Chapter 23 – Hidden Dangers
Novel Title: 跨越千万星辰 (Across Thousands of Stars)
Author：御小凡 (Yu Xiaofan)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 泽田纲吉 (Sawada Tsunayoshi -MC), 六道骸 (Rokudo Mukuro -ML)
*Please read at Novels Space.space, the original site of translation. TQ*
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“There’s something I want to ask you.“
After clicking on Enma’s dialog box, the other party replied quickly, “What is it?“
When thinking in a purely rational way of thinking, there seems to be nothing unreasonable to ask. But once you really want to ask a question like ‘Did you masturbate with your friends in high school?’, it is really difficult. Tsuna hesitated for a long time. He couldn’t rely on his own experience. But he always thought that maybe it was because he didn’t really fit in with others back then?
“…Forget it, nevermind.” He lazily replied with a perfunctory sentence. He then closed the dialog box. After a while, Enma’s icon showed that he was typing.
“Is it about work? Now that you’ve become the section manager of the marketing department, you will definitely have more troubles.” It almost seemed like he could see Enma frowning nervously because of worry through the screen.
“It’s not about work. It’s actually not a big deal.” Since he was the one who started the topic and cut it off abruptly, Tsuna raised his spirits to chat with him.
“…This time, the marketing department has tortured other departments again.” Seeing that Tsuna didn’t want to discuss this topic deeply, Enma picked it up and talked about Vongola’s focus this year: ‘White Lover Platinum Series’.
“Isn’t it quite okay? After all, it will be on the market this winter. This time, there should be plenty of time to complete the work.” Tsuna, who also suffered from such pain, couldn’t help laughing. He could only say a few words of comfort jokingly.
“You are out of the pit of fire. Even if it is to be on the market in winter, our work is not easy at all!” It is rare for Enma to express his feelings with an exclamation mark. What he said was not really wrong. Spanning a year, starting from the spring of fateful encounter, to the summer of ignorant and passionate love, to the autumn of conflicts and hesitation, until the winter when the two finally confirm each other’s sincerity and hold each other’s hands. That is the real love story. The lovers will realise what love is and sing the song of love.
Every season cannot be marketed sloppily and slowly. Not to mention that there are other products that would be launched somewhere in the middle. So the workload of each department increased.
“Vongola would only be satisfied after draining the last drop of blood from its employees.” Seeing the gloominess emanated through the text, Enma changed the subject and said something else, “Speaking of which, I am also finally promoted.”
When Tsuna saw this paragraph in the dialogue box, he was taken aback for a moment. But then laughed out loud. Enma is competent. But in some aspects, he is unexpectedly clumsy and doesn’t know how to express himself. So he always looks to be overly shy and has even been said to be moody. He didn’t cooperate well with other people at work, which caused his lack of confidence. This led to the situation where he was not promoted for many years.
This more or less reminded Tsuna of him during college. Now, he is really happy for Enma from the bottom of his heart.
“Well… Then, to celebrate this, I’ll treat you to dinner tonight. Is that okay?”
The last three words seem to ask for Tsuna’s opinions. Tsuna can almost see the expectations contained in it. Compared with Tsuna, Enma is not good at communicating with people. Tsuna is afraid that he is the only one who has a good relationship with him in the company.
Tsuna readily agreed, “No problem.”
“Then let’s go to the sushi restaurant I often go to. It tastes great.” Immediately afterwards, another line of text appeared, “Ask your child to come together. I have been listening to you talking about him but I’ve never seen him?“
This kind of statement that was usually used to address someone’s hidden girlfriend really makes Tsuna feel odd.
If the place has already been decided to be a sushi restaurant, Tsuna can foresee Mukuro’s answer. But to show respect for Enma’s kind invitation, he still honestly sent a text message to Mukuro.
Sure enough, he received a reply of clear rejection.
[Sender: Muku
Topic: Not going
Content: I really don’t know what’s so delicious about the kind of food that only tastes like mustard. ]
Maybe your tongue is too sensitive to spiciness, Tsuna retorted in his mind.
