Versatile: Alternate World

Days passed by so fast that the day of Riko's birthday arrived already. It was like I just finished the gift I have for Riko yesterday and yet the reality is that a few days have passed by since that time. Janus also has his gift wrapped as well. A gift he picked up after helping him up though I am also the main reason he picked it up as I manipulated him to buy it. The gift he was gonna gift to Riko is the gift he picked in the previous timeline and the reaction of Riko receiving it is just a priceless one. I also wanted the two to at least be honest with each other about their feelings.

But to do that, I have to ensure that Riko will be alive and avoid that fatal accident. The party is held in her parent's mansion as her parents are throwing a big party for her. I don't have much idea what happened during that party because Janus and I got drunk once the party started so whatever happened there is a pretty blur for me and for Janus. I only received a few things that happened there but that was also the first time that Riko burst angrily and lashed out at her parents. I don't know what it was but according to the people I asked before, it was the engagement she had with a man that is the son of the major company that her father works in, in short, the guy who died in the accident.

Once again, Riko's birthday party is happening and I am sure that whatever happened during that time, I will be able to witness it. Plus, not only Janus and I are invited, Rika, Renatta, Pandora, Suhei, and the siblings Akira and Sora are invited by Riko as well so there might be a big change that will happen later on which will deviate from the past timeline.

Pandora and Suhei accepted the invitation but they will arrive late since they have to visit the hospital for a bit to get the medicine for Pandora before they head straight there. As for us, I used my car to transport us to the venue. Even though I rarely use the car, it's a convenient way to transport us in one go.

Rika didn't forget to disguise herself. Despite the long time she has been evading her family and her guards, there will be a chance that she might be spotted so she does the disguise to be able to evade their eyes off them. As for Renatta, she just needed to disguise her ears and it will be fine. With her practice with our language, she should be fine communicating with others without the aid of Pixie but we have to also make sure that she has less interaction with others and she remained on our side. Pixie is with her but we can't keep on relying on her in times like this since she is only visible to everyone who lived with me inside the mansion. Those who don't can't see her.

Anyways, Renatta is pretty excited to attend a party held in a different venue other than our mansion and the yard. This is the first time she will be having a party outside with us.

"Renatta said she is nervous and excited at the same time," Pixie relayed.

"Haha, that is a natural reaction Renatta, but don't worry too much about it. Just be yourself and treat the party like any other party we have done at home. It's just that simple," Rika patted Renatta. The two have become quite close and even though Renatta is the oldest of the two, she acts like the youngest, and Rika is the eldest. But perhaps that's how it is.

As for Janus, he is also nervous not because this is his first party attended but because he is giving a gift to the person he loves the most for her birthday.

The drive was smooth and we didn't get stuck in traffic. We reached the venue much faster than expected. This should be the second time I went here, the first time was in the past. Although the mansion is not as big as mine, it's still quite gorgeous and with a big yard and a pool, it's pretty much a very good place for hangouts and parties indeed. Of course, according to Riko, she hated it here. Not only does she remain alone, she felt like she never had any presence there so instead, she decided to move out and live alone. Even if she is alone now in her own house, at least she doesn't feel like being out of place and does not feel like she is just a decoration.

I park the car in the nearby parking lot before we head over to the venue. There is a guy checking for invitation checks so we flash out our invitations and handed them to the guy. Once the invitations were given, we are given little badges to show that we are indeed invited and that we are given access to go inside.

Inside. Riko is busy greeting the people she barely knows or perhaps she knows but based on her reactions, it is clear she doesn't know any of them, making her a little bit stressed and the happy look on her face is just a facade to hide the awkwardness and tiredness she felt.

We lined up to enter the venue and not too far from us, one of the people there is none other than the guy who will become Riko's fiancee. He is quite like a normal rich guy with a handsome face, but with his haughty behavior, it is clear that this guy is just a typical rich guy. I don't know what Riko's parents say about this guy. Just one look and you can tell he is not going to make any kind of good impression.

When he arrived at Riko, he smiled at Riko and started flirting with her, though the former clearly didn't like the way he did it. Her fist is already forming but held back.

"Ugh...that f*cker... how dare he flirts with Riko!" Janus is very angry.

"Calm down, brother. Don't cause a scene here. Just hold in your anger. Don't upset Riko on her big day."

"Phew...you are right. I shouldn't become a ruffian in front of others. Thanks for holding me back, man," Janus smiled and calmed himself down.

We continue towards the entrance and when Riko saw us, it seems her liveliness returned and her usual self has finally resurfaced.

"You guys came! Thank you so much for attending my birthday party!" Riko is genuinely happy and I can tell that very much since her fatigue seems to have disappeared the moment she spotted us.

"Happy Birthday, Riko! Thank you for inviting us here!" Rika hugged Riko which the latter gladly accepted.

"Thank you, guys, anyways, talk to you all later, let's exchange greetings once we are all inside. We can't keep you all blocking the way for the others."

Riko then allowed us entry. One of the receptionists lead us to the table assigned to us and we sat down at it. I spotted the fiancee of Riko not too far from our table. He had an old man and an older woman sitting with him at the table which means those people are his parents. Just like their son, they also have a haughty attitude. Which means it's some kind of inherited behavior from his parents.

Perhaps the reason why Riko's father approved of their engagement is that he is afraid of offending this guy, whoever he was.

"Who are you looking at, Manato?" Rika asked and followed my eyes and she nodded after seeing the guy.

"I thought I recognize the guy from before but I indeed recognize him. He is the son of Mr. Takeda, one of the CEOs of one of the  subsidiary companies my father owns."

"A CEO?"

"He is just CEO in name, not really a CEO in flesh. It's just that he has the highest rank among the employees that he became one of. I didn't know they were rich. I heard they weren't that well in the past."

"Perhaps they are embezzling funds and managed to gain enough to allow themselves to raise from their status."

"Hmmm..."

Learning a bit of info from Rika allowed me to get a hold of vital information to use against them. I don't need to do so but having some dirt from them is also a good thing since there is a chance I needed to do use them. It's not yet the right time but it's necessary as well.

It took a few minutes before the music kicked in, and that is the beginning of the party. It's time to see what are the changes that will happen soon.