Tokyo, 1991: Starting as a bank clerk.

"At our store... a department head from Tokyo is coming down."

Masakazu Yamada frowned slightly.

"Head of the main store?"

"Yes. The General Affairs Department just received a notification that the people from Shin-Osaka have already gone to pick them up and will arrive at the branch in about five minutes."

The employee lowered his voice and added:

"It's said... it's because of the Miyazawa Group incident."

As soon as he finished speaking, the expressions of the group changed.

The manager of the Tokyo headquarters came to Osaka in person.

No one understands what this means better than they do.

This means that the case involving the Miyazawa Group has officially entered the head office level.

Where is the branch manager?

"The reception area is on the fifth floor. All the department heads and section chiefs have already gone up there."

Masakazu Yamada nodded and then turned around.

"Let's go up first."

The elevator went up all the way.

No one spoke in the cramped sedan chair.

Keiko Miyazawa stood at the very back, her hands gently gripping the straps of her handbag, looking somewhat nervous.

Fifth floor.

There were already quite a few people standing in the corridor outside the VIP area.

Kiyomasa Ogaki, head of the financing department; Tsuyoshi Iwakura of the debt management section; several department heads of the sales department; the head of the general affairs section; the head of the human resources section...

Almost all the middle and upper management of the branch were present.

The carpet was vacuumed again, and even the water in the vase on the wall was changed.

Branch Manager Takahiro Matsumoto stood at the front, his face calm, but his back ramrod straight.

The faint scent of sandalwood in the air was more pronounced than usual.

After a while, some people grew impatient and began to whisper among themselves:

"Which manager did our store send?"

"do not know."

"Is it from headquarters?"

"It's possible, it could be the sales and accounting department."

In the Bank of Japan, the head office manager is generally lower in rank than the branch manager, but the relationship between the two is similar to that between an important court official and a regional governor in ancient times.

The position of head office manager carries far more power than that of branch manager.

Just then, the elevator finally started going up.

The second floor.

Third floor.

Fourth floor.

Fifth floor!

The moment the elevator doors opened.

All eyes turned to that direction.

The people from the general affairs department were the first to appear.

Then came two secretaries from the main store who had accompanied them all the way from Shin-Osaka.

Finally, the figure came into everyone's view.

When he walked out, it was as if the air in the entire corridor had been invisibly lowered.

The next second, someone gasped softly.

"...How could it be him?"

"Which one?"

"No way……"

Upon seeing him, Kiryu Yaya's breath almost stopped.

At this moment, Keiko Miyazawa, who was standing to the side, noticed his reaction and seemed to suddenly realize something.

She suddenly looked at Kiryu Yaya, her heart filled with horror:

"and many more……"

"Could it be!?"

Chapter 66 Minister Furuta

The elevator doors dinged and slowly opened on the fifth floor.

Following the general affairs department and the store staff, the first to step out was a pair of gleaming black leather shoes.

Then, his full appearance was revealed to everyone.

He wasn't tall, nor was he particularly robust, but his face was rugged, with slightly protruding brow bones, a thick nose, and a hard jawline.

The nasolabial folds at the corners of his eyes don't droop downwards; instead, they spread outwards when he smiles, like a mask that's been worn for a long time, pressing out fixed lines on his face.

At first glance, he looks like the kind of important person who speaks eloquently at a conference table.

"Minister Furuta!"

Matsumoto Takahiro greeted him almost immediately, his smile brighter than the elevator lights.

Kouyuki adjusted his cuffs, glanced around the VIP area of ​​the Osaka branch, and chuckled softly, as if returning to an old haunt.

"Coming back here really feels like coming home."

"Of course!"

Takahiro Matsumoto immediately chimed in, his tone almost exaggeratedly enthusiastic:

"The Osaka branch will always be the manager's home. The foundation you laid here back then is still often mentioned by everyone."

That's a very flattering statement.

It's even gone a bit too far.

Kouyu Tianyan just smiled, neither humble nor denying, as if he was already used to others speaking to him in that tone.

Not far behind Matsumoto Takahiro, Kiryu Yaya stood there, his lips pressed tightly together.

He didn't speak.

Even his expression didn't change much.

In that instant, his fist clenched tightly, and blood gushed from his palm.

Kiryu Yaya certainly recognized that face.

At the age of seventeen, in the funeral corridor, the toilet door was pushed open the instant.

That's the face.

Beneath that rugged face lies an ever-gentle, ever-calm expression, capable of driving someone to their doom with ease.

He will never forget.

But times have changed.

The orphan who lost both his mother and father in one fell swoop became a new employee at Mitsubishi Bank.

Meanwhile, his father's killer stood in the brightly lit VIP area, dressed in a sharp suit, being greeted by the branch manager, surrounded by a crowd, and respectfully addressed as "Minister".

Kiryu Yaya wasn't angry; on the contrary, he felt quite calm.

Having lived two lives, he was already able to calmly handle all his emotions.

But just then, a slightly cool hand suddenly gently took his hand.

Kiryu Yaya's fingertips twitched slightly.

He turned his head to the side.

Keiko Miyazawa stood beside him, not looking at him, but simply holding his hand.

She didn't say anything.

Just show him through your actions

I'm here.