(Thud)
As the opening ceremony began and the lights went out, the banquet hall gradually darkened.
The guests were enveloped in darkness, but none of them panicked.
They attended all sorts of banquets year-round and knew the general procedure well—at events like these, the hosts often played projections with commemorative significance, which naturally required the lights to be turned off.
Sure enough, before long, the host stepped onto the stage.
A ray of light fell over him from above, bathing him in its glow. "Everyone! Next, I'd like to introduce today's most important guest and our national treasure-level painter—Mr. Kisaragi Hosui's work!"
As his words fell, a screen nearly ten meters long and seven or eight meters wide slowly descended at the side of the stage.
The projection shone across it, cycling through painting after painting.
Dozens of paintings drifted past. Every single one shared the same theme—Mount Fuji from all sorts of angles, in every season.
The host's voice carried melodiously through the hall. "Mr. Kisaragi loves Mount Fuji. For over thirty years, he has devoted himself to depicting its majestic form. This time, to celebrate the completion of his student Chairman Tokiwa's Twin Tower Building, Mr. Kisaragi has specially gifted her one of his new works!"
When the presentation ended, the projection screen went dark. Guided by the host, the guests' attention returned to the stage.
"Please enjoy—Spring Snow Fuji!"
The curtain slowly parted.
In the darkness, Mouri Ran gazed at the massive outline onstage and whispered to her two classmates in surprise, "That's such a huge painting."
Suzuki Sonoko was also somewhat surprised. Kisaragi Hosui had seemed utterly uninterested in commercial events like opening ceremonies, yet he had put so much care into this.
But then she thought, *After all, it is a gift for his