Tokyo, early winter had arrived, and fallen ginkgo leaves covered the stone path before the courtyard.
Inside the study at the Suzuki residence, a thin light filtered through the bamboo framework of the paper doors, bathing the room in a solemn, dusky yellow.
Suzuki Kantarō sat upright on the raised platform, his gaze resting on the shelf opposite him, where a black-and-white photograph stood.
It was a memorial portrait...
The paper door slid gently open, and a faint trace of incense drifted inside.
A woman of about fifty opened the door and entered.
She wore plain indigo clothing, her bearing dignified, composed, and courteous...
After entering the room, she gently set the tea and refreshments from her lacquered tray onto the low table, then bowed slightly and prepared to withdraw.
"Nami, sit," Suzuki Kantarō said!
Suzuki Nami paused, then knelt formally on the tatami, her hands folded over her knees, her eyes lowered in silence.
Suzuki Kantarō looked at the memorial portrait and said slowly, "The weather was just like this the day Kyōichi left us."
At those words, Suzuki Nami's fingers instinctively pinched a corner of the fabric over her knees.
She said nothing, but her expression clearly showed her holding back a certain sorrow.
"Father, you seem to have something to say today." Suzuki Nami drew a breath, raised her head, and looked calmly at Suzuki Kantarō.
The old man nodded slightly, picked up an unsealed letter from the table, and pushed it toward Suzuki Nami.
A dark red wax seal rested on the envelope, bearing a five-petaled cherry blossom with the Japanese character "坂" set into its center.
"Open it and take a look."
Suzuki Nami drew out the letter and scanned its contents.
"Mr. Banzai has recommended that I go to China and take over the establishment of the China Affairs Board."
"You are one of Mr. Banzai's most accomplished students," Suzuki Kantarō said gravely. "He believes you should not remain at school studying useless books on psychology and the like."
"Now, the war against China has deviated from our expectations. The empire's strategy of resolving the China question in three months is clearly no longer viable. At a time like this, you should contribute your strength to the empire."
"So Mr. Banzai personally nominated you to the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office to serve as senior adviser to the China Affairs Board and help Tokyo organize the work of its intelligence agencies dealing with China."
The study fell silent for a moment.
The China Affairs Board, which would later become the East Asia Development Board, was the homeland's highest-ranking institution in China, bar none!
Its establishment was proposed by the cabinet, with the prime minister serving as its president!
The army minister, navy minister, finance minister, and foreign minister each served as vice presidents!
As chief adviser, Suzuki Nami would be able to speak directly with the cabinet on matters concerning China!
It was easy to imagine just how important this position was...
Suzuki Nami considered for a moment, then looked at him. "Father, do you want me to go?"
Suzuki Kantarō set down his teacup and stood, bracing both hands against his knees.
He walked over to the memorial portrait and straightened its frame slightly, his movements careful and slow.
Wind swept through the courtyard outside, and the ginkgo leaves rustled as though someone were whispering softly.
"As soldiers, devoting everything to the empire is the mission of our Suzuki family."
"Besides, Kyōichi has been dead for three years. You should not keep shutting yourself away."
"You must understand that life, death, and parting are ordained by heaven. They are beyond human control."
"Go to China. A change of surroundings might do you some good."
Suzuki Nami did not answer. She merely watched Suzuki Kantarō's back in silence.
During the February 26 Incident that had erupted the previous year, Suzuki Kantarō had been one of the few fortunate enough to survive.
Those young officers had wanted to cut off his head, but because his wife had intervened, they had ultimately refrained.
It was not because they feared Suzuki Kantarō's power, but out of respect for his wife.
Madam Suzuki had been His Majesty the Emperor's wet nurse. Whoever they were, they had to show her some respect.
"If I leave, what will Shingo do? As for the Black Dragon Society, he..."
Suzuki Kantarō raised a hand, cutting Suzuki Nami off.
"The Black Dragon Society is nothing more than a pack of vicious wolves kept by the military."
"All these years, you have been making his decisions for him. But you must understand that Shingo joined the Black Dragon Society to become a counterweight to Tōyama Mitsuru!"
"Tōyama Mitsuru is a businessman, not a soldier, while Shingo represents the military's will. The military needs him to serve as a chain tethering those vicious wolves, keeping them from biting indiscriminately."
"If he cannot even manage to be a chain, he should have resigned long ago."
"So stop worrying about these things."
"Set your mind at ease and devote yourself to planning for the empire." Suzuki Kantarō's voice grew colder. "Kyōichi admired his all-capable mother more than anyone. I hope you will not disappoint him."
"Yes, I understand." Suzuki Nami bowed slightly.
She slowly approached the black-and-white memorial portrait, gently picked up the incense beside it, lit it, and placed it in the Buddhist shrine before her.
Then Suzuki Nami reached out and picked up the portrait, gently brushing over the face in the photograph.
Just as she had long ago, wiping the dust from her child's face!
The black-and-white portrait showed a young man in a field-grade officer's uniform. He was not particularly handsome, but his smile was radiant!
That smile seemed to have the power to touch people's hearts.
It seemed that anyone who saw him would feel inexplicably happy.
But if Chen Fan had been there, he would certainly have flown into a rage. "I'm not fucking dead yet! Who put my picture here?"
Indeed, Chen Fan looked almost exactly like the man in the memorial portrait before him.
Suzuki Nami set down the portrait, bowed slightly to Suzuki Kantarō, and turned to leave.
Suzuki Kantarō suddenly said, "That young girl from the Fujiwara family-if you see her, try to talk some sense into her."
"A person cannot live only in the past. That brings too much pain."
"I understand, Father!"
Jinling, the Second Department office of the Party Affairs Investigation Section!
Crash! The sound of a teacup shattering rang through the office.
Right after it came Boss Dai's curses, tinged with his Jiangshan dialect. "Jiang Xuebi, Jiang Xuebi..."
"Useless! Incompetent!"
"A whole bunch of useless fools!"
Silence fell over the office. The men hung their heads without a word, their eyes filled with unbearable shame!
Eleven carefully trained veterans had been sent out, and every last one had collected a boxed lunch without so much as making a sound!
This was nothing short of slapping the Fuxing Society in the face, over and over!
Before the scolding could resume, a rapid tap, tap, tap of footsteps came from the corridor.
The office door was shoved open. The newcomer wore a lieutenant colonel's uniform and held a document. Seeing so many colleagues in the office, he instinctively stopped short.
"Deputy Director Lin, what has you in such a hurry?" Boss Dai's tone remained hostile.
Lin Zhao was deputy director of the Fuxing Society's Operations and Training Battalion. The director of the Operations and Training Department was the renowned agent-training expert Yu Lexing, currently in charge of the Qingpu Class.
Lin Zhao stood at attention. "Chief, I have an important matter to report."
Boss Dai's gaze sharpened slightly, and he waved the others out.
As though granted a pardon, the men hurried out of the office. Once silence returned, Lin Zhao stepped forward and presented the report with both hands.
"Chief, good news. The Beacon Fire Group wasn't completely wiped out. One of them got away..."
"What did you say? One got away..."