Kaeya Joins the Audience
"As for the rest of your friends, Klee, big brother Kaeya promises—if you go to bed on time for the next few days, then whoever you want to see, that's exactly who big brother Kaeya will take you to visit."
To Klee, apparently, the lure of the Traveler and her friends was just a little stronger than that of a storybook.
Though she was reluctant to let go of the book in her hands, the thought of seeing the Traveler tomorrow won out, and she set it down at last.
The next day, Kaeya brought Klee to the place Noelle had described.
The moment they reached the door, Kaeya noticed a steady stream of people moving in and out of the room. Peering in through the wide-open doors, he saw a small army of staff arranging some kind of scene.
"Whoa!" Kaeya eyed the interior—a riot of roses and balloons—with a look of pure bewilderment. For a second he genuinely thought he'd stumbled onto a marriage proposal, and not even a tasteful one: this was the tacky, cliché sort, absolutely dripping with money.
His curiosity about what expression the Traveler would wear upon seeing all this was growing by the minute.
Suddenly, a tall young man strode out through the doors. His hair was on the longer side, tied back in a ponytail, and dyed a rather fashionably smoky grey.
He wore a black jacket trimmed with tassels, his gaze dreamy and unfocused, his movements loose and languid. One look at him gave the impression of someone unserious and frivolous to his core.
Talking on his phone, he walked on. As he passed Kaeya, he glanced over at him offhandedly, registered a stranger, and thought nothing more of it—just turned away, continued to the window, and gazed outside, saying something into the phone with a smile.
So this, it seemed, was one of the protagonists of the day.
The man was standing a fair distance away, but Kaeya could still catch fragments of the conversation.
The figure at the window, taking in the view, was one Takano Hideki—an obvious playboy and spoiled rich kid. His family's business was hotels, and the Beika Hotel was one of theirs, which was precisely why Takano Hideki had chosen this place for his little production.
He was the second son of the household, with an older brother above him. As the younger child, he had no obligation to inherit the family enterprise, and his family asked little of him—which was perhaps why he'd grown willful and a bit hot-tempered, though at heart he was simple enough. He was a bit of a flirt as well, but he had his limits; he never two-timed anyone.
At that moment, the friend on the other end of the line was asking about today's affairs.
"So how's the preparation going? And who's the target this time? It's rare to see you pull out the heavy artillery right from the start," the friend asked, unable to hide his curiosity.
"Going perfectly. Relax—once I win her over, I'll bring her around to meet all of you," Takano said with total confidence. It had never once crossed his mind that Xiayu might refuse.
"And this time it's different from before. I have a feeling I might have found my true love." By the end, Takano's voice had risen slightly, his emotion plainly getting the better of him.
"...True love?" The voice on the other end was distinctly odd.
True love, and yet you had someone else write your love letter for you?
"Yeah. I was in danger—surrounded by a whole crowd of them—and just as they were about to hurt me, a single sharp cry stopped them cold. Then this person dropped out of nowhere, right between me and those thugs. In that moment, I swear I saw an angel. It was destiny," Takano said. Even now, recalling the scene, he could feel the shock and wonder of it all over again.
After the angel saved him, she'd hurried off before he could exchange more than a few words with her—before he even learned her name.
It had taken Takano an enormous amount of effort to track down her address afterward. Worried that showing up out of the blue would catch her off guard, he'd gone so far as to write her a love letter first, declaring his feelings so the angel would have time to brace herself.
The only shame of it, as far as Takano was concerned, was that the moment he sat down with pen in hand, he discovered he had no idea how to write a love letter. He stared at the blank stationery for several minutes, mind a perfect void, and in the end had no choice but to enlist a lackey's help.
What Takano didn't know, of course, was that the lackey hadn't taken the task remotely seriously. That night, the man had simply searched around online, stitched together a few love letters from the internet, changed a couple of words for polish, and called it done.
Which was exactly why the letter had struck Xiayu as strange and full of inconsistencies.
Takano, for his part, had read it and thought it was excellent, detecting nothing the least bit odd. He'd copied the content out afresh in his own hand and had it delivered to his angel.
Then he'd invited her here, planning to boldly declare his feelings in front of everyone gathered around. His angel would surely be moved—moved straight into his arms—and from there, the two of them could officially become a couple.
Takano was lost in this fantasy, thoroughly convinced that everything to come would unfold exactly as smoothly as he imagined.
From a spot not far off, Kaeya watched the man confidently invite his friend to come witness his moment of happiness in person, sympathy written across his face.
Kaeya had a feeling that if the man proposed with that faintly smug attitude, the "moment of happiness" would turn out to be a moment of agony. And he'd invited his friends to watch it happen, too—Kaeya had to wonder how awkward it would be for the man to face them afterward.
When the friend, cornered and resigned, finally agreed to hurry over as fast as he could, Takano hung up.
Sensing someone beside him, he frowned and turned with an irritable look. Honestly—who was this person with such terrible timing? Didn't they see how busy he was?
Seeing that it was a stranger, his brow furrowed even deeper. He had no time to waste on people who didn't matter.
Takano was just about to open his mouth and send the man packing when the dark-clad figure stepped toward him instead.
Kaeya moved in close, sidled up to Takano Hideki, and turned on the charm. Within a few exchanges, he'd talked his way into an invitation to observe the confession firsthand.
Still slightly dazed, Takano agreed to Kaeya's request without giving it a second thought, and even ushered him into the room.
Seeing that the time was nearly at hand, he turned to go—then noticed the little girl Kaeya had by the hand, so adorable that he couldn't resist giving her head a friendly pat on his way out.
Then he whirled around and bellowed for his lackey. "Nakamura! Nakamura, where the hell have you gone?!"
Hearing his name, Nakamura Mahito hastily dropped what he was doing and dashed to Takano's side.
"Is everything ready or not? If there's a single mistake, you'll answer to me," Takano said, glaring at the man who had just vanished on him moments ago. He warned him yet again: this time he'd better take it seriously. No screw-ups.
Nakamura Mahito lowered his head and nodded his assent, meek and mumbling.
"See that you do." With an impatient flick of his hand, Takano dismissed him.
Nakamura obediently walked away from Takano's side.
But he didn't return to his work at once. Instead, he stopped in Takano's blind spot, watching the man with eyes gone dark and cold.
Standing behind him, Kaeya caught sight of Nakamura's clenched fist and decided that coming here today had been absolutely worth it. Things, it seemed, were getting much more interesting.
Nakamura Mahito stood there, wooden as a post, for a minute or two. Then, as if steeling himself with some final resolve, he cast one last glance at Takano Hideki, turned, and walked away.