Chapter 140: Whereabouts of Parents
After reminiscing about the past, Kasumi swatted away Haruto's increasingly restless hands. "Haru-chan, stop messing around. There's something I need to tell you. Originally, I planned to wait until you came of age."
Seeing Kasumi's serious expression, Haruto also set aside other thoughts and asked: "Kasumi-nee, what is it that you originally planned to wait until I was an adult to tell me?"
"It's about your parents..."
Kasumi gazed at Haruto's handsome face, her thoughts slowly returning to the year she adopted him.
"Back then, your parents gave me a bank card containing about one billion yen. After I agreed to the conditions for adopting you, they completely disappeared. Later, I tried many methods but could never contact them again."
"Wait, wait." Haruto rubbed his forehead, interrupting. "But didn't living expenses get transferred every month after that?"
Kasumi shook her head and explained: "No, they left another card before departing, which also contained one billion yen. So that's two billion yen total. The so-called living expenses were all withdrawn by me monthly from that account and given to you all."
Two billion yen was not only enough for Haruto to live comfortably for life, but also sufficient to support the entire Takamine family's livelihood.
Of course, this was part of the agreed conditions before adopting Haruto.
They just never expected Haruto's parents would give such a large amount all at once, then completely disappear without ever returning to see Haruto even once all these years.
If Kasumi had been a vicious, greedy woman, the grass on Haruto's grave would probably be several meters tall by now.
Two billion yen - enough to corrupt any ordinary good person into darkness.
Fortunately, in this chaotic world, pure and kind women aren't uncommon, which is also a major factor enabling Blondie's arrogant behavior.
If every beautiful woman were cunning and ruthless, then machetes and good ships would probably become this world's main themes.
Kasumi chose to continue working afterward for several reasons: first, the company president unexpectedly decided to keep her on; second, she didn't want to rely solely on savings without earning; and third, she wanted to provide as ordinary a childhood as possible for the three children.
This business trip, which lasted over half a year, was something that had never happened before. Many unpleasant incidents occurred during this period, which also contributed to her decision to resign.
Finally, as Haruto was lost in thought, Kasumi added, "This is also why, when you were little and kept crying for your parents, I couldn't even produce a single photo or let you talk to them."
Haruto closed his eyes, leaned back, and sank into the soft sofa.
When the original host was sent to live with them, he was already old enough to remember things. Arriving in an unfamiliar environment, a child would naturally seek out their parents instinctively.
As time passed, his memories of his parents grew increasingly hazy, and after adapting to life with the Takamine family, the matter was completely buried.
"Two billion yen..." Haruto chuckled lightly, pulling Kasumi into his arms. "That's really quite a fortune."
Seeing that Kasumi didn't react but just stared at him blankly, he pinched her plump rear firmly and asked, "Isn't that right, Kasumi-nee?"
A blush spread across Kasumi's cheeks as she pouted, "Of course it is. Not to mention back then, even now, two billion yen is an income that ordinary families might not earn in their entire lives."
After a moment, she couldn't help but say, "Haruto... don't you have anything else you want to say?"
Haruto looked at the beautiful married woman's lovely face, shrugged, and said indifferently, "No. If they're still alive, I'll support them in their old age when the time comes. If they're dead and I find out who's responsible, I'll help avenge them. But I won't go out of my way to look for information about them."
"Aren't you curious about why they left such a huge sum of money and then suddenly disappeared?"
"A little, but not much." Haruto spread his hands. "Compared to that, if someone suddenly showed up claiming to be my parents, that would give me more of a headache."
In fact, when Rias mentioned that he might have ancient devil genes in his body, he had already suspected his parents. This situation was unexpected, yet it made sense.
Rather than curiosity, the sudden appearance of his biological parents would be the most troublesome thing for him at this point.
Not only had his soul been replaced by someone else, but even the original host, after so many years, probably wouldn't be able to call two strangers "Mom" and "Dad."
