Chapter 40 – Estraneo
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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It wasn’t without warning. Mukuro mentioned in a phone call that he’s been busy lately and might not be able to keep in touch. At first, Tsuna didn’t pay much attention. But when Mukuro missed their weekly call for the first time, he started to feel suspicious. He tried calling, but the phone was off. For a whole month, he couldn’t reach Mukuro.
Tsuna was alarmed and contacted the school, only to find out that Mukuro had taken a leave of absence. Stunned by the news, Tsuna immediately dialled the internal line to have his secretary help him book the next flight to the United States.
But before he could even leave the company, two people intervened.
“Are you planning to run off to the United States now?” Reborn entered without knocking, wearing a bad expression on his face. “Have you lost your mind? I haven’t heard about any business trips in your schedule.”
“Reborn, you’re here just in time.” Quickly tidying up his workspace, Tsuna picked up his bag and stood up. “Mukuro has taken a leave of absence. About half a month ago. Something must have happened to him.”
“You think he’s in trouble? I’d say there’s a higher chance he’s causing trouble for someone else.” Although he said it like a joke, Reborn had no intention to laugh. He placed his hands on Tsuna’s shoulders, guiding him back to his seat. “He took a leave of absence half a month ago. What good will it do for you to go now?”
“But…” Tsuna couldn’t hide his panic. A series of horrifying scenarios played out in his mind. Although he knew rationally that going to the United States wouldn’t help at this moment, he couldn’t shake off the urge to do something. “I…”
The phone rang, causing Tsuna’s face, which was just thinking about Mukuro being kidnapped and he was about to be asked for ransom to stiffen reflexively.
“Answer the call first.” Reborn commanded with a furrowed brow. Tsuna, in a daze, instinctively followed his command. The screen displayed an unknown caller, not even showing a phone number.
“Hello, this is…? Mukuro?!” Tsuna’s voice suddenly raised. It was as if he had been stepped on by someone. “Where are you right now?! No matter what… Rokudo Mukuro! Can’t you do anything besides worrying me?!”
On the other end of the call, there was heavy electromagnetic interference. There was a sound of crackling electrical currents persisting throughout. Someone beside Mukuro was talking to him and he responded with something that didn’t sound like English but more like an Italian dialect. However, Tsuna knew it wasn’t Italian. It seemed to be another Latin-based language.
“How can I be at ease with you?!” Tsuna couldn’t help but shout, “Right now, you better book a flight ticket to come back to Japan!”
Suddenly, his phone was taken away. He looked at Reborn in surprise.
“Kid, is there anything that needs explaining?” Reborn warned with a glance at Tsuna. Calmly, he spoke into the phone, “Huh? Of course, I’m with him. Should he be with you, who was nowhere to be found?”
Tsuna swallowed hard and couldn’t help but stand closer to Reborn, wanting to hear what was being said on the other end of the phone.
“I understand what you mean. Anyway, you won’t interfere, right?” He scoffed and switched to the other ear to listen to the call so that Tsuna can’t overhear, “Well, if you end up dead out there, don’t expect us to retrieve your body.”
With that, he hung up the phone decisively.
“Reborn?!” Tsuna couldn’t believe that Reborn had actually hung up on Mukuro like that! He didn’t even ask where he was or who he was with?!
“Are you trying to make me deaf?” Reborn pushed Tsuna away with a bit of disgust. He casually placed the phone back into the pocket of Tsuna’s suit and even patted him on the chest in a seemingly considerate manner.
“He’s still a kid! I don’t know where he is and who he’s with. What if something happens… How would he know that I booked a flight to the United States… What is he even doing…”
Tsuna realised that he couldn’t understand Mukuro even more. He began to doubt whether he had ever truly understood him. Just like he had never imagined that this kid would go abroad to study, major in mathematics, and now he had taken a leave of absence!
“Shut up.” Reborn’s face, looking down at him, had grown darker. There was an impending storm-like appearance on his face. “You’re still calling a 21-year-old a kid? Stupid Tsuna, your brain must be leaking. I wouldn’t mind helping you drain a bit more out.”
Tsuna took a deep breath. But in the face of Reborn’s long-standing authority, he remained silent.
Reborn lowered his gaze and let out an annoyed snort. “Looks like we should change the person responsible for our company’s network security.” He muttered to himself and then raised an eyebrow at Tsuna. “By the way, since you seem to have so much energy, I’ve rescheduled that party you had originally declined.”
