As the big day approached, tension continued to rise and Blue Ember soon became like a powder keg ready to explode at any moment. Things remained the same on the surface, however.
Guests continued to flow in, both from the Romanos side and from the Stahlwölfes side. The list of invitees quickly shrank, with very few declining to attend, citing unforeseen circumstances that had forced a sudden change of schedule. In such situations, a replacement would be sent to represent the absentees, and when that happens, the Stahlkorps are tasked with vetting them to ensure they aren’t a threat in disguise.
Since he was one of the few members capable of using Tongue of Truth, Shirogane Ken had been rather busy as of late. Screening suspicious personalities was slowly getting on his nerves, and with how draining it was on both his mana and mental fortitude, his performance began to decline eventually, giving him the perfect excuse to take some time off.
In his spare time, Ken made a habit of going to the bars on the lower floors. The drinks weren’t what attracted him, of course. If he wanted something to drink, the break room where the rest of his colleagues spent their time had an exceptional selection.
What brought him to the lower floors was the company. Playing around with the Stahlwölfe women was a big no-no, and the same went for the Romanos. He couldn’t antagonize his employers and their guests so his only choice was to go to the lower floors to find a date.
The fifteenth floor was a good starting point. It marked the third column of the hotel. The guests staying there weren’t too poor, but not fancy either, which made them an easy pick.
Soon after his arrival at the floor’s bar, Ken sat down in one of the empty booths and ordered himself a drink. While waiting for it to arrive, he channeled some mana into his eyes and surveyed the dimly lit interior of the place, looking for a certain someone.
One thing Ken had always found problematic was the number of cosmetic enhancements women undergo in this day and age. Many saw no problem with fake skin and altered bodies, but those people simply lacked taste. He had nothing against enhancements that served a purpose, but ones that altered appearance for the sake of it left a bad taste.
As one of the rightful heirs to the Shirogane throne, Ken restricted himself to only natural beauties who had no need to rip themselves apart. One of the Arts he was good at gave him the ability to see through the nearly perfect facade, revealing the enhancements people incorporated into their bodies.
’She isn’t here today?’
Just as that thought crossed his mind, a group of three entered the bar. One was a smartly dressed man who put a lot into his appearance, while the second one was a tall fellow with dark skin and a bald head. The last one was what caught Ken’s eye.
She was a voluptuous woman dressed in a stylish evening gown that clung to her body, further accentuating its alluring curves. With how thin her waist was compared to her full bosom and shapely behind, one would think she had undergone some rather serious enhancements, but Ken’s eyes weren’t easily misled.
Her hourglass figure, supple skin, and even her purple hair—all of it was natural. Ken remembered how shocked he was when looking at the huge melons stuffed into her chest and learning that they weren’t blobs of silicone. That wasn’t to say she didn’t have any enhancements at all.
As he stared at her from afar, the purple-haired woman seemed to notice his gaze and turned to meet it. The moment she recognized who he was, a subtle smile bloomed on her lips.
Though she looked away right after, pretending to ignore his presence, Ken took no offence at that. He simply remained in his seat and enjoyed his drink, watching the trio from afar as they ordered their own drinks while listening to the band playing on the nearby stage.
Not long after, the smartly dressed man stood up from his seat and said a few things. He said a few things to the purple-haired woman, then turned around and left with his bodyguard. Waiting a couple of minutes, Ken turned to look at the table where the voluptuous beauty was left all alone and found her gazing in his direction, a knowing smile on her face. Feeling the corners of his mouth rise a little, Ken stood up and made his way to her table.
"Good evening," She greeted in her sweet, sultry voice. "Running from your duties once more?"
"And what about you?" Said Ken as he sat opposite her. "Did your fiancé leave you behind again?"
The two chuckled a little, after which Ken ordered something to drink. They raised a toast to the horrible conditions of their jobs, then started gossiping like old ladies with nothing better to do.
The woman’s name was Rose Pike, and she was supposedly Addison Pike’s future trophy wife. No one would have a reason to doubt that detail, but Ken saw through the charade right from the start. A normal woman wouldn’t have nanofiber-enhanced muscles, after all.
Blue Ember had no problem with weapon and strength enhancements so long as they were disclosed before checking in. Driven by curiosity and a few other things, Ken had approached her to learn the reason, and though she hadn’t told him outright, he had arrived at a conclusion based on the hints she dropped during their lengthy talks.
Though it didn’t appear like it, Rose was a bodyguard as well, though her role involved a lot more than protecting her client. For example, one of her tasks was to try and mingle with the other guests gathered in Blue Ember, creating a good excuse for her fake fiancé to introduce himself.
The hotel was swarming with opportunists trying to make use of the big wedding to expand their circle of connections. Ken would have made a perfect target if not for the way he dressed. Since he wore nothing but the most common black suit, he appeared like nothing more than a random, if not slightly too handsome, bodyguard.
"So... how much do you have?" He asked after a while.
"About three hours," Rose said, smiling as she swirled the honey colored liquid in her glass. "A little more if I come back with some juicy intel."
"Well, we better get to it, then." Letting a smirk slowly overtake his smile, Ken looked at the purple-haired beauty with hungry eyes. "We can talk all we want later on."