Chapter 169: Kaeya Joins the Onlookers
"As for your other friends, Klee," Kaeya began, his voice a smooth, conspiratorial whisper, "Big Brother Kaeya promises that if you can manage to go to sleep on time for the next few days, I'll take you to see whoever you want."
The offer hung in the air, a temptation far greater than any storybook. Klee's eyes, wide and bright, flickered from the colorful pages in her hands to Kaeya's knowing smile. The thought of seeing the Traveler tomorrow was a powerful motivator. With a small, reluctant sigh, she carefully set the book down.
The next day, true to his word, Kaeya led Klee to the location Noelle had mentioned.
As they approached the designated room in the Beika Hotel, Kaeya noticed a steady stream of people moving in and out. The doors were propped open, offering a clear view of the flurry of activity within. Employees bustled about, arranging what looked to be an elaborate stage.
Kaeya's visible eye widened, a strange glint dancing in its depths. The room was an explosion of red roses and shimmering balloons. It was, he thought with a private, internal chuckle, the very picture of a proposal scene—and a tacky, ostentatiously old-fashioned one at that, reeking of money.
He found himself growing more and more curious. Just what kind of expression would the Traveler make when she walked into this?
Suddenly, a tall man emerged from the room. His hair was on the longer side, pulled back into a loose braid and dyed a distinctive shade of smoky gray. He wore a black jacket adorned with tassels, and his gaze was unfocused, almost hazy. The way he carried himself, with a languid posture that seemed to lack any real strength, gave off an immediate impression of someone both unstable and frivolous.
He was speaking into his phone as he walked, his attention elsewhere. He gave Kaeya a passing glance, but seeing an unfamiliar face, he paid him no mind. Turning away, he ambled over to a nearby window and leaned against the frame, a self-satisfied smile spreading across his lips as he continued his conversation.
'So,'Kaeya mused,'this must be one of today's protagonists.'
Even from a distance, Kaeya's sharp ears could pick up fragments of the conversation.
The man by the window was Takano Hideki, a textbook playboy and second-generation heir. His family's fortune was built on a chain of hotels, and the Beika Hotel just so happened to be one of their properties. It was the perfect, convenient stage for his grand gesture. As the second son, he was free from the burden of inheriting the family business, and consequently, his family's expectations for him were laughably low. This had cultivated a rebellious and somewhat spoiled temperament, though his personality was, at its core, rather simple. He was a notorious womanizer, but he abided by a single, flimsy principle: never date two people at once.
Right now, he was boasting to a friend on the phone.
"How are the preparations going? And who's the target this time? It's not like you to make such a big fuss right from the get-go," the friend on the other end asked, their voice laced with curiosity.
"Everything's going smoothly," Takano said, his tone dripping with confidence. The possibility of Natsume refusing him hadn't even crossed his mind. "Don't you worry. Once I win her over, I'll definitely bring her out to meet you guys."
He paused, a dramatic flair entering his voice. "And this time is different. I think... I think I might have finally met my true love." His voice rose with excitement at the end.
"...True love?" The friend's tone was flat, skeptical. 'True love, and you had someone else ghostwrite the love letter for you?' the unspoken question hung in the silence.
"Yeah!" Takano was oblivious. "I was in real danger, surrounded by a bunch of thugs. Just as they were about to rough me up, this sharp shout stopped them in their tracks. Then, someone just... descended from the sky and landed right between me and those lowlifes. In that moment, I swear, it was like I was looking at an angel. It was destiny." Even now, recalling the scene, Takano could feel the lingering shock and awe.
After his "angel" had saved him, she had left in a hurry, before he even had a chance to say a proper thank you, let alone learn her name.
It had taken a considerable amount of effort—and money—for Takano to track down her address. Worried that a direct approach might be too sudden, he had decided to first send a love letter to express his feelings and give his angel some time to be mentally prepared.
It was a pity, then, that when Takano sat down to write, his mind went completely blank. After staring at the empty stationery for several minutes, he had no choice but to outsource the task to one of his followers.
Of course, what Takano didn't know was that his follower hadn't taken the matter seriously at all. He'd simply done a quick online search, cobbled together some generic love-letter templates, changed a few words for "polish," and called it a day. This was precisely why Natsume had found the letter's contents so bizarre, riddled with strange phrasing and grammatical errors.
Takano, however, had read the final product and thought it was beautifully written, noticing nothing amiss. He'd painstakingly copied it out by hand and had it delivered to his angel.
His plan was simple: invite her here, declare his feelings in front of a crowd, and the angel would surely be moved to tears. They would then, naturally, begin their official relationship. Takano lost himself in the fantasy, certain that everything would unfold as smoothly as he envisioned.
Not far away, Kaeya watched Takano confidently invite his friend to witness his "moment of happiness." A deep, almost pitying sympathy washed over his features, though it was quickly replaced by a flicker of amusement.
If this man confessed with such an arrogant attitude, Kaeya mused, it likely wouldn't be a moment of happiness, but one of deep public humiliation. And to invite friends to watch... he wondered if the man would even be able to face them after today.
After his friend reluctantly agreed to rush over, Takano ended the call. He finally noticed Kaeya and Klee lingering nearby and frowned, his brow furrowing with impatience. Seriously, who was so clueless as to bother him at a time like this? Didn't they see he was busy?
His frown deepened when he saw it was a stranger. He had no time to deal with irrelevant people.
Just as Takano was about to shoo them away, he saw the dark-clothed man approaching him.
Kaeya stepped forward, his signature charming smile already in place. With just a few well-chosen words—a compliment on the lavish decorations, a feigned admiration for such a grand romantic gesture—he had Takano nodding along, completely disarmed. In no time at all, Kaeya had secured permission to stay and watch the confession unfold.
Takano, dazed by Kaeya's smooth-talking, agreed without a second thought and absentmindedly waved him into the room. As he did, he noticed the little girl Kaeya was holding by the hand. Charmed by her cuteness, he gave Klee a casual pat on the head before turning away.
"Nakamura!" he bellowed, his voice echoing through the bustling room. "Nakamura, where have you gotten to?!"
Hearing his name, a man named Nakamura Masato hurriedly dropped what he was doing and scurried to Takano's side.
"Is everything ready?" Takano's gaze was sharp with dissatisfaction as he glared at the underling who had been out of his sight. "If anything goes wrong, you watch out. I'll teach you a lesson." He warned him again, demanding that he take this seriously and not make any mistakes.
Nakamura Masato lowered his head, nodding submissively. "Yes, sir."
"It better be," Takano snapped, waving a dismissive hand. "Go on, get out of my sight."
Nakamura obediently backed away from Takano's side.
But he didn't immediately return to his work. Instead, he stopped just out of Takano's line of sight, in a perfect blind spot. From there, he stared at his boss's back, his expression turning dark and gloomy.
Standing behind Nakamura, Kaeya's single eye caught the motion. He saw the man's hands clench into tight, white-knuckled fists. A slow, predatory smile touched Kaeya's lips. He had truly come to the right place today. Things were becoming far more interesting than he could have hoped.
Nakamura stood as still as a statue for a minute or two, his shoulders rigid with tension. Then, as if he had finally reached a decision, his posture relaxed. He took one last, long look at Takano Hideki, a look filled with a chilling finality, before turning on his heel and walking away.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]