Chapter 33 – The Last New Year’s Party of the Taisho Era

The year Taisho 15 (1926) has begun.

At the clan’s New Year’s gathering, I drew little attention.
Since my position hasn’t been publicly announced beyond the inner circle of the family, only a few of those at the center looked at me like I was their mortal enemy.

And by a few, I mean Great-Aunt Keiko and Uncle Genji.
In the game, both of them are more or less opportunists who eventually betray the villainess and side with the protagonist.

Despite that, the fact that they’re already giving me such harsh looks while I’m still a little girl must be because my standing has been significantly strengthened compared to in the game.

In the game, there was the idea of using me as a pawn to save the Ootori family by marrying me off to another conglomerate, but now that the Ootori itself has become stronger, as the eldest daughter I’m nothing but an obstacle to them.

That said, I’m still just a little girl, so there’s no point in worrying about it.

More importantly, what mattered far more to me was that Ryuuya-oniisama and his children—Ryuichi-kun and Youko-chan—were by my side to protect me from those kinds of people.

“Mugyuu—Reiko-chan, I can’t breathe…”

Oops. I’d hugged her too tightly without thinking.

“Ah, sorry! You were just too cute, Youko-chan. Let’s go play over there.”

“Okay!”

“Ah, wait—Youko, Reiko! Hey, you guys as well.”

“Yees~”

“Y-yeah.”

Uncle Genji’s children, Gentarou-kun and Koshirou-kun, also played together with us kids and were actively around, but as an older sister, I couldn’t help but worry whether they’d get scolded later.

As for Great-Aunt Keiko and her adopted son, uncle Ryukichi, he has just recently gotten married and doesn’t yet have children yet(Which means great uncle Zenkichi does not have any grandchildren).
Their other two children are women, but they’re still unmarried and are looking for partners.

However, Great-Uncle Zenkichi’s family is considered outside the main branch of the clan, so unless nearly the entire clan is wiped out, it’s unlikely that control of the family would pass to this couple and their children.

Great-Uncle Zenkichi serving as interim leader was only possible because my father, Kiichirou, and Great-Uncle Ryuujirou died in the Great Kanto Earthquake.

However, Great-Aunt Keiko is aiming to take a leading position.

As for other children, they would be Great-Uncle Torasaburou’s kids.
They belong to the generation of our fathers, but since Great-Uncle Torasaburou married late, while he does have two sons and two daughters, all of them are in their teens. 

They’re a little older than me, so I just briefly exchanged greetings and left it at that.

Also, Great-Uncle Torasaburou’s family doesn’t appear much in the game since they are said to live in America.
Therefore, for me, it feels almost like it’s my first time meeting them.

Great-Uncle Torasaburou, during his training in America, found himself a wife and brought her back to Japan, so all of their children are mixed-race.
As a result, their skin tends to be closer to that of white people, and one of each gender has blonde hair.

Because of this, they seem to face significant struggles in group settings like schools in Japan during this time.
They all seem to be friendly and nice people, so I can’t help but feel a little sorry for them.

His wife, Jennifer, whom he married for love, is a beautiful woman with blonde hair and blue eyes who doesn’t seem to age.
It seems she may be from some prestigious American family or a wealthy conglomerate. 

This explains why they live in America in the game.

That aside, due to these circumstances, Great-Uncle Torasaburou’s family keeps a bit of distance from the core of the clan.
There’s a complicated state of both wariness of the American upper class and a sense of restraint in Japan, making things rather troublesome.

For this reason, Great-Uncle Zenkichi and Uncle Genji were seen as the ones to take charge of the next generation of Ootori after the Great Kanto Earthquake, but these two have a bad relationship with Great-Aunt Keiko. 

On top of that, an unexpected obstacle in the form of me is beginning to stand in their way.

(If, by any chance, my great-grandfather or grandfather were to fall ill or something else were to happen, the clan would likely collapse. No wonder things would end up as crazy as they do in the game.)

As I thought that, my eyes naturally drift toward one man.
There, at the center of the crowd, was someone who shouldn’t be there—or rather, someone who wouldn’t have been there until now.

It was Doctor Kouryuu.

In the past two years, he has developed a series of groundbreaking new drugs, gaining attention not just in Japan but around the world.
Because of that, even the Sou family, the head family, could no longer ignore him, despite him being from the Kou branch.

That said, it’s not that the Sou and Kou families are on bad terms.
It’s simply that a strict hierarchy exists between them. 

But in the Ootori family, once you earn prestige, even a reversal of the hierarchy is possible.

They understand that if they don’t allow talented individuals to flourish and only suppress those who stand out, then the prosperity of the family will remain nothing more than a pipe dream.

That’s why the Ootori family is proactive in educating, praising, and rewarding both members of the family and those loyal to it.

The reason my own status as a young girl has been secretly but significantly elevated is not just because I’m called the “Dreaming Miko,” but because I’ve actually achieved results thanks to that power.

Incidentally, one of the test subjects for Doctor Kouryuu’s new drug was none other than my grandfather and my father, Kiichirou, who volunteered himself.

Though the diagnosis indicated that his tuberculosis should have been far more severe, his body was apparently so strong that he was able to function normally.
He has been hospitalized since December, but it’s now just a matter of monitoring his recovery.

Although he’s spending this New Year’s in the hospital, there’s no need for him to retire from the military like we once feared.
A regular hospital stay has been enough. 

He’s even expected to return to duty in February.

And so, the story of my father/grandfather being hospitalized for tuberculosis but easily cured and discharged thanks to the new drug has apparently already begun to spread among the peerage, upper economic circles, and within the army.

It’s one of those “a blessing in disguise” situations, and the fact that the head of the Ootori Count family is also a Major General in the army has greatly helped raise the new drug’s profile.

But at the same time, it served as a reminder to me that no matter how strong someone is, illness can still bring them down.
And if not for the fact that my little hunch happened to be right, that Doctor Kouryuu was by my side, and that I happened to have conveniently cheat-like knowledge of the future, our family might have been in serious trouble.

I’m truly, deeply grateful to Doctor Kouryuu.

“What’s wrong, Reiko-chan?”

“Hmm? Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking, wow, we really have a lot of relatives.”

“We really do! But I love you the most, Reiko-chan!”

“Thank you, Youko-chan. You’re my number one too!”

The two of us hugged tightly at the same time.
And just as expected, the meddling bug barged in—physically trying to pull us apart.

“What! Youko! Isn’t your big brother your number one? And Reiko, you’re way too close!”

“Too bad!”

“N-no way…”

The other kids around us laughed innocently at Ryuichi’s pitiful expression and voice after Youko’s sharp retort.

I was one of them.

(Well, there’s no point in overthinking things right now.)

As I mingled with kids my own age and station, I simply became aware of how much I’d been overthinking.