Although the popularity of 'Warship Girls Collection' was rising rapidly within Japan's gaming industry, disagreements over the matter emerged inside 'Frontier Legend' itself.
The reason was that President Mizuhara Daigo had unconditionally supported Mizuhara Raiko in representing 'Frontier Legend' during its cooperation with Yosuganosora Animation Studio. However, changing from purchasing the game's ownership to merely acting as the operator of 'Warship Girls Collection' fundamentally altered the nature of the deal.
Mizuhara Raiko's mobilization of a large amount of Frontier Legend's manpower and resources quickly attracted the attention of the other shareholders. As a result, a shareholder meeting was convened to discuss whether Mizuhara Raiko's decision had been correct.
Inside the spacious and luxurious conference room, the atmosphere was heavy.
The opened glass walls faced the distant sunrise, with strands of warm sunlight passing through the city's steel jungle and spilling across the dark wooden conference table. At this moment, no one spoke. Instead, subtle gazes were exchanged between them amidst the delicate atmosphere.
Everyone seated there belonged to the highest levels of Frontier Legend. On the surface, they were all middle-aged or elderly men, most of whom had been core members who founded Frontier Legend together with Mizuhara Daigo.
Mizuhara Raiko was also one of the shareholders, but because of seniority, she did not even have the qualifications to sit at the conference table. She merely stood at the side of the meeting room with a slight frown while listening.
A trace of ridicule appeared in her eyes.
She understood the people here better than her father, who had spent decades alongside them. Only her "naive and gullible" father understood nothing at all. Despite being the company's absolute controlling shareholder, he was often placed in a passive position during shareholder meetings.
The shareholders who had once genuinely cared about Frontier Legend had long since been forced out. The only ones remaining were opportunists obsessed with power and money. If Mizuhara Daigo had not been the company's absolute controlling shareholder, he himself would probably have already been forced from his position.
Frontier Legend had long ago split into different factions, and every major adjustment within the company affected the interests of those factions.
"Daigo, we understand how much you care about your daughter, but why didn't you discuss such an important matter with us first?"
An elderly man dressed in a suit, his temples frosted white, chuckled as he addressed Mizuhara Daigo.
Among all the shareholders, he was both the oldest and the most prestigious. He could even be considered half of Mizuhara Daigo's mentor in game development. During Frontier Legend's early years, he had developed many popular games that supported the company's growth. Because of that, Mizuhara Daigo usually accepted his opinions without question.
Another overweight middle-aged man also spoke helplessly,
"We understand your feelings, but matters that may affect the company's reputation can't be decided so casually. Raiko is still young and wants to achieve corresponding accomplishments. We all once had that youthful drive ourselves, and we appreciate it very much."
"However, sometimes having too much drive isn't a good thing. It can lead to poor judgment. At times like this, Mizuhara Daigo, you should be guiding Raiko instead of blindly supporting her."
His words were clearly a roundabout criticism of Mizuhara Raiko's unilateral decision-making.
Mizuhara Daigo sighed and smiled bitterly.
"Everyone here watched Raiko grow up. There's no questioning her judgment or ability. She has the drive of youth, but also possesses a comprehensive perspective that I can't compare to."
"Young people are bound to make mistakes. This time, she's cooperating with a game company that popped up out of nowhere and is planning to operate 'Warship Girls Collection'. I've read the game evaluation report too. It's nothing more than a flashy game popular among young people. Once the trend passes, it'll amount to nothing."
"How could it compare to the games we designed? Even now, long after the FC console disappeared, they're still popular on computers."
"Exactly. It's not like there aren't games of the same type already. Take 'Hero Adventure', developed by Daishi and the others in the Development Department. It's also a card-collection game with construction-management elements. Right now, its media score is 85, the highest-rated game in our company's history, and it's sold hundreds of thousands of copies. That's the core strength our company should be developing!"
"Having a few online single-player games like this is enough. Too many would only reduce quality and fail to please players."
"A no-name game company demanding thirty percent of the profits without doing anything. If Raiko hadn't personally agreed to these conditions, I'd suspect someone inside the company was colluding with outsiders to hollow out the company!"
One shareholder glanced at Mizuhara Raiko with ill intent, his tone dripping with mockery.
······
The conference room was filled with one criticism after another.
None of it was pleasant.
Meanwhile, Mizuhara Daigo was completely overwhelmed by the verbal exchanges, opening and closing his mouth without knowing how to refute them.
"Enough."
Mizuhara Raiko stood and coldly interrupted everyone in the conference room.
The shareholders froze. Some opened their mouths intending to reprimand her for her lack of manners, only to see her place a document onto the conference table.
As though she had prepared for this long ago, she said decisively,
"Since all of you shareholders distrust my ability, then I can personally bear all the risks of operating 'Warship Girls Collection'. In exchange, regardless of what happens to this game in the future, it will have nothing whatsoever to do with 'Frontier Legend'."
"Raiko, what are you saying? Since this is a contract signed by our company, naturally, it should be fulfilled by the company."
One shareholder casually responded.
"Raiko..."
Mizuhara Daigo hesitated as if wanting to speak, but one glance from Mizuhara Raiko forced his words back down.
He knew she was serious.
Mizuhara Raiko pressed both hands against the dark wooden table and swept her gaze across the shareholders in the conference room before speaking in a deep voice,
"I will give up three percent of my company shares. In exchange, I want ownership of the company's 'Mirror Flower Water Moon' Game Studio. From now on, I will personally operate 'Warship Girls Collection'."
The shares she held in 'Frontier Legend' had been inherited from her mother. Back then, her mother had also been one of Frontier Legend's founders, but she withdrew from the company due to illness.
The atmosphere froze.
The shareholders looked at one another in disbelief. It was obvious that joy appeared on many of their faces.
Mizuhara Raiko's relinquishing three percent of Frontier Legend's shares meant another power shift would occur, and the distribution of interests among the company factions would gain several more portions.
As for the 'Mirror Flower Water Moon' Game Studio, even the shareholders themselves barely knew what department it belonged to. 'Frontier Legend' simply had too many game studios under its banner. Most were merely disposable tools that could be thrown away after use.
"Haha, it's a good thing for young people to have drive and ambition. Since Raiko insists so strongly, we won't force the matter."
"'Mirror Flower Water Moon' Game Studio, huh? There are quite a few excellent developers there. If I remember correctly, they helped us develop 'Purururu Monogatari'. It received quite a lot of praise."
"I say, Yokoga, you're getting senile. 'Mirror Flower Water Moon' is a subdivision under the Operations Department!"
"Ah, right, right! Look at my memory."
The conference room was filled with cheerful laughter.
Watching the ugly behavior of the company shareholders, Mizuhara Raiko felt nothing but disgust.