NOVEL NEXT Chapter 91 – Shinomiya’s Family 01
If I thought about the head of the Shinomiya Family and Kaguya's father, he was a father who was rarely by his child's side as he spent his time on business trips to expand his power. In fact, the first time he appeared was when he called Kaguya, who was about to go shopping with her friends before looking at a fireworks festival at the main house in Kyoto.
In the manga panel, readers can see that Kaguya, who is usually a confident and talented girl, looks nervous. There is a sense of expectation as to why her father calls her only for her father to be satisfied that she followed orders by being in the main house without even looking at Kaguya.
That was the first time readers saw Shinomiya Gan'an, even if it was just a glimpse before I myself finally saw his old and probably dying self hundreds of chapters later. That's five years away, isn't it? If what happened in the manga is true.
Even so, I didn't feel any difference between the current Gan'an and the one I saw dying in the manga panel. He only looked a little better because he wasn't wearing various medical devices on his body like in the manga I saw.
Honestly, I doubted that Seiryuu had the power to make me meet Gan'an. That's why it took Seiryuu so long to convince Gan'an even to read the letter I wrote for him. Indeed, it took my assistance in the end for Gan'an to respond positively to my request to meet him.
Unlike Ryuju-san, Gan'an did not give off the strong aura or intimidating presence that I imagined the head of a zaibatsu family like the Shinomiyas to have, especially when talking about someone like Gan'an, who said in the manga that the Shinomiya Family was built by his own charisma. In front of me was an old man who looked exhausted despite his sharp features.
However, when considering Kaguya's story, it is not strange that this is the case. Gan'an may have lost most of that charisma after the death of the woman he loved, Shimizu Nayotake, who was also Kaguya's mother.
"I'm so grateful that you took the time to let me meet someone like you," I spoke while bowing before Gan'an, as taught by Seiryuu.
"Hm—" I couldn't see his reaction because I was still bowing my head. Even so, from the sound of his voice, I could only imagine that he was nodding his head quietly while still playing with the bonsai tree I had seen and also from the sound of the scissors that were cutting strand by strand.
"It's quite impressive. I wonder when a kid your age looked calm and unnerving. Meeting me was the last time. Hm, no. I wonder when I last talked to a kid your age."
I didn't understand why he was talking like that. After all, he was supposed to have Kaguya, who was also a child of the same age as me. However, considering the story that happened, Gan'an probably rarely talked to Kaguya and only met her occasionally. It wasn't strange that he said those words.
'Shouldn't a person his age be playing with grandchildren— Well, considering the age between Gan'an and Kaguya, they should be grandfather and granddaughter rather than father and daughter.' I thought like that while Gan'an continued.
"Well, it's no wonder someone who got into the entertainment industry from a young age is called a genius. It is even rumored that almost all of the decisions that made Starberry Pro this big came from you. That's really impressive."
"It's an honor to get praise from someone like you, Shinomiya-sama." However, what I've done is far from all your success. I still have much to learn, especially from an insightful person like you."
"Hm— Is that so—" I looked at him, who was holding a glass this time, and took a sip of green tea before continuing his words. "It seems that Strawberry Pro was successful enough that one of my children went to great lengths to bring me in touch with a newly wealthy family. I don't know if you guys are impressed, or if the Shinomiya Family's power is waning."
"Or your son is ultimately not as good as you, Shinomiya-sama. In the end, your child is not as charismatic as you are. That's a matter of fact—"
"Is that so—"
"Either way, as soon as you step down as head of the Shinomiya family, This family will be immediately in turmoil, and the other family will likely eat a lot of slices of cake. Especially the rising family one within Shinomiya's family."
"Are you talking about the Shijo Family?"
"Un, most likely."
What I can do is speak something that will impress Gan'an without making him angry or anything like that. It's just that I'm a little surprised that she would let me talk like this. I wonder if he wanted to know about me or something with this little conversation.
"Hm, I wonder if you may think you might be doing a better job than them?" Gan'an spoke something I never imagined would come out of his mouth like this.
"Eh, of course not. There's no way I'm thinking like that. At the end of the day, I'm just an actor, a maker of music, stories, and movies. Despite what was rumored, I made the decision that made Strawberry Pro successful. Ultimately, it happened because the decision had nothing to do with the business point of view but because of my ability and talent."
I'm speaking as honestly as possible because I only make decisions or create things I know will be successful thanks to memories from my past life. Strawberry Pro eventually became a huge success thanks to the skills and experience of Miyako and Ichigo, who took care of business affairs and the like.
"To realize the shortcomings as well as the strengths of others is a leader's skill." Gan'an praised me and gave me a cup of green tea.
I drank the green tea in the manner I learned from the tea ceremony course or something like that.
"It's a good thing, but how about discussing your talent for making stories? You wrote something interesting in your letter. A romance story between two people who have two different statuses, and then the woman dies after giving birth to her child. Then, the father is busy working and has left his daughter neglected until now. The daughter has a relationship with a man of different status before finally ending happily. It feels like an ordinary romance story." Gan'an told me as he looked at the letter I had written to him.
"That's not really interesting to me, but I feel like in these stories, you strangely describe a place in great detail and also a story about a sick father. Then how do they know her father's will is in a place where he was often with her mother and also use the date of her birth and death of her mother? Somehow, all of this is like an experience of someone—"
Gan'an stopped his talk.
"I wonder what you must say to go through all this to meet me."
It seems my plan to meet Gan'an starts now.
