kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

Chapter 182

Immediately after they entered, several people approached Gerardo. They were most likely the merchants who were siding with him. They bowed to him, trying to sell him their flattery.

Well, I wasn’t afraid of idiots who openly showed that they were on the enemy side. The ones we had to be careful of were those who pretended to be on our side, only to backstab us later on.

They could leak the information to Gerardo, while also making us think we were stronger than we actually were.

Because of that, we had to be suspicious of everyone.

I prayed that we wouldn’t get approached by anybody with plans like those.

As time went by, people approached Old Man Gran one by one to give him their wishes. This was just out of politeness for being invited to the party; the real fight would begin after this.

Eventually, Gerardo himself approached Old Man Gran.

"I wish you a Happy 50th Birthday."

Gerardo congratulated him with a wry smile.

I was amazed that Old Man Gran had not noticed he had been dealing with a person like that all this time. I couldn’t tell if Old Man Gran was just too kind or simply had no danger sense.

"Thank you for coming all this way. We have plenty of good food prepared, so I hope you enjoy your time here."

"I look forward to the food. I heard it was made by an assistant head chef from a famous restaurant at the capital."

I saw Old Man Gran grasping his hands tightly when Gerardo mentioned that.

I understood his feelings, but he wasn’t in any position to argue right now.

There was still no evidence that Gerardo had been responsible for the attack on Botts.

We hadn’t been able to find any witnesses because it had been in an area where not many people passed by.

So, no matter how suspicious they were, we couldn’t accuse them. We could only endure their abuse. Old Man Gran must be frustrated, though.

When it was about time for the party to officially begin, Old Man Gran and his son, Leonardo, started whispering to each other.

"Is something wrong?"

I got concerned, so I approached them and asked.

"There are several people who didn’t show up, all of whom were siding with me."

"They promised to attend, didn’t they?"

"Is this Gerardo’s doing?"

"We’ve got no proof. We also don’t have time to investigate it."

It was possible that they had been threatened or even bribed.

We had no evidence, though; we only knew that several people on Old Man Gran’s side didn’t show up.

Still, this was no time to speculate about what had happened to them. We had to get the party going, so Old Man Gran told Leonardo to announce that he would address the guests.

"I thank you for attending my birthday party from the bottom of my heart. I’m sure many of you are very busy, so I really appreciate it."

That was rather short for a speech. Old Man Gran sat back down, leaving his son to give the final words.

"Food has been prepared for everybody, so please enjoy."

As they finished their short greeting, food was brought out.