He was unlucky and received a rather poor card. Not only that, everyone else noticed this and faintly started targeting him.
And, the winner was Rota.
"I'm going to start asking questions now. Is that alright?" the male detective asked politely.
"Of course," Seiji responded casually.
Not only were Saito and the others watching, but all the other tournament participants who could hear their conversation were also listening intently, including the Hanashi couple.
Of the five people playing cards around the table, apart from "Steel Hand" Saito and "Judge" Yoshihara, some people recognized Mitsuko Kitajima and Daikawa Rota as well. Only this young man wearing a black windbreaker and sunglasses was someone that none of the tournament participants could see clearly! Nobody knew who he and his female partner were at all!
Rota had participated in this card game and even suggested betting information on this mysterious couple. He never expected that he would be able to achieve his goal in the very first round.
"First question. What's your name?"
Seiji thought about it for a moment.
"Haruta Tou." He directly borrowed the name of a relative that he had never met before.
This answer was half true and half false. Not a single word was off.
Rota's gaze instantly froze over.
Saito, Kitajima, and Yoshihara all reacted. The other tournament participants who were eavesdropping also had stiff expressions, to the point that the air in the entire dining hall seemed to freeze for an instant.
Haruta Tou … was he that "Haruta"? Or was he just a fake?
He was probably a fake. But, this was far too much of a lie! This young man was truly bold to casually use one of the seven major Yin Yang Master families to brag about.
… What if he was telling the truth?
Even though everyone felt that there was less than a one in a thousand chance that he was telling the truth, some people couldn't help but think that, including Rota.
This detective knew that the Haruta family's representative for this Bloodwine Ritual tournament was named "Haruta Tou"!
The reason why he knew this was because his faction had specifically ordered him not to harm this young master of the Haruta family during the tournament! Otherwise, there would be consequences.
Rota's faction was a vassal of a Yin Yang Master family, and this family was a vassal of the Haruta family. In other words, if he was compared to an employee of the company, then Haruta Jundou was the superior of the superior of the superior of the superior of the superior of the superior. He was a big shot that absolutely could not be offended!
To put it in an extreme way, injuring the Young Masters of the other six Great Families was still possible, but if they were to injure the Young Master of the Haruta Family, the best choice would be to dig a hole and bury themselves, lest they implicate their families and friends.
Logically speaking, it was impossible for the young master of the Haruta Family to take the free passenger airship provided by the tournament organizers. That was why when Rota suddenly heard this name from the mysterious young man's mouth, he was so shocked that he almost showed it on his face. Fortunately, he was used to putting on a poker face.
Then, he felt that the other party was lying, but there was still a thought in his mind: What if it's true …
Right after that, Rota realized that he had fallen into a psychological trap. Not only that, he was the one who had set up this psychological trap himself. Rota couldn't help but smile wryly in his mind.
His thoughts changed very quickly, and it didn't take long for him to calm down. His expression returned to normal.
"Haruta -san … My family name is Rota. Please take good care of me."
"Hello, Rota-san. Please take good care of me as well." Seiji smiled.
This person was acting so calmly even with the "Haruta" surname. This person was either incredibly daring, or he truly was related to the Haruta Family.
Rota felt that Seiji didn't seem like an idiot who was too daring for his own good. Rota was inclined to believe the latter. However, it was only a slight inclination.
"Allow me to introduce myself as well. My family name is Saito. However, you all probably already know, "Saito interjected.
This interjection was perfect. Not only was it polite to "Haruta", but it wasn't pretentious at all.
"My family name is Kitajima. Please take good care of me." Something flashed in Mitsuko's eyes as she spoke as well.
"My family name is Yoshihara." Yuuzou Yoshihara also spoke up.
"Haruta" was just that powerful. It was more than enough to make an entire table of tournament participants voluntarily reveal their family names.
Although he already knew, Seiji still couldn't help but sigh in his heart when he confirmed this again.
'I apologize for using your name to act cool.' Seiji apologized to his relatives who didn't know where they were right now.
It was time to ask more questions. Rota wanted to ease the atmosphere, and so …
"My second question. May I ask what Haruta -san likes to do normally?"
'Is this a blind date?' Seiji reflexively commented in his mind when he heard Rota's question.
Saito, Mitsuko, and some of the other tournament participants all revealed subtle expressions.
"I usually like to read manga and anime, as well as read novels."
"Oh … I like to read those as well, especially detective novels, such as' Detective Nanyun '. I've always been following it." Rota flashed a friendly smile.
'Hey, bro, you've changed so much! Where did the cold, scheming man from earlier go? '
Saito and Mitsuko's expressions became even more subtle. Even Yoshihara, who had maintained a friendly expression, revealed a strange expression.
"What do you think about Nanyun's newest manga storyline, Rota-san?"
"I think it's pretty good. I've finally entered the main storyline that I haven't seen in a long time. It's quite unexpected that Officer Komura was killed."
"Do you think he's really dead or faked his death?"
"There's an 80% chance that he's faked his death. There's a 20% chance that he's really dead."
"I don't think so …"
Seiji and Rota chatted about Detective Nanyun for a while. They discovered that Rota was a true fan of manga!
Saito interjected again and mentioned that he also read manga. Although he only read manga occasionally, there were some that he liked.
Even Yoshihara joined in. When he mentioned a few classic hardcore manga that were rather old … this assassin was once young as well.
Mitsuko was the only one who couldn't participate in this topic. She seemed rather awkward.
The other tournament participants who were eavesdropping all revealed different expressions. They didn't even know where to start commenting.
Seiji and the others chatted for quite a while. The atmosphere was so harmonious and friendly that it was almost as if they forgot about the current situation.
However, that was only on the surface.
Nobody truly forgot that everyone here was a tournament participant. They were all competitors who couldn't tolerate each other.
The tournament participation contract was something that could only be signed with a clear resolution and fighting spirit. No matter what reason you had to participate in the tournament, as long as you successfully signed the contract, it meant that you wanted to win!
Rota and the others respected "Haruta", which was why they were acting polite and friendly.
"My third question. May I ask why Haruta -san is traveling on this ship instead of taking your own ship?"
"Because it's more lively here."
"Don't you feel uncomfortable?" Rota looked at him.
"That's the fourth question." Seiji chuckled.
"Alright … that's it, then."
It was highly unlikely that this person was truly Haruta Jundou. However, this person knew the name of a tournament participant from the Haruta Family, and even dared to pretend to be someone else and act so calmly. It was highly likely that this person had some sort of relationship with the Haruta Family. In fact, it was even possible that this person knew Haruta Jundou personally. Rota made this judgment in his mind.
He wasn't the only one who made such a judgment.
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