CHAPTER 498: STRANGER DANGER

Coco led Kairo down the hallway, their footsteps softly echoing against the walls, then they arrived at the room where she had prepared the tea earlier.

"Wait here for now." Coco instructed as she stopped by the door, gesturing for Kairo to stay put.

Kairo looked at Coco, his brow slightly furrowed in confusion when Coco turned in her heels and started walking down the hall. "Where are you going?"

Coco stopped in her tracks, turning to face Kairo as he questioned her intentions.

"I’m just going to pick a few missions off the board." She explained with a hum. "I don’t want the others to hog all the good ones before I can get to them so I’ll go for a bit and come back, okay?"

Kairo nodded slowly, a look of understanding crossing his face.

"Okay.. I see."Kairo responded, accepting Coco’s reason for stepping out, but a trace of reluctance flickered in his eyes.

Kairo watched as Coco walked down the hallway once more, his gaze lingering on her figure as she disappeared from view, then he turned and entered the room, taking a seat on the chair closest to the door.

As Kairo sat in the room, waiting for Coco’s return, the sound of footsteps approached the door.

The knob turned and the door slowly creaked open, signaling the entrance of a new person— the man who entered had black hair and piercing red eyes with the lower half of his face concealed by the collar of his coat.

Kairo’s body involuntarily tensed up at the sight of the stranger, his heart rate quickening slightly.

He glanced quickly at the stranger, his gaze darting away momentarily before meeting the man’s eyes again, causing caution and uncertainty to cross his face, his mind silently contemplating the situation.

Oh, no.. What should I do? What if this man tries to do something..? What if he’s one of the Baroness’ men? I don’t want to cause a scene.. I might put Coco in trouble.

His thoughts were filled with worry, a concern for not causing any trouble or potentially damaging Coco’s reputation.

So, he chose to remain wary, his body language subtle yet guarded.

The stranger moved away from the door, his steps quiet and deliberate as he approached the magical coffee maker by the other side of the room.

He casually leaned against the counter and with a steady hand, he began preparing his coffee, the machine whirring to life as it went through the process of brewing the beverage.

The sound of the coffee maker filled the room, the aroma of freshly brewed beans slowly beginning to waft through the air.

The stranger remained silent, focused on his task, but occasionally glancing over in Kairo’s direction.

Kairo tried his best to disregard the stranger’s presence, his focus directed elsewhere as he attempted to ignore the unease he felt.

However, the stranger’s voice broke through the tension in the room with a question. "Are you Coco’s husband?"

Kairo was caught off guard, the question unexpected and slightly invasive.

He turned his gaze towards the stranger, his eyes meeting the man’s gaze, a look of surprise and hesitation flickering across Kairo’s face as he considered how to respond.

The stranger stared directly at Kairo and picked up that Kairo was on guard so he continued. "Coco is rather talkative about her husbands, and seeing the two of you arrive together.. Well, many of us naturally assumed you were one of her mediators."

Kairo pondered over the stranger’s words, his thoughts silently churning in his mind but Kairo responded with a shake of his head.

"I’m her friend." The mediator clarified, his voice steady despite the uncertainty in his eyes. "The other one with her is her husband.. But why did you ask?"

The stranger raised an eyebrow, a puzzled expression passing through his otherwise unreadable features.

"Does she often assist friends in this manner?" The stranger asked, his tone was monotonous even as he asked the question, skepticism coloring his words.

The stranger’s question seemed to hold judgment, as if the man found the idea of Coco extending such help to her male friends somewhat unusual or even questionable.

Somehow, Kairo didn’t like that.

"Yes, she does." He affirmed, his voice tilting towards defensiveness. "Why wouldn’t she be? Coco is kind and considerate by nature. Helping friends is something that comes naturally to her."

Kairo’s face creased in a frown, his brows furrowing slightly as he responded. "Besides, that’s a lot coming from someone who looked like he’s about to do something suspicious."

His words were laced with protectiveness, snarling and scowling as he defended Coco’s character and her good intentions towards others.

The stranger let out a soft, thoughtful hum, his observation casual. "I’m just saying."

He raised his hands in a surrendering manner and shrugged. "The way that strong hunter seems to glance in your direction doesn’t appear to be entirely ’friendly’, you know? It seems to me that her gaze holds a certain tension or perhaps a hint of something else? Who knows?"

"What.. Do you mean?" Kairo asked, his eyes fixed on the stranger. "What kind of look does Coco have that you’re referring to?"

Kairo’s expression remained guarded, his eyes narrowing slightly as he processed the stranger’s words, but the warning wasn’t lost on him, mentioning Coco’s look towards him— well, he’s confused about it.

"So she’s not the dense one?" The stranger tilted his head and grabbed his mug from the coffee maker. "Fascinating.."

"I don’t know what you mean." Kairo frowned, his hands curling into fists.

"She likes you." The stranger stated bluntly. "Can’t tell if it’s the friendly way.. Or not, but she definitely likes you. That’s what I’m saying."

Kairo’s surprise was evident, his eyebrows raising slightly as he digested the stranger’s words.

"She doesn’t because she already has her mediators." Kairo countered, a defensiveness lilt in his tone, preparing to challenge the stranger’s insinuation about Coco’s behavior towards him.

The stranger raised an eyebrow. "You’re confusing, too."