By the time Kai, Kurt, Claire, Elly and her grandmother stepped out of Pete's diner, the sky had already faded into darkness.
Pete and Katie had actually invited them to stay for dinner, but Kai and the others decided to decline. The reason was simple—Kai and Kurt wouldn't stop arguing, turning the atmosphere in Pete's diner into chaos. In the end, everyone agreed to call it a night, hoping it would finally put an end to the two of them fighting.
"This is your fault! I don't get a free dinner now!"
"This is your fault! I don't get to have dinner with Katie!"
Kai and Kurt shouted those words at the exact same time. Their eyes immediately radiated a murderous aura as they glared at each other.
It seemed that leaving Pete's diner wasn't enough to stop them from fighting.
"Both of you—stop it!"
Claire quickly stepped in between them before the argument could turn into a full-blown fight. The moment they met her terrifying glare, both Kai and Kurt instinctively backed away.
"It's a shame we couldn't eat together at Katie's place, but don't forget… Kai, you need to try to get along with everyone in this village. That's one of the ways we can move closer to saving this village!"
Claire said this while pointing straight at Kai.
Kai took a step back, a complicated expression appearing on his face. He understood that in order to obtain everything Grandma Lyla had mentioned, he needed to befriend everyone in the village. But the moment he looked at Kurt's irritating face, he felt disgusted. Just imagining the two of them getting along sent chills down his spine.
"Kurt, you too! I understand that you want to get closer to the one you admire, but you also need to cooperate and try to get along with Kai!"
This time, Claire's finger pointed directly at Kurt.
Kurt's face instantly turned red—for two completely different reasons.
"W-Who's trying to get closer to their crush!? And who would ever want to get close to that bastard!?"
Embarrassment and anger mixed on Kurt's face, creating a rather unique expression.
"Who are you calling a bastard!?"
And of course, without giving any thought to Kurt's mixed emotions, Kai immediately flared up and tried to grab the man by the collar. However, before Kai could reach his target, Claire quickly caught his hand and blocked his path, preventing him from getting any closer to Kurt.
"I told you to stop fighting!"
Claire said in a firm voice, her sharp gaze filled with seriousness. Kai knew he would truly be finished if he dared to argue with her, so he quickly nodded and stepped back from his previous position.
"You too, Kurt… don't say things that will only make the situation worse!"
Kurt, who also felt as though he would be finished if he resisted, instantly lost all his nerve and could only nod repeatedly and rapidly.
"Before you can fight to your heart's content, we need to save this village first… do you understand?!"
She continued, shifting her gaze between Kai and Kurt, emphasizing that she was completely serious.
"I understand your goal… but do you have some kind of idea to resolve our current situation?"
Kai asked in a serious tone. He admitted to himself that he wasn't particularly smart. Even so, he was aware that they were at a dead end. They had indeed found something that could make food taste better, but if they couldn't make the best food, they wouldn't be able to use that item to its fullest potential.
"For now, I think you should just continue with your original plan."
Claire said, sounding uncertain even to herself. She didn't like Kai's idea of approaching the girls in the village and flirting with them, but given their current circumstances, she couldn't keep opposing it forever.
Claire looked at Kai hesitantly, checking his reaction. She hoped he wouldn't do something foolish after hearing her words.
"My original plan? What kind of plan did I even have?"
However, Kai's reaction left Claire utterly stunned. She hadn't expected him to have completely forgotten his own plan, especially when he had been so enthusiastic about carrying it out earlier that morning.
"If you really don't remember, then forget what I said earlier!"
Claire said as she flicked her hair back, then continued walking toward her home.
Kai could only tilt his head, wearing a confused expression after receiving such an answer from Claire. He then stared blankly at her as she walked away. He truly had no idea what was going on inside that girl's head.
"Um, Kai…"
Kai immediately turned toward Elly, who had lightly tugged at the edge of his clothes while calling out to him.
"I think Claire was talking about your plan to befriend everyone in this village."
Instead of understanding, Kai's expression only grew even more confused upon hearing that.
"Since when did I ever want to befriend everyone in this village…? I just want to get close to the pretty girls and marry them."
That honest statement left everyone who heard it completely stunned.
"You really said something like that without any shame, in front of so many people!"
Kurt said, his guard clearly raised against Kai. He would boil that man alive if he dared to approach Katie—let alone flirt with her. Still, he had to admit that Kai certainly had the nerve to state his true desires so plainly.
Claire pressed her palm against her forehead when she heard that. This was exactly why she wanted Kai to forget the instruction she had given earlier. That man was truly planning to do something utterly foolish.
Meanwhile, Elly's face had turned as red as a fully ripened tomato. She stood there in shock, completely frozen, her mind seemingly unable to function. Kai had proposed to her before, but she had never imagined that he was actually serious when he said he would marry all of them. Until now, she had believed it was nothing more than one of Kai's jokes.
On the other hand, Grandma Lyla wore a faint smile. She actually seemed quite pleased by Kai's words. Of course, she knew that what he had said was extremely improper and lacking in decorum, but she could still sense the honesty behind his statement and didn't feel that Kai harbored any ill intentions.
"Before you say that you'll marry the girls of this village, you should first prove that you are worthy of such a thing!"
Grandma Lyla said as she walked toward Kai. She stopped as soon as she stood right in front of him.
"Of course I'm worthy! I'm the one chosen by the Fairy Goddess to save this village!"
Kai said with a voice brimming with confidence. In truth, he considered the Fairy Goddess to be completely useless, but she was still a revered deity in this village. Using her name was bound to have an impact on the villagers.
"I know that… however, that alone isn't enough to attract the attention of the girls in this village… from what I've observed so far… the people closest to you here are Kurt and Yu… two men."
Kai immediately felt a wave of disgust upon hearing that. He had to admit that he had spent quite a lot of time with the two of them since arriving in the village—especially with that ugly guy, Kurt—but he had never felt that close to either of them.
Grandma Lyla must have said that only because her eyesight had deteriorated with age. If she could clearly see just how good Kai's relationships with the girls were, she would immediately realize that Kai had already captured all of their attention with his charisma.
"I can more or less guess what's going through your head just by looking at your expression… you're really easy to read!"
Kai immediately covered his face with both hands and stepped away from the old woman. For some reason, he could feel a dangerous aura coming from her.
"You don't need to be that afraid. I'll keep what's in your head to myself… I simply want to give you some tips on how to approach the girls in this village."
"How do I do it?! Please tell me!"
Kai quickly returned to his original position. He even seemed to forget to cover his face so the old woman couldn't read his thoughts anymore. At this moment, the only thing on his mind was how to get closer to the girls.
Grandma Lyla looked as though she was about to laugh at Kai's reaction, but fortunately, she managed to hold it in.
After that, Grandma Lyla slowly widened the smile on her face, before finally giving Kai the answer he had been waiting for.
"All you need to do is…"