"Don't know her, never heard of her, leave me alone."
"???"
Rin Ito's triple denial completely baffled Karen. He had clearly heard of the Toyokawa family, yet... why did he act like they were a plague he wanted to avoid at all costs?
"What are you so afraid of?" Shion chimed in from the side.
"I'm afraid of the Toyokawa family's darkness... their 'Dark Hand'," Rin replied with a deadpan expression.
He couldn't recall every detail of Crychic, but mentions of the Toyokawa family triggered specific, haunting memories in his mind.
Phrases like: 'I never thought playing in a band was fun,' 'Forming a band for a lifetime,' 'You only think about yourself,' 'The Toyokawa darkness,' and 'Saki-chan, Saki-chan, Saki-chan...' began to echo.
He didn't remember the full plot, but those lines had left a deep impression.
Rin hadn't watched many band-themed anime. He had expected the Kessoku Band girls' lifestyle—lighthearted bickering and daily fun—but the first episode of this particular story, which started with a band's collapse, was a bit too much for him to handle.
"Toyokawa darkness?" Karen made a strange face. "The Toyokawas aren't half as dark as the Shinomiya family."
"Oh?"
Hearing Karen's take piqued Rin's interest in the gossip. Karen proceeded to give him a brief overview of the Toyokawa power structure.
"The Toyokawa main house consists mostly of only daughters, so they have a tradition of recruiting sons-in-law. From what I know, both Sakiko Toyokawa's grandfather and father are 'muko-yoshi'—men who married into the family. Her father wasn't from a rival dynasty; he was from an ordinary background. If there were truly some 'Dark Hand' at play, they never would have allowed a commoner to marry in."
"The group is split into two factions. One is the 'In-Law Faction' led by Sakiko's grandfather and father, who currently control the house. The other is the branch family that actually shares the Toyokawa bloodline. Obviously, the blood relatives aren't happy about commoners running the empire."
"But compared to the civil war between Kaguya's brothers, the Toyokawas are stable. The Shinomiyas are practically tearing themselves apart—which is why Kaguya's father handed her over to you."
"Sounds much more harmonious than the Shinomiyas," Rin said, sipping his coffee as he sized Karen up. "But what's your angle? You want to dismantle them like you did Kaguya's brothers?"
"The Shinomiyas gave the Okiura family an opening because of their internal strife. The Toyokawas aren't there yet." Karen tilted her head, looking a bit proud. "My plan is... an alliance."
"An alliance?" Rin teased. "Weren't you just calling them enemies? Now you want to hold hands?"
"Because a perfect opportunity just presented itself!" Karen leaned forward, her eyes bright with uncontainable excitement. "The next heir, Sakiko's father, just cost Toyokawa Real Estate 16.8 billion yen in a land fraud scam. He's been kicked out of the group."
"Is 16.8 billion yen even a lot for them? Your father's 'practice money' for you is probably more than that," Rin said, narrowing his eyes.
To an average person, 16.8 billion was an astronomical sum. But for titans like the Okiuras, Toyokawas, or Shinomiyas, it was pocket change.
Especially since the father was the sole primary heir. Losing that amount shouldn't have been a career-ender.
"The money doesn't matter. The Okiura family is still investigating the internal details, but it was likely a compromise."
"Because the power lies with the in-laws, he must have done something far more serious than just losing money—something that shook the foundation of the family. The result was that the patriarch severed ties with him. Sakiko, out of spite or loyalty, left with her father."
"Whether her father can return is unknown. But Sakiko's mother died young, and as the only person with the true Toyokawa bloodline in the main house, she will eventually be called back to be trained as the heir—just like me."
"And if we can turn her into our ally before she's called back..." Karen gave Rin a playful wink.
"Tch, tch, tch... So when you take over Okiura and she takes over Toyokawa, the two conglomerates merge. Then you use your cash and connections to push Chika Fujiwara into the highest political office, making her the first female Prime Minister... That is the Dark Hand, isn't it?"
"Hehe~" Karen giggled, essentially confirming Rin's theory. This was a plan far darker than anything a single family could do. "And who knows? Maybe you'll end up controlling the Toyokawa family from the shadows, just like Sakiko's grandfather."
"Don't get ahead of yourself. You want her as an ally, but she might not want you."
"Ehehe~" Karen checked her surroundings before lowering her voice. "That... depends on you, Master~"
Rin gave Karen a sharp flick on the forehead.
In his memory, forget Sakiko Toyokawa—everyone in Crychic, MyGO!!!!!, and that Ave Mujica group had issues. Not just small quirks, but massive red flags.
The "mild" ones were just emotional gravity-wells who talked about 'playing in a band for a lifetime.' The "severe" ones were deep in territory that required professional psychiatric help.
To "conquer" Sakiko according to Karen's plan, he'd have to deal with the whole lot of them. They might be cute, but Rin wasn't exactly looking to run a mental health ward.
Furthermore, Karen said Crychic had already disbanded. That meant Sakiko was likely in her "hissing kitten" phase—approaching her would be difficult, let alone seducing her.
But Karen had done a lot for him.
"Fine. I'll try to get close to her. If I fail, don't blame me."
Rin layered on several layers of defensive "insurance" before reluctantly agreeing.
"MMH!!!!!" Karen nodded vigorously. If they weren't in public, she likely would have crawled under the table to lick his feet in gratitude.
Rin sighed. "Give me the data on Sakiko Toyokawa. Include the other Crychic members too."
Karen sent the files immediately; she had done her homework.
The list contained five names: Sakiko Toyokawa, Mutsumi Wakaba, Tomori Takamatsu, Taki Shiina, and Soyo Nagasaki. They were all undeniably beautiful girls.
However, only Sakiko's file was detailed. The others were relatively sparse.
Rin frowned at the profiles. Going directly for Sakiko was too difficult. He needed a different angle.
After a moment's consideration, he made a decision.
"I need more on Tomori Takamatsu—her daily routine, where she goes. And Mutsumi Wakaba, uh..." Rin wanted to ask Karen to investigate Mutsumi's "mental health," but he didn't know how to explain why he suspected it.
"Just get me more on Mutsumi as well. Make her and Tomori's files as detailed as Sakiko's."
He also wanted to look into a certain "golden retriever" who followed Sakiko around, but he couldn't explain that yet either, so he'd have to wait for another opportunity.