Chapter 144: Good timing.

“You did very well, Kai.”

Upon hearing the whole story from Momo, Chatora commented, clearly proud—an emotion shared by all the girls, who were looking at the blue-eyed boy with shining eyes. Kai responded in a casual tone as he shrugged his shoulders.

“It was no big deal, I just hit someone who tried to attack me and I performed first aid, that's all.”

“Fufu, whatever makes you happiest. Let’s go home; you need to shower and change clothes.”

Nemuri commented with a smile as she looked at Kai, who was flanked by Shino and Ryuko firmly gripping his arms, while Tomoko was perched on his back with her arms around his neck, sporting an incredibly bright smile on her face.

“I agree, but I need you three to let go of me so I can walk.” Kai remarked, alternating his gaze between the three girls who were holding him captive, all of whom smiled cheerfully before releasing him.

“Then let’s go.” said Shino, who had her arms crossed with a calm expression. Her slightly playful tone made everyone smile.

After heading toward an alley without cameras, Kai activated Accompany and took the entire group home, where they were greeted by Yumiko and Keiko. Both had already changed and were now wearing more casual clothes to be at home, but the moment they saw the blood on Kai’s pants, their expressions shifted to worry, and they asked in unison.

““Are you okay, Kai?!””

“Yes, I’m fine. It’s not my blood.”

“We’ll explain!!”

Nejire and Momo exclaimed at the same time, and after a little laugh, they explained everything that happened in parts as they entered the house, which allowed the pair of mothers to breathe a sigh of relief.

“I’m glad you’re okay, but go, take a shower, and change your clothes. You can’t keep wearing those.” After listening to everything that had happened, Keiko commented with a small sigh of relief. Then she turned to look at Momo and Nejire, adding.

“You two as well. You’ve been through a lot; go freshen up.”

After the trio of young people went off to their rooms, the adults gathered in the living room, where they sat on comfortable sofas as Mrs. Yoshiko served them freshly made tea. That was when Nemuri spoke with a tired sigh.

“Who would have thought a simple launch event would end like this…?”

“I really didn’t expect it. It was quite an ordeal…” Shino nodded and commented after taking a small sip of tea to calm her nerves. That was when Keiko asked in a rather serious tone.

“By the way, I’d like to ask you all: Has anything happened with Kai recently? Even though he hasn’t said anything, I somehow feel he’s been a bit different—he seems calmer and smiles more. Even today, he saved someone in front of several people and didn’t complain at all.”

As she spoke, Keiko fixed her gaze on Shino and Ryuko, who drank their tea calmly but were internally panicking a bit. For some time now, Keiko had been looking at them suspiciously, and she didn’t seem very pleased. That practically confirmed that she at least suspected something, which Nemuri could not help but sigh about.

Although she herself had likely changed subtly since her relationship with Kai began, she was certain that Keiko’s suspicions started because Shino and Ryuko, at the beginning of their relationship, began to get closer to Kai—more so than they used to. Also, ever since their “intimacy” started, they had been showing little details that were very revealing to someone observant, like not being embarrassed for him to see them in certain situations, and so on.

Because of those suspicions, which she was sure Yumiko, Chatora, and maybe even Tomoko also started having, Nemuri wholeheartedly agreed with Kai that they needed to talk to everyone as soon as possible and explain the situation.

But due to Yumiko’s problem, they had a small meeting with Momo—who had recently joined the relationship, albeit in a very innocent way without obvious changes, mainly because Momo had been busy helping her group of friends chooses whom to do their internships with—and decided to wait until that issue was resolved before talking, as it wasn’t the right time for the family to split their attention.

(Could it be because Momo joined the relationship? Did that affect him so much…? Although it doesn’t quite make sense that it would be just that… Besides going out for ice cream, they haven’t done anything else, so it’s likely something else…)

Nemuri thought to herself in silence, as she had also noticed the change. However, no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't pinpoint the cause. While it was possible that Momo joining their relationship had made him happy enough to show such a shift, she was sure that wasn’t the case. Her instinct told her that something else was going on, and she had to ask. But for now, she decided to comment in a calm tone as she set her cup of tea aside.

“I noticed it too, and honestly, I wouldn’t know where it comes from either. Though I must say, it's a change that doesn’t bother me. It’s quite nice that he’s stopped being so grumpy in class.”

