## Chapter 184 – Collusion (26)
Entering the shop again, the earlier commotion had definitely subsided. Acer and Rou were not exchanging a single word, just fiddling with their utensils. It was easy to guess what had happened between them.
As Ryu cautiously approached, Acer, noticing his presence, wore a bright expression, but soon opened his mouth with a worried tone.
“Why are you so late?”
Charlotte gave the answer in a nonchalant voice before Ryu could.
“It’s not that he’s late, it’s that the two of you were fighting in the middle, so he went back outside.”
It seemed Charlotte had seen everything. Following that, Charlotte didn’t say anything, but stared intently at Ryu’s face for a moment. Ryu didn’t miss that her gaze also turned to Jane for a fleeting moment.
Ryu and Jane. Charlotte couldn’t possibly know about the past events between them and the subtle undercurrents that resulted from it, but looking into her eyes felt like she would be found out. Jane seemed to be feeling the same way, subtly avoiding Charlotte’s gaze.
Acer was only able to wear a relieved expression after hearing Charlotte’s words.
“Really? You should have said something.”
Ryu bowed his head slightly and opened his mouth.
“I’m sorry. I was having a hard time watching you two fight, so I went outside for a bit.”
Acer’s shoulders flinched at his words. Thinking that he had been shown such an embarrassing sight, his face began to flush red in an easily noticeable way. Flustered, Acer busily took care of Ryu, placing things in front of him with trembling fingers, and said,
“L, let’s eat.”
Ryu, who began to eat the remaining food in the quiet atmosphere, watched Acer and Rou carefully. He knew that their relationship wasn’t that good because of what had happened with him in the past, but today the air was especially chilly.
It was the first time the atmosphere was so serious that they didn’t even exchange simple conversation. Of course, he knew that it was impolite to talk during a meal, but he wasn’t stupid enough not to know that this was a different matter entirely.
Eventually, Ryu carefully asked Charlotte, who was sitting next to him, in a whisper.
“Did something else happen between them?”
The last scene Ryu had witnessed was them arguing over a single dish that had just come out. He didn’t think they would get so sulky over just one dish for him.
Charlotte leaned in closer to Ryu than necessary and whispered in his ear. Her hand, hidden under the table, was gripping his thigh tightly.
“After that, we made a bet on who you would spend time with if you won.”
Hearing Charlotte’s words, he couldn’t even think about the sensation on his thigh.
Not having to meet Acer, whom he had broken up with, meant that he could spend time with anyone. At the same time, his temples throbbed. He was seized by the feeling that a huge, unexpected problem had suddenly blocked his path like a mountain. Seeing Ryu’s pale face, Charlotte opened her mouth nonchalantly, even though she could guess his feelings.
“The two of them… were naturally thinking that you would use it on them.”
As soon as Charlotte finished speaking, the arrow of conversation that had made the two of them so cold turned towards Ryu.
“Ryu, who do you want to spend time with if you win?”
Acer asked with expectant eyes.
Here it comes. Thinking that, Ryu held the tea in front of him in his mouth. It was to buy himself even a little time to think. No matter what choice he made, someone else was destined to be hurt. For Ryu, who liked everyone, there could be no greater torment than this.
The eyes looking at him were all filled with expectation. He couldn’t live up to everyone’s expectations. The thought that he could satisfy everyone was arrogance.
As time passed, the moment of choice was gradually approaching.
There was no choice.
Ryu squeezed his eyes shut and finally opened his mouth.
“I, I want to focus on the competition right now! Thinking about the reward first is also not polite to the opponent….”
Some might call it running away. But he couldn’t make a choice right now, so he made the decision to postpone it.
Rou, seeing Ryu’s hesitant appearance, nodded slowly with an understanding expression.
“Yes, it seems we forced you to choose too much. It shouldn’t affect the competition….”
After finishing speaking, Rou reached out and held Ryu’s hand tightly across the table, then opened his mouth in a heartfelt voice.
“Baby, I still hope you win and choose me. I’ve been so lonely lately because you haven’t been around….”
At Rou’s heart-wrenching voice and the slight tears that could be seen, Ryu almost made a decision on the spot, even if only for a moment. Seeing Rou exploiting Ryu’s weakness, Acer raised his voice again.
