My plan was very simple.
First, I would fake my kidnapping, ask Eve to send a message, and then, during a surprise proposal with all seven gathered, pop the question.
Some might say it’s unnecessary trouble, but this is (probably) a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I believe this effort is warranted.
Anyway, Eve already knew about my operation. There was no real risk of it getting too serious.
After my brief explanation, Harry looked at me suspiciously, while Mav scratched his head with a confused expression.
Their names were Harry and Mav, just like Dumb and Dumber.
Harry’s brow furrowed slightly.
“…Aren’t we just increasing our charges?”
His concern was valid. We were evolving from petty thieves to kidnappers in just a few steps.
“Don’t worry, just trust me.”
I carried on nonchalantly.
“All you have to do is wait until everyone gathers, then set off the fireworks and clap. It’s much better than going to jail.”
Both would get their crimes pardoned, and I would get help for the surprise proposal.
It was a win-win plan.
“So, Harry, shut your mouth and blow up that balloon.”
There was still a lot to do.
I had to decorate the walls with the trinkets I bought from the gift shop, set up the lights, and find some nice background music.
Upon hearing my words, Harry tilted his head quizzically while crouched.
“…Hmm, I don’t think this is right.”
“Hello? Is this NCPD—”
“BLOWING UP BALLOONS IS SO MUCH FUN!”
He was just trying to be difficult while doing what I told him in the first place.
I understood his worries, but to me, they seemed unnecessary.
When I delivered the kidnapping message, I planned to tell them not to bring any NCPD or Monolith troops along.
Above all, ‘Eve’ also knew about this plan. I believed the chances of things getting serious were close to zero.
“This is fun!”
Mav, who was taking on the role of the idiot from Dumb and Dumber, whispered as he inflated a balloon.
…At that strength, it would burst.
Soon, Mav’s balloon could not withstand the air pressure and burst.
– BAM!
– Koooom….
A sinister sound echoed from somewhere.
Dust was drifting down from the ceiling.
Harry, Mav, and I were currently in an abandoned building in the lower-class area. In other words, a place that should have no noise issues.
I was enjoying the news coming from the radio. It was the NCB24 citizen zone channel.
《Currently, the ‘West Dale’ citizen zone is under temporary lockdown. The city hasn’t provided concrete reasons, and residents are advised to refrain from going out.》
By the way, West Dale is the zone where this ‘building’ is located.
I murmured quietly while looking at the slightly trembling ceiling and floor.
“…Things have gotten a bit tangled.”
Just as said.
Desperately running towards me was Harry, wearing a thick fur hat.
“…It’s not just any mess outside! There are helicopters, corporate soldiers, and local raids!”
He rattled off like a machine gun.
I raised both hands to stop him.
“Calm down.”
“Does this look like I’m calm?!”
It sounded like ‘KWAANG!’ from outside. Humans cannot expel breath from their mouths, so a strong gust rustled my hair.
Watching Harry’s heated reaction, I perched myself on an old chair.
Gazing up at the shabby ceiling, I contemplated.
How did it come to this? I coldly appraised the situation.
My plan was undeniably perfect.
As I mentioned earlier, I even obnoxiously warned not to bring the NCPD or Monolith troops when I sent the message about ‘kidnapping myself.’
But now, it seemed easier to look for someone in the city who didn’t know about this. The situation had grown bigger than I had thought.
Leaving behind Harry, whose stress levels were approaching meltdown, I called out softly for Eve.
“…Eve?”
[……..]
No response.
Eve? Miss Eve? Nobita? The most beautiful AI in the world? No matter how I called her, there was no answer.
…For sure, this was an unexpected situation.
– Koooom!
The sound became louder than before.
It was just a formal forestalling of the kidnap, so I hadn’t set any traps.
The only fortunate fact was that we were in the ‘deep underground.’
If not, I might have witnessed the meteor crashing down and smashing through.
…Hmm.
A cold sweat trickled down my nape.
Harry walked over to me slowly.
Having possibly gone through the five stages of death in this short time, he looked at me with acceptance.
“So…what are you going to do now?”
He was a completely different person.
Just as I pondered whether to offer him comfort, Mav, our silly friend, spoke up instead.
“What do you mean, what to do? We’re just here to help out with the proposal, right? All we have to do is clap over there!”
“……!”
I realized something upon hearing that.
Eureka!
That was a valid point!
After all, the ‘process’ had changed a bit, but the ‘result’ remained unchanged.
Things had gone slightly awry, but it was clear what we needed to do.
Proposal time!
I shouted at the confused Harry.
“We push forward with the plan…!”
“…Crazy, is there any other way?”
I firmly shook my head.
“There isn’t, Harry. Go prepare to clap when the people come in.”
“……Damn, I should at least call Vicky first.”
Vicky was the name of Harry’s sixth wife. But he wouldn’t have to worry; nothing bad would happen. …Probably.
I lightly summoned my mana.
I checked the movements of everyone within a certain radius.
I felt seven women confidently walking this way from not far away.
I truly appreciated their effort to come here and check up on me despite their busy schedules upon hearing the news of my kidnapping.
There was no sign of reinforcements from Monolith or NCPD.
Inside the building, it was just us and them.
I steeled myself to greet them.
