Early April, 1991.
"Father, is there no work at the S.A. Group today?"
Satsuki stood at the bottom of the entrance steps, holding a leather handbag that matched her outfit perfectly, watching Shuichi, who was still adjusting his tie in front of the mirror, with a touch of helplessness.
Today was the entrance day for Gakushuin University.
Satsuki was wearing a simple, elegant spring dress with a short jacket over it, and she wore no conspicuous accessories.
Chizuru had originally prepared a more formal outfit, but Satsuki had insisted on changing it, claiming she "did not want to look like she was attending a business banquet on her first day."
In contrast, Shuichi appeared quite formal.
He adjusted his tie in the mirror and checked his cuffs, turning around only after confirming everything was perfect.
"Company work is never-ending, but my daughter's university entrance only happens once, does it not?"
"If you keep this up, I will have to mark you as absent and deduct it from your salary."
Satsuki shook her head and turned to walk out the door.
Although she said that, she did not actually make Shuichi stay.
Shuichi smiled and followed behind.
"How could that count as absenteeism? I am just dropping you off at the school gate; at most, I will be a little late."
"A group chairman leading by example in being late—the impact of such behavior is quite poor."
"Then, Head of the House, please deduct one hour from my salary."
"Request received; I will consider it carefully."
The two walked out of the main residence one after the other.
The car parked at the bottom of the steps had its door open.
Chizuru stood by, and after Satsuki and Shuichi got in, she sat in the front passenger seat.
The vehicle drove out along the roads of Bunkyo Ward.
Tokyo was much warmer in early April.
The cherry blossoms along the streets were in full bloom, and light pink petals were blown across the road by the wind, occasionally landing on vehicles waiting at traffic lights.
Young people who had just graduated from high school were heading to their new schools.
University freshmen in new suits accompanied by their parents were everywhere.
As the car passed near Mejiro Station, Satsuki saw a few young people standing by the roadside, checking each other's ties—it was clear they did not have much experience wearing formal suits.
She withdrew her gaze and looked down at the entrance materials placed by her legs.
The car was quiet for a while.
When the car passed near Mejiro Station, Shuichi suddenly took an envelope from his side and handed it to Satsuki.
"An entrance gift for you."
Satsuki glanced down at it.
The envelope was of a style common to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with a seal pressed on the flap.
It did not look like anything related to a university entrance.
"If this is not a check for one hundred million dollars inside, I am going to be angry."
She said this while opening the envelope.
"In a sense, the value of this letter is worth more than one hundred million dollars."
Shuichi did not continue to explain, simply gesturing for her to read it first.
Looking at her father's slightly smug expression, Satsuki had already guessed most of it.
Not to mention the memories from her past life, the SIS now had stable channels for gathering intelligence on the Soviet Union and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At this time in April, it was not hard to guess the content of a letter specifically sent to the Saionji family by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
However, she did not spoil it in advance.
Satsuki unfolded the document inside, read a few lines carefully, and showed a perfectly timed expression of surprise when she saw the date.
Shuichi had been observing her reaction; seeing this, he turned his head with satisfaction and looked out the car window.
"Gorbachev will be staying in Tokyo until the 19th."
"The Soviet Embassy in Japan hopes to arrange a separate meeting with the Saionji family during his official visit. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also asking if we are willing to cooperate."
The top leader of the Soviet Union was visiting Japan for the first time.
It would also be the last.
Satsuki's gaze continued to move down the page.
Only a few months had passed since she left the Soviet Union, but the situation there had deteriorated far more than it had last winter.
The Pavlov monetary reform in January had abolished large-denomination ruble banknotes but required the public to complete exchanges within an extremely short period.
As a result, it failed to truly strike at black market funds or control inflation, and instead caused large numbers of ordinary people to start doubting whether the rubles in their hands would turn into waste paper at any moment.
Following that, the gunshots in Vilnius turned the Baltic issue from a political dispute into ethnic hatred.
