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Chapter 12 – The Dreaming Miko

After the first three days of the New Year had passed and things had settled down, I was summoned to my great-grandfather’s detached residence.

The one escorting me to the detached residence wasn’t my usual maid, Mari, but rather my grandfather’s chief butler, Tokita.
Well, Mari’s last name was also Tokita, so perhaps I should properly refer to him as Tokita Takeo.

But in my mind, I simply called him “Butler Tokita” for some reason.
After all, he was the very embodiment of a true butler.

Led by Butler Tokita, I was taken to the living room of the detached house, which was built in a traditional Japanese style.
Inside, along with my great-grandfather, Souichirou, were my grandfather, Kiichirou, and my onii-sama—no, my uncle—Ryuya.

I could already sense what this was about.
At the same time, I realized that this is a critical moment for me.

My great-grandfather sat at the head seat in the center.
To his right was my grandfather, to his left, for some reason, was Butler Tokita, and to my right was my onii-sama.

Naturally, I am seated directly across from them.
Normally, one would expect an adult to be seated beside a child in a situation like this, but here I am, facing four adults on my own.

This could only mean one thing—they are acknowledging me as an equal.

And if they have gathered like this, it could only mean that they have concerns about the future I had carelessly written down and scattered around.
As for my older brother, it is easy to guess that his involvement had something to do with the recent incident at Toranomon.

As if taking my nervous gulp as a signal, my grandfather, Kiichirou, exchanges a brief glance with my great-grandfather, Souichirou, before speaking.
Since Kiichirou is the head of the family and Souichirou is retired, it is the family head who takes the lead.

And that means this is something of great importance.

“Reiko, in this discussion, we will speak to you as an equal. As long as you tell us the truth, we will believe you and never speak of this outside this room. So please, be honest with us. Do you understand what I am saying?”

(They are completely cutting off my escape route, aren’t they?)

Feeling a cold sweat, I look at each of them once before giving a firm nod, putting all my resolve into it.
The four of them nod back in response.

With that, the first part of this ritual is complete. Now, we are getting to the heart of the matter.

(Now, how should I start?)

As I am pondering, Souichirou speaks first.

“You are not the reincarnation of your great-great-grandmother, Rin, are you?”

“Huhh!?”

I accidentally responded in my natural tone.
I am completely caught off guard by the idea that they have been thinking something like that. 

But I have no clue why.

Yet, from their expressions, it seems like they have either come to some kind of understanding or confirmed something.

“Then, do you have any knowledge of the term ‘The Dreaming Miko’?”

I can only shake my head.
I have absolutely no idea what they are talking about.

Of course, in the otome game ‘Tasogare no Ichizoku’, there are two shrine maidens.
But I never imagined I would hear that keyword in reality.

The keyword “dream” triggered something in my mind.
After all, I told my older brother that I had a ‘scary dream’, which means I essentially predicted the Toranomon incident in my sleep.

They must have read my understanding from my expression, as the next words followed.

“Reiko, do you dream of the future? And not just near events—but things far ahead? Perhaps, many of them?”

Since I’ve already confirmed it through my expression, the wise choice now is to continue affirming it.

So, I give a firm nod.

And then, from directly in front of me, more words follow.

“Under normal circumstances, the fact that you even understand everything we’ve discussed at your age should be shocking. But if you are the Dreaming Miko, that changes things. From this point on, I will share with you—and with Ryuya, whom you have involved—a secret known only to the eldest direct heir of the main family, the one destined to be the clan head.

Only after that will we speak about you, Reiko.”

He pauses briefly, so I nod in response.
My mind is already racing, filled with thoughts about what to say and how to explain.

And then, the story unfolds—a secret passed down only to the firstborn of the Ootori family.
A tale I have never heard before, yet one that feels strangely familiar. 

A story so far-fetched it seems impossible.

But more than anything, it is a story about someone who lived under circumstances eerily similar to mine.
Before I know it, the conversation comes to an end, and Tokita brings out several sheets of paper.

What is written—or drawn—on them is my own work.

“Now, let’s talk about Reiko. Reiko, do you understand what you wrote?”

(Oh? So they’ve actually gone through everything. That makes things easier. I might as well drop the mask entirely.)

I nod firmly. Then, I cast a strong gaze toward the four of them once more.

I can’t help but think in an almost theatrical way—I wonder if they can see intelligence in my eyes, something beyond a typical three-year-old?

But it seems that my intent has been understood.
As expected of this overpowered family.

However, what follows is a deep sigh from my great-grandfather, Souichirou.

“Haa… I see. Just as I suspected. As I mentioned earlier, my mother—Reiko’s great-great-grandmother, Rin—had the ability to see dreams of the future. Following those dreams, my father, Genichirou, and I, from the moment I came of age, have led this family.”

“I played a small role too, as you heard.”

That was my grandfather adding his piece.
Across from him, Tokita nods as well, meaning he too has acted according to these future dreams before.

The only one who seems truly shocked is my older brother. He’s been in a state of surprise this whole time.

Seeing his reaction, my great-grandfather Souichirou nods quietly.