I stood up, grabbed the hard case containing the engagement ring, and as planned, Harry and Mav walked toward the wall.
Finally, I did a last check around.
Colorful balloons, flashy lights, a garland that read ‘Marry Me.’
Everything was on point for preparation.
The locations of the women verified by magic were now just a stone’s throw away.
I signaled to Harry and Mav.
Ready.
In response to my signal, Harry nodded as if unraveling, while Mav nodded happily.
And then, one of the women stepped forward from among those who had stopped at the door.
…Huh?
Then that person casually took a step forward.
– KA-WANG!!
As her foot twisted, the iron door flung away.
The bent metal door lodged itself squarely between Harry and Mav.
“AHHH!”
Harry dropped the fireworks he was holding. He bent down, unable to hide his panic.
Dust exploded out and slowly settled.
We faced the seven women, their expressions seriously hardened.
“Happy birthda─, oh wait, that’s not it.”
Mav set off the fireworks he had prepared.
– BAM!!
“Surprise!”
Mav’s cluelessly enthusiastic clapping echoed through the quiet basement.
“…….”
“…….”
I was convinced.
This surprise proposal had failed.
I should’ve just given the ring during mealtime when everyone was gathered.
But, since the situation had escalated up to this point, there was no room to retreat.
I forced myself to act as shamelessly and calmly as I could.
Using magic, I switched the radio channel and played the prepared music.
Smooth classical music began with a violin softly.
I knelt before the women.
(I’m definitely not kneeling out of fear.)
I used Telekinesis magic to pull out the ring from the hard case.
But I just couldn’t find the words to say.
I should say something, but with the atmosphere turning so dark, the words eluded me.
When I think of it, it is only natural.
They had rushed here, worrying about me, so who would be happy if I said, “Just kidding!”
If I ever have another chance for a proposal, I firmly resolve not to set up such surprises.
A heavy silence lingered.
Even then, the women still said nothing.
I contemplated whether to just set off some smoke and escape…. At that moment,
“Pfft.”
I heard Andrea chuckle.
I tilted my head and looked at Andrea. Suddenly, the laughter spread to the other women as well.
“Puhaha, I can’t hold it in.”
“……Heh.”
Maya and Julia also chuckled,
“Hoho….”
The chairman and Natasha giggled behind their hands.
I had no idea how the situation was flowing.
I looked at them with a blank expression.
Andrea turned to Natasha and said,
“It’s just as the boss envisioned.”
“…It’s obvious just by looking.”
Natasha curved an elongated arc near her eyes as she laughed even more than before, hiding her face with a fan.
With her eyelids glistening slightly, Natasha glanced at the chairman and murmured.
“It’s not just me who expected it.”
At the end, Natasha, with warm eyes, kept glancing at me.
“You know Siwoon doesn’t shy away from responsibility.”
…Caught me.
It seems the ‘surprise proposal’ operation was destined to fail from the start.
Glancing at Eve, she awkwardly shrugged. How very cheeky of her.
I truly let out a sigh of relief.
Honestly, this was a blessing. Otherwise, the atmosphere would have turned into a real disaster.
Looking back, the news of the region being locked down was strange from the start.
Usually, rescue operations begin with controlling information.
There were plenty of hints I could’ve picked up. It’s just that my head was too muddled to notice.
Meanwhile, Mav, who had been clapping until now, was led over by Harry to a corner. They squatted awkwardly, trying to be inconspicuous.
Everyone approached me, and the one in the front, Catherine, looked down at me.
Catherine naturally pulled off my mask.
“You little rascal.”
Then she stretched my cheeks.
“If you wanted to propose, you should just do it. What’s with all this kidnapping nonsense?”
She plopped down, locking eyes with me.
“…Good thing you awkwardly left behind your movements. Otherwise, it could’ve really been disastrous, you know that?”
“Haehonghamida.”
My cheeks being pulled made me slur my words.
“So?”
“…?”
Catherine looked at me with playful eyes.
The women behind her had also unconsciously gathered around us.
“What do you want to say?”
…….
This was quite embarrassing once the stage was set like this.
I should’ve just said it while kneeling earlier….
“Ahem.”
I cleared my throat.
I opened the ring case hovering in front of everyone. Each ring had a different design.
“Um….”
“Um?”
“…So.”
“Therefore?”
Catherine mimicked my words like a child.
There was no escaping this situation.
I squeezed my eyes shut and shouted.
“Will you marry me, ugh!”
Simultaneously, a gentle touch covered my mouth.
There was a reason she took off my mask.
I felt like several seconds passed as her lips slowly left mine. A sticky trail of saliva connected us.
Catherine looked at me with a bright smile.
“Of course!”
By the way, after that, I had to perform the same act with all the women. I was already dreading the wedding.
And,
“…Seven? Wait, isn’t that Andrea? And the others…. Oh, my god. The avatar of Romanticism truly exists elsewhere.”
“I want popcorn.”
One of the kidnappers stared in shock at our situation.
*
We returned to the Golden Smile Condominium riding a Monolith air vehicle.
(Now it felt so natural I almost thought of it as our own car.)
I muttered while looking out at the scenery.
“…Now, I guess we should set the wedding date.”
In that moment, everyone turned to look at me.
What is it?
The answer came from Andrea.
“The chairman mentioned the schedule was set for next week?”
“……??”
