The moment Nakamori Sachiko spoke, even the guests at the nearby tables stopped their conversations and looked over.
And the waiter, after a brief moment of shock, was immediately overcome with ecstatic joy.
"Yes! Yes! Nakamori-san! I'll prepare it right away!"
He bowed deeply, nearly ninety degrees, then turned around and all but stumbled and scrambled toward the back.
Kiryu Kazusuke's eyes also widened.
No way?
If he'd known Nakamori Sachiko would fucking order a champagne tower, what was the point of making that bet? Wouldn't it have been better to just cling tightly to this sugar mommy's thigh?
A regular spending several hundred thousand yen in one night could already be considered generous. If he had just sweet-talked Nakamori Sachiko into covering his tab, similarly spending a few hundred thousand, he could have earned a twenty percent cashback commission.
But who would've thought this woman's money had simply blown in on the wind?
Thinking this, Kiryu Kazusuke's gaze passed over Imagawa Ori and landed on Nakamori Sachiko's thighs, wrapped in a layer of glossy black stockings, carrying a slight, sensuous fullness.
He really had plenty to regret.
Within half a minute of Nakamori Sachiko's words falling, the entire club's atmosphere completely changed.
The tempo of the music quietly slowed, the lights grew brighter, and the focus of every beam of light converged in unison on the booth where Nakamori Sachiko sat.
"Hey, did you hear? Nakamori-san over there is ordering a champagne tower!"
"Really? For whom? Is it still for Imagawa Nao?"
"Who else could it be but him!"
"Look, the manager went over personally!"
The guests and hosts at the tables in the club all turned their heads to look.
A middle-aged man in a three-piece suit personally led several staff members over at a brisk pace.
"Nakamori-san, thank you very much for your constant patronage and affection for our establishment and for Imagawa Nao!"
"We will immediately prepare the most gorgeous and grand champagne tower ceremony for you! We guarantee you and Imagawa-kun a night you will never forget!"
The manager bent at a ninety-degree angle, his face piled with humble yet eager smiles.
Although he noticed an unfamiliar male face beside Nakamori Sachiko, as long as he wasn't here to throw an orgy at the club, it didn't matter.
The establishment was quite tolerant toward VIPs.
Nakamori Sachiko nodded lightly.
Her hand gently stroked back and forth across Imagawa Ori's head.
"As long as it's for you, no amount of money is too much to spend."
After speaking, Nakamori Sachiko—her face bearing a doting smile—finally turned her gaze back to Kiryu Kazusuke.
She moved her lips but said nothing.
But the meaning was already abundantly clear.
Kiryu-kun, what will you do? What can you do to steal Imagawa Ori away from me?
Order an eight-tier or even taller champagne tower?
Kiryu Kazusuke didn't say anything either. At this point, there was nothing left to regret.
Soon.
Several waiters pushed over a small cart draped with a spotless white tablecloth, upon which were neatly stacked over a hundred crystal-clear stemmed glasses.
Under the manager's personal supervision, they began carefully constructing the base of the champagne tower.
The surrounding guests also watched this side with great interest.
The champagne tower originally traced its roots to Western aristocratic celebratory ceremonies, serving as a symbol of blessing and felicitation at weddings and grand banquets.
In the nightlife of the bubble economy era, it was the physical manifestation of money and power.
Although the economy had long since lost its former glory, this ultimate sense of luxurious ritual had been preserved, becoming the final standard by which a guest's status at the club was measured.
Imagawa Ori, whose face showed surprise and moved emotion, actually felt somewhat unable to make sense of the current situation.
Kiryu Kazusuke's appearance had indeed flustered her for a moment.
Out of pragmatic instinct, Imagawa Ori was intimately familiar with the financial situations of everyone in the medical department.
And among them, Kiryu Kazusuke left the deepest impression on her.
It wasn't because he was somewhat handsome; it was simply because he was the poorest one.
His parents had both passed away, leaving him with no support system, and as a medical resident, his monthly take-home pay was only a hundred thousand or so yen—about the same level as working part-time at a convenience store.
He was exactly the type of person she would strive to avoid having any private life entanglements with.
Imagawa Ori didn't particularly dislike Kiryu Kazusuke; she simply categorized him as a person with no value to exploit.
So when she saw Kiryu Kazusuke appear here, her first thought was that he had come to blackmail her.
But now, it didn't seem like it.
Could it be that Kiryu-kun actually harbored a secret crush on her?
Imagawa Ori sighed inwardly.
If that were the case, then not only would she have to think of a suitable reason to reject Kiryu Kazusuke, but she would also have to placate his emotions to prevent him from shooting off his mouth in the medical department.
What a hassle.
If this junior resident could just get hit by a truck when he went out and go save another world, that would be wonderful.
Fortunately, Nakamori Sachiko's splurge of over three million yen had stabilized her emotions considerably.
"Nakamori-san."
Kiryu Kazusuke suddenly spoke, drawing the attention of both people across from him.
"Actually, I would also very much like to order a tall champagne tower, but as you can see, Nakamori-san, I don't have that kind of money."
"Even if I gave it my all and ordered a three- or four-tier champagne tower, it would merely serve as a foil to you, Nakamori-san."
"Since that's the case, I might as well be a foil to the end. Nakamori-san, go ahead and make your champagne tower eight tiers. I'll cover the difference for the extra cost."
"You wouldn't mind, would you, Nakamori-san?"
As he spoke, his face bore a sincere smile.
His extremely candid attitude took everyone somewhat by surprise.
Ordering a champagne tower in the nightlife industry was the most high-profile way to display financial power and express affection. If another guest wanted to compete, the most direct method was to order an even taller, more expensive champagne tower.
For someone like Kiryu Kazusuke to propose "adding bricks and tiles" to someone else's champagne tower was unheard of.
After all, the reasonable thing to do was to keep up appearances, even if it meant living beyond your means.
There were even plenty of foolish women who would get jealous to the point of taking out loans just to compete for victory.
It was the first time Nakamori Sachiko had heard such a request.
The reason she had ordered a six-tier champagne tower wasn't because she lacked money, but because she was afraid that opening with ten or more tiers right from the start would scare Kiryu Kazusuke into running away—and that would be no fun at all.
Just like when a cat catches a mouse, it must toy with it first.
But what was this opponent doing now?
Was he admitting defeat outright?
Nakamori Sachiko was stunned for a moment, then smiled.
"Sure, I don't mind at all."
The manager at her side naturally had no reason to refuse and immediately went to arrange for more staff to add glasses and champagne.
"Thank you for your affection."
Imagawa Ori glanced at Kiryu Kazusuke and lowered her head slightly to express thanks.
As expected, he truly was a junior who harbored affection for her.
Seeing this, Nakamori Sachiko frowned slightly, leaned close to Imagawa Ori's ear, and her warm breath blew against Imagawa's earlobe.
"Imagawa-kun, come home with me tonight?"
"Otherwise, I'm going to cheat, you know. Koizumi-kun at the club has privately invited me many times."
The "cheating" spoken of here actually referred to a regular customer changing their long-term designated host.
And she, Nakamori Sachiko, even without counting tonight's expenditure, had already spent over ten million yen on Imagawa Ori.
Imagawa Ori wasn't averse to the request she had put forth either.
After all, they were both women.
But the reason she had yet to agree to Nakamori Sachiko was simply because the amount of money the other had spent was not yet enough.
Just as she was about to nod in agreement, Kiryu Kazusuke suddenly leaned in.
"Doctor Imagawa."
"I know you love money very much, and I know Nakamori-san wants to sleep with you. Before you make your decision, why not consider my proposal?"
"The one you cannot have is always restless."