6.5
The three-hour party was now down to its last 30 minutes.
I was able to secure enough financing to run the party, The party also included a reunion with Sakayanagi.
It was also good to know that there were people who were waiting for my return to politics.
“Ayanokouji-sensei! May I have a moment of your time?”
“You are…?”
“I'm Tomohiro Kanzaki of Kanzaki Engineers. It's a great honor to meet you..”
“Are you President Kanzaki? It’s a pleasure to meet you too.”
I remember that when the White Room Project was launched and the particulars of the project were passed on to some conglomerates, one of them was willing to invest in the project.
However, since the company didn’t have much history as an established company and had little connection with the political world, we eventually rejected the offer for our own reasons. Two years later, however, the same company raised a small amount of money for the project without any interference or guidance from outside parties.
“This is my son, Ryuuji,” he said, “Say hello, Ryuuji.”
“...My name is Ryuuji Kanzaki.”
The child averted his eyes from me and greeted me quietly.
I see… the kid from earlier.
“He seems to be a bright boy.”
“I'm very proud of him. I want him to become both a literary and martial artist, so I teach him everything I can at cram schools, private tutoring, etc. Not to mention karate and judo.”
“I had a hunch that you were passionate about education, President Kanzaki.”
“As for karate, he was recently praised by the head instructor as having the ability to be a black belt at this point in his training.”
“Well, he seems to have grown up well.”
But if what he said was true, there was something that didn't add up.
I gently focused my attention away from the president and decided to speak with Ryuuji instead.
“I would like to ask you one question... You saw another boy getting into trouble earlier, but you didn't try to help him in any concrete way.”
“...That was...”
“Of course, they outnumbered you, but President Kanzaki told me that you’re very good at what you do. You could’ve come up with any number of ways to deal with them, couldn't you?”
Pretending to be ignorant of the circumstances, I asked him this question.
“It was none of my business.”
He looked away awkwardly.
“It's true that you weren’t the one who started the conflict. But if you had helped, the other party would’ve been in your debt. A debt that you could potentially make use of in the future.”
“...”
“If you don’t have the power to help, you can run away or ignore it. But if you have the power and don’t use it, you are a fool.”[17]
(TL Note: This quote is taken directly from Kanzaki’s monologue in Y2V8)[17]
I had no interest in this child, but I spoke passionately and put my hand on the boy's head.
“Think hard, worry hard, and become a good adult. Be a man who can help others. Support your father, and eventually, you’ll be able to lead the company yourself.”
If I preached this in front of President Kanzaki, he wouldn’t be able to be rude to me and he’d have a hard time withdrawing his investment. There’s nothing better than pulling in as much money as you can.
“...Thank you very much for your time... I'll see what I can do.”
Impressed by my words, he bowed his head happily, this was very much unlike his stiff expression at the beginning of our conversation.
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