Rebirth in Japan: The Heiress Who Conquered the World

After the voice died down, the financial director’s words stopped halfway.

His fingers resting on the edge of the documents paused, and then he pressed the page he had just turned back down onto the desktop.

Gondo also put down the flowchart in his hands, and the people on both sides of the long table who had been preparing to speak successively all looked toward the head seat.

Everyone’s gazes returned to Takahashi.

Takahashi’s chest still felt somewhat tight.

But after truly interrupting them, things seemed not as terrifying as imagined.

”We are currently discussing four matters all mixed together.”

Takahashi’s voice was not loud, but it was obviously much steadier.

He closed the original agenda, stood up, and walked over to the whiteboard on the side of the meeting room.

”If we just continue like this according to departmental order, in the end we will only get six independently valid opinions.”

Takahashi picked up a black marker and wrote the first line on the whiteboard.

Isomura’s proven abilities.

The second line.

Abilities that still need to be verified after taking office.

The third line is the institutional boundaries of the three commitments.

On the last line, he paused for a moment and wrote down the conditions under which conflicts occur between the two parties.

”Next, reorganise according to these four items.”

He turned around and looked at Saionji Masato.

”Mr. Masato, you are only responsible for the first and second items.”

”Facts that have already occurred during the campaign must have meeting records, public actions, or at least two mutually independent sources of personnel.”

”Speculations about the interior of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government should be listed separately and cannot be written as conclusions.”

Masato lowered his head and glanced at his notes.

”Form of delivery?”

”Schedule.”

Takahashi thought for a moment.

”Put evidence and counter-evidence behind each ability, and give me the first version before noon on Monday.”

”Understood.”

Masato picked up his fountain pen and noted down the deadline in the blank space of the agenda.

Takahashi then looked at Gondo and the financial head.

”As for the three commitments put forward by Isomura, we need to break them down separately.”

”For the thirty-day settlement, Executive Director Gondo, please define the starting point, the acceptance process, and possible delayed links.”

”The finance department will follow his process to mark after which node claims can be financed and who bears the risk.”

Gondo looked at the whiteboard.

”According to three situations: normal engineering, existence of additional projects, and acceptance disputes?”

”Correct.”

Takahashi nodded.

”Please include the worst-case scenario as well.”

”Do not just write ways to complete it; I need to know under what circumstances Isomura must admit that thirty days cannot be done.”

Gondo’s gaze lingered on his face for a moment, and then he picked up the flowchart.

”I will give it to you Monday afternoon.”

”Monday morning.”

After Takahashi blurted it out unconsciously, he himself paused for a fleeting moment.

Gondo looked up at him, and he stared straight back.

”Legal affairs and the Tokyo Metropolitan Affairs Office still need to use this flowchart.”

”If it is handed over in the afternoon, they can only wait another day.”

The meeting room was quiet for two seconds.

Gondo packed away the flowchart again.

”I will hand it over to you before eleven in the morning.”

”Thank you for your trouble.”

Takahashi turned to Sasaki again.

”The legal department will no longer evaluate the pros and cons of policies separately.”

”Please divide each measure into four categories: those the governor can directly promote, those requiring budget, those requiring regulations, and those that may touch upon administrative fairness.”

”What about the part where Saionji participates?”

Sasaki’s fingers pressed against the edge of the report.

”Mark it separately.”

Takahashi glanced at Satsuki, then pulled his gaze back.

”In particular, specify which conditions, if provided only to Saionji cooperative companies, would make Isomura violate his public commitments.”

Sasaki nodded.

”Does the dispute situation need to include media disclosure?”

”Includes.”

”Then we cannot just do legal opinions.”

”We also need to simulate Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly inquiries and resident lawsuits.”

”Please complete it together with the Tokyo Metropolitan Affairs Office.”

The counsellor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Affairs Office directly opened his schedule book this time.

”Tuesday morning?”

Takahashi looked at the order on the whiteboard.

”Give the risk catalog first on Monday evening, and the complete version can be ready on Tuesday morning.”

”Can do.”

Takahashi finally looked at Maki.

Maki had been quietly observing him.

That gaze was even more nerve-wracking than any of the previous follow-up questions.

She had probably seen long ago that the meeting was losing its direction, yet she finished presenting all her opinions until Takahashi discovered the problem himself.

”Miss Maki.”

”Mm.”

”Please be responsible for unifying the evidence standards and final format.”

Maki picked up a red and blue pencil and twirled it between her fingers.

”What if the premises submitted by various departments conflict with each other?”

”Keep the conflicts.”

Takahashi walked back to the head seat.

”Do not choose a better-looking answer for them.”

”I want to see under what premises the same policy is established, and under what premises it will fail.”

Maki’s pen tip landed on the paper.

”Then, the final document will not be short.”

”The final document can be long.”

Takahashi pulled out his chair, but did not sit down immediately.

”But the conclusion can only be one page.”

Maki looked at him, a very slight arc appearing at the corners of her mouth.

”Understood, Mr. Takahashi.”

After the meeting restarted, the atmosphere around the table had changed.

