"Mr. Mori, you've arrived."
Fujiwara Yukinori, who was already in his late fifties, bowed and walked quickly to greet the old man in the Zhongshan suit.
It was hard to imagine that Fujiwara Yukinori, as Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, would be so respectful to an old man from a foreign country, even to the point of being somewhat 'servile'.
If word of this got out, it would probably cause a huge uproar.
However, this was a private banquet, and the guests present were all more or less connected to the Mori Conglomerate by interest. Therefore, no one would think there was anything wrong with Fujiwara Yukinori's behavior. They would only be jealous that they weren't the one in his position.
"Hehe, hello, Mr. Fujiwara. I'm not late, am I?" The old man smiled, gave a customary handshake, and asked.
"Not at all, not at all. You've arrived at just the right time. The banquet will begin shortly. Please, make your way to the inner hall." Minister Fujiwara beamed, showing no dissatisfaction at the Mori Conglomerate head's late arrival. On the contrary, he felt that the man bringing it up himself was a sign of respect to him.
As for the 'inner hall' he mentioned, it was because the banquet was actually divided into two halls, inner and outer. The inner hall was open only to the true core elite. As for those standing in the reception hall now, they were really just peripheral members. This was likely the closest they would get to the main figures of tonight's banquet.
Shinra watched his great uncle being surrounded by the crowd like the moon surrounded by stars, and his understanding of the Mori Conglomerate's power instantly became clearer.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the Old Master Mori didn't head directly to the inner hall. Instead, he singled Shinra out and introduced him to the host: "This is my grand-nephew, Mori Shinra."
"Shinra, this is the host of tonight's banquet, Mr. Fujiwara Yukinori."
The old master didn't introduce Fujiwara Yukinori's position, only his role at the banquet.
It wasn't that Fujiwara Yukinori's ministerial status was unworthy of mention, but rather that at Shinra's current position, he had no use for connections like him. The old master's move seemed to be introducing Shinra to Fujiwara Yukinori, but in reality, he was introducing Shinra to all the guests present.
"Hello, Mr. Fujiwara." As the junior, Shinra greeted him proactively.
"Young Mr. Mori, truly a fine talent, so accomplished at such a young age." Fujiwara Yukinori didn't look down on Shinra for his youth. On the contrary, he regarded him highly, piling on praise as if it were free.
The reason was simple. Shinra was the first member of the Mori Conglomerate's third generation to be brought into the public eye, and it was announced by the current head himself. The meaning behind this was self-evident.
"You flatter me." Shinra maintained a polite smile, not taking the Minister's praise to heart.
Shinra knew very well that the man was praising him entirely because of the family behind him. As for Shinra himself... please, this was their first meeting. The Minister's knowledge of him was probably limited to just his name.
"Alright, we old men shouldn't be an eyesore here. Let's return the banquet to the young people." After speaking, the old master headed straight for the inner hall.
Fujiwara Yukinori immediately followed. For the Minister, this was when the main event of the banquet truly began.
Shinra did not follow. He was very clear on his own role. He was just here to attend a party and get some shares. As for the rest... it wasn't part of his business.
Besides, when he first entered the hall, he had noticed an old acquaintance. The golden exclamation mark above her head was far more appealing than some boring transaction of power and money.
"Is that for real? Is he the third-generation leader the Mori Conglomerate is pushing? He looks way too young. Could he be in university, just like us? He's pretty handsome, though. I wonder if he has a girlfriend."
On the periphery, Reiko couldn't help but whisper to Haruno beside her after seeing Shinra, completely failing to notice the complicated expression on Haruno's face.
The moment Haruno saw Shinra, she thought she was mistaken. But when the old man said his full name, Mori Shinra, Haruno finally realized it was the same Mori Shinra she knew.
But... why is he here?
Haruno had actually known Shinra's identity ever since that car accident. But she had only assumed he was a member of a branch family of the Mori clan. She never expected his status in the family to be so high.
Judging from the attitude of the Mori Conglomerate's head just now, it was clear he was cultivating Shinra as a future successor. Even if not the successor, in this situation, he would most likely enter the core of the Mori Conglomerate's power in the future, becoming an undeniable powerhouse within the Mori business empire.
"He's only in his second year of high school." Haruno said, her tone complex.
