After the door closed, Satsuki stood in place for a few seconds.
Then she turned around and looked at her wardrobe.
The person usually responsible for organizing her clothes had already taken out several outfits she might use today and hung them neatly to the side.
A light-coloured dress.
A well-tailored cream-white suit.
And a knit top she often wore to less formal occasions.
Satsuki looked through them one by one.
No.
No, no, no.
She did not need to meet bankers today, nor was she attending a cocktail party.
She certainly did not need to sit at a conference table listening to a group of men in their forties and fifties solemnly report their work to her.
She was going out to have fun.
Satsuki reached out and pushed aside the first few hangers.
"Chizuru."
"Yes."
Chizuru, who had been standing nearby, immediately walked over.
Satsuki looked back at her.
"Is there anything... younger?"
Chizuru's gaze lingered on the hangers for a moment.
"Younger?"
"Mm-hmm."
Satsuki looked down at her loungewear and then gestured in front of her chest.
"You know... the kind of thing an ordinary college student would wear to go out."
This request was clearly much more difficult for Chizuru than preparing an outfit for a dinner with the Prime Minister.
She thought quietly for a few seconds, walked to the other side of the wardrobe, and took out several items that Satsuki rarely chose.
A navy blue blazer.
A white cotton top.
A pair of light-wash straight-leg jeans.
And a pair of brown loafers.
Satsuki took a look.
"This seems good."
This style was very popular among young people in Tokyo lately.
Especially around Shibuya.
The old 'DC style' that practically screamed designer names from head to toe had gradually faded, and students from private schools had started to enjoy pairing jeans, white shirts, or T-shirts with navy blazers.
Even though each piece looked ordinary on its own, they felt much more relaxed when worn together.
Satsuki had seen this style before.
She just never thought she would wear it herself.
Ten minutes later.
She stood before the mirror again.
Her long hair, which usually draped over her shoulders, was simply tied back, leaving only a few natural strands falling by her face.
The white top was tucked into her jeans, making her waistline suddenly prominent; the navy blazer was left unbuttoned, and she had casually folded the cuffs up a bit.
On her feet were no longer the stilettos she usually wore.
After switching to loafers, her whole being seemed much lighter.
Satsuki stood before the mirror, looking left.
Then right.
Then she took a small step back.
"Whoa—"
She suddenly leaned in closer, her hands propped on the counter on either side of the mirror.
"Turns out I am still a young girl after all..."
Chizuru stood behind her, looking at Satsuki in the mirror.
Satsuki had begun to examine herself with great interest.
The person in the mirror was indeed quite different from the Saionji Satsuki who usually smiled while stabbing her opponents in the conference room.
Most of her usual clothes were very formally tailored.
Especially when she needed to make public appearances, the Head Maid and the Wardrobe Consultant would always consciously make her look more mature.
After all, those sitting across from Satsuki were usually business owners and political figures in their forties and fifties; dressing too much like a student would instead weaken her presence in formal settings.
Over time, even Satsuki herself had grown accustomed to it.
Now, suddenly changing back into clothes that truly belonged to an eighteen-year-old girl, she actually found the person in the mirror a bit unfamiliar.
"I used to always dress so maturely."
Satsuki tugged at the hem of her blazer.
"If I keep this up, I will turn into an old lady before I know it."
The corner of Chizuru's mouth seemed to twitch.
Satsuki did not notice.
She was in a rare state of high spirits.
First, she put one hand in her pocket and turned her body slightly.
She liked it.
Then she took her hand out and spun halfway around.
Her long hair whipped across her shoulders with the movement.
She struck a pose in the mirror that she had seen in some magazine.
She paused for two seconds.
Then she found it a bit funny herself.
"Ahem."
Satsuki nodded with satisfaction.
"As expected, I am still very pretty."
Chizuru echoed her seriously.
"Yes."
Satsuki turned around again.
But this time, as she looked, her expression gradually became a bit strange.
"Just..."
She leaned closer to the mirror.
First she looked at her face.
Then she looked down.
Then she pressed herself even closer and gestured at the top of her head with her hand.
"Am I a bit short?"
Chizuru: "..."
Satsuki turned around.
The two of them stood face to face.
