In front of the Seibu Department Store Ikebukuro Main Store.
As the motorcade drove along Meiji Street, Ayako had already been standing by the roadside for quite a while.
Today, she was carrying a small cross-body bag, and in her hand, she held a few pages clipped from a magazine.
After recognizing Satsuki through the car window, she immediately rolled those few pages into a tube and held them high above her head.
"Classmate Satsuki!"
As soon as the car came to a stop, she ran over toward this side.
"Hey, slow down—"
Reiko followed closely behind, one hand pressing against the strap of the bag on her shoulder.
She was not walking slowly, but seeing that the person in front had already run several steps ahead, she added another sentence.
"If you suddenly rush over like this, be careful of being shot as a suspicious person by Saionji's security."
"Eh?"
Ayako stopped halfway.
The hand she had been holding up had not been put down yet, but her feet had already obediently snapped together.
The car door happened to open at this moment.
Satsuki supported the door frame as she got out of the car, and upon hearing this sentence, she even forgot the greeting she had prepared.
"Hey, hey."
She looked toward Reiko, who had hurried over from behind.
"Making me sound so terrifying, be careful I have a lawyer sue you for defamation."
"I was just reminding Ayako to mind her etiquette."
Reiko covered her mouth with a light chuckle.
"Shouting across half a sidewalk, people all around were looking."
"What you said just now was clearly shooting!"
Ayako turned back to protest, then turned around again and smiled at Satsuki.
"Well, of course I trust Classmate Satsuki's..."
She said as she walked forward.
As she drew closer, her voice trailed off.
The vehicles behind had also parked properly. Several men in black suits stepped out from both sides, some staying by the roadside while others took positions near the entrance of the department store.
No one surrounded Satsuki, but no matter which direction Ayako looked, she could spot Saionji's people.
When one of them turned around, his jacket was propped up by something at his waist.
Ayako's footsteps paused once more.
"Um, Classmate Satsuki."
"Hm?"
She leaned in closer, using the rolled-up magazine in her hand to block her mouth.
"The things they are carrying at their waist... could not be real guns, right?"
Satsuki followed her line of sight.
That security guard had already adjusted his hem and was nodding toward Chizuru.
"Ah, that thing."
Satsuki turned back and blinked.
"They are just air guns."
"Air guns?"
"Bringing real guns out onto the street..."
She put both hands behind her back and tilted her head to look at Ayako.
"Do you take me for some kind of outlaw?"
"No, no, it is definitely not to that extent."
Ayako chuckled along with a couple of laughs.
As for how much of that she believed...
Ever since June 27th, she had indeed heard some things from her father at home.
Assault rifles.
No matter how she listened to it, the things Saionji's security guards had pulled out at that time had nothing to do with ordinary air guns.
She had even seen some blurry photos through insider sources, but let alone making it into newspapers, there was not even much discussion about it among the common folk.
When her father talked about that incident at home, he had even specially instructed her not to ask Satsuki about it when she got to school.
Some things should not be asked about if they were not meant to be asked.
Later, the authorities did not hold much public discussion regarding the part where Saionji's security used weapons, and the conclusions ultimately given by the police and prosecutors basically revolved around "legitimate defense and necessary disposal under emergency circumstances."
Public opinion's attention was instead drawn away by another question.
Why did automatic weapons, grenades, and unidentified foreign gunmen suddenly appear in urban Tokyo?
In comparison, why a group of security personnel who had just been strafed with assault rifles also pulled out guns did not end up being pursued in depth by many people.
Therefore...
Ayako took another glance at the waist of the man in the black suit.
[It is definitely not an air gun...]
Never mind.
Better not ask.
Ayako put the rolled magazine back into her bag, deciding not to care about anyone's belt today.
"Classmate Satsuki."
Reiko finally walked up to the two of them, putting away the teasing expression she had just used on Ayako.
She first gave a slight bow toward Satsuki, then looked closely at Satsuki's face.
"Is your injury completely better now?"
"Uh-huh."
Satsuki raised a hand and touched the right side of her face.
The most obvious wound originally left only a very faint trace now, and with a light makeup applied today, it was almost unnoticeable unless one got close.
"The doctor said it is already fine."
She smiled and opened her arms.
"Look, I can even ask you guys out to get some fresh air now, right?"
Because of her injuries from June 27th, Satsuki had once again honorably taken a long leave of absence.
University life, which had barely begun not long ago, was interrupted like this, making it seem once again as though she had just shown her face at school before disappearing again.
Reiko looked closely for a moment, confirming that her complexion was indeed good, before relaxing.
Ayako, however, had already leaned over from the side, circling around Satsuki and looking her up and down.
"Eh?"
She lowered her head to look at Satsuki's jeans, then looked at those loafers.
"Classmate Satsuki, you today..."
"What is wrong?"
"I have not seen you wear this type of style before."
A dark blue suit jacket, a white blouse, light-coloured jeans, paired with a pair of brown loafers.
Compared to Satsuki's usual exquisitely tailored clothes that looked like she was always ready to meet bank directors, today she looked significantly younger.
The more Ayako looked, the more novel it seemed.
"So girlish~"
The corners of Satsuki's mouth curled up, but then she felt something was off about this remark.
"Why does that sound a bit weird." Satsuki lowered her head to smooth out the hem of her clothes, but still cooperated by spinning half a circle. "How is it? Not bad, right?"
