Chapter 358: Face It Like a Man

"You want me to be the chairman?"

"Yeah. I don't really understand proper company operations, but you seem knowledgeable enough to handle decision-making."

"Well, that may be true, but I've never run a company with such massive assets before."

He glanced at the proposal. Excluding the office building, factory, and labor costs, the company had over a trillion yen in cash.

Although the Shinomiya family's total assets amounted to over 200 trillion yen, they owned hundreds of companies and subsidiaries. One single company having this much cash was rare.

Especially one that hadn't even produced anything yet.

"Give it a try. I've got no one else, and you're clearly capable."

"I guess I can try, but I'll say this first—I've had a company before, and it went bankrupt. I don't know how this one will turn out."

"Go ahead and try. This one's debt-free."

Shirogane papa's previous bankruptcy had happened because he took out a business loan before starting the company. Once it collapsed, the massive debt fell directly on him.

It hadn't been easy for the family to pull through together until now.

"Actually, I don't even know why you went bankrupt."

"I got scammed. When running a company, you have to watch out not only for outsiders but also your own people," he said. "The factory was doing fine, but some fraud in a partnership ruined everything."

"I feel that deeply."

Two companies Rinji had invested in also collapsed due to being scammed—by the Shinomiya family, no less.

"You've got a good temper, Uncle. If someone screwed me over like that, their corpse would be rotting in Tokyo Bay by now," Rinji said with a grin. "But don't worry about that. You just focus on operations—I'll handle external threats."

"Alright. Then about the salary..."

"Monthly salary of one million yen, five million year-end bonus, and 15% company shares."

"Deal."

Just like that, the partnership was settled.

Shirogane leaned in toward Rinji and whispered, "Hey, isn't that salary a bit too high for my dad?"

"No way. Think about it—how could a chairman of even a mid-sized company only get one million a month? That's already on the low end."

"...Fair enough."

"Thanks to Rinji-nii, Dad finally has a proper, respectable job now," Kei said. "At least I don't have to be embarrassed at school anymore."

Kei was attending the middle school division of Shuchiin Academy, which, like the high school division, was full of rich kids.

She was popular due to her academics, but whenever people asked about her family background, she would always dodge the question.

It wasn't out of vanity—just to fit in.

"Now you can answer them proudly," Rinji said. "Your dad's a company chairman, your brother's a bank president, and the other one..."

He paused, realizing he didn't really have a title.

"Hmm... technical advisor at a tech firm."

He remembered the job title he was registered under, though he hadn't visited that research department in ages.

"Still, everything this family has now is thanks to you, Rinji-nii," Kei said with a smile.

"We're all close enough—no need to be so formal."

"You're right. Any more would be overly sentimental," her father added. "Rinji, I can't promise everything, but I'll give my all to run your company well."

"I'm not worried."

"Well, since we're this close..."

Shirogane papa leaned toward Shirogane.

"Miyuki, don't you think it's time to share your decision?"

"Eh? Right now?"

"It's not a big deal. Just let Rinji know."

"Huh? What decision?"

"It's... not that big a deal," Shirogane scratched his head. "You know about the 'Shuchiin Board Recommendation Letter' that every student council president gets, right?"

"Oh, the one that lets you apply to any university?"

"Exactly. So, I've decided to go to Stanford."

"Oh, that."

Just as Rinji had expected, Shirogane didn't plan to stay in Japan for university. He wasn't going to take local entrance exams either but had decided to study abroad.

"When are you heading out?"

"I need to pass their internal test first. If I do, I'll be leaving after the first semester of senior year," Miyuki said. "We won't have much time left together."

---

"Studying abroad, huh? Not a bad choice."

Rinji and Shirogane stood on the balcony, gazing at the street view.

"Remember that research institute you visited? A lot of people there graduated from Stanford."

"Eh? Really?"

"Of course."

Although most of them dropped out halfway, never getting their diplomas.

That was normal. After all, this was IW. What decent person joins IW?

"You've already made up your mind?"

"Yeah, I want to climb even higher, to learn more. Only then will I be worthy of all the help you've given my family," Shirogane said with a smile. "Also… I've made another decision."

"Hm?"

"This Hoshin Festival might be my last chance. If Shinomiya doesn't confess to me, then I'll be the one to confess to her."

"I advise you not to."

Rinji replied flatly.

That morning, Kaguya had just made the same decision, and now in the afternoon, Shirogane was thinking along the same lines.

Even though he could just wait for Kaguya to confess first, Shirogane suddenly decided to take the initiative.

"I don't have time to wait. I'll be leaving Japan soon. If I don't confess now, we'll be apart for four years. I have to act while I still can."

"...Fine, but who knows, maybe Shinomiya is thinking the exact same thing."

"That's just wishful thinking. In the end, I have to face this like a man," said Shirogane firmly.

He had made up his mind.