"Are you Japanese?"
The woman's voice was calm, her expression unreadable.
"Yes," Yukima Azuma nodded.
"Yukima Azuma… that's your name, right? If you're offering me a position, then tell me—what's the name of your company?"
Her gaze flickered slightly, searching her memory for any prominent family or corporate empire bearing the name Yukima.
She found nothing.
Which meant… this wasn't some golden-spoon elite in disguise. This was someone entirely new.
Azuma smiled. "That's the tricky part—I haven't actually established the company yet. But if you join, you'll be its very first co-founder."
The woman let out a quiet sigh, as though scolding herself for entertaining the idea at all.
"Young man, I'm not someone who can afford to waste time anymore."
"I have a daughter your age. And to raise her, I need real money. Not just promises."
"You say you want to recruit me. Fine. What salary are you offering? What's the company's registered capital?"
Azuma blinked. "How about equity? Five percent."
The woman chuckled softly, brushing a manicured finger against her cheek.
"Haah… I guess I really have lost my shine. These days, even strangers think I'm desperate enough to bite at scraps."
She waved her hand dismissively.
"Your offer is tempting, but I don't work for companies with less than a million in registered capital."
Azuma didn't flinch.
"My company won't have less than a million."
"I meant a million U.S. dollars," she replied.
"I know," Azuma said calmly. "I was talking about ten times that."
That got her attention.
She studied him again—more seriously this time.
Still no traces of wealth or family backing. Nothing in the records.
And yet, he didn't look like he was bluffing.
"Miss, my arm's starting to get tired," Azuma said casually, still holding his hand out. "Would you mind helping me out a little?"
After a beat of silence, she finally reached out and shook it.
"Hayasaka Nao," she said softly. "Maybe I can't accept your job offer. But we can negotiate the equity."
Her hand felt soft—too soft for someone with her experience.
Azuma gave her a small smile. "Nice to meet you, Nao-san."
The two found a quiet café nearby.
Paul, after collecting his fee, made his way toward a well-earned dinner.
Nao had dismissed her assistant without hesitation.
At the café, they chose a corner table.
Azuma ordered two donuts and a mocha.
Nao picked an iced Americano and a slice of cake.
Once seated, they exchanged formal introductions.
Then, as Azuma took a bite of his donut, he asked offhandedly,
"So, Nao-chan… you're a Shinomiya family official, right? How come you're short on money?"
"That's confidential," she replied curtly.
Azuma smirked. "Let me guess… you're not respected anymore?"
"…"
Nao fell silent.
After the introductions, Azuma had finally been able to recall who she was—from memories of his past life.
A woman with half-Irish blood. The daughter of the previous generation of the Hayasaka family.
After the Hayasaka family collapsed, it had been absorbed into the Shinomiya conglomerate and reduced to a supporting role.
Nao had once been a trusted figure among the younger Shinomiyas.
But at some point, something changed.
The family turned on her.
Her daughter—once a young lady of privilege—now worked as a maid for the Shinomiya heiress.
Azuma didn't know all the details. But he knew enough.
Right now, he held the upper hand in this negotiation.
"Yukima-san," Nao said, steering the conversation, "what kind of company are you planning to start?"
"A venture capital firm," Azuma answered without hesitation.
With his foresight, not going into venture capital would be a waste.
"And your investment focus?"
"Everything."
Nao raised an eyebrow. "That's… rather vague."
Azuma smiled. "My current project? Something we both believe in: Titanic."
She narrowed her eyes slightly. "How much are you planning to invest?"
"All in."
"Are you referring to an import quota… or?"
"Production," Azuma said smoothly. "Only then can we earn a share of the box office revenue."
Their conversation reached a natural pause.
They each took the final sips of their coffee, nearly in sync.
Then Azuma reached into his bag and pulled out a prepared contract.
In the equity field, he filled in what they had discussed: 5% initial equity.
He placed the pen and contract in front of her.
"Sign it, Nao-san. You won't regret this."
Nao gave a tired laugh.
"Who taught you to speak with such certainty?"
She stared at the paper for a moment, then signed.
There wasn't really a choice.
Exiled from the center of power, she had to grasp any chance she could find—or end up like the fallen Hayasaka family, trapped under someone else's heel for life.
With that, Hayasaka Nao officially became Yukima Azuma's first ally.
Her decision wasn't based on logic, or numbers.
It was intuition.
Yukima Azuma wasn't from any elite lineage. He was a newcomer—completely unknown.
But there was something about him.
Something rare.
In her years working alongside the most powerful figures of the Shinomiya group, she had never met anyone quite like him.
Among the youth of this generation, even those groomed by the Shinomiyas themselves… none had this presence.
And as for the older generation?
They were more concerned with guarding their thrones than reaching for new heights.
The only person Azuma reminded her of—just faintly—was Shinomiya Gan'an, the family head who crushed the Hayasakas and rebuilt the empire in his own image.
In her eyes, Azuma was a younger version of that man.
So, she chose to bet on him.
And all she could do now… was hope that the future he spoke of would not make her regret it.