Casually torturing Tsuna with his words, he smirked coldly, “Iemitsu is starting to get anxious about your unmarried issue. So, in this gathering where many young ladies from influential families will be present, you better be grateful and cherish the opportunity.”
Reborn, you’re a devil QAQ!
The last similar matchmaking event had given Tsuna a hard time. While there were suspicions of artillery involvement, he still suspected that such a crowd was likely to produce girls who were as proud as peacocks. Dealing with one was already a challenge for Tsuna. But now there was a group of them! And they were talking about matchmaking!
Tsuna was feeling down.
There were many other things to be worried about as well. Besides Mukuro’s whereabouts causing him concern, there were various Vongola affairs that required his attention. Although Tsuna still held the position of Deputy Director of the Marketing Department, his responsibilities had expanded beyond just that department. Even matters involving the Production and Procurement Departments were gradually falling on his shoulders, requiring him to spend two months each year in Italy.
Juggling his responsibilities as Deputy Director forced Tsunayoshi to find ways to improve efficiency. It wasn’t until now that he truly understood how to wield the ‘authority of a superior’ that Reborn had mentioned about.
Reborn led him through the complication of Vongola. Gradually, in Tsuna’s mind, the complex structure of this organisation began to take understandable shapes.
After thoroughly understanding something, one tends to gain confidence in handling it. At least, Tsuna no longer shrank during meetings and could look other participants in the eye without hesitation. As Reborn put it, he didn’t look entirely clueless when wearing a suit either.
In the latest product decision-making process, Tsuna also travelled to the headquarters in Italy to participate. Among several proposed options, they settled on a coloured gemstone jewellery collection with a vintage Rococo theme.
Although collectively called coloured gemstones, the value of precious gems and semi-precious gems varied significantly. The top-grade gems that constituted less than 50% of the collection easily qualified it as luxury goods. This allowed the collection to target different market price points.
However, this whimsical and extravagant design required a large quantity of coloured gemstones to support it, which led to a slightly increased workload for the procurement department. The focus of the Italian headquarters’ procurement was on Sri Lanka and Brazil. Besides preparing for the products, they also needed to gear up for the Paris Jewelry Show in spring. The designers had to create concept jewellery pieces that perfectly embodied the dreamy and sweet essence of the Rose Garden in Versailles.
“Now that the theme is set, the next step is up to the planning department. But having multiple types of gemstones in a single piece of jewellery like this does raise concerns,” Tsuna exchanged thoughts with Reborn as they walked out at 9 a.m. to catch a flight scheduled for 4 p.m. heading to Italy.
“Are you worried about the gemstone combinations?”
Tsuna nodded, “Not just the main gemstone for each piece, but figuring out how to efficiently use the smaller decorative gemstones while saving on the cut from other gemstones is quite a challenge.”
Inside the elevator with only the two of them, Tsuna tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows, “Just thinking about it feels so complicated.”
“Mind your image,” Reborn reminded him and took over the topic, “Getting you to understand the operations of various departments doesn’t mean you have to know it hands-on. The design department will handle it themselves.”
“Alright, I was just thinking out loud.” As the elevator reached the first floor, the company car was waiting right outside the entrance. They got into the car directly. Tsuna leaned back against the seat, feeling a bit dizzy. He rubbed his temples with his hand, “We’ll probably have to settle for dinner on the plane.”
He really disliked the food on the plane, even those in business class.
Reborn glanced at him expressionlessly, not bothering to say anything.
“I’m kind of envious of the procurement department. They get to travel to various places…” Tsuna sighed, thinking about his hectic schedule. However, he also understood that the heads of the procurement department were all appraisers. He didn’t have their level of expertise.
“After the release of this product, you should consider moving to a different position.”
Hearing Reborn’s casual remark, Tsuna couldn’t help but feel the significant helpless feeling once again. It was true that people should focus on their respective roles in life.
The planning for the ‘Versailles Rose Collection’ proceeded as usual, just like any other product launch. However, one piece of feedback from the procurement department triggered a reaction of the superiors in Vongola.
“Collaboration?” Tsuna received the same message. But it was just a notification for him. The decision had already been made by the board members, including Iemitsu. “Estraneo Group?”
The name was very unfamiliar to him. Until now, this group hadn’t had any interactions with Vongola. Tsunayoshi repeated the name to himself a few times.
“I’ve looked into their information. It’s unexpectedly intriguing,” Reborn said. His hands crossed over his chest as he leaned against the desk. He spoke slowly, as if considering something while he spoke. “Estraneo’s background isn’t very clean. Its initial members were a group of local thugs in the United States, involved in activities like high-interest money lending.”