“Ryuya, this is the truth. That said, these dreams do not reveal everything about the future. Apparently, they show a continuous sequence of events spanning several decades from a certain point onward. In my mother’s case, it was from the moment she met my father until the end of her life.”

“Great-grandmother passed away three years ago. So, should we assume that she couldn’t foresee—or rather, couldn’t predict—the great earthquake last year?”

As expected of my onii-sama. His understanding is unbelievably fast.
The other three exchange subtle, knowing smiles at his words.

My grandfather is the one to respond.

“That’s exactly right. That’s why Tokita and I went on a reckless rampage in Siberia, following the future dreams. Well, as I mentioned earlier, we did the same thing during the Russo-Japanese War.”

(Siberia? He must mean the Siberian Intervention. And during the Russo-Japanese War, they caused havoc somewhere in northern Manchuria, right? Why keep that vague? Actually, now that I think about it, are they hiding even more? If the rise of our family was also tied to these events, then no wonder history is different from what I know.)

“That’s the situation, Reiko. You had a predecessor—a Dreaming Miko. And that was your great-great-grandmother. Now, you too are seeing future dreams, aren’t you?”

It seems my great-grandfather has picked up on my understanding, reading it from my expression. His tone is firm and conclusive.

I have no choice but to answer.

But how should I?

“Yes. I also see future events in my dreams. What I told Uncle Ryuya at the end of last year was one of them.”

“I see… So, when did it begin?”

“It started on the night of the great earthquake.”

“I had a terrible time because of it, though. So did Tokita.”

My grandfather responded with a wink.
If he had given a thumbs-up, it would have been the perfect gesture—but thumbs-ups weren’t a thing for Japanese people in this era.

Tokita, on the other hand, simply bowed politely.

As I stared at the three of them, half-stunned, my great-grandfather continued speaking.

“So, Reiko, do your dreams take a different perspective than my mother’s? That part isn’t quite clear to me.”

“I don’t really understand it myself.”

“No, you don’t need to think about that. Just tell us what you see, exactly as it is. So, Reiko, you wanted to propose that we invest in American stocks, short-sell, and use what’s essentially insider trading to make a profit in order to save the Ootori family, correct?”

“I-It’s not insider trading! No one would believe me no matter how I explained it. Even if I told them, they’d just think of it as some shady fortune-telling.”

“That’s true. If we hadn’t known about my mother and what she accomplished, we would have been much more skeptical as well. However… short-selling in large amounts would attract attention, and it’s unrealistic to do it for five whole years. The safest way is the conventional approach, but that requires a significant amount of capital. Based on what you’ve written, you’ve already thought that far ahead.

So, how do we secure that capital? The current financial state of the Ootori family is not good. Last year’s earthquake pushed us even further into hardship. But you must have some kind of plan, don’t you?”

He fired off his words in quick succession, but he already understood everything before I even said it.

I had considered short-selling first as well.
However, this wasn’t the digitized 21st century—if an entire financial conglomerate, rather than an individual, engaged in it, it would attract too much attention. 

Suspicion would surely follow.

That’s why I decided that while we could dabble in short-selling, the primary approach should be a legitimate one, supplemented with strategic maneuvers.

So, I spoke my thoughts aloud exactly as they were.

“I do have a plan. By leveraging stock investments, we can generate significant profits with minimal capital.”

“Leverage? Tokita.”

“Yes, sir. Leverage refers to…”

The other three hadn’t understood the term, but Tokita smoothly explained it to them.
His explanation was clear, but what was even more impressive was how quickly the three grasped it.

That said, leverage was essentially gambling with other people’s money. 

Unsurprisingly, the two military men didn’t look too pleased about it.

(Actually… I never really thought Tokita was just a butler, but who is he really? Is he one of those “Super Butlers” that show up in fiction?)

While I was lost in that thought, my great-grandfather, now wearing an expression of comprehension and acceptance, locked eyes with me.

I met his gaze head-on.

This was the real test.

Short Selling
Selling owned stocks is called “selling physical stocks” (現物の売り, genbutsu no uri).
In contrast, selling stocks that one does not own by borrowing them through margin trading or similar means is called “short selling” (空売り, karauri).

When stock prices are high and expected to drop, investors engage in short selling. They later buy back the stocks at a lower price, making a profit.
If the profit is substantial, even after deducting the cost of borrowing, there is still a significant gain.

If one knows the future, this is the best way to make money without any initial capital.
However, repeatedly executing short sales at the perfect timing, even without any foul play, would likely raise suspicions.

A favorite strategy of vulture investors.

Leverage
Leverage refers to increasing the return on one’s own capital by using borrowed funds, or the ratio by which the return is amplified.

In this case, the approach is to use purchased stocks as collateral to borrow an equivalent amount and reinvest in more stocks.
This process is repeated as many times as possible.

It is sometimes explained using the term “credit creation” (信用創造, shinyou souzou), with its opposite being “reverse credit creation” (逆信用創造, gyaku shinyou souzou), which can be disastrous.
If it backfires, debt piles up in a compounding effect. 

This practice started around the beginning of the 20th century.