Iruma, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.
8:43 p.m. 1st July, 1092.
A middle-aged maid warily looked at the Full-Dive Capsule before her. The miss did not appreciate being disturbed while she was gaming, but this was an urgent issue. As such, she did not hesitate to push the 'Summon' button on the capsule. That sent a message to the gamer, requesting them to logout. There was a more severe, 'eject' option, but she did not have enough lives to risk pushing that button.
Five minutes later, the Full-Dive Capsule's lid slid open with a low hiss, revealing, Adachi Ayumi in a sports bra and shorts. The young woman's eyes opened and then swiveled to see the waiting maid. "Ah. Mrs Tokoyami. I trust my father is home?"
"Yes, miss. He is."
"He wants to see me, does he not?"
Mrs. Tokoyami nodded. "Miss, your father requests your presence. He awaits you in his study."
"Study, is it?" Ayumi sat up and then walked out of the capsule. "He changed the location. This must be serious." She took off her clothes and then walked into the shower. The cold water chilled her skin, momentarily letting her forget all her obligations. "Did something happen recently? While I was in school, or in the game?"
"I'm not certain, miss." Mrs. Tokoyami thought back to the past couple of days. "Master Adachi has been leaving the house more frequently lately. But nothing else major."
"Hmm? No visitors?"
"AH!" Mrs. Tokoyami's eyes went wide in shock! "There was one! A blonde foreigner came to visit the other day. Two days ago, I think it was."
"Blonde?"
"Yes. He didn't spend too long, so I almost forgot." Mrs. Tokoyami shivered as she recalled the scene. "I have never seen Master Adachi so angry. He seemed like he would kill that man if he had the chance."
Ayumi frowned. "Blonde man." She recalled how Suzuki complained about a blonde man at Genaco. Always called him a blonde idiot or gold devil, amongst countless other creative insults. That's right... If she recalled correctly, his name was, "...Shouyou James?"
"Shouyou!" Mrs. Tokoyami clapped with delight. "That's it! His name was Shouyou! Master Adachi called his name when he shouted him out of the compound."
"Father shouted?" Ayumi dried her body with a towel as she stepped out of the toilet. She regarded Mrs. Tokoyami with disbelief. "Are you certain? I have never seen him raise his voice."
Mrs. Tokoyami patted her chest and heavily sighed. "I know. It gave me quite the fright."
"Hmm..." Ayumi thought about her father's strange actions. Shouyou James. Did he have something to do with Suzuki's disappearance? No, it was almost certain that he played a part. After all, Shouyou only showed up after her father agreed to search for Suzuki. He must have rustled the right feathers to draw this man out of hiding.
'But why would Father get into a heated argument with this James? It's not like him to lose his temper.'
Ayumi needed to get to the bottom of this. Thankfully, she had already been summoned. She would use this opportunity to gain some answers. Having made up her mind, she quickly got dressed in a formal shirt, and loose, black pants. Her father's study was something of a business room. Whenever he summoned Ayumi there, it was for serious negotiations, beyond the simple boundaries of a father and daughter. 'Well, not that we've ever been that.'
"This is good." Ayumi tied her hair in a bun, eyes steely with determination. "I needed to talk to Father anyway."
Mrs. Tokoyami's eyes widened. "You don't mean?"
"Yes." Ayumi ejected a thumb drive from the capsule and then fixed Mrs. Tokoyami with a firm gaze. "I've completed the feasibility report. Not only is it doable, but it should yield immense profits. I just have to convince Father."
Mrs. Tokoyami's eyes watered as she looked at the young woman's powerful gaze. She could not help but recall a slightly older woman, with similar features, who once said the same words to her, except with a little twist. "Don't worry, Naan. I'm gonna convince that blockhead to marry me! My 5-point plan's perfect!"
Ayumi looked at Mrs. Tokoyami with a raised brow. "You're crying for no reason, again."
Mrs. Tokoyami chuckled. "At my age, you cannot control several parts of your body."
"Eww." Ayumi jokingly scrunched her nose and then dashed out of the room. She, however, tossed over her shoulder before the door shut. "Too much information!"
Mrs. Tokoyami's smile dimmed a little when the door closed. Sighing, she muttered under her breath. "She still has a little of you in her. I wish she didn't inherit so much from her father. Oh, my. What am I saying?" Shaking her head, the old maid resolved to punish herself with cleaning. She made to leave the room but then noticed a picture frame slightly unbalanced on the wall. "Here we go." She fixed the frame and then nodded. "Cleaning complete. Punishment completed."
What? She said she would clean. She never said what room she would. Every maid in the house longed to be on rotation for Ayumi's room. It was always spotless!
Mrs. Tokoyami hummed a happy tune as she bounced out of the room.
Ayumi's expression turned serious once she stepped into the hallway. Aside from when she greeted the maids, her face barely shifted. Such was the intensity of the battle she was about to face. Honestly, toying with the royals and ministers in L.N.E was a thousand times easier than requesting, even something as simple as a day off from her father.
Sophistry and promises were enough to sway most people in the world. Ayumi's father, however, only listened to cold, hard facts. Numbers. Irrefutable truths of the world. Any attempt to pick at that man's emotions would only end in embarrassment. Ayumi could not count how many men and women had come out weeping after a meeting with her father. His callousness was unmatched. Luckily, his eye for business was equally unmatched.
Ayumi walked across a garden, to a small wooden building resembling a gazebo. She walked up a small set of stairs and stopped in front of the tatami doors. The young woman took a deep breath, steeled her nerves, and then knocked.
Ku-Ku. Two short, rapid knocks. Simple, and effective. Her father's preferred knocking style.
"Come in." A deep voice called from within the room.
