The Narrow Crack of an Era and a Reborn Home

That sense of ease reached its peak when he saw the small, round figure on the living-room sofa.

"Daddy!"

Nearly five-year-old Nakayama Kazuki charged over like a little cannonball and hugged Takuya's thigh with perfect accuracy.

The child had inherited the Nakayama family's excellent genes and was sturdy as a little calf.

Nakayama Takuya lifted him up smoothly and spun him around in the air, making the little fellow giggle nonstop.

"Gently, Kazuki. Don't bump into Mommy."

Nakayama Miyuki walked out of the kitchen, carrying a plate of freshly cut fruit.

She watched the father and son roughhousing, her eyes full of tenderness.

On the living-room sofa, Nakayama Eri was laboriously adjusting her sitting position.

She was already eight months pregnant, and the swell of her belly made her whole figure look much rounder, carrying a gentle, maternal warmth.

Hearing her mother-in-law's reminder, Eri smiled a little embarrassedly and stood up with a hand braced at her waist.

"Takuya, you've worked hard. Father's in the study. He said we'd eat once you came back."

Nakayama Hayao had been in a very subtle state lately.

Ever since Nakayama Takuya had pushed through the Audit Committee inside Sega, this once-formidable hero seemed to have found a certain rhythm in withdrawing behind the curtain.

He no longer questioned every detail of the business. Instead, he preferred staying in the study to pore over dry economic data, or to stare blankly at the garden outside the window.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was very harmonious.

Nakayama Hayao set down his chopsticks, took a sip of hot tea, and the topic naturally turned to the recent economic trends.

"I read the Ministry of Finance report these past two days. The infrastructure allocations for designated agricultural and mountain villages have already begun to shrink." Nakayama