Diary of Sakichi Sougo

Chairman Ryochi Sougo of the East Japan Railway Company retreated to his private room once again, feeling a mixture of trepidation and excitement as he prepared to delve into the contents of his father's diary.

Earlier, he had instructed his assistant, Rasya, to not allow anyone to disturb him until morning as he intended to spend the night in his office. After changing into a comfortable green T-shirt adorned with a cartoon boxer, Ryochi settled into his chair and retrieved the diary from a drawer in his desk.

As he began to read, he saw that the entry was written by his father, Sakichi Sougo, a former chairman of the railway company.

Sakichi Sougo was an amusing person with a passion for making a difference in people's lives. He had written about a day spent traveling within his own mind, where he discovered an exciting project that he was determined to complete. He knew that the best engineer for the project was Tsukasa Nahira, who had just become a new father.

Suddenly, Neera Kyousuke, Sakichi's assistant, interrupted his thoughts, announcing that Tsukasa had arrived.

With a cigar in hand, Sakichi asked, "Is everything ready?"

"Yes, Sir," replied Neera, scurrying off to retrieve something.

Tsukasa entered the room, noticing the scent of cigar smoke lingering in the air. "Always smoking at the wrong time, Mr. Sougo," he joked.

Sakichi chuckled and set his cigar aside. "Welcome, Tsukasa, and congratulations on becoming a father. I'm glad you could make it," he said warmly.

Tsukasa replied, "Thank you, Sir. So why have I been called here?"

Before Sakichi had the chance to reply, his assistant Neera chimed in, her voice soft and polite. "Sir, the chart and file are all here," she said. "Now I'll go get some tea for you two."

As she left the room, Tsukasa's face lit up. "Neera always knows how to make a good cup of tea," he said. "Say, can you bring me some apples?"

Sakichi chuckled. "Some things never change," he said. Turning back to the chart, he asked Tsukasa, "What do you think?"

Tsukasa leaned forward, his eyes scanning the paper. "It's very interesting, sir," he said.

"If we remove this well, we can build very short rail lines between Ikebukuro and any distant stations, easily connecting from here. It will benefit us also, considering the surrounding residence." Sakichi nodded, his eyes following Tsukasa's finger as he pointed to the chart.

"Yes, and the plus point is that the land is owned by my old college friend Eiji Mikawa," he said.

Tsukasa raised an eyebrow. "And what about other things like who will invest the money?" he asked.

"I've already found a suitable person for this," Sakichi replied. "But he is also short-tempered and moody. He just became a businessman but lives in Yokohama. His name is Rongi Tarahashi. We have a meeting with him tomorrow, so now we will talk further tomorrow. And Eiji will also be there."

"Okay! See you tomorrow. Looks like I'll have to go back to babysitting,"

Tsukasa said with a chuckle. "Oh! Good luck with that, Mr. Tsukasa," Sakichi said with a smile.

The following day, Sakichi scheduled two meetings: the first with Eiji at his home with Tsukasa and the second with Rongi and Tsukasa at the office at dinner time.

As they drove to the first meeting, Tsukasa asked, "Why can't we have a single meeting with everyone?" "

The thing is, Eiji used to be a senior in college," Sakichi explained. "But we became friends due to our passion to do something. Eiji and Rongi's characters are opposites. So we shouldn't let them see each other."

When they arrived at Mikawa House, Eiji welcomed them with a wide grin and a seven-month-old baby sleeping in his arms. "Ah, Sakichi! It's been too long," he said, his voice warm and welcoming.

Sakichi smiled back. "Good to see you, Eiji. And who is this little one?" he asked, nodding at the sleeping baby.

"He is my grandson," Eiji said with a proud smile. "He's the reason I'm working so hard these days."

Sakichi chuckled. "Looks like you're already at important work," he teased. The meeting commenced, with Tsukasa and Eiji discussing the project while Sakichi watched with interest.

Eiji's voice was weary as he recounted the morning's events to Tsukasa. "His mom went to do some shopping and then after a while, he woke up. So I was just singing some lullabies to him so he could sleep."

Tsukasa nodded, understanding. "I can understand it, sir. I am also going through this."

Eiji looked up at Tsukasa, his eyes lighting up with recognition. "If I'm not mistaken, you're Tsukasa - Engineered by Apple Bite."

Tsukasa laughed. "I didn't know, I have a title like that."

Together, they walked into the living room where Eiji placed the baby in a crib with lots of animated characters on it. Eiji poured some tea into cups, and they all sat down to discuss the project. "Hmm! That's really interesting, Sakichi," Eiji said, sipping his tea.

"I never ever noticed this, even if the land is mine." "So, what do you say, Eiji?" Sakichi asked.

Eiji pretended to think very seriously for a moment, rubbing his chin. "Sakichi, you should never have come here for permission or anything. If it's for the sake of the people, that land is already yours. You can do whatever you want to do."

Sakichi and Tsukasa exchanged relieved glances, grateful for Eiji's support. "Thank you, sir," Tsukasa said, smiling.

"Thanks, Eiji. You took the stress off me," Sakichi added. Eiji leaned back in his chair, looking pleased with himself.

"So, where do I have to sign?"

Tsukasa pulled out a file and pointed to a spot on the page. "Here, sir."

As Eiji signed the papers, the doorbell rang and Eiji went to look for them. As everyone followed him,

Tsukasa arched an eyebrow. "Who are you?"

The man in a clean suit frowned his eyes. " I work for Sir Tarahashi. And he has sent me here with a message for Sir Sakichi."

