The Quiet Morning
The morning sun, filtered through the layered security glass of the Sky Lounge, cast long, oblique shadows across the white marble floor.
Tenryuu Kaito was not rushing. He had successfully completed his first micro-operation and confirmed the efficiency of Asset 001, the "Azure Blend" coffee house. Now, he was allowing the system to idle, enjoying the undisturbed peace that absolute wealth afforded.
He was sitting at his breakfast table, surrounded by the quiet luxury that was the hallmark of the Tenryuu name. His current contemplation was the simple beauty of a piece of Japanese pottery—a task far less taxing than dismantling a syndicate.
[SYSTEM ALERT: Passive Wealth Generation Cycle 14,400 Complete. Assets Transferred to Shadow Account Gamma-9. Current Daily Liquidity: Unlimited.]
The alert was merely background noise. Money was not a constraint; it was a boundless element, available for any strategic purpose.
This lack of constraint defined his life. He was a strategic thinker given infinite chess pieces. The only real limits were time and the unpredictable variable of human emotion.
The Manager's Touch
Akiyama Shiori arrived precisely at 7:30 a.m., not for espionage, but to share a quiet meal. She was his oldest, most trusted confidante, the manager who made the impossible logistics of his life seem simple.
"Kaito-sama," Shiori greeted him softly. "The market correction related to the Azure Blend acquisition has stabilized. The local neighborhood views the new coffee house as a charming, slightly overpriced amenity. The façade is holding."
"But the true work is below. How is Kazuya-san adapting to the solitude?" Kaito asked.
"He thrives on the solitude," Shiori said, sitting opposite him. "His profiling report on the Hōō Kenkyūkai was precise and detailed. He is enjoying having unlimited, clean data without bureaucratic interference."
Shiori poured her own juice. "You have given him the freedom to be perfectly efficient. And you have given me the challenge of managing the logistics of a global power broker while attending second grade."
She offered a faint smile. "Dealing with corporate lawyers is much less tedious than dealing with playground drama."
Their relationship was built on a foundation of shared strategic purpose—a bond stronger than typical childhood friendship. She was the anchor that kept his focus sharp and the only person who truly understood the weight of his command.
The Immediate Horizon
Shiori opened a small, sleek planner—an old-fashioned physical notebook, immune to any cyber attack.
"Next week, the Tenryuu Tower is hosting the International Robotics Forum. Your presence is required for two days. This forum contains executives from a key military tech supplier that Ryuu needs access to."
"Understood. A resource acquisition opportunity disguised as a scientific forum."
"Correct. And locally," she continued, pointing to a small annotation on her page, "Ran Mouri's father, the detective Kogoro Mouri, has opened his agency a few blocks from Teitan High. His success rate remains statistically baffling."
Kaito paused. Kogoro Mouri. The sleeping detective. The perfect, chaotic magnet for the cases he needed to monitor. The System had placed Asset 001 not just near Shinichi's high school, but near the chaotic engine that drives the main storyline.
He placed his fruit fork down.
"Shiori," Kaito instructed, his eyes hardening with strategic intent. "Have Kazuya run a constant, passive surveillance on the Mouri Detective Agency's immediate vicinity. We are not to interfere, but we must record everything that enters and leaves that building. Every person. Every unusual event."
"We will monitor the chaos," Shiori concluded, closing her notebook.
Kaito nodded. "Precisely. We use the chaos of the detective world as our primary source of intelligence. That is how the Dragon Throne plays the game."