No matter how you looked at him, the man standing in front of Kai was undeniably a weirdo. Kai felt he needed to get out of there before something bad happened.
"So, what brings you here?"
The weirdo asked just as Kai started to step back.
"No, sorry. I think I came to the wrong place."
"Wait!"
The weirdo stopped him again.
"I've never seen your face before. Are you new around here?"
"No, I'm just passing through… sorry, I've got other things to take care of!"
"Wait!"
"What now!? Don't you get that I'm trying to run away from you!?"
Kai quickly clamped his mouth shut, realizing he had just blurted out his real intention.
"Why would you want to run away from me? You're the weird one!"
"I don't want to hear that from you!"
The weirdo in front of him was the last person who had any right to call Kai weird.
"Well, I was just curious, but… aren't you aware of the state you're in right now?"
Kai asked, thinking the man didn't realize how blackened he looked.
"My state? What do you mean?"
The weirdo's confused expression was clearly genuine, so Kai pointed at his body before answering.
"Do you really not notice how completely black you are?"
The weirdo then looked at himself and finally realized just how black his body had become.
"What the hell?! Why did I turn black?!"
"That's what I should be asking you! What the hell did you just do?"
The weirdo ignored Kai's question and went off to clean himself. It didn't take him long to return, leaving Kai no chance to escape.
'How the hell did he manage to clean himself up so fast? 'Kai wondered as he saw the guy no longer covered in black dust.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"It's fine. Honestly, it would've been better if you'd taken even longer."
Now that he was clean, Kai could see his face more clearly. He looked about the same age as Kai. He wasn't as good-looking as Kai, but he wasn't bad either. His messy brown hair suited his equally messy personality. He also wore a pair of round black-framed glasses that made him look like a total nerd. He claimed to be the greatest inventor in the village, so maybe that's why he wore those round glasses.
"So, earlier you said your name was Kurt, right?"
"Yeah, that's right... and what's your name?"
"My name's Kai, but you don't need to remember it."
Kai had no intention of becoming close friends with this weirdo.
"Good grief... Big bro Kurt, you've messed up the shop again."
Suddenly, a small child was standing near Kai and the guy named Kurt, poking his head into the shop to see the mess inside.
"Shut it! I'll clean up once I'm done talking to this newcomer!"
"Relax, our conversation's already over, so you can go ahead and clean your shop now!"
Kai tried once more to slip away, but Kurt quickly grabbed his hand.
"Can you let go of my hand?"
"You went out of your way to come here. It'd feel rude if you left so soon."
"It's fine, don't worry! I want to leave!"
"C'mon, help me clean up my shop!"
"As if! You're the one who trashed it, so clean it up yourself!"
Kai tried to shake Kurt's hand off him, but his grip was way stronger than he expected.
"Big bro Kurt, if you're the one making a mess, you should be the one cleaning it up, not someone else! You should be ashamed of yourself!"
The little kid Kai had just met scolded Kurt with a serious glare, which made Kurt let go of Kai's hand in embarrassment.
"Ugh… I just got lectured by a kid…" Kurt muttered gloomily.
"Heh! That's probably because you act even more childish than a kid."
"You're not one to talk, Kai."
Kai then turned to face the little boy. He looked about the same age as Vinnie, the kid Kai had met earlier—maybe they were even the same age. The boy had a chubby build, but since he was still young, it just made him look kind of cute. He had curly brown hair and yellow eyes. Despite his age, he seemed pretty mature.
"Thanks for helping me out. My name's Kai, what's yours?"
"You're welcome… nice to meet you, my name's Yu!"
The boy—Yu—greeted Kai politely. Quite the opposite of Kurt.
"Do you work here?" Kai asked, thinking Yu seemed way more suited to be the shop's owner than Kurt.
"No, I just like hanging around here, since there are lots of interesting things."
"Interesting things? Do you mean the stuff that blows up? Let me warn you, you'd better not mess around with things like that, or you'll end up like him!"
Kai warned Yu, pointing straight at Kurt.
"What the hell do you mean by that!?" Kurt clearly didn't like what Kai just said.
Meanwhile, Yu facepalmed when he heard what Kai said earlier.
"Big bro Kurt… did you blow up one of your inventions again?" Yu asked in a scolding tone.
"Again? Don't tell me he actually likes blowing stuff up?" Kai asked in surprise.