But he can’t tell that directly to Enma. If he did, there is a high possibility that Enma will change his decision because of Mukuro. After all, it was the other party’s celebration meal so Tsuna would feel embarrassed to let Enma change his original decision because of this.
“He has already made an appointment with a friend. Maybe next time.”
Since the two are in the same company, the time for them to meet was also very well matched. Enma worked overtime a little. Fortunately, Tsuna, who was able to get off work on time, simply ran off to the planning department on the third floor. When he entered the door, he passed by a person and their shoulders were brushed against each other. He instinctively looked up and saw that the other person also looked at him sideways.
“Ah… hello.”
It was his former department colleague, Mochida.
Facing Tsuna’s greetings, Mochida just glanced at him without a word. He then turned and left. Tsuna was a little surprised by this rude reaction. Although the relationship between the two of them was not very close when he was still in the planning department, it was very common to say hello to each other when they met every day. Mochida himself shows the image of a cheerful senior who takes care of his colleagues. He and Tsuna occasionally meet in the tea room and they can chat about the weather or news. Why is he so unfriendly now?
Tsuna was dumbfounded for a few seconds before shaking his head and didn’t bother to think deep about it. He has never been good at analysing and dealing with interpersonal problems anyway. So he went straight to Enma’s cubicle and they greeted each other. Tsuna leaned down on the partition and looked at his screen.
“I’ve just finished.” Enma smiled slightly and turned off the computer. His stiff neck made him unconsciously stretch his arms and do a stretching exercise. He habitually put the things on the table aside. Some papers and books of different sizes stacked together out of order, looking a bit precarious.
“Okay. Let’s go then?”
Tsuna followed Enma in his car to Namimori Commercial Street. They passed through the noisy main street and turned to a quieter alley next to it. From a distance, two red lanterns could be seen glowing warmly in the night.
Unexpectedly, the small restaurant is not deserted. When they lift the curtain to enter the restaurant, they can hear a warm welcome and the smell of food wafting in the air. The wooden floor and furniture have a reassuring sense of comfort to them.
“I discovered this small restaurant by pure coincidence.” Enma took Tsuna to find a seat near the door and sat down while talking. After the waiter brought tea and menus, Enma handed the menu to Tsuna. “You’re welcome. Just choose whatever you like to eat.”
After Tsuna finished ordering the sushi, Enma also added Yuri Masamune Sake in the order. This drink has a slightly higher alcohol level compared to beer but far lower compared to shochu. So, it is acceptable to Tsuna. Since it is a celebration after all, drinking only clear tea does seem to lack its purpose.
“Ah… Speaking of which, there is something I want to tell you.” Enma poured the Sake for Tsuna and himself. The Sake flowed into the cup like clear water, swaying with invisible ripples, “Mochida. Kensuke Mochida. Do you remember him?”
Tsuna slightly paused the hand that was holding the Sake glass. He looked at Enma suspiciously, “Of course… He was the head of our team back then.”
“Well, I’ve seen him around these days.” Enma picked up the Sake glass and took a sip. He then licked his lips subconsciously, “I think he’s not in a good mood.”
Tsuna allowed the light and beautiful taste of the Sake diffuse between his lips and teeth. The light but long-lasting aroma is filled with delicate elegance. Tsuna lowered his eyes and sighed softly as if he was moved by the taste, “Let me tell you. When I went to the planning department looking for you just now, I saw him. But he ignored me when I greeted him. Is there anything bothering him?”
Hearing what Tsuna said, Enma widened his eyes a little bit as if he was choked up. He then looked away, looking a bit embarrassed. He drank the rest of the Sake in the glass. He is not a person who can handle a lot of alcohol. After just one glass, the tips of his ears start to turn red, “He must be dissatisfied with you.”
Tsuna opened his mouth in disbelief. He couldn’t help pointing at himself with his index finger. His face was filled with astonishment, “With me?!”
