Not a detective

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He then noticed a prominent sign on the table behind the door:

【Honored Guest:】

If you are attending tonight's Christmas dinner, please leave your mobile phone here before leaving. Otherwise, all electronic devices and photography equipment are not allowed in the venue.

To ensure your personal safety and privacy, we have security checks at the main entrance. Anyone who violates the rules will be asked to leave. Thank you for your understanding.

We will ensure the safety of your belongings. If there is any loss, please contact the front desk for a full refund.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Is this really necessary? They're even confiscating my phone?

Asakawa Riku frowned. He began to understand why Shinonome Suetsuki had such an annoyed expression. He hadn't expected this banquet to be so full of trivial matters.

"But I'm not going to a banquet. I'm just going to try on clothes. I'll leave my phone here when I go tonight."

He tried to communicate with them.

"I'm sorry, but the security requirements have been upgraded again this year. The host requires that once you step out of the guest room door, you cannot bring your mobile phone or electronic devices with you."

Although the butler, Shinohara, was hunched over, his imposing presence was not diminished at all: "After all, he might be photographing other guests' rooms, and I was worried about causing a negative impact."

I see… Asakawa Riku probably understands now. Besides the members of the Shinonome family, there must be many other guests who are not in the public eye attending this banquet.

There may have been a leak in the past, which is why the controls are so strict.

But Asakawa Riku was not easily convinced: "Does that mean that if I have my phone with me, I definitely won't be able to leave this hotel room?"

He has reasons why he cannot compromise.

The person being protected, Shinonome Suetsuki, has entered a "danger zone" after entering this place. He must pay close attention to the movements in the opposite room at all times and cannot stray too far.

Even if they need to leave temporarily, if they have a cell phone, the detective can contact them promptly by phone or message if they encounter danger, so they won't be too passive.

If he leaves his phone here, Asakawa Riku will be completely cut off from her. He can't let that happen; it could be a diversionary tactic by the enemy.

"Yes."

But the butler Shinohara's position is not open to compromise.

Asakawa Riku sneered. He wasn't afraid of a confrontation: "Then let's leave it at that. I'll wear this to the banquet. You don't need to bother finding me any clothes."

After saying that, he was about to close the door.

He has never been one to care about clothes or other material possessions, nor has he ever bought any expensive luxury items. He doesn't care what others think, and he doesn't feel ashamed to wear this outfit to a banquet. After all, he is a bodyguard and doesn't need to wear anything fancy.

As for whether his colleague, Shinonome Suetsuki, would lose face, he didn't care. After all, that guy hadn't paid him for his emotional distress when he walked the runway in the agency wearing a flamingo outfit last time.

She is the real master of outlandish costumes.

"Please... please wait!"

The old man saw the butler Shinohara's panicked and uneasy expression for the first time, and even panicked so much that he reached out to block the door.

Fortunately, Asakawa Riku didn't use too much force, otherwise he would have squeezed her down.

The butler, Shinohara, hesitated for a moment, looking at the calm expression on the boy's face, before finally letting out a helpless sigh:

"I understand... Please let me communicate with them, and I'll think of a solution."

So, about ten minutes later, the butler Shinohara actually invited up the portly tailor with gold-rimmed glasses to take measurements for Asakawa Riku.

Asakawa Riku himself hadn't expected such service. He was quite surprised to see several waiters pushing carts of clothes racks up in the corridor...

"Isn't that a bit much?"

"This is necessary, and I'm really sorry to trouble you with your cooperation."

The butler, Shinohara, smiled wryly, thinking that if he made a fool of himself at the banquet, he would bear a great deal of responsibility.

Asakawa Riku was initially a little embarrassed for hiring so many people to serve him alone, but then he thought that everyone was just doing their jobs for a paycheck.

He also had his own work to do and couldn't just leave Shinonome Suetsuki unattended. With that in mind, he accepted the service with a clear conscience.

For the next hour, Asakawa Riku was almost entirely directed by the tailor, moving around the room, constantly changing clothes and being inspected.

I went through all sorts of shirts, suits, ties, trousers, and shoes that I couldn't even distinguish, constantly cutting them to fit the perfect size.

