06. Before going to see the spaceship I received

Breakfast today was a simple affair—cereal with milk, the current trend. The sweetness of several dried fruits was welcome.

Afterward, a while later, I used the card given by Ain like a smartphone to make contact.

“Hello? Ain? It’s Yamada.”

“Good morning. This is Ain.”

“Good morning. Regarding yesterday’s ‘Kin’—I’ve sold four of them, and the total’s come to just over two hundred million yen, so I’m calling to let you know. As for the remaining six rods, I’d like to have you come pick them up; it’s getting a bit risky to keep them here.”

“Thank you for your effort. I’m afraid I’ll need you to prepare one million yen in cash for the time being. This will cover the food and other essentials you’ll need during your stay at Agirakana. Once you’ve arranged the cash, please call me again. I’ll come to collect them.”

Actually, for the past few days, our security detail has been on round-the-clock guard duty for Mr. Yamada. There's no need to worry about theft, accidents, or anything of the sort. Even if a large passenger aircraft were to crash into Mr. Yamada’s apartment building, both Mr. Yamada’s room and Mr. Yamada himself would remain unharmed—protected, of course.

As for the remaining rebar, please feel free to use it as you see fit. If you should need more later, just let us know. A ton or so of gold, for instance—while we’d need to choose a suitable storage location—we could have it ready within a day.

Ain-san, being who he is—(..)—so naturally, if a specialist security detail has been assigned, theft shouldn’t be a problem. But what about accidents? Even if a jumbo jet were to fall on us, would we still be fine? I suppose we’d be fine, wouldn’t we?

And if you were to keep a ton of gold in your house, the floor would definitely give way. A ton is a hundred of ten-kilo bars—five hundred million yen. Honestly, gold isn’t measured in grams, is it? Doesn’t even feel real!

“Is that so. Understood. I’ll go to the bank this morning to arrange the cash, so please come by my place—around noon, perhaps.”

Later, after finishing errands at the bank, it was noon. When I withdrew ten million yen, the teller kept asking, insistently, what I’d use it for. I told them I was buying a foreign car in cash. Apparently, that’s standard anti-scam protocol. I’m not some gullible fool, am I? Besides, I don’t even have any family to speak of.

Ten bundles of one million yen each, tied together with paper tape. Those ten bundles were then bound again with more paper tape and placed with a soft thud onto the dining table. In the center of the tape binding the bundles, a confirmation seal—《mitomein》—was pressed.

"Then, Ain-san. This is ten million yen. I haven’t counted the bills, but I’d say there are probably around a thousand."

Ain picked up the lump of banknotes with one hand, glanced at it briefly.

"Thank you. I’ve confirmed exactly a thousand one-hundred-yen notes."

Apparently, it was obvious at a glance. Well, they say you don’t become a superhuman overnight, and judging by this, Ain seems far more convincing than I am.

Ain casually tossed the bundle into the usual bag,

"Then, I’ll see you in six days. Thank you."

As Ain turned to leave, I hastily called out,

"I forgot—your cash card. The PIN is ○○○○."

Handing over the card,

"Thank you," said Ain.

Ain took the card and slipped it into the pocket of his coat.

“By the way, how many guards are there, approximately?”

“Six in the security detail. Another five are conducting information surveys centered on Tokyo.”

“Information surveys?”

“Language, history, politics, ideology—using those as foundations, we investigate everything from social infrastructure down to individual daily life. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be on my way.”

There was nothing to prepare for the trip to Agirakana, so time hung heavy. When someone mentioned a ton of gold, even the six gold ingots hidden beneath the bed lost their significance.

For the next week or so, I suppose I’ll just have to pass the time renting videos and reading books.

Since a large sum had been deposited into my newly created account, the bank kept calling with persistent suggestions about fixed-term deposits and mutual funds—none of which I accepted.