Chapter 176 Toward the Final Phase
#01JinseiGyakutenToward the Final Phase
Secretary General Ugaki’s PoV
I was drinking whiskey at a bar I knew for a secret meeting.
Today’s Scotch was from Speyside.
A bottle of whisky that I remember drinking with my best friend when we were young. We both liked to enjoy the aroma of whiskey, so we drank it straight and slowly, without ice, and talked about various dreams.
“Those were the best days.”
I think of it with deep emotion. Thinking back, the bottle has been redesigned several times since then. But, it still retains the sweet, fruity, old-fashioned taste of sherry cask fermented whiskey. It seems like only yesterday that we were sending each other bottles from the year our kids were born.
I take another sip of that memorable drink. It is still sweet. Raisins, herbs, brown sugar, and mitarashi dango (traditional Japanese rice flour dumplings). Complex flavors layered in my mouth.
“Secretary General-san, sorry, I’m late.”
The man I was waiting for entered. I was hoping for a little more relaxation, but alas…
“No, I was drinking my favorite whiskey, so it’s no problem?”
“Ah, I see.”
“What about drinks?”
“I’m a martini then.”
That’s a pretty good choice. A martini is a cocktail made by mixing gin, a distilled spirit with herbs, with vermouth, a white wine with herbs.
The cocktail arrived. I dare not talk about work before he takes a sip.
“It’s good.”
A martini is a cocktail that really shows the bartender’s skills.
“Now let’s talk about work. How did the PM look at the cabinet meeting?”
This question is answered by this promising young man.
“He was quite upset. He seems to be in a hurry because of Councilor Kondo’s problem.”
“I’m sure he is. He seems to be trying to escape, but it won’t work that way.”
“Didn’t the Secretary General do the leaking to the media?”
He’s still young for a politician. He still has that idealistic blue streak. I don’t dislike that blue streak, but I also think it’s careless.
“Well, I wonder…”
The greatest weapon is ambiguity. We should not lie. But if you can’t tell the truth directly, it’s best to smoke it out like this.
“He also said that this is where justice is done. The Prime Minister said that he would put pressure on the school to end the bullying problem as soon as possible.”
“I see. The Prime Minister seems to be very lenient.”
With a wry smile, I smile at the Minister of Education, the young hope of the faction…
Manager Tachibana’s PoV
As soon as I made my appointment with Mitsuda-kun, I contacted Matsuda-san, a junior member of the literature club.
All to get her to take the blame.
[Matsuda-san. I’m in trouble. I need to see you right away. Can you come over? Also, I’ll leave a secret note with this number in a locker in front of the station, so please check it.]
Leave her a message in the locker. She’s on her way to the station now, so the preparations will be quick.
If you can get her, Mitsuda-kun and the members of the soccer team to move now…
I will silence Ikenobu Eri and pin the blame on them.
This is the only way.
“Yes. It’s okay. I can manipulate people better than anyone else.”
It’s the only thing I think I can do better than Eiji-kun.
I will use my last weapon to the fullest to get through this difficult situation. This is the last hope.
…Last hope?
What does that mean?
Before I knew it, I realized that I had been pushed to the brink of life. I was forced to feel an inferiority complex that I couldn’t do anything about.
I lost everything I had built up, and even if I could escape, I would have to live my life with a strong sense of inferiority to the genius named Aono Eiji. The heavy burden of having to live such a life deepened my emotional wounds.