Episode 15

**Wizard of Far East (Case 4.1)** is the 15th episode of the Great Pretender series.

## Summary

Edamura once again tries to break off from Team Confidence and start his life anew. He gets a job at a trading company run by a woman named Akemi Suzaku, who has connections with the mafia and deals in slave trades. Just when Makoto realizes the dark side of his new job, once again, he's roped into another con job with Laurent and his team.

## Plot

Edamura awakens in his apartment and notes that it's the anniversary of his mother's death. Later, he visits his mother's grave and discloses to her his life since he last saw her.

Laurent has a dream involving a woman named Dorothy where he brings her to a snowy field to show her aurora in the sky. He's awoken by Kim who tells him that Cynthia has prepared breakfast. Laurent along with, Kim, Cynthia, and Abigail gather in the living room and wait for Edamura's arrival who enters a bloody mess and faints on the ground. This was an act and he notes that he plans on leaving the team again, to that notion, Laurent talks with Edamura outside.

Outside by a cliff, Edamura discloses to Laurent how he's thankful for saving him from becoming stagnant which made him only slightly appreciate him. However, he's anxious that he'll lose himself if he continues on down the path of being a con-artist. Amused by what Edamura had to say, he accepts his withdrawal from the team sighting he should follow his gut instincts. Before he leaves, Edamura gives Laurent his tiny toy figure of Hideyoshi Toyotomi.

After parting ways with Laurent, Edamura returns to Japan and hopes to start a fresh and clean new life. Edamura does a job interview with a man named Ishigami in a trading company and one key thing in the interview is that he can speak some Chinese that he learned from his mother. Because of this, Edamura is hired as a trainee and although it's an arduous job, he finds enjoyment in doing it.

Eventually, Ishigami takes him for a drive to the Roppongi HQ, there on the rooftop of the building, he's introduced to the chairwoman. She carefully observes Edamura and states that she hopes that he does his best. The approval from the chairwoman who's named Suzuka allows Edamura to officially become an official employee of the company.

Time passes by and in Hanoi, Vietnam; Edamura learns the dark side of his new job as they pick up three children that'll be sold as slaves. Learning this, Edamura becomes forlorn and notably regretful with his new job. In another meeting with the chairwoman Suzuka, Edamura is assigned to observe an upcoming auction where the slaves will be sold. Right after the meeting with Suzuka; Ishigami compliments Edamura as it took him a long time for her to even remember his name.

During the day of the auction, Edamura sickened by the flagitious nature of the auction, recalls what Laurent once told him about going with his gut. On his way home, Edamura realizes that Laurent made him join a company that was connected to the mafia. Distraught over learning the background of the trading company that he works for, Edamura realizes he's once again been roped into another con job by Laurent. Meanwhile, Laurent and Abigail meet up with a new partner that will help them with their next job, Clark Ibrahim.

## Characters

* Makoto Edamura
* Laurent Thierry
* Abigail Jones
* Cynthia Moore
* Shi-won Kim
* Kudo
* Eddie Cassano (Flashback)
* Paula Dickins (FBI) (Flashback)
* Salazar (Flashback)
* Tom (Flashback)
* Sam Ibrahim (Flashback)
* Clark Ibrahim
* Anderson (Flashback)
* Danny (Flashback)
* James Coleman (Flashback)
* Thomas Meyer (Flashback)
* Shougo Nakanoshima (Flashback)
* Dorothy
* Ishigami
* Akemi Suzaku