The black sedan stopped near Shoheizaka Bridge.
When Satsuki got out of the car, Akihabara was already bustling with activity.
The June sun fell upon the signs on both sides of Central Link, reflecting a dazzling white light off the surfaces of glass and metal.
Back in 1991, this place was still a commercial district primarily selling electrical appliances.
Staff members of home appliance stores stood at the doorways handing out flyers, while loudspeakers repeatedly broadcasted discount information for televisions, VCRs, and audio equipment.
The parts shops under the viaduct were still crowded, with wires, capacitors, and switches packed in transparent plastic boxes and stacked layer upon layer outside the shops.
Across the street, the display windows of computer stores already featured the new PC-9801 and Macintosh, and a nearby television was looping demo footage.
Compared to six years ago, the gaming signs on the street were noticeably more numerous.
Super Nintendo, Mega Drive, and PC Engine occupied the most prominent positions in several stores.
Passersby of young people would stop in front of the trial machines, while store clerks held up game cartridges and software catalogues, continuously greeting new customers.
Anime had not truly occupied this street yet.
Movie videos, concert LDs, and records were still the mainstay of audiovisual stores; animation works and game music were placed on adjacent rows of shelves—not many in number, but already able to attract a regular group of young people to stay for long periods.
Emi had barely taken two steps when her gaze began moving back and forth across both sides of the street.
She was wearing a loose light-coloured shirt and a long skirt today, with her hair simply tied back behind her head.
For the convenience of shopping, she did not even bring her usual large backpack filled with tools, carrying only a very small cloth bag instead.
But when she walked in front of a computer store, her steps slowed down nonetheless.
Inside the display window stood a workstation with its outer casing removed.
The motherboard, hard drive, and wiring inside the chassis were neatly fixed on transparent brackets, next to which was placed a structural diagram indicating the purpose of each component.
Emi stared at it for a while, her body unconsciously drawing closer to the glass.
Satsuki stood behind her and did not urge her immediately.
This was always how Emi acted when she saw new equipment.
No matter how nicely she spoke just moments ago, as long as she stood in front of the display window for a few more minutes, she would start pondering which part inside could be dismantled, and what it could be modified into after bringing it back to the laboratory.
Sure enough, Emi's hand was already pressed against the glass, her gaze tracing down the internal wiring of the workstation all the way until it stopped at the price tag in the corner.
Only then did Satsuki gently cough.
Emi's shoulders shrunk, and when she turned her head back, her face already wore the guilty conscience of being caught red-handed.
"Satsuki-chan, I am just looking."
"Mm, I see."
Satsuki walked to her side and glanced into the display window as well.
"The last time you 'were just looking' here, you ended up buying two motherboards and had someone help you move a broken oscilloscope."
"That oscilloscope has already been fixed, you know."
Mentioning this matter, Emi instantly forgot her guilt, and her eyes lit up.
"The precision is even better than the lab's original one. Mr. Shimomura said I was wasting time at first, but later when doing tests, he used it himself for a full three days!"
By the end of her sentence, pride could no longer be hidden in her tone.
Satsuki watched her for a moment, a hint of a smile slowly appearing at the corners of her lips.
"So today you are also planning to save money for the laboratory?"
Hearing that she was not truly angry, Emi immediately turned back around and took another look at the workstation in the display window.
"This one really has a few parts..."
"Emi."
Satsuki's voice was very soft.
Emi's remaining words instantly stopped at the edge of her lips.
Satsuki reached out and pulled her away from in front of the display window.
"Today is for taking a break."
"I know, I know."
Emi agreed verbally, but her head kept turning backward until that workstation was blocked by the passing crowd, finally pulling her gaze back.
Seeing her reluctant appearance, Satsuki could not help but chuckle.
"If you keep looking, I will have someone send your wallet back to Hongo first."
"Then I can charge it to the account."
"Do not you dare."
Emi immediately pressed her lips together and finally docilely followed by Satsuki's side.
The two continued moving forward along Central Link.
The security personnel changed into casual clothes and dispersed among the crowd, with only Chizuru remaining half a step behind Satsuki.
Today she did not carry her usual briefcase, but only held a small-sized leather handbag, making her look truly like she was accompanying two young girls out shopping.
As they passed the next intersection, Satsuki's pace slowed down.
A three-story store appeared on the street corner.
Dark wood divided the entire glass surface into several sections, with only a silver-grey sign hanging at the top.
S.A. CIRCUIT.
The surrounding stores were still repeatedly shouting discounts through loudspeakers, and their doorways were hung with red and yellow promotional banners.
Yet this store appeared exceptionally quiet.
The display window was not piled high with goods.
A Super Nintendo, a new model personal computer, and a set of Sony audio equipment were placed separately on independent exhibition stands, with only an instruction card placed next to each item.
Through the glass, one could still see that sufficiently spacious aisles were left inside the store, and a few guests were sitting in the trial play area, with store clerks explaining the equipment to them.
Satsuki stood on the opposite side of the street and watched for a while.
She had seen the store's renovation plan before, but this was her first time coming over in person since its official opening.
At the height of the bubble economy, stores in Akihabara wished they could cram all expensive goods into their display windows.
Now that the economy was beginning to cool down, various establishments were busy cutting prices and clearing inventory, as if as long as the numbers on the signs dropped fast enough, customers would return.
Itakura chose another path.
After the quantity of goods decreased, the store began helping customers select equipment, complete installation and debugging, and also provided repairs, reservations, and software recommendations.
The price could not be considered cheap, but it spared one the trouble of solving everything by oneself after purchase.
This was very much like Itakura.
He used to guard a small shop where he could not even bear to turn on the lights, yet he could clearly remember which customer bought what model, and also knew which batch of imported calculators was most prone to malfunctions.
