When Kai regained consciousness, he found himself in an all-white room. No, it wasn't like the room where he had first met the Fairy Goddess—this one was simply filled with white objects: a bed, pillows, and curtains. He immediately realized where he was.
"Hmm… why am I here?" he muttered, holding his still-dizzy head.
"Oh, so you're awake," came a man's voice, startling Kai. He turned toward the voice and saw a man older than himself, dressed in white. One glance was all it took for Kai to realize the man was a doctor.
"How are you feeling? Do you still remember who you are?" the doctor asked with a smile.
Kai only nodded in response.
'Why would a doctor think I'd lose my memory just because I fainted?' he wondered inwardly, finding the question strange. Still, he quickly brushed the thought aside, too afraid of what the answer might be.
"Who are you?" Kai asked, tilting his head.
"My name is Gary. I'm a doctor here in the village."
"Gary? Are you a type of chocolate?"
"Hm? What are you talking about?"
"Sorry, wrong brand."
Kai tried to recall what had happened before he lost consciousness. Then he remembered Marie and Martha.
"Sorry, but if I'm not mistaken, I should be at Marie's villa, right? How are Marie and Martha doing?"
"Ah, so you remember that part."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"No, forget what I just said!"
Kai couldn't help but feel suspicious of Gary's words, but he chose to go along with what the man said. His instincts told him that was the best decision.
"They both came here earlier to bring you in and explain the situation to me. But since it was getting late, they soon returned to their villa."
"I see… thank goodness they're safe."
Kai let out a sigh of relief upon learning that Marie and Martha were unharmed, but then a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
"Um, if I may ask… how exactly did the two of them manage to bring me here?"
After all, they were only an elderly woman and a young girl who rarely left the house. There was no way they could have carried him here on their own.
"Ah, actually, someone else helped them bring you here."
"Someone else?"
"Yes, a man named Sully. He usually works as a fisherman… do you know him?"
Of course Kai knew him, but what was that man doing at Marie's villa? What was his purpose in being there? It was suspicious, but Kai decided not to press the matter—for everyone's sake.
"If you're wondering where he went… once I told him you were going to be fine, he immediately left, but he did leave a message saying he was wishing you the best."
"Why would he leave a message like that?"
"I-I don't know… perhaps he was just worried about you."
Gary's expression turned strangely awkward, but Kai chose to ignore it, pretending not to notice.
"Then how about my condition? Am I fine to go home now?"
Kai asked as he checked over his own body. He could move every part without issue, and nothing seemed wrong. As far as he could tell, there wasn't anything wrong with him.
"Ah, yes… of course, you can go home. But before that, I need to give you some medicine, just to make sure you stay well."
"I see… I understand."
Kai wasn't particularly fond of medicine, but as people often said, better safe than sorry.
"In that case, please wait a moment."
Gary then turned to his cabinet and began rummaging through it. After a moment, he pulled out something unusually large from inside.
"W-wait a second! What the hell is that thing!?"
Kai demanded, his face paling as he pointed at the object Gary was holding.
"Hm? It's a syringe, of course… haven't you ever seen one before?"
Of course Kai had seen syringes before—plenty of times, especially when he was little—but something was very, very wrong with this one.
"Why is it so ridiculously huge!? Are you trying to kill me!?"
The syringe was as long as a grown man's arm, so massive it had to be held with both hands. This was nothing like the syringe Kai remembered from his old world.
"What are you talking about? Isn't this the normal size for a syringe?"
The doctor looked genuinely puzzled by Kai's question. Which could only mean that such a syringe was perfectly normal in this world. This world was far more terrifying than he had ever imagined.
"Calm down, Kai! This is for your own good!"
The fairy goddess, who had been silently watching all this time, suddenly appeared behind him and seized his body before he could bolt.
Though invisible to others, she could still interact with objects—and with Kai. To his shock, her strength was far greater than her delicate appearance suggested. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't break free from her grip.
"H-hey! What are you doing!? Why are you holding me down!?"
Kai's expression grew even more frantic.
"I'm sorry! But once this is over, I promise I'll explain everything to you!"
"O-over!? Over what!?"
Kai didn't even want to imagine what would happen once that monstrous needle pierced his skin.
"What nonsense are you spouting? Now hold still—time for your injection!"
Gary stepped forward with the huge syringe in his hands, a wide grin plastered across his face.
"N-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
Kai's scream rang out so loudly it echoed through the entire village, reaching the ears of everyone near Gary's clinic.
A few minutes later…
Kai walked home, an enormous X-shaped bandage plastered across his backside. He kept rubbing the spot the whole way, the sting of the syringe still lingering even now.
"So, are you going to explain what just happened?"
Kai narrowed his eyes at the Fairy Goddess.
"Hmm? Which part do you want to hear?"
"All of it! Tell me everything you've been hiding from me!"
"Sorry, but I honestly don't know where to start."
The Fairy Goddess looked genuinely troubled, as if she couldn't decide which part to reveal first.
"You could start from when you first began acting suspicious... I'm pretty sure that was back by the lake."
Kai recalled the events of the day.
"Hmm, yes, you're right... I suppose that's when I started acting strange."
"Good, at least you realize it. So what was your reason for that?"
"It was actually because I wanted to warn you about the cake you received from Gina."
"The cake? You mean that cake?"
The Fairy Goddess nodded.
"I wanted to tell you that the cake was dangerous, but you looked so happy... and Gina did as well. I just couldn't bring myself to tell you the truth."
