Hearing Steve surrendering his entire assets without a doubt, many were deeply impressed by his resolution. He surrendered his assets just to avoid a disastrous end because he offended Kaze. “Well, confiscate his assets then.” Kaze did not take the money for himself as he was not interested in Steve’s assets or anything. He then added, “As for your business here in Melrose, I want you to put Miru in charge. You can retire now.” Kaze already had a plan to boost Miru’s power and reputation, so this would be a great chance. In addition, he could save himself and Darcy a lot of trouble. Miru was stunned. She did not expect Kaze to be this bold and force Steve to hand over his power to her. She looked at Albert and realized her cousin was quiet. She grumbled inwardly. Kaze was smart enough to flatter her in front of Albert. No wonder Albert would allow him to steal all the limelight. As for Steve, he was devastated. He did not expect Kaze to force him to depower himsel
Miru again! Kaze was rendered speechless. He called Albert to help and he thought Miru would finally learn, yet the self-righteous woman still thought he was impersonating the God of War. “Forget about it.” Kaze shook his head and then said to Professor Whiteman, “Professor, you can stay here for the time being and I assure you no one will take you away anymore.” He brought the professor back home, which excited the family. They treated the professor like their elders. “Haha! After what happened today, who else would come after me?” Professor Whiteman joked. He did not reject the suggestion. After all, he had been through life and death with Kaze and he was always saved. Darcy and family had a good sleep for the night, but not the extended Quint family. Despair continued to linger in the Quint family’s residence. The acquisition caused a chain of problems and the Dallas Moneylender extorted them for two billion. The entire extended family was being pressured to
Other members of the Quint family admitted their mistake too. To think the high and mighty would genuinely acknowledge their fault to Darcy. Darcy’s eyes welled up. The burden of the past lifted at last as she finally found closure. As the Quints suspected, Darcy had a weak spot for them. Darcy pulled out her phone. “I’ll give Miru a call. Maybe she can get through to Dallas Moneylender.” “Hang on.” Kaze held her hand down. With Kaze threatening to foil their plans again, the Quints gnashed their teeth. “Kaze, Grandfather and the others have admitted their mistake, and they are welcoming us back with open arms,” Darcy told Kaze. “Come with me, babe.” Kaze pulled Darcy to the side and whispered, “Just pretend you can’t do anything for them. Test the waters. If they are genuinely apologetic, I’ll support you in getting the Quints out of the mess. But if they’re only doing it to trick you—” “I’ll go along with it.” Getting the message, Darcy nodded. She pretend
“The Vinlands? That’s the mega-rich family.” “Oh, Tanya’s family. Technically, we are related to the Vinlands.” “The Chrysant Vinlands are wealthier than the Sunrise Lees.” The older members of the Quints were ecstatic. They knew the history between the Quints and the Vinlands. Master Quint was the son-in-law of the Vinlands, taking their family name when marrying Tanya. Tanya, who passed away more than a decade ago, was the heiress of the Vinlands. Subsequently, Tanya had a falling out with her family. She walked away from her family with Master Quint and started a business in Lilyrose. That was how the Quints came to be. Over the years, the Quints and the Vinlands never kept in touch. The young members of the family like Samus had hazy memories of the Vinlands. They only learned the truth from their elders. “Don’t you remember me, Master Quint? I’m Hudson,” the middle-aged man standing before Master Quint said with a pretentious smile.Surprised, Logan exam
“Oh, please, Hudson. Please sort the problem out for us,” the other Quint family members pleaded. Even Master Quint stared fervently at Hudson. So much for the Quints being done for. The Quints were not destined for failure. Hudson showed what he was made of with one phone call. The Quints saw him as their savior. Hudson smiled. “The issues you’re facing are nothing to my family, but our help doesn’t come for free. We have one condition,” he said unhurriedly. “What is it?” Master Quint asked eagerly. He was willing to say yes to anything. With a grin, Hudson responded, “It’s not something major. The Quints are to take my family name.” Everybody, including Master Quint, made faces. A last name change was not something small. The concept of family history was strong in Arcadia. The change of family name was a huge deal. A family’s last name carried both its cultural heritage and bloodline.Since ancient times, only those who either needed a way out, sold t
Hudson was not kidding about making the Quints change their last name. Soon, the Quints, with paperwork in hand, lined up outside city hall to file a last name change petition with the court. Following the procedure, word about the Quints’ request to change their last name got out. The news caused a stir in Lilyrose. The public was skeptical at first. It was highly unlikely that the Quints would change their last name together. Just two days ago, the Quints said Darcy was not worthy of the family name. They disowned her and stripped her family name. That did not happen long ago, and the Quints now ditched the family name themselves. A public servant at city hall snapped a photo of the document and shared it. The public had no reason not to trust a legal form. Everybody exchanged looks when they read the new names on the record. The Quints had become complete jokes. They were the laughingstocks in the community. “Agnes! Hector! Have I got news for you!” Agath
