Chapter 46: Head of the Sakurai Family

Minae Mori pushed open the door of the room and walked toward the reception hall.

Inside the spacious hall at this moment, Minae Mori’s husband, Takafumi Wakaba, was chatting and laughing with the guests who had already arrived.

As one of the most prominent comedians in Japan today, Takafumi Wakaba possessed top-tier improvisational skills and a wonderful sense of humor. Coupled with the natural ability of a comedian to effortlessly lift the mood of any crowd, he was even better suited than Minae Mori to handle this type of social gathering.

During the brief interval while Minae Mori was dressing and grooming herself, he had already engaged in pleasantries of varying lengths with every single guest who had arrived.

"Welcome, welcome, please come in."

"I've been looking for an opportunity to catch up with you properly for a long time, and my wish has finally come true today. Haha."

"Ms. Amamiya is as graceful and charming as ever..."

...

Under Takafumi Wakaba’s practiced direction of the atmosphere, the mood throughout the banquet hall gradually grew warm and lively.

The guests, who had seemed somewhat reserved at first, gradually relaxed under his witty remarks.

Especially the old-school figures from the business and political worlds who usually maintained rigid airs—even they were now laughing out loud and chatting animatedly with the people next to them.

Meanwhile,

in the corridor outside the banquet hall, several maids were busily carrying plate after plate of exquisite dishes into the living room.

Foie gras in red wine simmered for an entire afternoon, cold appetizers made with sea urchin airlifted directly from Hokkaido, glistening seared Wagyu beef...

Exquisite, delicious, and extraordinarily luxurious, the variety was endless.

However,

despite the smile plastered across Takafumi Wakaba’s face as he exchanged pleasantries with his guests, a growing sense of anxiety was beginning to take root in his heart.

The time for the official start of the banquet was rapidly approaching.

He glanced sideways at the clock on the wall of the hall. Almost all the other guests had arrived ten or twenty minutes early; only that single person had yet to show her face.

The status of that particular guest was a cut above everyone else present, not the sort of person easily seen.

Naturally, Takafumi Wakaba wouldn't dare make a phone call to rush her.

He could only suppress the rising anxiety in his heart and continue maintaining the cheerful surface atmosphere, making sure no one else noticed anything amiss.

"Haha, Mr. Mita, do you still remember the first time I appeared on a television show when I was young? I was questioned publicly by you, and I was so nervous back then I could barely speak."

Takafumi Wakaba raised his wine glass with a smile, offering a toast to the veteran producer beside him.

The guest burst into hearty laughter, completely oblivious to the trace of restlessness hidden beneath that smiling facade.

A maid walked past Takafumi Wakaba, carrying yet another piping-hot dish.

The entire banquet hall was bathed in a warm glow, with laughter serving as background music; at a glance, everything appeared utterly perfect.

Takafumi Wakaba quietly checked the time once more, and that nameless sense of restlessness gradually expanded, burning like a flame within his chest.

Just as he was feeling anxious and uneasy, Minae Mori happened to walk down the stairs from the upper floor.

She was wearing a dark blue slim-fit evening gown today, with the waist tightly nipped, accentuating her already impressive curves to make them look even more mesmerizing. Even among so many socialites, she remained dazzlingly eye-catching.

With a smile on her face, she walked gracefully into the crowd, exchanged pleasantries with a few guests, and then unobtrusively drifted closer to Takafumi Wakaba.

"Hasn't she arrived yet?" Minae Mori asked in a low voice.

Takafumi Wakaba shook his head gently, the smile on his face unchanged, though the corners of his mouth felt somewhat stiff.

"It's almost time."

Minae Mori’s gaze narrowed slightly:

"Should I... go upstairs and call Mtsumi down from her room first?"

"No rush," Takafumi Wakaba replied in a low whisper. "Let's wait until she arrives."

Minae Mori nodded without saying anything further, simply staying by her husband's side to continue entertaining the guests.

Time ticked away second by second.

Suddenly, a distinct "humming" sound drifted in from outside.

