Chapter 139 – Restarting the Family Conference

The day after the incident, technically the following morning, since everyone had stayed overnight at the Ootori main estate, the family once again gathered in the reception room.

However, Uncle Genji was absent.

“Everyone, thank you for your efforts yesterday. Normally, I’d say, ‘Let’s talk over some tea,’ but I doubt anyone feels like that right now. We’ll renew our oath, but before that, I’ll speak again about the ‘Dreaming Miko.’ And about the ‘dream’ itself as well.”

Father began like that, and first gave a brief recounting of my great-great-grandmother Rin, the previous generation’s ‘Dreaming Miko.’
Then he went on to talk about me, including the general outline of my ‘dream.’

Since he only said what was strictly necessary, the whole talk ended surprisingly quickly.

“That’s about all I can say for now. I won’t take any questions, there are simply too many things I can’t answer. Those of us from Rin-sama’s time all heard about this before, so you should understand. You may tell the other adults in the family about this, but never speak of it to anyone else. Be extremely cautious.”

He ended with that.
But since Uncle Genji was missing, everyone there, except for Kouryuu-sensei, was from Father’s generation, people in their fifties or sixties. 

Moreover, Kouryuu-sensei not only already knew more than what was said, but at this point, he was one of my top-class accomplices.

That must be why no one seemed particularly shaken or doubtful.
It was also a story that carried a sense of “too little, too late,” so it was probably just meant as a way to reset things.

Even Great-Aunt Yoshiko remained calm. Her nerves of steel, or perhaps her insensitivity, were actually a blessing. In my imaginary world, I’d almost think she was burdened with one of the seven deadly sins.

And since the restart meeting was over, the discussion that was originally supposed to happen yesterday finally resumed.

Father took a sip of his tea as if to signal the start and cleared his throat lightly.

“From here on, I’ll only talk about things that will become official decisions once spoken outside this room. Anyone with opinions or complaints, speak up.”

“Hey, Kiichirou, I’m fine with it, but, uh, well… you’re sure about this, right?”

Torasaburou spoke hesitantly in response to his words. I understood what he wanted to say, but his awkward phrasing almost made me smile wryly.

“I’ve spoken with Genji. That’s why he’s out. The scum who provoked him and the fools who went along with it will be dealt with accordingly. The Ootori Company will also be dissolved.”

“Reorganization, then?”

Uncle Zenkichi asked quietly, but as usual, he was the one to ask what everyone else was thinking.
Father nodded and began to speak.

“The functions of Ootori Company will be transferred to Ootori Trading and Ootori Holdings. The effective head will be you, Zenkichi. However, Ootori Holdings will serve as the command center in the rear. The front line will be Ootori Trading, with greatly expanded functions and authority. The newspaper and research divisions will also be expanded. As I said yesterday, Tokita will take the head position of Ootori Trading.
But the main focus of Ootori from now on will be the petroleum-related business and the heavy industry division, both of which will see large-scale expansion. Construction may also grow significantly. But since Idemitsu handles the oil operations, there are others involved, right? Torasaburou, I want you to serve as the main support for the heavy industry division. As for the Suzuki group, it will continue to be entrusted to Kaneko-san.”

He paused there for a moment, letting the information sink in for everyone, then continued speaking.

“All of this will be officially decided at the company presidents’ spring meeting, but only Genji’s case will proceed ahead of time. Also, in the future, Kaneko-san from Suzuki will be brought to the central office and positioned as a deputy commander, to further advance the merger between Ootori and Suzuki.
Now, regarding Genji’s case, Genji himself bears responsibility, but there was someone who instigated him. Regardless of those individuals, we will investigate whether there are others like them. If there are, this will be their final chance to resign or face punishment. And then, there will be a large-scale personnel reshuffle.”

With that, he declared everything we had discussed and decided together in one go.

Suzuki is absorbed and grows huge in the spring of ’27, so it means a big change again in about three years.
And because the Great Depression was already factored in, for me it is proceeding as planned, of course it is the same for Father.

But again, a few hands go up. This time two, Ootori Mizuho of the Kou family, and again Uncle Zenkichi.
Because of her personality, Mizuho speaks first.

“The Kou family’s jurisdiction is a business that can never be enlarged no matter what, but I want you to promise not to neglect it.”

“What? We will expand it. Especially pharmaceuticals, I want to make it so big that in about half a century it can compete globally.”

“Huh?”

My words slip out before I can stop them, and not only Mizuho, but everyone in the Kou family reacts. No, they can’t help but react too. Kouryuu-sensei is the same.

“…Are you serious?”

“Completely serious. If we don’t use Kouryuu-sensei’s reputation to expand now, we won’t even be able to win in Japan, right? I’ll use it a lot. I’ve already reserved purchases. I sent the materials, didn’t I?”

“That was serious? Do you really think you can do it?”

“I’m serious. It’s not about whether we can do it or not, do it. I’ll supply everything except people.”

When I say it with a straight face, I am met with straight faces for a few seconds. Then those faces break all at once into smiles, and everyone laughs loudly again.

Mizuho-san looked every bit the formidable woman she appeared to be, and I couldn’t help but think she must really love a good laugh.

“Good, good. That’s exactly what we were hoping for. But don’t suddenly cut the funding for unprofitable departments, all right?”

“I won’t. At least while I still have authority, I won’t let that happen.”

