Chapter 29 – The Family’s Reaction

“…It’s like Ootori is establishing a total war system in preparation for a crisis. No, it’s not like that—it actually is. This goes beyond surprising.”

My onii-sama, who sees too far ahead, immediately reached the answer.

He seems more suited to be a businessman than a soldier.
No, it’s simply that my onii-sama can do anything, which is why he reacts this way.

I thought Great-Uncle Torasaburou might hesitate because of his craftsman-like nature, but his eyes are gleaming, likely due to the heavy focus on the industrial sector.
As expected of someone trained in America.

And surprisingly—or perhaps not—Great-Uncle Zenkichi is listening very intently and even nodding from time to time.
His wife, Keiko’s sharp gaze doesn’t seem to faze him at all.

No, he’s probably just so engrossed he hasn’t even noticed it.

The ones looking around nervously are Uncle Genji and Great-Aunt Keiko.

But this is normal.
What’s abnormal are the adults of the Ootori family. 

Still, it’s not just Ootori—people who rise to the top of national institutions or conglomerates are all highly capable.
Even those who seemed unimpressive to me in my previous life when I saw them from behind a monitor were likely far more competent than I could ever be.

Even now, without the cheat-level intellect of a villainess, I probably wouldn’t have been able to understand any of this.
No, let’s not sugarcoat it—I absolutely wouldn’t have.

Also, many of the businesses that have been in operation since before my involvement were initiated or carried out by the first “Dreaming Miko.”

My great-grandfather once told me that, fundamentally, they were done in anticipation of World War I.
These projects have continued to this day, half out of inertia.

Because of that inertia, in some cases the funding or personnel has been cut back severely, but from my perspective, I’m just glad they haven’t completely stopped.

That’s why my role is to accelerate them—and improve them using my cheat-level knowledge of the future.

The plans I proposed based on that future knowledge were then adjusted into something more realistic, resulting in the current outline.

Still, unless a considerable amount of capital can be secured, many of these plans will be difficult to implement.
That’s why I originally intended to earn a bit more through the stock market before revealing everything to the family.

At the same time, perhaps we should aim for a more thorough expansion of production capacity in preparation for the devastating war to come.

However, even adopting the extreme national and production systems that “that” Nishida advocates wouldn’t be nearly enough.

If we were to truly prepare, we’d have to do things on the level of the Soviet Union, where firing squads and forced labor camps were the norm.
And within the Japanese Empire, even if we wanted to, we couldn’t do what the Soviets did.

Building such an extreme dictatorship in Japan is probably—no, definitely—impossible.

(This strengthening of the Ootori industries is, at its core, meant to prepare for a potential conflict with the Soviet Union. The United States isn’t even worth considering—it’s not just a one-in-a-million chance, it’s not even that. And the goal is, above all, to make the Ootori conglomerate achieve a great leap forward. Otherwise, there’s no way it would be accepted.)

As I drift off with a bit of resignation, Uncle Zenkichi once again raises his hand slightly.
He really doesn’t need to be that hesitant.

“Um, regarding the part that says, ‘We will promote the spread to other zaibatsu through RIKEN,’ wouldn’t that not benefit Ootori?”

“We’ll make sure it does. Well, if Ootori takes the lead, those who understand will naturally follow, so it might not even be necessary.”

“That’s true… but it seems like it’ll take quite a while before it becomes profitable.”

“That’s exactly why it’s a ten-year plan. And this is just the direction we’re heading in. We won’t take active steps until we secure more funding. Until then, I want you, Zenkichi, to take the lead in supporting Ootori. We’ll use the American stocks as collateral to raise a decent amount of capital right away, so hold the line.”

“If you can provide even a little amount of financial support, I will do it without fail.”

Through his exchange with Great-Grandfather, Uncle Zenkichi seemed to grow as a person—his presence, or rather his aura, felt stronger.
Even his atmosphere was a bit different than before.

(Maybe this person is also a scheming fox? Showing weakness to extract what he wants in the short term? Well, if that’s the case, then no wonder it’s impossible to run a zaibatsu, even as a mid-level player, without that kind of maneuvering.)

The discussion continued, but it seemed like my body was approaching its limit, as it was already quite late at night.

“Yawn…” 

I couldn’t suppress the yawn that had crept up.

“It seems like Reiko is nearing her limit. Tokita. Cough cough“

Grandfather Kiichirou, seeing me struggling, called out to Tokita, but I couldn’t help but notice his slight cough.
However, I didn’t think I could fight off the sleepiness.

“Father? Are you not feeling well?”