Gondo no longer explained the complete engineering process from the beginning, but only confirmed the dividing points of the three situations.

The financial head directly marked the position where banks could intervene next to the flowchart.

Sasaki and the Tokyo Metropolitan Affairs Office began discussing which measure must be publicly applicable to all contracting companies, and Masato mapped the campaign actions one by one to their evidence sources.

When someone encountered a place with an unclear scope, their gaze also began to fall on Takahashi.

”Mr. Takahashi, does Isomura rejecting individual projects proposed by Saionji count as a conflict?”

”It depends on the reason for rejection.”

Takahashi turned to the last page of the report.

”If the project itself harms administrative fairness, the refusal instead proves that the cooperation boundary between the two parties is still valid.”

”Then how is political independence confirmed?”

”First look at whether he is willing to change the plan provided by Saionji into public rules.”

”What if, after the rules are made public, competing companies can also use them?”

”Then accept it.”

After Takahashi finished speaking, his pen tip paused on the paper for a moment.

After this sentence was spoken, the originally scattered judgments in his mind suddenly connected together.

He raised his head and looked at Satsuki.

”I think I can give a conclusion.”

The people around the table successively stopped the actions in their hands.

Satsuki put her teacup back on the saucer and looked up at him.

”Go ahead.”

Takahashi straightened his posture.

”Mr. Isomura has proven three abilities.”

”He is able to understand the practical role of professional policies, and can also complete coordination among the campaign team, industry organisations, and supporters.”

”More importantly, he can transform complex mechanisms into commitments that the public can understand, and is willing to bear political responsibility for those commitments.”

”But all this evidence comes entirely from the campaign stage.”

Takahashi’s gaze swept over the second line on the whiteboard.

”Whether he can command the bureaucrats of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, whether he can make the Construction Bureau, Finance Bureau, and Audit Department act according to the same deadline, and whether he can obtain budget and regulatory support under the resistance of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly are all currently unconfirmed.”

”Therefore, policy understanding, campaign coordination, and public communication can be written into the conclusion.”

”Administrative execution ability still has to wait until after he takes office to be verified.”

Satsuki gently nodded.

”What about conflicts?”

Takahashi was silent for a moment.

Ten days ago, Satsuki had him investigate under what circumstances Isomura would go against Saionji.

At that time, he had always understood ”going against” as changes in interests, factional pressure, or political betrayal.

Now he finally realised that the truly dangerous part was much simpler.

Saionji was certainly not some well-behaved model entrepreneur.

”When the demands put forward by Saionji harm his public commitments, administrative fairness, or political independence.”

Takahashi met Satsuki’s gaze.

”Mr. Isomura will conflict with Saionji.”

”If Saionji demands that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government shorten the billing period only for group cooperative companies, allow only designated banks to participate in financing, or obtain priority for public projects on the grounds of supporting the election, he should refuse.”

”Even if temporarily accepted, he will distance himself again under the pressure of the media, the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, and the bureaucrats.”

”The premise for long-term cooperation between the two parties is that the methods provided by Saionji can be turned into public systems.”

”Saionji can design first, invest first, and bear the pilot risks first, but once the rules enter the Tokyo metropolitan administration, other eligible enterprises must be allowed to use them.”

The meeting room fell quiet.

After Takahashi finished the last sentence, his heart instead became much calmer.

This conclusion did not curry favour with Saionji.

It meant that after the group invested resources to support Isomura, it still could not monopolise the policy benefits.

It also meant that the future new governor would very likely refuse Satsuki to her face one day.

But if he did not even dare to speak such a conclusion, sitting in this position had no meaning.

Satsuki looked at him for a moment, reached out, and pulled out another light grey folder from under the documents.

Chizuru took the folder and placed the few pages of paper inside in front of everyone respectively.

Takahashi looked down.

A clause regarding the thirty-day settlement in the original draft was crossed out with a red pen.

The original phrasing was:

Priority participation in the pilot test by financial institutions cooperating with the Saionji Group and designated construction companies.

The modified text became:

Voluntary application to participate in the public pilot test by financial institutions and contracting business operators that meet capital, review, and information disclosure standards.

A restriction was also added to the accounts receivable financing section.

No enterprise may obtain priority review, credit guarantee, or public engineering contracting qualifications due to providing support to the governor, political parties, or specific political groups.

Takahashi looked at those lines of red text.

The modification marks on the paper were still very new, and in some places, even the discussion opinions written on the margins by members of the transition team were preserved.

Isomura had already taken action.

Before officially entering the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, he first turned the winning tool prepared for him by Saionji into a system that Saionji could not monopolise.

Takahashi suddenly remembered the television footage from ten days ago.

Isomura stood in front of the microphone wearing a huge red flower, repeatedly mentioning responsibility, employment, and Tokyo residents.

At that time, Takahashi was still pondering how much of these words belonged to campaign language.

Now, the first boundary had landed on paper.

Satsuki leaned back against her chair.

”This draft has not yet been announced to the outside world.”

Her tone was very relaxed.