"He's a high school student?! Eh... Wait, Haruno, how did you know that?" Reiko suddenly reacted, looking at her university classmate.
Haruno didn't hide it. Or rather, she also needed this connection to Shinra to add to her own leverage.
"He's my sister's classmate."
"Eh? Ehhhh!!!" Reiko's eyes widened, having never expected Haruno to have such a connection.
Suddenly, Reiko realized why her family had asked her to invite Haruno to this banquet... They probably already knew about this connection.
Didn't that mean she was actually able to attend this banquet thanks to Haruno, and not the other way around, as she had originally thought?
After figuring this out, Reiko's mentality underwent a subtle change.
"Um... Haruno, since you know him, should we go say hello?" Reiko asked cautiously.
Haruno looked at Shinra, who was surrounded by people, and asked in return, "Do you think we can squeeze in?"
Reiko looked at the thick wall of people and felt Haruno made a lot of sense. It would indeed be difficult for two 'weak' women like them to push through.
But Reiko was unwilling to just give up the chance to talk to Shinra.
After all, Shinra's future was visibly bright. Even just getting acquainted and becoming a familiar face might be useful someday...
If nothing else, if she let her family know she had befriended an important future figure of the Mori Conglomerate, her allowance for university could increase by a lot. Reiko didn't know about the future, but her allowance right now was something tangible.
"How about it? You shout out, see if he responds?"
"That would be too rude."
"If you won't, I'll shout for you!"
Reiko looked like she was putting it all on the line. She wasn't afraid of embarrassment; she just wanted her allowance.
Haruno: ...
I rather preferred the unruly Sato Reiko from before. Can you change back?
"He probably already saw me just now. If nothing unexpected happens, he'll come over soon. Let's find a place to sit first." Haruno said.
"Make him come find us... Is that really okay?" Reiko was clearly tempted, but considering Shinra's 'status', could she afford to have him actively seek her out?
Haruno thought for a moment and replied, "Then you can go wait somewhere else for a bit."
"Oh, never mind then. I'm afraid you'll be lonely." Reiko performed a 'Sichuan opera face change', looking determined to advance and retreat with her classmate... no, her bestie!
Haruno was rather speechless at this. A classmate when there's no connection, a bestie when there is, right?
Aren't you being a bit too pragmatic?
However, Haruno still decided to send her away. She said, "I'll introduce you to him later. If you're here, I'm afraid it might be awkward for him to come over."
"Alright then..." Seeing as Haruno had put it that way, Reiko didn't insist. She quit while she was ahead, releasing her arm from Haruno's, and went to find other friends at the party, looking back every three steps.
Not long after Reiko left, Shinra finally managed to escape the enthusiastic guests and walked straight toward his golden wish-power commission (not) Haruno.
"Good evening, Haruno-san. I didn't expect to run into you here." Shinra held a glass of juice. He was only 18. According to Japanese law, he wasn't of legal drinking age yet, so he had to settle for juice.
"Good evening, Young Master Shinra." Haruno held a glass of champagne, winked playfully at Shinra, and emphasized the words 'Young Master'.
"Alas, I wanted to interact with you as a normal person, but all I got in return was a sad, thick barrier..." Shinra cooperated, letting out a sigh.
"Haha, you're as interesting as ever." Haruno seemed to be amused by Shinra's words, laughing until she swayed.
Mhm, really swaying.
Shinra glanced at that trembling bosom, then used his Emotion Perception to check her completely flat emotional state. Women truly are born actors, he thought. Anyone else would have thought Haruno was genuinely amused by him.
In reality, she wasn't. However, her current mood was indeed very pleasant, though definitely not because of his joke.
"So, Haruno-san, how did you end up at this banquet? I thought you had returned to your family home."
"My family home is in Chiba. As for why I'm here, my university classmate invited me. By the way, want to meet her later? She's a little beauty, too~"
"Sure." Shinra agreed without even thinking.
"You agreed so quickly. I'll have to tell Yukino when I get back." Haruno adopted the air of a tattletale.
"We'll see if Yukino believes me or you." Shinra didn't take Haruno's 'threat' to heart at all.
"Besides, Yukino and I are just friends right now. Even if you tell her, she won't get angry."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that~"