His voice was raised a bit high. Luckily the friendly atmosphere of this sushi restaurant made the people around him chat and laugh loudly. So no one noticed the commotion. Enma rubbed his forehead with a headache, “You should remember that he got down from the position of section chief?”
Simply because of this?
His heart skipped a beat. Tsuna also knew that Mochida was upset about this at the time. But it has been a long time since then. And he has also transferred from the planning department to the marketing department. This incident has been almost erased from Tsuna’s memory. Now that Enma brought up such a topic, he couldn’t help frowning because of that promotion. It was indeed not fair.
“I don’t know where he heard a rumour. It is said that you have something to do with the higher-ups and that’s why you got promoted instead of him.” A faint worry rose between Enma’s brows, “Someone in our team was talking about this a while ago.”
Mochida. Has he found out the truth?
Tsuna bowed his head to pour the Sake in order to hide his emotions. But he accidentally poured too much and the wine overflowed along the rim of the glass.
For so many years, he has adjusted his mentality to be an ordinary employee. Even he himself almost forgot that he is still the heir to 60% of the company’s shares. Iemitsu also agrees for Tsuna to conceal his identity, which is more conducive to his gradual growth from the grassroots.
There is no impenetrable wall in the world. Tsuna didn’t even try hard to cover it up. But he never mentioned it. But even though it wasn’t malicious, it was deliberate deception. So it didn’t feel good if he was suddenly exposed.
Enma suddenly laughed. But it was not as natural as usual. Most of the meaning was to appease Tsuna, “Don’t worry about it. How could you have such a great relationship? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been squeezed into the planning department for so long? And why must you go to the planning department? You can just come in and be a head chief already.”
It should be said that this is a bad consolation technique. Or rather it should be said that the idea was too simple…
Tsuna twitched the corners of his mouth, not knowing how to respond. If he answered ‘yes’, it was not quite right. If he answered ‘no’, that would only give him a strong sense of guilt.
Fortunately, Enma was not obsessed with hearing his affirmation. He continued on his own, “Such a person is really terrible.”
Even if he was speaking up for himself, Tsuna felt that Enma’s statement was too dark. He couldn’t help interrupting him, “Hmm, it shouldn’t be like that… Thinking about it from another angle, I understand his feelings when he is squeezed out of his position by a junior. Of course he will feel suspicious.”
The suspicious shelf life for normal people though won’t be as long as Mochida’s.
“Tsuna is really a kind person.” Enma was stunned before sighing with relief. It made Tsuna feel embarrassed. If he told Enma the truth, he didn’t know how he would react. He then saw the other party’s serious expression as he got up, “But what I’m talking about is not based on a simple rumour. After you left, Mochida made a lot of mistakes at work so he was never able to return to his original position. His resentment probably came when you became a member of the marketing department. Afterall, the team in that department is bigger and more influential.”
More or less, Tsuna can imagine the change of Mochida’s mood.
The company Vongola has absolute power. It might not give you the best treatment when you join for the first time. But the most important thing is that it can promise you a bright future. If you become its top executive, the benefits and salary will be envied by the people around. It is this kind of remuneration that creates a huge attraction. But it chooses its own flesh and blood. Those who are finally selected must be those who are excellent. Correspondingly, the competition is fierce. In fact, it is even brutal.
Such a brutal office culture did not have much impact on Tsuna. At least, compared to Enma and Mochida, who really can only rely on themselves, the challenges he has experienced are much simpler. In the eyes of many colleagues, Tsunayoshi Sawada’s ability may not be outstanding. But he is indeed very lucky.
Tsuna was deeply depressed thinking of this. He drank the Sake in his glass in one gulp.
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*Author’s Note: Although in this chapter Tsuna also drinks a lot, this time, there will be no ‘accidents’. So please rest assured.-YXF
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*Translator’s Note: I was hoping for another ‘accident’ though🤭-K
Next update: 2023.08.21
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