In the East, in a country called Taihe Bang
By a lake, a man was sitting on a rock, staring at a piece of paper with something written on it.
"Aura Clint, huh?"
A calm, warm voice rang out from a young man.
His fishing rod suddenly jerked violently, drawing his attention. He pulled it up.
In an instant, the fish was hauled out of the water. He observed it for a moment, then broke into a smile.
"Perfect. A good omen."
He removed the hook, released the fish back into the lake, and picked up his rod again.
"I wonder how strong Aura Clint really is… I'm genuinely curious. It's making me itch all over."
With that, he turned and walked away calmly.
His foot kicked a severed head, sending it rolling to the side.
His other foot stepped on a torso that had been sliced clean in half, then continued walking without the slightest pause.
"She's in the West. Getting there will take quite a while… But whatever. I'm bored of this place anyway. I just hope she doesn't disappoint me."
He took out a conical hat and put it on, looking up at the blazing sun.
All around him were corpses—nothing but corpses. Almost all of them had been cut in half with extremely clean, smooth slashes.
"Now then… Wende-Yige (Wind Eagles), here I come."
***
"You're saying… my grandfather handed me over to you?" Reito looked at Kai in disbelief.
"What? Just because you're a guy you don't like cuddling and sleeping together?" Kai asked bluntly.
"That's not the issue! Since when did you get so close with my grandpa?"
"Yesterday, bro. Your boy here went full Batman mode with your old man! Made quite a bit of cash to cover your hospital bills too!"
"That old geezer…" Reito pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Anyway, since he officially handed you over to me, you're moving into my dorm room at Blue Sky Academy starting today, got it?" Kai patted Reito's shoulder.
Since the two of them had known each other for a while—and Reito had slept over at Kai's place many times before (in his little brother's room back in the old world)—neither of them felt particularly awkward about the arrangement.
"The problem is… I live in the same house as my grandpa. Why do I have to move in with you? Don't tell me the entire house disappeared along with all my stuff?"
"Huh? I saw your stuff right next to your hospital bed though?" Kai scratched his head.
"…" Reito looked down, speechless.
He really got kicked out of the house! After all these years, this is how he's being treated???
"Damn that old man!!! He seriously kicked me out without saying a word?!"
"You don't want to live with me?" Kai scratched his head again, looking a little hurt.
"No, no, that's not it! I just didn't expect the old man to actually kick me out for real without any warning!" Reito hurriedly explained.
"Kidding~ haha. Here, take this hair tie." Kai smiled and pulled a hair tie from his pocket, handing it to Reito.
"Ah… thanks."
Reito blinked, accepted it, and tied his hair back.
The more you looked, the more Reito really looked like a girl—even though he was 100% male. A true femboy; he could fool anyone who didn't look carefully… below the belt. (🏳️🌈?)
"Ummm…"
"What's up, Kanna?" Kai turned to look at Kanna, who was wrapped in a blanket looking shy.
"Well… can you come visit me every day before I get discharged?"
"That's a redundant question! Of course I'll visit—hell, I'll even bring gifts, young lady!"
"Great!" Kanna smiled, clearly satisfied.
Now that he thought about it…
Kai glanced around the hospital room. Baron and Aura were no longer there.
"What's wrong, Kai?" Gerda asked.
Currently, Gerda was having some trouble getting re-enrolled at school. Since she had become an entirely new person, there were some complications with updating her records.
"Where are Baron and Aura?"
"Those two? I think Baron said he's going back to they home for a while. Not sure how long, but they taking a week off school."
…Why does this feel kinda ominous? Well, I just hope they're safe—especially Baron.
"You still remember where Blue Sky Academy is, right?"
"Dude, that school is literally the main setting of everything. The novel described it in insane detail, except for literally everything about my own character development."
"What about me?"
"You? Still described as getting cucked."
"Awesome. Being the NTR protagonist is seriously one of the least welcome roles ever."
After chatting for a bit more, Kai left the hospital room, grabbed the paperwork, hoisted Pandora onto his shoulder, and walked out of the hospital.
Someone was waiting for him at the entrance.
"Ayy! Look at you, looking way buffer now. Did you get a training arc or time skip or something?" Tyler walked over and threw an arm around Kai's shoulders.
Even though Kai had been hitting the gym hard and his body was now very well-defined, he was still only a 15-year-old, so he wasn't as tall as Tyler yet.
"If I said I met a god and trained in their realm for a hundred years, would you believe me?" Kai joked while petting Pandora's head.
"I'd believe it!"
"…Wait, really? You actually believe that?" Kai raised an eyebrow.
"Kai, when have you ever lied? You always just say everything straight up. And even when you do lie, it's only to girls—never to guys." Tyler grinned.
…He understands me way too well. And yeah, guys tend to believe their friends no matter how ridiculous or stupid the story sounds.
"So… that god is this pet octopus here?" Tyler reached out to touch Pandora.
Pandora clearly didn't like strangers touching her and immediately shot ink at him. Tyler dodged it easily, of course.
"Your observation skills are almost scary, you know that?" Kai looked at Tyler, wondering what else the man was hiding.
"I've seen it all in my life. Stuff like this doesn't surprise me anymore. But you're pretty damn lucky to get a… wait, hold up. Looking closely… she's not a full god, just carrying divinity. You tricked me, huh?"
"Pipi!!!" Pandora puffed up angrily.
"Teacher Tyler, Pandora's lore was created by a god, so calling her a god isn't too far off…"
"Whatever, let's go grab some food. My treat." Tyler laughed, slapped Kai's shoulder, and walked ahead.
…If I treat people my age or younger like little brothers/sisters, then the way Teacher Tyler treats me is like… a best friend? Or like his own son? It's kinda confusing.
"Oh, after we eat, let's head to the empty training field!" Tyler called back, hands in his pockets.
"Why?"
"So I can test your current level. See how strong you've gotten." Tyler pulled out a knife, tossed it into the air, caught it, then held it out toward Kai.
"Don't disappoint me, Kai."
…Why do I have the feeling I'm about to get absolutely wrecked?