Kai froze in place, stopping mid-step.
"Dangerous? How could a cake be dangerous?"
he asked, clearly bewildered. He couldn't quite recall what had happened before he fainted. His mind seemed determined to block it out.
"Kai, maybe you don't want to admit it—or even remember it—but I'm warning you: stay away from Gina's cakes, unless you want the same thing to happen again."
The Fairy Goddess leaned in close, her piercing gaze locking onto his. Kai had no choice but to nod in agreement.
"You promise!"
"I promise!"
With that, the Fairy Goddess leaned back from Kai, a satisfied smile lighting up her face as she gave a small, cheerful nod.
"And you're hiding something else too, aren't you?"
That one question alone was enough to send beads of sweat rolling down the Fairy Goddess's face.
"What's wrong? You don't want to tell me?"
Kai asked again with a sullen face.
"Y... you won't get mad, right?"
"That depends on your answer."
"Alright, I understand."
The Fairy Goddess drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly before finally replying.
"You remember the ghost story about the house you live, don't you?"
"Yes, I remember... the one Aunt Martha told me, right?"
"That story was actually the work of..."
"The work of?"
"The work of... the Dwarf Fairies."
Kai fell silent again. His thoughts drifted for a while before he finally asked another question.
"Dwarf Fairies? What are those?"
The Fairy Goddess, too, grew quiet for a moment.
"Looks like I never explained that to you, did I?"
Said the Fairy Goddess who just remembered about it.
"Dwarf Fairies are basically fairies that are very small in size—just like their name suggests, dwarfs."
"Are they your subordinates?"
"Basically... yes."
"I knew it."
Kai had already suspected the Fairy Goddess was behind the ghost story, so the revelation didn't surprise him in the least.
"Then why do you look so nervous? They're just your subordinates, aren't they?"
"Yes, that's true… but it was my mistake for letting them do whatever they pleased in your house, when their only duty was to keep it from getting dirty… and on top of that, they even went as far as bothering the villagers… Honestly, I feel ashamed that I couldn't control them."
Kai scratched the back of his head as he watched the Fairy Goddess's gloomy expression. He wasn't sure what he should say to cheer her up.
"I don't think you're that bad… there are plenty of people who lead far worse than you do… at the very least, you didn't let them commit crimes, right?"
The Fairy Goddess lifted her face again when she heard Kai's words of comfort.
"That's true… but there are strict rules in the fairy world. We're not supposed to get too involved with ordinary humans, because it could disrupt the balance of nature… You're a special case, Kai… that's why I can talk to you so casually, or even show myself to you."
Truth be told, Kai felt a spark of joy when the Fairy Goddess said that he was special.
"I see… well, if I'm really that special, then it can't be helped… I'll represent ordinary humans and serve as the bridge between us and you fairies."
Kai spoke with a smug grin on his face.
"So, what do those little creatures usually do?"
"They were supposed to come to your house to take care of it, but instead they like to throw parties and leave everything in a mess until I come to check on the place."
"Oi, that means…"
"You'll probably have to clean your house every time the Dwarf Fairies throw a party there without permission."
"Oi, get those little pests out of my house right away!"
Kai's house was already run-down as it was. If those little creatures made it messier, there was no way he'd want to live there anymore.
"Sorry, but they really do act like children who just love to play around, so it's only natural they'd want to party whenever they please… I honestly can't control them well, so please forgive them."
Kai found himself unable to say anything when the Fairy Goddess looked at him with such an apologetic expression.
"You said their job was to take care of the house, right? Shouldn't they at least be able to clean up?"
"Sorry… but as I said before, they're basically children, so…"
"They're difficult to control."
The Fairy Goddess nodded.
"Then why did you assign people like them to take care of my house?"
Kai asked, unable to wrap his head around it.
"What else could I do? If no one maintained it, the house would've crumbled in no time."
"If you ask me, it's going to fall apart sooner or later."
The Fairy Goddess was left without a response to Kai's remark.
"So does that mean you can't drive them out of my house either?"
"Sorry, I already told them not to go to your house anymore since it's being lived in by a human, but… because of their childlike nature, I don't think they'll listen to me anymore."
Kai could somewhat understand the Fairy Goddess's feelings, so he couldn't place all the blame on her. Dealing with unruly children was never easy.
As they chatted, they found themselves back at Kai's home before they knew it. It was already quite dark by the time Kai arrived, but thanks to the Fairy Goddess's presence, he didn't feel the weight of the darkness while walking the road.
Kai stepped into his house and stretched his body. He immediately flopped down onto his bed. Though the bed was small and plain, his exhaustion made it feel surprisingly comfortable.
As he lay there, Kai glanced around the interior of his home. Then he noticed something.
"Hey, Fairy Goddess… I don't see any toilet here?"
Kai asked the Fairy Goddess, who was still floating nearby.
"Yes, that's true… why do you ask?"
"Well, it's just… how am I supposed to, you know, relieve myself if there's no toilet?"
Kai asked awkwardly, feeling embarrassed to bring up such a thing with a woman who looked to be around his age.
"Ah, about that!"
The Fairy Goddess suddenly seemed to recall something she should have mentioned to Kai much earlier.
"In this world, you don't need a toilet at all!"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"That's because you don't need to relieve yourself in this world. Which means… you'll never have to go to the toilet here!"
Kai was struck speechless once again, this time by the outrageous fact the Fairy Goddess had just revealed.
"Do you people think you're idols or something?!"
Kai's shout echoed through every corner of his house.