“Grandfather and the rest of them are the worst. The joke’s on them, but they can’t stand to see us doing well for ourselves either.” Darcy put down her phone in frustration. “It’s alright. We don’t have to care. We’re not members of the Vinland family anyway.” Trying not to laugh, Kaze consoled her.The incident was not something to brag about. Darcy’s family quickly put the matter aside. They doubted the Quints’ last name change would affect them. Soon, the Vinlands held a press conference. They announced their commercial expansion into Lilyrose. The Vinlands stated that they would take over Quintessential Group. The family would also resolve and improve the myriad of issues with the online lending platform and delayed payment.Multiple financial issues arose with the assets acquired by the Quints from the top three families.The Quints’ inability to straighten things out made matters worse. The Vinlands’ statement calmed all parties’ fears. Many companies’ pro
“Hm.” Kaze nodded indifferently. He disapproved of Zenny. Kaze once rescued Brenda from being trafficked. Yet, Zenny made a false accusation about him. Kaze turned to Don for help, and Don was the reason Zenny lost his cushy job from pulling strings at the Traffic Department. Zenny had been unemployed since. Later, Zenny and his mother, Lyla, got into several rows with Kaze. Zenny’s family and Kaze went way back but not in a good way. Benedict, Zenny’s father, was a superior at Lilyrose Wholeness Medical Center. The medical incident five years ago was an elaborate plot to frame Agnes, and Benedict played a role in the conspiracy. Benedict was held in detention, waiting for trial now. Knowing that Kaze was not keen to see him, Zenny made a quick exit after saying hello. “Don’t let Zenny come here anymore. I suspect he might have something to do with Brenda’s abduction.” Kaze’s intention was not to talk bad about Zenny. Zenny’s behavior was rather suspicious b
Kaze saw the anxiety and nervousness in Jiro’s eyes and he was amused. “I didn’t know you were such an emotional man. Do you know that the woman you love is serving an Arcadian man like she is his personal sex slave?” Jiro had no idea about that, or he would have been devastated a long time ago. Kaze simply wanted to attack his confidence. As expected, the words shocked Jiro. Infuriated, he shouted, “What the hell are you talking about? It’s fucking nonsense! There’s no way Ms. Hara will do that! “What are you trying to do to her? Why are you slandering her?!” Judging from his reaction, Kaze knew Jiro had started to lose his calm. After all, they met purely because of coincidence. Kaze also coincidentally knew Reiko and something about her, which made his words credible. “You should ask what she is trying to do to us, not the other way around.” Kaze pointed at Snow and explained, “Did you know that earlier in the afternoon, me and my friend here were attacked by the
Jiro was almost driven mad. He had never been insulted like this before. Seeing that Jiro could no longer stand it, Cyan rushed over and said, “Kaze, what are you doing? Are you trying to kill Mr. Sakamoto?! Can you handle the consequences?! “Let it go before it gets out of hand! I’m warning you, don’t cause trouble for our family!” Kaze shot an icy glance at her and bellowed, “Get out of my way!” Cyan froze on the spot. Upset and angry, she cried, “W-What?! What did you say to me?! Who do you think you are?!” She believed Kaze had lost his mind. The timid and quiet man raised his voice at her and told her to get out of his way! What had gotten into him!? “Miru, clear the place.” Kaze ignored Cyan and said to Miru with a raise of his hand. A moment later, he added, “Snow can stay.” He did not want Cyan to annoy him like a buzzing fly, and he had questions for Jiro, questions that needed to remain private. Miru raised her hand without saying a word. Her men scatt
From the very first time Draig met Kaze, he had never thought highly of him. In the subsequent encounters, Kaze’s repeated tolerance of the mockeries from Wesley and Cyan further solidified his image of a coward in Draig’s mind. With such prejudice in his mind, Draig could not accept the fact that Kaze was stronger than him. Coincidentally, he found an acceptable and reasonable explanation for all the inexplicable occurrences, so he hypnotized himself into believing the false. “Can you get up?” Under everyone’s surprised gaze, Kaze strolled over to Jiro and peered down at him condescendingly. Gasp! Phew! Jiro mustered enough strength to look up but the pain was insufferable and he was gasping for air already. Baam! As he struggled to get up, the marble table beneath him further crumbled into pieces, causing a loud clunk. He held onto the couch and slowly got up on his feet. His eyes at Kaze showed unprecedented fear and seriousness. He had come to Arcadia for many
