Chapter 49
The Plague God Appears Again
Upon hearing about the invitation, Hyuga Gen was somewhat confused. Did he really need an invitation? Then, he asked, rather strangely:
"Are you new here?"
The guard raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, so what?"
Hinata Gen then pointed to his handsome face.
"You don't recognize me?"
The guard looked closely at Hyuga Gen's face and shook his head.
"Don't know me? What's wrong?"
Hyuga Gen smiled and casually asked:
"What's your name? You've got some nerve."
A smug look appeared on the guard's face.
"My name is Yamamoto Ryuu, so what?"
"Baka yarou!"
"Slap! Slap!"
Just then, the security captain happened to be patrolling by and saw his brother-in-law blocking Hyuga Gen from entering. He immediately came over and slapped him twice across the face.
Then he bowed and scraped to Hyuga Gen, saying:
"Young Master Hyuga, the servants below are not following the rules. I apologize. Please come in, please come in."
Seeing the captain of the security team's attitude, Hyuga Genji, who wasn't angry to begin with, didn't say anything more, nodded, and led Akiyama Rinko inside.
Yamamoto Ryuu was completely stunned by his brother-in-law's beating and stood there dumbfounded.
Seeing Hyuga Gen walk away, the security captain breathed a sigh of relief, looking at his brother-in-law with exasperation, and said:
"Who gave you the guts to stop Hyuga-sama? I'll slap you twice and teach you a lesson."
Yamamoto Ryuu looked pitifully at the security captain and whispered his explanation:
"Didn't you tell me not to let anyone in without an invitation? You said it was to prevent Phantom Thief Kid from sneaking in."
"You idiot! Mrs. Suzuki has already confirmed it downstairs, do you need to confirm it for me? What did I tell you?"
"Slap! Slap!"
The security captain slapped him twice more.
"Brother-in-law, why did you hit me again? You were the one who told me to look at the invitation. I need to find my sister, sob sob."
After being slapped twice more, Yamamoto Ryuu couldn't hold back any longer and immediately burst into tears, thinking to himself that he had only just turned 18 and was still a child.
Seeing that the guests arriving later and those already in the cabin were paying attention, the security captain kept bowing and apologizing. Then, he pulled his brother-in-law aside and said, somewhat angrily, "..."
"Didn't I show you photos of those guests we can't afford to offend yesterday? Don't you recognize them now? You dare block Hyuga-sama from coming in? You're asking for trouble!"
"Besides, you have to consider the circumstances before you can look at an invitation. Mrs. Suzuki personally disembarked to greet you today, so why would you need to look at it? You're only showing me the invitation if the guest comes directly."
After saying that, he couldn't help but kick his brother-in-law to the ground.
"Sorry, brother-in-law, I have face blindness."
"....."
"Get out of here! Get down here right now! I shouldn't have given in to your sister's nagging and brought you, this scoundrel, to work here. You're ruining my job! I'll skin you alive!"
Upon hearing his brother-in-law tell him to get lost, Yamamoto Ryuu immediately performed a shige (a traditional Japanese kowtow).
"I'm sorry, brother-in-law. I was blinded by shit today and didn't know any better. I'll have my sister take good care of you when we get back. Please don't send me away."
"I'm taking my girlfriend there tonight too."
Thinking of his cloyingly sweet older sister and his girlfriend, who was average-looking but had a good figure, the security captain's heart skipped a beat. He frowned and waved his hand, saying:
"That's at least human. Stop arguing and get ready to stand guard. Remember to bring your girlfriend to my place tonight. If I get tired, you can help me out."
"Hi!"
Seeing that he had finally escaped a disaster, Yamamoto Ryuu immediately went back to his post with great joy. As for his girlfriend and sister, he could only leave them to suffer.
On the other side, after Hyuga Gen entered the public cabin, a group of people surrounded him and greeted him. After finally managing to get rid of them, he heard Conan's familiar voice.
"Big brother, did you come to Sonoko-neechan's party too?"
Hyuga Gen didn't reply. He lowered his head, took Akiyama Rinko's hand, and walked away to another place.
Conan was speechless. Was he really that annoying? How could someone run away from such a cute child?
There's a problem; this person definitely has a big problem.
"Hey, Conan, where have you been again? The banquet is about to start, hurry up and come over."
Ran, who had just noticed Conan's absence, came over and, following his gaze, spotted Hyuga Gen's back. Feeling that he looked somewhat familiar, Ran didn't think much of it and pulled Conan back to their seats.
The banquet soon began, and the upper-class guests were raising their glasses and chatting with each other, the atmosphere gradually becoming more lively.
Meanwhile, Gen Hinata and Rinko Akiyama were sipping their red wine in a corner, showing no intention of going over to chat. However, they couldn't resist the people with ulterior motives coming over to talk to them one by one.
As for Mingming, she was a few meters behind Hinata Gen, and people who knew her would occasionally come over to ask her to drink.
Just as Hyuga Gen was dealing with one person after another who came to curry favor with him, the butler, who had finished dealing with the group's affairs, arrived here accompanied by Suzuki Tomoko.
After the butler arrived, he first greeted Hyuga Gen, and then took the initiative to chat with the guest who had come to see Hyuga Gen. Only then did Hyuga Gen relax.
After glancing at the banner hanging at the front that read "60th Anniversary of the Suzuki Foundation," he looked at Shiro Suzuki, who was standing on the stage holding the microphone and saying thank you.
Just as Hyuga Gen was getting a little sleepy, Suzuki Tomoko glanced at the beaming butler, then slowly walked to Hyuga Gen's side and whispered:
"Yuan, you'd better try to take over the business left by your parents. It's hard to guarantee that nothing will go wrong if you keep handing it over to outsiders."
As soon as Suzuki Tomoko finished speaking, the temperature in the entire hall suddenly plummeted. Everyone shivered from the sudden drop in temperature, sneezing occasionally, and then began to complain.
"Huh? Why is it suddenly so cold? Did someone turn on the air conditioner?"
"Yeah, it's freezing! Where's the building manager? Why isn't he turning off the air conditioning?"
Achoo! Achoo!
Shiro Suzuki was also freezing, but he still mustered his spirits and took the microphone to comfort her.
"Everyone, please be patient. We have already sent people to investigate the cause."
Hyuga Gen and Akiyama Rinko did not feel the low temperature. Akiyama Rinko looked at everyone in the hall with some curiosity and tried to sense it, but she did not find any magical fluctuations. Then she shook her head at Hyuga Gen, who was also puzzled.
"Don't worry, Aunt Tomoko, I trust the housekeeper. He's the best person to me in the world, and I've always treated him like my own grandfather."
As soon as Hyuga Gen finished speaking, the temperature in the hall instantly rose again.
This brief temperature change has been quite a torment for these pampered upper-class people; it's likely that a large portion of them will catch a cold when they return.