The roar of a car engine echoed from the exterior, accompanied by the screech of brakes as a vehicle came to a halt right in front of the Wakaba residence.

The couple instinctively exchanged glances.

She was here.

They quickly adjusted their expressions, exchanged a few parting pleasantries with the guests they had been talking to, and took the opportunity to slip away toward the entrance.

The servants were already standing by the door, slowly pushing it open.

A figure stepped inside.

It was a middle-aged woman.

Draped over her shoulders was an ash-blue overcoat with a stunning texture—not a color ordinary people could pull off, yet she wore it with an overwhelming aura of authority.

The moment she stepped across the threshold, Minae Mori and Takafumi Wakaba bowed slightly almost in unison, their tones tinged with just the right amount of reverence:

"Ms. Sakurai, your presence truly brings immense honor to our humble home."

Nanami Sakurai chuckled softly:

"Not at all. The two of you are currently blazing-hot celebrities dominating the screens; every time I see you, I can't help but reminisce about my own acting days back then."

Minae Mori asked softly, "Ms. Sakurai, did you come all by yourself?"

"Of course," she said naturally. "Since I'm attending a banquet, bringing a whole entourage would seem far too pretentious."

Takafumi Wakaba smiled and said, "As expected, Ms. Sakurai understands social occasions best."

Minae Mori also nodded in agreement by his side.

Amidst this conversation, the three of them walked together toward the main banquet hall.

The lights fell upon Nanami Sakurai, and the surrounding guests instinctively turned their gazes toward her.

She was one of the helmsmen of Japan's top financial conglomerates, and the careers of nearly everyone present were tied to her in one way or another.

Her life story was nothing short of legendary, intertwined even with that pinnacle echelon of figures currently standing at the very top of Japan.

In truth, everyone present had been waiting for her; only with the entrance of this distinguished guest could the banquet officially begin.

"Everyone, let us begin."

Nanami Sakurai possessed a transcendent air, naturally imbued by long-term habitation in high positions.

She glanced around the room and smiled.

The remaining guests in the banquet hall also concluded their conversations one after another, stepping forward to welcome the esteemed guest.

Nanami Sakurai responded to each of them with a smile.

Although the Sakurai family was one of the Outer Five Families, they were primarily active in the business world, managing the crucial cash flow operations of the Shishioh-Gakukai. Coupled with the fact that the family head herself had been a succubus-tier presence during her youthful acting career and had deep friendships with two of the clan heads, her status within the Shishioh-Gakukai remained undeniably weighty despite being a female head.

Normally, as the head of the Sakurai family within the Shishioh-Gakukai, she would no longer participate in banquets of this nature.

However, not long ago, a goddaughter of the Inuyama family head—someone who had once endorsed a brand under Sakurai's name—had rushed over to pour her heart out to her.

Crying tearfully, she spoke of the hardships she had faced during this period, bringing up a few matters that might have felt somewhat presumptuous.

Combined with the bridging efforts of Sadaharu Toyokawa, the helmsman of the Toyokawa family, alongside the entertainment industry status of Takafumi Wakaba and Minae Mori,

and recalling the historical ties between the Toyokawa and Wakaba surnames and the Shishioh-Gakukai, this managed to pique Nanami Sakurai's interest just a little bit.

As it happened, she had nothing on today, and the Uesugi family head hadn't been thinking about running away from home lately.

Thus, Nanami Sakurai gave instructions to her subordinates and hopped into her car to come over.

As a family head, she naturally had her own bodyguards; it was simply that these people were currently keeping watch outside.

As for attending a banquet completely alone—how could that possibly be? That was merely a polite excuse given to Takafumi Wakaba and Minae Mori.

Just then, the guests had already taken their seats one after another.

Nanami Sakurai seated herself in the most prominent position reserved for the guest of honor, right next to the head of the Wakaba household, Takafumi Wakaba.

With a smile, she pondered for a moment, searching for a suitable topic of conversation, and then spoke up: