Glenn, at an inopportune moment for the young man himself, was met by a familiar man in his fifties. Japanese descent, lean body shape, and graying hair: Glenn instantly recognized the mature man. Dressed in a dark gray kimono, this man seemed a distinctive personality around the other guests dressed in tuxedos, and true, for he is the current head of his clan. Sakura and Himeno did not discourage the young man from his duties and let him go for a while. Ryou, too, remained at the whim of Glenn himself.
The man greeted the lads according to Japanese custom, as befitted the head of the clan, bowing his head approvingly. The young men were to respond appropriately.
"Hirota-sama," voiced Glenn with moderate joy on his face, "I didn't expect to see you here."
"What can I say, I'm surprised to see you here, too," Akihito chimed in. "Is it work?"
Glenn nodded. By the look and manner of his speech, Akihito was not a frivolous or seemingly elderly person, but rather, the man had followed his health and age gloriously. Akihito looked around at the unfamiliar guy, and wondered who he was.
"Ryou Hayashi," the young man added briskly.
"Akihito Hirota. You're Glenn-kun's mate? Do you happen to have parents who run their own business?"
"Yes. Now, I'm a work colleague. We go to the same school."
"Ryou-kun," Glenn called out, "You should be enlightened. Akihito-sama is the current head and descendant of the historical Japanese aristocratic Hirota family, who once earned state honors."
"The truth is that with each generation, the importance of the remaining clans disappears, as do all clan systems," Akihito clarified. "It doesn't matter now, for our clan is now engaged in a different line of work, and we have ceased to interfere in politics."
"Sad truth."
The realization came to Ryou that he didn't know at all who Glenn was associating with outside of the literary club members, and the familiarity of Akihito surprised the teenager.
A child's face appeared behind Akihito, followed by a girl of about twelve with blond hair and black clothes. The girl's face showed an atypical nonchalance for children her age, and she didn't move one step away from Akihito.
"Good to see you again, Mari-chan," the dark-eyed man said cheerfully, and the girl bowed silently.
Ryou's gaze changed as the noble girl appeared. He couldn't understand why there would be children in a place like this, but she didn't seem to surprise the others, as if her presence were commonplace. Ryoukept wondering who she was, and his thoughts all converged to just one conclusion.
Akihito turned at the call of the other mature man, and greeted him with a greeting and asked Mari to bring them a glass each. To Mari, Akihito's requests were errands that she was obligated to perform without question, and Mari retired to the waiters' table. Ryou realized that the girl was Akihito's maid. Looking back at Glenn, a wide, happy smile appeared on Mari's face.
***
After a while, Glenn and Ryou continued to walk in pairs with the women. The women managed to talk to a lot of familiar and not-so-familiar faces in all the time. When they finally finished talking, they stood in a deserted corner to catch their breath.
"Phew! I'm so tired," Himeno proclaimed, which made Sakura giggle, also admitting her fatigue.
"You're doing great," Glenn spoke fondly. "If I were you, I'd be mad by now. You're peerless."
"Every businessman faces this sooner or later," Sakura muttered, "...With the obstacle of entering the society of grim but important people. You can't avoid it, you have to get used to it and stand firmly on your own. To you this day will be a useful experience in the future."
"I can't believe I'm still on my feet," Himeno crossed her thin arms. "Humans aren't robots. It's hard to get what they want."
"You have to learn. It's most important to you."
"I understand," Himeno sang in a sing-song voice. "But let me relax just a little bit!"
"That's what we're doing now."
"That's good! Then we'll rest in silence. Before that, I should thank you, Hayashi-kun, Zaleman-kun!" stepped Sakura closer to the attentive guys. "I don't seem to be a person of importance, even if I am one of the main ones in a widely known business organization… I lack confidence, and everyone knows it. But I will try, I will work hard for myself and for my sister, so that I will no longer be a burden."
Ryou was the same way. He was horrified to hear the revelations from Himeno, whose life was only blossoming with new colors. Having been victims of involvement in the adult realm since infancy, they were equally denied responsibility. Whether it was reluctance or justification, the truth was lost within themselves.
"And yet, Hayashi-kun, Zaleman-kun," Sakura pierced the young men with a sharp look, and soon squeezed out a smile that made them confused by the sloppiness. "Thank you for your help."
"Ah, t-that's alright…!"
"Wh-what are you afraid of?"
"Sister, you don't know how to thank people at all."
