Everyone seemed to hold their breath as they waited for Grandma Lyla to open her mouth. Realizing that all eyes were fixed on her, the old woman gave a wide smile before finally giving the answer everyone had been waiting for.
"We just need to kill that young man, and then all our problems will be solved!"
Everyone looked shocked at the grandmother's answer—except for one person, who actually seemed excited.
"I knew it! My plan really is the best plan!"
Kai said as he stood up, showing off his wide grin.
"Kai, shut up! Your idea is clearly the worst one!"
But Claire immediately shouted, forcing him to sit back down quietly before the young man could return to his original idea.
"Uhm, Grandma… are you serious about what you just said?"
Claire asked, giving the old woman a serious look.
"Ufufufufufu… of course I was only joking… why did you all take me so seriously… who would ever be serious about an idea like that?"
Grandma Lyla said with a light laugh. Her words made everyone let out a sigh of relief—everyone except Kai, who turned his head away and pretended to whistle. He couldn't admit that he had been completely serious about the idea.
"Come on, Grandma… don't scare us like that."
Elly protested with a pout. Seeing her granddaughter's cute face, Grandma Lyla chuckled again.
"Yes, yes… sorry… I was only joking."
"Your jokes aren't funny at all, Grandma! Don't ever joke about killing poeple like that again!"
"Yes, I understand… you don't have to get so angry."
Even though Elly was truly angry with her grandmother, Grandma Lyla didn't seem to take her granddaughter's anger seriously at all. That made Elly worry that her grandmother might repeat the same thing in the future, but she decided not to press the matter further.
"Elly's right… don't ever say something like that again… for a moment I thought you and Kai were soulmates."
"Oi, Claire… even if you're joking, don't say something so disgusting! If it's with her granddaughter, of course I'd be fine!"
"Yes, yes… I get it… you shameless playboy!"
Claire tried to ignore Kai's protest, while Elly, who overheard Kai's words, turned red. Meanwhile, Grandma Lyla only smiled softly at her granddaughter's expression. She seemed pleased that her granddaughter could show the kind of expression a young girl normally would.
"Kai, my boy… I'll leave my granddaughter in your care!"
Grandma Lyla said as she looked at Kai with a serious gaze.
"W-Wait, Grandma! Why are you suddenly saying something like that!?"
Elly protested, her cheeks flushing furiously as she tried to hide her embarrassment.
"Oh, of course!"
On the other hand, Kai gladly accepted Grandma Lyla's words, raising his thumb toward her.
"Grandma Lyla… please, be a little serious! You shouldn't hand over your precious granddaughter to a useless and troublesome creature like him!"
Claire said while holding her head, which felt slightly dizzy.
"Eh! But I was really serious just now!"
Grandma Lyla replied, looking a bit surprised.
"Eh! You were serious!?"
Claire answered back, looking far more shocked than Grandma Lyla herself.
"Ah, I see… yes, I understand… ufufufu."
"Why are you suddenly laughing like that, Grandma Lyla!? Whatever you're thinking right now must be a misunderstanding!"
Even though Claire tried to protest, Grandma Lyla seemed to ignore her.
"Ah, so this is what youth is like… it remind me of when I was young… ufufufufu."
"Stop laughing like that! I already told you, whatever you're imagining is just a misunderstanding!"
Claire's face turned red, a mixture of embarrassment and irritation. At that moment, someone suddenly tapped her shoulder. When Claire turned to see who it was, she saw Kai's face, a wide grin spread across it.
The moment Claire saw that stupid face, she knew the young man would say something as stupid and useless as before.
"Don't worry, Claire! I'll always accept your love anytime!"
Kai said, flashing Claire a confident smile while giving her a thumbs-up.
"I already told you, that's just a misunderstanding!"
Claire shouted, her face turning even redder as she punched Kai with all her strength.
"Buagh!"
Kai's body flew smoothly across the room until he crashed into the wall. Luckily for him, he didn't lose consciousness.
"Are you alright, Kai?"
asked the Fairy Goddess, whose presence went unnoticed by everyone except Kai. She poked his cheek with her index finger, amused at how cute he looked with his face a little red after taking Claire's punch.
"Yeah, I'm fine!"
Kai replied, holding his head, which now had a huge bump from hitting the wall.
"Someone with a hard head like you would be fine taking a hit like that."Claire said coldly. The girl then sat down in one of the empty chairs and turned her face away from Kai's direction.
"You really remind me of when I was young… Ufufu… I remember how grandpa would often take my punches whenever he tried flirting with another girl right in front of me… ufufu… such nostalgia."Grandma Lyla said as she recalled her long-past youth.
"Eh!? Really? Was Grandpa actually like that?!"Elly asked, looking shocked, since it was the first time she had ever heard such a thing.
"Did I never tell you about that before?"
Grandma Lyla asked back, tilting her head slightly. Elly quickly shook her head in response.
"Um… excuse me, sorry to cut into your family talk, but isn't there something more important we need to discuss right now?"
Kurt said hesitantly as he interrupted the grandmother and granddaughter conversation.
"Oh, sorry… I got carried away… uh… hmm… what were we talking about again?"
Grandma Lyla was momentarily struck by forgetfulness. Almost everyone who saw it slumped their shoulders in exasperation.
