Chapter 33: Cowardly Angel

The sound of flutes and strings filled the room, and an elegant and melancholic piece of music suddenly calmed the listeners, leading them into an indescribable state of beauty.

There was no doubt that this was music of a very high level, capable of intoxicating even laymen.

In the middle of the room stood a girl with hair as black as a waterfall and skin as white as Yuki. She was gracefully dressed in a light blue feather knit and a dark blue pleated skirt adorned with cherry blossom and flowing water patterns. She stood before the audience like a blue butterfly flying in the sky, or a white egret standing in the Yuki, sweetly and realistically.

"Please, look at me carefully."

The girl, as beautiful as a poem, spoke sweetly and shyly, half covering her beautiful face with a folding fan.

This sentence completely stirred the emotions in the hearts of the audience.

The dance that followed was a song of waves on the footsteps. It was not fast, but its slow movements were full of a beauty that made people smile, as if physical movements and hoteler emotions had perfectly combined to produce a wonderful charm.

Time became unimportant at this moment; even Kiana stopped eating voraciously and watched, her eyes motionless.

"So beautiful..."

Kiana sighed unconsciously, speaking for everyone.

After an unknown period of time, the dance ended with the long and clear notes of a flute.

The perfect girl who seemed to have walked out of a painting smiled shyly, lifted her skirt, knelt down, and nodded to the audience in gratitude.

After half a minute, the applause continued.

"Himeko, Himeko, this place is expensive for a reason!"

Angel clapped her hands and looked up at Himeko, naturally becoming a supporting role.

Himeko also clapped her hands, smiled at Angel, and then looked at the beautiful girl in front of her.

"Indeed, I never thought that a mere hot spring hotel could invite the head of the Tachibana Zaibatsu to perform for the guests. I wonder what the owner of this hotel is like. Could they be from the so-called royal family?"

Himeko said with a smile, her charming wine-red eyes curving into a beautiful crescent shape.

Tachibana Yuki, the Far East upstart who officially took charge of the Tachibana family's vast assets more than a month ago, is the focus of a major event in the Far East's upper class circle. Naturally, there were many related reports, and Himeko was aware of it.

As an adult with a good mind, Himeko certainly didn't believe that this Far East upstart would come to the hotel as a dancer.

As Himeko expected, the girl who had finished the performance did not leave the room but sat down gracefully in front of them, adjusted her skirt, and then smiled and clapped her hands.

"Pa! Pa!"

After the clapping, several waiters walked in quietly, quickly removing some empty plates and replacing them with obviously more high-end and beautiful food and wine.

"The Far East's royal family is now just a symbol. They don't have the power to command me. As for the owner of this hotel, I have been here for three days. I also know that it is very rude to visit rashly, so the dance, music, delicacies, and all your consumption here are just some insignificant apologies. Please forgive my rudeness."

"Speak plainly. We are not nobles with elegant words. We don't understand."

"I'm very sorry. I have something important to discuss with you. Please listen! In return, I will give you a free meal. No, it's a lifetime of free meals!"

Miss Angel, or to use her current name, Tachibana Yuki, bowed on the spot, banging her head on the ground, showing no self-respect or shame.

The corner of Himeko's mouth twitched.

"Well, it's not that serious. We are not that scary, right? Anyway, get up first. This makes us look like terrorists."

Tachibana Yuki raised her head, touched her red forehead, breathed a sigh of relief, and said timidly:

"Are you really willing to listen? You won't turn around and take out your AK and shoot me?"

"...What do you want to do?"

Himeko hugged Angel tightly and rolled her eyes speechlessly.

Tachibana Yuki blinked and said hotelocently:

"To be honest, our Tachibana family has always served Lord Cocolia of Anti-Entropy. From the news we got there, the people of Saint Freya are big shots who can decide the life and death of the Far East. Of course I... will be afraid."

"Anti-Entropy? Cocolia!?"

Himeko leaned forward, her eyes suddenly sharp.

Theresa, Raiden Mei, and Bronya also changed their expressions.

Only Kiana and Angel had no reaction. Of course, Angel was pretending. As for Kiana, she probably had completely forgotten the name Cocolia that she heard during the Nagazora City incident.

At this moment, those who knew about it looked at each other for a while, and then unanimously gave the right to express their opinions to Himeko.

Himeko took a deep breath, calmed down, and said calmly:

"Cocolia's hand is long enough, but has she forgotten what she did before?"

"My trip has little to do with Lady Cocolia. In addition, I learned about the concepts of Honkai, Schicksal, and Anti-entropy when I inherited the family business a month ago. I really don't know about the grievances between Lady Cocolia and you. Please believe me!"

"Whether you believe it or not, we will know after we investigate. You'd better not lie, otherwise..."

"No, no! I mustered up the courage to come to Lady Theresa and Lady Himeko, so naturally I can't hide anything anymore!"

Tachibana Yuki said seriously, deliberately keeping a serious expression on her face, with the word "sincere" clearly written on her face.

Himeko remained calm, not bothering about the truth or falsehood, but asked directly:

"What do you want to do with us?"

"Well, this topic is a bit broad, and I don't know how far I can go with my ability. Anyway, I want to ask your school to save my Far East citizens!"

"Okay, got it. Then you can go."

"...Eh!?"

"What? We are here for vacation. Vacation, do you understand? I don't want to work overtime suddenly. If there is anything, we can talk next time. The door is over there. Goodbye."

Himeko pointed to the door and said with a wooden face, with no intention of negotiating at all.

Tachibana Yuki Angel looked at Himeko blankly, and then at Angel who was curled up in Himeko's arms.

After seeing Angel wink at her, Tachibana Yuki pouted and nodded aggrievedly.

"Okay..."

She walked out of the room lightly, and at the end, she slowly and silently closed the door for the people in the room, being extremely polite.

After hearing Tachibana Yuki's footsteps going away and not sensing anyone's presence outside, Himeko said:

"She gave up so easily, which means it's not a critical matter. She is a businesswoman and a big capitalist. Although I don't believe she can find out much information about us, she must have prepared a lot of rhetoric, and we know very little about her."

"In short, we can't follow her pace. We are not proficient in negotiation and it's easy to fall into a language trap. Anything is fine. After the investigation is completed, we will see if we want to talk to her slowly."

Himeko explained her reasons slowly.

It was mainly explained to Theresa.

Theresa nodded in agreement and patted Himeko's shoulder with her hand raised high.

"I trust you to do things, so let's do it your way. Let's continue eating. Although it's a pity that there is no bitter melon dish, these are also rare high-end dishes. Anyway, she said it's free, it would be a waste if we don't eat it!"

Theresa lifted her sleeves, licked her lips, and picked up the chopsticks unceremoniously.

At this time, Kiana had already filled her mouth.

The others looked at each other, shrugged, and continued to enjoy their dinner.

Only Bronya glanced at the door where Tachibana Yuki had left, then at the faces of Raiden Mei and Angel, then frowned, and a hint of heaviness flashed in her crystal gray eyes.

'Mother Cocolia, what do you want to do again?'