The strongest high school student in Japan

"If you have anything to say to Asana, please say it now. It's getting late and Asana needs to rest."

"That's right, it's indeed getting late." Mogami Sayuki nodded, then looked at Asana again, her expression becoming serious, "Asana, Jun has already told you so much, you should have understood your current situation and have made a choice. I'm glad that you have the courage to face reality and not give in, but this ambition alone is not enough. If you want to get through this difficult time, you have to act calmly. Don't think that with our help, everything will be fine. On the contrary, everything has just begun. I hope you can be mentally prepared."

"Thank you for your teachings. I will keep them in mind." Chaonai replied solemnly, "Don't worry, I know what I am doing, I know the price I am paying, and I know the weight of these determinations..."

"Good boy." Mogami Sayuki nodded approvingly.

Then, she changed her tone to a gentle one, "I know all of this is a little hard for you to accept. No one is willing to find evidence of your parents' guilt, so you can stay out of it and wait for us to get everything done..."

"No... No." Asana shook her head without any hesitation. "It's too cunning to leave everything to others and stay out of it. Now that I have made the decision, I must face everything and pay the price myself. I ask you not to hide anything from me and tell me everything you find out. At this point, there is nothing I can't bear..."

"Wow... so impressive! Aren't you ready?" Mogami Sayuki opened her eyes wide and couldn't help but admire, "Asana, you are stronger than I thought... Your mother really underestimated you."

In fact, Asana insisted on participating in it. Besides the reason that "she had to face everything by herself", she was probably also afraid that everything was out of her control. However, even if Mogami Sayuki saw it, she would not expose it.

Who wants to see their family ruined? It's understandable.

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Then, Mogami Sayuki looked at Mogami Jun and said, "Son, did you hear me? From now on, you must inform Asana of any progress. Don't hide anything!"

"I understand, Mom." Mogami Jun quickly nodded and agreed, "I won't hide anything anymore."

"That's more like it..." Mogami Sayuki smiled with satisfaction, "Asana, I have one last thing to tell you."

"Please go ahead." Asana immediately pretended to listen attentively.

"We help you without asking for anything in return, but no matter what, we are also doing something beyond our responsibility, which requires the use of a lot of social resources. For us, asking others to help us comes at a price. For a child like you, you may not quite understand what "social resources" means, so I won't explain it in detail. To put it simply, it is money - this is something that even a young lady like you should be able to understand."

Mogami Sayuki looked at Asana and spoke word by word, "What I mean is that Jun can help you unconditionally, but our family can't. You have to pay all our expenses for this matter in full, not a penny less, but I won't ask for a penny more. If you can't come up with that much money for the time being, then you can owe the debt first, and we will settle the interest and pay it within a time limit. This amount of money must be a lot, but it will definitely not be a huge amount for you who will be able to inherit the estate in the future, and you can pay it easily. See, I have made it clear enough, right? If there is anything you don't understand, you can ask again."

Asana opened her mouth slightly and looked at Aunt Mogami who had been so friendly just now. She didn't expect that this aunt would suddenly ask her for money.

Not only Asana, but even Mogami Jun was shocked, because their mother had never told them about this plan.

But since his mother had already said it, Jun Mogami couldn't change anything. He could only look at Asana and wait for her answer.

After a while, Asana finally reacted and nodded again.

"Well, I understand! Auntie, no matter how much money your family spends to help me, I will pay for all the expenses. I am responsible for my own decisions and pay for myself... This is what I should do."

"Very good, Asana, you really understand things." Mogami Sayuki laughed again, "Then we have reached an agreement!"

Then, she waved her hand and said, "Okay, Asana, you guys can go back. You can continue walking the same way as before!"

When she heard “you walked like that just now”, Asana’s face immediately turned red again, and she lowered her head, not daring to speak.

"Jun, goodbye..." After a moment, she finally said goodbye to Jun Mogami in a soft voice.

Then, she lowered her head and slowly walked towards the school gate, and Mogami Jun watched her back blend into the darkness.

"You must be wondering why I would ruin your mood at such a great moment, right?" Mogami Sayuki suddenly asked.

"It's a bit strange." Mogami Jun nodded, "Mom, you're not that money-conscious. Even if you want a reward, there's no need to tell me now."

"This is all for your own good..." Mogami Sakura smiled bitterly.

"Huh?" Mogami Jun didn't understand.

"If we do everything for others unconditionally, people might think that everything in the world is prepared for them and everyone will revolve around them, which goes against our original intention."

"Asana is not that kind of person." Mogami Jun shook his head. "I can be sure of that."