The Soviet central government wanted to use the military to prove they still had control, but in the end, it made all the republics see one thing clearly—Moscow could no longer pull the situation back by any means.
The worst part was not even that; now, even Russia itself was beginning to vie for power with the Union central government.
If the three Baltic states left, the Soviet Union could still barely maintain a massive shell.
But if Russia were to take its finances, enterprises, and resources away from the Union central government, the remaining institutions in Moscow would quickly lose their support.
Gorbachev was still making a final effort.
The national referendum in March had received support from the majority of participants to "preserve the Union," and he was also pushing for a new Union treaty, hoping to bind the loosening republics back together.
However, the Union that people had voted to support was already far removed from the Soviet Union of the past.
At this point, even if Lenin were to actually sit up from his crystal coffin in Red Square, it would be difficult to piece everything back together as it was.
Satsuki finished reading the document and lowered the letter paper gently.
"The official visit has not even started yet, and they are already planning a private meeting with a Japanese zaibatsu; is that really okay?"
Shuichi smiled. "It seems you left quite a deep impression on them in the Soviet Union last year."
"Not exactly." Satsuki shook her head. "They are just about to go broke."
She was very direct.
The Soviet Union needed too many things right now.
Food, medicine, daily necessities, transportation channels, and hard currency capable of cross-border settlement—any one of these was enough for Moscow officials to set aside their past airs.
And Saionji happened to be able to provide most of them.
"How did the Ministry of Foreign Affairs respond?"
Shuichi paused, the smile on his face becoming slightly more pronounced.
"They seem a bit worried."
"Worried about what?"
"Worried that after you host the Soviet delegation, you will only let Gorbachev return alone."
"Maybe even Gorbachev himself will have to sign a few treaties before he can leave."
Satsuki nodded gently, but her brows furrowed slightly, as if she were truly dissatisfied with such an assessment.
"Oh?" She turned her head to look at Shuichi. "Father, what kind of image do I have in the eyes of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?"
Shuichi's expression became serious.
"Someone who, when others go bankrupt, will pack up and take away their assets, equipment, and personnel."
He thought for a moment and added, "Simply put, someone who likes to loot a burning house."
Satsuki looked at his serious demeanor and, in the end, could not hold back; the corners of her mouth lifted.
"Well, that sounds accurate enough."
She lowered her head, reorganized the documents, and then asked as if in passing.
"Who said that?"
Shuichi glanced at his daughter.
As their eyes met, he turned toward the window as if nothing had happened.
"It is better if you do not know that."
"Is it someone from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?"
"We are almost at the school."
"Father, you have no talent for changing the subject."
Shuichi sat upright, with no intention of answering at all.
Satsuki stared at him for a while, then finally let out a soft sigh.
"Alright, no more messing around."
She refolded the letter and put it back into the envelope.
"Which day does the Soviet side want to arrange it for?"
Shuichi also put away his teasing mood.
"The 17th or the 18th. The official schedule is coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and they prefer to hold the private meeting in the evening, trying to avoid public activities during the day."
"Then the 18th."
Shuichi turned his head.
"Are you not going to check the university's arrangements first?"
"No need."
Satsuki looked down at the entrance materials by her legs, a smile reappearing on her face.
"I think it is they who need to check my schedule."
Shuichi laughed after hearing this.
"That is true. If they really wanted to stop you, it would only be if Gakushuin University intended to go to war with the Soviet Union."
The car had left the vicinity of Mejiro Station and was slowly driving toward the main gate of Gakushuin University.
Many freshmen and their parents were gathered outside the campus, and there were signs for the entrance ceremony near the entrance.
Reiko and Ayako had arrived early; the two were standing in a spot with fewer people, and could be seen at a glance.
Shuichi also noticed them.
"It seems your friends are already waiting."
He turned back, looking at Satsuki gently.
"Alright, the rest is time for you young people."
The vehicle came to a slow stop near the school gate.
The driver got out and opened the car door.
Satsuki picked up her bag and was just about to get out when Shuichi called her back.
"Satsuki."
