On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

One Hundred And Seven

After watching the sun rise with alcohol in hand, Shaeula and I had spent an amiable few hours just relaxing while Eri and Aiko were sleeping. We could easily manage a few days without sleep, and the plane journey back the next day would be a perfect time to catch up on our rest.

I was idly watching a show on TV, barely paying any real attention, Shaeula beside me on the sofa, when our room phone rang. Standing, I quickly picked it up.

“Hello? Can I help you?” I said, and after a moment came the reply from the receptionist.

“Good morning Mr Oshiro, I hope I didn’t wake you?”

“No, it’s fine, go on.”

“Oh, in that case, you have some visitors. There’s a group of staff from Chase here to see you. Can I send them up?”

What? Chase? It doesn’t ring any bells… oh, wait. “Would that happen to be a bank?”

“Yes, Chase Bank.” The receptionist confirmed. “They said that they had an appointment with you this morning. I can send them away if you want…” she sounded a little worried.

“No it’s fine. A friend of mine arranged an appointment for me, but he forgot to tell me which bank. Send them up, I’ll handle it, and sorry for the trouble.” As I hung up I frowned. I guess Buck did what he said he would. I glanced at the two big holdalls full of money. I guess it does make sense to do something with the cash, I can’t exactly take on 50kg of dollars in carry-on luggage…

A couple of minutes later there was a knock on our door, and I opened it carefully, after gesturing for Shaeula to remain on the sofa, but to be ready. They probably are the bankers that Buck was going to send me, but there’s still a small chance that it might be a ploy from that bastard at the casino. He should have overheard me telling Buck where I was staying…

“Good morning. You would be Mr Oshiro, I presume? I have come from Chase Bank’s outreach department, Midas Gold. Here is my business card.” A woman was outside, flanked by two very burly men in sharp suits, carrying large briefcases and several bits of equipment I didn’t recognise. The woman herself was quite tall, her dark brown hair pulled tight into a bun, her stern face complimented by round, horned-rim glasses and light make-up. She looks like the spitting image of one of those governesses you’d see in the old British dramas my mother used to import. Well, apart from the suit that is… She was wearing a black suit and white shirt, one that I could tell at a glance was way more expensive than the ones Shaeula and I had.

Taking her business card I apologised that I didn’t have my own on me, which was a failure as a Japanese man. She merely waved it aside professionally. Looking down at the card as I gestured for her to come in, I saw that in gold lettering it had her name and position.

‘Jennifer Connors, Chase Bank Outreach, Account Manager, Midas Gold’

“Sorry to bring you over so early on the weekend.” I apologised. “But Buck… that is Mr Kelly, I guess… he insisted, saying I’d be foolish not to consider proper financial planning. Can I offer you a drink or anything?”

“I’m afraid I must decline.” Jennifer said primly, further reinforcing the strict governess image. She wasn’t particularly pretty, but she was striking in her own way. “I need to keep a clear head at work. As for the inconvenience… I am an Account Manager for Midas Gold, the personal touch is to be expected, and to be honest I owe Mr Kelly quite a bit.” She gestured, and the two men set down their burdens before retreating outside the room, standing guard in the hallway.

“Back when I was working for a different department at JP Morgan, I was having a very bad run of luck. And then a man crossed my office door, with a failing business he had taken a gamble on. No other bank or department would stump up the funds that he requested to turn that chain around. But I liked his proposal, and was also ready to take a risk to vanquish my own failing luck. And after that, the rest is history, as they say. Kelly’s Rest is one of the biggest chains of Irish Bars in the whole of the USA, and plans to expand overseas are well under way. I made up for my losses, and was shifted to Chase Bank, as one of the managers of the Midas Gold programme. I’ve worked with Mr Kelly for a long time now, and occasionally he has sent people my way. And he is seldom mistaken.” She looked at the bags of cash that were lying carelessly in the room. “Mr Kelly has seen something in you, call it an instinct. Ordinarily, your holdings are a bit below what we could consider for Midas Gold, as our clients tend to have at least ten million dollars, quite often much more. Still… as a favour and betting on your future prospects … here we are.”

Shaeula had given up listening half-way, leaving all the financial stuff she didn’t understand to me, muttering something about it ‘being beneath a princess to grumble about money-money.’, which earned her a strange look from Jennifer.

“Well, I do appreciate this, and yeah, while I don’t have ten million right now… I’m hoping to expand in the future.” I bowed to her politely, and shook her outstretched hand.

“Very well then, to work it is. I understand you have substantial winnings you need to find a home for? If you were to put it in your native account, the tax rate in Japan goes from thirty to as high as fifty-five percent, which would severely compromise your capital. Instead, if you set up a specialist international account with Chase Midas Gold, and declare your income in a certain way…” she talked technical terms for a few minutes. “… you can end up paying only fifteen to eighteen percent to your government and the rest remains as your principal. In addition, Midas Gold offers currency swaps with no commission and market rate, amongst other services, so you won’t be stung on the conversion fees. Which I’m sure you will find welcome, no?”

Damn, she really knows her stuff. “Sure, that’s right. By the way, can you also set up an account for Shaeula here? She has a cheque from the Bellagio she needs to cash…”

“No need.” Shaeula waved at us from her sofa. ”I leave all the money-money to you, master. I do not wish to be bothered so, I shall merely tell you when I require something.”

Jennifer nodded, a little surprised, since she had heard from Buck that the cheque was sizeable. “Well, we can do that, but I will need your identification and signature on various documents.” She retrieved some paperwork from her bag. Handing it to Shaeula, who looked at it mournfully, I laughed and promised to help her with it.

