyes.
"Matsuura Construction has entered bankruptcy liquidation proceedings. If you bypass the court's bankruptcy administrator and directly distribute huge sums of cash to the lowest-paid workers, Chiba Bank will apply to the court to freeze our accounts and file a lawsuit against the group first thing tomorrow morning under the pretext of 'transferring bankruptcy assets.'"
The man's fingers tightened slightly.
"Last month, your family elders have already raised formal questions about the incident where you distributed hot food at Ueno Park. Now, by provoking the bottom line of the Kanto banking industry and the courts for the sake of these few hundred homeless people, you are jeopardizing your position within the family."
Please think it over carefully.
Yamada looked at the man's hand that was pressed on the authorization letter.
Bankruptcy administrator. Legal proceedings. Family inquiry.
The legal risks and political costs associated with this money were clearly laid out before him.
This is a heavy act of charity.
Yamada swallowed hard. He looked up from the paper at Satsuki sitting opposite him.
His lips trembled. His fingers gripped the fabric of his knees, then slowly loosened. He reached out his hands, his fingertips touching the edge of the authorization letter bearing the red seal.
The paper rubbed against the table, making a soft sound.
With great difficulty, Yamada pushed the authorization letter forward half an inch.
"Young Miss..."
Yamada's voice was so hoarse it was almost broken.
"We can't take this money. The bank and the courts will ruin you. We...we'll find a way ourselves."
Those words drained the air from his lungs. Refusing the money was tantamount to cutting off the lifeline of the two hundred and thirty brothers under the bridge.
They said they would find a way, but what other way is there now? The young lady also said that she wouldn't get the money through the usual channels.
But how could he, a grown man, have to sacrifice a little girl to save his own life? That was something he couldn't accept.
Satsuki frowned.
She raised her right hand, blocking the man's arm from pressing on the sticky note.
"Put away your unnecessary pride."
Satsuki's gaze was fixed on Yamada.
"You have 230 lives on your hands. If you walk out this door empty-handed today, someone will jump off a building tomorrow. What are you going to do?"
She pushed the authorization letter right into Yamada's hands.
"The bank's rules only protect capital, but the buildings outside were built by these workers."
"The court can wait, but a hungry person cannot."
Yamada stared at the piece of paper, a dry, grinding sound coming from his throat.
He slowly extended his hands, his fingertips touching the authorization letter with its red ink. The thin paper trembled slightly in his palms.
Satsuki watched as he took the warrant away.
"This money can solve your immediate hunger, but it won't solve the next crisis."
Satsuki placed her hands, one on top of the other, on her knees.
"After settling this back pay, you 230 people will still have to continue making a living on construction sites in Tokyo. As long as the credit environment continues to contract, the bank can drain the next president's funds at any time, sending you back to the underpass in Ueno Park."
Yamada's fingers, which were gripping the authorization letter, froze. He looked up at Satsuki across from him.
"Your original enterprise labor unions couldn't even do the most basic thing like demanding back wages when the bank withdrew its loans."
Satsuki looked at Yamada.
"Even if you take this money today and get through the month, as long as you're still in those outdated systems, you'll still be exploited by banks. You must break away from that corrupt system and establish your own 'Independent Labor Mutual Aid Association'."
Yamada's bloodshot eyes widened slightly. He raised his head, his gaze shifting from the authorization letter to Satsuki.
Satsuki leaned forward slightly.
"If you'd like, the Saionji family..."
She paused for half a second, her gaze fixed on Yamada's eyes.
"No. I'm willing to provide you with legal and financial support."
"Then you will be in charge and protect everyone."
A brief silence fell over the lounge.
Only the faint sound of the air conditioner vents echoed in the air.
Yamada sat stiffly on the edge of the sofa. The phrase "I'm willing to provide you with support" kept echoing in his ears.
He glanced at the man in a suit standing by the coffee table, his face ashen. Then he looked at Satsuki, who sat calmly under the bright lights.
This young lady not only gave them money to save their lives, but also, in her own name, shielded them, these lowly laborers, from the liquidation efforts of the bank and the entire bureaucratic system.
Rough fingertips pressed hard on the paper of the command. Yamada felt a weight he had never felt before.
Protect everyone.
These four words carried immense weight for a contractor who had been scavenging scraps at the back gate of a food factory to feed his fellow workers for the past few days.
He slowly folded the authorization letter, still bearing the red ink, and carefully tucked it into the inside pocket of his work clothes, close to his chest. He pressed his fingers firmly against the outside of the pocket twice to make sure the piece of paper was securely against his chest.
Then, Yamada moved his stiff legs and stood up from the sofa.
He didn't say a single word of thanks.
He took half a step back, put his knees together, and knelt down on the thick wool carpet.
He placed his hands flat on the ground and leaned forward. He slammed his forehead heavily into the gap in the carpet between his hands.
In the autumn when the whole world wanted to kill them, a girl took them in.