"Yes."
"I wish you a happy entrance."
Satsuki looked back at her father for a moment, then smiled lightly.
"Thank you, Father."
The door closed, and Shuichi did not get out.
He sat in the car, watching his daughter cross the crowd by the roadside, walking toward two girls waiting by the school gate.
Only after the three of them met up did the car start again, driving toward Marunouchi.
"Good day, Saionji-san."
Seeing Satsuki walking toward her, Ayako immediately straightened her back and performed an exaggerated, traditional bow.
Even her pronunciation had been deliberately adjusted, sounding like an imitation of some ancient tone she had learned from a period drama.
She was wearing a bright-colored dress today and her hair had been carefully styled, but paired with that overly rigid movement, it looked exceptionally comical.
Satsuki covered her mouth and chuckled.
"My, I was wondering which young lord had lost their way and ended up all the way in Mejiro."
She walked up to Ayako and tilted her head slightly.
"So it was Ayako-san."
Ayako had no idea how to interpret this Kyoto-accented remark.
She stood frozen in place, forgetting to even drop her pose, still maintaining that same posture from before.
Satsuki looked her up and down.
"With Ayako looking like this today, if you were holding a cypress fan, I would really have to ask which family's young master had gone missing."
Standing to the side, Reiko looked helplessly at Ayako's farce, then nodded gently at Satsuki.
"Good morning, Saionji-san."
"Good morning."
Satsuki did not continue teasing Ayako and nodded back to Reiko.
Reiko's outfit today was still very conservative, a light-colored coat paired with a dark long skirt, and she held a document folder containing materials for the Faculty of Law.
Standing together with the visibly excited Ayako, the difference in their personalities was obvious at a glance.
"Eh?"
Ayako finally straightened her body.
"Saionji-san, what did that mean just now? And what is a 'young lord'?"
Satsuki looked at her.
"I should be the one asking you, why are you in such a refined mood today?"
"Is not Gakushuin a school for the old Kazoku?"
Ayako did not think there was anything wrong with her behavior at all.
"I just thought, saying 'Good day' and such, does it not have that kind of vibe?"
Reiko said from the side: "As for 'Good day,' we used to say that often at Seika Academy, too."
"That is not the same."
Ayako waved her hands dismissively.
"This place has more of a feeling of an aristocratic school, does it not?"
The three of them chatted as they passed through the school gate.
The Mejiro campus was much livelier on enrollment day than usual; freshmen who had just received their materials were looking for the meeting points of their respective faculties, while parents mostly stayed near the entrance ceremony venue.
Several senior students stood on both sides of the road handing out club flyers, and the bulletin board a bit further away was also crowded with people.
The campus preserved many old buildings constructed years ago, with trees and grass separating different school buildings.
Even though Mejiro Station and the outside streets were right behind them, once they entered the school gate, the surrounding noise quickly quieted down.
Ayako looked around, clearly finding everything in front of her novel.
Watching her, Satsuki suddenly asked: "Ayako, did you think Gakushuin University was filled with children from the upper class everywhere?"
"Not really."
Ayako touched her head.
"People at Saionji-san's level, of course, cannot be everywhere. Most should still be ordinary people like Reiko and me."
"Rejected."
Reiko raised her hand and tapped her on the head.
"You nouveau riche, do not lump me in with you."
"Reiko, I will be sad if you say that."
Ayako quickly held her head to prevent further attacks from Reiko, putting on a pitiful expression.
"Sad?"
Reiko looked at her.
"Then you should apologize to real ordinary people first. If you count as an ordinary person, what does that make everyone else?"
Satsuki watched the two of them bickering with a smile.
"Yes, Reiko is right."
"Saionji-san."
"Acting pitiful will not work."
Reiko found a gap between the arms Ayako was using to protect her head and tapped her again.
"It hurts!"
"I did not even use any strength."
"My heart hurts."
Reiko simply ignored her.
Satsuki waited for the two to quiet down a bit before continuing: "Most students at Gakushuin University come from ordinary families. Of course, that refers to truly ordinary people."
