A few days earlier.
"Uncle Wilson."
"Eh? Young master, you're here."
"Don't keep calling me that, it sounds awkward."
At that time, Rinji hadn't yet returned home with Karura. On the night before, he visited Wilson's place.
Unlike George, who seemed to have settled in Japan for the long-term, Wilson was only staying a few months before returning to headquarters.
"Wait a moment, young master, I'll make you some tea—"
"No need, I just have something to discuss with you," Rinji waved him back.
Hearing that, Wilson immediately became excited.
"Oh! Are you planning to inherit the organization?"
"Not that."
"Oh…"
"You're terrible at hiding your disappointment."
Lighting a cigarette, Rinji looked at Wilson.
"You know I'll be home for the New Year for about a month. Since I won't be in Japan, I need your help with something."
"What is it?"
"During winter break I tried teaching the Shinomiyas a lesson. I thought if I split off some of their industries, that Shinomiya girl would wise up and reclaim them. But she hasn't moved at all."
Rinji referred to when he impersonated Kaguya to stir up conflict within the family—putting Gan'an in the ICU to spark infighting, forcing Oko to hand over raw material transport routes, balancing them while feeding Kaguya resources.
But the biggest problem was that after gaining these assets, Kaguya did nothing. Industries weren't cash; if she didn't act, they'd just be taken back.
Flicking ash into the tray, Rinji continued, "I guess expecting a love-brained heiress to handle this was dumb. Honestly, if things just return to square one, it's boring."
"So you mean…"
"My point is, useless things shouldn't be kept," Rinji smirked. "The Shinomiyas control a big chunk of Japan's economy. They're no small fry. Some of their assets could be useful to IW. Since she won't take them, we'll keep them for her."
"I see…"
Wilson's gaze grew serious.
"You want me to go to Kyoto and wipe out the Shinomiyas? Easy enough. I'll line up someone to take over their industries, then contact the operations division."
"No need. Whether they live or die doesn't matter. Otherwise I'd have killed them four years ago," Rinji said with a grin. "What matters is making them live as if they were already dead."
"You mean to put the Shinomiya Zaibatsu under 'breeding'?"
"The pig's grown fat enough, time to cut some meat—and it's still disobedient," Rinji said. "This time, Uncle Wilson, I want you to go to Kyoto and push Shinomiya to reclaim what's hers."
"I understand."
"Let's hope the Shinomiyas don't pull anything pathetic. That would be dull."
The cigarette in Rinji's hand had burned down, ashes falling into the tray.
"Things that are dull… it's only natural if they disappear. You understand that, Uncle, don't you?"
"Of course."
Wilson smiled.
Only today did he learn that Rinji had already begun seizing Shinomiya assets through Kaguya.
Though he didn't know the method (the body-swapping part was too fantastical), Wilson saw in Rinji the shadow of their old boss.
Truly, the leader of the organization had to be someone like Rinji.
"That's all. I'll leave it to you, Uncle. I'll be going now—"
"Wait, young master, about inheriting the organization…"
"Eh, we'll talk about that later."
"…"
Wilson knew Rinji still had no intention of inheriting the organization.
---
The midterm exam results came out.
As expected, Shirogane remained first in the year, Kaguya was second, Fujiwara was still below 100th, and Iino was first among the first-years.
By the way, Hayasaka's ranking went up from 114th to 20th.
Worth mentioning was Ishigami.
This time his score placed him at 120th.
Although still average, considering he used to barely avoid flunking near the bottom, this was a huge improvement.
"Still a long way to go."
If it were the old Ishigami, seeing this score he would have breathed a sigh of relief, then pulled out his handheld console in the student council room to reward himself with a game.
But he was different now.
He wasn't satisfied with this score at all, even felt unwilling.
He thought that after working so hard for so long, he should at least break into the top 100, yet he fell short.
After the exam, he continued reviewing with books in hand.
"This is rare, Ishigami, I hardly ever see you work this hard."
Iino looked at Ishigami, who was reading on the sofa in the student council room.
Usually when she entered, she always saw him on his phone. Now he was studying.
"Since I chose Tsubame-senpai as my girlfriend, I have to make sure I have the brains to match. My old scores couldn't be shown in public."
"Ah, I thought so too. Then keep at it."
"By the way, where are Shinomiya-senpai and the president? Haven't seen them today."
The student council office only had Ishigami and Iino.
"Huh? The second-years all left early this morning for their school trip." Iino looked at Ishigami suspiciously. "Have you stopped caring about outside news lately?"
"There's no need to pay attention." Ishigami closed his book and sighed.
"By now, it's the fifth day since Rinji left."
"You remember that clearly."
"Of course. If I succeed with Tsubame-senpai, then it's time for Rinji to fulfill his promise."
"It's a miracle Rinji can still consider you a friend."