The Flying Door

"Haa!" After a period of commotion, Sogo Doma calmed down slightly: "I wonder how the old man is doing over there. Eh, screw it!"

Chiba, Japan.

The Doma Family, Doma Main Residence.

"Are those people still making a scene?" Keiryu Doma asked the person beside him.

"A few families have already left, and the members of the Doma branch family have cleared out entirely. After all, it is Young Master Sogo..." the person who appeared to be the butler replied immediately.

"According to that logic, should I be thanking the Doma branch family?" Keiryu Doma frowned.

"They wouldn't dare!"

"Sigh."

After the sigh.

"It's not that they don't want to, it's that they don't dare. Just thinking about it is truly chilling."

The butler did not answer, only bowing his head lower. After a long while, he finally said, "Yes."

Keiryu Doma shook his head, and after another long pause, he spoke: "Tell me, are those people idiots? Even I wouldn't dare use Umaru to threaten Sogo..."

The butler remained with his head bowed.

"I don't know where they got the courage to discuss Umaru's marriage in private. Look at who they chose: the Suzuki Family, the Shinomiya Family..."

"Tsk tsk, are they trying to use the four great financial cliques to pressure our Doma Family? And all of this, right when Sogo has returned."

"Head of the family, the Doma branch family has already paid the price for this incident." The butler's head remained bowed.

"The price?" Keiryu Doma was relentless. "What price? A few bruised and battered old men? In exchange for the profit-sharing Sogo had to give up? What has the branch family actually sacrificed?"

"Head of the family, please watch your words."

"If you hadn't served the Doma Family for generations, I could have killed you for that remark alone. Surrounded by bad news all day, is there any good news?"

"The Yukinoshita Family sent an urgent message, stating that whatever their head of family said was not the intention of the Yukinoshita Family. Does that count as good news?" The butler raised his head slightly.

"The Yukinoshita Family?" Keiryu Doma rubbed his chin, as if recalling something.

The butler on the side quickly reminded him: "The family of the Chiba prefectural assemblyman. During this marriage incident, Assemblyman Yukinoshita did not make any statements; it was collateral damage caused by Young Master Sogo."

Keiryu Doma: "..."

"Tell them they have a spot in the next term for the prefectural assembly."

"Yes!"

"Right, what did the head of the Yukinoshita Family say?"

"There was almost no opportunity to speak. By the time Young Master Sogo arrived, they were all already beaten to the ground..."

Keiryu Doma: "..."

What should one do when their own son is a monster and a violent maniac? Waiting online, it's quite urgent.

Three days ago.

Doma Main Residence, conference hall. A group of people were holding a meeting—er, calling it a meeting was just a polite way of saying they were bickering.

After all, the person in charge was still grooming himself; Keiryu Doma was busy adjusting his attire.

Someone chatted idly:

"Japan's economy is dead."

"It really is dead! The GDP in the year 2000 was over 4 trillion USD. Twelve years later, it hasn't grown; it's actually shrunk."

"It's a recession."

"And the ways to make money are all controlled by the four great financial cliques. Whatever leaks out is just thankless, back-breaking work."

"What? Is your construction business not doing well either?"

"Don't even mention it. Relocation compensation, construction damages... Do you know what profession I deal with the most every day now?"

"What is it?"

"Lawyers. Damn it, they come to the person in charge every day with a stack of legal clauses. Thanks to them, I've almost memorized those rules and regulations myself."

"Don't even talk about it, the catering industry isn't easy to manage either..."

"Sigh..."

As the group sighed, someone suddenly addressed the members of the Doma branch family: "It's still better for you Doma folks. Even in such a recession, the head of the main family can still rise against the trend and forcefully snatch quite a few resources from the hands of the four great financial cliques."

The branch family member heard this and quickly sat up straight: "You flatter us too much. The head of the family just had good luck."

"Lord Keiryu has never failed in his large-scale investments and possesses the 'Commercial Divine Eye' known for seeing through market trends. How can that be described by just the word 'luck'?"

"It's a pity," someone suddenly sighed.

"What is?"

"It's impossible for a fifth great financial clique to emerge from Japan's resources. The four great financial cliques have already carved up the resources completely. If there are no external factors, the Doma..."

"Watch your tongue!" Just as that was said, someone interrupted.

Immediately, the group fell silent, a sense of "when the rabbit dies, the fox grieves" hanging in the air.

There was no helping it; everyone possessed an ambitious heart, yet here, the highest level had already been locked down. Everyone could see that path, but they could see even more clearly the wall of flesh formed by four colossal giants blocking the way, preventing anyone from approaching.

Right now, it was the Doma Family.

But if it were them instead? The answer was—it would be exactly the same.

Reality is truly despair-inducing; no wonder there are so many otaku who love the 2D world.

As the crowd remained silent, someone suddenly spoke up.

"What do you think about a marriage alliance?"

"A marriage alliance?" Before the others could respond, the members of the Doma Family branch families spoke up first: "Tell us more."

"Think about it. If the Doma Family had the support of one of the four major financial groups, combined with Lord Keiryu's market foresight, who knows? The five major zaibatsu might just emerge."

"I see!" Some responded. These were the heads of families who made their living revolving around the Doma Family. If the Doma Family was strong, they were strong; they were quite concerned about this.

As for the members of the Doma Family branch families, they were each lost in deep thought.

"As for Young Master Taihei, he is already of age. I wonder if the four major zaibatsu would be interested."

"Young Master Sogo..." Recalling the mess of headaches Sogo Doma had caused, the members of the Doma Family branch families shuddered. Better forget it; if a joyous occasion turned into a funeral, or a marriage alliance turned into a blood feud, that would be a disaster.

After much deliberation, Umaru Doma, who had always maintained the persona of a young lady to the outside world, was pushed forward.

"Miss Umaru? Indeed, both her appearance and temperament fit the criteria for a marriage alliance."

"But wouldn't she be too young?"

"We could arrange the engagement now and have them marry once she comes of age, right? Wouldn't that establish the connection?"

"Indeed, Miss Umaru is the best candidate."

"I heard the eldest son of the Shinomiya Family is close in age to Miss Umaru. Why not have Lord Keiryu inquire?"

"The Shinomiya Family, eh? I heard Young Master Sogo has some minor conflicts with them. If they could form a marriage alliance, wouldn't that turn hostility into friendship?"

"In the words of the Middle Kingdom, that would be a double blessing."

"However, the eldest son of the Suzuki Family isn't bad either. Although he's a bit chubby, if he were cleaned up and groomed, he could be considered a handsome youth."

At this moment, the members of the Doma Family branch families looked unexpectedly troubled: "I'm afraid Miss Umaru won't agree."

The crowd: "..."

After a long while, someone said:

"We are all grasshoppers on the same boat. Only when the Doma Family is strong can we grow. It is just like the relationship between a main house and its retainers. Now is the time for us to offer our counsel." There was truly no one else who could make being a subordinate sound so righteous.

"That's right. Just as ancient strategists offered counsel to their lords, even if we face punishment, we will not regret it. This is the soul of a samurai." The soul of a samurai would probably be weeping, wouldn't it?

A chorus of agreement brought a faint smile to the representative of the Doma Family branch families.

"Very well. When Lord Keiryu arrives later, I, as the representative of the branch families, will act as the initiator and offer this counsel to Lord Keiryu..."

However.

Before he could finish his sentence.

"Bang."

The tightly shut tatami sliding door flew inward.