Chapter 176 – Secret Conversations Before Departure

February 3rd, 1931.
On that easy-to-remember day, my great-grandfather, Ootori Souichirō, departed for the heights.

He lasted longer than the doctor had predicted, and in the end, his passing was a quiet one, slipping away as he slept.

From New Year’s until late January, when he finally lost consciousness, my grandfather and anyone whom Great-Grandfather wished to see were summoned whenever his condition allowed him to speak.

It didn’t matter whether they were from the Sou branch or the Kou branch of the family. Adults or children, there were no exceptions. Even Uncle Genji, who had been excluded from the succession struggle, and an aunt I knew only by name because she had been effectively kept under house arrest, were called to his side.

Beyond the family, people at the core of the zaibatsu and figures from the political and