"Yeah, pretty much… whenever he's left alone, it always ends up like this. No wonder the shop's such a mess inside."
"…Wait, don't tell me you're trying to be a terrorist?"
"Who the hell would want to be a terrorist!?" Kurt snapped.
Ignoring the argument between Kai and Kurt, Yu walked into the shop and checked out Kurt's invention that had just blown up. The thing now looked like a washing machine that had been blasted to pieces.
"So, what exactly did you do, Big bro Kurt, to make this thing explode?" Yu asked while scratching the back of his head.
"And anyway, what kind of machine is this supposed to be?" Kai added as he examined the thing too, ignoring the shop owner who was clearly upset.
"Hmph! Allow me to introduce it—this is a machine that can wash anything you put inside! I call it the CleanMach 3000!" Kurt proudly presented his invention (even though it was already busted). His irritation seemed to vanish the moment he started talking about it.
"Oh, I see… so it really is just a washing machine. Why didn't you just buy one?"
"It's not a washing machine! It's a machine that can wash anything! CleanMach 3000!" Kurt snapped, visibly annoyed at how casually Kai dismissed his invention.
"Oh, right… by the way, I ran into some old man earlier who looked a little too fond of kids. You'd better be careful around him."
"Hm? Is Big bro Kai talking about Vinnie's dad? Yeah… he does give me weird looks whenever I play with Vinnie, so I usually try to stay away from him."
"Good. I'm glad you already figured that out."
But instead of paying attention to Kurt, Kai just kept casually chatting with Yu.
"So what kind of shop is this anyway? A junk shop?"
"Excuse me!? My shop does not sell junk! I only sell the best equipment I've ever built!"
"The best you've built? …For some reason that just makes me even more worried."
"I get how you feel, Big bro Kai… but yeah, Kurt does sell useful stuff sometimes… though honestly, he makes way more useless stuff than useful ones."
"Would you two stop trash-talking my inventions already!?"
Kurt tried to brush off his frustration, then walked over to a weird-looking machine shaped like an old tube monitor with an arrow-shaped antenna on top. Suddenly, a transparent screen flickered to life in front of him.
"So in the end, you're just selling normal stuff, huh."
Kai said after noticing that the screen only showed common tools like hammers and pickaxes.
"Can you stop treating my inventions like they're some kind of worthless junk?!"
Kurt snapped back, trying hard not to punch Kai in the face.
"Does he even have anything normal he's made?"
"Something that's actually his own invention? I doubt it."
"You two! Stop saying rude things before I smack both of you!"
Kai ignored Kurt's warning and glanced at the prices of the items.
"Oi, you! What's with these prices!? Are you trying to rob me!?"
Kai shouted as he grabbed Kurt by the collar and pulled him closer.
His anger came from the fact that Kurt's stuff was ridiculously expensive. The cheapest thing there—a sickle—was 5000. That was ten times the amount the Fairy Goddess had given him.
"Of course it costs that much! For your information, everything I make is top quality!"
Kurt didn't seem too bothered by Kai grabbing him. In fact, he looked proud as he explained why his goods were so expensive.
"Is that so? Hard to believe!"
Kai said, letting go of Kurt's collar.
"Believe it or not, nobody else can make items as good as mine!"
Kurt boasted proudly, which only made Kai even more annoyed.
"That's only because you're the only one making farming tools around here!"
"Oi, Yu! Why would you say that in front of him?!"
Kurt's pride instantly crumbled at Yu's words.
"I see… if that's the case, then I believe it now. Oh yeah, didn't he also say he's the number one inventor in this village?"
"That's only because he's the only inventor here. Since I'm still a kid, he just considers me as his assistant."
"I knew it… If I may ask, between you and that weirdo, who's better at building machines?"
"I'm pretty sure I'm better than him, because unlike him, I've never blown anything up."
"What on earth are you two whispering about?!"
Kai and Yu stopped talking when Kurt shoved his annoyed face close to theirs.
"Instead of talking about the useless stuff Big bro Kurt made, I'd better start cleaning the shop."
Yu said as he picked up a broom. That left Kurt with no choice but to join in—he couldn't possibly let a kid clean his shop all by himself.
"If you've got nothing to do and you're not buying anything, you might as well help us clean up… I'll even treat you to lunch if you join in."
