CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
"Nice to meet you, Rio. My name is Momo," she said shyly as she took his hand for a handshake.
After a moment of awkward silence, Rio decided it was time to break the ice.
"So, I'm curious," he said, leaning in closer. "Why did you call for me exactly? You seem to have been here alone for a while."
He paused his inquiry, however, when he noticed Momo's eyes were trained on the trays he brought to the table.
He immediately took away the tray filled with prawns and pushed the other trays her way.
"Want one?"
"I was with the others earlier. I just wanted to be on my own for a bit," she said without taking her eyes off the plate of snacks.
"Also, I'm not very hungry right now."
Her stomach growled in protest at that blatant lie.
Momo flushed red at the sound.
Rio barely suppressed the chuckle that was about to spill out as he pushed forward the tray of samosas she had been eyeing ever since.
She quickly snatched the tray and started eating with a straight face, every sign of earlier embarrassment now gone.
The two just ate their snacks in silence as they watched the clown get kicked around by the earlier group of kids.
"Why don't you help?" Momo asked as she wiped her mouth with a napkin and passed one to Rio.
"Who exactly are we talking about?"
Rio was more concerned about where the napkin came from than the abrupt question.
He could have sworn the only thing in her possession was that big book she dropped in the corner.
"The clown, Oji-san. You saw him when you came in earlier. Why didn't you go and help him out?"
Rio just turned to face the clown in question for a moment, then turned back to face Momo, his face indifferent.
He shrugged at the question.
"Honestly, I don't care if that clown was getting bullied or not," he stated as he wiped the sauce stains off his mouth.
"But those kids are being so cruel! Don't you think he's pitiful?"
Momo's lips trembled.
Wait, was this kid about to cry?
"There's no need to feel sorry for him," Rio replied indifferently as he regarded the clown—an action that had Momo looking at him wide-eyed.
"He's an entertainer, isn't he? If he isn't interesting enough to hold the attention of a bunch of nine-year-olds with his tricks, then he can only manage with this."
Rio continued as he searched the hall to see if he could find something to drink; all this talking had him feeling parched.
"He's smiling and navigating the scene properly. He seems to be used to this. Let him be."
"That's still no excuse to treat someone else that badly."
Momo got up from her seat, her face set with determination.
"I'm going to talk to them. This is wrong."
She hadn't taken two steps when Rio clasped her wrist, stopping her in her tracks.
Rio wasn't one to interfere.
Scratch that—he was a person that could care less for the rest of the population that didn't include his friends or his family.
Still, Momo seemed like a kid with a good head on her shoulders.
He decided to teach her a little lesson on adult life.
"And what are you trying to achieve by doing this?" Rio asked with a sigh as he massaged his temples.
"You're going to make this much worse than it actually is. All that guy has to do is bear it for the next hour or two, and the owner of this mansion will offer him a fat paycheck for his services.
If you go out there, you'll either get yourself or him into more trouble than it's worth. Trust me when I say rich kids can be very pragmatic but also very petty."
Rio wasn't kidding. Even if she succeeded in getting the kids off his case, so what?
They would just turn to target her for their amusement instead.
If she ended up being from a family more powerful than theirs, then they would probably relent and put on fake smiles—all while plotting to get back at the clown that made them 'look bad' in front of her.
The brain circuits of Asian young masters were beyond the comprehension of mere mortals.
Momo shook off his hand as she looked at him in disgust.
"Just because it's not convenient, or because of the fear of something that hasn't happened, you want me to watch the bad guys win?"
She dusted the spot where Rio had held her earlier.
"That's not what heroes do."
Rio facepalmed in exasperation.
To think he would get lectured by a brat who idolized heroes.
He got up from his seat and headed for the spot Momo was heading for.
Even though she was being insufferable, he had an obligation to make sure she wasn't hurt.
"Hey, you four! Apologize to that Oji-san now, don't you know you're being rude?" Momo said loudly, alerting everyone in the room to what was happening.
"Hey, I'm not an old man, I'm twenty—"
"Oh, and who's asking, could it be you, princess?" one of the boys in a black suit and shorts said menacingly, cutting off the clown.
His friend, a dark-haired boy with frosted tips, promptly slapped him on the back of his head as he bowed deeply.
"I'm truly sorry, Momo-hime. My friend here was feeling dizzy, hence he didn't recognize you. Please forgive his transgression."
By the time Rio had gotten to the scene, that was the first thing he heard.
'Hime? Is she some sort of princess?'