Tsukasa nodded, gesturing for Sakichi to listen Sento. "Sorry, Mr. Sougo," Sento began reading from a prepared statement. "I wanted to meet you, but currently, my wife's condition is critical. So I have to stay by her side. And about the project, we'll talk later until my wife gets well. That's why I want you to hold it till then."

Sakichi listened carefully, then nodded. Scribbling a quick note on a piece of paper. He handed the note to Sento. "Give this to Rongi."

Sento took the note, nodded, and left. As they gathered their things to leave, Tsukasa turned to Sakichi. "Do you think he's telling the truth?"

Sakichi shrugged. "Who knows? But we have no choice but to wait."

Tsukasa announced his departure, "Then I'm also going."

He said. Ryochi was engrossed in his book when his phone rang, interrupting his reading. He rubbed his eyes and picked up the phone, "Hello, who's this?" He asked.

"It's Rasya, Sir. Mr. Tarahashi has arrived and is waiting for you," Rasya informed him. "This morning?" Ryochi asked, surprised.

He then emerged from the secret room, changed clothes, and opened the door. Mr. Tarahashi was already at the door, seemingly waiting for him.

"I'll cut to the chase. So, have you found anything?" Mr. Tarahashi asked. "

I didn't know you meant right now?" Ryochi replied, confused.

Mr. Tarahashi clarified, "No, no. I was just in the area and thought I'd drop by."

"I'll give you a proper answer, but let me do it my way," Ryochi replied.

"Okay, so I'll come back in a week. Is that alright?" Mr. Tarahashi asked before leaving.

After Mr. Tarahashi departed, Ryochi felt exhausted. Instead of sleeping, he decided to take a refreshing shower.

Meanwhile, Jon was struggling to find the greatest thing among the mud, slush, ooze, and a flower corpse. He was repeating one sentence incessantly, "What could be the greatest thing in this — mud, slush, flower corpse, and ooze."

Germon encouraged Jon, "Keep calm and think, surely you will find something."

Ashya chimed in, "Yes, and don't let Germon's hard work go to waste."

"But how can one be the greatest among these?" Kyora asked.

Ashya replied, "I'm also pondering the same question. Let's see how Jon tackles this."

Jon sat on the ground and said, "Okay, let me see what I have. First, mud; second, slush; third, ooze; fourth, flower corpse, and fifth... I don't know how to determine the greatest among them."

Then he shouted in frustration, "Arghhhhh!"

The clock was ticking, and only six minutes remained. Germon walked over to where Ashya and Kyora were standing and observed Jon from there.

"How pathetic you look, brat! All I'm saying is give up; nothing is lying more than you all have failed," Kyle mocked Jon.

"Hold your tongue, a bragger. I still have four minutes left," Jon retorted.

"Hahaha! You seem so confident. Then show it before it's time," Kyle challenged.

"I'm not just confident. I have the will to get it done and move on to the next checkpoint with my friends," Jon replied.

"And you've given me a missing piece that I didn't see. So thanks for that," Jon added with a smirk.

Kyle was bewildered, "What do you mean, brat? Don't bluff. And I didn't even give you a clue."

"I'm not bluffing," Jon replied. "Ah! I know you didn't give it away directly."

"Come on, spit it out before two minutes pass," Kyle urged Jon.

"Alright, let's go over the options. First up, we have slush - a mix of ice and snow that's been on the ground for a while. It's nothing but a dirty mixture of ice and water. Other than ruining your shoes, it doesn't provide anything useful. So it's definitely not the greatest," Jon explained, trying to buy himself some time.

Kyle chuckled in relief, "Ha! You think I don't know what slush is?"

"Wait, let me finish," Jon continued. "Next, there's mud - soil mixed with water. It's not any better than slush as it also ruins shoes, and it has no significant use. Then, we have corpse flowers, also known as stink flowers, emitting a putrid smell of rotting flesh. No one would want to go near it, so it's not great either. Finally, we have ooze - a green liquid that is very slick and soft. I don't know what it could be used for, but it's also not that great. So, these are the options, and none of them are the greatest."

"Stop beating around the bush and just give me the answer!" Kyle exclaimed impatiently.

"Okay, okay. The answer is Lotus. Even though it grows in muddy water, it's the only one that is the greatest among these options,"

Jon finally revealed.

"Ha! Gotcha, you little brat. You gave me the right answer," Kyle said, finally satisfied.

Suddenly, an old voice interrupted them, "Wonderful! Jon, you did it well. Go back with this key for the chain and the first key for that wrap, where everyone is." Zel praised him and clapped his hands.

"That wasn't a big deal. But I want one more thing if you can," Jon requested.

"What now, Jon? I have a bad feeling about this," Zel replied, chuckling.

"Can I have a cola from the catering compartment?" Jon asked.

"Sure, you can find it when you enter the next compartment," Zel replied, waving his hand.

"Thanks, Zel. I'm heading there now," Jon said as he left to join the others.

From the next compartment, a woman in a cloak commented, "Looks like they're making progress."

"Don't worry, my love. They won't get past our traps," replied the man in a cloak with a smile.

"Of course, darling. They won't win against our love," the woman replied with a grin.

Jon arrived at the place where everyone was and freed Kyora from the chain. "Great job, Jon!" Germon praised him.

"Thanks! What do you say, Ashya? Did I clear the stage too?" Jon asked.

Ashya replied, "I won't praise you too much, but you'll get two rice balls next time."

Kyora expressed her gratitude to Jon for saving her.

"Alright, let's move on to the next stage. We have one more member now, so it's going to be even more interesting," Jon said.

"Sounds good to us," everyone agreed as they moved on to the next challenge.