By the end of breakfast, it was already past half-past eight.
Satsuki put down her teacup and flexed her right hand, which still felt a bit sore.
After regaining sensation in the early morning, the uncomfortable numbness had mostly receded, but a lingering soreness from being pressed against all night remained on the inside of her arm. She glanced down and suddenly recalled the clingy murmur Emi uttered in her sleep: "Satsuki-chan's scent."
Satsuki's brow twitched lightly.
She decided that for at least a month, she would not give Emi any similar rewards.
Emi, sitting opposite her, was still eating the fruit on her plate.
She was indeed much more obedient than before today. The kitchen was cleaned up quite nicely, and she had properly eaten most of her breakfast. When Satsuki was giving instructions regarding equipment and personnel arrangements just now, she did not eagerly rush into the study either, but just slowly poked at the last two pieces of apple with a fork.
Although those eyes had already glanced at the jacket in Chizuru's hands four or five times.
Satsuki saw it, but did not point it out.
Chizuru walked up to her and unfolded the thin jacket. Satsuki stood up and slid one arm into the sleeve; out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the fork in Emi's hand pause as well.
A faint hint of a smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
She had wondered how long this lass could hold back.
"Hand the equipment and personnel list to Endo before the afternoon."
Satsuki slowly put on the other sleeve, purposely not turning back.
"Have Shimomura continue reviewing the test line. You do not need to go over there today, and you are not allowed to hide in the study either."
It was quiet behind her for a moment.
"Mm..."
Emi answered very softly.
That piece of apple, which had been poked several times by the fork, was ultimately left alone in the plate.
Satsuki waited until Chizuru smoothed out the wrinkles behind her shoulders before turning around.
Emi had already stood up from her chair, the corners of her mouth pressed very low, and the excitement from just getting the new equipment was gone. She looked at the jacket on Satsuki, as if confirming something she was unwilling to accept.
"Satsuki-chan, are you leaving?"
"What is it?"
Satsuki asked, knowing full well why.
"Did not get enough hugs last night?"
Emi's ears turned slightly red as she walked over and grabbed the cuff of her sleeve.
This time, she had clearly learned her lesson from the morning; the strength in her hands was very light, and she only dared to pinch a tiny bit of the fabric with two fingers.
"I did not know I was hugging you when I was asleep."
"Can it even be calculated that way?"
Satsuki lowered her head to look at those two fingers.
"Suzuki Emi, when you made your request last night, you did not say that time spent sleeping would not count."
"I did not think of that back then..."
"Adding supplementary clauses after the reward has been fulfilled—Endo would be very sad if he heard about this."
Emi was momentarily rendered speechless by her words and could only look up along Satsuki's sleeve.
"Accompany me for a little longer."
She dragged out her voice a bit, gazing over eagerly.
"Today is Sunday, and Satsuki-chan does not have class either. It has been so long since we went out to play together."
Satsuki originally wanted to tease her a bit more.
Yet as Emi looked up at her, the person from last night who hugged flowers and spun around in the living room, unable to speak for a long time after getting permission, overlapped once again with the face before her.
This lass had just saved Saionji tens of billions of yen.
Extending the reward by half a day did not seem too excessive either.
As soon as this thought popped up, Satsuki felt somewhat displeased.
Just this morning she had felt that she had established a dangerous reward system, and now she was already starting to find reasons to add extra rewards for Emi.
"I still have work."
Satsuki gave her sleeve a gentle tug.
Emi did not dare to insist too much and quickly loosened her grip a bit, though her fingers still had not completely let go.
"Saionji will not go bankrupt just from half a day less work..."
She muttered softly.
Satsuki raised her eyebrows lightly.
Emi immediately straightened her posture.
"I mean, Mr. Endo is very reliable! Mr. Shimomura is also in Odaiba, so everyone will not just stop because Satsuki-chan takes half a day off."
The more she explained, the more earnest she became, as if she were submitting a temporary leave application to the head of the group.
Satsuki looked at her for a few seconds and finally could not help laughing.
"So, after going through so much trouble to defend my employees, where do you want me to accompany you?"
Hearing her tone soften, Emi's eyes lit up instantly.
"Akihabara!"
"Going to buy parts again?"
"Not buying experimental equipment today."
Emi answered quickly.
