『MV:INEBCEBTH』Arc-1 Ch-4

Everything starts with money.

Without it, nothing can begin. Having confirmed my position, I decided it was time to start struggling in earnest.

“I want to go out. Can you make the arrangements?”

At my prim and proper tone, the butler, Tachibana Ryuji, bowed slightly to confirm. The silver-haired gentleman, who had once served my grandfather, never treated me like a child—at least not on the surface. That said, my attempt to act composed must have looked, to an outsider, like a child straining to play the part of an adult. How troublesome.

“Understood, young lady. Where to?”

“Far Eastern Bank, Tokyo Branch.”

Far Eastern Bank was one of the Keikain Group’s subsidiaries—a regional bank headquartered in a small city on the Japan Sea side. It had been chosen for that location thanks to its deep ties to the Far Eastern Group, but now, it too was reeling in the aftermath of the bubble collapse. And being a peripheral member of the Keika-in Group, it constantly lived in quiet fear of being cut loose.

“Welcome, Lady Runa. What brings you here today?”

The branch manager—an archetypal banker in his neat suit, slicked-back hair, and glasses—welcomed me into the VIP room. A glass of orange juice was placed before me on the polished table. Impressed by the branch manager’s perfect sales smile—especially toward a little girl like me—I decided to make a request no child should ever utter. Since I was at it, I even decided to say it in a childish, singsong tone.

“It’s not a big deal. Show me this bank’s balance sheet♪”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

Ignoring the twin cries of surprise, I took a sip of the orange juice, letting the silence stretch. Then I pouted slightly, putting on my best spoiled-child act.

“I like grape juice better than orange juice. Please prepare it for next time, okay?”

“Certainly… However, for the young lady to request a balance sheet—”

“Don’t think that just because I’m a child, I’ll go running my mouth. Plenty of things reach my ears, you know?”

I shifted my tone slightly. In conversations like this, maintaining initiative was everything. But my real objective wasn’t the branch manager—it was the butler, Tachibana Ryuji. For a little girl like me to start scheming about money, I absolutely needed the cooperation of a trustworthy adult.

“The non-performing loans here are no joke. The main family is already considering cutting ties. And with the jusen problem starting to flare up, you do know who’ll get the axe first, don’t you?”

I crossed my arms atop the table, as if stating the obvious. With the collapse of the land myth, the banks were choking on bad loans. The jusen issue exploding in the Diet would deal the final blow, leading to the financial panic of 1997.

“Pardon me, young lady. Even if that’s true, what exactly can you do about it?” the branch manager countered carefully.

I brushed it off with a faint smile.

“Oh my, I’m a woman. There’s only one thing a woman can do, isn’t there?”

Who said women are born actresses?

Even as a child, the art of using one’s charm was something bestowed by the mother in the womb.

“A pawn for political marriage. Marry into some zaibatsu gentleman’s family and rescue the Keika-in Group in the process.”

At that, both men fell silent. They couldn’t refute me. It was, after all, the truth—the very reason I existed.

“So. Show me the balance sheet. Including the off-the-books ledger. Otherwise, how am I supposed to know which zaibatsu to accept a proposal from?”

✧✧✧✧✧

When they finally laid out the thick stack of ledgers across the VIP room table, I couldn’t help but cradle my head in my hands. Still, the fact that my second glass of juice had subtly changed to grape meant that this branch manager wasn’t a fool. In fact, he couldn’t be. An idiot wouldn’t be sitting in this chair as Tokyo Branch Manager.

“But this is awful…”

As expected—or perhaps worse. Far Eastern Bank’s non-performing loans were beyond absurd. Far Eastern Land Development, their real estate arm, had overinvested in resort properties, and those were being run by Far Eastern Hotel, which was also bleeding money. That would need to be written off as early as possible.

Far Eastern Marine Insurance and Far Eastern Life were likewise buried under bubble-era losses. With the strong yen hurting exports, even Keika-in Chemical and Keika-in Shipping were barely avoiding red ink. At this point, the entire group was being propped up solely by the earnings of Keika-in Pharmaceuticals.

“Hey. If I put my mansion up as collateral, how much financing can I draw?”

I presented the situation plainly, then revealed the devil’s tail beneath my innocent exterior. By now, the branch manager no longer treated me like a child.

“Well… It is a Keika-in family mansion in Tokyo. Including both land and building, I’d estimate around ten billion yen.”

Even rotting, it was still a zaibatsu. The trunk might be hollowing out, but there was still enough prestige to bluff one last time.

“Good. Secure five billion using that as collateral. In any case, the mansion will end up pledged in a few years either way.”

At that point, I looked over at the butler, Tachibana Ryuji. Since the main family didn’t want to dirty their hands, my acting guardian in all things was him. “I’m going to start scheming, but since I’m just a child, I have no credibility. I need a trustworthy adult. Do you know anyone~?”

I said it in a deliberately playful tone. Tachibana Ryuji let out a single, deep sigh.

“…That part of you resembles the great master very much. So, what do you want me to do?”

Yes. Promising ally, secured. While I was at it, I decided to rope in the branch manager as well. Tokyo Branch Manager, Ichijou Susumu. I made sure to remember the name.

“Tell me, Ichijou-san—have you heard of ‘the Internet’ or ‘browsers’?”

✧✧✧✧✧

Later whispered throughout the industry as “Far Eastern Bank’s bottom-of-the-ninth, two outs, two strikes comeback home run,” the bank’s high-tech investments generated unbelievable returns—at one point accounting for eighty percent of the Keika-in Group’s total earnings. Far Eastern Bank’s leadership, hailed as stars of the financial Big Bang, and Ichijou Susumu—later promoted to Director of Far Eastern Bank for his results—were said to always visit the Den-en-chōfu mansion where Keika-in Runa resided whenever a major investment opportunity arose.

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Footnotes 

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Balance Sheet

A company’s financial statement. Learn to read this and the income statement, and the world changes before your eyes.

Jusen Problem

The heart of Japan’s land-related bad loan crisis. The jusen debates in the Diet grew fierce, and the delays in resolving them dealt a fatal blow to the economy.

Internet and Browser

Now indispensable—referring to a certain “window” and a company whose name starts with “Y.” It’s a secret that I checked their stock prices later and was left speechless.