Chapter 136

"I have a problem," Lord Eitaro said. He sat in the official reception room of the shrine with the senior Rev. Mifune, who was a tall, attenuated man with sharp features and a slightly gray complexion that bespoke of his recent ill health. His son, who ran the shrine school, sat next to him. Yuta, also a guest, sat beside Lord Eitaro.

Eitaro was a short, stocky man of muscle and action. He was quick to anger, quick to make decisions, a good military commander, and smart enough to know that his wife was smarter than he and a vastly superior politician. He relied on her. It was her plan he intended to effectuate, if he could.

"We will of course help you solve it, if we can," said the senior Rev. Mifune with a bow. "Can you tell us what it is?"

"I have Yuta-Sensei's report of the conference. You have both seen it." Eitaro's conversation tended to be short and to the point, something that did not always go over well in the polite and indirect discussions usual in Japan.