Tokyo: Are you even a proper lawyer?

When Rio Arimura said this, her back was straight, her eyes were red and swollen, and there were still tear stains on her face. She looked disheveled yet stubborn, like a little animal that was soaked by the rain but refused to bow its head.

Masashi Akiyama looked at her quietly.

Looked for a long time.

So long that Rio Arimura began to feel uneasy, so long that the night outside the window had completely settled, so long that the hands of the wall clock had moved another notch.

Then, he slowly opened his mouth and asked a completely unexpected question:

"You had 200,000 in your savings account?"

Rio Arimura was stunned. She hadn't expected him to ask that, and nodded instinctively.

"Yes, yes..."

"But I checked," Akiyama Masashi took the dark blue savings card from the drawer, placed it on the table, and tapped it lightly with his fingertip, "there's only 180,000 in it. You still owe me 20,000."

Rio Arimura could hardly believe her ears.

She stared at Masashi Akiyama, her eyes wide open, as if she were looking at some incredible creature.

Several seconds passed before she found her voice, which rose in shock:

"You...you see me, a grown woman, a beautiful young woman! Standing before you, looking utterly dejected, clutching a cardboard box, clearly fired, clearly heartbroken! And the first thing you think of is...that I owe you 20,000 yen?!"

"Hmm." Masashi Akiyama nodded, his tone matter-of-fact. "My fee for this commission is 200,000 yen. You only paid 180,000 yen. You're still short 20,000 yen."

"You—" Rio Arimura trembled with rage, "You're a truly...utterly despicable man!"

"Perhaps." Masashi Akiyama remained noncommittal, leaning back in his chair, placing his hands folded on his knees, and looking at her calmly. "But I need to confirm—that my client has enough money to pay the bill. That's important."

Rio Arimura was speechless.

She just glared at him, her chest heaving with anger, but her tears had stopped sometime during the night, stopped by her own anger.

What a nasty man!

She cursed him again in her heart.

Cold-blooded, pragmatic, only concerned with money and winning rates, devoid of compassion, justice, and warmth!

She was no different in essence from her former colleagues who mocked and looked down on her!

No, he's even worse, because he doesn't even bother to cover it up!

Silence descended once more.

This time it lasted even longer.

Masashi Akiyama picked up his pen again and began working.

Rio Arimura sat on the sofa, hugging her knees and burying her face in her arms.

The tears have all dried up, leaving only an empty, powerless weariness.

After an unknown amount of time, Masashi Akiyama's voice rang out again, as calmly as if they were discussing what to have for dinner:

"You were kicked out?"

Rio Arimura didn't look up, but just gave a muffled "hmm".

"What are your plans for next?"

"……have no idea."

Looking for a job?

"……have no idea."

"go home?"

"I don't want to go back." Rio Arimura finally raised her head, her eyes reddening again. "My father has always disapproved of me becoming a lawyer. If he knew I was fired, he would definitely say, 'I told you so...'"

She couldn't continue, and buried her face in her arms again.

Silence again.

Then--

"There is a village."

Masashi Akiyama called her.

His voice was calm, yet it made Rio Arimura involuntarily raise her head.

"Would you like to work at my law firm?" Masashi Akiyama asked.

Rio Arimura was stunned. She stared blankly at Masashi Akiyama, as if she hadn't understood what he meant.

"However, there are a few things I need to clarify first. First, I'm currently very poor. My firm is just starting out, and I don't get any big cases, so my income is unstable. Therefore, although you will be working as a 'private lawyer,' you may not receive a salary in the short term—or rather, your salary will be very meager, or even nonexistent."

"Secondly, most of the cases I handle aren't high-profile, glamorous cases. They're all sorts of odd jobs: finding lost cats and dogs, divorce disputes, labor arbitrations, even 'catching adulterers in the act'—you might have to spend a lot of time dealing with these trivial matters that you might consider 'meaningless'."

"Third," Masashi Akiyama paused, looking directly at Rio Arimura, "If you work for me, you must accept my working methods. I don't care if the client is 'truly innocent,' or if the truth is 'completely revealed.' I only care about winning the case and getting paid. If you still hold that 'black and white' view of justice, we can't work together."

After he finished speaking, he looked quietly at Rio Arimura, waiting for her answer.

Rio Arimura was also looking at him.

Looking at this vicious, cold-blooded man who only cares about money and winning rates.

Looking at this shabby, financially strapped office, where they never get any big cases. Looking at the trivial case files scattered on the sofa.

Then, she remembered what Mikoto Takagi had said.

"The worst thing for a lawyer is to be self-righteous."

"Once you start judging what to do based on 'right and wrong' instead of 'legal,' you're not far from the precipice."

Rio Arimura took a deep breath and slowly stood up.

She walked to Masashi Akiyama's desk, placed her hands on the surface, leaned forward slightly, looked directly at him, and asked, word by word:

"If... I mean if, someday in the future, I receive a case where the client is clearly innocent, but the evidence is against them, and their chances of winning are slim. And I can't afford the high legal fees, just like Mr. Fukuyama. Would you still take the case then?"

Masashi Akiyama looked at her but did not answer immediately.

After a long silence, he finally spoke:

"I'll see how it goes."

"What do you mean?"

"It depends on your resolve," Masashi Akiyama said. "It depends on how much you're willing to pay for this 'innocent client.' It depends on whether you truly believe in him—to the point of being willing to gamble your time, energy, and even your career."

He paused, then added:

"Of course, it also depends on the compensation. I'm a lawyer, not a philanthropist. But if you can convince me that the case is worth taking—even if the compensation is meager and the chances of winning are slim—I will take it."

Rio Arimura stared at him, as if trying to see into the deepest part of his heart through those calm eyes.

Then, she slowly straightened up, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

"I see."

She turned around, walked to her cardboard box, and took out the mug inside. It was a childish and ridiculous mug with the words "World's Number One Nurse" printed on it.

She went to the tea room, turned on the tap, carefully washed the cup, and then dried it with a towel.

Then, she walked to the empty, dusty desk and placed the mug upright in the upper left corner of the desk. She then took the succulent plant out of the cardboard box and placed it next to the mug.

After doing all this, she turned around, faced Masashi Akiyama, and bowed deeply:

"From today onwards, please take good care of me, Attorney Akiyama."