The liquor swayed gently under the light, forming a faint pink halo.
All eyes fell upon Imagawa Ori.
And she merely bowed slightly.
Meanwhile, all the other hostesses in the club exchanged glances in unison.
Imagawa Ori must have lost her mind to say such a thing, and Nakamori Sachiko would surely fly into a rage, perhaps even go completely off the rails.
Some were even eager to seize this chance to showcase themselves.
And the manager, who had been officiating the ceremony in a ringing voice mere moments ago, suddenly slapped himself across the face.
Not a dream?
Then he could not comprehend—could not fathom—why anyone would refuse a ten-tier champagne tower worth thirteen million yen.
Not 1,300 yen. Not 1.3 million yen. Thirteen million yen, flat.
Had Imagawa Ori lost her mind?
Nakamori Sachiko was the club's most important guest. Bar none.
Her spending alone was enough to cover the monthly salaries of every employee in the club; she absolutely could not be offended.
What would become of Nakamori-san after being refused?
The manager didn't dare dwell on it.
He acted at once. His legs went weak, and he slid into a textbook dogeza before Nakamori Sachiko.
"Nakamori-san! I am profoundly sorry!"
"Imagawa-kun must have been overwhelmed by your generosity and affection to say such things!"
"Please calm your anger. I will have her come to her senses immediately and apologize to you!"
"Please, give her another chance!"
At the same time, his forehead struck the cold floor with a heavy thud.
But Nakamori Sachiko paid him no mind.
Her full attention had been upon Imagawa Ori from the very beginning.
Rejected.
An apology that carried no trace of remorse. Though she was bowing, she wouldn't even bend to ninety degrees.
The cloying, fruity fragrance of the champagne now seemed to carry a hint of mockery.
How had the world come to this?
In a place like Kagura Club, reeking of copper, could money no longer buy the fulfillment of one's wishes?
And the kneeling manager, having waited long without the expected tempest, secretly lifted his head to glance upward.
He saw that Nakamori Sachiko had suddenly burst into laughter.
Laughing in the grip of fury?
No. It was more like heartfelt delight and excitement.
This left the manager utterly unable to read the situation, but after struggling in the nightlife industry for many years, he knew well that its essence was providing emotional value to patrons.
Since the big spender was happy and hadn't spoken, he would simply keep kneeling.
Nothing shameful about making money, after all.
Of course, Nakamori Sachiko truly was exhilarated.
If Imagawa Ori had nodded just now, tonight she would have obtained her person and fulfilled her wish.
But after that?
How would a woman obtainable with money differ from all those other mediocre beauties?
Utterly bland.
Resistance was interesting. Far too interesting.
Nakamori Sachiko slowly spoke.
"Since Imagawa-kun has her own principles, I naturally respect that."
"However, tonight's champagne tower ceremony is a shared gesture from myself and this Kiryu-kun. It must go on."
"Manager, stand up. Don't kneel there—it's unsightly."
As she spoke, she tapped the completed eight-tier cup tower with her finger.
This magnanimous gesture left everyone dumbstruck.
The manager scrambled up from the floor, wiping cold sweat from his brow with his sleeve while repeatedly voicing his assent.
He walked to the champagne tower and took up the microphone again, trying to reignite the atmosphere with even more fervent words to make up for the awkwardness.
The hostesses all played along, but inwardly they still couldn't believe it.
Really?
Usually, they were just accompanying lonely, sexually frustrated women. But Imagawa Ori had gone this far. Forget about scolding or hitting her—Nakamori-san was actually acting as if nothing had happened?
This was too fake.
Meanwhile, the servers began distributing the champagne from the tower to the guests present, one glass at a time.
This was celebratory entertainment, and also a way to share in the glory.
Imagawa Ori, holding a glass, returned to the booth and sat down beside Kiryu Kazusuke once more.
The manager, having just breathed a sigh of relief, immediately felt his heart leap into his throat.
W-what? Was Imagawa-kun possessed by a ghost tonight?
Was she terrified of *not* provoking the club's biggest spender?
Nakamori Sachiko pretended not to see, maintaining the faint smile on her face.
"Kiryu-kun, you have me rather curious."
"What exactly did you say to my Imagawa-kun to make her refuse even a thirteen-million-yen champagne tower?"
"Or did you promise her something I cannot provide?"
She shifted her gaze to Kiryu Kazusuke, a trace of amusement in her eyes.
These were questions Imagawa Ori could have answered.
But she chose to drink her champagne.
After all, things seemed to be heading in a positive direction; Nakamori Sachiko had somehow become inexplicably enthusiastic.
Kiryu Kazusuke shook his head. "Nakamori-san, you know as well as I do that here, everything has a price."
Nakamori Sachiko chuckled. "Tell me."
Kiryu Kazusuke said slowly, "This eight-tier champagne tower tonight comes to four million yen in total. I would like the bill put under my name."
At these words, Imagawa Ori couldn't help but glance at him.
She completely failed to comprehend his logic.
What was the point of voluntarily taking the largest expense onto himself?
With a resident doctor's meager salary, he'd likely have to save for years without eating or drinking.
Could it be to demonstrate masculine dignity and spirit?
"Imagawa-kun, I forgot to tell you something."
"Before you arrived, I made a small bet with Kiryu-kun about whether I could fulfill my wish tonight."
"Since you have refused me, that means I have lost."
"As per our agreement, even if the bill is under his name, all of Kiryu-kun's expenses tonight are to be paid by me."
Nakamori Sachiko had indeed thought of one explanation.
Namely, that Kiryu Kazusuke wanted to use her money to act like a big shot in front of Imagawa Ori.
"Kiryu-kun."
"I told you, didn't I? If you want to catch Imagawa-kun's attention, use your own money."
Nakamori Sachiko extended her index finger and waved it in the air.
He was misunderstood.
But Kiryu Kazusuke had no intention of explaining. He was only concerned with one thing—
According to the Villainess World Line Convergence Plan, there was a 20% cash-back reward on his spending bill tonight. If it was handled like this, could it count as his spending?
"Nakamori-san."
"You need to be more attentive. You didn't even know that Imagawa-kun is on her period."
Nakamori Sachiko was taken aback.
In her eyes, first flashed stunned disbelief, then blank confusion.
Her period?
That was it?
She had imagined countless possibilities, but never in her wildest dreams had she thought the answer would be this.
So... simple.
So... utterly unavoidable.
Several seconds passed.
Nakamori Sachiko suddenly erupted into loud laughter.
She shook with laughter, tears seeping from the corners of her eyes, completely devoid of her previous composure.
Facing Imagawa Ori during her period—unless she wished to get her hands covered in blood—this was indeed a wish that no amount of money could fulfill!
The surrounding staff was stunned.
Though they couldn't hear what was being said in the booth, they had never seen Nakamori Sachiko lose her composure like this.
"Wonderful!"
"Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! Her period is simply wonderful!"
Nakamori Sachiko finally stopped laughing. She wiped the tears from her eyes and sat up straight again.