Chapter 68

When Sawada Tsunayoshi and his companions emerged from the hot spring, exhausted and ready for a hearty meal, they heard a sharp scream coming from afar from Mr. Dino's subordinates—those burly Italian men.

Dino's expression changed drastically, and he was the first to rush over. Sawada Tsunayoshi and the others followed closely behind. Only Rokudo Mukuro and Reborn leisurely followed behind them, unhurried.

Dino rushed over and hurriedly asked, "Leo, what happened?"

Leo, the one who was conscripted by Reborn to cook their feasts, looked at Dino with tears in his eyes, appearing pitiful: "Boss, it's all gone, all gone!!"

Seeing that all his subordinates were safe and sound and none of them were injured, Dino finally felt relieved.

His words left the group completely bewildered, with no idea what he was talking about. "What's gone?"

"The lavish meal we prepared was gone in the blink of an eye."

"And the wine we brought specially has also disappeared."

"That's the wine we brought specifically to drink while soaking in the hot springs."

"Boss, there must be a thief in the hotel!"

"Our wine!"

"..."

Dino's subordinates chattered amongst themselves, each offering their own opinion, their anger blazing as they condemned the person who stole their wine.

"What?! The food was stolen!" Sawada Tsunayoshi exclaimed in disbelief. They were exhausted and starving, just waiting for their meal, and now he was told it had been stolen. How could he possibly accept that?

Rokudo Mukuro and Reborn walked over and said very truthfully, "But there's no one else at the Vongola Yokai Hotel except for us."

Sawada Tsunayoshi froze. What did it mean there was no one else? Could it be… a monster had stolen their food?!

He suddenly realized that this meal wasn't absolutely necessary.

Dino suggested, "Why don't we go look for it? The hotel isn't that big, the thief couldn't have left right under our noses, he must still be hiding inside the hotel."

"Okay, no problem." Everyone responded in unison. They were already starving, and their resentment at having their food stolen was greater than that of a ghost. They didn't care about monsters at all.

"Boss, our wine depends on you." Romario looked at Dino with a gratified expression.

Dino said confidently, "Leave it to me, Romario. You take them out for a stroll. They finally get a vacation, so let them relax."

Rokudo Mukuro chuckled, genuinely wondering where Dino got his confidence from. Besides, weren't you guys always on vacation?

Sawada Tsunayoshi extended his hand towards the departing crowd.

Reborn took out the microphone again and announced loudly, "Alright, let's find the missing food together."

Dino: "And the wine that has disappeared."

"Okay, let's go!"

Although the hotel was small, everyone still gathered together at Sawada Tsunayoshi's insistence.

"Where are Kyoko, Koharu, Ippei, Bianchi, and Chrome?" Sawada Tsunayoshi asked with some concern.

Reborn jumped onto his shoulder. "Of course they went back to their rooms to rest. Do you want those girls to go on an adventure with you in the Yokai Hotel?"

"That's not what I meant." Sawada Tsunayoshi certainly hoped they would stay safely in the room and not encounter any danger.

"It seems like we have guests." The entire inn was enveloped by Rokudo Mukuro's illusion barrier, which allowed him to keenly sense everything that was happening within the inn.

"Someone's here, let's go see."

The group then headed towards the hotel entrance.

A young man was standing at the entrance of the hotel. He was wearing a white shirt and trousers, had light brown hair and brown eyes, and was slender with a handsome and refined appearance.

He gave them a gentle smile and said softly, "Hello, my name is Natsume Takashi. Are you staying at this inn?"

The others remained silent for a while, and Sawada Tsunayoshi knew that Reborn was going to push him out as the representative again. He returned a smile, "Natsume-kun, hello, I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, and they are all my companions. We are indeed staying at this inn. May I ask what brings you here?"

A hint of apology appeared on Natsume Takashi's face. "I'm so sorry, it seems my cat has wandered into the hotel. Could I go in and look for it?"

"Please come in. Are you looking for the cat? We can come together, as our food and drinks have also been lost at the inn." As he said this, Sawada Tsunayoshi's smile turned bitter.

Rokudo Mukuro noticed that the boy opposite him had a strange expression on his face when he heard Sawada Tsunayoshi's last words.

No one knew that when Natsume Takashi heard Sawada Tsunayoshi's last words, his vision went black and his fists clenched. He gritted his teeth and maintained a smile, afraid of scaring the people opposite him.

At first, he wasn't sure, thinking that Nyanko-sensei might have entered the hotel, but now what was there to be unsure about? Their food was gone, and more importantly, their wine was gone too. Who else could be the culprit?

Another person has joined the search for food and wine.

"Sawada-kun, who owns this inn?" Natsume Takashi wanted to find out in advance so he could prepare for potential compensation. His home was nearby, and to be able to build such a luxurious inn in just a few days, the owner must be no ordinary person; the prices must be high, and he was prepared to spend a fortune.

Sawada Tsunayoshi was momentarily at a loss for words. Rokudo Mukuro said with a smile, "He is the owner of this inn; it was specially built for him by his family."

