Jiren's words left both Belmod and Marcarita completely silent.
He practically said outright that their strength wasn't worth looking at anymore.
Fortunately, the two of them had pretty good tempers, and their relationship with Jiren wasn't something built in a day or two. They both understood his past and could understand his desire for power.
Looking at Jiren's determined eyes, Marcarita paused for a moment and said,
"Alright, I can take you there. Kaito is easy to talk to. As long as you're sincere, he won't give you a hard time."
A trace of joy finally appeared on Jiren's face. He stood at attention and bowed respectfully to Marcarita.
"Thank you very much!"
Marcarita didn't say anything more. She simply turned around. Belmod exchanged a glance with Jiren, and the two moved closer to her.
A beam of colorful light appeared and carried the three of them into the sky.
...
When the three arrived at Kaito's doorstep, Marcarita instantly performed the opera–style attitude change in front of Belmod and Jiren.
Her face blossomed with a radiant smile. She raised her hand and knocked on the door, calling sweetly,
"Kaito, open up! I'm back!"
Belmod and Jiren both froze. They had never seen Marcarita act like this.
The door opened. It was Vados, still holding a deck of cards in her hand.
She looked at Marcarita with a smile and said,
"That was fast. Didn't feel like staying in your own place for a bit longer?"
Marcarita waved her hand dismissively and said,
"What's the point? From now on, this is my place!"
"Oh? Feeling bold today? Aren't you afraid Kaito will smack you?"
"...Can you not embarrass me? Don't you see I brought people back?"
Only then did Vados look behind Marcarita at Belmod and Jiren.
The two were completely dumbfounded, even starting to suspect whether this Marcarita who brought them here was an imposter.
Especially Belmod. In his impression, Marcarita and Vados never got along; every meeting ended with sarcastic back-and-forth. But today they looked unusually friendly?
Of course, Vados recognized Belmod, but she'd never seen Jiren before. She pointed at Jiren and asked,
"And this is?"
Marcarita introduced,
"He's the strongest person in our universe. His name is Jiren."
Then she leaned close to Vados and whispered a few words in her ear. Vados glanced at Jiren with surprise, then nodded and led the three into the living room.
...
The moment Vados entered, Eighteen—whose forehead currently had three white penalty slips stuck to it—immediately shouted,
"Vados, why did you have to personally go open the door? For gods like you, isn't snapping your fingers enough? You're totally cheating!"
Kaito also had a white slip stuck to his face. He helped explain,
"She still needs to open the door normally. If the one knocking is an ordinary person, showing divine techniques might scare them."
Only then did Eighteen give up. She turned her focus back to the cards in her hand, her expression deadly serious.
Marcarita rushed out from behind Vados, came to Kaito's side, and very naturally draped her arm over his shoulder, pressing herself against his back.
Curiously staring at the cards in Kaito's hand, she asked,
"Kaito, what are you playing?"
Feeling the soft pressure at the back of his neck, Kaito kept his expression steady and said,
"This is called Fight the Landlord. Watch for a bit and you'll understand."
Vados sat back down and casually played a single 6.
Eighteen's eyes lit up. She yanked out four cards and slammed them onto the table, shouting excitedly,
"Bomb! I only have two cards left!"
Vados glanced at Eighteen, then calmly threw out two cards.
"Jokers. Boom."
"Uh..."
Eighteen froze. She reassured herself—It's fine! Vados still has a handful of cards; I still have a chance!
However, what Vados did next instantly crushed her hope.
"Straight. I'm out."
The four words hit Eighteen like they were sucking out her soul. Her body softened, and she slumped against Kaito.
She stared blankly at the straight on the table, muttering,
"Why... why do I always lose?!"
Vados pressed her lips together in a smile, leaned over, and gently placed another white penalty slip on Eighteen's forehead.
Kaito shook his head helplessly and said softly,
"You... you always rush to grab the landlord role. You need to look at your hand first."
The slip on Kaito's own face was from losing when he partnered with Eighteen—that was also the one and only time she didn't grab the landlord role.
Eighteen lifted her head, looking miserable.
"But the landlord gets to draw three extra cards... I feel like not taking the landlord role is a loss..."
Marcarita was getting excited too. She nuzzled against Kaito's back and said,
"Kaito, I want to play too! Teach me!"
Kaito flicked her forehead lightly, then looked toward the entrance.
"Behave. Four players means it's a different game mode. I'll teach you later. Did you forget the two people you brought?"
Only then did Marcarita remember Belmod and Jiren. She turned toward the entrance.
Belmod and Jiren were still standing obediently like underlings.
Seeing Kaito look their way, Belmod quickly waved his hands.
"Dragon God-sama, please don't mind us! Continue!"
Just looking into Kaito's golden eyes gave him an indescribable pressure—the aura of a higher god. Belmod was now getting a real sense of how terrifying this Dragon God was.
Even Jiren's bald head had developed a noticeable sheen of cold sweat. Just a look had nearly shattered his fighting spirit. What kind of terrifying power was this!?
He couldn't imagine what Kaito's combat strength would be if he actually got serious.
Today, he had finally learned what "there's always a higher god" truly meant.
He swallowed hard, took a step forward, and said respectfully,
"Greetings, Dragon God-sama. I am—"
Before he could finish, Kaito laughed and cut him off.
"I know you. You're Jiren, right? The strongest beneath the gods."
Jiren paused.
"The strongest...? I've never even been to other universes..."
"Heh, no need to doubt it. If I say you are, then you are. With your power, you're already qualified to become the next God of Destruction."
Belmod nodded in agreement. The only thing Jiren currently lacked compared to a God of Destruction was Destruction Energy itself. In terms of raw strength, very few Gods of Destruction could beat him.
However, Jiren didn't look particularly happy. Being the strongest below the gods meant nothing to him—he wanted to be the strongest, period.
Marcarita leaned to Kaito's ear again and repeated everything about Jiren's situation. Kaito already knew, but he listened patiently anyway.
After she finished, Kaito rose slowly from his seat. Jiren instinctively stepped back.
Kaito smiled lightly and said,
"Don't be nervous. Didn't you want to challenge me? I'll give you your chance right now."
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