"However, Gakushuin is, after all, a private university in Tokyo, and the tuition and daily expenses are not low, so most students' families belong to the middle class who can stably afford these costs."
She reached out to take a club flyer handed over by a student on the side of the road, glanced at it casually, and handed it to Ayako.
"A step above that are the families of corporate executives, doctors, lawyers, civil servants, and small-to-medium enterprise owners. This portion is already much smaller."
Ayako took the flyer and asked curiously: "About how many?"
"The situation varies by faculty."
Satsuki thought for a moment.
"If you count everyone who can truly be called a wealthy family, it probably would not exceed ten percent of the total number."
"As for the descendants of the old Kazoku, political elites, and large enterprise owners, the number is naturally even fewer."
Ayako nodded thoughtfully.
Reiko, however, had already guessed what Satsuki was going to say next and looked at her friend.
Sure enough, Satsuki soon turned her gaze to the two of them.
"A step above that is you two."
"Us?"
Ayako pointed at herself, somewhat puzzled.
"My father just works for a bank, right? How did I get classified up there?"
"The past is the past."
"Is Yoshinoya's position in Mitsui Bank the same as it was when you first met me?"
"That is true..."
Ayako nodded.
With Satsuki's influence, her father had long become a very weighty member within the Mitsui Bank system.
And as for Reiko's situation, it went without saying.
Although the Isokawa family could not compare to the top-tier chaebols, their family still possessed quite deep influence in political circles and the network of old families.
Now that the Isokawa family stood by Saionji's side, Reiko herself had become one of Satsuki's closest people.
The resources, information, and connections they could access had long exceeded those of the vast majority of students on campus.
"If you two were still considered ordinary people after following me for so long, my reputation would be practically worthless."
Satsuki said it as a matter of course.
Listening to her talk eloquently, Ayako's eyes lit up, and she even lowered the hands that were protecting her head.
"What about Saionji-san, then?"
She quickly followed up.
"What do you count as?"
"Me?"
Satsuki looked thoughtful.
She closed her eyes and tilted her face slightly upward, as if she really needed to consider this question seriously.
Reiko also watched her, waiting for the final answer Satsuki would give.
The next moment, Satsuki suddenly turned around and took two quick steps to get in front of them.
She walked forward with her hands behind her back, and her drawn-out voice came from the front.
"I am your Queen."
Ayako froze for a moment.
Then, her eyes lit up again.
"Your Majesty the Queen—"
She immediately chased after her, very cooperatively placing one hand on her chest, as if preparing to swear allegiance to a true ruler.
"May I ask if your loyal subject should accompany you to inspect your territory today, or go pick up the enrollment materials first?"
Reiko followed with a smile.
"You just said Gakushuin is no longer an aristocratic school, but it has not even been five minutes since we walked through the gate, and even a Queen has appeared."
Satsuki looked back at her, the smile on her face not yet faded.
"Is Reiko not willing?"
"I was just thinking."
Reiko slowed her pace and walked side-by-side with her.
"Since Her Majesty the Queen possesses such a vast territory, you should not need our help to find the meeting point for the Faculty of Economics, right?"
Satsuki's footsteps paused for a moment.
Ayako also looked at her.
"Saionji-san, do you know which way to go?"
Satsuki turned back as if nothing had happened.
"The duty of a subject is to guide the Queen."
Ayako finally could not help but laugh out loud.
She opened her bag and took out a map.
"Let us get this straight, I am in the Faculty of Law."
She pointed to the direction marked on the map.
"After I drop you off at the Faculty of Economics, I am not responsible anymore."
"How heartless, Lord Reiko."
Ayako immediately protested.
Reiko looked at her.
"Just a moment ago I was a subject, how did I become a Lord now?"
"Because Reiko has the map in her hand."
Ayako answered very bluntly.
Satsuki chuckled softly in front.
The three of them chatted and laughed as they walked along the school road, soon blending into the freshmen heading to their respective faculties.