Iwasaki Daisuke was a cleaner at the Mitsui Building.
Don't let the job title fool you—he was a contracted employee of a proper property management company, and his salary was no worse than that of white-collar workers in the CBD.
Of course, no one knew the name Iwasaki Daisuke. What people did know was that he had a nephew named Iwasaki Isao, who had once picked up a game cartridge that Kobayashi Tetsu had deliberately tossed away, and even received a limited-edition cartridge with Kobayashi Tetsu's personal autograph because of it.
On the twenty-fourth floor of the Mitsui Building, the stylized ATLUS logo was reflected across the curtain wall.
This entire office floor had been first occupied by Atlus, with no other companies present.
Iwasaki Daisuke stood in the corridor, his nephew Iwasaki Isao beside him.
"Uncle Daisuke," Isao asked nervously, "has Atlus really moved here? Can I really meet the president of Atlus?"
"That kind of thing is hard to say," Daisuke replied, folding his arms and casually stroking his beard. "But if you wait here, you'll definitely see people from Atlus."
Isao nodded repeatedly.
As they were talking, someone suddenly appeared ahead. Iwasaki Daisuke immediately straightened up, his expression turning solemn, and bowed respectfully to Manager Mitsuhashi.
Only after Mitsuhashi led his group into the Atlus office did Daisuke finally relax a little. He warned Isao in a low voice, "That man was Mr. Mitsuhashi, the property manager here. Don't be fooled by his friendly smile—he's actually very fierce. Never offend him."
Isao nodded vigorously.
In Japan, companies like Mitsui Real Estate—anything connected to property, especially those that began large-scale development in the 70s and 80s—often had deep-rooted ties to yakuza groups. The rise of the yakuza was closely tied to Japan's rapid economic growth during that era and the widespread forced demolitions that came with it.
But none of that had anything to do with people like Iwasaki Isao. They were just employees. And beating someone up cost money too.
After Manager Mitsuhashi left, Isao looked uneasily at his uncle.
"Uncle, how can you remember so many people?"
"No choice. Even if I don't want to, I have to," Daisuke said, patting his chest. "I work here, after all. And I'm not bragging—your uncle has an amazing memory! Anyone who's appeared in this building, or shown up in newspapers or on TV, as long as I've seen them once, I'll recognize them!"
Isao nodded again and again.
Just then, two people entered the Atlus office ahead of them. Isao asked, "Uncle, who are those two?"
"Uh—"
Daisuke scratched his head.
Okada Toshio and Anno Hideaki—he didn't recognize either of them.
These two hadn't appeared on television at all yet.
"Doesn't matter, not important," Daisuke said. "Anyway, remembering faces is what really matters!"
Not long after Okada Toshio and Anno Hideaki left, the elevator chimed again and more people stepped out.
This time, Daisuke finally saw someone he recognized.
"Do you know who that is? That's Makoto Yamashina, the second-generation president of Bandai! His father was the famous Naoharu Yamashina!"
Isao's eyes lit up and he nodded frantically.
So that was Bandai's president!
After Yamashina Makoto left, Daisuke took the opportunity to lecture a bit more.
The elevator rang again, and both of them looked up.
"Uncle, who are these people?"
"Uh—"
Daisuke swept his gaze across the group.
Among them, he only recognized one person: Haruki Kadokawa. Kadokawa Haruki liked the spotlight and appeared in public often, so Daisuke had seen him before. As for the others, he didn't really know them.
But that didn't stop Daisuke from explaining confidently.
"That's Haruki Kadokawa, president of the Kadokawa Publishing Group! The rest should be his entourage—not important."
Isao nodded furiously.
Kadokawa, too!
Recently, Kadokawa had published quite a few strategy guides for Atlus games. Isao had bought two of them himself, and for some reason, they felt far higher in quality than the usual unofficial guides.
According to Kadokawa's own explanation, these were officially licensed Atlus guides, produced in-house—everything from full walkthroughs to tiny bug details, all included.
Kadokawa Haruki and his group stayed at Atlus for a short while before leaving. After that, more people kept entering the Atlus office.
The elevator chimed endlessly, and sweat began to form on Daisuke's forehead.
He had just boasted in front of his nephew, yet now not a single person who came afterward was someone he recognized!
Still, that didn't stop Daisuke from putting on a knowing expression.
He couldn't lose face in front of his nephew.
Isao didn't understand, so Daisuke's expression grew even more profound.
"Do you know why all these people look so unfamiliar? Did you notice how young they all are?"
Isao nodded.
"That's because they're all close aides—assistants and secretaries of big shots! The important people themselves can't always come in person, so they send their people instead."
Isao suddenly understood.
Uncle really knew a lot!
"So you see, Atlus is actually very powerful. They've only just moved here, and already so many people are coming to visit. That tells you how influential they are!"
Daisuke gestured grandly, as if he himself were the owner of the Mitsui Building, earnestly instructing Isao.
There's no end to learning. Study hard—this stuff runs deep.
When the final group finally came out and the Atlus staff also left the office, seemingly heading downstairs for a meal, Daisuke finally stood up and nudged Isao.
"Didn't you want an autograph? Go on, hurry!"
Isao nodded vigorously.
In the crowd, he didn't recognize anyone—except for one person, Yuji Naka. He ran over, bowed deeply, and presented the notebook in his hands.
"Mr. Yuji Naka!!"
Then, standing before Kobayashi Tetsu, Isao bowed deeply again. "My name is Iwasaki Isao. I really love Atlus games. I hope I can get an Atlus autograph—please!"
Yuji Naka, standing five meters away: What are you yelling for? I'm over here!
Kobayashi Tetsu coughed lightly and recognized Isao.
Last time, he had gone to meet Isao pretending to be Yuji Naka. He hadn't expected the kid to actually believe it!
"Iwasaki Isao, right? We met last time."
Isao nodded repeatedly and began listing Atlus games as if reciting treasures.
"My dad's auto repair shop has an arcade machine. I grew up playing Sega arcade games there, and later I started playing Atlus games. Atlus is amazing—Atlus rules the world!"
Yuji Naka sucked in a sharp breath.
This kid was terrifying—he was even better at flattering than Yuji himself!
Kobayashi Tetsu smiled gently, took the notebook, and wrote a signature with a specially designed artistic logo: ATLUS.
"Iwasaki Isao, right? Let's both keep striving. You work hard to become an even greater player, and Atlus will work hard to bring players more and better games."
Isao nodded firmly.
Let's both do our best.
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