Tsutsumi Yoshiaki did not speak.
Inside the room, only the very light blowing sound of the air conditioner remained.
This sentence indeed struck a chord with him.
Saionji and Seibu had already made a similar attempt before.
The key station management rights negotiated at the beginning of the year had already allowed Saionji's retail, food, and logistics businesses to enter Seibu's lines.
Prince Hotel's procurement was also leaning towards S-Farm.
The commerce around the stadium was likewise being integrated.
These projects had not been running for long, yet they had already proven that when the resources of both sides were put together, they could indeed complement each other.
If they brought in the entire set of consumer-end capabilities of FamilyMart, Ryohin Keikaku, and PARCO as well...
Tsutsumi Yoshiaki's mind had already begun to picture several specific stations.
Ikebukuro went without saying.
Tokorozawa.
Several plots of land along the Shinjuku Line that Seibu had never thoroughly developed.
There were also several projects originally prepared to be postponed due to the deteriorating consumer environment.
After the bubble burst, simply building structures was becoming increasingly difficult to make money from.
But if the things inside could naturally attract people over, that would be a completely different story.
"You are planning to move my brother's stores onto my railway, huh."
Tsutsumi Yoshiaki finally spoke.
Satsuki finished listening and gently shook her head.
"Not his stores."
"After the transaction is complete, they will be our stores."
Tsutsumi Yoshiaki chuckled lightly and glanced at her.
"You really are not polite at all, and the talks have not even started yet."
"Business is business."
Satsuki's tone remained calm.
"Besides, Seibu is not helping me for free."
"In the future, when FamilyMart opens stores in Seibu stations, the rent will belong to you. When Ryohin Keikaku enters Seibu's properties, the rent will also be yours. If PARCO really brings a project along Seibu's lines, what ultimately increases will still be Seibu's customer traffic and land value."
"Saionji is responsible for selling things."
"Seibu is responsible for getting people to come over."
She paused for a moment.
"Is not it good for everyone to do what they do best?"
Tsutsumi Yoshiaki leaned back against the sofa.
This time, he was silent for a very long time.
Satsuki was not in a hurry to urge him.
She had already said what needed to be said.
Seeking cooperation with Tsutsumi Yoshiaki this time was only one of the reasons due to the bad relationship between the two brothers.
That kind of thing could at most make him willing to sit down and listen; Tsutsumi Yoshiaki would not make decisions purely based on emotions.
Whether he could finally nod depended on what Seibu could get.
After quite a while, Tsutsumi Yoshiaki spoke again.
"Have you ever thought about a question?"
"Hmm?"
"Why would my brother sell?"
Satsuki raised her eyes.
"As far as I know, Tsutsumi Seiji has already started decentralising the group's power to various companies this year."
"So what?"
"This shows that he himself has already admitted that the past way of having everything revolve around one person can no longer go on."
Satsuki gently took a sip of tea.
"Since FamilyMart is a listed company and PARCO is also an independent company, who the shareholders are can naturally change."
"Nor did I ask Tsutsumi Seiji to hand over the entire Saison."
"I do not want Seiyu, I do not want department stores, and I have no interest in things that heavily overlap with Saionji's existing business and would only increase the burden if taken over."
"I am only taking three things."
Hearing this, Tsutsumi Yoshiaki could not help glancing at her.
"It is better for you to say that word 'only' a bit less."
Satsuki ignored him; right now she was the cold and aloof "Business Model Satsuki."
"As for the price, Saionji will negotiate in the normal way."
"FamilyMart and PARCO involve listed shares, so we will do what should be done. If Tsutsumi Seiji is willing to directly cede control of Ryohin Keikaku, it can also be valued separately."
"However, there is one thing I must make clear first."
Satsuki gently placed the teacup in her hand back on the table.
"My talking about these with Uncle Tsutsumi today is not to have you help me persuade Tsutsumi Seiji."
Tsutsumi Yoshiaki raised his eyebrows.
"Then why did you talk to me for so long?"
"Because if these things really end up in Saionji's hands, there will only be more and more places to deal with Seibu afterwards."
Satsuki looked at him.
"FamilyMart wants to open stores, PARCO wants to find new commercial projects, and Ryohin Keikaku wants to continue expanding. Seibu has stations, properties along the lines, and land suitable for further development in its hands."
"Since we are bound to cross paths eventually, rather than waiting until Tsutsumi Seiji and I finish negotiating and then coming back to explain to you what Saionji plans to do with these companies, it is better to make things clear on both sides right now."
Hearing this, Tsutsumi Yoshiaki already understood her true meaning.
"So you did not come today to have me help you buy things."
