In the deepening night of Chiyoda Ward, the Shinomiya Bank headquarters remained brightly lit.
As the core hub of the Shinomiya conglomerate, the bank operated in perpetual illumination.
Countless business elites, as society deemed them, toiled here, racking their brains and sweating profusely for the sake of that enviably high salary.
Oko Shinomiya observed all this with indifference.
In Japan's society, so-called business elites and financial prowess were, in his eyes, utterly hollow.
What truly mattered in this world were resources—the most profitable ventures all boiled down to resource exchange.
Or, in simpler terms, trading benefits!
The staggering figures on the annual reports, the immense profits earned by Shinomiya Bank's thousands of "elites," were nothing more than the result of a few words exchanged by the higher-ups during banquets and negotiations.
Only after they set the stage, creating that initial "1," did the hard work of these business elites gain real value.
Thus, it was the upper class—those with control over material resources—who truly governed the nation.
Oko Shinomiya had always believed this... until he encountered the witches of the mystic side.
Then, he suddenly realised: the times had changed.
Those who obtained supernatural power, wielders of ultimate violence, had begun seizing real-world authority.
And this world had birthed a new resource—the mystic side—a brand-new frontier.
On this frontier, the Shinomiya family stood as the weakest at the bottom.
Thus, as one of the weak, Oko Shinomiya came to understand one truth.
That is to say, the Shinomiya family needed a powerful organisation on the mystic side to act as their safety valve, buying time for the Shinomiya family to become strong players in this new arena.
And the backer Oko Shinomiya had currently chosen was the SDS—more precisely, the Hidden Management Department within the SDS.
"Has Director Luo from the Hidden Management Department agreed to meet on the 16th?"
In the executive office of Shinomiya Bank, Oko Shinomiya finally let out a relieved sigh after hearing his secretary's report, unable to suppress a smile as he said:
"It seems the Hayasaka family is indeed quite favoured by him."
As for whether this favour was directed at Ai Hayasaka or the Hayasaka family's capabilities, Oko Shinomiya didn't particularly care.
He only cared about what he gained after offering up the Hayasaka family.
And now, Oko Shinomiya felt this resource had been well spent.
Because of the Hayasaka family as leverage, the director of the Hidden Management Department had agreed to meet him.
If nothing went wrong, Oko Shinomiya would be the first Japanese zaibatsu member that the director had publicly met since taking office.
Such an occurrence alone would send a special signal to those in power who controlled Japan's resources.
At the same time, it would serve as a warning and deterrent to those violent madmen on the mystic side.
And this was exactly what Oko Shinomiya needed.
So in his view, the Hayasaka family had been a worthwhile gift.
But a gift of this level alone might not be enough for Oko Shinomiya to achieve his ultimate goal.
After all, what he needed now wasn't just suggestive hints, but the Hidden Management Department's public declaration of protection.
The reason for this was that Oko Shinomiya had caught wind of certain rumours.
As the most powerful figure in the Shinomiya family aside from its patriarch, Oko naturally had his own intelligence network.
It was through this that he'd learned the Shinomiya family had drawn the attention of certain forces on the mystic side.
However, his current intelligence wasn't sufficient to identify exactly which enemy had set their sights on the Shinomiyas.
Still, one thing Oko Shinomiya was certain of:
Among Japan's current mystic factions, there wasn't a single one capable of standing against Director Luo Shu.
Therefore, securing this backer was absolutely imperative for Oko Shinomiya.
"How are the other gifts coming along?" After a brief moment of contemplation, Oko Shinomiya touched the ring on his finger before turning to his secretary.
The gifts he referred to were, of course, those so-called idols and entertainers.
In response to Oko's inquiry, the secretary replied in an even tone:
"Rest assured, we will deliver satisfactory results before the 16th."
Hearing this, Oko Shinomiya nodded and asked no further questions, clearly unconcerned about how exactly the secretary intended to produce those results.
For him, only the outcome mattered—everything else was irrelevant.