“Could it be that he's starting to grow fond of the academy?” Yumiko asked with a cheerful smile after taking a sip of her tea, looking quite happy about Kai's change—one that, while subtle, was undeniably significant.

“I doubt it. He still complains about it now and then, so unless he says it directly, it’ll be hard to know the reason.”

Shino replied calmly, wearing a slight smile on her face, while Ryuko appeared to be sending a message on her phone. Keiko nodded in agreement, then announced in a serious voice, causing everyone present to change expression.

“For now, let’s focus on a more important issue. I have updates regarding the company. I’ve managed to gain the support of 60% of the company’s creditors, and Kai also managed to get proof of the fraud they committed, as well as information on that woman’s relatives and close acquaintances. The divorce settlement is also finished. We’ve completely cornered them; there’s nowhere for them to run or hide. All that’s left is to confront them.”

“What if they decide not to cooperate?” Nemuri asked seriously, to which Yumiko responded with a sharp look.

“We’ll destroy them. The company can fall to pieces, but they’ll never get a drop of what cost me so much to build.”

“And if they do accept, what do they get? I doubt they’d agree to walk away with nothing.” Chatora asked gravely, looking at Yumiko and Keiko. The latter replied with a smile.

“We’ve considered that, so the deal we’ll offer is very simple: they give us full control of the shell company they have, and we appoint our own legal representative in exchange for one million dollars—which is more than enough for them to live a moderate life. Otherwise, we’ll take it to the bitter end and make sure they spend at least ten years in prison and pay back every last cent they stole.”

“That seems good, though it might be hard for them to accept just a million when they’re looking at a giant...” Ryuko remarked with an ironic smile, prompting Yumiko to reply in an annoyed tone.

“If they’re smart, they’ll take the million. I’m already being generous.”

“Yumiko… and when are you going to talk to Nejire?” Tomoko asked as she looked at Yumiko, who couldn’t help but smile bitterly and answer in a voice full of pain.

“Soon… even though I know she already suspects something, it’s very hard for me to tell her all of this… I don’t know how to do it…”

“It’s best if you do it soon. Only she and Momo don’t know, so this could hurt her more…” Nemuri added seriously, causing Yumiko to nod with a gloomy expression. She then said softly.

“Yes, you’re right. It’s better to do it as soon as possible… maybe tonight.”

“That’s best. We plan to stay over tonight because of everything that happened, so you can count on all of us in case something happens.” Shino said warmly, making Yumiko smile.

“Thank you, guys. You have no idea how important it is for me to have you all with me at this moment, but I want to do this alone with Nejire. I will rely on you all to support her afterward, though.”

“You can count on us. We’ll never leave you alone!” Tomoko added with conviction, and everyone present nodded in agreement, bringing a look of affection and happiness to Yumiko’s face.

“Thank you, guys, really… thank you…”

…

…

…

While showering peacefully, a holographic screen popped up repeatedly in front of Kai, showing a text message from the group chat he shared with Nemuri, Shino, Ryuko, and Momo, who had recently joined. It said that it would be better to avoid meeting in secret these days, since Keiko was paying close attention.

Ever since Momo joined the relationship, she naturally found out about everything, including the fact that the four had been secretly meeting at night and were already intimate. Although it surprised her a lot at first, she quickly accepted it and didn’t ask many questions.

Similarly, she never asked to join them or anything like that, as if she, too, wanted to take things slowly and step by step before doing anything else. Though she did ask Kai to take her to see the lakefront villa because she wanted to see it.

“Talk about good timing. Just when I was thinking about how to free up time to study the Nomu, I get this gift from the heavens. Great luck, hehehe.”

Reading the message, Kai muttered under his breath with a mischievous smile. At that moment, a holographic keyboard appeared in front of him against the shower wall, where he quickly typed a reply stating that he agreed. Then he turned to look at the beautiful fairy seated in a corner of the bathtub, which was in another corner of the bathroom, as she worked simultaneously on several holographic screens.

“Sage, get everything ready for tonight. We’re going to discover all the secrets of that Nomu.”

“Understood, Master. Would you like to read the report on my preliminary findings from the initial analysis?”

Sage turned to look at her master and asked with a smile as she opened another holographic screen displaying a document summarizing her discoveries. Kai shook his head and replied in a serious tone.

