"I want to eat!"
Kai declared the moment he and Kurt arrived at Kurt's shop.
"Huh? If you want to eat, then just eat, right?"
Kurt replied with a puzzled expression. What was the point of Kai telling him that?
"Don't you get it?"
"Get what?"
"I don't have any money!"
"Then why are you telling me that?!"
"I want you to treat me!"
"As if!"
Kurt gave Kai an annoyed glare as the latter shamelessly boasted about being broke.
"I did treat you yesterday, but don't expect me to keep doing that forever!"
"Why not? Come on! There's no harm in treating your friend once in a while, right?"
"We only met yesterday, so don't act all buddy-buddy with me already… If you're just going to be a leech, then get lost!"
"You're so cruel! I've been doing my best for your sake, and this is how you treat me?!"
"Stop acting like the victim here!"
Kurt just couldn't believe how Kai kept playing the victim. Seriously, what had this guy ever done to earn a free meal from him?
"You might not realize it, but I've already done something to help you get closer to your dream girl."
"H-huh!? What are you even talking about!? And who the hell are you calling my dream girl!? Are you stupid!?"
Kurt's face turned bright red. There was no need to ask—he was clearly flustered from embarrassment.
"You don't have to pretend… I already know everything! Relax… things between you and her will definitely be different the next time you meet!"
"W-what are you talking about? Speak clearly!"
Even though Kurt tried to hide his lack of interest, his face made it painfully obvious—he was dying to know what Kai was talking about.
"What exactly are you two talking about?!"
Just as Kurt was waiting for Kai's answer, Yu suddenly appeared, cutting into their conversation.
"N-no! We weren't talking about anything!"
Kurt panicked, trying desperately to cover up what he and Kai had been discussing. He would die of embarrassment if the younger brother of the girl he liked ever found out.
"We were talking about your sister's relationship with this loser here!"
Kai casually revealed everything, pointing his finger straight at Kurt. Kurt immediately shot him a death glare, which Kai completely ignored.
"So, has there been no progress between them?"
Yu asked without a hint of concern, even though his sister was the subject of their conversation.
Hearing that, Kai broke into a smug grin.
"Hehe… that's what you'd think if things were the same as always."
"Oh! So does that mean there's been progress this time?"
"Hehe… thanks to me, everything went a whole lot smoother!"
Though Kai looked absurdly confident, with an arrogant grin plastered across his face, for some reason Kurt couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone terribly wrong while he was unconscious at the hot spring.
"So what actually happened?"
Kurt asked, doubt written all over his expression.
"Don't make that face! Just so you know, your crush is probably holed up in her room right now, blushing like crazy!"
"W-wait! What happened?! And more importantly, who are you calling my crush?!"
For obvious reasons, Kurt's face was burning red. Kai couldn't hide his smug grin at the sight—and neither could Yu.
"If I think back, Sis did run straight to her room and locked herself in after coming back from the hot spring… hehe… so that's what happened,"
Yu said, his face wearing a suspicious look.
"A kid shouldn't be making an expression like that!"
Kurt snapped, feeling oddly disturbed by it. That brat is definitely making fun of me in his head, he thought, scowling.
"Since I'm in a good mood, maybe I'll ask Father to cook something for us."
Yu added, his expression now bright and cheerful.
"Eh! Really!?"
And for some very obvious reason, Kai was the first one to respond with joy.
"Kai, don't you feel any shame being treated by a little kid?"
Kurt asked, his tone dripping with disdain.
"Forget that gloomy guy, let's go feast!"
Kai ignored Kurt completely and dragged Yu toward his family's diner.
"Hey! Wait up, Kai! Don't leave me behind!"
Kurt hurried after the two, who had already gone quite far ahead. Even though he felt embarrassed about what might happen at the diner, he didn't really have much of a choice. He couldn't allow Kai to make the situation even more embarrassing than it already was.
By the time Kai and the others neared Yu's home, they noticed a crowd gathered inside. Normally, this wouldn't be strange—after all, Yu's home doubled as a diner where people often came to eat—but it was rare for the place to be this packed. Something was definitely off.
"Yu, do you know what's going on in there?"
Kurt asked, a bad premonition rising in his chest.
"No… I left the house right after Sis locked herself in her room… I don't know what happened after that."
