"Wow! Wow!"
Everyone present couldn't help but applaud as they watched the five bouquets of roses in Aizen's hand. It had seemed simple enough, just putting his hands behind his back and then taking them out, but there was no person in the room who could do the same as Aizen.
"Here, here you go!"
Aizen handed the red rose to Suzuki Sonoko.
"Bo!"
Suzuki Sonoko kissed Aizen on the cheek, took the rose, and said, "This is a reward for you!"
Aizen smiled, then stepped forward and handed the champagne rose to Uchida Asami.
"Thank you, I love it."
Uchida Asami took the rose and sniffed it, but she didn't kiss him. After all, with so many people around, she felt a little embarrassed.
"As long as you like it!"
"Two, six, three,"
Aizen said, handing the blue rose to Mouri Ran, who was sitting next to Uchida Asami.
Ran Mouri took it and looked at it, surprised. "Aizen, this is new?" She hadn't kissed Aizen. If it were just her, Aizen, and Suzuki Sonoko, she might have reluctantly given him a kiss, but with so many people present, there was no way she'd do that.
"If it's not new, wouldn't that be unworthy of my title as a genius magician?"
Aizen said with a smile. He then walked over and handed the remaining two bouquets of roses to Naoko Kuroda and Kikue Tanaka.
"Genius magician?"
Suzuki Sonoko asked, puzzled. "Shinichi, when did you get that title?"
Returning to his seat, Aizen smiled and said, "I got it just now. Did my magic show just now live up to that title?"
"So you just gave it to yourself,"
Suzuki Sonoko said, somewhat speechlessly. While she thought her boyfriend's magic was impressive, calling himself a genius magician was a bit too boastful.
"No!"
Tanaka Kikue said with a smile, "If Mr. Aizen were to perform a magic show, I think just this one would have impressed many people. Mr. Aizen doesn't look like he's carrying a bunch of roses."
Kuroda Naoko then added, "And these roses look as if they were freshly picked. How rare! It's winter now, after all!"
Yoshinori Ara nodded in agreement, "Except for laboratories dedicated to rose cultivation, you can't get roses anywhere else this season."
Aizen smiled and said, "Don't praise me anymore, or I'll be embarrassed."
Dinner passed with everyone chatting, and afterward, Kiyohiro Sugama and Arano Yoshinori cleaned up.
Because the Escape King, the head of the department, hadn't arrived yet, Arano Yoshinori, after clearing the dishes, called the Escape King.
"Strange, why can't I get through?"
Arano Yoshinori pressed the dials, only to find the call was unavailable.
Kuroda Naoko asked, "Could it be because the phone line is down?"
"If that's the case, that's terrible. He's the one who arranges tonight's program."
Kikue Tanaka put down the phone. Although it wasn't snowing, it was impossible to repair the phone line so late at night.
Kikue Tanaka suggested, "How about we elect an acting director first?"
Yoshinori Ara nodded in agreement, "That's a good idea."
Naoko Kuroda shook her head and said, "I don't want to be an acting director. That would be very troublesome."
Katsuki Doito said, "Then let's play rock-paper-scissors. That's the fairest way."
"Wait, wait, how can you make such a hasty decision?"
Toshiya Hamano put his hands down and said, "Since we are all magic fans, it should be decided by magic."
"Decide by magic?"
"Let me perform a magic trick for everyone this time."
Toshiya Hamano said, looking at the three women standing with Aizen, and said, "Three ladies, is there anyone willing to cooperate with me?"
"I'll do it! I'll do it!"
Suzuki Sonoko was very interested in this kind of thing and immediately raised her hand.
"Okay, then I'll trouble Miss Sonoko."
Toshiya Hamano pulled out a white cloth from his arms, walked to Suzuki Sonoko's side, and said, "Now I will use this handkerchief to cover the beautiful Sonoko's charming eyes. Does anyone here have a pen and paper?"
Everyone looked at each other, and Kikue Tanaka picked up the paper and pen next to the phone and said, "Is this okay, magician?"
"Of course!"
Hamano Toshiya nodded, and then said, "Then please write each person's name on the back of each piece of paper...""Okay!"
Tanaka Kikue walked to the table and wrote each person's last name on a piece of paper.
Hamano Toshiya said, "After you're done, fold all the papers together, turn them over, and give them to Miss Sonoko. That's all."
Tanaka Kikue did as she was told and handed the finished paper to Suzuki Sonoko.
Hamano Toshiya said, "Give her the pen too."
"Okay, Sonoko, take the pen."
Tanaka Kikue placed the pen in Suzuki Sonoko's hand.
"Okay, now everyone, please move aside."
Hamano Toshiya gestured for everyone to move aside. After they had cleared, he continued, "Okay, Sonoko, be careful not to let anyone see. Just randomly mark a circle, a cross, and a triangle on the paper."
Suzuki Sonoko asked, "Is that all?"
Hamano Toshiya said, "That's all." The circle represents the acting director, the cross represents the person in charge of the item of tonight's entertainment program, and as for the triangle... let me think, let him help everyone boil water for the bath."
Kiyohiro Sugama said, "I'll be in charge of boiling the water for the bath."
"That's fine!"
Hamano Toshiya said with a smile, "It's just a game, so it's better to mix in some punishment."
Everyone agreed. After all, it was just boiling water, not a particularly difficult or tiring task, so no one objected.
Suzuki Sonoko then marked three pieces of paper one after another, but she didn't mark three consecutive pieces. Instead, she randomly selected three pieces to mark.
After Suzuki Sonoko announced that the mark was finished, Hamano Toshiya said, "Okay, then, who would please place the paper in Sonoko's hand on the table? Of course, don't turn the names over just yet."
"Let me do it."
Tanaka Kikue walked over, took the paper from Suzuki Sonoko, and placed it on the table.