"Half and half, I suppose."
Satsuki shook her head very lightly.
"I need to know first how Seibu views this transaction."
"If Uncle Tsutsumi originally did not want Saionji to touch these companies in Tsutsumi Seiji's hands, then I had better know before the negotiations begin, rather than waiting until things are halfway negotiated and suddenly having an extra problem to deal with."
She paused slightly.
"In addition, if the cooperation regarding stations and line development just now was just me sitting here taking things for granted, then it would not have any meaning."
"I always have to make sure first whether Seibu is willing or not."
Tsutsumi Yoshiaki leaned back on the sofa and thought for a while.
"In other words, you have not even bought the things yet, and you rushed over to talk to me about how to use them after buying them."
"Pretty much."
"You certainly are quite confident."
"Advance preparation never hurts."
Satsuki's tone remained calm.
"If we wait until the company is actually bought to think about what can be done with it, it will be too late."
Tsutsumi Yoshiaki did not reply immediately.
He had already calculated the plan Satsuki gave just now in his mind.
If it was just Saionji acquiring FamilyMart, Ryohin Keikaku, and PARCO, it would not amount to any direct loss for Seibu itself.
And if Satsuki really combined the future expansion of these enterprises with Seibu's stations, properties, and line development in the manner she just mentioned, then Seibu could instead reap quite long-term benefits from it.
In that case, he had no need to deliberately stand out and block this business deal just because those companies currently belonged to his older brother.
"Fine."
Tsutsumi Yoshiaki finally spoke.
"If you are asking about Seibu's attitude, I do not oppose it."
Satsuki looked at him.
"After you really buy these things, as long as the project is suitable, the stations, properties, and line development can all continue to be discussed."
"As for my brother's side..."
He thought for a moment.
"I can pass a word for you."
"If you want me to go see him with you, I can go too."
"However, let us make it clear first."
Tsutsumi Yoshiaki looked at Satsuki.
"The price is your own business, and whether he is willing to sell is also your own business. I will not run over and force my brother to sign just to help you buy a few companies."
"Of course."
Satsuki nodded.
"I never intended to have you negotiate the price for me in the first place."
"If Tsutsumi Seiji is willing to talk, negotiating with him myself is enough."
Tsutsumi Yoshiaki asked again:
"What if he is unwilling?"
"Then we will not buy."
Satsuki answered very briskly.
"I want these things because they happen to suit Saionji right now. If the price and conditions eventually become unsuitable, then naturally they will not be as worth buying as they are now."
"Saionji is not lacking any company to the extent that it absolutely must acquire it."
Hearing this, Tsutsumi Yoshiaki instead chuckled.
This was more like her.
Before, she calculated clearly how a company could be used in the next few years, who to cooperate with, and which business sector it could patch up, but when it really came to not being able to buy it, she could let go just like that.
This kind of person was the most troublesome.
Because it was very hard to use the fact that 'she wants it' to force her to pay a higher price.
Tsutsumi Yoshiaki picked up his tea and took a sip.
"Then that is settled."
Satsuki gently nodded.
"Mm."
This was already enough.
What she truly needed to confirm today was not whether Tsutsumi Yoshiaki could suppress Tsutsumi Seiji on her behalf.
As long as Seibu clearly stated it would not oppose this transaction and was willing to continue providing cooperation on stations, properties, and line development after the acquisition was completed, the most important part of that plan just now would no longer be just a concept on paper.
When she truly sat in front of Tsutsumi Seiji, she would not need to negotiate the acquisition while guessing whether Tsutsumi Yoshiaki would suddenly intervene on the other side.
At least on Seibu's side, it was no longer a variable.
As for whether Tsutsumi Seiji was willing to sell, and at what price he was willing to sell——
That was a problem to be solved at the next table.
"Alright."
After Satsuki finished speaking, her body finally leaned back into the sofa.
The serious expression she had maintained ever since entering the door relaxed bit by bit as this business negotiation truly ended.
Satsuki reached out to take her teacup, and only after touching the wall of the cup did she find that it was already cold.
She crinkled her nose.
"It is all gone cold."
Tsutsumi Yoshiaki, however, ignored her sudden disdain for the tea's temperature.
He was still looking at Satsuki.
He looked for quite a while.
After noticing this, Satsuki raised her head.
"What is wrong?"
"I suddenly thought of a question."
"What?"
"These things you mentioned just now."
Tsutsumi Yoshiaki raised his hand and tapped gently on the desktop.
"FamilyMart supplements the convenience store terminals, Ryohin Keikaku supplements the daily goods you currently lack, and PARCO can connect with the clothing, entertainment, and retail companies in your hands."