"I know she is not, but even so we have to make things clear to prevent this from really happening." Mogami Sayuki smiled slightly.

"You still underestimate a young lady. No matter how modest and simple Asana is, she was essentially taken care of and flattered by others since she was a child. She respects others only because others taught her to do so, not because she has to. Didn't she just scold you? Peel off the appearance, a young lady is still a young lady after all..."

When it comes to what happened just now, Mogami Jun is a little embarrassed, so he doesn't know what to say. After hearing what his mother said, he also thinks that her approach makes some sense.

But to be honest, Asana is also cute when she loses her temper...

"Don't get me wrong, I like Asana very much and am willing to help her, but we can't just be tools for others, right?" Mogami Sayuki suddenly reached out and patted her son's head. "Besides, you two are just interacting normally, so don't make it into a benefactor-repaying-a-favor drama. Isn't it enough that Sagihara repays you?"

"Mom..." Mogami Jun was even more embarrassed, "These are two different things."

"It's essentially the same thing." Mogami Sayuki pulled his ear, "I really gave birth to a bad thing."

Then she laughed again, loosened her hand, and walked back to her car with her son.

The car soon roared again and sped back along the way it came.

256, fake

It was not until the early hours of the morning that Jun Mogami and his mother returned to his rented apartment.

Because he was really sleepy, Jun Mogami just washed up quickly, lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

It was not until the next morning that he opened his eyes again.

The holiday has passed and a new day has arrived.

It's time to go to school.

The boy, who had regained his energy and looked refreshed, walked towards the school along the familiar road in the dazzling sunlight.

However, on the way to school, Jun Mogami suddenly received a call from his senior.

"Junjun, I have found some clues." After the call was connected, Sagihara Shion said immediately.

The information was very simple, but it suddenly cheered up Jun Mogami.

Wow, so fast!

Senior Sagihara is so efficient... How much effort did she put into this matter?

While feeling happy, Jun Mogami suddenly felt a little guilty.

"Senior, how did you find it?"

This was actually a difficulty that troubled him.

When the Izumo family sells artworks, they certainly won't do so in a high-profile manner, especially when they are selling fakes, they will be even more cautious, and therefore rarely reveal the news in public - otherwise, the Izumo family would have been caught by someone over the years, and they wouldn't have survived until now.

"Actually...actually I don't have any magical methods. I can only look for a needle in a haystack..." Sagihara Shion smiled bitterly, "Old newspapers, news, and collection magazines. Also, the collections sold by the Izumo family were once sold publicly at an auction house, so I collected some information about the auction house, but I definitely can't find any non-public information."

"No, even so, it's already good enough." Mogami Jun replied, "Senior, you've been a great help. Please send me the information."

He was not just comforting the senior with empty words, but senior Sagihara really found an important clue for him, or in other words, the pulling thread of the maze.

As long as we can find the real information of several buyers and the provenance of the auction house, we can find other works from these buyers or auction houses that were mortgaged to the bank. The bank will definitely have detailed records of these things (in other words, even if the artworks that have not been mortgaged to the bank are fakes, they are meaningless to him).

Then, by following the clues, you can find the suspicious works.

Of course, that would require cooperation within the bank, and that would have to rely on my grandfather's power.

"Okay, I'll take a photo of the information and send it to you..." Seeing that she was helpful, Sagihara Shion was obviously relieved.

After hanging up the phone, Jun Mogami looked relaxed, and even his steps became much lighter.

He raised his head and glanced at the dazzling sun in the sky.

This guy is so bright today, he must be encouraging me, right?

Okay, let’s start today’s battle!

Jun Mogami walked into the school with a smile on his face.

............................................................

At night, Jun Mogami dragged his tired body back to his rented house.

He had no intention of listening to the class today, and his whole mind was focused on the battle.

In the evening, his grandfather had already given him a response, or to be more precise, an electronic list.

The list contained about a dozen detailed information items, all of which were mortgaged artworks in the bank's safe.

These works may not necessarily be fakes, and may not even be things sold by the Izumo family, but even so, Jun Mogami is quite satisfied with today's results.

Yet he couldn't rest yet.

He still remembered that he had promised Asana something last night.

Now it's time to find Asana to confirm.

He didn't waste any time and called Asana directly.

"Jun?" Asana answered immediately. "What's going on?"

"My grandfather has found some suspicious artworks in a bank and made a list. He has now sent it to me. I'll pass it to you and ask you to help confirm it." Mogami Jun told her directly about the current situation.

"Okay, please send it to me." Asana agreed immediately.

Jun Mogami directly took out his mobile phone to take a photo and screenshot of the document, and then sent it out via email.

