Chapter 2: The Taste of Power

  The whispers spread before he even set foot inside the office. Employees murmured in hushed voices, exchanging glances filled with shock and curiosity. Someone had actually lasted beyond the first day.

  Himura Shin walked through the corridors of Kiryuu Corporation with measured steps, his presence neither demanding nor hesitant. Eyes followed him, yet he remained indifferent to them all.

  The old secretary led him toward the heart of the company—the Queen’s office. "You’re going to need more than skill to survive here," the man muttered under his breath. "She doesn't tolerate incompetence, nor does she have patience for failure. If you can’t keep up, you’ll be discarded like the others."

  Shin merely nodded, absorbing the information. He had no intention of failing.

  As they entered, the room was just as he had seen it before—pristine, cold, and overwhelming. Saya Kiryuu sat behind her grand desk, a figure of effortless authority. Her crimson gaze flickered to them as they entered, but unlike yesterday, she said nothing.

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  Instead, she reached for the coffee cup on her desk—the same one she had discarded the day before.

  Shin observed.

  Her fingers wrapped around the porcelain, lifting it effortlessly. The moment the cup touched her lips, the tension in the room shifted.

  She drank.

  The old secretary visibly tensed, waiting for the inevitable moment where she would throw it away like she always did. But it never came.

  Instead, Saya Kiryuu simply placed the cup back down, a flicker of something unreadable passing through her eyes.

  Silence.

  The old secretary’s jaw nearly dropped, his confusion evident. No one had ever gotten her coffee right.

  Saya’s gaze drifted toward Shin, studying him intently. He met her eyes without hesitation, his expression unreadable.

  She exhaled softly before leaning back in her chair. "You’re already proving to be different," she murmured, more to herself than to him.

  The old secretary swallowed, taking a step back. "W-Well then, I’ll leave you to it. Himura-san, I hope you know what you’re doing."

  Shin merely inclined his head, stepping forward to take his place.

  He had already begun to understand it.

  This wasn’t just about skill or competence.

  It was about understanding power.

  And he had just tasted it.