Engagement
I returned the business card holder to the kidnapper.
The kidnapper seemed flustered and snatched it from me.
The business card belonged to a Tomi Group executive, and there was not just one but several.
In other words, this belonged to the man himself.
The men hastily left the room.
Rei-san and Kotone exchanged glances.
“Something… seemed off, didn’t it?”
Rei-san said, and Kotone nodded.
The men’s behavior was suspicious.
Moreover, it was strange that executives of the Tomi Group were involved in the kidnapping of the Tomi family heiress.
After thinking for a while, I informed Rei-san and Kotone that I would go outside the room.
“Are you sure it’s okay? If they find out you went outside without permission…”
“I’m going to talk to those men. It’s okay. If my hunch is correct, we’ll solve this problem.”
“Yeah… But don’t push yourself too hard. If Haruto-kun is gone, I…”
Rei-san looked at me with upturned eyes.
I gently placed my hand on Rei-san’s hair.
Rei-san’s face turned red and she turned her head down.
“Nee-san, that’s not fair!”
Saying that, Kotone suddenly hugged me.
Feeling her soft touch, I was taken aback, and Kotone pressed her lips against mine.
The kiss was brief, but Kotone looked at me with a bright red face.
“I’m worried about Senpai too, you know?”
“Thank you.”
On the other hand, Rei-san puffed her cheeks, glared at me and Kotone, and took advantage of my distraction to kiss me just like Kotone.
“I like Haruto-kun more than Kotone!”
“…! That’s not true. I like Senpai more than Nee-san…!”
Both of them said they liked me.
But do I really deserve that affection?
Anyway, I need to solve the current problem.
I went outside the room.
We were kidnapped and confined on the second floor of a building that seemed like a villa.
I thought the men might be in a control room on the first floor.
As I descended the stairs, the men came from the other direction.
They looked at me, seemingly resigned, and respectfully bowed.
“Please come this way.”
The kidnappers suddenly switched to polite language and guided me to a hall-like room on the first floor.
Seated on the center’s red sofa was an elderly man.
Soichiro Tomi.
The head of the Tomi Group and the grandfather of Rei-san and Kotone.
“Hello, son of Akihara.”
“Why are you here?”
“You can imagine, can’t you?”
I remained silent for a while and then stared at Soichiro Tomi.
“Was this whole incident staged, a fake kidnapping?”
Soichiro Tomi nodded.
Upon reflection, everything seemed unnatural.
We were easily abducted right near the supposedly heavily guarded Tomi estate.
Moreover, it felt like our every move was known, and the kidnapping proceeded too smoothly.
There were various other strange things, but the decisive evidence was the Tomi Group business card.
Kotone’s kidnapping turned out to be nothing more than a charade.
“Why did you do something like this?”
“…For Kotone’s sake.”
“For Kotone?”
Soichiro Tomi smirked.
Oops.
I inadvertently addressed Kotone by her first name.
“Kotone has been through various hardships, and her personality has become twisted. Her father died in an accident, her mother committed s*icide, and under the influence of the relatives in the Tomi estate, she became arrogant. On top of that, it seems she was bothering Rei in various ways.”
“And what about you…? How do you feel about Rei-san?”
“She’s my precious granddaughter. Relatives may say things about her mother, but to me, she’s still my granddaughter.”
“So, did you plan this kidnapping as punishment for Kotone and to prevent her from harassing Rei-san in the future?”
“Kotone must have been quite scared, right? Now, she won’t try to harass Rei in the same way.”
Certainly, Kotone had expressed remorse for her harassment of Rei-san and promised not to do it again.
But is this method not too convoluted?
“Or is there another aim? Kotone already had an interest in you, right?”
The meaning of the word “interest” didn’t immediately come to mind, but it should mean having romantic feelings for the opposite s*x.
Indeed, Kotone had said she liked me.
“Kotone already had an interest in you, and this incident made it clear.”
“Why are you meddling in your granddaughter’s love life?”
“…The Tomi Group needs a successor. Especially since the management is already in decline.”
“Uh-huh?”
“But in the main family, there’s no suitable talent. So, we plan to welcome a talented and promising young man as a son-in-law and a candidate for the successor. Considering the limited options for someone with Tomi blood, the choices aren’t many.”
After thinking for a while, I realized what Soichiro Tomi was getting at.
I asked fearfully.
“…Could it be?”
“Akihara Haruto. I’m thinking of making you engaged to Kotone.”