He couldn't tell the quality of the clothes at all, but he always felt they were expensive. Looking in the full-length mirror in the suite, he felt that the young man in the mirror was becoming more and more dignified and heroic.

Thankfully, no makeup artist was hired, but my hair was styled and no longer so messy.

Ultimately, under the black suit, Asakawa Riku's temperament seemed to have undergone a dramatic change. What was originally a somewhat naive boyish feeling now exuded a mature charm.

With his tall, straight back and height, and the faintly visible muscles, he exuded an aura comparable to a male model when adjusting his cuffs, displaying the demeanor of a social elite.

"The person Miss brought is indeed a handsome and talented man."

The tailor and all the other clothes had been taken away, leaving only the butler, Shinohara, who offered his heartfelt praise.

"I wish this suit could be bulletproof."

Asakawa Riku laughed and joked that he had always admired the kind of equipment in "Kingsman" and "John Wick," but unfortunately, he couldn't make it in reality.

I didn't expect changing clothes to take so long. It's almost four o'clock, and it's time to leave for the banquet.

He obediently left his phone in the room, and didn't forget to open the box Xuehui had given him, taking out one of the chocolates and putting it in his mouth—

It was "vanilla flavor," melting in your mouth, the aroma instantly filling your mouth, sweet and bitter lingering on your tongue before disappearing in a flash.

He wiped the residue from his fingertips with a tissue and was about to knock on the door across the street when it opened, leaving his hand empty-handed.

The woman who appeared inside the door made Asakawa Riku's eyes widen.

Winter of the Demons: Chapter Thirteen - The Wine Pavilion

Higashino Suetsuki is a beautiful woman.

This is a fact that has long been established.

Among the women Riku Asakawa knew, Chizuko-senpai and Yukie were undoubtedly the cute type, purely cute.

As for Xingyu, she has a kind of "girlish" temperament, somewhere between naive and mature, a unique feeling of growing up.

Shinonome Suetsuki can be perfectly described as a "beauty".

Her face is like a painting or sculpture, exquisite and flawless. Even without makeup, she looks incredibly beautiful, especially her eyes under her long, slender eyelashes.

Perhaps it has special effects that give it a "superpower" feel, but it also has a captivating charm that makes it hard to look away.

She is estimated to be 1.75 meters tall, which would be considered unusual in this country, where she would be called the Sky Tree or Tokyo Tower. With her high heels, she is almost level with Asakawa Riku, which only accentuates her unique beauty. Tonight, she has changed into a gorgeous dress, with pale gold silk outlining her figure.

This dress isn't exactly a cheongsam; it's very form-fitting, but the curves of her figure are undeniable, especially the surprising curves at the chest.

It would be too cruel if Chizuko-senpai were standing next to me; it's better not to think about her right now.

Having seen so many detectives in outlandish outfits, Asakawa Riku was inexplicably moved, even hesitant to recognize her, wondering if she was some kind of twin sister.

"You changed your clothes?"

Higashino Suetsuki smiled, a rare occurrence for her, and seemed to share a similar sentiment: "Not bad at all, assistant."

Only then did Asakawa Riku dare to be certain that this guy was indeed his mission target.

"You are beautiful too."

He remembered that during his first interview at the agency, he felt he might fall for the detective.

This is the truth; in terms of face and figure alone, Shinonome Suetsuki is definitely her type.

“I’m going to buy this outfit and use it as your work uniform. You’ll get your pay docked if you don’t wear it to work.”

If this guy's personality were even a little bit more normal, or if he were even a little bit less sarcastic and eccentric, he probably wouldn't have turned out like this.

"Please spare me..."

Only this one moment of stunning beauty today brought back a long-lost feeling for Asakawa Riku.

They took the elevator to the first floor, and as they stepped out, they realized the inconvenience their clothes caused.

cold.

Formal dresses were invented to be worn indoors in comfortable temperatures; they are not suitable for outdoor environments, let alone in the mountains during the dead of winter.

Asakawa Riku was fine in his suit, and he wasn't particularly afraid of the cold, but Higashion Suetsuki's arms were crossed, and the skin on her calves was visibly whiter, and she was trembling slightly.

