Tosai oversees operations at the local newspaper employing the protagonist. His misogynistic tendencies, rooted in deep-seated resentment toward his estranged mother, trigger physical allergic reactions to women—an affliction the protagonist inexplicably avoids, enabling their uneasy collaboration. When her fiancé is deployed to Manchuria, Tosai defies institutional sexism to assign her wartime reporting. He later intervenes anonymously, settling the fiancé’s family estate debt—an opaque personal motive driving this gesture. Though the protagonist consents to marry him, her unresolved loyalty to the absent fiancé strains their dynamic.

Amid a devastating earthquake, Tosai braves the chaos to extract her, only to be rejected as she prioritizes aiding her injured fiancé. Despite this, he engineers their joint rescue. The ordeal catalyzes his reconciliation with his maternal grievances, redirecting his focus toward career ambitions while withdrawing from her emotional entanglements.

Expanded adaptations introduce a Russian noblewoman connected to the fiancé, challenging Tosai’s guarded composure. His arc culminates in dedicated entrepreneurial pursuits, marking a departure from past prejudices and underscoring a tempered evolution.