"Uh… hmm… well…"
Kai struggled to find a topic to talk about with the girl. Honestly, he didn't know much about books, so he hesitated to bring that up with her.
"The weather's nice today, isn't it?"
"Sorry, but I haven't looked out the window today, so I wouldn't know."
"I see… sorry about that… hahahaha."
Kai was starting to get it now. The girl was one of those types. She must be a shut-in who rarely, if ever, interacted with others. If that was the case, then it made sense why she didn't seem eager to approach him.
She was probably just shy and needed a little push to open up to people.
"My name's Kai, nice to meet you! May I know your name?"
Kai introduced himself with a wide smile. If he looked friendly enough, maybe she wouldn't feel so afraid of him anymore.
"Sorry, but Aunt Martha told me not to tell my name to strangers."
"I see… you must be a good kid, then. Sorry for asking something I shouldn't have… hahaha."
"Sorry, but I really can't tell you my name."
"That's fine… I understand."
The awkward atmosphere still hung between them, leaving both unsure how to break the silence.
"Um… excuse me, but are you mad at me?"
The girl asked nervously.
"No, of course not… there's no reason for me to be angry at a sweet girl like you!"
Kai wasn't angry at her at all, but he was still frustrated—frustrated that he couldn't get closer to such a beautiful girl. Either way, he wanted to know her and get along with her. So, Kai gathered his courage and stepped toward her.
But as soon as he did, the girl quickly backed away, disappearing behind a bookshelf. Kai hurried after her, only to find her already standing on the other side of the shelf.
"Sorry, but could you please stop running away from me? I swear I don't mean to hurt you."
Kai tried once more to step toward the girl.
"Sorry, but my instincts are telling me to stay far away from you!"
The girl backed away again.
"Relax, I won't hurt you. Come on… I'm not a bad guy."
"Kai, do you realize how much like a bad guy you sound when you say things like that?"
Ignoring the Fairy Goddess's comment, Kai kept moving toward the girl, who in turn kept moving away from him. The two of them ended up circling the bookshelf several times without ever getting closer or further apart.
"Sorry, but I'm starting to feel dizzy. Can we stop?"
"Yeah… me too."
Kai agreed to her suggestion, and both of them stopped in place, still keeping the same distance between them. Then, almost in sync, they both dropped to the floor, exhausted and light-headed.
"Sorry if I scared you," Kai said, trying to reassure her, "but I really just want to get to know you."
"…Is that true?"
"Yeah… at least for now."
The girl looked like she wanted to back away again after hearing his answer, but being too tired and dizzy, she couldn't bring herself to move.
With a faint blush on her cheeks, she glanced at Kai. Of course, Kai noticed her gaze. Deep down, he was certain she did want to get to know him—it was just that she was too embarrassed (and a little scared) to admit it. He needed to say something to shift the mood.
That's when Kai finally noticed the book in her hands. He wasn't much of a reader, but maybe this was the chance to change the flow of their awkward standoff.
"If you don't mind… could I ask what book you're holding?"
"…You mean this one?"
She lifted the book slightly, and Kai nodded.
"This is a book about a forbidden love between a Prince and a Princess from two different kingdoms. In the middle of the story, a kind-hearted Knight appears, who becomes the Prince's love rival, turning it into a love triangle… but unlike most love triangles, the Prince and the Knight aren't enemies at all. In fact, they work together to ensure the Princess finds happiness. The book is also filled with many touching stories of friendship and sacrifice. Even though I've read it several times, I never get tired of the romance it portrays. I always wished for a sequel… but maybe I'll never see one, since the author has retired. It's a shame, but I still hope to find a similar story from another writer someday."
"Ah, I see."
To be honest, Kai could only follow about half of what the girl was saying. He did read novels occasionally—especially if they had lots of beautiful girls in them—but because she was speaking so quickly, he had trouble keeping up with what she meant.
"Sounds like a good book… hahaha."
That was all Kai could manage to say for now.
"Yes, it really is an amazing book… ah, I'm sorry!"
The girl suddenly looked guilty. Kai was confused by her reaction.
"What's wrong? Why are you apologizing all of a sudden?"
"It's just… I'm sorry, I got too excited and ended up spoiling the story for you."
