Tokyo, 1991: Starting as a bank clerk.

On one side of the long table, documents were piled high, and several diagrams of guarantee relationships were spread out on the table, their edges slightly curled up from being flipped.

Chihaya Yuri leaned against the sofa by the window, a dark gray coat draped over her shoulders. She was sleeping lightly, but her brow was still furrowed.

Masakazu Yamada was also sitting in a chair on the other side, sleeping peacefully.

Keiko Miyazawa subconsciously slowed her pace.

Kiryu Yaya glanced at her, and lowered his voice as well.

"Let them get some sleep first; there's still a lot to do later."

After he finished speaking, he pushed the three documents he had prepared to the center of the table and gestured for her to sit down.

Keiko Miyazawa walked over and sat down opposite him.

The three documents on the table each had a label of a different color attached.

The blue section contains the meeting briefing and draft confirmation from Sumitomo, the yellow section contains the financial summary of the Rokka Golf development, and the red section contains the suspicious pages that they compared overnight.

Kiryu Yaya's fingertips landed on the blue document at the top.

"To put it simply, Sumitomo is holding a briefing today on the extension of Rokko financing, but in reality, it's just going through the motions."

"The bank first sets the procedures, then defines the responsibilities. Once the procedures are written into the record according to their wishes, subsequent actions are carried out according to the record."

"So your most important task today is to disrupt this process and absolutely prevent Sumitomo Bank from approving Rokko Golf's loan renewal application."

"Otherwise, if the Miyazawa Group continues to bleed money, Mitsubishi Bank will also face a debt risk of 8 billion yen due to the financial support from Miyazawa Tourism."

"From this perspective, Mitsubishi Bank and the Miyazawa Group share the same interests."

Kiryu Yaya slowly explained the problems with this briefing:

"But Sumitomo Bank's interests are the opposite. Even if they know that Rokko is poorly managed and that Rokko has two sets of books, they will stand on Miyazawa Hara's side, considering the possibility that the Miyazawa Group will provide financial support to Rokko."

"So, what you're going to fight today is an unprecedentedly tough battle."

The key points are as follows:

"First of all, we must never allow the meeting minutes to become 'Miyazawahara represents the Miyazawa family,' otherwise the subject will change and the subsequent statements will also change."

“You need to make them write it down clearly: the clan believes there are problems with the documents, and the clan refuses to sign them.”

“No matter how much pressure Miyazawahara and Sumitomo Bank put on us, we must keep this in mind.”

"If Rokuga doesn't die, the entire Miyazawa Group will."

Keiko Miyazawa looked at him and nodded gently.

"I've got it."

After Kiryu Yaya finished explaining the key points, he glanced at the time and began rehearsing with Miyazawa Keiko some potential issues that might arise at the upcoming briefing.

Soon, the scheduled time arrived.

……

Wednesday morning at 8:40.

Nakanoshima, in front of Sumitomo Bank Osaka Main Store.

The rain had stopped, but the sky remained overcast, making the entire bank building, constructed of red bricks and gray stones, appear particularly solemn in the weather.

Black cars come and go in front of the door, and employees in suits come and go. Even the gleam of the brass revolving door at the entrance carries an inhuman coldness.

Keiko Miyazawa got out of the car and let out a soft breath.

She turned around and looked at the dark blue Honda.

Masakazu Yamada, Yuri Chihaya, and Yaya Kiryu got off the train in turn.

As a counterparty to Sumitomo Bank, Mitsubishi Bank obviously couldn't just casually follow along when Sumitomo Bank held an important briefing.

Otherwise, that would be a blatant provocation.

So they could only accompany Keiko Miyazawa down the steps.

Masakazu Yamada straightened his tie and said in a low voice:

"Miss Miyazawa, remember what you've rehearsed. Don't let yourself be led astray."

"Yes."

Chihaya Yuri pulled a small slip of paper from her business card holder and handed it to her.

A pager number was written on it.

"This is the pager number."

Chihaya Yuri looked at her and spoke very quickly:

"If the situation inside gets out of control, just excuse yourself to go to the restroom and ask the Sumitomo front desk operator to call this number for you. Leave a message with the Sumitomo front desk operator number and 'urgent'. We will call you back within five minutes."

She paused, then added:

"Don't try to tough it out."

Keiko Miyazawa clenched the note in her palm and nodded gently.

"I see."

Kiryu Yaya stood at the back, carrying a black briefcase, his expression calm.

He didn't say a word, but just his presence was enough to reassure Keiko Miyazawa.

Keiko Miyazawa smiled at him:

"Go in."

Kiryu Yaya nodded:

"come on."

"it is good."

After saying that, she turned around and walked towards the entrance of Sumitomo Bank.

Sumitomo Bank Main Store, 7th Floor, Large Conference Room.

The moment the door was pushed open, Keiko Miyazawa paused almost imperceptibly.

There were more people than she had imagined.

At the head of the long table sat the deputy manager and auditor of the second business department of Sumitomo Bank's main branch, with the corporate business section chief and legal representative next to them.

On the other side sat several long-time directors of the Miyazawa Group.

Kamiya, Matsubara, Inoue, and a supervisor who rarely appears in public.

Miyazawa Hara sat among these people, as if the seat had been arranged for her long ago.

Keiko Miyazawa took a deep breath.

The situation was much more complicated than she had anticipated.

"Huizi, you're here."

Miyazawa Hara raised his head, his smile as gentle as ever:

"Please sit down, everyone is waiting for you."

The empty chair was at the other end of the long table, far from both the Sumitomo Bank staff and the Miyazawa Group's top executives, like a seat placed out for scrutiny.

Keiko Miyazawa walked over and sat down quietly.

Keep your back straight.

His hands were clasped together under the table, but his fingertips were already intertwined.

A Sumitomo Bank investigator spoke first, his tone polite but distant:

"Ms. Miyazawa, the main reason for inviting you here today is to make a final confirmation regarding the extension of the financing for the Rokko Golf Development Project."

"Unless there are major objections, Sumitomo hopes to reach an internal conclusion as soon as possible."

Keiko Miyazawa nodded.

"clear."

"Huizi."

But at that moment, Yutaro Kamiya, one of the most prestigious directors of the Miyazawa Group, spoke up.

He sat in the middle of the boardroom of the Miyazawa Group, his gray hair neatly combed back, and the deep wrinkles at the corners of his eyes looked as if they had been carved in with a knife, remaining perfectly still.

His expression appeared kind and amiable, but Miyazawa Keiko knew all too well that this pre-war figure, born in the Taisho era, would never give a woman like her a friendly look.

As expected, Yutaro Kamiya's opening remarks immediately put considerable pressure on Keiko Miyazawa:

"I'll be frank."

"Actually, we old folks weren't too happy about making a little girl like you the president, but we accepted it because of your father's request."

"I've heard about yesterday's internal briefing. We old guys can allow a girl to be president, but her existence must not hinder the group's development."

"Otherwise, we old guys would risk our lives to drag her down."

"Huizi, do you understand what I mean?"