“Hmm? Oh, it’s just a summer cold. Now, Reiko, you should rest. Your body is still young, after all.”

“Okay, Tokita, let’s go.”

“Yes, Young Lady Reiko.”

With that, I left the family meeting.

 ・

 ・

 ・

In the late hours of that night, several men had gathered in a separate Japanese-style room.

“There wasn’t as much opposition as I thought there would be.”

“Well, for those hearing it for the first time, they didn’t know what to think or what would happen, right? I still don’t understand half of it myself.”

“I feel the same. Especially Genji-sama who seems to not fully understand.”

“Exactly. That good-for-nothing man.”

The retired Souichirou, the current head Kiichirou, and now Reiko’s butler Tokita.

As usual, Tokita served the meal, but since he became Reiko’s attendant, the role of serving had increasingly fallen to Haga, who holds a lower rank than Tokita.
However, since today was a secret meeting for these three, Souichirou’s butler Haga had excused himself.

“However, by making such a grand gesture, we’ve managed to almost obscure Reiko’s situation.”

“Well, today was just for showing our faces and establishing our positions. This will do. Tokita, I’m counting on you.”

“Leave it to me. I’ll do it even at the cost of my life.”

Tokita bowed deeply as he spoke, a gesture that was a model of how one should behave when serving a noble.

Kiichirou, however, waved his hand dismissively and purposely treated Tokita casually.

“Well, keep it moderate. That said, now that Ryuujiro and Kiichi are gone, we need Reiko to stand up as soon as possible. I won’t be around for long either.”

“Then, shall we begin selecting the retinue to support Reiko-sama?”

“No, it’s too soon. Like everyone else, she should start from elementary school. But, perhaps we should assign a teacher. She’s incredibly bright, but she still has many gaps.”

“She’s only five years old, dad. Well, even if they say she’s twenty, I wouldn’t doubt it other than her appearance. If you just look at what she’s doing, she really doesn’t seem any younger than Kiichi.”

“Indeed. Now that I think about it, Ayako is coming back.”

Souichirou suddenly changed the subject as if he had just remembered, but it was already well known when she would return—it was just a matter of setting the exact date.

By the way, Ayako was Kiichirou’s daughter, and she had married into another middle-class zaibatsu to establish a family connection, but after three years, she returned home.

“Ugh! How many years has it been since she got married? That girl.”

“Three years. However, it seems she caused various problems over there.”

“I know. Tantrums, extravagant spending, and on top of that, no heir. Well, since she’s being sent back, it was probably the right choice not to have children.”

“However, it’s unimaginable for someone to return after marriage. This loss is not insignificant.”

“I know, dad. I’ll take care of it, and Ayako will essentially be under house arrest. If she doesn’t accept it, I’ll make her a nun. …That said, I guess it’s my fault for being too lenient.”

Kiichirou Slightly lowered his head at the end of his words.

As a military man, he had the sharpness to feign being harmless and lazy after a certain point, and his personality was straightforward, including his mannerisms.
However, as an educator for children, he was a failure.

The late Kiichi was an anomaly, but Genji was mediocre in every way except for his excessive pride.

And now, as for Ayako, who was the topic of discussion, she had grown up to embody all the bad traits of a rich child, being given too much freedom as a girl.

Even so, she had successfully formed a family connection by sending a large sum of money, but her in-laws had reached their limit.

She had committed actions that could never be made public, including misdeeds and even crimes, so the Ootori family had no choice but to accept her return under the guise of illness recovery.

Her treatment had already been decided, and under the pretext of recovering from illness, she would be confined to the depths of Ootori Hospital, essentially under house arrest.

This place was situated deep in the mountains, adjacent to a tuberculosis sanatorium, making it a location from which it would be impossible for her to re-enter society.

“Well, I suppose it’s fortunate that it never became public. Still, losing two people in that earthquake really hurts.”

“Stop being so pessimistic. Cough cough.”

“Do you have a cold? Should I get you medicine or a doctor?”

“No, I’m fine. But it seems this summer cold is really lingering. If it gets worse, I’ll let you know.”

“Alright. I’ll inform the other servants as well.”

“Please do. Kiichirou’s already in his fifties. He’s not young anymore, so make sure you take care of him. I’ve only got a few years left, and if anything happens to Kiichirou on top of that, Ootori’s foundation will be shaken.”

“Don’t worry so much. Besides, I’m an army officer, you know. I’m trained differently. Cough cough.”

The conversation between the three continued, interspersed with drinks, but Kiichirou’s occasional slight coughing never stopped.

And it never changed after that.