Jiro looked shocked. He did not expect Kaze to dodge his dropkick that easily. With a twist of his waist, he changed his body’s momentum mid-air and swung his left kick at Kaze’s face. However, forcefully changing his momentum mid-air decreased the power and speed contained in his attack. “I don’t like people pointing their feet at me,” Kaze casually said. As he spoke, he lifted his leg too. Without any fancy move or technique, he simply did a high kick, clashing kicks with Jiro. Kabaam! When both feet locked, Jiro’s body convulsed as if hit by lightning. He cried in agony before he was sent hurtling like a stringless kite, crashing onto a couch. The marble table in front of the couch shattered under the force of the crash. He lay down helplessly and weakly, his arms and legs wide open, and his body still convulsing as he could not find the strength to get up. He looked as miserable as it could get. The entire room fell into a dead silence. Many of them rubbed the
Cyan simply watched from the side without a hint of guilt. She believed she had done everything that she could for Kaze. Even if Kaze were to be beaten to death, he deserved it and he could not blame it on anyone else. Jiro was stunned for a moment. When he was learning from his master, he was slapped many times and it was part of the training. It had been many years since his last slap. Kaze’s slap rendered his mind blank for a while. He finally regained his composure after some time. He stroked his burning cheek as he stared at Kaze with eyes burning with anger, almost materializing into an erupting, raging volcano. “It has been a long time since anyone slapped me. Arcadian, you are dead!” Jiro’s freezing words gave everyone chills. It was obvious that he was infuriated. Kaze was not deterred at all. He smiled and said, “Slap is nothing. I will make you kneel in front of me. “A coward like Wesley cannot represent us Arcadians, but your claim of making us kneel p
“Hold on!” Just as Jiro turned around, a voice came from the back, saying, “Jiro Sakamoto, was it? Did I say you could leave?” Jiro was stunned. He slowly turned around to Kaze and raised his brow. “What do you mean?” Cyan and the others were also in shock. ‘Did I say you could leave?!’ Kaze was practically saying that without his permission, Jiro could not leave. The audacity!? Was it because Miru defended him and he thought he could step on the pride of the face of the Refined Blade Dojo? Miru frowned but quickly eased up. She stepped aside without saying anything. Kaze stood firm and still, saying, “I’m like you. I don’t like serving revenge cold. If you want to take revenge, come at me now. I’ll give you a chance to strike.” He gestured at Jiro, indicating that he was ready for a fight. Jiro looked at Miru and then switched his attention back to Kaze. He scoffed, but it felt icy. “I’ve already spared your life once because of Ms. Scarlet, and you are still c
Everyone looked at where Jiro was pointing and saw Kaze. Wesley and the others immediately curled their lips into a gloating grin. Kaze’s words must have infuriated Jiro. He allowed others to leave except for Kaze, which he wanted to take away. One could only imagine what would happen to Kaze if Jiro took him back. However, before Wesley and the others could savor the moment, their smirks froze. Miru shook her head and said sternly, “Bronze Sparrow is open for business and we will not interfere with our customer’s private affairs, except this time. “I am making an exception for Kaze. I don’t care what you do to the others after you walk out of my place but with Kaze, it’s not happening.” “What the…” Miru’s words put everyone in shock, even Cyan and her friends widened their eyes in disbelief. Miru was defending Kaze?! Kaze knew Miru personally as well? Draig started to feel jealous about Kaze’s luck with women. Snow listened to him while the owner of Bronze Sp
“Nonsense!” Infuriated, Jiro shouted, “Woman, Bronze Sparrow thrives because of us Ryokanians! How dare you say that to us? “Who the hell are you? Not even Zoro, the previous manager, spoke to me like that!” “That’s why Zoro is dead.” Miru pursed her lips and raised her hand at the men behind her. “Let’s show Mr. Sakamoto what Bronze Sparrow is capable of.” “Alright, Boss!” Wolf, with an ever-smiley face, stepped up and walked toward Jiro and his men. Aside from the three Ryokanians Kaze had already taken down, eighteen remained. Seeing Wolf's bloated figure and cheerful smile as he approached them by himself, the Ryokanians burst into mocking laughter. “What is this fat guy trying to do? Is he trying to take us all at once?” “Look at his size. Was he a sumo wrestler before?” “Go get him. Teach him a lesson! Remind him that sumo wrestlers are no match for us!” One of them went up to Wolf with a ferocious smile. Bang! Wolf punched the man in the face, sending
“Huh?” Jiro frowned but then quickly smiled. He took the glass of whiskey from Cyan and said, “I’m always happy to give a beautiful woman some space.” Cyan breathed a sigh of relief. She turned around to face Kaze with a different look and said, “Kaze, what have you done? “Can you stop causing trouble? Stop bragging and stop with your nonsense! This is no time for that! Kneel before Mr. Sakamoto and ask for forgiveness! If he’s happy, your punishment might be lighter!” The look on her face screamed resentment for Kaze. “Now! If you waste this chance, I won’t care about your life and death anymore!” She did not want to get involved in his nonsense. Yet she was the one who organized the gathering and if something happened to Kaze, injured or dead, her father would scold her to death. It explained why she steeled herself up and tried to save Kaze, or so she assumed she was saving him.Kaze said, “Cyan, you should worry about yourself first. And, if you don’t want to be thei