"Oh, yes, I remember now… we were talking about how to kill someone, right!"Grandma Lyla said while clapping her hands together.
"Of course not!"
Claire shouted angrily.
"Didn't you say earlier that you were only joking about that? Then why are you bringing it up again, Grandma Lyla!?"
"Really? I don't quite remember saying that."
The vein on Claire's forehead throbbed bigger and bigger. 'Do I really need to get this angry at an old woman?' she thought, trying to restrain her frustration.
"Calm down, Claire… Grandma Lyla is old, so it's only natural that she's a little forgetful."
Pete said, trying to soothe the young girl.
"Yes, I understand… I won't use violence against an old woman… but it's different when it comes to certain cheeky brats."
Claire replied, glaring sharply at Kai and Kurt with a terrifying smile. Both young men shuddered in fear at her expression.
"Big Sis Claire, can we get back to discussing our plan to deal with that guy?"
Yu asked, already looking drowsy.
"You're right… we need to continue discussing that. But Yu, if you're sleepy, you should just go to bed… look at Vinnie, she's been asleep for a while now."
Claire replied, pointing toward Vinnie, who was sleeping peacefully beside her father. Everyone's eyes softened as they looked at the little girl, who unconsciously wore a gentle smile in her sleep.
"Shhhhh!"
said Van, the village chief, putting his finger to his lips to signal everyone not to make any noise.
"Hm? Isn't it a little late for that? We've been noisy this whole time, so why hasn't she woken up at all? Is she some kind of heavy sleeper?"
Kai said, clearly unfazed by the peaceful scene. His words earned him sharp glares from nearly everyone present.
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
Kai asked, question marks practically floating around his head.
"What you said isn't exactly wrong, but could you at least try to read the mood a little?!"
Claire replied in irritation.
"S-sorry…"
Kai answered, trembling in fear.
"Uaaahhh… hmm… alright, I guess I'll take a nap for a while."Ignoring Kai and Claire's little quarrel, Yu closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep in his seat. He rested his head on the table, using both arms as a pillow.
"Don't make a ruckus again, okay?
Claire warned, pointing her finger at Kai.
"Weren't you the loudest one here…?"
Kai muttered with a pout.
"What did you just say!?"
"Nothing!"
Ignoring Kai and Claire, who were on the verge of another argument, Kurt raised his right hand to draw everyone's attention.
"Um… honestly, I didn't want to resort to this… but maybe we should use one of my inventions to make this village famous?"
"""That's absolutely impossible!"""
Everyone in the room answered in perfect unison.
"Why?! Why didn't a single one of you hesitate when you said that!?"
Kurt cried, tears streaming down his face. He had expected some opposition, but for everyone to shoot him down so decisively, without a shred of doubt—it was devastating.
"Well… because your invention is basically just an explosion, right? There's no way we can blow up the village just to make it famous."
Kai said bluntly, without filtering his words at all.
"My invention is not an explosion! You're being so rude!" Kurt shouted back, pouting angrily.
"Even if your invention isn't literally an explosion, your inventions do tend to explode, don't they? I hate to admit it, but I agree with Kai… we can't just blow up the village to make it famous."
Claire said calmly. Even so, her words hurt Kurt's feelings even more than Kai's had.
"My plan doesn't involve explosions at all, much less blowing up the village!"
Kurt cried, tears streaming even harder from his eyes.
"If not the village, then what exactly were you planning to blow up?"
Kai asked again, looking genuinely curious.
"Weren't you listening to me!? My plan doesn't involve explosions whatsoever!"
Kurt shot back, feeling as though his tears were about to turn into blood.
"Then what are you going to do with your invention? Blow it up?"Kai asked once more, this time with a mischievous grin plastered across his face. It was obvious he was enjoying teasing his new friend. On the other hand, Kurt was growing more and more irritated at that smile.
"Just forget about explosions and my invention already!"Kurt said angrily, turning his face away with his lips in a pout.
"What do we do now, Kai? You made him sulk."Claire said, nudging Kai lightly with her elbow.
"Eh? So what? Even if he doesn't explain his plan, I already know we'd all reject it in the end."
"Well, you're not wrong."Claire admitted.
Of course, Kurt could clearly hear the entire exchange between Claire and Kai, and it only made him feel even more frustrated and hurt. Of course, no one else noticed.
"Grandma Lyla… earlier you said you had a plan, right? What exactly is your real plan?"Kai asked, turning his gaze toward Grandma Lyla. Everyone followed suit and looked at the old woman.
"Oh, did I really say that?"Grandma Lyla replied.
Grandma Lyla asked back, tilting her head. Her forgetfulness seemed to be striking her again.
"Yes, something like that… at least that's what you said earlier."Kai replied patiently.
"Oh, right… I remember now… yes, I do have a plan!"
Grandma Lyla said, raising her index finger. As she did, it was as if a lightbulb appeared over her head, showing that she'd just remembered something.
"Before that, don't say your plan is to kill someone, Grandma!"Claire warned sharply.
"Hm? Who's going to kill whom?"Grandma Lyla asked, question marks practically fluttering above her head.
"No… forget I said anything!"
Claire answered, shaking her head.
"Is that so… then… here's my plan!"