”Mr. Isomura probably thought that Saionji would be a little unhappy after seeing it.”

Takahashi raised his head somewhat unexpectedly.

”Do you not mind?”

”Why mind?”

Satsuki glanced at the modified clause.

”Rules that can be used by others have a chance to stay longer.”

”What is more, the first batch of banks, construction companies, and information systems that can meet the conditions originally came largely from Saionji.”

Her eyes curved slightly.

”Senior Takahashi’s judgment has passed.”

The nameplate in front of the head seat with Takahashi’s name written on it was still quietly standing on the desktop at this moment.

When he first walked in, he felt that nameplate was like something temporarily lent to him.

Now, it still belonged to the authority granted by Satsuki.

Yet the six people beside the conference table were already waiting for him to arrange the next step.

This change was very small.

A formal title would not be added to the group roster because of this.

Yet for the first time, Takahashi felt that he had truly stepped into ”before the formation of decisions”.

Satsuki took a new task paper from Chizuru and pushed it across the table in front of him.

”The second task.”

”Please design the execution boundaries for the long-term cooperation between Saionji and Isomura.”

Takahashi picked up the task paper.

There were only a few lines of requirements on it.

Which matters can be coordinated privately by both parties.

Which measures must be transformed into public systems.

What Saionji can provide, and what it cannot demand.

When differences occur, how information, projects, and political responsibilities should be separated.

The handwriting on the last line came from Satsuki herself.

——Make cooperation sustainable, and ensure that conflict does not destroy cooperation.

”Deadline?”

Takahashi raised his head.

”Let us do the framework first.”

Satsuki cupped her chin and thought for a moment.

”However, give me the first version by next Friday.”

”Understood.”

Takahashi turned to everyone around the conference table.

This time he omitted that overly polite opening.

”Miss Maki, please continue to be responsible for integration.”

”Mr. Sasaki and the Tokyo Metropolitan Affairs Office will first organise the boundary between public systems and private coordination.”

”Mr. Masato, I need a relationship chart of Isomura’s transition team, major bureau chiefs of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, and various factions of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.”

”Executive Director Gondo, I need you to pick one project that is easiest to succeed and one that is easiest to fail in each of the three policies.”

”Finance department, please build a funding model based on these two sets of projects.”

Maki opened her schedule book.

”First internal confirmation, Tuesday at three in the afternoon?”

”Can do.”

Gondo put the task paper into his folder.

”Does the project scope only look at projects contracted by Tokyo?”

”Look at the part directly controlled by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government first.”

”External affiliated organisations will be put into the second batch.”

Sasaki also raised his head.

”What if Isomura asks Saionji to disclose some financing data?”

Takahashi thought for a moment.

”List it as a conflict situation.”

”First judge to what extent disclosure will not harm the group, and then judge what political price refusal will pay.”

Everyone successively noted down the requirements.

The meeting had ended here.

Maki closed her documents, and when she stood up, she slightly bowed to Takahashi.

”See you on Tuesday, Mr. Takahashi.”

Gondo and several others also left one after another.

When Saionji Masato walked to the door, he turned back to glance at the four lines of words left on the whiteboard, and then nodded to Takahashi.

Soon only Satsuki, Chizuru, and Takahashi were left in the meeting room.

Takahashi’s shoulders, which had been tense all this time, finally relaxed a bit.

He lowered his head to tidy up the documents, and only then did he find that his right hand holding the pen had already left a deep red mark.

”How does it feel?”

Satsuki stood up from her position by the window and walked over to the whiteboard.

”Much more difficult than hosting the research seminar at school.”

”Only much more?”

Takahashi smiled bitterly.

”In the first forty minutes just now, I was probably just extending the meeting time for everyone.”

”It is fine as long as you can discover this point.”

Satsuki picked up the eraser and slowly wiped away the top line of words.

”Many people host meetings for ten years and only make everyone finish speaking in order.”

Takahashi looked at her back.

”Did you know long ago that the meeting would turn out like this?”

Satsuki turned her head, a hint of a smile on her face.

”I just wanted to see when Senior Takahashi would be willing to interrupt them.”

As expected.

The last bit of wishful thinking in Takahashi’s heart also vanished.

Satsuki put down the eraser, and as she passed by him, her tone returned to that relaxed manner in school.

”Thank you for your hard work today, Senior Takahashi.”

Chizuru stepped forward at this time and handed him a white envelope.

The upper left corner of the envelope was printed with the silver logo of S.A. Entertainment, and the recipient was written on the front.

Gakushuin University Economics Research Department.

Takahashi.

”This was sent over by President Itakura last night.”

Chizuru’s hand was still supporting the bottom of the envelope.

”This can be considered... a perk of being an employee of Saionji.”

Takahashi took the envelope and lowered his head to glance at the seal.

”Can I open it now?”

Satsuki had already walked to the door of the meeting room.

Hearing these words, she stopped, turned her head, and her eyes curved gently.

”Of course you can.”

”However, I think it will be a bit more interesting if Senior Takahashi opens it after returning to the Economics Research Department.”