After finishing work on his field, Kai immediately headed to Elly's house. Of course, he had a "noble" purpose for going there. The Fairy Goddess had told him that he would surely obtain the items mentioned by Grandma Lyla if he managed to get closer to the villagers. That was why he intended to build relationships with them.
And the victim—no, the target—no, the objective—no. Kai wasn't sure what to call it, but he decided to start with Elly. Among all the villagers he had met, Elly was the kindest (and the prettiest) girl in the village. So, Kai was confident he could get close to her.
With firm and steady steps, Kai walked toward Elly's shop. He was immediately greeted by her warm smile, completely unaware of Kai's (evil) intentions in coming to see her.
"Good morning, Kai! You look lively today," Elly greeted with a friendly smile that could warm the heart of anyone who saw it.
"Yes, good morning, Elly," Kai replied as he sat down on one of the chairs in her shop. He placed his elbows on the table in front of him, fingers interlocked. Elly stood across from him, still wearing her smile, though this time she also looked puzzled by Kai's unusually serious demeanor.
"Um… Kai, what is it? Why do you look so serious?" Elly asked cautiously.
"There's actually something very important we need to talk about!" Kai answered in an extremely serious tone.
"Y-yeah… w-what is it?" Elly began to look nervous at the way he spoke. She tried to guess what important matter he might want to discuss.
Kai sharpened his gaze, staring straight into Elly's eyes before finally giving his answer to her question.
"When do you think we should hold our wedding?!"
Silence filled the air for a moment.
"Eh… um… eh…"
After a few seconds, Elly finally realized what Kai had just said. Even so, she still seemed to be struggling with how to respond to him. No, rather—she still didn't quite understand what Kai was actually talking about.
"Goldchick… give him your best kick!"
"QUACK!"
But before Elly could give a proper answer, a giant chicken burst into her shop and delivered an incredibly powerful kick to Kai, sending the young man flying and crashing into the shop's wall.
"Eh!"
Elly could only gape in astonishment at the scene unfolding before her.
"Oh my… I had a bad feeling the moment you suddenly showed up at Elly's shop this early in the morning… good thing I trusted my instincts!"
The voice of a complaining girl came from the shop's entrance. When Elly turned toward it, she saw a very beautiful girl with blonde hair fluttering in the breeze.
"Hello, Claire… good morning," Elly greeted, calling the name of the girl who had just entered her shop. A faintly awkward smile appeared on Elly's face as she spoke.
"Yes, good morning," Claire greeted back, raising her right hand to wave at Elly. A bright smile spread across her face as she walked over to Elly.
"Are you alright? He didn't do anything strange, did he?" Claire asked with concern. Elly quickly shook her head in response.
"No, I'm fine… but rather, Claire—why did you suddenly order Goldchick to kick Kai?"
Elly glanced at Kai with worry, then turned a questioning look toward Claire. She simply couldn't understand why Claire would do such a cruel thing.
"That's right! Why on earth did you suddenly order this ugly chicken to kick me?!"
Kai suddenly got back on his feet after being sprawled out, glaring at Goldchick with eyes burning with anger and hatred. The yellow-feathered chicken glared right back at him with equal intensity.
"Goldchick!"
"Quack!"
"Buagh!"
The chicken kicked Kai hard once again, sending him sprawling helplessly to the ground. Goldchick snorted at Kai's pitiful state before turning around and walking toward Claire.
"Yosh, good boy… good boy!" Claire said while gently stroking her beloved chicken. Goldchick rubbed its head against her, showing how much it enjoyed her touch.
"Um… Kai… are you alright?"
Meanwhile, Elly crouched down beside Kai, clearly worried about his miserable condition. She carefully checked his body to make sure he hadn't sustained any serious injuries.
"Yeah… somehow… I feel like I'm fine…" Kai replied as he struggled to lift himself up and then sat near Elly. He examined himself, checking to see if anything was wrong. Strangely enough, he couldn't find a single wound on his body, despite being struck twice by the giant chicken's legs. Back in his previous world, he would've already been hospitalized by now. It seemed this was one of the many miracles of this world.
"Hey, Elly! You'd better stay away from him! He's dangerous!" Claire exclaimed, pulling Elly's hand to move her away from Kai.
"Eh… y-yeah…" Elly could only nod, a confused expression still lingering on her face.
"Now, Claire… I know you're just jealous, but was it really necessary to go this far?"
The veins on Claire's forehead immediately popped in response to Kai's words.