Yet just as Oko Shinomiya nodded in satisfaction, a pitch-black figure materialised on the sofa in the room without the slightest disturbance.
Seeing this black-cloaked figure suddenly appear in his office, Oko's eyes flickered briefly before he gestured for his secretary to leave.
Seeing his gesture, the oblivious secretary paused in surprise before obediently exiting the office and closing the door.
Once the secretary had left, Oko Shinomiya turned with a grave expression towards the figure on the sofa:
"Lady Lana, does your faction require the Shinomiya family's assistance with something again?"
Hearing Oko's question, the witch Lana raised her head, revealing her youthful, maiden-like face:
"You seem to be attempting to establish contact with that Demigod from the Hidden Management Department?"
Oko fell silent for a moment before answering evasively: "...This shouldn't interfere with your faction's operations, should it?"
"Indeed, your private communications with that Demigod haven't exceeded our expectations, so naturally there's no interference to speak of."
Lana nodded, indicating that Oko's actions were well within their predictions.
Even as Oko's expression darkened at her words, Lana maintained her cheerful smile like a vivacious young girl as she lightly remarked:
"Still, there's something I must remind you about."
"To the world, our Desire Faction and that individual from the Hidden Management Department share irreconcilable differences."
"So, should he discover you're collaborating with us... Well, I doubt you'd welcome the consequences."
Lana chuckled with evident amusement as she studied Oko's troubled expression, seemingly savouring his agitation.
"That's hardly your faction's concern." Oko didn't entirely trust Lana's warning and still intended to make contact with Luo Shu.
As for cooperating with these witches, necessary actions must still be taken - indeed, they required his utmost effort.
After all, while the witches' blades might not kill Luo Shu, they could certainly slaughter the entire Shinomiya family!
Having witnessed the power of that woman called Echidna, Oko found himself utterly devoid of rebellious thoughts.
Noting Oko's visibly preoccupied state, Lana didn't comment, instead shifting to other business matters:
"The entertainers you sent have become useless. However, in the coming days, we'll require you to arrange twice their current number for our purposes."
Having delivered this harsh demand, Lana offered a conciliatory gesture:
"As long as you don't delay this matter, you may proceed freely with other affairs - including alerting that Director of the Hidden Management Department to our existence."
"I understand your meaning. I'll have my subordinates make preparations with utmost speed."
Oko Shinomiya readily agreed, though inwardly he was puzzled.
These witches were using the guise of recruiting actors, singers, and other entertainers for major productions to have him arrange for artists to attend auditions at specified locations.
They weren't killing anyone, nor were they exploiting the artists—simply making them waste their time with repeated fruitless trips.
What terrifying scheme could be hidden behind such bizarre behaviour?
Oko Shinomiya knew nothing of the mystic side, so he could only silently heighten his wariness towards the witches.
In any case, he resolved to avoid anyone these witches had contacted in the future, lest he fall victim to some strange curse.
Seeing Oko Shinomiya agree, Lana, having achieved her goal, said nothing. She merely snapped her fingers, her body gradually becoming transparent and illusory.
By the time Oko Shinomiya regained his composure, Lana had already vanished from the office—disappearing as abruptly as she had appeared.
Witnessing this, Oko Shinomiya narrowed his eyes and picked up the phone to issue an order to another secretary:
"Arrange for the number of Onmyoji in charge of perimeter security to be doubled within a day. Understood?"
"Understood, Executive Shinomiya," came the timid voice of the secretary over the phone.
After giving the order, Oko Shinomiya's mood immediately lightened.
Though he knew increasing the Onmyoji wouldn't necessarily guard against the Desire Faction, the mere act of spending money provided him with a slight sense of relief and a peculiar feeling of security.
And for him, that was enough!
"I wonder if the Hidden Management Department offers security services?"
Oko Shinomiya could feel unease spreading through his heart.
This anxiety would likely persist until the day he met Luo Shu before it could be alleviated.