Takashi Natsume: ...So Sawada-kun is a very wealthy man.

The group chatted as they searched the hotel rooms for any sign of the "thief."

Takashi Natsume: "...What kind of food and drinks did you throw away?"

Rokudo Mukuro replied with a smile, "The lavish meal prepared by a five-star chef, and the top-quality wines brought back from Italy, the 'Four Great Classical Dishes,' are just thrown away like that. This makes Tsunayoshi very heartbroken."

Dino, standing silently to the side, thought: How could he not know that his subordinate was a five-star chef? And even less that those bottles of wine were actually top-tier wines…

This guy is quite good at lying; he can lie without even blinking. But doesn't his conscience hurt when he deceives such innocent high school students?

Putting aside whether Rokudo Mukuro had any conscience, Natsume Takashi's heart was aching so badly he couldn't breathe. A five-star luxury meal, top-quality wine—how much would that be worth?

He touched his pockets; they were cleaner than his face. Suddenly, he felt it didn't matter whether he looked for Nyanko-sensei or not; he was exhausted…

As they reached a corner, two figures suddenly appeared. Sawada Tsunayoshi was startled, but upon closer inspection, he realized it was Kyoko and Koharu dressed as yokai. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Kyoko, Haru, aren't you resting in your room?"

“Miss Bianchi said that a monster hotel would be more interesting if there were monsters in it.” As she spoke, the two girls gestured wildly, trying to scare them.

Sawada Tsunayoshi chuckled softly. The two girls' appearance was not frightening at all; on the contrary, it was quite adorable. He pretended to be scared to provide emotional support for the two girls.

But just as he turned his head, he suddenly saw a terrifying scene: a woman with a long tongue sticking out, purple worms coming out of her eyes, and purple worms crawling out from all over her body, the worms still wriggling.

Behind her, a purplish-blue will-o'-the-wisp flickered as she moved.

Sawada Tsunayoshi was terrified, his mind went blank, and he screamed, "Ah! A monster!"

He screamed and grabbed the person next to him, trying to run away, but he tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground. The person he had grabbed was his senior brother, Dino.

Seeing his junior brother fall, he rushed to help him up, forgetting that he was also a cripple at the moment. The two brothers fell to the ground together, and due to inertia, they rolled several times and crashed hard into the door of a room not far away.

Bianchi removed her disguise, and the will-o'-the-wisp behind her also shed its glowing clothes, revealing it to be Ippei himself. "The Yokai Hotel needs screams like this to liven things up."

Upon seeing Bianchi's face, Gokudera Hayato was killed once again.

Chrome emerged from the thick fog, looking rather aggrieved. "I haven't even cast an illusion yet!"

Upon witnessing this chaotic scene, Takashi Natsume was deeply confused. Should he help the silver-haired boy first, or go and help Sawada-kun and Mr. Dino, who had fallen into a heap?

However, this group of people have a really good relationship!

Reality didn't keep him agonizing for long, because Sawada Tsunayoshi and Dino, who had just fallen into the room, screamed again: "Aaaaaah! There's a monster!!"

Not only Sawada Tsunayoshi, but Dino also screamed, which immediately put everyone on alert.

They reacted quickly and ran to the door of the room. "Tsuna, Mr. Dino, are you... alright?"

"Ten...Tenth Generation..." Despite his disability, Gokudera Hayato, clutching his stomach, was determined not to be outdone and struggled to move toward where Sawada Tsunayoshi was.

When the group arrived at the door, they saw this scene: a beautiful woman in a kimono, several creatures with horns on their heads and varying numbers of eyes (clearly not human), a kappa, and a large fat cat sitting together, enjoying what should have been their food and drinking sake, indulging in carefree joy.

Sawada Tsunayoshi and Dino fell between them, screaming and trembling as they backed away under their gaze.

"Everyone, run! There really is a monster here!" Sawada Tsunayoshi shouted urgently when he saw everyone appear at the door.

Not only was Sawada Tsunayoshi terrified, but Natsume Takashi was also extremely frightened. The food on the table was now reduced to scraps, but the exquisite plating could still be vaguely seen; a few empty bottles rolled sparsely on the floor, emanating a strong smell of alcohol.

The cat teacher was lying on the tatami mat, still chugging his sake, holding the upright bottle with all four limbs and gulping it down, the water level dropping at a visible speed.

Takashi Natsume's heart sank lower and lower.

He strode inside and helped up Sawada Tsunayoshi and Dino, who had fallen.

"Natsume-kun, get out of here quickly." Sawada Tsunayoshi's eyes were full of worry.

Seeing Sawada Tsunayoshi like this, Natsume Takashi's conscience was constantly tormented. How could he tell Sawada Tsunayoshi that he knew all these yokai, and that, from another perspective, he was in cahoots with them...?

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Author's Note: Real Monster VS Fake Monster

Result: 27 and Dino suffered a crushing defeat.