"You don't have to apologize for that."
Besides, it was very unlikely Kai would ever read that book anyway.
"More importantly, are you ready to introduce yourself to me now? My name's Kai. What's your name?"
Kai reintroduced himself with a smile.
The girl hesitated, studying Kai carefully. She felt that maybe she could trust this strange boy a little, and was about to tell him her name—but before she could speak, the library door opened, and an old woman stepped inside.
"Pardon me, Miss Marie… I heard some noise in the library. Are you alright?"
The woman addressed the girl, calling her Marie, without even checking the situation first.
"Oh, so your name is Marie… nice to meet you."
"Aunt Martha… what are you doing!?"
The old woman named Martha finally noticed Kai's presence and understood the situation unfolding before her.
"Oh, I see… my apologies, it seems I've disturbed you two."
She spoke softly as she closed the library door once more and left the pair behind.
"You've got it wrong, Aunt Martha!"
Marie quickly ran after her, desperate to clear up the misunderstanding in the old woman's mind.
It took some time for Marie to explain everything, during which Martha merely cast a teasing smile at both Marie and Kai. Marie wasn't truly angry at her, since she had intended to tell Kai her name anyway. Still, the fact that someone else had done it in her place left her embarrassed. Kai, on the other hand, was enjoying the moment thoroughly. He wouldn't mind at all if someone thought he and Marie were secretly in a relationship.
Once Marie had dispelled the misunderstanding, it was Kai's turn to explain why he had come to their villa. He also spoke about his role as the village's protector and the presence of the Fairy Goddess among them, since it seemed they genuinely believed in the legend.
"And that's my story."
Kai concluded, his words trailing off as he shifted his gaze toward Marie. The girl had beautiful, shoulder-length black hair adorned with a white headband that gave her a charming look. Her large, brown eyes only amplified her sweetness, making Kai unable to get bored of looking at her.
On the other hand, there was Martha. She looked like an ordinary old woman with white hair and a body lined with wrinkles. She wore a traditional black maid outfit, complete with a white apron. She appeared perfectly calm as she listened to Marie and Kai's story, sipping the warm tea she had brewed.
The three of them had gathered in the dining room, as dinner time was almost approaching. Kai decided to join them, since he had also grown hungry after all the running around earlier that day.
"But I never expected you to stay in that haunted house."
Martha remarked calmly.
"H-ha-haunted house? W-what do you mean?"
Kai stammered, suddenly stiffening. He glanced at the Fairy Goddess to confirm the truth. She only smiled without saying a word, yet Kai could sense her unease from her expression.
"This story has existed since even before I was a child."
"Si-since you were a child! How long ago was that?"
Kai hoped that the story was so old that the ghost haunting his house had already moved away.
"It was a very long time ago, so I've forgotten."
"I see… well, that's a relief."
The ghost must have grown tired of that house and decided to move on—there was no doubt about it. That dilapidated house had to be boring, even for a ghost.
"Our parents always told us not to go near that house, because strange things often happened there. Sometimes, people even heard the sounds of a party inside, though there was supposed to be no one living there."
Kai stole another glance at the Fairy Goddess. She was sweating profusely. 'Does that mean the old woman's story is true?' A sense of unease began to creep up inside him.
"At first, my friends and I didn't believe the rumors, so we snuck in secretly. There, we heard voices—children inviting us to play. We couldn't see them, but we were sure there were quite a few of them, maybe five."
'Please tell me she's lying! Please tell me it isn't true!'—that was the meaning behind Kai's desperate look at the Fairy Goddess.
"After that, we ran away and never went back. But sometimes, even when we were just walking around the village, we could still hear their voices."
'Come on, useless Goddess, say something!' Kai's pleading eyes practically begged her.
"Hmm… I've heard that story from you before, Auntie. But it's just something to scare children with, isn't it?"
Marie said, looking completely unconvinced by Martha's tale.
"If that's what you choose to believe, then so be it."
"See! I told you so!"
Martha only gave a mysterious smile at Marie, who was convinced she was right. Meanwhile, cold sweat began dripping down Kai's face as the Fairy Goddess avoided his eyes completely. Kai was sure it was out of guilt—though he couldn't tell exactly why he felt that way. He only hoped it wasn't because she was hiding the truth of Martha's story from them.