Satsuki raised her eyes, her gaze slowly moving upward.
[Hmm...]
Why did she have to look up?
Satsuki's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
"Chizuru."
"Yes."
"Am I short?"
"Not at all."
Chizuru's answer came without any hesitation.
Satsuki looked at her suspiciously.
"Really?"
"Yes."
Chizuru's expression was incredibly serious.
"Absolutely."
While speaking, her legs hidden under her long skirt had naturally bent slightly.
The movement was very subtle. Her knees were slightly bent, and her centre of gravity lowered.
The entire movement was so slight that from the outside it just looked like her posture had relaxed a bit.
But the effect was immediate—Satsuki no longer had to look up so obviously.
"Your height is very standard, Miss."
Chizuru continued solemnly, her face unchanging.
"It falls within the normal height range for Japanese women. Besides, you are only eighteen this year, and your development has not completely finished, so there is absolutely no need to worry."
Satsuki stared at her for a few seconds.
Then she looked back at the mirror.
The person in the mirror was still very beautiful.
There was nothing wrong with her proportions.
Just...
No matter how she looked at it, she felt that being a bit taller would be better.
"...Alright."
Satsuki reluctantly accepted this explanation.
She raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair from her forehead behind her ear.
"Whatever, I will definitely grow taller later..."
The last sentence was spoken very softly, and she did not sound very confident.
Chizuru very considerately pretended not to hear.
The makeup artist soon entered.
Satsuki did not want anything too formal today, so she only had them do a little work on her face.
After a thin layer of foundation was applied, the traces left by 627 were almost invisible unless one looked closely.
Her eye makeup was also very light, and in the end, only a touch of colour was added to her lips.
The whole process took less than twenty minutes.
Satsuki looked in the mirror once more.
This time, she was finally satisfied.
"Alright."
She stood up from her chair.
"Okay, let us head out."
It was still early for her appointment with Ayako and Reiko, but it would take a while to get there from the main residence.
Satsuki rarely wanted to be late today; as she walked out of the room, her steps were a bit lighter and quicker than usual.
The garage of the Saionji Main Residence was not located beneath the main house.
When this residence was first built, there were not even many cars on the streets of Tokyo, so naturally, it was impossible to prepare an underground parking lot for a head of the family decades later.
Later, as cars became more common and the Saionji Family underwent several renovations, they eventually built a separate Vehicle Management Building at the rear side of the estate.
It was not far from the main house.
Following the stone path along the side of the courtyard, through a small grove of trees, and around a section of the perimeter wall, one could quickly see that low building hidden in the shadows of the trees.
Satsuki rarely came here in person.
On normal days when she went out, she only needed to tell Fujita or Chizuru what time to depart and where she was going.
When the time came, the car would naturally be waiting outside the entrance.
Today was different.
Just halfway there, Satsuki had already begun to imagine what she was going to drive.
After all, it was a day off.
If she were still sitting in that black official car, sandwiched between a row of security vehicles...
Just thinking about it made her feel like today was no different from a workday.
It was not easy for her to be kicked out by her father to go play for once.
"Well."
Satsuki stepped along the stone path, her hands behind her back.
"On a day off, I should drive a sports car, should not I?"
Preferably a red one.
A convertible would be nice too.
Or one of those supercars that look extravagant at a glance.
The weather was so good; she would drive a beautiful sports car over to meet Ayako and Reiko in Ikebukuro.
It would be best if she could arrive a little earlier than them.
That is what going out for fun should look like.
Thinking of this, Satsuki's mood improved even further.
She had already obtained her driver's licence after turning eighteen.
In fact, she had not spent much time actually learning to drive.
The Saionji Family had a large enough enclosed area and people specifically responsible for driving training. Before she had a licence, she would occasionally drive a few laps in the private grounds, and once she reached the age, she just completed the necessary exam procedures.
But after getting the licence, she had not actually driven much herself.
Mostly because she never had the chance.
Almost everywhere she went was work-related.
Sitting in the back, she could still read documents and take calls.
If she drove herself, she would have to focus on the road, which was a loss no matter how she calculated it.
But today she did not have to work.
Of course it was different.
Satsuki pushed open the door to the Vehicle Management Office.