"Hmm? Is it…because of my smile?! I've been practicing it in front of the mirror!"
"How to say, sister. Your training has gone to waste!" laughed Himeno and the young man. "But you tried."
"Shame… It's worth training harder."
"But this evening I can do it, for the future of our company rests on us," Himeno added, resolutely straightening her back and squaring her thin shoulders. "I must manage at least now, or I will never forgive myself."
"You certainly can manage," declared Glenn, "We'll help all we can."
"Thank you! We don't doubt your strength."
A loud adult male voice came out over the microphone. All in attendance pricked up their ears and fell silent, and the microphone voice announced that the long-awaited performance was about to begin, and for all the guests to gather in the theater room.
The theater hall was a large, dark hall with hundreds of seats and a large stage. This is where all the guests gathered. After a respectful greeting from the cameraman and his words about the performances, the performances themselves began. The performances were Japanese traditional ensembles, including a chorus of specially trained singers of all ages, as well as national Japanese dances, in which a suppressed majority of Japanese women in national dress participated. With slow movements of the whole body, the actors and dancers glided through the dances like brilliant butterflies. In the prescribed order of composition they fluttered then with their whole bodies at the approach of the climax, then settled gently into the shadows at the arrival of quiet notes, giving an air of mystery. Foreign guests were captivated by the spirit of Japanese flavor, and the Japanese guests were proudly admiring the stage.
After the performance, guests gathered in the banquet hall served by a dozen or so dressed-up waiters. The edges of the banquet hall were covered with sleek flesh-colored drapes, and the middle of the hall contained two incredibly long wooden tables with delicacy-level food, near which the guests were seated to begin the long-awaited banquet. The tables were covered with white cloth and, in time, waiters served oriental folk food, which could not have made the guests more welcome.
Ryou and Glenn stood at the edges and looked nonchalantly at the setting of Sakura and Himeno sitting in the very center, and by the look on the face of an embarrassed Himeno, it seemed that the guests were praising the girls of the Ichijo surname and their business activities. In the community of these people, many were either executive directors of their large-scale businesses or chairmen. Even came the top of the board of directors of the joint-stock company and corporate culture. Ichijo could make great connections and friendships with guests.
From a corner, a girl stealthily approached the teenagers and called out in a childlike voice to Glenn. As they looked back at the girl, the boys noticed Mari, who had recently met with Akihito, appearing before them.
"Mari-chan!" the dark-eyed one didn't hold back his joy, shifting his knees.
"Hello!" with all the cheerfulness Ryou had never seen before, a stunning young beauty Mari rushed in a gentle tone. "How long it's been since I've seen you, dear Glenn-sama!" and seeing Glenn drop his knees to match her small stature, Mari, almost tripping over her childish fidgeting, threw herself into the dark-eyed man's arms with all her passion.
"You're wrong. We met almost an hour ago."
"Not otherwise, but…! That was a surprise, because I was with Akihito Hirota-sama at that time! So it doesn't count," the girl pouted falsely, "It doesn't count!"
"Okay, okay. The important thing is that we're finally alone together."
Ryou didn't interfere in the conversation, though he was confused by the atmosphere among the teenager and the little girl.
"I wanted to talk to you earlier, as I was pouring wine into a glass, for the esteemed Akihito-sama, but I didn't meet you. So I decided to come to you later!"
"Good girl, Mari-chan," Glenn stroked her light head thoughtfully, making Mari, who shone with the brilliance of a diamond, to soften in pleasure. "It was nice to see you here with Akihito-sama."
"Of course! I must always walk with my lord and tend to his health, after all. It cannot be otherwise, for it is my duty as a man of my kind to watch over the lord."
The inconspicuous young man with wavy, parted-back hair glanced back and forth at the girl and at the banquet tables, and Mari was only interested in his presence when the surge of warm emotion she had not held back before Glenn failed to subside.
"And who is the young gentleman next to you?" inquired Mari, whose presence reeked of either impatience or childlike kindness. Ryou couldn't resist Marie's wide glowing eyes and glared at her. "Your dear friend?"
Glenn agreed, and Ryou finally introduced himself to the sweet girl, whom it was difficult to consider seriously, but to her master Marie seemed like a very different person, determined to protect him in any way she could. Ryou had no idea who Mari was besides a servant after all, and addressed her in you, which made Glenn chuckle. Mari-chan responded by transforming into the very person the young man had met at their first meeting, and saluted importantly by bowing.
"Mari Asahina."