Asahi Heavy Industries?
When Rowan heard the name Yuuki Asuna said, he shook his head.
"Never heard of it at all."
He had originally thought such an impressive company would be Suzuki, or at least Shinomiya, or some other famous enterprise.
But it turned out to be some Asahi Heavy Industries he had never heard of?
Uh…
Where did this small fry come from?
Yuuki Asuna said, "I once heard my brother mention that this company seems to have a yakuza background. It's backed by the Washimine Group."
Rowan shook his head. Another yakuza group he had never heard of.
If she had said the Shueisha Group, Beehive, Vongola, or the Dragon Ball Group, he would at least know a little.
But the Washimine Group? He had never heard of it at all.
"Wait a moment."
Rowan stood up, pushed open an air door, and returned to his own world. He turned on the computer in his bedroom and searched online.
Washimine Group. Asahi Heavy Industries.
At first, he couldn't find anything. But after searching more carefully, he finally found the source of these two organizations.
Black Lagoon!
A classic but relatively niche anime.
It told the story of ordinary salaryman Okajima Rokuro, who was dragged into the underworld and eventually joined the mercenary organization "Lagoon Company," struggling to survive in the Southeast Asian crime city of Roanapur.
And this Okajima Rokuro was an ordinary employee of Asahi Heavy Industries.
During one mission to escort confidential company documents, this unlucky guy was attacked and kidnapped by a mysterious organization called Lagoon Company, and the confidential documents were stolen as well.
To ensure that the secret would not be leaked, Asahi Heavy Industries carried out a purge operation—including the documents and Okajima Rokuro himself.
After learning that he had been abandoned by his company, Okajima decided to find a way to survive on his own terms.
So Okajima proposed joining Lagoon Company, proved his ability through actual action, and afterward began a brand-new life under the name "Rock."
From this, Asahi Heavy Industries did have something to it, but not much.
As for the Washimine Group, it was also a Japanese underworld faction in that world.
It had many yakuza organizations under it, such as the Kousa Council, the Washimine Group, and so on.
However, the plot did not specifically explain the scale of the Washimine Group. It only briefly covered the conflict between the Kousa Council and the Washimine Group.
Of course, what left the deepest impression on Rowan in Black Lagoon was not the fighting between yakuza groups.
It was the female lead, Revy, and another unforgettable female character.
Roberta, the head maid of the Lovelace family, one of the thirteen South American crime families.
She was the combat maid from the Black Lagoon manga, a human terminator, and a genuine ceiling of combat power.
When this maid first appeared, she looked gentle and weak. But the scene of her sweeping a bar with a machine gun was simply too cool, instantly capturing the hearts of many people.
Rowan included.
Uh…
He had gone off topic.
After investigating the origin of Asahi Heavy Industries, Rowan returned to Yuuki Asuna's bedroom.
"I've investigated Asahi Heavy Industries. It comes from Black Lagoon, a manga about the underworld. In the manga, it has some weight, but not much. I don't know how it is in this world."
Yuuki Asuna shook her head and said, "I'm not too clear either. But every time my father mentions Asahi Heavy Industries, his expression doesn't look very good. He seems somewhat wary."
Rowan stroked his chin with one hand and gave a thoughtful hum.
"Looks like this Asahi Heavy Industries is doing pretty well in this crossover world."
Yuuki Asuna looked at Rowan eagerly. She suspected that her curse was inseparable from this company, but it was only a suspicion.
With her ability, she had no way to investigate this company.
The only person who could help her now was the world traveler in front of her.
The problem was, the two of them were neither relatives nor friends. Why should he help her? And the other party had already revived her once. If she now asked him for help, wouldn't that be too shameless?
Thinking of this, Yuuki Asuna's two fingers kept fidgeting with the corner of her clothes. She wanted to say something, but the words seemed stuck at her lips and would not come out no matter what.
Rowan lowered his head and saw through Yuuki Asuna's hesitation at a glance.
"If you want to say something, be a little bolder. You Japanese people are so troublesome. Even asking for help has to be done so awkwardly."
Hearing Rowan's words, which were full of disdain but also carried a bit of encouragement, Yuuki Asuna finally gathered her courage and bowed ninety degrees toward Rowan.
"Please. Please help me."
"Sure."
Rowan agreed readily.
"Really?"
Yuuki Asuna was both surprised and delighted, looking at Rowan in disbelief. She seemed not to have expected him to agree so readily.
He was too kind.
Rowan said calmly, "After all, I've seen your doujins. Consider it repayment."
Yuuki Asuna's face turned red again in an instant. Her fists clenched tightly, blue veins bulging.
Was this doujin matter never going to pass?
She took back what she thought earlier. This guy was not a good person at all. His tastes were way too wicked.
If she could beat him, she would rush forward and hammer him into meat paste.
"Oh, right. There's one more thing," Rowan said.
Yuuki Asuna quickly listened attentively.
"From now on, I'll call you Asuna. Somehow, I feel Yuuki Asuna doesn't sound as nice as Asuna."