Now the store had grown larger, but that method of doing business had not changed.
"Satsuki-chan."
Emi had already walked up to the glass door and turned around to wave at her.
"Why are you not coming over?"
"Watching whether Itakura spent money in the wrong place."
Satsuki walked across the street, her gaze still lingering on the storefront.
"And the result?"
Emi asked expectantly.
Satsuki reached out and pushed open the glass door.
"Barely passing, I suppose."
She spoke casually, but there was no hint of disdain in her tone.
When the store door opened, very soft music and the unique scent of new equipment greeted them.
A young clerk wearing a navy blue uniform quickly walked over.
He had originally put on a smile for receiving ordinary customers, but after seeing Satsuki's face clearly, his steps suddenly quickened a bit.
His hand also subconsciously moved toward the telephone inside the counter, seemingly preparing to notify the person in charge upstairs.
Satsuki gently shook her head at him.
The clerk was slightly stunned, quickly withdrew his action, and rearranged his expression.
"Welcome."
He stepped aside, though when Satsuki passed by, he bowed half a body lower than when facing other customers.
Emi saw this in her eyes, but she was long used to it.
Everyone ought to respect Satsuki-chan, and that would be right!
She walked into the store, first looked at the latest game consoles and computers on the first floor, and was immediately attracted by something next to the staircase.
A wooden sign with blackened edges was encased in a glass frame and hung on the tidy wall.
The handwriting on it had faded.
Itakura Mercantile.
Emi stood in front of the sign and did not speak for a long time.
Satsuki came to her side and also looked through the glass at those somewhat blurred characters.
Six years ago, that shop behind the Radio Kaikan was always gloomy.
Itakura sat behind the counter, worrying over the one thousand orders forcibly demanded by Nintendo, and even the tea poured for guests carried the taste of being stored for too long.
At that time, Satsuki only felt that it was a sales channel that could be utilised.
Five million yen, one thousand game cartridges, seventy percent profit.
That sum of money could not even be counted as her true layout; it was merely an idle move casually left in Akihabara.
Even Itakura himself—she had merely treated him as a vase character.
But Itakura did not seem satisfied with merely being a token figure, or rather, he believed that since he was in this position, he must fulfil his duties, and actually relied on his own efforts to become someone capable of leading a company.
Later, Itakura found games, music, artists, and countless people who needed money for her.
That inconspicuous mercantile bit by bit became the earliest portal of S.A. Cultural Industries.
Looking back now, the old sign could make people realise even more than many investment reports filled with monetary amounts that six years had already passed.
"It is still kept."
Emi finally spoke, her voice much lighter than before in front of the display window.
"I thought it had been thrown away during the renovation."
"Mr. Itakura originally did not plan to keep it."
The store manager walked out from behind the counter.
He was around forty years old, wearing the same uniform as the clerks, with only an extra silver name tag on his chest.
Because Satsuki had previously signalled not to make a fuss, he did not even dare to look at Satsuki's face, only facing Emi.
"However, after the construction workers took down the sign, Mr. Itakura had someone find it back from the warehouse."
Emi turned her head to look at him.
"Did Uncle Itakura say anything?"
The manager thought about it.
"He said the store's name can be changed, but the money owed and the path walked should still be kept."
Emi looked back at the sign, a smile slowly appearing on her face.
Satsuki heard it too.
Seen now, that man who used to worry so much over the five million yen order that his hair was almost falling out was also beginning to know how to preserve a little history for himself.
This change put her in a very good mood, probably like the feeling of a low-quality character originally drawn at random unexpectedly growing on its own.
Emi looked back at the old sign, a smile slowly appearing on her face.
"Uncle Itakura should rarely come here nowadays, right?"
"Yes." The manager slightly bowed. "The daily operation of the store is our responsibility. President Itakura only came a few times when the renovation plan was finalised and upon the official opening, and has since been busy with the affairs of S.A. Entertainment."
Emi was not surprised.
Six years ago, Itakura guarded that dim little shop every day, often even forgetting lunch.
Now his name already appeared on documents for concerts, records, and video distributions, so naturally he would no longer personally stand behind the counter to greet customers.
She looked at the old sign inside the glass and smiled gently.
"Uncle Itakura has really become amazing."
Satsuki looked at the old sign from the side and nodded slightly.
"However, if Itakura knew that the first time we came back we only cared about looking at this old piece of wood, he would probably think the new equipment in the store was bought for nothing."
Emi also burst into laughter.
"If he had known back then that those one thousand copies of Mario would sell out, he definitely would not have sat in front of us constantly sighing."
"He really had no money at the time."
Satsuki spoke up for Itakura, then recalled how he repeatedly confirmed during the signing of the agreement whether he truly did not have to repay the five million if the goods did not sell.
"Yet he agreed in just half an hour."
"Uncle Itakura said later that it was because Satsuki-chan looked more like a swindler than Nintendo's salesmen."
After finishing, Emi could not help laughing out loud first.
Satsuki slowly turned her head.
"A swindler? Did he really say that?"
Emi stiffened, sensed danger, and her laughter grew a bit smaller.
"It should... be praising Satsuki-chan for being great at doing business."
"Very good."
Satsuki revealed a very gentle smile toward the store manager.
"When Itakura comes back, remember to tell him that I will find time to ask him in person."
The manager glanced at Emi, then looked at the excessively soft smile on Satsuki's face, and immediately lowered his head.
"I will convey this to Mr. Itakura."
Emi was already feeling regret for Itakura.
But Satsuki, as if nothing had happened, turned around and walked further inside along the display cases.
"Let us go."
"Did not you say you wanted to come play games?"
Emi quickly forgot her momentary worry and followed by her side.
"Sorry, Mr. Itakura! May fortune favour you!"