"And you can continue to expand overseas in the future."
Satsuki did not interrupt.
Tsutsumi Yoshiaki continued:
"Even what Seibu can get out of it, you have already calculated."
"Stations, land along the lines, rent, customer traffic, and new development projects in the future."
Saying this, his eyes slowly narrowed a bit.
"These things do not look like something you could just sit here and think up in ten-odd minutes."
Satsuki, holding that cup of already-cold tea, paused in her movement.
"You went shopping at PARCO this morning, and then temporarily rushed over here to buy a car in the afternoon."
Tsutsumi Yoshiaki looked at her.
"And then you 'happened' to run into me."
"As a result, in such a short time, you figured out what your retail business lacks in the next few years, how to get it, how to integrate it after getting it, and by the way, even what Seibu can get?"
Satsuki seemed to freeze for a moment because of this question.
She lowered her head to glance at the tea in the cup, and then raised her eyes again.
That exceptionally serious expression from when they were talking business just now had disappeared.
Replacing it was a hint of a smile that made Tsutsumi Yoshiaki's stomach hurt just looking at it.
"Who knows?"
Satsuki gently swayed her teacup.
"Maybe I prepared it beforehand?"
"Or maybe..."
She thought for a little bit.
"I really just thought of it right now."
Tsutsumi Yoshiaki stared at her.
Satsuki smiled.
"However, none of this matters, right?"
"..."
Tsutsumi Yoshiaki did not speak.
This was tantamount to answering nothing at all.
Yet he could not find any point in continuing to press.
If it had been prepared long ago, it meant that this girl had already set her sights on a few things in his older brother's hands before shopping at PARCO today, and simply happened to run into him, taking the opportunity to bring the plan out ahead of time.
If she really had just thought of it...
Ten-odd minutes.
From seeing PARCO, to running into himself, and until sitting down in this lounge, she had already connected the positions of the three companies and the interests of both sides all together.
Tsutsumi Yoshiaki thought for a while.
In the end, he decided not to delve into it deeply.
After spending many years getting along with this little girl, he had slowly learned a principle.
Knowing the answer to some questions would not make one's mood any better; it would only increase his probability of taking stomach medicine.
"Alright."
He waved his hand.
"Whatever you say."
Satsuki laughed in very high spirits.
She completely lost the desire to drink that cup of cold tea from earlier. She reached out and pushed the cup aside, and the earnestness she had maintained while talking business earlier dissipated quite a bit along with it.
Seeing her like this, Tsutsumi Yoshiaki suddenly asked:
"Would you like me to contact Tsutsumi Seiji for you?"
Satsuki was originally preparing to pick up her handbag, but upon hearing these words, her movements paused for a moment.
Afterward, she raised her head and looked at Tsutsumi Yoshiaki with a rather disgusted gaze.
"Forget it."
"How so?"
"If Uncle Tsutsumi were the one calling over..."
Satsuki thought about it, her tone having relaxed again.
"Perhaps as soon as Tsutsumi Seiji hears your voice, he will not want to talk anymore."
"..."
The expression on Tsutsumi Yoshiaki's face froze.
"Our relationship has not gotten that bad, has it?"
Satsuki did not answer, only looking at him quietly.
After a few seconds, Tsutsumi Yoshiaki shifted his gaze away first.
"...at least he would not hang up the phone directly."
"That is still very dangerous."
Satsuki laughed.
"It is still better for me to go find Tsutsumi Seiji myself about this matter. Uncle Tsutsumi giving an attitude today is enough for me, leave the rest to me."
After speaking, she finally picked up her handbag and stood up from the sofa.
Tsutsumi Yoshiaki glanced at her.
"Are you planning to go today?"
"Today?"
Satsuki blinked, as if only then realising what he was talking about.
Then she shook her head very resolutely.
"No way."
"Were not you just in a rush to buy other people's companies just now?"
"Wanting to buy does not mean we have to talk about it today."
Satsuki lowered her head and adjusted her clothes.
"Today, Lord Father specially chased me out to rest, after all."
Saying this, her face once again revealed the smile she had when looking at cars in the showroom earlier.
"The car was bought, the money was spent, and a serious matter was incidentally discussed just now."
"I have worked quite hard, have not I?"
Tsutsumi Yoshiaki looked at her.
"You call this resting?"
"Of course."
Satsuki walked towards the door, and when she reached out to touch the door handle, she turned back to glance at Tsutsumi Yoshiaki who was still sitting on the sofa.
"So Tsutsumi Seiji's matter will be discussed another day."
"As for today——"
Satsuki smiled and gestured with her chin toward the showroom outside.
"Just relax properly."