Chapter 26: Sincerity is the Ultimate Weapon

Fortunately, Sato was a sensible woman.

Masakazu and Ai arrived safely at the Beika Hotel. After dropping them off, Sato drove away without a word.

Once inside the private dining room, Masakazu spent the entire time after ordering glued to his phone, leaving Ai to gaze boredly at the television in the room.

[Has the money matter been resolved? — Gin]
[It can’t be rushed; these things must be handled slowly, or the losses will be significant. — Masakazu]
[As soon as possible. — Gin]
[I will, but is the organization only in need of this amount? The project I’ve put together this time is quite large; I could help the organization resolve a bit more. — Masakazu]
[Fine. I will assign you more tasks. — Gin]

Masakazu put his phone away with a pleasant mood. Gin was truly his angel investor—much more straightforward than his biological father. With money, things became much easier to handle.

Masakazu glanced at Ai, who was still eating, and said with feigned dissatisfaction, "Can you stop thinking only about food? I brought you out to discuss business so you could broaden your horizons and eventually inherit my family’s wealth."

Ai wiped her mouth with a napkin. *I’m still this young, and you’re already grooming me to be your beast of burden?* To avoid becoming a draft animal, Ai realized she had to avenge her sister. However, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was overthinking it; by the time she "grew up," Masakazu would likely have gone bankrupt countless times, leaving no place for her as a subordinate.

"Knock, knock, knock."
"Please, come in."

After the knock, Masakazu put his phone away. Yoko Okino and Eiichi Yamagishi opened the door cautiously and stepped in one after another. At Masakazu’s invitation, they sat down quite nervously. Yamagishi started to speak, but Yoko beat him to it: "Mr. Masakazu, does your entertainment company still lack talent?"

Ai looked at Yoko in surprise; she had been quite decisive in her refusal earlier.

"Of course," Masakazu nodded. At the moment, his entertainment company didn't have a single artist—it was just an empty shell.

"May I join your company?" Yoko asked anxiously. Her previous refusal had left a poor impression on Mr. Masakazu, and now, being practically coerced into joining, she feared for her future and her treatment. But then she thought of the corpse back at her place, and Yoko felt she had no choice.

Masakazu was always tolerant of those who had a change of heart. "Of course you may." He pulled out a contract and handed it to Yoko. As if his earlier talk of grooming Ai wasn't a lie, he handed a contract to her as well. Ai looked on speechlessly—*are you really making me look at this stuff?*

Yoko took the contract with trepidation and signed her name with her eyes closed. No matter how outrageous the clauses were, she couldn't back out now. Ai’s eyes widened, startled by her decisiveness. Masakazu, however, assumed Yoko had been moved by his sincerity, knowing that someone as genuine as himself would certainly never wrong her.

"Welcome aboard," Masakazu said, extending his hand.

After shaking hands with Masakazu, Yoko felt a heavy weight in her heart. Although he had promised her a leading role in a movie, it did nothing to dispel her worries.

After they left, Masakazu imparted his business wisdom to Ai: "Ai, remember this: sincerity is always the ultimate trump card."

Ai stared blankly at him. *Whether you're sincere or not is debatable, but you are definitely 'ultimate' when it comes to killing people.* Thinking of that man who had met such an absurd end, Ai looked at Masakazu with a mixture of vigilance and fear. He played his part too well; if not for the blood feud over her sister, she might have mistaken him for nothing more than an eccentric scion of a wealthy family.

*I cannot let this guy fool me.* Ai was already contemplating how she would meet her end if her assassination attempt on Masakazu failed. She hoped it wouldn't be like that man named Eto. Being shoved back-first onto a blade—that must have hurt, right?

While her mind wandered, Ai glanced at Yoko’s contract. Unexpectedly, even though Masakazu had used extreme measures to force Yoko into submission, the terms of the contract were actually quite generous. At least to an outsider like Ai, it looked like a very good deal.

Masakazu patted Ai on the head and said, "This is my way of doing business: you have to treat your employees well."

It was a matter of necessity. After all, this was the "Conan-verse"—trifling matters could escalate into murder cases, let alone harboring resentment toward one's boss. In this world, being a company president was a high-risk profession.

Ai looked at him strangely. *So, it’s 'heavy blows to competitors, generous rewards for employees,' is it?*

Masakazu was unaware of Ai’s silent judgment; he genuinely felt he was sincere to everyone.

After dinner, the two took a walk to digest their meal. Masakazu kept talking about his so-called entertainment company, and Ai felt a headache coming on. *I’m just a grade-schooler now. Why do I have to attend elementary school, only to come home and listen to you drone on about business matters? Why!*

Annoyed, Ai retorted, "Your company doesn't even have any projects. How are you going to get Yoko a lead role in a movie?"

"Projects? You can have those whenever you want," Masakazu said nonchalantly. With money, his father’s trivial help, and some assistance from the Organization in the gray market, getting projects off the ground shouldn't be too difficult. If it got really tough, he could always ask God for help.

"Come on, I’ll take you to see a movie. We’ll pick one at random, and whatever genre it is, I’ll write a script for it myself," Masakazu said with great confidence.

Ai was slightly taken aback. *You’re already so rich, and you’re still thinking about artistic creation? Is this what happens when one’s material needs are met—you start seeking spiritual fulfillment?* But how good was this guy’s writing anyway? At the very least, Ai had never seen a study in his home.

She could only conclude that Masakazu was one step closer to bankruptcy and jumping off a building. *I hope he stays resilient and doesn't commit suicide before I can take my revenge.*

...

"Aren't Young Master Masakazu’s terms a bit too generous?" Yamagishi asked, staring at Yoko’s contract in shock.

Not only was the commission rate high, but the restrictive clauses were relatively lenient. More importantly, it promised a lead role in a major film every year. Yoko had been an idol, and apart from movies that wanted to exploit her fame to harvest fans, she had never had access to serious film resources. Masakazu’s offer was simply too good.

Yamagishi cautiously glanced at Yoko’s expression. *Young Master Masakazu is giving you such good conditions—could it be that he expects something in return?*