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Thus the Die is Cast – Part 06

In the evening, Tokigawa was alone in his secretarial office, engrossed in paperwork, when the phone rang. The caller, someone from the office, informed him that someone fluent in English wanted to speak with Tokigawa.

“In English… for me?”

It didn’t make sense. Why English? Why did they want him, the secretary, and not the minister?

Tokigawa answered the call, recognizing that he wouldn’t know the answer unless he did.

“Hello.”

Tokigawa could converse not only in English but also in French. His boss, the Finance Minister, not only did not speak English but he also hated it, so much so that Tokigawa inwardly called the man an outdated relic.

“…”

Feeling relieved that Tokigawa could speak English, the caller went on fluently. Though momentarily flustered by the speed, Tokigawa knew it was no big deal if he just stayed calm. The caller came from one of the most renowned media outlets in the United States.

“Is it true that you are using the Japanese government’s large-scale digitalization project to acquire land?”

Tokigawa feigned ignorance, but they sounded sure when asking their questions. Based on what he knew, this pertained to the conversation he had with the president of Marumigawa Estate that night.

His heart skipped a beat. His body temperature rose, and his hand holding the receiver became sweaty.

Just like Nitto Shimbun.

The political affairs section’s chief editor at his former workplace claimed to have obtained some footage, but he completely denied it, believing it to be nonexistent.

Is the footage actually real? No, did Nitto Shimbun leak information? Why? Are they seriously trying to bring me down?

The American journalist said lastly, “We’ll thoroughly examine this content for an article.” While brushing it off outright was easy, it wouldn’t be good for problematic articles to come out with elections approaching next year.

In a rush, Tokigawa suggested they should properly investigate. He wouldn’t run or hide, so if they came to Japan, he would agree to an interview.

The caller was surprised at this. After saying they needed to adjust their schedule, they hung up.

“What the hell is going on here?!” Tokigawa roared, slamming the receiver.

It had been mistake after mistake recently. It was almost as if he were haunted by a jinx.

“Keep it down.” The door opened with a clatter, revealing the minister. “I was going to tell you that you don’t have to come along since I have some personal matters to attend to. What were you shouting about?”

“Oh, well… this is…”

Adjusting his tie and jacket, Tokigawa tried to calm himself down. Get a grip, he told himself. This Diet member hated nothing more than a frantic henchman.

“Is the land acquisition not going well?”

“…That is not the case.”

“Then what were you yelling about?”

“I apologize.”

“I’m not telling you to apologize. I’ll ask one more time. What were you yelling about?”

“…”

Shut the hell up, you old bag. Your era is coming to an end soon.

He couldn’t possibly voice out his thoughts.

“I was being dragged into Nitto Shimbun’s office politics, and I told them to keep me out of it given the crucial period.”

“Oh? So you have it under control?”

“No problem.”

“That’s good, then.” Apparently satisfied, the minister turned to leave. “Ensure the success of the land acquisition. We need to allocate some funds for next year’s election. If you can’t handle it, I can ask someone else.”

“I understand.”

“That’s good, then.”

He repeated the same words and left.

“…”

If this wasn’t a Diet member’s office, he’d want to plop down right on the spot.

Money. Money. Money.

The minister, whom Tokigawa considered a mentor, understood the power of money and wielded it perfectly. The profits from this land acquisition were meticulously allocated down to the last yen.

Naturally, the plan included unsavory individuals. Tokigawa was allowed to utilize the strength of such people, even using them to threaten Mr. Doyama.

The minister mentioned he could ask someone else—meaning using another secretary. If that were to happen, his plans to run in the next election would be put on hold, and he would have to be a luggage carrier for several more years. No… that was still better.

If the funds the minister needed didn’t come through—what would happen? Unscrupulous people might come after him. Whether his luggage-carrying fingers would remain intact was questionable. He didn’t want that future.

Then, as if mocking Tokigawa, the phone rang once again. This time, it was a call from a French journalist. Tokigawa told them to come to Japan. Then another call came. And another.

“What is happening?!”

Tokigawa speculated that information about him had been leaked to media outlets worldwide.

Midway through, he said, “Is this about the deepfake video?” successfully discouraging the journalist, but they still sounded sure about the intel.

He handled five calls, and afterward, he instructed the office staff how to deal with the rest, and report back to him later on how many calls they received.

The fact that calls weren’t only coming from the United States but also from Europe and Asia suggested that the influx of calls at this time of day was merely a coincidence. Or maybe there was some information exchange among the journalists.

“I have to settle things quickly.”

He needed to hurry. Tokigawa stared at the palm of his hand. His fingers were still intact, and right now, a somewhat forceful approach might work.

His original plan was to use a group called the Fujinota Future Society as a front, and let Marumigawa Estate handle the formalities. But Doyama proved unexpectedly stubborn, slowing down the acquisition. So, he left the site to Kijima and decided to use unsavory individuals as a means of force. But he needed to be faster.

Tokigawa took out a phone he didn’t usually use. It wasn’t his; he had borrowed it from Marumigawa Estate. When he called the president, he answered immediately.

“The Chinese men should have arrived in Fujinota. Kijima is handling it.”

He could hear the president panicking in response.

“That’s not a good idea, sir. Those guys have a few screws loose. We don’t know what they might do.”

“I trusted you, and look what happened. It’s your job to deal with those people.”

“B-But you asked for them, didn’t you? We have no connections whatsoever.”

What the president of Marumigawa Estate was saying was true.

In comparison to the minister, who held hidden power domestically, Tokigawa had limited means. Whatever he did, the minister would find out.

So, he turned his attention to foreign countries. Westerners would stand out, so a few years ago, he contacted companies in East Asia, and now, he could borrow people like this. No, not just people—funds as well.

They were also exploring ways to infiltrate Japan’s administration, so Tokigawa’s proposal was a godsend to them.

With significant funds and manpower at his disposal, Tokigawa believed that he could face off against anyone, whether it was the Finance Minister or the Prime Minister. The minister, subtly aware of Tokigawa’s actions, simply warned him not to go too far. Tokigawa, however, suspected that this caution might be tinged with fear of his increasing influence.

If he didn’t use this power now, when would he?

“What you’ve been doing with me, what we’re planning—it’s clearly against the law. If this gets exposed, not only will you get arrested, but your company’s license will be revoked, and all your employees will be left out in the streets.”

“I, uh… Wait, are we about to get exposed?!”

Tsk, my tongue slipped, Tokigawa thought. But then, he decided to use this to his advantage.

“There are reporters investigating. Once the acquisition is complete, we can simply feign complete lack of knowledge. It’s now or never.”

“It’s now… or never.”

“You can use force if necessary. Finish the purchase quickly.”

After ending the call, Tokigawa let out a sigh.

He had told the man to do it. Up until now, he had avoided issuing instructions that would harm people. Worst-case scenario, he had just sentenced an old man to death.

“The die is cast.”

Strangely, Tokigawa muttered the exact same words.