"Hah!? Who are you calling jealous?!" Claire shouted, glaring fiercely at him. The anger in her beautiful eyes was obvious, but Kai didn't seem to notice at all. Instead, he casually pointed at Claire to answer the girl's question.
"I'm not jealous in the slightest! I just want to protect my friend from a dangerous guy like you!"
Claire spoke in an extremely angry tone, but that didn't scare Kai at all. Instead, he strolled casually toward her with a wide grin on his face, one that looked utterly foolish in Claire's eyes.
"You don't need to be embarrassed, or even worried… I'll marry you too one day, so all you need to do is wait!"
The veins on Claire's forehead multiplied rapidly. She was just about ready to throw a punch at Kai, but a sudden voice interrupted her.
"Um… Kai… why did you suddenly say something like that!? Is there some meaning behind your words!?" Elly asked in a hurried tone. She realized that if she said nothing, Kai would end up as Claire's punching bag, so she decided to ask for the reason behind his words to clear things up.
"Of course, that's because…" Kai replied as he turned toward Elly. He flashed her a smile, trying to look cooler than usual, though unfortunately, it had absolutely no effect on either of the girls before him.
"Because what?" Elly pressed, looking curious.
"…Because I love you both so much!"
Bugh!
Claire's fist smashed right into Kai's face the instant he said those words, sending the young man crashing back down onto the floor.
"As I thought! We shouldn't bother listening to this weirdo any longer!" Claire snapped, looking down at Kai with a glare so fierce it seemed to radiate a dark aura that everyone nearby could feel—including Kai, who now lay sprawled pitifully on the ground.
"Um… Kai… it's better if you stop joking around… you'll only make Claire even angrier," Elly whispered softly into his ear, so quietly that Claire couldn't hear her.
"But I'm being serious… I really do love you both," Kai replied while rubbing his face, still red from Claire's punch. Elly's own face flushed red at his words.
"Do you really not have a better excuse than that!?"
But unlike Elly, who actually looked a little pleased, Claire only grew angrier at Kai's words.
"Then how should I prove that I'm being serious?! Do I need to kiss you just to prove my love?!"
"If you dare try that, I'll make sure you never wake up in this world again!"
Kai could feel the dangerous aura radiating from Claire's clenched fist, so he quickly shook his head furiously to assure her he had no intention of doing such a thing.
"But seriously, Kai, why did you suddenly start talking about marriage? Does this have anything to do with what my grandmother said yesterday?"
To ease the tense atmosphere in her shop (and to save Kai's life), Elly quickly diverted the topic.
"If you're asking whether it's related or not… I'd say yes, it is."
Kai's answer this time didn't sound like a lie or a joke at all. Even so, Claire still couldn't bring herself to believe him.
"Hmph! And what does you suddenly proposing to Elly have to do with what Grandma Lyla said yesterday?!" Claire asked with a sharp, sarcastic tone.
"You probably won't believe me… but according to the Fairy Goddess… if I can get closer to the girls in this village, then I'll be able to find everything Grandma mentioned."
Kai answered, adding a bit of a lie to his story. Of course, Claire wasn't about to believe his words so easily, as they were far too difficult to believe.
"Ehhh… The Fairy Goddess, huh… Do you really think I'd believe you if you said something that ridiculous?!"
Claire's scornful glare pierced straight through Kai, and he felt as if an arrow had stabbed right into his chest. To be honest, he also thought that what he said sounded absurd, even though it really was what the Fairy Goddess had told him yesterday. Well, he had twisted it a little—but the essence remained the same. So it wasn't entirely a lie.
"Is that really what the Fairy Goddess said?! That we can actually find everything my grandmother mentioned yesterday to prepare for the Festival?!"
Unlike Claire, who was skeptical, Elly immediately believed Kai's words without a shred of doubt. Her eyes sparkled so brightly with excitement that Kai couldn't even look at them directly. Her reaction hurt him just as much as Claire's scornful glare—though for a very different reason.
"Y-yeah… something like that…"
Kai spoke while averting his gaze, unable to bear Elly's eyes filled with hope any longer. Naturally, his reaction only made Claire more suspicious of him, but Kai paid it no mind. The guilt he felt was far more painful than the blonde girl's scornful glare. He couldn't even begin to imagine how Elly might feel if she were to find out that they might never be able to obtain everything Grandma Lyla had mentioned.
"I still highly doubt you… but I'll pretend to believe you for now…"
Claire said as she finally broke off her scornful glare at Kai. She then held her head, which suddenly throbbed in pain, before finally speaking words she might come to regret.
"So, can you explain it in more detail?!"