"You seriously think you can make me work just for one meal?!"
"If that's the case, then why are you already holding a broom?!"
Kurt shot a doubtful look at Kai, who had grabbed a broom the moment he heard there'd be free food.
"To be honest, I was planning on helping you from the start, but since you insisted on treating me, I figured it'd be rude to refuse. So really, I'm just being polite."
"I wouldn't mind at all if I didn't have to treat you!"
Even though they bickered, the two of them still cleaned up Kurt's shop properly, with Yu helping to clear away Kurt's weird inventions. Of course, Kurt had to keep his promise.
"So, where are we eating?" Kai asked once they were done tidying up.
"My family runs a little diner. People who can't cook usually eat there," Yu replied, putting the broom back in its place.
"And where exactly is your family's diner?" Kai asked again as they started walking.
"It's near the lake… we just have to turn left up ahead," Yu explained, pointing toward the intersection in front of them.
The three of them took the path on the left, just like Yu had said earlier.
"So... is there any real benefit to eating in this world, other than not getting sick?"
Kai whispered to the Fairy Goddess. Of course, he kept some distance from Kurt and Yu so they wouldn't hear him and think he was just some weirdo talking to himself.
"Hmm... unlike in a game, here you can actually taste food. So, if you eat something delicious, you'll feel happy. But aside from a special fruit called Energy Fruit, which can give you permanent extra energy for your stamina bar, all the other food only provides temporary effects. Things like giving you more stamina for a day, making your movements faster, or other simple boosts."
"I see... it seems that eating here is actually more useful than in my previous world."
Kai grew curious about this Energy Fruit the Fairy Goddess mentioned. But he remembered that back at the farm, she had told him he'd have to find that fruit on his own. So, he decided to drop the thought for now.
"What are you mumbling back there? Hurry up, we're almost there!"
Kurt called out, forcing Kai to quicken his pace.
Before long, Kai spotted a lake—the same one Yu had mentioned earlier. Not far from it stood a building that looked like a small tavern. The three of them stepped inside.
"Dad, Mom, Sis... I'm home!" Yu shouted as he walked in.
"Oh, Yu... welcome back," greeted a woman who looked to be Yu's mother. She had long brown hair covered with a blue-and-green checkered cloth. Her eyes were the same golden color as Yu's, clearly showing they shared the same blood.
"Oh, Yu... looks like you brought a new friend with you," said a man who had just come out of the kitchen. He wore a white chef's outfit, his body round and sturdy. His hair was curly like Yu's, though jet black. The most striking feature about him was his sharp, pointed mustache—something that almost made him look like an old Chinese chef.
"Yeah, I just moved here... My name's Kai. Nice to meet you!"
Kai introduced himself with a friendly smile.
"Why is the way you introduced yourself to them so different from how you introduced yourself to me!?"
Kurt didn't seem too happy with Kai's different attitude.
"I see, so you've just moved here. I hope you'll feel at home... My name is Pete, I'm the owner of this dinner... and this is my wife, Gina."
"Nice to meet you! I'm Gina. I can cook anything for you, as long as you pay for it."
Pete and Gina introduced themselves with warm smiles.
"Well, since he said he's treating us, all the food I eat will be on him."
Kai said while pointing at Kurt, who was standing next to him.
"I never said I'd pay for all your food! I'm only covering one lunch, that's it!"
"Pfft! Stingy!"
Kai pretended to spit to the side after hearing Kurt's words.
"Hmm, what's all this noise? It sounds pretty interesting."
A sweet voice suddenly echoed through the room. Both Kai and Kurt turned their heads toward the sound. There, they saw a younger version of Gina, with her hair tied up in a ponytail. The girl looked about the same age as Kai and Kurt.
"Nice to meet you, my name's Kai. May I ask, what's your name, beautiful lady?"
Kai quickly walked over to the pretty girl, striking a pose he thought looked cool as he introduced himself.
"Hehehe... you're quite the flatterer. My name's Katie. I may still be learning how to cook, but my dishes are just as tasty as my mom's or dad's!"
The two of them shook hands as a proper introduction.
"Would you two stop shaking hands already!"
But their handshake was abruptly interrupted when Kurt forcibly separated them. Sparks of rivalry seemed to flash between Kai and Kurt. Was this the beginning of a love triangle?