The head of the Kazan'in family did not reply for a moment.
However, the chairman of the Research Association, sitting slightly further away, visibly let out a sigh of relief.
What they had originally feared most was that Satsuki would refuse to acknowledge that this prospectus could represent anyone at all.
Now that she was willing to discuss it as a whole, it at least showed that their previous alliance had not been in vain.
They had truly succeeded in taking the first step; it was genuinely a cause for congratulation.
"Miss Saionji can think this way, the matters hereafter will be much easier to handle."
The chairman of the Research Association moved his chair slightly forward.
"After the establishment of the Mutual Aid Association, the problems of each household will naturally be discussed jointly by everyone."
"If Saionji is willing to communicate with the joint organisation first in the future, you will not have to face your esteemed family alone every single time."
"Jointly discussed."
Satsuki softly repeated it, a faint smile still lingering on her face.
"Then when trouble arises, which household gets helped first—will that also be decided after everyone discusses it?"
The chairman of the Research Association caught the underlying meaning in her words, but had no intention of taking up the bait.
Satsuki had already turned her head to look at the former Marquis family head, who had spoken very little since the banquet began.
"Your esteemed family's loan matures next month, does it not?"
The former Marquis family head had not expected her to suddenly ask him, and after hesitating for a moment, he nodded.
"The bank is now demanding an additional 2.8 billion in margin deposits first, otherwise they will continue to haul away the remaining things."
When he reached this point, his voice had already grown somewhat tight.
Satsuki looked at him for a moment, then shifted her gaze back to the chairman of the Research Association.
"After the Mutual Aid Association is established, will the first sum of funds be given to him first?"
"I am afraid that cannot be decided right now."
The tone of the chairman of the Research Association remained polite, but his response was much more cautious than before.
"The assets and debts of each household require a re-evaluation by the bank."
"Since the joint organisation is to operate in the long term, we cannot simply pump all the funds into whichever household happens to be anxious first."
The lips of the former Marquis family head twitched, but in the end, he made no sound.
He knew very well that these words were not entirely unreasonable.
However, whether another truck would drive into his courtyard tomorrow would not change just because the Mutual Aid Association was preparing for long-term operations.
Satsuki, as if blind to his disappointment, asked even more casually.
"Then what if Saionji makes up the 2.8 billion for him tomorrow?"
The former Marquis family head abruptly raised his head.
"The moving company can stop its operations for now, and the remaining loan can be rearranged."
"In that case, it seems he would no longer have any need to keep waiting for the bank's evaluation."
The man's body had unconsciously leaned forward somewhat.
The head of the Kazan'in family narrowed his eyes slightly.
The thing he feared most had happened after all; if this girl were truly allowed to use her financial advantage to divide them, there would be no game left to play.
The hand holding his cane tightened slightly, and the tip of the cane struck the floor, emitting a muffled, light sound.
"Miss Satsuki."
He still addressed her very politely, but the dissatisfaction in his tone could no longer be concealed.
"What we are discussing tonight are the common problems of all our households."
"Now, right in front of everyone, asking a specific household alone whether they are willing to accept Saionji's funds—does that not seem rather inappropriate?"
"I have not even asked him whether he is willing yet."
Satsuki smiled toward the former Marquis family head.
The man had originally been ready to speak, but upon hearing this sentence, he had no choice but to swallow his words back down.
"I was merely calculating the timeline for him."
Satsuki looked back at the head of the Kazan'in family.
"The Mutual Aid Association needs evaluations, the banks need meetings, and all of you still need to discuss who goes first and who goes last."
"Yet the moving company will arrive tomorrow morning."
"You surely cannot expect them to wait outside the door as well while you all sort out the order first, can you?"
The head of the Kazan'in family did not reply for a moment.
The chairman of the Research Association had no choice but to step out and play the role of easing the atmosphere.
"No one is planning to make him wait indefinitely."
"After the Mutual Aid Association is established, the most distressed households will naturally receive priority care."
"That is good then."
Satsuki did not continue to press about when exactly this so-called priority would be scheduled.
Her gaze moved away from the former Marquis family head and landed beside another table.
"The Kuga Family, on the other hand, does not need to fight for this first sum of money."
The representative of the Kuga Family was drinking, and upon hearing his own family name, his movements instantly slowed down.
Satsuki looked at him.
"What your esteemed family is worried about is that batch of old documents, is it not?"