"Yeah, it looks great!"
Ayako answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Your hair tied up like this is also very nice. The outfit we saw in the magazine last time, Reiko, do you remember? It is that page—"
"I remember."
Reiko walked around to Satsuki's other side, her gaze moving from her rolled-up cuffs to her face.
"Oh my, it truly is a rare outfit."
After finishing, she paused.
She drew a little closer to Satsuki.
"So..."
Reiko lowered her voice and intentionally used her hand to block her mouth.
"Is it to throw people off and make the opponent lower their guard?"
"...Eh?"
Satsuki had originally been prepared to accept a second compliment, with even her smile fully prepared.
Hearing this, she instantly froze.
Ayako also looked at her strangely.
"What opponent? Did not Classmate Satsuki call us saying she wanted to hang out and play today?"
"Hehe."
Facing Ayako's confusion, Reiko instead wore a smile as if she had seen through everything.
"Ayako, you would not understand this."
She raised a finger with an air of profound importance.
"No matter what Classmate Satsuki does, she will definitely prioritize maximizing benefits. How could she suddenly call the two of us to Ikebukuro early on a Saturday morning just to go shopping?"
"What else can you look at when shopping?"
"Shops, customer traffic, business conditions."
She counted them off item by item, growing more fluent as she spoke.
"Change into inconspicuous clothes, confirm the situation on-site in person, and then decide the next step. Grandfather said that the most worthy thing to learn from Saionji is that every action has a clear purpose."
Satsuki opened her mouth.
Reiko had already turned back toward her.
"Classmate Satsuki, go ahead."
"What does the Isokawa Family need to do?"
Satsuki: "..."
Reiko had already raised her head, looking at the huge Seibu Department Store beside them.
"Could it be... Saionji is preparing to acquire Seibu?"
She cupped her chin with her hand, continuing along her own train of thought.
"No wonder you had to come and see it in person. Hmm... Now Seibu and Saionji are tied together, and Seibu is in the weaker position. Recently, there has also been quite a bit of news about Seibu's financial issues. Viewed this way, it really is a good timing..."
"When I go back, I can first have Grandfather explain the situation to Mr. Kaifu and have the cabinet prepare to cooperate."
"Isokawa Reiko."
"Also, Chairman Tsutsumi Yoshiaki knows about this matter, right? Last time he— Ah!"
Satsuki curled her fingers and gave her a tap on the forehead.
Reiko covered her forehead and finally stopped.
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about."
She glared at Reiko in annoyance.
"I have not reached the point where I think about making money even when eating and sleeping."
Reiko did not reply.
Neither did Ayako.
The two of them stood in front of her with uncharacteristically identical expressions.
That look of wanting to save face for a friend while truly being unable to find words to say made Satsuki unable to even finish her subsequent explanation.
"...What kind of reaction is that from you two?"
Ayako shifted her gaze toward the department store's display window.
Reiko lowered the hand covering her forehead and helped straighten the cuff that had been tugged askew just now.
"Mhm, we understand."
"You do not understand at all, do you?"
Satsuki speechlessly looked at the two people standing straight in front of her, who were also looking at her with an expression that said "I understand what you mean."
What kind of impression had she left on them over the past few years...
"Alright, alright, listen up."
Satsuki clapped her hands to call the two's attention back.
"As for me, I am planning to go spend money today."
"This is My Lord Father's command."
"Uncle told you to come out shopping?"
Ayako finally connected to a topic she was familiar with.
"You should have said so earlier. I was just thinking earlier that if there was some serious business again, what I brought today would not come in handy."
She patted her small cross-body bag.
"I clipped out several pages of shop introductions, you know. There is a shoe store that just got new arrivals this week, and also—"
"Father also set a target."
Satsuki spread out all ten of her fingers.
"I have to spend one billion within today."
"Oh, there is even a target."
Ayako continued along with her words.
"Uncle is really interesting. Who would tell their daughter to go out shopping and stipulate how much to spend—"
She stopped midway.
Her gaze landed on Satsuki's hands, which had not been put away yet.
"Wait."
"Hm?"
"What did you just say?"
"One billion."
Satsuki put her hands down, a hint of seriousness in her tone.
"If I do not spend one billion, I will have to sleep on the streets tonight. It is going to be miserable, you know. You guys better pull yourselves together."
Ayako's lips moved.
Her father was a bank president.
The number one billion was something she had heard many times at home.
The words that usually followed it were credit line, financing, and additional collateral.
Now Satsuki was standing in front of her holding a cross-body bag and saying this was today's shopping budget.
Reiko lowered her head, staring at the floor guide displayed in front of the department store entrance, and began to rethink.
"There really is some plan after all, is not there..."
"I told you there is not!"
Satsuki reached out and grabbed one person with each hand.
"Let us go, let us go."
"Anyway, this Eldest Miss is paying all the bills today."
Ayako was pulled along for a few steps before realizing the direction was wrong.
The entrance of Seibu Department Store was clearly on the other side.
"Eh?"
"Are we not going to Seibu?"
"We will go there later."
Satsuki did not even look back.
"Since we are out to play anyway, let us first go see what people our age usually buy."
She pulled the two of them into the crowd of people at the East Exit of Ikebukuro Station on a Saturday.
"Let us go to Ikebukuro first."