Before Satsuki could nod, she cautiously added:
"Of course, if we happen to see something specially needed..."
Satsuki reached out and pinched her cheek.
"Then what did you just promise?"
"Mmph... we do not have to buy it."
Emi's voice leaked out from between her squeezed cheeks.
"We can go look at games, and we can also go to that S.A. store. Satsuki-chan, it really has been a long time since we strolled through Akihabara together."
Satsuki let go of her hand.
Emi rubbed her face, still not giving up.
"The last time we met up like this at Manseibashi was when I brought that yellow-cased item out for Satsuki-chan."
"You were late that day."
Satsuki recalled the incident almost immediately.
"The train was late."
Emi looked a bit embarrassed, but quickly smiled again.
"But I successfully arranged an appointment with Uncle Itakura for Satsuki-chan. Later, Uncle Itakura even said that if we had not brought out those five million yen, he definitely would not have taken on that Nintendo order."
Back then, Itakura's firm was still hidden in the back alley behind the Radio Kaikan.
The rolling shutter was only half open, the shop was reluctant to turn on the lights, and a thin layer of dust had accumulated on the folding chairs. Satsuki pulled out five million yen, having Itakura use his agency channels to bring in a thousand cartridges of a game that nobody was optimistic about.
That was merely a casual move she had made on a whim.
A few years later, Itakura was already in charge of S.A. Entertainment, and that initial small shop had also been merged into the group's boutique store in Akihabara.
Satsuki originally had not planned to go over today.
Yet when Emi mentioned Manseibashi, her mind already conjured up that crowded street, the yellow game cartridge inside its plastic shell, and Itakura's still-hesitant face when he signed the agreement.
Six years had passed, and Akihabara had probably changed a lot as well.
In Satsuki's memory, this street famous for radio parts and home appliances would gradually be redefined by computers, games, anime, and various character merchandise.
Such a change certainly would not happen overnight; what was truly worth observing was how many storefront windows computers and games occupied nowadays, what changes had occurred in the customers coming here, and which shops were starting to shift from merely selling machines to software, imagery, and content.
The bubble had already burst, and ordinary households were cutting back on expenditures for cars, home appliances, and real estate. But whether young people were still willing to spend money on game cartridges, music, videos, and their favourite characters was another matter entirely.
These things were hard to figure out just from industry reports.
Walking down the street in person to see what the shops were selling, where customers were gathering, and which types of goods were increasing made it much easier to judge the direction cultural consumption would develop next.
S.A. already possessed music, artists, karaoke, and video distribution channels. Games and anime had not yet truly entered the group's territory, but if Akihabara was already starting to show new changes, figuring out the shops, talents, and distribution channels in advance was always more cost-effective than entering the market after everyone else saw the opportunity.
Taking a look was indeed necessary.
As for accompanying Emi, it was just by the way.
Satsuki quickly came to this conclusion for herself and turned her head to look at Chizuru.
"Are there any must-attend arrangements for the afternoon?"
"None."
Chizuru answered very quickly, as if she had long known things would turn out this way.
"Mr. Endo was originally scheduled to deliver the documents to the main residence before dinner, and all other matters can be handled in the car."
Emi immediately stepped closer, yet forcibly held back from hugging her.
That look of wanting to be happy but not daring to be happy in advance made Satsuki's mood inexplicably improve a bit.
"Be back before three o'clock in the afternoon."
"Okay!"
Having agreed, Emi turned around and ran towards the bedroom.
"I am going to change clothes!"
"Slow down."
Watching her almost crash into the wall at the corner of the corridor, Satsuki's voice finally carried an uncontainable smile.
"Akihabara is not going to pack up and move in ten minutes."
Emi poked half her face back out from the corner.
"But Satsuki-chan will go back on her word."
"If you dawdle any longer, I will go back on it right now."
A sound of quickened footsteps immediately echoed down the corridor.
Satsuki withdrew her gaze and reached out to take the jacket back from Chizuru.
"Have the car wait downstairs."
"Yes."
Satsuki looked down at that faint wrinkle and casually smoothed it with her hand.
"Security personnel, change into plain clothes."
She glanced in the direction where Emi had disappeared, a trace of a smile still lingering at the corners of her lips.
"Today is just accompanying her out to play; do not make it look like Saionji is about to buy out Akihabara."