53 Daisuke-san Apologizes

Haruki felt his heart race when he saw Jun's set jaw and sullen look. 'What might he thinking about me and Saito?' The singer stood up, ahead of the panoramic elevator arrival. The climber quietly began to dress.

Jun took a while to get out of the elevator after the door opened, staring at the two of them on the grass. Then his gaze went to the Taj Mahal and Jun started walking, looking at the place.

"The night here must be spectacular, for you would have preferred to sleep outside than inside," Jun commented.

"I didn't even notice when I slept. I was watching Saito-senpai climb," Haruki justified.

"Jun-san, can you tell us whether Daisuke-san feels better today?" Saito asked.

The baker had his back to the climber, looking at the mausoleum. He turned to reply,

"Daisuke wants to speak to all of us. That's why I was looking for you guys," Jun's gaze traveled from Saito to Haruki. After he finished speaking, he took one last look at the place and went back to the elevator.

"Wait, Jun. We're going with you," the singer asked before he hit the elevator button. They had to wait Saito put on his shoes before returning to Haruki's suite.

Haruki couldn't explain why he was feeling guilty. After all, he had done nothing wrong. No cheating or whatever. It wasn't like he and Saito had kissed. Still, he felt bad as how Jun glared at him. And he couldn't pretend to ignore the animosity between the two men.

He found the rest of the group in the suite, talking, but they stopped whatever they were talking about when the trio arrived.

Daisuke had big dark circles under his eyes and was wrapped in a blanket, with a coffee mug in his hand. Hinata was sitting behind him, doing braids in his hair.

Takashi was playing with the kitten, teasing Mimi with a stick with a pompom on its end.

Haruki went over to Takashi's side.

"Thank you for being here, I wanted to apologize to you," the influencer's voice was clear and charged with his feelings. It seemed to come from the bowels of the broken digital influencer, the sound was so deep. The singer shivered, knowing that the man in front of him was making a big effort to apologize.

'Poor Daisuke, I'm sorry for being an idiot to you.' Haruki was dismayed! He reflected that since he arrived in the group, he never approached him. And what was the reason? Jealous of knowing him close to Jun. Haruki lowered his chin, looking at his feet and feeling ashamed of his childish behavior, 'Am I really Mummy's Golden Boy?'

RING RING RIIING

Haruki jumped. The ring of a telephone interrupted his self-reflection, disturbing the sudden silence in the room.

Jun went over to the device on a sideboard and answered it.

The singer noticed for the first time the odd vintage phone over the furniture. There was a dial with numbers on the hand-painted mother-of-pearl base. It also had a long coiled wire, which joined this base to a curved speaker having two ends, one for listening and the other for speaking.

Haruki was too young and didn't remember seeing this device before, but the baker did. Jun had squinted and frowned as he listened. So he just hung up in silence, not bothering to say goodbye.

'It must have been Okami System sending a message,' concluded the singer.

"We're summoned to the Pearl Hall, now. But I prefer to listen to you, Dice-K," Jun explained, placing his decision and went to sit next to his friend.

"Hi, I also prefer to stay and listen to you," Hinata continued to mess with the influencer's hair.

"I think we all want to hear from you, Daisuke-san," Saito also gave his opinion looking at Haruki who nodded in agreement, just as Takashi.

The influencer smiled, staring at them for the first time. After taking some of his drink, he continued.

"I saw a very close person destroy herself. She was addicted to games. Because of loan sharks, she threw himself in front of a train." Daisuke stopped to dry his eyes. His voice failed a few times. "Nothing I did was enough. I couldn't save her!".

Jun slapped him on the back, until the influencer raised his hand flat, asking him to stop, stifling a cough.

Haruki had to control himself not to laugh. Jun wanted to comfort the friend who was holding himself back from crying, but he had little use for it.

'He's the type of man who doesn't know what to do when he sees someone crying.' The singer felt a warm sensation in his stomach, his body responded to seeing Jun being awkwardly cute! And Haruki wanted to hug and kiss him. Jun was so beautiful and so inexperienced when it came to feelings.

"I work with auctions and I've seen that happen too. Competitive people who didn't know when to quit. But unlike them, we have each other to support us. Daisuke-san, thanks for sharing. Your alert has been heard," Takashi comforted the influencer.

"Daisuke-san is right. They want to distract and hook us. Last night I found a place to climb that I wanted to go to for years," Saito revealed. "Takashi-san is a pro player and made a fortune last night. Soon each of you will find something that pleases you. They are using the information that we provided when filling out the questionnaire."

Even Jun shook his head in agreement with Saito.

'Questionnaire?' Haruki wondered. 'What questionnaire? I didn't answer any questionnaires. ' But he kept his curiosity for the time being because he didn't want to bring the matter up to himself.

After a time when everyone thought in silence, Daisuke called them, with a cheerful tone.

"I am curious to know what awaits us now in the hall. Let's go?"

******

The last night the system decorated the Pearl Hall for the masquerade ball with luxurious black and gold art deco motifs. This morning, its decoration reminded them of a souk. From the hues to the vase planted palm trees, exotic silks and tapestries, and ethnic patterns and objects from Northern Africa, vases, and all things to make them think of an oasis in a faraway place.

Highlighted in the center of the hall, they could see a green rally car, spinning slowly on a platform. Red and gold ribbons and diamond-shaped balloons showed it was a sort of prize

The roof opened and drones brought a banner to the sound of 'Life Ain't a Game' by American singer Ja Rule.

[CONGRATULATIONS NOGUCHI TAKASHI!]

[FOR BEAT THE HOUSE IN THE AVIDITÉ ET Temptation CASINO YOU WON THE TURBO CAR AND THE RIGHT TO take part IN THE 'FIRST SABLE ROSÉ RALLY']

They looked at each other.

"A new competition?"