“Is it a company based in the United States?” When it came to the United States, Tsuna’s nerves reflexively tightened. He knew he was still sensitive to hearing about this country. But he had grown accustomed to it over the past year.
“It started as a small securities firm. The company also engaged in futures trading.” Reborn chuckled lightly at this point. “I have to admit that their upper management has a keen eye. Their predictions have never been wrong, accumulating massive wealth at a rapid pace. It made them a standout on Wall Street.”
“But is that enough to form an alliance with Vongola?” Tsuna looked at his fingers, drawing out three fingers and emphasised it. “Official records state that they’ve only been registered for a little over three years… If they truly achieved this without external assistance, it’s terrifying.”
“Two years ago, they established a subsidiary solely for futures trading.”
Sensing a subtle tone in Reborn’s words, Tsuna looked up at him with his eyebrows furrowed. “Why do I sense a hint of conspiracy…”
“That year, in the gold futures market, they sold 50 tons of gold.” Reborn tilted his chin slightly, turning his head to look at Tsuna. “However, on the trading date, instead of falling, the price of gold increased by several hundred dollars. But they didn’t actually possess the 50 tons of gold.”
“Selling short without possession?” Tsuna tapped his lips with his curved fingers, exhaling a breath. “Their massive sell-off of gold before must have caused market turmoil.”
“And you should be able to figure out the outcome. It caused quite a stir on Wall Street at the time. This subsidiary conveniently declared bankruptcy. In my view, it was deliberate.”
Hearing this, Tsuna sighed. “Why? Even if the subsidiary could independently bear legal responsibility without implicating Estraneo, what benefit did Estraneo gain from this?”
“At that time, a small bank was deeply affected by this turmoil and subsequently went bankrupt,” Reborn praised with a hint of sarcasm. “Estraneo seized the opportunity to acquire the bank and hence, successfully established its own bank. They swiftly enriched it with their own funds and provided loans to small companies in various industries, seeking cooperation through this means.”
Reborn paused. There was a moment of silence in the office. After a while, Tsuna finally asked, “I really wonder where they’re trying to extend their reach.”
“I don’t know where they ultimately want to extend. But what’s openly apparent is their recent acquisitions of some nearly abandoned mines in Brazil. Interestingly, a mine that used to produce only diopside suddenly started yielding diamonds,” Reborn said, pausing again and giving Tsuna a knowing look as he said, “You should know what we’re after this time.”
With a slight shake of his head and a ‘tsk’, he continued, “Though garnet and diopside are indicators of diamond presence,… their ambition, intellect, luck—Estraneo is truly a nightmare for its adversaries.”
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*Author’s Note:
Tomorrow is Sunday, so there won’t be an update XD
[This is the explanation about “Selling Short without Possession”]
Please believe me, I didn’t intentionally choose this term. I didn’t even know about it, OTL. So, I really dislike writing about the work aspect. Let me explain what this term actually means. In simple terms, it’s like “using your money to buy goods, then making money off the money you have spent.”
In other words, it’s like “selling short.”
For instance, let’s say I know that refrigerators are currently priced at 400 yuan each, but I think they will drop to 200 yuan each. So, I sell 500 of them at 350 yuan each. When the futures trading date arrives, the price indeed drops to 200 yuan, so I can use other people’s money to buy enough refrigerators from the market and then sell them to others. Of course, the futures market doesn’t deal with refrigerators; it’s usually about stocks, securities, and gold.
So, the futures market is like a paradise for speculators. However, a large number of short selling orders can lead to a surplus of sell orders in the trading market, potentially causing the price of the commodity or asset to drop. This can create a market downturn effect, like a stock market crash or a minor stock market crash. If the price of the asset doesn’t decrease as expected but instead reverses and increases, speculators in the future would need to buy back the asset from the market at a higher price to complete the transaction. If the speculators don’t have the financial capacity to buy the asset at a high price, they might need to borrow or default on debt. Both of which could result in financial market turmoil. In severe cases, it might lead to a certain extent of financial storm. The above information is kindly provided by Baidu=W=.
P/S: Has no one really noticed the connection between the name “Hitomi Yoshida” [Miss Secretary] and the anime? I’m so picky…
-YXF
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*GLOSSARY:
- Rococo theme: It is characterised by lightness, elegance, and an exuberant use of curving natural forms in ornamentation. The word Rococo is derived from the French word rocaille, which denoted the shell-covered rock work that was used to decorate artificial grottoes.
Next update: Tomorrow
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