54: Inheritance, Engagement, No Mistakes

In the conference room atop Arasaka Tower, Arakawa Michiko sat across from Sesen with her usual composure. Listening to the topic he had raised—the matter of the Arasaka Heir—she repeated it instinctively.

"An heir?" Michiko's tone was steady, carrying just the right degree of respect. "Since Uncle has brought this up, you must already have someone in mind."

Arasaka Yorinobu nodded.

"Father's era is over." His voice was calm, yet carried unquestionable force. "Arasaka needs new blood—not merely among its leadership, but a complete renewal of its very soul. An Arasaka that truly belongs to a new era, one that can coexist with this city and even the world's new order, while actively shaping that world."

Yorinobu had once tried many paths to change the world.

When he was young, witnessing the corporation's darkness had driven him to break with his family. He had even formed a gang in an attempt to destroy the Arasaka empire from the outside. Now, standing at the height of his life, he had come to understand that true change required not only unrest from below, but reshaping from above. He had long since resolved to dismantle everything from within, then rebuild it.

Sesen turned, his sharp gaze falling on Michiko. "Michiko, your daughter, Haruko, carries Arasaka blood, yet she has not been completely corrupted by the shadows of the old era. She is young, highly adaptable, and more importantly, she possesses enough ambition—an ambition strong enough to make her desire things."

Michiko's eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly for a moment, but she did not refute him.

Although Haruko had grown up beneath the many layers of discipline within the Arasaka Estate, as her mother, Michiko had seen through the undercurrents beneath her daughter's calm exterior earlier than anyone.

That girl had indeed inherited the family's