Hollywood Zenith

I scanned the old couple, and by the behavior of Hana, who was standing just behind them, I could guess their standing in the family was higher than hers.

Their royal family follows a set of rules; one of them is the person with higher standing would often lead the group.

I stopped my train of thought to greet the old couple.

" Good, good; I really didn't believe when Masako told me about you being extraordinary but seeing you in person gives full credit to her claims. " The old man said, impressed by my greeting.

" Right, she also went on and on about your appearance." the old woman said from the back.

" Right, He is so cute! I wish I could keep him." Hana chimed in to express her desire.

" Now, I think he is confused. We should introduce ourselves. I am the head of the family or you could say the emperor of this nation , Mashiro and this is my wife, Sayo. You have already met my sister Hana. It is nice to see a promising young man."

" It is an honor to meet your imperial highness Mashiro as well your imperial highnesses Sayo. " I said respectfully.

" Ma, ma, No need to be formal with us. We are relics of the past. Just call me Grandma Sayo or something. I don't know about him but It is very taxing for me to act all high and mighty."

" Dear, What are you saying? We should teach his generation some etiquettes and proper manners." He exclaimed.

" As you wish your Majesty. " His wife teased him.

To which he muttered--

" Although I don't mind having a cute grandchild like him."

" Right, Lets get along Sami, I can call you Sami right?" Sayo asked.

" Me too, Sami. I wish you could stay here, but I will make do with you calling me the same thing as her." Hana squeezed into our conversation.

" Stop it, sister. Are you going senile already? Don't you know about his identity already." Mashiro rebutted.

" Senile really? How can you say that? I am only in my fifties, I am still young! "

" You are three years older than me! You old women, stop watching weird things. We already talked about this. "

They went back and forth for a few more minutes before Sayo delivered strong knuckles to their heads to settle them down. Seemed like a regular occurrence to me, and I also replied positively to their suggestion.

" Yes, you can call me anything, Grandma Sayo, Grandpa Mashiro and Grandma Hana."

They were happy and started piling more compliments, it was embarrassing at first, but I slowly got used to it.

" By the way Sami, I have heard that you made quite an impact during your introduction ceremony. People were praising you for your business mind and such." Grandpa asked.

" No, no, they are exaggerating it. I simply pointed out few things, it's no big deal."

" But I have heard that it has something to do with financial market in the coming months. I heard you schooled several financial giants at the party." asked Grandma Sayo.

I carefully explained my side of the story to clear their misunderstanding. It was nothing technical, but big smiles were plastered on their faces. They were also versed in the business side, especially both old women, they would occasionally put up counterarguments, but I answered them to the best of my abilities. My knowledge was not on an academic level as I still have yet to absorb everything regarding the subject.

" Excellent, your prediction sounds very accurate but realize that several variables are at play here. Even the best analytics often leave out several factors to lessen the complication." Grandma Hana explained. I was surprised to see the scholar side of her; I never thought this goofy old woman would grasp everything and point at the possible errors.

" I never thought--" she cut me mid-sentence.

" that I would be knowledgeable about the subject right? " she finished for me.

" Right, Are you psychic too? Well, I think it is good that you understood me at least."

" My sister may be senile, but she has several degrees in economics; I guess money was not wasted in the end," Grandpa uttered, which led to another back and forth between them.

" Are they always like this?" I asked Grandma Sayo, who was holding her head, looking at the brother and sister pair.

" Yes, I fear what would people think upon finding their idol's real personality. " She sighed and left them.

" By the way Samuel, I also wanted to express gratitude for your help with Masako's preganancy. It really means a lot for us. I hope you got the gift we sent earlier this month. There were some complication but it was settled with votes."

" Thank you but you already know what happened. I don't want to offend you but I don't know what's the big deal with it? I know it is important occasion but I still don't understand why you are giving so much for so little? I find it excessive, especially that priceless katana."

As soon as I said that, she wore a severe face, and the other two also stopped fighting and looked toward me.

" I-it's--" She looked toward her husband. I also noticed her gaze and promptly responded.

" It's alright; you don't have to force it if it is something serious." I had a vague idea about it as I absorbed their family's history, but this reality could be different.

" I think we should tell him." Grandma Hana said, encouraging them.

" But he is just a child; we should not nag him about our problem. We also promised to keep it confidential, remember." Grandma Sayo objected but was still waiting for her husband's decision.

" We should tell him. He will find out sooner or later. But you have to first understand how our families are connected and some of its history." Grandpa declared to which Sayo sighed but accepted his decision.

" I assume you have learned some of the histories of our country." He said to which I nodded, and he began explaining his family's predicament.

Monarchy is becoming obsolete worldwide; it is replaced by the newer version of what we know now as the government. That change came to Japan after their loss; they stood at the wrong aisle and paid the price for it.

The family was broken, and their position faltered, there were many clans present before the war but it was abolished to weaken the strong monarchy at that time. Both Rothchild and their family were enemies, but after the peace treaty, they had to work together to rebuild what they lost in the conflict.

The world criticized this approach, but the victor didn't want what happened with the Germans after the first conflict. Japan was put to the test after that and came out on top, nearly defeating the leader of the globe USA. It was called the golden decade for Japan; they did something which was impossible.

The royals also enjoyed a massive slice of the pie, but it came at a cost, their personal assets were seized, and they were left with crumbs for once that was the most robust family on the planet.

" Well, people will ask for reparations whether you find it fit, but it will happen." He said you could see the guilt and shame in his eyes for what had happened, but he was reminiscing about it.

" But that's when it went downhill, after the huge boom in the economy, people started to take notice. Some were jealous while others praised us but it put a huge target at out backs. It also didn't help as our banks got complacent with idiotic policies were put in place to feed their greed." Hana chimed in.

" Yes, at the start of eighties, out economy fell, and it fell hard. It swooped the whole nation, spreading like a plague. It affected us greatly too, we were set for a disaster but that's where your family comes in." He elaborated.

" Your grandfather helped us in our time of need, and we were grateful for it, but some didn't like it. They treated it as a 'handout' and deemed it disrespectful. It's not like we were set to lose everything, but it would have put a significant dent in families' financials.

Especially in the branch members' pockets, you see, your family offered their help in liquidating some of our assets. We needed urgent funds to fill the hole, but we needed to find buyers for it. The ones who were willing were the wolfs trying to buy it for pennies on the dollar. You have to remember that the world is not a fair place for naïve people; it would eat them up and spit it out in a matter of seconds.

That is why you will see ruthless people ascending to the top. Everyone is dangerous, but those who keep it in check live a little longer compared to tyrannical ones."

" So, you are saying that some of the people of your family still remember those time and are hostile toward us?" I asked, and it was like he was dodging my real question throughout this history lesson.

" Yes and no" He gave a vague answer again.

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