Tokyo, 1991: Starting as a bank clerk

Chapter 125 Mid-Level Meeting [Fourth Update, Requesting Monthly Tickets]

The elevator stopped on the fifth floor.

The moment the door opened, the familiar scent of sandalwood wafted out of the corridor.

The thick carpet absorbed the sound of footsteps as the three people walked towards the conference room, one in front and two behind.

Behind the frosted glass doors on both sides of the corridor, one could faintly hear low voices talking.

Staff from the General Affairs Department were already standing at the entrance of the conference room, checking the attendance list.

Upon seeing Masakazu Yamada, the other man bowed slightly: "Section Chief Yamada, the Financing Review Section is located inside, by the window."

Yamada Masakazu nodded and led Chihaya Yuri and Kiryu Yaya inside.

The conference room was much larger than the office of the financing review department on the third floor.

The long, dark brown table can seat thirty people, and most of the chairs on both sides are already occupied.

The side by the window houses the finance department, sales department, and planning department, while the side by the door houses the general affairs, debt management, and international financing departments.

The main seat is empty.

The branch manager of Matsumoto branch has not arrived yet.

But all eyes on both sides of the long table had already turned to look at them.

To be precise, it fell on Kiryu Yaya.

Kiryu Yaya remained calm, gave a slight bow in greeting, and then followed Yamada Masakazu to the area of ​​the financing review department to sit down.

Chihaya Yuri sat to his left, while Yamada Masakazu walked over to the section chief's seat and sat down.

As soon as he sat down, he felt a gaze coming from the opposite side.

Head of the Debt Management Division, Tsuyoshi Iwakura.

He sat at the middle of the long table near the door, wearing a dark gray suit, with a thin face and a hard gaze.

At this moment, he looked at Kiryu Yaya with no emotion in his eyes, as if he were confirming something.

Kiryu Yaya met his gaze for a moment, then bowed slightly as a greeting.

Iwakura did not respond and looked away.

People gradually arrived at the meeting room.

Some people were talking in hushed tones, some were flipping through documents, and some were sipping their tea.

There were no documents in front of Kiryu Yaya.

He didn't even know the topic of today's meeting, so he could only sit quietly with his hands folded on his knees.

At exactly 2:30, the meeting room door was pushed open.

Takahiro Matsumoto walked in.

Behind him followed Kiyomasa Ogaki, the head of the financing department, and a councilor from the review department who had come down from the Tokyo headquarters.

Everyone stood up at the same time.

"sit."

Matsumoto Takahiro sat down in the main seat and raised his hand in greeting.

His gaze swept across both sides of the long table, lingered on Kiryu Yaya for a moment, and then moved away.

"Let's begin."

The first half of the meeting proceeded smoothly.

The sales department reported on the number of new loans this week, the planning department briefed on the credit policy direction for the second half of the year, and the general affairs department talked about some trivial matters related to seal management and file organization.

This is a routine procedure that has been followed countless times in the mid-level management meeting.

Kiryu Yaya listened quietly, but he was thinking to himself.

The branch manager must have called him to this routine meeting because there must be some special agenda.

really.

Matsumoto Takahiro opened the folder in front of him, his tone more formal than before: "Next, I'll talk about a few important things."

His gaze fell on the direction of the financing review course.

"First, the loan recovery case of Higashi-Osaka Seiko Co., Ltd. has reached a preliminary conclusion. Of the 1 billion yen loan, 630 million yen of hidden assets have been recovered so far, and the remaining amount is still being pursued."

"Our preliminary opinion is that this case should not be classified as an early-stage accident case," but should be handled as a case of "the borrower maliciously making false declarations and concealing debt repayment resources."

A low murmur arose in the conference room.

Takahiro Matsumoto continued, "The performance of the Financing Review Department in recovering so many assets in such a short time is commendable. After internal discussion at the branch, it has been decided to award all members of the Financing Review Department a summer bonus and a 5% increase in their coefficient."

He paused, then his gaze fell on Kiryu Yaya again.