However, based on Haruto's speculation, the likelihood of his parents showing up was infinitesimally close to zero. The chance of them being dead was higher than them being alive.
After all, if the situation were even slightly better, it was impossible that there hadn't been a single phone call or even a letter from them in all these years.
Kasumi wanted to say more, but he interrupted her.
"After all these years, I can't even remember what my parents looked like clearly, and my life is going very well now."
Haruto stopped smiling and hugged his beautiful adoptive mother tightly. "Alright, I understand the situation now, Kasumi-nee. There's no need to overthink it. More than that, I'm more interested in what your original plan was, Kasumi-nee."
Her plump, soft figure nestled against Haruto's chest, Kasumi said softly, "What other plans could I have? Originally, I intended to wait until you three siblings came of age before discussing this matter, then leave the remaining funds for you to distribute as you see fit..."
As she spoke, the charming married woman sighed softly, a brilliant blue stream of light silently materializing in her palm. She stared fixedly at the flowing magical energy, countless thoughts swirling in her heart.
Even after a week, the new worldview still made her occasionally feel as if she were dreaming.
Haruto chuckled and planted a firm kiss on her pale cheek. "Kasumi, you should keep the remaining funds as operating capital for the organization."
Regarding how to arrange the girls in his harem, he had already discussed it with Kasumi. The best approach was indeed to establish a formal company that could develop simultaneously in both the ordinary world and the supernatural world.
Because aside from exceptionally talented women, many ordinary girls had also become involved with Haruto. If they solely focused on developing supernatural forces, these girls would find themselves in an awkward position.
On the other hand, the human world was ultimately dominated by ordinary people.
While many possessed potential, only about one in ten actually mastered supernatural powers.
If they wanted to grow and strengthen, services targeting ordinary people were essential.
Haruto left matters of corporate structure, personnel allocation, and even the company name to Kasumi. In this area, the beautiful married woman with years of work experience was the expert.
He didn't plan to interfere with the company's operations either, only providing two broad directions.
The supernatural world side went without saying - accepting commissions to earn funds and rare resources while training their abilities.
For ordinary work, Haruto wanted to focus on delivery services, food delivery, and similar directions. Not only was Japan's development relatively slow in this area, but such work would also facilitate the establishment and expansion of an intelligence network.
Their first goal was naturally to monopolize all business in Kuoh Town, then expand to the entire Tokyo, and finally the whole of Japan.
If they could truly achieve that level, they would more or less become a conglomerate.
Moreover, the supernatural world wasn't lacking in commissions involving escorting items or personnel. The two approaches not only didn't conflict but might even complement each other.
However, Kasumi suggested operating the company in the format of a "jack-of-all-trades" service. Whether for ordinary or supernatural work, they would rate commissions by difficulty, with different difficulty levels corresponding to different commission fees.
Girls without special qualifications would stay at the "office," handling reception and secretarial work.
They wouldn't need to go out on commissions but would only receive fixed salaries.
Girls with supernatural powers would be responsible for going out on commissions. Aside from meeting the minimum monthly quota, they would receive half of the commission fee for each additional completed task.
Finally, the girl with the most commissions completed each month would receive an extra reward.
Such as an additional dual cultivation session with Haruto the following month...
This approach wasn't unacceptable either. If developed smoothly, the establishment of the intelligence network might progress faster, since as a jack-of-all-trades service, they could potentially encounter all kinds of people and situations.
As for how exactly to operate it, Haruto waved his hand dismissively, once again playing the hands-off manager and leaving everything to Kasumi to handle.
Which specific model would be most suitable couldn't be determined without practical implementation.
One thing was certain: a company composed entirely of beauties would undoubtedly be highly competitive in any field.
Similarly, they would inevitably face their fair share of troubles.
Fortunately, the strength of Sakura and the others placed them at an above-average level even within the human world.
Whether dealing with ordinary people or even supernatural beings, they could handle minor troubles with ease.