It didn't take long for me to arrive at Mei's mansion. A meticulously maintained courtyard stretched out in front of the mansion, every hedge trimmed with surgical precision.
As I made my way into the house, I was stopped by a few guards. A quick security check later, and I was in.
Good thing I didn't bring Shamash with me. No idea how I would explain what was practically a superweapon to them.
I walked in through the front door, checking my collar to ensure that I didn't look shabby after the fight I had earlier.
It didn't really matter to me what Ryoma would think of me, but I personally just like looking good.
After being led to the dining room by a maid, I saw Mei beside Ryoma, seated on one side of a long, rectangular, wooden table. Opposite to them however, it was our lovely Kiana Kaslana gorging on a crap ton of food.
At a glance, I could see Mei's resigned expression, like she was silently praying that her father wouldn't comment on Kiana taking a third plate of roast duck.
To my surprise however, Ryoma seemed completely fine with Kiana's... interesting eating habits. He calmly ate his food, just like a refined nobleman.
My arrival clearly took his attention away from his food, as he greeted me. "Welcome, Gojo Satoru." I could see his eyes brighten up when he saw me.
"Sorry I'm late." I scratched the back of my head. "The jam is terrible around this time."
Ryoma waved it off. "It's fine. Take a seat. I hope you don't mind that we've started without you."
"No problem." I sat down, greeting Mei in the process. She gave me a smile along with a nod back.
Kiana on the other hand, stopped eating like she hadn't eaten for days. "Gojo! You're here!" she said, her mouth still left with food unswallowed.
I gave her a side eye and stiffly nodded. "You... seem to be enjoying yourself..."
"Hehe"
"You should try the roast duck, Gojo-" Mei offered, before she paused as she looked at an empty plate, left with only some oil stains on it. "... or something else?"
"Ah, sure." I said nonchalantly. But inside...
Fu-
Roasted duck was my jam!
Damn it... it must be Cocolia's fault.
Cocolia... when I catch you Cocolia!!!!
What? Blame Kiana?
Why would I blame a friend, when I could redirect my hatred to someone else?
Maintaining the agenda is my top priority.
Kiana, unlike Mei's regal and polite behaviour, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "I gotta tell you Gojo, the food here's great! And the house here is almost as big as yours-"
"Kiana, you shouldn't speak so much while eating." Mei gently chastised, stopping Kiana in her tracks.
That seemed to have cowed Kiana as she shrunk back into her seat. "O-oh.... sorry Mei..."
Huh... when did this development happen?
Is.. it possible to learn this power? I need to get some answers from Mei later.
Ryoma ignored the shenanigans going on, as he sat up straight- well straighter than he already had been. "Almost as big as this house?"
Mei turned to Ryoma with a tilt of her head. "What's wrong with that, father?"
"There's only one home bigger than ours in the city." Ryoma said as he looked at me in the eye. "I even got outbid on the land back then."
"..."
"..."
"WHAT??!!!"/"What?"
Mei was flabbergasted as she looked at me. She opened her mouth to speak, but words wouldn't come out of her throat. Surprisingly, I could see something... akin to hope appear in her eyes?
Kiana shuffled over to me. "Gojo... didn't you say that you weren't headlines level of wealthy?"
"I just said that I don't get on headlines."
Kiana deadpanned at me.
And I just smirked back at her.
I didn't like flaunting wealth, but I won't deny that I have cash too.
You'd be surprised at how much money you could extract from the stock market once you adapt to it.
Ryoma cleared his throat. "While I do find that fascinating, Gojo Satoru, there is a different reason for my request for the presence of both you and Kiana Kaslana..."
"What is it?"
I said that, but I already had an inkling of what he wanted to say.
A rare smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he stood up. There was a moment of hesitation before he dropped into a bow.
"Thank you for saving my daughter's life."
"Father!" Mei quickly went to support Ryoma. Kiana was stunned in place as the roasted duck drumstick fell from her hand.
As for me, I had prepared myself internally for this beforehand. But I was surprised that a person as esteemed as Ryoma would be willing to lower himself like this.
Mei cried out softly. "You don't need to do this for me..."
Ryoma frowned. "Do not say that again. How could your life be measured by such a small thing?"
"Father..."
Ryoma straightened his back as he turned back towards Kiana and I. "But while I am thankful, I would like to know what truly happened that day."
Ahh, so this was his game.
"Didn't the school board say that it was due to structural integrity issues?" I asked slowly, as if I was stunned at his actions.
"Let us not play games." Ryoma's voice slowly turned colder. "White hair, blue eyes...
Kaslana.
You cannot expect me to believe that nothing happened."
No wonder he was suspicious. I was wondering when the Kaslana surname would cause some issues.
I glanced at Kiana to see her be snapped out of her shock. A strange expression appeared on her face as she didn't know how to fully react.
Mei was frozen now, as if she had been overloaded with the amount of emotions she had been going through the whole night.
On the other hand, I needed to keep playing it up.
"W-what's wrong with white hair and blue eyes?" I said, deliberately adding a tremble to my voice. "And is there anything wrong with Kiana's name?"
Ryoma stared at me straight in the eye.
And I looked away, creating the persona of a frightened teenager.
It was only after a while that Ryoma finally closed his eyes. With a soft voice, he sighed. "I... apologise for that. I'm just worried about Mei's safety"
What?
Apologising already?
Aren't you supposed to expose me with the info that you have? Isn't that normally how it goes?
Bro... you can't just do that...
Before any response to his words could be made, Ryoma had left the table. "Please continue your meal. I'll retire to bed for now... Feel free to stay for the night if you wish."
Then, he left the dining room.
I looked around to see the reactions around me. Kiana was thoughtful while Mei was just looking into empty space.
Well... now what?
I guess I should just start eating?
It didn't seem like the right mood considering all that just happened, but still, food is food.
There was one thing I knew for sure though.
From the look in Ryoma's eyes, there was no way he was giving up so easily.
So the question now is, what's next?
And how is he and Mei related to Cocolia...
(A/N: How was the chapter? Please give powerstones and comment if you liked the chapter!)