He paused, his tone casual, as if evaluating a street business unrelated to him: "This way, Bandai will naturally be overjoyed, and Bandai's shareholders will receive an extra dividend at the end of the year."
Afterward, he gently placed the teacup back on the valuable zitan wood side table, the bottom of the cup colliding with the tabletop, emitting a faint but unusual sound. His eyes, which always held a peaceful gaze, now looked directly at Takuya without pretense, carrying an undeniable scrutiny.
"It's just, Takuya-kun," Mitsui Chuta leaned back slightly, resting comfortably against the chair, his well-defined fingers tapping rhythmically on the rosewood armrest, producing soft 'tap, tap' sounds that broke the tranquility of the tearoom. "This wonderful arrangement, for Bandai, is like adding flowers to embroidery; for your Sega, it might be considered sending charcoal in the snow. But for me, Mitsui Chuta, personally..."
He tilted his head slightly, his gaze seemingly penetrating Takuya and falling on something further away, yet also as if he was just waiting for an expected answer.
"It seems it won't bring me any direct benefits, right?"
This sentence was uttered without any emotional fluctuation, flat and direct. As the last syllable fell, the silence in the tearoom seemed to grow heavier.
This was it.
Takuya, far from feeling any tension, instead felt a sudden clarity. This was the exact sentence he had been waiting for. If Mitsui Chuta had agreed without mentioning any personal demands, that would have truly made him restless.
The real show was just beginning.
Takuya adjusted his posture, leaning back slightly from his previously slightly forward lean, but his back straightened involuntarily, and his hands naturally clasped on the table. He knew the real contest was just starting.
"Mr. Chūta, I've heard that you also hold significant shares in Sony."
Mitsui Chuta's movement of holding the teacup paused almost imperceptibly, and a slight ripple appeared on the surface of the gyokuro. Sony? This young man's reach was quite extensive. His shareholding in Sony was no secret to insiders, but for a 'distant nephew' he was meeting for the first time to state it so confidently and use it as a bargaining chip was intriguing. He took a sip of tea, noncommittally humming, but his gaze became even more inquisitive than before.
"Sega can custom-develop a brand new game for Sony," Takuya's voice was steady, showing no trace of nervousness.
Mitsui Chuta's eyebrow twitched, but he still didn't speak, just quietly watched Takuya, waiting for him to continue. Develop a game for Sony? What was this kid up to?
"This game," Takuya paused, ensuring every word was clearly conveyed, "can be integrated with Sony's LD, or LaserDisc player, which they've invested heavily in recent years but whose market response has not met expectations."
As soon as he finished speaking, Mitsui Chuta's fingers, holding the teacup, tightened imperceptibly for the first time. The calmness in his eyes was broken, a hint of genuine surprise emerged, followed by rapid contemplation.
Sony's LD player. These words stirred ripples in his heart. That was indeed an investment that many Sony executives, including himself, had been greatly concerned about and found quite troubling in recent years. Technologically advanced, with superior picture quality, Sony had poured countless efforts and funds into it internally, yet the market simply didn't accept it. The high price and scarce content ecosystem made the LD player almost a white elephant—neither useful nor worth discarding—weighing on Sony's books and on his mind. How many times had board meetings seen veiled suggestions that the project should cut its losses in time?
Now, this young man was saying he wanted to revitalize it with a 'game'?
"A game... to promote LD?" Mitsui Chuta's voice carried a hint of surprise he hadn't noticed himself, but more so, a strong piqued interest. He put down his teacup and leaned forward slightly—a signal that he was truly starting to seriously consider this proposal. "Takuya-kun, your idea is... unexpected." He carefully chose his words, trying to conceal the turmoil within. Using a game to leverage a hardware market sounded somewhat fantastical, but for some reason, coming from this young man, it seemed to carry a strange allure.
Takuya met his gaze, remaining composed: "LD's technical characteristics are very suitable for carrying large-capacity, high-quality interactive entertainment content. It just lacks a sufficiently attractive 'killer app' to ignite the market. A well-produced, innovatively designed exclusive game has the full potential to become that ignition point."
Mitsui Chuta was silent for a moment, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the zitan wood side table. He was quickly calculating. What if, just what if, this kid could actually pull it off? Once Sony's LD business showed signs of improvement, the impact on his personal prestige within the Sony board and the actual returns from stock prices would be immeasurable. This temptation was far greater and more direct than the 'adding flowers to embroidery' benefit from Bandai.
He suddenly chuckled softly: "Those old guys at Sony have almost gone gray with worry over LD sales. If you really have a way, they'll probably worship you."
This slightly humorous remark lightened the atmosphere in the tearoom considerably.
Then, Mitsui Chuta reined in his smile, his gaze becoming sharp and serious again. "If," he said, word by word, each carrying undeniable weight, "your proposal is indeed feasible and can truly and effectively drive LD sales, then, regarding the authorization issues with Sunrise and Toei, I, Mitsui Chuta, am willing to personally step forward and clear the obstacles for you."
This was undoubtedly a promise of immense weight.
Takuya's taut nerves finally relaxed slightly, but he maintained his composure and respect. He had successfully and cleverly tied a seemingly dead-end copyright dilemma to another unrelated market promotion challenge, and found the most crucial leverage point.
"Thank you, Mr. Chūta." Takuya bowed again, this time with genuine gratitude.
"I will complete the detailed game proposal as soon as possible. At that time, I will invite you and relevant personnel from both companies to jointly evaluate and discuss it."
"Very good." Mitsui Chuta nodded, a genuine smile appearing on his face. His previous scrutiny and deliberation were gone, replaced by an appreciation akin to that of an elder for an outstanding junior. "I very much look forward to seeing a plan that can impress Sony, and also impress me." He picked up his teacup, motioning for Takuya to drink tea, his tone also becoming much more amiable.
"The gyokuro has cooled, let's have another pot."
He called over the tea master, asking her to brew a fresh pot of good tea.