"In addition, Kiryu Yaya provided key clues in the case and participated in the on-site operation. The branch has decided to award him a special bonus of 200,000 yen."

Masakazu Yamada bowed slightly.

Kiryu Yaya stood up, bowed his head, and thanked him.

The applause was sparse and scattered, not particularly enthusiastic, but it was respectable enough for this occasion.

Logically, this part of the agenda should be considered finished at this point.

Just as Matsumoto Takahiro was about to turn to the next page, a voice came from the right side of the long table.

"Branch manager, please wait a moment."

All eyes turned to them.

Takeshi Iwakura.

He sat to the right of Kiyomasa Ogaki, his fingers lightly tapping the table.

"The performance of the Financing Review Division in the Higashi-Osaka Seiko case is indeed commendable."

Iwakura Tsuyoshi spoke calmly and deliberately: "But I have a question."

The air in the conference room suddenly turned cold upon hearing this.

Chihaya Yuri immediately looked at Iwakura Takeshi.

What's this guy trying to do by suddenly launching an attack?

Masakazu Yamada was also somewhat confused.

Matsumoto Takahiro's expression remained unchanged.

"Section Chief Iwakura, please speak."

Iwakura did not speak immediately.

He simply raised his head, his gaze passing over the long table and landing on Kiryu Yaya's face.

"Kiryu-kun, I didn't mean anything by it. But I need to confirm a few things."

Kiryu Yaya looked at him, then at Ogaki Kiyomasa beside him, and quickly understood what was going on.

Section Chief Tsuyoshi Iwakura.

Is he from Kiyomasa Ogaki's faction?

Kiryu Yaya lowered his eyes and activated his skill without making a sound.

"Political intuition"

The semi-transparent information panel unfolded silently in his field of vision, visible only to him.

[Target: Tsuyoshi Iwakura]

[Position: Head of Debt Management Department, Mitsubishi Bank Osaka Branch]

[Faction Affiliation: Ōgaki Kiyomasa Clique]

As expected, Iwakura Tsuyoshi's attack was not without reason.

Kiryu Yaya narrowed his eyes and replied, "Yes, Section Chief Iwakura, please speak."

Iwakura extended one finger.

"First, during the investigation, did you privately contact outsiders, namely Kenichiro Nomura, president of Fuji Metals, and obtain information about Masazō Kajiwara through him?"

Kiryu Yaya did not answer immediately.

He knew that the wording of the question itself was a trap.

The phrase "private contact" can be used lightly or taken very seriously in the bank's internal regulations.

The fact that Iwakura chose to raise this question in this setting, in front of the branch manager, and with all the middle-level managers of the branch present, inherently meant that he wanted the latter.

Chihaya Yuri and Yamada Masakazu both realized this.

Iwakura's visit was ill-intentioned.

Kiryu Yaya raised his eyes and met Iwakura Tsuyoshi's gaze.

He didn't panic; he simply adjusted his posture slightly, separating his hands from his knees and placing his right hand naturally on the edge of the table.

Then, he replied naturally, "Section Chief Iwakura."

Regarding your mention of "private contact," I need to clarify some facts.

"President Kenichiro Nomura is not an external person I contacted privately."

"After the investigation into the Higashi-Osaka Seiko case entered the asset concealment stage, the Financing Review Division confirmed the transaction connection between Fuji Metals and the case through the sales department. Based on this, Section Chief Yamada instructed me, as the person in charge, to confirm the information with Fuji Metals."

"The information about Kajiwara Shozo provided by President Nomura was obtained within the aforementioned working framework."

He paused for a moment after saying this, giving those present a brief moment to process it.

Then Kiryu Yaya gave a restrained smile and continued, "As for the wording 'inquiry'..."

"I have not proactively inquired with President Nomura about any information that is not directly related to this case."

"President Nomura's mention of Kajiwara Shozo's personal background was a side note when explaining the past business relationship between Fuji Metals and Kajiwara Shozo."

"My approach at the time was to only record the parts directly related to asset recovery, and not to accept other information or include it in the investigation report."

"The above is the factual account."