“You’re very sure of yourself. But can it really become that profitable? I mean, even I have my doubts.”

“Right now, with Kouryuu-sensei’s new medicine, reputation, and value, this is the best possible time to expand. And in the future, say half a century from now, when medicines are traded globally, the pharmaceutical industry itself will become international, and research and development costs will skyrocket, making it grow even larger.
But Japan has too many small pharmaceutical companies lined up side by side, and they won’t be able to compete with the giant foreign corporations. So eventually, I want you to make it bigger, even if it means absorbing the others. For now, think of this as the preparation stage, the time to build the foundation. I’ll provide the funds, so please don’t be stingy with research and development costs.”

“Understood. So that’s the vision you saw in your dream, huh?”

“Yes. Sorry that it’s a bit vague, though.”

“No, it’s quite a fine vision. If that’s what you see, and you’re even willing to put up a fortune far beyond anything we’ve seen before, then I’ve got no complaints.”

After saying that, she leaned back heavily in her chair. For me, it was a relief that she understood so quickly. And it also made sense, after all, for a woman to effectively lead the Kou family, she had to be that capable.

Meanwhile, as soon as Mizuho-san quieted down, a timid “Um…” rose up. But I was no longer fooled by Uncle Zenkichi’s act of meekness.

Father already knew what he was getting at, so he simply made a short gesture to let him speak.

“What about the Ootori Fund?”

“Reiko.”

“Yes. I’ll leave it to Sebastian. He’s American, and up until now he’s practically been managing half of it anyway, so I’ll appoint him as the person in charge.”

“But with the unused portions combined with the gold, that’s over 400 million dollars in America alone, and more than 500 million including the rest. You’re fine with that?”

“I trust him. Besides, even if he were to waste it, it’s the heir’s money, so it wouldn’t affect the group, right?”

“Not directly. But the fact that the Ootori family holds 500 million dollars, even if only half of that rumor leaks outside, would still be an enormous weapon, especially within Japan. It also serves as undeniable proof that Ootori stands at the top of the entire group. And once things cool down, you’ll invest it again, won’t you?”

“Yes. I’ll let it sit for two or three years first, though.”

“What about short selling?”

“I really don’t want to be glared at by those people over there any more than I already have been. But if Uncle Zenkichi is willing to take the heat for me, then I can make it flashy, you know?”

“No, absolutely not, stop right there. If it were me, it wouldn’t just stop at my heart giving out. What I actually want to ask is whether the arrangement where the Fund is positioned above Holdings will remain the same, and what will happen to the money there.”

“In any case, within the next few years, we’ll use about eighty percent of what the Fund currently holds. The remaining twenty percent will be returned to stock investments in the U.S. once that’s done, so if things go well, the retained portion should double within ten years. Over there, we’ll probably use some leverage again too, so expect it to triple.”

“You’re still planning to increase it?”

“Money only has value when it’s put to use. So for the portion transferred to Holdings, please go ahead and use it freely without hesitation.”

“To hear the word ‘freely’ used about money, well, all right then, I’ll take you up on that. And what about the purchases themselves?”

He said that with a wry smile. Uncle Zenkichi’s wry smile was rare, but I imagined he was hardly ever told to actually use money. It might even have been the first time I’d said it myself.

And if we’re talking about actually using it, I’m on an entirely different level.

“Some of it will start in about six months, but the main focus is two or three years from now.”

“That means by then, U.S. stocks and the economy will be in the worst possible state. Reiko-chan, you really are quite the merchant.”

“I want to buy as much as I can, even a little at a time. Besides, I don’t want to miss any opportunity to make them happy over there.”

“Fair enough. Then let us know in sequence when you’ll make purchases. We’ll prepare the receiving side on this end.”

Her answer came with a full smile, and Uncle Zenkichi’s words were reassuring. His expression was far from the weak one he often showed.
So I could only bow my head.

“Thank you very much.”

“Hey, Reiko, can you say ‘thank you’ to me too? You’re going to expand the factories, right?”

Torasaburou, who had apparently been waiting for his turn to speak with Uncle Zenkichi, raised his voice. Indeed, overseeing the large steel mills, oil refineries, car factories, and various other factories from above was Torasaburou’s responsibility.

“Yeah. Torasaburou, I’m counting on you. Some of the construction has already started, and I think it will go full-scale around next year. Japan is supposed to enter a major recession, so it should be easier to gather workers.”

“You’ve thought that far ahead, huh. But building factories and producing goods is one thing, will they actually sell?”

Torasaburou tilted his head, arms crossed.

Up until now, Japan’s economy has been reasonably good, but if we expect a recession from here on, that concern makes sense.
But I know what’s coming.

“In a few years, the government will likely shift heavily to an active fiscal policy, and with donations from Ootori, public works will expand significantly, so it’ll be fine.”

“And on top of that, since money will be distributed mainly among employees, there’ll be at least some buyers, right?”

“The effect of the money we distribute ourselves will be limited, so we’re really counting on Japan-wide economic expansion policies. But since things are going to grow big, we’ll expand Ootori’s size while the other zaibatsu hesitate.”

“I’ve heard that plan before. But will it really go that smoothly?”

Torasaburou was surprisingly timid. So I decided to answer like this:

“If it won’t go, we’ll make it go!”

Partly, it was to encourage my slightly hesitant self, but saying it so decisively is exactly what a young lady of our standing should do.