“Later. For now, let’s finish up and go downstairs. I’m interested in the conversation they’re having below.”

“Alright, Master. I’ll have everything ready.” Sage agreed with a small smile before returning to her work on the holographic screens. Kai nodded and then finished his shower.

…

…

…

In a spacious and elegant office, crowned by an imposing black ebony desk located in front of a built-in wall library—its upper shelves filled with various books and the lower part displaying crystal bottles of different liquors—sat a refined-looking man with dark gray hair and a slim build, dressed in a black business suit.

The man was reading a file with a focused expression, while in front of him waited a beautiful woman with pale green hair, dressed in a light gray women's business suit. The outfit consisted of a pencil skirt that accentuated her hips and a matching jacket over a white blouse, which, along with her thin-framed glasses, gave her an almost intellectual appearance.

“This is perfect. If we keep going like this, we’re not far from covering our debts and getting out of so many problems.” Finishing the report, the man exclaimed with a broad smile on his face, then looked at the woman in front of him with eyes full of love and admiration. He added excitedly.

“This is only possible thanks to you, Aiko. You’re truly the best thing that could have happened to me and to this company.”

“Haruto-sama, although the projections do indicate that in about a year we could resolve most of the company’s problems, it largely depends on the success of the next collection and the ones after that. But Yumiko-sama still hasn’t sent us the designs, and the deadline to begin production is approaching…” The woman responded in a serious tone, staring at the man. He nodded with a heavy expression.

“Yes… She suspects I have another woman. Before the trip to Italy, she tried probing me about it, and when I returned, I found out she had moved to the Saito estate with Nejire. Even though I’ve tried calling her, she won’t speak to me…”

“Haruto-sama, the heart of this company is Yumiko-sama’s designs. Without them, the success of the next collection would be uncertain…”

Aiko replied in a serious, somber tone, her eyes fixed on Haruto, who could only sigh heavily as he leaned back in the comfortable reclining chair. He then spoke, sounding somewhat worn out.

“I know. Without those designs, we’re finished… It looks like I can only ‘appease’ her so that everything keeps running until we pull through all these problems…”

“You know women very well, Haruto-sama. I’m sure you can make it happen.” Aiko’s tone remained serious and calm, free of the slightest reproach. Haruto quickly straightened up in his seat and explained in a serious voice.

“Don’t misunderstand, Aiko. I’ve left that playboy life behind. Even though I loved Yumiko, her obsession with work eventually drove us apart. I should have divorced her then, but the company was growing at an accelerated pace, and Nejire was very young, so I couldn’t.

“But now everything’s different. I don’t care about money or status anymore, and Nejire is old enough now. All I want is to retire and start a new life by your side, devoting myself to raising our baby—something I couldn’t do with Nejire because of this company.”

“I know, Haruto-sama…” Aiko answered with a slight blush, her hand resting on her still-flat belly in a maternal gesture, which made Haruto smile warmly. But after a sigh, he spoke in a resolute tone.

“But to do that, I have to keep Yumiko happy until we get out of all these troubles and start a new life somewhere else.”

“I understand, Haruto-sama. This part is also my fault—I was the one who dressed up the reports, and I carried out the plan to expand production.” Aiko nodded seriously, her gaze steady, causing Haruto to shake his head as he replied.

“You don’t need to take the blame off me, Aiko. I know this is entirely my fault. I let my arrogance blind me and implemented that stupid expansion plan without studying the market, just to prove I was right. But now isn’t the time for regrets. We need to fix this so we can move forward together.”

“Then shall I get the bouquet of ninety-nine roses plus one white rose ready for you, Haruto-sama?” Aiko asked, her tone businesslike as she took out a small planner and pen. Haruto nodded, then added while turning in his chair to grab a beautiful crystal whiskey bottle.

“Yes, and a box of Hiyoko chocolates.”

“Right away, Haruto-sama.”

Aiko nodded seriously as she wrote in her notebook, wearing a calm expression as if she were used to this. Haruto poured himself a glass of liquor and turned back around. Seeing his computer on the desk, he couldn’t help asking in a somewhat grave tone.

“By the way, Aiko, how did the company’s cybersecurity review go? Has it finished yet?”

***

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