Several people inside looked up at the same time.
The manager closest to the door froze for a moment, then stood up from his seat almost immediately.
"Eldest Miss?"
He clearly had not expected Satsuki to walk over here in person.
"Good morning."
Satsuki nodded at him in a very good mood.
"M-Morning."
The other person quickly walked out from behind the desk.
"Do you need a car? If you are planning to go out, I will have someone drive a vehicle to the main residence right away."
"No need."
Satsuki waved her hand.
"Where are all the cars parked?"
"Ah?"
"I want to take a look myself."
The manager froze again.
Having worked here for so many years, it was his first time encountering such a request.
What car the Eldest Miss needed was always arranged in advance by the security department and the head of household's office.
Even when occasionally changing vehicles, subordinates would drive the car over for her to confirm.
Since when did the Eldest Miss need to run to the garage to pick one herself?
However, he quickly snapped back to reality.
"This way, please follow me."
Directly behind the Vehicle Management Office was the main garage.
Several wide rolling shutters were already open, and all the lights inside were on.
As soon as Satsuki walked to the entrance, she stopped.
She looked inside and blinked.
Black.
Black.
Still black.
Nearest to the entrance were a few Toyota Century cars.
Further inside were Nissan Presidents.
Several large Mercedes luxury sedans were parked on the other side, their bodies polished so brightly they reflected the overhead lights.
Near the very back, one could also see the security vehicles added after June 27th.
But without exception, they were all black.
Satsuki stood at the entrance and looked for quite a while.
Her initially expectant expression faded bit by bit.
"Er..."
She walked a few more steps inside.
Still none.
Aside from black, there was dark black.
Occasionally interspersed with a dark grey one.
It was hard to find even a slightly brighter colour.
"...Does our family not have any sports cars?"
The manager froze.
"Sp-Sports cars?"
"Mhm."
Satsuki turned her head back.
"Sports cars."
She deliberately said it again.
The manager subconsciously looked across the entire garage.
Sports cars...
For the Saionji Family, this question seemed to have never arisen before.
When the head of the family went out, dignity and comfort were required.
Space was needed to entertain guests.
When the Eldest Miss travelled, safety also had to be considered.
As for driving a two-seater sports car out for a joyride—
The vehicle management department had never received such a request.
"Oh... Oh, we do."
The manager suddenly remembered something.
"Eldest Miss, we do."
"Really?"
Satsuki's eyes lit up a bit again.
"Yes, please this way."
The manager led her deeper into the garage, walking all the way to the position closest to the side wall.
Parked there were a few old cars that were almost never used ordinarily.
One of them was covered with a dark grey car cover.
The car cover was very clean, featuring the Saionji Family crest.
Although it had not been driven for a long time, someone maintained it here every day, and even the tires and engine were regularly inspected, so naturally, it could not possibly accumulate dust.
The manager walked over and lifted the car cover from the front.
The round headlights were exposed first.
Followed closely by the low-slung front end.
As the entire car cover was removed, a silver-grey Porsche appeared before Satsuki's eyes.
"Oh?"
Satsuki stepped a bit closer.
"A 911?"
At least it looked somewhat decent.
She walked around to the side of the front end, originally ready to reach out and pull the car door open, but her gaze suddenly fell on the vehicle record plaque next to it.
Production Year: 1973.
Satsuki's motion paused.
"..."
She looked at it again.
She had not read it wrong.
"This car..."
Satsuki reached out and pointed at that plaque.
"It is older than me, is not it?"
The expression on the manager's face suddenly turned somewhat awkward.
"Er... It is like this, Eldest Miss."
"This was purchased by the Master in Europe when he was young."
"After it was shipped back to Japan, it was rarely used. Over the years, it has mainly been maintained as a collectible vehicle."
Satsuki raised an eyebrow.
She looked back at the 911 in front of her.
"Father's?"
"Yes."
This answer truly exceeded her expectations.
In Satsuki's impression, Shuichi always wore either traditional kimonos or suits.
He rode in a Century when going out.
When attending formal occasions, he always maintained the appearance of an old-school family head.
She really had not imagined that when her father was young, he would drive a Porsche around Europe by himself.