The representative of the Kuga Family hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"A portion of them has already begun to damp."
"Although the bank agreed to temporarily suspend disposal, they also made it very clear that they could not keep storing them for the Kuga Family indefinitely."
"Is that not just perfect?" Satsuki clapped her hands lightly, as if suddenly recalling a minor matter that was not difficult to handle. "The Saionji Cultural Foundation happens to have constant-temperature warehouses under its umbrella."
"We also have people who repair old paper."
"The ownership remains under the name of the Kuga Family; we will charge fees only for how much is repaired, and for the rest, we will only calculate the storage cost."
Satsuki looked at the representative of the Kuga Family with a benevolent smile.
"If you are in a rush, you can send someone to take a look tomorrow."
"I am quite confident in my family's constant-temperature warehouses."
The representative of the Kuga Family did not agree immediately, his gaze lingering on Satsuki's face.
"This… how much space is left in the warehouse?"
This sentence was asked almost instinctively.
The person sitting beside him immediately turned his head, and the representative of the Kuga Family quickly realised he had asked too quickly, so he could only pick up his wine glass and take an awkward sip.
"Miss Satsuki, there is no need to trouble yourself with this matter." The chairman of the Research Association timely took over the conversation.
"After the establishment of the Mutual Aid Association, all three cultural foundations will assist with storage."
"There is no need for the Kuga Family to make a separate decision tonight."
"Oh my, so it has already been prepared." Satsuki revealed a look of some relief. "Then it seems I was meddling where I should not have; presumably, the Mutual Aid Association has already properly considered the demands of all its members, right?"
Suddenly, she wore a curious expression once more.
"However, whose warehouse is your esteemed side using?"
The chairman of the Research Association paused for a moment.
"Specific cooperation is still under discussion."
"Then what about the people responsible for restoration?"
"Once the joint organisation is established, we will naturally contact them uniformly."
"In other words, it has not been decided yet, huh."
Satsuki nodded gently; though she showed no intention of sarcasm, it still made the expressions of the people at the banquet table turn somewhat unsightly.
"Then it truly will be a while longer of waiting."
The representative of the Kuga Family lowered his head to glance at the prospectus laid out before him, his expression no longer as firm as it had been just moments ago.
The people around several dining tables gradually began to realise what was going on.
Although the nine households had stamped their seals on the exact same piece of paper, what they truly needed was completely different.
The former Marquis family head was in a rush to get funds that could stop the moving company; the Kuga Family was not lacking these 2.8 billion, but simply wanted to find a suitable warehouse before the documents were completely ruined.
There were also families worried about their ancestral homes, while others truly valued their seats in the House of Peers.
Saionji did not even need to oppose the Mutual Aid Association head-on.
By simply offering conditions tailored to each family's situation, the newly formed common stance would loosen on its own.
The chairman of the Research Association evidently perceived this point as well.
"Everyone, ancestral homes and documents are only a part of the problems facing various households."
He stopped letting Satsuki continue asking questions along the lines of each family's differences, and reached out to take out the pre-prepared contact list for the House of Peers.
"Right now, we already have twenty-six members of parliament willing to coordinate actions on related issues."
"As long as each household can maintain consistency in the House of Peers, when encountering similar problems in the future, we will not have to forever wait for some particular family to bail us out with money."
This sentence finally brought some spirit back to several family heads.
Their funds might not compare to Saionji's, but the House of Peers was not a place that could be bought directly with a single cheque.
Satsuki did not take the list, instead looking toward Shuichi.
"Father, is twenty-six a lot?"
Shuichi had originally had no intention of interfering in their conversation, simply concentrating on eating.
But hearing his daughter's inquiry, he had no choice but to put down the tableware in his hands.
"Hmm... speaking in terms of general rationality, it is indeed quite a few."
He looked at the paper in the hands of the chairman of the Research Association.
"However, we still need to look at the names first."
The chairman of the Research Association was clearly well-prepared and read out on the spot several candidates who had already clearly expressed support.
To the first two names, Shuichi had no objections.
But upon hearing the third, a hint of puzzlement appeared on his face.
"Is not Her Excellency Fujiwara still in Switzerland?"
"Her secretary said arrangements will be made to return to the country before the end of the month."
"Is that so?"
Shuichi thought for a moment, still feeling that this matter was somewhat strange.
"Yet just last week her wife called over, saying the doctor does not allow her to take long-distance flights in the summer."
"And even asked me to help deliver a few documents from Tokyo."