Yuuki Asuna had thought he had something important to say, but in the end…
"That's it?"
"What else?" Rowan asked back.
Yuuki Asuna sighed weakly and said, "Do as you like."
"Good. Asuna, to avoid alerting the enemy, I won't remove the curse on you. Starting today, Medea will act with you."
"You'll go to school and come home normally. Don't do anything else."
"Why?"
Yuuki Asuna—no, Asuna—asked curiously, "Shouldn't the thing to do now be investigating Asahi Heavy Industries?"
Rowan nodded. "Logically, we should investigate Asahi Heavy Industries. But the problem is that everything just now was only your speculation. You actually can't confirm whether the person who cursed you is from Asahi Heavy Industries, right?"
Asuna fell silent and could not refute him. In the end, what she had just said was only her own theory.
Whether the ones who cursed her were really from Asahi Heavy Industries, she did not know.
"So what you need to do now is pretend everything is normal. Medea will protect you from your side and help you stay away from those dangers."
"When the person who cursed you discovers that you still haven't died, they will naturally take action."
"At that time, we can capture them. We may even be able to follow the trail to their organization and wipe them all out."
Asuna's eyes lit up. This idea was good.
But the problem was…
"Wouldn't Miss Medea following me around be too conspicuous?"
Medea chuckled lightly. Under Asuna's surprised gaze, she disappeared bit by bit.
"It's merely invisibility magic. It isn't any particularly advanced spell."
Seeing this, Asuna suddenly understood.
"If it's invisibility, then there's no problem. What about you? What do you plan to do?"
"Me? Of course I'm going to take a proper look around this world."
Rowan said, "When I used farsight magic to check this world just now, I actually found Totsuki Academy. So Cosette and I will go stay at Totsuki Resort for a few days."
"Totsuki Academy? You mean that culinary academy famous as a cradle for chefs?"
"That's right."
When Cosette heard this, her eyes lit up.
"A school that trains chefs? This world has that kind of school?"
Rowan nodded and said, "Of course. This is modern society, after all. There are all kinds of schools for everything."
Cosette sighed. "I see. Then this world is truly wonderful."
One had to know that in the One Piece world, there were no schools specifically for training chefs.
All cooks either figured things out by themselves or worked like beasts of burden under a master until they were trained.
She herself was the latter.
She had apprenticed from a young age. Later, during a war launched by the Germa Kingdom, she was abducted and brought to Germa, eventually becoming head chef step by step.
Now that she heard this world had a school that trained chefs, a trace of longing appeared in her eyes.
What exactly would a school that trained chefs be like?
Seeing that she looked impatient, Rowan smiled faintly.
"Let's go. We'll first visit Totsuki Resort, then I'll take you to Totsuki Academy."
"Alright."
Cosette nodded in agreement.
Nero stood up from the bed and said, "Umu. Praetor, I also want to go to that Totsuki Resort."
Yamato also stood up and said, "In that case, I'll go too."
"You can't. You're too tall and too conspicuous. And you have two horns on your head, which makes you even more conspicuous."
Rowan decisively refused. As he spoke, he turned and glanced at Smoothie. If Yamato was conspicuous, Smoothie was even more so.
After all, Yamato was 2.6 meters tall, while Smoothie was 4.6 meters tall. That height was nothing in the One Piece world.
But in this world, where the average person was around one meter something and anyone over two meters would be treated as a giant, whether 2.6 meters or 4.6 meters, such a height was far too eye-catching.
If he brought them out, it would absolutely cause a commotion and even make headline news.
Even more troublesome was that among the Devil Fruits and magic Rowan had mastered, there was no fruit ability or spell that could shrink people.
In the end, Smoothie and Yamato could only be wronged a little. He would not take the two of them for now.
"I understand."
Smoothie nodded and decided to stay in the One Piece world.
Yamato, however, kept yelling that she had to go, so the impatient Rowan kicked her back to the One Piece world.
After resolving the matter of Smoothie and Yamato, Rowan turned back and said goodbye to Medea and Asuna.
Before leaving, he noticed Asuna's unease and deliberately comforted her.
"Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on your situation. If anything happens, Medea can contact me at any time. Just relax and be a little bolder. There won't be any problem."
These words were extremely effective. Asuna immediately felt less nervous. Her whole body seemed to be soaking in a hot spring, and even her cold hands and feet began to warm up.
"I understand."
She nodded firmly and said, "I hope you enjoy your meal at Totsuki Resort."
"I'll take that blessing."
Rowan nodded at Asuna, then closed the air door to the One Piece world and pushed open the air door leading to Totsuki Resort.
Totsuki Resort was also called Totsuki Palace. It was astonishingly large and surrounded by mountains and water.
To avoid drawing attention, Rowan deliberately opened the door near an artificial lake inside the resort.
This place was remote and had few people, so it would not cause a commotion.
However, when Rowan passed through the gate and entered the resort,
he saw a… corpse floating in the resort's artificial lake.
~~~
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