"He sure knew how to have fun when he was young..."
Satsuki muttered a sentence.
She walked around the car once more.
Regardless of anything else, it was indeed quite good-looking.
The body was not as exaggerated as later supercars, and the lines even appeared very clean.
Nineteen years of time had not made it look bad; instead, it gained a certain flavour that new cars nowadays found hard to have.
Satsuki reached out and gently stroked the roof of the car.
It was very well preserved.
Driving it out definitely would not be a problem either.
Only—
She took two steps back.
She imagined her current outfit paired together with the silver-grey old 911 in front of her.
Then she thought of what she would look like driving it to meet Ayako and Reiko.
Satsuki's expression gradually became eccentric.
"I feel like people would call me 'Madam' if I drove this out."
Manager: "..."
Chizuru turned her face away.
Satsuki did not see the slight curve at the corner of her mouth that she almost could not suppress.
She glanced to the side again.
"Are there any others?"
The manager was silent for a moment.
Then he led her to look at two other cars.
An old Mercedes, even older than the 911.
Satsuki stood there watching for a few seconds, quickly losing interest in continuing her search.
There were none.
Truly none.
She slowly turned around.
Looking over from this position, the entire garage was practically unobstructed.
Dozens of cars were parked neatly there.
Every single one was very expensive.
Every single one was exceptionally well-maintained.
Some had even undergone specialized protective modifications, and the cost of a single vehicle was enough to buy several more ordinary luxury sedans.
Yet Satsuki suddenly discovered—
Among these, there was not a single car that she would see and think, "I really want to drive it out for fun."
She stood in place.
The words Shuichi had said in the morning suddenly popped back up.
[You are earning so much now.]
[How much of it is actually spent on yourself?]
Just a moment ago, she only felt like there really was not much.
Now she had a much more concrete feeling about it.
The aeroplane was bought for rushing on journeys.
The cars were bought for work and security.
Even the luxury sedans in front of her, so expensive that ordinary people could not afford them in a lifetime, were merely a part of the Saionji Family's massive official business system.
She did not know how much money had been spent.
Yet not a single car was bought simply because she liked it.
Satsuki suddenly remembered something from a long time ago.
In her past life, after receiving a bonus that truly satisfied her for the first time, she had not dumped all of it into her investment account.
The money back then was far from being as much as now.
Every month she still had to pay the ridiculously expensive bills for her Manhattan apartment.
Yet she still gritted her teeth and bought herself a red Ferrari.
On the day she bought the car, she even spent an extra sum of money that she originally felt was completely unnecessary just for selecting configurations.
Later, when she had free time on weekends, she would occasionally drive it out herself.
That car neither generated cash flow nor could it be used for tax deductions.
When she bought it, she had not even thought about whether driving it to meet clients would make her look more respectable, or whether she could sell it for a higher price later on.
It was very expensive to maintain, and the time she could actually drive it out was not much.
But she simply liked it.
Thinking of this, Satsuki suddenly went quiet for a few seconds.
In her past life, she knew to buy herself a car she liked.
In this life...
Just how much money did she actually have now anyway?
Satsuki glanced at the neat rows of black sedans filling the garage.
Then she turned back to look at her father's nearly twenty-year-old 911.
"It seems I really need to go buy some things I like..."
She finally began to feel that her father's request this morning was not completely unreasonable after all.
One billion.
The pressure in Satsuki's heart suddenly lessened quite a bit.
Putting everything else aside.
Today, she would buy herself a car first.
It had to be red.
New.
Preferably much cooler than her father's car.
Thinking of this, she was already happy again.
Satsuki turned around and walked out of the garage.
The manager quickly followed.
"Eldest Miss."
"Hm?"
"Then today's travel vehicle..."
Satsuki's footsteps slowed down a bit.
Originally she had wanted to casually find a car from here to drive out herself.
Now after looking through them, more than half of her enthusiasm was gone.
Drive her father's collectible car from his youth out?
Forget it.
If she accidentally scratched it somewhere, she would probably still have to listen to Shuichi nag.
The others...
Satsuki looked back.
A row of black Centurys parked quietly there.
She gently sighed.
"Forget it."
"Let us take the motorcade today."