Yu answered with a shake of his head, worry written clearly on his face.
"Let's go see for ourselves!"
Kai declared, striding ahead of the group. His expression, unusually serious, carried none of his usual mischief or childishness. He understood that this was a bad situation—one that demanded he take things seriously for once.
He pushed open the door to Yu's house and immediately spotted a handsome man he'd never seen before when wandering the village yesterday.
"What's with that handsome guy?! Should I just finish him out?!"
Kai snapped with an annoyed expression, even though the man hadn't said a single word. His sudden outburst shocked everyone present—including the handsome man himself.
"Kai, what are you saying all of a sudden!?"
Kurt shouted in a panic. Judging by Kurt's reaction, Kai quickly realized that his friend knew who this man was.
"Well, I dunno why, but just looking at his face makes me wanna punch it."
Kai answered bluntly.
"Kai, do you even know who he is?!"
"Nope. Who is he? You seem to know him, though."
"He's our enemy—our greatest enemy!"
"Ehhhh… that guy?"
Kai asked, pointing directly at the man. Kurt nodded several times, confirming it.
"Isn't it rather rude to call someone your enemy right in front of their face?"
the handsome man said with a smirk. Kurt immediately shut his mouth, realizing too late the mistake he had just made. Provoking this man was the last thing they should do.
Kai's eyes seemed to drift toward an empty spot where no one else was standing—but in truth, the Fairy Goddess who had been following him all along was there, nodding silently to confirm Kurt's words.
Seeing that, a grin spread across Kai's face. He stepped forward, standing directly in front of the stranger.
"Yosh! Looks like I don't have to hold back at all!"
Kai declared, whipping out his trusty hoe.
"Eh!"
The handsome man looked shocked at Kai's sudden move. Kai had swung his hoe with all his might toward him. But the next person who was surprised was Kai — the hoe hadn't hit the man at all.
"Eh? What's going on here?"
Confusion was written all over his face as he asked.
"Hey, Kai… what are you doing?!"
Elly asked, panicked after witnessing Kai's action. She happened to be there because she'd followed Katie back home. She'd even coaxed Katie out of her room—Katie only agreed to come out when she heard that the handsome man had shown up at the house.
"Oh, Elly… you see, that weird guy is the villain here, so I decided to kill him so his crimes can't continue."
Kai answered with a totally innocent expression.
"You seriously want to kill me?!"
Said the handsome man, his face looking terrified.
"Yes, of course."
Kai replied without hesitation. The man looked even more terrified at that.
"Kai, you shouldn't do that! You can't kill people in this world, especially not with your farming tools!"
The Fairy Goddess said, panicking as well after watching Kai. She became more and more doubtful whether her decision to choose Kai was right or not.
"Ehhh… why not…?"
Kai said, looking disappointed, his shoulders slumping and his lips pouting.
Meanwhile, the handsome man stared at Kai like he was looking at a madman — he couldn't see the Fairy Goddess, so to him Kai just looked like he was talking to himself.
"Cough!"
The handsome man cleared his throat, forcing everyone's attention back onto him.
"It seems you're new around here… so I'll pretend I didn't see what you just tried to do to me."
He said, clearly trying to brush off what had just happened.
"Hm? Why would you say that? Are your eyes broken or something?"
Kai tilted his head, genuinely confused by the man's words.
Meanwhile, the handsome man seemed to be holding back his anger, because he felt that Kai was making fun of him. 'No, that guy is definitely mocking me!' he thought, a cross-shaped vein bulging on his forehead.
"Anyway, just forget everything that happened earlier!"
The handsome man said in an irritated tone, poking Kai's chest repeatedly with his index finger.
"Eh! Uh, sure!"
Kai replied, still wearing a puzzled expression. He didn't like being poked in the chest like that, but right now he was more distracted by wondering why this man wanted to overlook his earlier attack. 'Could it be… this guy actually enjoys being treated badly by me?' Such a ridiculous thought flashed through Kai's mind.
"My name is Matthew, and I am the one who will rule this village!"
the man finally declared, a wicked grin spreading across his face. The aura of hostility he radiated was undeniable.
Kai's own expression shifted, his earlier confusion vanishing as he released a killing intent to match Matthew's.
And thus, Kai's first meeting with Matthew—the enemy he would have to face in this world