“In that case, I shall start counting the money.” Fetching one of the devices the burly bank staff had brought, it turned out to be a counter for dollars, that could rapidly assess the notes and assay the value. As it whirred away, Jennifer feeding in piles of bills, I went through the paperwork with Shaeula. As we were finishing up the door to one of the bedrooms opened, and my sister came staggering out, still in her pyjamas, looking pale and sickly. Seeing me her dull eyes brightened a little as she staggered over, turning green. “Bro, bro! I’m dying, please… fix me, fix me!”

“Sure, give me a minute. But… we’ve got guests, so… you might want to put on more clothes.” I warned her. Her pyjamas did cover her fully, but they were still stained, and did highlight her curves. My sister paused for a second, before noticing Jennifer. Luckily the guards were still outside the room so they couldn’t see.

“Wow, uh… yeah, ah … sorry.” My sister spun and staggered back into her room. Jennifer raised a disapproving eyebrow at me and I shrugged apologetically. “I know she shouldn’t drink, but she’s very excited to be on holiday, so… anyway, sorry I’ll go take her some water and painkillers, I’ll be right back.”

“As you wish.” Jennifer answered. She had filled several briefcases with money, passing them out to the staff she had brought with her.

Entering the room I could see that Eri was still sleeping, a peaceful expression on her face, while my sis was pulling a long cardigan over her pyjamas. I handed her the water, which she took gratefully, gulping away, as I trickled aether into her body, allowing it to flush out the toxins and dull her pain.

“Oh wow, that’s so much better bro. Thanks. I felt wretched when I woke up. It seemed like a good idea to drink at the time, but now…”

“Well, that’s how the hangovers creep up on you.” I agreed. “Booze is great until the next day… Anyway, I’m sorting out our money issues, so you can stay in your room or sit with Shaeula?”

“I’ll come and play with her.” My sister said, looking at Eri, her gaze warm. “After all, we should let Eri rest. After all, some brute really gave it to her last night, didn’t he?”

“Guilty as charged!” I raised my hands in mock-surrender. “Eri sure does look happy lying there though.”

“I should hope so!” my sis snorted as we left the bedroom, shutting the door behind us. “She’s finally one with the man she’s always loved. I could have done without hearing the whole damn thing, or seeing what came after, but… I’m happy for her. For you too bro. You do make a great couple. Still, I bet someone is jealous.”

Shaeula snorted. “I am more than satisfied to see my master and Eri united.”

“Wow, so magnanimous…”

As the two girls bantered I retrieved more of our winnings. I kept a hundred thousand dollars for today, but added the rest to the pile. As it was sorted Jennifer let out an impressed exclamation. Well, over the weekend we did win rather a lot…

“Surprisingly, you haven’t fallen much short of the ten million after all.” She observed, as she ran the cheque through another piece of kit, adding it to the next case. Taking out a laptop she began entering some details. Soon she had printed out documentation and given me a sleek black bank card, with golden lettering proclaiming I was a client of Midas Gold.

“When I return to the bank I’ll sort out your tax liabilities and forward the funds to a holding account to make paying your government easier. I suspect you are looking at one point six million dollars, or roughly a hundred and sixty million yen at current exchange rates. Still, it is a much more pleasant figure than the liabilities if you had merely repatriated the dollars.”

“Wow, that’s… just the tax bill? You’re rich now aren’t you bro? Damn I’m so jealous of Eri all over again.”

“Don’t be. You know I’ll look after you and our parents. Uncle and Auntie too. I’m not heartless. Oh, speaking of… is it possible to get bank cards made up for Shaeula, my sister and another girl? Call it a limit of fifty thousand dollars’ equivalent?”

“Fifty-thousand?” my sister choked. “You said we could have twenty one thousand…”

“Well, the plan has changed. Since our money is of a higher scale. But don’t waste it all, okay? There won’t be any more until my next venture takes off.”

“I can do that, of course. I’ll need their ID again.” Jennifer answered, and I sent Aiko to retrieve Eri’s. Soon three more bank cards were made, these blue, signifying they were linked to a main account. My sis was holding hers, inspecting it dreamily, muttering about how much money she was holding…

“So, how much do I owe you for these services?” I asked, and Jennifer shook her head, as she gave the last of the equipment back to the burly staffers, who were now carrying my money.

“We are treating it as merely a time investment in a potential new success. Midas Gold is prepared to take a risk rather than let a future golden goose get away. We also have international branches, including in Japan. There are ones in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and other major cities. I have the card here for Midas Gold in Tokyo. Contact this man should you need any assistance.” She handed me another business card, which I kept. “We also have connections to legal, real estate and other industries. Mr Kelly thinks you’ll go far, so feel free to use our services for your next venture…” as she had finished packing up she asked me one final question. “So, what is your next step? I understand you seem to have great fortune, but luck always betrays you in the end. How will you be investing your gains?”

My sis was also interested in this, and she perked up, listening closely.

“Well…” I allowed. “I have a quite expansive long term strategy…” Investing in my Territory, not that I can explain that… “But to start with, I have contacts in a very… traditional… industry who have a large amount of unrealised Tokyo land, which I am hoping to acquire and develop for a steal. Being in business I think you can appreciate the land shortage in Tokyo.” Shirohebizumi shrine has a ton of land around it… and when other shrines see what I plan…

“I see. Real estate. It certainly is a growth market, with potential for explosive gains in prime areas. And if you think that you have access to some at a decent price…” she nodded. “Interesting. I can see that Mr Kelly was right to bring you to my attention, Mr Oshiro.” She held out her hand again, and we shook once more. “If your project bears fruit and you need to invest your gains, call us and we’ll make sure to maximise your portfolio. Anyway, do enjoy the rest of your vacation, and pass on my best regards to Mr Kelly when you see him later.”

With that Jennifer and the staff from the bank left, leaving us alone once more.