“Wait a minute! That’s too unfair!”
“It’s not good to be too greedy while monopolizing Ryu.”
At this rate, the same situation as before would happen again. Instead of Ryu, who stood up to stop the two people with an anxious heart, Jane, who had been watching their conversation, said nonchalantly.
“Then why don’t you just decide by drawing lots?”
She didn’t put any thought into it and just blurted out what came to mind, but everyone in the room showed interest.
“W, wait a minute. I didn’t say that expecting this kind of reaction.”
Charlotte nodded in agreement so that Jane couldn’t deny it any further.
“That’s a good idea.”
“Leaving it to fate wouldn’t be bad either….”
When even Rou agreed, Acer sighed as if he couldn’t help it. Acer, who naturally thought that he would spend time together, was not happy with the current situation. Charlotte, whether she knew Acer’s feelings or not, smiled mischievously and said.
“Since it’s been decided to draw lots, let’s put Jane’s name in too, shall we?”
“What? Is that okay?”
She had a flustered expression, but she couldn’t hide all of her inner joy.
Charlotte asked Ryu.
“What do you want to do?”
He nodded without a moment’s hesitation.
“I think it’s fine too.”
Jane was one of the few Demon Kings that Ryu could treat comfortably. Spending time with her was quite enjoyable, so there was no reason to refuse. Jane leaned back in her chair and said.
“The problem is the other Demon Kings.”
“Why the other Demon Kings?”
Jane leaned forward, rested her chin on her hand, and opened her mouth.
“You’re one of the main characters of this competition, whether you like it or not. Do you know how many guys want to meet you?”
Acer was the first to react to those words.
“What?! Who else?”
He didn’t want the number of Demon Kings who knew Ryu’s charm to increase any further. Jane, who had no idea of Acer’s feelings, wracked her brain and recalled the conversations she had with the other Demon Kings.
“Hmm… Veronica doesn’t seem particularly interested, but Clara and Orca showed some interest.”
Acer, Charlotte, and Ryu’s expressions hardened fiercely at the mention of Orca’s name. They couldn’t forget their bad blood with her, no matter how hard they tried. Jane, who didn’t know the circumstances, was flustered by the sudden change in atmosphere.
“Why? Is something wrong?”
However, it was a sensitive topic to talk about carelessly to others. The events of that day had left scars on both Acer and Ryu, so they were afraid of poking at each other’s sore spots. Besides, if Rou were to find out about this, she would tear Orca limb from limb and feed her to the beasts.
“It’s nothing.”
He dismissed it with those few words, and Jane didn’t bother to ask any further.
“Still, the winner’s choice is the most important, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
Charlotte took out a small wooden container from somewhere and placed it on the table. Inside the container were three sticks, also made of wood.
“Then shall we just decide here and go?”
“Not a bad idea.”
While they were excitedly chattering as if Ryu’s victory was already confirmed, Ryu remembered Claire’s appearance from earlier. Can I win? Doubt about victory came to mind first.
Ryu muttered in a dejected voice.
“But there’s no guarantee that I’ll win.”
Hearing those words, Charlotte let out a burst of laughter as if she was dumbfounded.
“Who do you think we are?”
It would be a problem if Ryu didn’t win. They had already come up with all the date plans in their heads, but someone else wins? There was nothing more futile than that. They couldn’t let the opportunity to monopolize Ryu all day go to waste.
Rou also had an important promise with Ryu, but now she wanted to spend time with Ryu more than anything else.
“Baby… you need to train again.”
The situation was turning strange. Ryu rolled his wide eyes and met the gazes of the Demon Kings, who were like hungry beasts looking at him. Jane, who didn’t show much interest in anything other than art, was also unusually proactive, thinking that she could become closer to Ryu through this meeting.
“Claire is strong, but if you learn from us, a week will be enough.”
“W, wait a minute.”
Charlotte cut off Ryu’s words and opened her mouth.
“You don’t have the right to refuse. Shall we start right now?”
In the end, Ryu ended up spending time that could be called happy if he was happy, and terrible if he was terrible, regardless of his own will.