"We weren't aware he was someone under your protection, Momo-hime," another of the boys—the tallest in the group—added as he bowed as well, forcing down the head of his confused friend beside him, who still didn't understand what was going on.
"He's not under my protection… Also, apologize to him, why are you telling me sorry?"
The boy with the frosted tips had his forehead twitching at the statement.
"You must be kidding, Momo-hime. We'll ask our butlers to have him sent some apology gifts. Please don't embarrass us in a public setting," the kid said with a forced smile, suppressing his anger.
"What do you mean by gifts, all I asked is that you apolo—"
Rio had heard enough. He quickly cut her off by drawing her hand.
"Hai, hai, we hear you. Ship those gifts to him by the end of the event and we can regard this as settled," Rio yawned as he interfered in their conversation.
Momo turned abruptly and gave him a look that basically translated to 'what the hell are you doing?'
Rio just whispered "trust me" to her, then continued.
"Make sure it's something expensive—you did put the man through quite the emotional turmoil.
That is unless, of course, you can't afford it."
The four looked completely offended at that.
All according to plan.
Now they'd be more focused on proving to the others watching that they weren't so poor as to afford a shabby gift.
These kinds of kids cared more about face than anything.
Looking at the clown—whose name he still didn't know—and his pleased smile, Rio was sure the matter would end here.
"And who are you to Momo-hime that you're speaking on her behalf, mister?" Frosted Tips said with venom, his eyes dead center on Rio.
Ah, he's one of those extremely petty types. This would be a pain.
"As you can see, me and Momo are pretty good friends," Rio said casually.
At that, Momo turned to him in confusion.
Rio just winged it, praying she would follow along.
To his relief, she just nodded.
"We're on a first-name basis already—doesn't that already tell you I'm someone important?
A friendship can only be established by equals, after all.
You asked my name?... You're not qualified to know it, chump."
Frosted Tips swallowed the words he wanted to say, his body visibly shaken in anger, his face set in a distorted grimace.
After a couple of seconds spent tweaking his expression, he finally settled for a gentle smile—one filled with malice.
"Ah, my mistake, mister. That was presumptuous of me. My apologies," Frosted Tips said, trying to salvage the situation.
"If an apology was enough, we wouldn't need the police or heroes, would we?
That won't be nearly enough," Rio said as he crossed his arms and looked down on the boy.
Finally, someone shorter than him that he could flex on.
"Kiss my shoes as you apologize," Rio stated loudly.
The whole room turned pin-drop silent as they processed that request—and immediately erupted in deafening chatter.
"There's no way Taka would do that, would he?"
"He'll be a disgrace to his family for sure."
"Poor Taka, he messed with the wrong person."
Taka's face flushed crimson. He pointed a trembling finger at Rio, and all he could utter was a stuttering "You-you-you" over and over again.
With a huff, he turned on his heel and started walking out of the venue, his three lackeys following alongside him as they hung their heads in shame.
The clown, seeing that he would now be the focus of everyone's attention, brought out a balloon to perform with.
Rio made his way back to his seat in the corner while Momo followed behind him, confusion written all over her face.
"What was that for? They were already about to apologize, why did you escalate the situation?"
"An apology wouldn't have done anything for that guy. I mean, he's in his twenties and looks fifty. The gifts though… they'll go a long way in helping him establish himself.
Though he might have to leave this field entirely after the stunt we just pulled."
"Then why did you do that to, umm… Frosted Tips? Now you've made him an enemy for nothing."
"That was a calculated decision," Rio said as he popped open a can of sparkling water he had snatched earlier from someone's table.
"I understand how his kind works. They care more about hierarchies than anyone else.
Until he calls my bluff, he'll be too scared to do anything.
I would have been more wary if he actually did kiss my boots."
A rich child was a threat regardless of whether they were a child or not.
The sheer amount of resources available to them was outstanding.
All they needed to do was say the word about someone inconveniencing them, and an army of bootlickers who lived to serve would arise from nowhere to fulfill their needs.
A child who could swallow his humiliation and still kiss someone's boots in public after that kind of threat was either cautious to the point of absurdity—or a snake.
No matter which one it was, both could be dangerous when pushed to the brink.
Momo seemed to want to ask another question, but Rio raised a hand to interrupt her.
"You've been asking me questions all night. Let me ask you a question for a change."
"Why were they calling you princess? You're royalty or something?"
As far as Rio was aware, Japan was no longer a feudal monarchy.
"No, I'm not. My family just owns the place.
My name is Yaoyorozu Momo."