Chapter 69: The Beating Society Gives

“Right now, the demand for air passenger travel is rising worldwide, and airfares in Japan are rising particularly sharply.”

“Haneda Airport was already Japan’s busiest airport last year. This trend in demand means better performance for the company.”

“JAL has been expanding its fleet and opening new routes these past two years; its stock price is bound to rise.”

“On top of that, oil prices have fallen this year, which is even more good news…”

Sachi Ken’ichi even pulled out recent stock data for Japan Airlines from his heavy briefcase to show Seiko that what he said was absolutely correct.

“JAL’s current stock price has already surpassed 2,490 yen. It’s still rising today. I guess it will break 2,500 yen within a week at most.”

Sachi Ken’ichi talked until his mouth was dry, and Seiko, sitting opposite him, nodded repeatedly as she listened.

Seeing Seiko nod, Sachi Ken’ichi thought he had convinced her. “So, Miss Yamagami, your decision is?”

Seiko nodded. “Please help me buy a short position on JAL.”

“Wait…”

Sachi Ken’ichi wanted to make sure he hadn’t misheard.

“A short position?”

“Mhm,” Seiko nodded again. “A short position.”

“No… did you not understand what I just said? I can explain it to you again.”

“I understood.”

“Then why do you still want to buy a short position?”

“Because Ms. Onoue said it will fall.”

Sachi Ken’ichi suddenly felt like he could cough up blood.

He felt that all his efforts had been for nothing.

His professional, detailed, and serious analysis was worth less than the ramblings of a drunkard…

Sachi Ken’ichi took a deep breath. “With all due respect, Miss Yamagami, this Ms. Onoue is just a restaurant owner. She may not understand stocks at all.”

“But, Ms. Onoue is an investment expert, isn’t she? And she can channel spirits.”

“Many people believe her investment advice,” Seiko said, blinking her big eyes, which were innocent and seemingly untainted by knowledge.

“How can you rely on spiritualism for investing?”

Sachi Ken’ichi, who had been to college and was thus tainted by knowledge, almost laughed out of anger.

“Eh? You can’t?” Seiko asked in surprise.

“Of course not!” Sachi Ken’ichi slapped the table, stating emphatically, “Investing requires a great deal of skill and is a very scientific matter! It has nothing to do with spiritualism!”

“What about tarot cards?” Saori chimed in cooperatively.

Sachi Ken’ichi was struck hard by Saori’s question, and his emotions flared up. “Why would anyone rely on spiritualism and tarot cards to trade stocks? You might as well analyze the potential relationship between K-lines, human nature, and the Earth’s magnetic field!”

“Whether it’s spiritualism or tarot cards, none of it is reliable! You absolutely cannot believe in this stuff! And this Onoue woman, anyone who believes her is a fool!”

With that sentence, Sachi Ken’ichi had just condemned all of Onoue Nui’s followers.

The restaurant was quite crowded, and since their table had been discussing stocks—a topic of great interest to the patrons—they had naturally attracted attention.

Thus, many people heard what Sachi Ken’ichi said.

“Hey, kid, I’ve been putting up with you for a while now!”

An old man from the next table stood up. Speaking with a thick Osaka accent, he pointed at Sachi Ken’ichi’s nose and demanded.

“Who are you calling a fool? How many years have you been trading stocks? I was trading stocks when you were still nursing!”

“No, sir, I wasn’t talking about you…”

Sachi Ken’ichi came to his senses and saw many people glaring at him. Only then did he realize his mistake and quickly waved his hands, trying to explain.

However, the old man gave Sachi Ken’ichi no chance to speak. “Ms. Onoue is kind-hearted enough to use her gifts to guide us! How dare a punk like you slander her! Let’s see if I don’t teach you a lesson!”

“Sir, no, sir…”

Thump!

“Ah…”

The old man punched Sachi Ken’ichi right in the nose.

The restaurant instantly descended into chaos.

Seiko and Saori had no choice but to stand up, yelling at the agitated patrons on one hand while shielding Sachi Ken’ichi and helping him escape.

Sachi Ken’ichi sat by the roadside, clutching his nose. His clothes were disheveled, and his face was bruised and swollen. He looked like he had just been brutalized by a gang of thugs.

Seiko handed him a tissue and said, “I need to buy a short position on JAL.”

Sachi Ken’ichi looked up at Seiko, silently took the tissue, pressed it to his bleeding nose, and nodded.

A promising young man, having just entered the workforce, received a harsh welcome from society and thus lost his dreams.

Sachi Ken’ichi gave Seiko his contact information, then left in a daze.

“Are we going back to Urawa now?” Saori asked, looking at Seiko.

“Since we came all the way to Osaka, let’s buy some souvenirs before we go back,” Seiko said. “Let’s get some gifts for Aiko and Miyazaki.”

“Mhm,” Saori nodded, then suddenly blinked her eyes and asked with a grin, “Aren’t you going to get something for your dear Mika-sensei?”

Seiko thought for a moment and smiled. “Mika-sensei is indeed quite beautiful.”

Saori’s eyes glinted slyly, her expression saying ‘I knew it.’ She suggested, “You could buy a necklace for Miyazaki’s mother. I saw in her old photos that she used to wear one. She doesn’t have one now.”

“Mhm, good idea.”

Following her memories, Seiko led Saori to Osaka’s famous shopping street, the holy land of otaku in a later era, Nihonbashi Den Den Town.

Who knew that in this period, Nihonbashi Den Den Town was truly just an electronics street.

Moreover, it was the largest base for computer sales and assembly in the Kansai region.

“What kind of necklace did you plan on buying here?” Saori looked at the speechless Seiko with amusement.

“Forget it. Since we’re already here,” Seiko said, “let’s just buy a computer and take it back.”

“Buy a computer? Do you know how to use one?” Saori asked doubtfully.

Computers in this era didn’t have a Windows operating system; they still used DOS systems.

Coupled with the lack of internet, Seiko hadn’t shown any interest in buying a computer in all her years since being reborn.

She didn’t know how to program, so what was the use of buying one?

But, since they were already here, and it was a special occasion, and what the heck…

“If I don’t know, I can learn,” Seiko said, taking Saori’s hand and entering the electronics street.

The internet age was just around the corner.

Buying a computer to understand the development of hardware and software of this era wasn’t a completely meaningless endeavor.

After browsing the electronics street for a short while, Seiko selected a computer.

This wasn’t because Seiko was too lazy to shop around, but because there were only a few choices for computers in this era.

The NEC PC-9801 series held seventy percent of the market share.

Just as Seiko was filling out the mailing address to have the merchant ship the computer to her home, a short, round-faced man whose hairline had not yet receded approached them and enthusiastically introduced, “Miss, if you only buy a computer, many of its functions will be unusable. May I ask what you’ll be using the computer for? Would you like to consider our company’s software package?”

As he spoke, he handed over a business card.

Seiko took the card and glanced at it. Then, unable to hide her surprise, she looked again at the short, round-faced man, and then back at the business card.

Yes, that was right. What was written on it was indeed—SoftBank Corporation, Son Masayoshi.