The puzzled expression on his face did not look fake.
"What, has Her Excellency Fujiwara not had time to tell her wife about preparing to return to the country?"
The smile on the face of the chairman of the Research Association froze slightly.
Another member of parliament nearby lowered his head, seeming to suddenly take an interest in the food on his plate.
This fish is really delicious.
However, Shuichi did not press further, simply telling him to continue reading down.
When Anzai's name appeared, he finally could not help letting out a laugh.
"This person was still complaining at The Club just yesterday, saying that lately someone always agrees to things on his behalf that he has never even heard of."
The chairman of the Research Association fell silent for a moment.
"We did indeed visit Lord Anzai the day before yesterday."
"That explains it then."
Shuichi picked up his napkin and slowly wiped his hands.
"It seems what he was complaining about was precisely this matter."
Someone at the banquet table chuckled softly, but quickly realised the occasion was inappropriate and suppressed their voice again.
Not a single one of the twenty-six names on the list was crossed off, but when placed back on the table, it no longer carried the same weight as when it was first taken out.
Some of those people had only agreed to listen to opinions, and some of their family members did not even know they were preparing to return to the country.
When the actual day of the vote arrived, just how many people would show up according to the Research Association's arrangements was something probably even they could not clearly say.
The head of the Kazan'in family could finally no longer watch Satsuki dismantle this list piece by piece.
"Miss Satsuki never intended to discuss this charter with us from the very beginning, did she?"
The smile on his face had already vanished.
"First you ask the person most in desperate need of money whether they can keep waiting, and then you ask where the Kuga Family's documents can be stored."
"Once these people begin to waver, you have Shuichi pick out a few unreliable names from the list of the House of Peers."
The head of the Kazan'in family gripped his cane, his gaze sweeping across the few people Satsuki had just questioned.
"You only need to give the most anxious person a sum of money, clear out a warehouse for the person who cannot bear to part with their documents, and invite the members of parliament from the House of Peers out for a few meals respectively, and everyone naturally will not be able to continue sitting together anymore."
The former Marquis family head did not rebut.
The representative of the Kuga Family also avoided his gaze.
The head of the Kazan'in family looked back at Satsuki.
"Is this what Saionji is prepared to do?"
Satsuki looked at him quietly for a moment, then suddenly smiled.
"Hmm... it truly is a good method."
She did not deny a single word of what Kazan'in had just said, but instead followed his judgment and slowly laid out that set of methods in its entirety.
"First make up the 2.8 billion margin deposit for the most anxious household, so that the moving company will not enter the door tomorrow."
"Then have the Kuga Family's documents sent directly to the Saionji Cultural Foundation, saving us from continuing to wait for you all to decide which warehouse to use."
She glanced toward Shuichi's direction.
"The list of the House of Peers is handed over to Father."
"Invite those willing to talk out for meals, and for those unwilling to talk, go to their electoral district to see what problems remain unresolved."
Hearing this, Shuichi merely picked up his water glass, expressing neither approval nor objection.
Satsuki's gaze finally fell upon the former Marquis family head who had refused to let Saionji personnel enter his door five days ago.
"As for those who are not even willing to listen to conditions, it is actually not troublesome either."
The man's expression instantly froze.
"A family head can close their doors, but a bank will never refuse someone stepping in to recover the principal on its behalf."
"As long as Saionji buys up the debt claims, whether the person inside the door is willing to see me or not will not matter quite as much anymore."
She spoke with absolute calmness, as if merely arranging a few tasks that could be handed over to subordinates the next day.
"Coincidentally, the Saionji Family possesses absolute confidence when it comes to financial resources."
No one in the banqueting hall touched the tableware before them anymore.
Each of these methods was direct enough, and effective enough.
The former Marquis family head had already sat forward a bit, as if the moment Satsuki gave him another look, he would immediately ask when that 2.8 billion would arrive in his account.
The representative of the Kuga Family also did not pick up his wine glass again, his body leaning slightly forward, though he was still hesitating.
The person sitting beside the former Marquis family head noticed his action, and hastily reached out to press down on his arm, lowering his voice to give a reminder.
"Do not ask right now."
The former Marquis family head turned his head, the anxiety in his eyes already turning into obvious dissatisfaction.
Satsuki took all of this into her eyes.
She smiled as she pushed the letter of intent back before the head of the Kazan'in family.
"Did everyone think that this is what I would do?"