Chương 42: The Prince and Princess of the Ball

Upon entering the hall of Abe Miyu's cabin, the ostentatious luxury that reminded him of fictional images of imperial palaces impressed Haruki. And the singer imagined whoever drew had should have inspired himself by fantasy rather than reality.

Miyu was sitting on a magnificent couch, and a black kitten was sleeping in her lap. She looked up intently, as if she was seeing something Haruki didn't see. It seemed almost as she was reading something in the air.

'Miyu-chan must have been waiting a long time,' he concluded as he looked at the long green dress, jewelry, and meticulous and fresh-looking makeup. She was beautiful, a girl becoming a woman.

And she was sitting there patiently waiting for her date for the prom, with her kitten on her lap. He sympathized with her. Her adult self wanted to live fresh adventures. Her child self still wanted the company of her pet.

The singer stood in the doorway, waiting to be noticed by the girl, but Abe Miyu was still focused on looking at nothing. Her eyes moved from side to side without blinking.

The singer heard Miyu babbling under her breath,

"Oh My God! I can't believe it. He's the lead singer for Caption-Z. And he's missing… AHH," Miyu screamed in alarm when the lights went out.

In an instant, the emergency lights came on. Then the lighting returned to normal. Miyu stood up, looking this way and that, calling,

"Mimi! Where are you? Mimi."

The black kitten was rubbing himself on Haruki's leg.

"Meow," the fluffy pet meowed, staring at the singer with adorable eyes.

"Ohh!" Miyu spotted both, after Mimi's introduction.

Her mouth opened in surprise and a heart left her and flew into the singer's smartwatch. It differed from the other popping hearts Haruki saw before. They just dissolved in the air, but hers had this interesting effect.

Was it Bluetooth?

Blushing, Miyu brought her hands to her mouth. Closing her eyes with conviction, she explained, refusing to look at the singer,

"I'm not in love with you! So don't be full of yourself!"

"Ha ha ha," the crystalline laugh filled the room. Haruki nodded with half-closed eyes, "So Miyu-chan, deep in your heart, deep down, you hide a feeling for me!"

And the singer broke into a winning grin by raising his chin a little and puffing out his chest.

"No. I don't like you. You are silly and you are late."

"Ha ha ha," another merry laugh followed by a frank smile. Even though the girl wanted to look bored, she couldn't. Not after a heart. And ended up smiling back at Haruki.

The kitten continued to rub himself against the singer, meowing.

"He's hungry," Haruki explained, pointing to the pet.

"Hm? Oh, I forgot that. I bought it today"

Haruki called to her,

"Let's go to the Pearl Hall, there must be food." He bent down to pick up the cat, then extended his free arm to her.

Miyu went the whole way, to the front of the double door of Pearl Hall, complaining to the singer because of his delay.

Haruki listened to everything without responding, recalling his father's teachings on how to maintain harmony in a relationship:

'Be kind. Breathe and smile. And never forget to feed her several times. ' And the singer was gentle, silent and with a content smile plastered on his face.

Miyu squeezed his arm suddenly,

"Hey. We shouldn't go in without the masks, should we?"

And saying that, she took out an iridescent mask with 3D butterflies from a golden sequined clutch. Putting it on her face, she looked at herself in the large mirror by the door, and seemed satisfied with what she saw. Haruki saw himself by her side. They're nice-looking. He had to admit it.

Then Miyu turned to Haruki expectantly.

"..."

"..." Haruki looked around, looking for what she was looking for.

"Are you having trouble loading your mask? Sheesh, should I report this problem as well?" she asked aloud, and Haruki then realized that he must get his mask through his smartwatch.

Touching the clock screen, he accessed the Inventory, and realized that there was an Item Shop.

Zapping through the categories, he found the Masks, and finally, he ended up choosing the one he found most interesting: a traditional Fox Mask, white, orange, and red, which covered only his eyes and nose.

It cost him 350 diamonds, and compared to other items, the masks were expensive items. He didn't lose time looking further, though. Miyu was waiting, and he made it as fast as possible.

He equipped in one of the four available slots, and his status changed:

...

ITEM ACQUIRED: Fox Mask (Charisma + 5% if equipped)

System message:

UPDATED CHARACTER:

Miyake Takao - ATHLETE Starting

Points:

INTELLIGENCE 50%

DEXTERITY 82%

CHARISMA 65 % (equipment upgrade: 5%)

[FEATS: (1) - OPEN]

[Permanent defect: (1) OPEN]

[EQUIPPED ITEMS: (1/4) Fox Mask. OPEN]

[INVENTORY ITEMS: (16/20) OPEN]

[ 650 diamonds available]

HAPPINESS STATUS: (4) DISCOURAGED

...

Haruki sighed. 'DISCOURAGED'. Really, none of that had yet excited him. Much less spend 350 diamonds on a mask that he would only wear once.

But Miyu smiled when she saw him put on the mask,

"Wow! The mask further enhances your beautiful mouth, Haruki…! Even though you're not my favorite character! I will know more about you and your band after the game! But I can't wait to get to the Ball!"

She was literally jumping in excitement!

Her excitement infected Haruki. She might think he was boring, but at least she was interested in knowing who he really was. That was a bridge to 'The Conversation!'

And he was a little vain because of her reaction. A heart exploded from his smartwatch, and he laughed.

Miyu was very pleased to get her first heart, and from him, out of everyone else!

-----

Miyake Takao won 1 happiness point!

Total: 5 points

Happiness Status: (5) INDIFFERENT

-----

The singer offered his arm to Miyu again, to make the grand entrance of a debutante and her partner, with stellar smiles, and ready for the flashes.

But, passing the door, she started again,

"In conclusion, you were late. I don't know how that can be possible, but if you want to live like that, you shouldn't enter the next competitions. This is unethical, as you will always win by being the athlete."

Apparently she wasn't done nagging at him yet.

It had only been a pause.

Now he understood his father.

Haruki reinforced the smile and the regretful dog face. Keeping silent was his best strategy. It always worked for his father. And his mother was a thousand times worse than Miyu in terms of complaints.

This time Miyu was speaking, looking at the singer's face, and blushed, throwing another heart at Haruki.

"...!" he was definitely concerned about the girl's passionate reactions. 'Sheesh, did she think I was agreeing with her?'

Haruki looked ahead, and his gaze met Jun's.