Ayumi swallowed hard. She reached out to the doors. 'Here we go.' Gruuu! She slid the doors open, and the shut them behind her shortly after. Normally, she would have her head down in her father's presence, but, as this was a negotiation, she walked in with her head held high, and a blank expression.
"Never show weakness. Do not let the opposite party know how you feel."
Her father... No, from now on, he was General Adachi. General Adachi's advice (spelled warning) played in Ayumi's head as she took in the study.
General Adachi was a well-learned man. This was evident in the study's layout. A dense collection of books occupied the circular building's walls. Small holographic clocks hung behind his desk, displaying the time regions of some strategic countries. A second holographic projector sat at the center of the room, for presentations.
General Adachi, dressed in a haori worn over a yukata sat behind a beautiful mahogany desk, his attention on a document in his hand.
"Good Evening, General Adachi." Ayumi humbly bowed and then fixed the general with a strong gaze. "I have arrived as per your summons. My apologies for the delay."
General Adachi looked up, startled by his daughter's tone. He then glanced around him and realized the reason. "At ease, Ayumi." The general removed his glasses, put down the documents, and then concentrated on his daughter. "This is not that kind of meeting. I need to meet a deadline, so I called you here."
Ayumi's gaze traveled to the sheaf of papers on the desk.
"Always give the other party your full attention. It is both the basic respect and protection afforded to yourself and the other person."
Ayumi looked at the general. "General Adachi, I am afraid I cannot do that."
"Oh?" General Adachi's gaze turned sharp. A vicious aura exuded from his body as he linked his fingers. "You must have a proposal? Go ahead. I will tell you what I have in mind, afterward."
Ayumi trembled internally, but she did not let her unease reach her face. "Yes, Sir." She presented the thumb drive and then pointed at the holographic projector. "May I?"
"You may."
Ayumi nodded and then slotted the thumb drive into the holo-projector. Moments later, a 3-D model of a beautiful grassy plain appeared.
"Live No Evil." General Adachi's gaze narrowed as he read the title floating over the field. "Is this what you want to talk about? More playing time?"
"No." Ayumi shook her head. "Not exactly, anyway." The image flipped to that of a beautiful golden building on a long street. If Suzuki was here, he would have recognized the New Genesis Bank. "I want to request a loan of ten million dollars. I have found a venture worth investing in."
"Be firm and explicit in your demands or requests. Leave no room for guesswork or doubt, except on purpose."
"Ten million dollars!?" A terrifying aura burst out of the general. His eyes, hot with rage, glared at his daughter. "What did I tell you about requesting loans?"
"Always make sure you have more than sufficient collateral, so even a loss will not utterly destroy you."
"So, you know." General Adachi glared at Ayumi. "Do you have ten million dollars? Or its sufficient in collateral?"
Ayumi shook her head. "Naturally, I do not have that kind of money. If I did, I would not require your aid."
"Then—"
"But I do have sufficient collateral." Ayumi's gaze hardened. "Something worth more than ten million dollars."
General Adachi observed the young woman's expression. She did not appear to be bluffing. Did she really have such collateral? How, and when did she acquire this asset? "What is it?"
"My future."
"What?"
"My future." Ayumi reiterated. She looked into the general's eyes which seemed to say, 'What the hell are you talking about?' She knew he was giving her a chance to explain herself before he shut down this interview. "The future you want for me. If I am unable to pay you back, I will live the life you want. I will join the company when I graduate and marry the man you choose to secure our business and future." Ayumi's gaze did not waver as she continued, "You know my worth. If I join the company, I will, at the very least, double its growth. If I marry strategically, the company's net worth might even contend with the top three in Japan. That should be worth more than ten million dollars, do you not agree?"
There was no point arguing with sappy things like 'I will be a good girl, daddy.' The man before Ayumi did not react to those kinds of platitudes. However, numbers were a stat he could react too.
Ayumi's stats were the best. Every business General Adachi had put under her care rapidly blossomed. Because of child-labor laws, he could not officially hire her in a full-time capacity, but, she had more than excelled during limited internships. There were many teams in the company that requested she return in a managerial capacity once she graduated.
Unfortunately, in her fourth year of High School, Ayumi suddenly declared she would not join the company upon graduation. Instead, she declared she would find her own path, and look for a project she wanted to grow, even if it had to be from scratch.
This decision troubled the general greatly. To make matters worse, he had reached an agreement with Ayumi, stating that he would not interfere with her choices once she graduated, as she could then be considered an adult.
The General was not one to break his agreement. Not even if the result was not in his favor.
General Adachi examined his daughter's expression. She was confident. This was not a Hail-Mary approach. She had carefully considered the pros and cons before coming forward with this proposal. "This project. I assume it is the one you have chosen to grow?"
"Yes."
"I thought you decided to do so from scratch. Why did you change your mind?"
"You were the one who taught me that only a fool refuses to use the resources available to him." Ayumi looked into her father's stern eyes. As expected, she could not glean any reaction. It was impossible to read this man. "Pride is useless. You are a valuable monetary resource. I intend to utilize you to the full extent."
"And, what is your contingency in the event I refuse? Your collateral has no value to a bank."
'You never make anything easy.' Ayumi maintained a neutral expression despite her rising anger. "Then I will start from scratch. I have saved a million dollars over the years. I shall invest that instead. My profit margin will not be as large, and there is a much larger risk starting with a smaller figure, but it will be enough."
"Ho. You have already calculated the risk and profit margins." General Adachi shut his eyes. The room fell to dead silence.
Du-Du! Du-Du!
Ayumi's heart pounded in her ears. This was it. If she could not pass this first gate, then it was all over. General Adachi rarely entertained the same proposal twice.
Moments later, General Adachi opened his eyes. His steely gaze remained neutral as his lips moved, "Let me see what you have. I will decide afterward."
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