"This is just the beginning. I'm not sure about the authenticity of these artworks and they need to be carefully verified." Mogami Jun added something else.

Asana fell into a brief silence, probably looking through the list.

"'Camille Monet in a Japanese Kimono'...Are you sure this painting exists?" Asana suddenly asked.

Jun Mogami looked at the list again and nodded in confirmation.

“Yes, there is such a painting.”

"Really? Are you sure?" Asana's tone became a little strange.

"My grandpa wouldn't joke about this, would he?" Mogami Jun was a little amused.

But soon he couldn't laugh anymore and he came to his senses.

"Asana, are you saying that there might be something wrong with this painting...? Then... I'll have someone secretly identify it."

"No, there's no need for identification. I can be sure... I can be sure that the one in the bank is a fake." Asana answered in a strange tone in silence.

This tone contained so much sadness, grief, and melancholy that Jun Mogami didn't know how to respond for a moment.

"Why... don't you need an appraisal?" After a long time, Mogami Jun finally asked.

Another moment of silence.

Then, heavy breathing sounds were heard over the phone.

"Because... because this painting is still in my house!" Asana suddenly shouted, "It's something that means a lot to my mother, she... she won't really sell it."

"Ah? Important significance?" Mogami Jun was even more confused.

"This is quite a long story..." Asana sighed.

"It's okay, I have time now, please tell me a story." Jun Mogami replied with a smile.

"This painting has a lot to do with my mother's family, the Matsukata clan." Asana sorted out his thoughts and continued, "To be precise, it should be Matsukata Kojiro, the younger brother of my great-great-grandfather Matsukata Iwa..."

Then, Asana began to carefully explain the story of that year to Jun Mogami.

Matsukata Masayoshi, a veteran of the Meiji Restoration and the Imperial Duke, had many children. His eldest son, Matsukata Iwao, later inherited the title of Duke and became the direct heir. His descendant Matsukata Shizuka also married into the Izumo family and gave birth to Asana.

Matsukata Masayoshi's third son was named Matsukata Kojiro.

Mr. Matsukata Kojiro studied in the United States and France since he was a child, and received a doctorate in civil law from Yale University. He returned to Japan in 1890. After returning to Japan, he became his father's secretary. Under his father's protection, he was very successful in the financial and industrial circles at that time, and later became the president of Kawasaki Shipyard in Japan.

Because his father sent him to study in the United States when he was young, he also had a strong interest in Western culture and art.

With money and interest, it was natural for him to start collecting art.

Matsukata Kojiro claimed that he was a layman in art, but he wanted to buy the most precious works of art back to Japan so that young Japanese people who could not afford to go to Europe could appreciate the original works of famous paintings up close, so he began to buy art with his personal wealth. Starting from 1916, for almost 10 years, Matsukata Kojiro lived in Paris, France, where he began to buy paintings, sculptures and other Western art works.

His main purchase targets are works by painters such as Van Gogh, Monet, and Renoir who are very popular among the Japanese.

In 1920, Matsukata Kojiro visited Monet, the greatest Impressionist painter of the time, and bought 18 of his paintings for a large sum of money. In 1923, after Monet's second cataract surgery, Matsukata Kojiro visited him again at his sickbed and bought several more paintings from him.

However, Matsukata Kojiro's fortune inevitably declined with the decline of the Matsukata family.

The financial panic of 1927 caused his brother, the then Duke Matsukata Iwao, to lose his title, and also dealt a heavy blow to his dream of collecting, leaving him close to bankruptcy.

Under the pressure of debt, the paintings stored in Japan were forced to be mortgaged, and to make matters worse, the artworks kept in the UK were burned in a warehouse fire. In the end, only about 400 pieces were kept in Paris.

Due to the war and other reasons, it was not until 1959 that the French government returned 370 works in Paris to Japan, including Monet's most classic painting "Water Lilies". However, 14 precious paintings by Monet, Van Gogh, Courbet, Cézanne and others are still kept in the French National Collection and have not been returned.

In the same year, the National Museum of Western Art of Japan was established, and all the returned paintings were collected in the museum. Matsukata Kojiro's original wish was realized - from then on, all young people in Japan who were interested in Western art could see the works of those top masters right at their doorstep.

However, the original owner, Kojiro Matsukata, did not live to see this day. He became an ordinary person from the son of a duke and died in 1950. When he died, Japan had just emerged from the shadow of defeat, and his family had long been in decline, so he did not receive much attention.

With his death, a piece of history was buried in the pile of old papers, and only a few people will remember it.

Matsukata Shizukata is probably one of them...