She didn't seem to be used to wearing high heels; she walked slowly and couldn't warm up her body.

She could only walk along the mountain path step by step, and Asakawa Riku could only keep up with the pace. Although there was no slope, it was still an extraordinary ordeal for her.

It was almost time for the banquet, so many guests came out of the annex and got up. Although it wasn't as crowded as Shibuya, you could still see groups of young or middle-aged men and women with their partners, struggling to move in the cold wind, their faces stiff, but no one dared to complain, and they just gritted their teeth and moved forward.

They were like ascetics on a pilgrimage.

Asakawa Riku suddenly understood the significance of this road, and the fact that he was not allowed to drive up it was actually a way to give everyone who came a "show of force".

Even though everyone knows it's unreasonable, everyone has to participate, and even though they know it's winter, they have no choice but to obey. It's a terrible test.

"This is truly unpleasant..."

He said it with displeasure.

The detective beside me continued forward, her face calm and showing no particular pain, her neck held high like a proud swan.

Asakawa Riku took off his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

"...!"

Dongyun Sueyue looked at him in surprise.

Asakawa Riku, wearing a neat white shirt, smiled and asked, "Shall we go?"

If he weren't afraid of going too far and not wanting to attract attention, he even considered carrying her and running there.

"it is good."

This time, the detective didn't say anything more. She reached out her hand, placed it on Asakawa Riku's hand, and led him to quicken his pace.

"Where's Xingyu? Didn't they say she arrived a while ago? Why haven't we seen her? Is she at the museum?"

"She was in my room just now. Look, she picked out this outfit for me."

"Eh?"

Upon hearing Shinonome Suetsuki's explanation, Asakawa Riku was startled.

Xingyu was actually in the room across the street, but he didn't notice it at all, and didn't even realize when someone had gone in.

His hearing should have never been impaired. Could it be that he accidentally missed it while changing clothes?

Or perhaps Xingyu was already in the room waiting for her mistress to arrive?

Regardless, this made Asakawa Riku somewhat worried and fearful. Fortunately, he was a trustworthy person, and the detective was also unharmed, which was truly a relief.

He didn't want his mission to fail, and he didn't want Shinonome Suetsuki to get hurt.

"She's not in charge of the operations inside the venue, and only guests are allowed to enter for the banquet, so if you want to find her, you'll probably have to wait until after it's over."

"It's okay... We can meet again when we get back, no rush."

Asakawa Riku shook his head, refocusing his attention on tonight's guard duty.

If I'm not mistaken, this banquet should be the most dangerous and highest-probability moment that the assassination attempt could take place...

They continued along the mountain path.

As indicated, after about ten minutes of walking, we finally saw the mysterious "hall" hidden in the mountains.

It wasn't as magical as I had imagined, nor did it have the bizarre structure of a "drift ice pavilion," "decagonal pavilion," or "clock pavilion." It was just an ordinary square auditorium, like a large stadium in a school or a concert hall. It wasn't even as big as the annex I had just seen, and it actually looked rather simple.

The black walls seemed to absorb all the light, and indeed there was no sign for "Jiutian Pavilion." If you looked down from above, you probably wouldn't be able to tell where the entrance was.

The place was unusually devoid of any Christmas decorations, which was inexplicably ominous.

Asakawa Riku originally thought that "Sake Heaven Pavilion" was taken from the allusion of "flowers and wine", or some kind of tradition of regarding fine wine as a gift from heaven. He imagined it to be an impression of extravagance and lavishness, but now it seems to be completely different.

Like the entrance to hell, like the "missing thirteenth step," it instinctively draws one in...

The staff members at the entrance who were responsible for greeting people all stood up in surprise and bowed when they saw Shinonome Suetsuki.

The detective took out the medicine bottle one last time, swallowed the two remaining pills in her palm, and then casually threw away the empty bottle. Someone immediately came over and cleaned it up.

"Gentlemen, please come with me. The master has been waiting for a long time."

The butler, Shinohara, arrived with a smile and led them through the line of people, into the main hall of the banquet.