"What are you all doing here!?"
Kurt asked sharply as he glared at the three people entering his shop. Normally he wouldn't be this hostile if it were only Claire and Elly visiting, but because Kai was there too, he immediately knew they must be here to cause trouble.
"Why are you so cold? Well, to be honest, I don't even know why I was dragged here… I just followed Claire."
Kai replied, clearly displeased by Kurt's reaction upon seeing them. He then pointed at Claire, causing everyone's attention to shift toward her.
"You might be surprised, but I'm not here to buy explosives."
Claire said with a serious expression.
"I don't sell explosives here!"
Kurt snapped back angrily.
"So we're not here to blow something up!"
"And why are you the one who looks surprised!?"
Kurt grew even angrier when he saw Kai's shock—an expression that looked entirely genuine.
"What kind of shop do you think this is!?"
Kurt demanded, crossing his arms irritably.
""A shop that sells things that can explode.""
Kai and Claire answered in perfect unison, without the slightest hesitation.
'How can the two of them suddenly be in sync at a time like this?'
Kurt thought, deep wrinkles forming on his forehead.
"If you're only here to insult my shop, then get out!"
Kurt said, pointing toward the exit.
"Um, sorry… Kurt… I really don't know why we were brought here, but I'm sure Claire didn't come here to insult your shop."
Elly said softly, trying to calm the tense atmosphere. Seeing her earnest and sincere expression finally eased Kurt's anger—at least a little.
"I'm not expecting much, but I'll lend you my ear for a moment… so why exactly did you all come here?"
Once again, everyone's attention shifted to Claire.
"You might be surprised, but—"
"I already heard that part! Just get to the point!"
"I want you and Kai to get close!"
""Huh!?""
Kai and Kurt both reacted at the same time, stunned by her words. A flood of questions immediately ran through both men's heads.
"Sorry, Claire… I think you skipped a lot of things!"
Kurt had indeed told her to get straight to the point, but he hadn't expected her to cut out almost all of the explanation.
"I don't know about him, but Claire… you do know I'm still normal and definitely not into men, right? I'm not interested in guys at all!"
Meanwhile, Kai seemed to understand the situation more than Kurt did—though what he said was incredibly impolite.
"I'm normal too, you know!"
Kurt protested, feeling like Kai had just insulted his dignity.
"I'm not asking you two to become a couple! I just want you both to get closer. That's all!"
Claire explained, though Kurt was still full of questions.
"Why are you suddenly asking me to get close to him? Do you have some specific reason?"
Kurt could tell she wasn't joking, and it felt like she had a serious reason for asking something so unpleasant.
"This is just what that man over there told me… Even though I have plenty of doubts, it seems like we might be able to hold the best festival this village has ever had if that man can get close to the villagers."
Claire said as she pointed to Kai. Kurt looked at Kai and immediately put on a suspicious expression.
"How does that even make sense?"
Kurt asked, full of distrust.
"I'm not entirely sure myself, but according to the information I received, it seems the requirement for obtaining the items Grandma Lyla mentioned is my closeness with the villagers."
Kai answered, filled with uncertainty.
"That information sounds extremely suspicious."
"I can't deny that."
Kurt grew even more doubtful when Kai himself didn't seem convinced.
"Don't worry! That information came from the Fairy Goddess, so it must be completely accurate!"
Elly said confidently.
"Fairy Goddess?"
Kurt muttered, looking increasingly confused and skeptical, while Elly simply nodded firmly without offering any further explanation.
"You've never even met her, so how can you trust her that much?"
Kai muttered—despite being the one who should trust the goddess the most, he was actually the most suspicious among them.
"Even though I've never met her, I heard that the Fairy Goddess is a very beautiful and kind deity. She never lies and always helps people in trouble… so there's no way she's deceiving us!"
Elly answered, her eyes sparkling as she responded to Kai's mumble.
"I don't know where you heard that, but what you're saying is completely different from reality!"
Kai shot back without hesitation.
If the Fairy Goddess were truly kind and helpful, she would have solved the village's problems herself without asking Kai for help. In fact, she should be helping him right now instead of disappearing somewhere.
"Eh, but…"
For some reason, Elly looked like she didn't want to believe Kai's words. Her eyes even began to water. Seeing that, Kai panicked.
"What's wrong, Elly? Why are you suddenly crying?"
Kai asked, trying to comfort her.
"It's nothing! Sorry, some dust suddenly got into my eye."
Elly said as she wiped her eyes. Even though she said that, none of the three people with her believed the excuse. They all knew she was hiding something.
"I'm not sure what happened… but I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad."
Kai said, his tone filled with regret.
"No! I'm really fine!"
Elly replied, forcing a smile onto her face.
"If that's truly how you feel, then I won't ask any further."
Kai decided not to press her. He felt that if he forced the issue, he would only corner her and make things worse.
"Ahem!"
Claire coughed loudly, drawing everyone's attention back to herself.
"In any case, I want the two of you to become close friends!"
Claire said firmly, shifting her gaze between Kai and Kurt.
"You're talking like you've explained everything already, but honestly I'm still confused… why would we be able to obtain all the items Grandma Lyla mentioned just because Kai and I become friends?"
Kurt demanded, wanting a clearer explanation.
"Didn't I already say that I don't really understand it myself? But it seems that's just how things work in this world."
Kai replied, looking just as clueless as Kurt.
"A story? Do you think this is some kind of novel?!"
"Rather than a novel, I think it's more like a game."
"A game? What's that?"
"No… forget what I just said."
Even though Kurt was still curious about the "game" Kai mentioned, he simply nodded and kept his mouth shut. Kai was probably talking about something pointless, as usual.
"We may not know exactly how it works, but I don't think there's any harm in trying… so what do you think? Do you two want to grow closer?"
Claire asked.
Kai and Kurt looked at each other, then responded at the same time:
"Not even if I'm dying!"
Even though they both rejected her request, Claire looked delighted.
'No matter how you look at it, they're already getting along!'
Claire thought as she watched Kai and Kurt's perfect synchronization. She felt certain it wouldn't take long for the two to become inseparable friends.