"By the way, Kai… the Fairy Goddess is here, isn't she?"
"Yes, why?"
"Is she doing alright?"
"Yes, of course... she's fine."
"Is that so? Then I'm relieved."
Even though she was sweating heavily at the moment, she still appeared fine. At least until she explained everything to Kai.
"It seems it's about time I prepare dinner. Do you have any requests?"
"No, I'll leave everything to you, Auntie."
"Me too... I'm not picky when it comes to free food."
"I see... in that case, wait just a moment. While I prepare dinner, you can have some light snacks first."
Martha opened one of the drawers, but her expression quickly revealed she hadn't found what she was looking for. She tried another, then another, yet each time she came up empty-handed.
"Ah, sorry... it looks like we've run out of snacks here."
Martha said apologetically.
"Oh, I just remembered... sorry, Auntie. Actually, I finished them earlier this afternoon!"
Marie confessed her mistake.
"Miss Maria, I've told you many times not to eat up the snacks so recklessly."
"Sorry, but I was really hungry."
Martha looked upset with Marie, then turned to Kai with an apologetic expression.
"My apologies, it seems Miss Marie has eaten all the snacks we had."
"It's fine... I don't mind at all."
Suddenly, something came to Kai's mind.
"Oh, actually I have some cake here."
Kai said, then took out the cake he had received from Gina. He touched his bag, and a transparent screen appeared before him. He searched for the image of the cake on the screen and tapped it. Not long after, a cake box materialized in his hands.
"That cake? Where did you get it?"
Martha asked, her eyes widening. Kai didn't know why, but Martha looked a little frightened when she saw the cake box.
"I got this from a kind woman named Mrs. Gina… I don't know why, but she handed me this cake, even though I never ordered it. What do you think that means?"
Kai then noticed Martha and Marie freeze as soon as they saw the cake inside the box. 'Was it really so shocking that I received a cake from a married woman?' he wondered while lifting the cake out of its box.
"If you'd like, I can share it with you!" Kai offered kindly. The cake in his hands looked delicious, so he was certain they would accept it.
"No, sorry… actually, I'm on a diet, so I can't eat it."
"Me too… Auntie forbids me from having cake before dinner, so I can't take it."
Much to his surprise, both of them turned down his offer. There were still several slices left in the box, and Kai would have been more than willing to share.
"There's no need to be shy… I'm sure Mrs. Gina wouldn't mind if I shared it with you."
"I'm really fine, sorry!"
"Yes, me too… you can enjoy it yourself!"
Kai was puzzled by how they seemed so unwilling to accept his offer. Setting Martha aside, Marie hadn't seemed to mind earlier when Martha wanted to bring out some snacks, yet now she refused the cake he offered. That was certainly strange.
He turned to the Fairy Goddess, hoping for some clue behind their refusals, but she still wouldn't meet his gaze. Clearly, she was hiding something from him.
Kai then looked back at the beautiful, appetizing cake still in his hand. The thought that it might be poisoned never even crossed his mind, nor could he bring himself to believe that someone as kind and graceful as Gina would ever wish him harm.
"Well then, I'll just eat it myself."
In the end, Kai decided to try the cake on his own. He took a bite and began chewing.
For some reason, he felt that something was off—but he couldn't tell what.
He glanced down again at the cake in his hand, then at the faces of everyone else in the room. For some reason, all of their attention was now fixed squarely on him.
He glanced again at the cake in his hand, then at the others in the room. For some reason, their eyes were locked on him, motionless, as if they were waiting for something to happen. 'Is there something wrong with my face?' Kai wondered, lifting a hand to touch his cheek.
After that, Kai took another bite, chewing the cake slowly. Once again, he felt that strange sensation, though he still couldn't figure out what exactly was off.
Curiosity getting the better of him, he quickly finished all the cake in his hands. Only then did he finally understand what that strange feeling had been.
"The taste… of this cake… is indescribable."
As soon as he said that than Kai collapsed to the floor, losing consciousness. Before he completely passed out, he could hear voices calling his name. 'Ah… am I really going to die like this?'