After finishing his work in the field, Kai headed back to the Fairy Goddess.Kyuubi was still curled up comfortably in her arms as she gently stroked the little fox's head. Judging by the way her nine tails swayed happily behind her, she seemed to be enjoying the attention far too much.
Seeing the little fox being pampered so affectionately immediately made Kai pout.For some reason, he found himself feeling jealous of a little fox.
"What's wrong, Kai? Why do you look so unhappy?"
the Fairy Goddess asked, tilting her head in confusion as she watched his expression suddenly sour the moment he approached her.
"It's nothing... I just think it's about time you let that little fox go, don't you?"
Kai replied while pointing at Kyuubi.
"If I let him go now, he'll probably attack you immediately! It seems he still hasn't forgiven you yet!"
The moment the Fairy Goddess said that, Kai immediately turned to look at Kyuubi.The little fox instantly glared back at him with sharp, hostile eyes, making it painfully obvious that he still hadn't forgiven him.
'What a troublesome creature! Wasn't he supposed to help me with farming? So far, he's done nothing but cause me problems,' Kai grumbled inwardly, his irritation clearly visible on his face.
"Well then, Kai... now that you're done taking care of your garden, don't you think it's time for you to do something else?"
the Fairy Goddess asked with a gentle smile before lifting Kyuubi slightly, as if trying to make Kai pay closer attention to the little fox.
"Ah, you're right! I almost forgot!"
As though something had suddenly clicked inside his head, Kai slammed his clenched right fist into the palm of his left hand. His gloomy expression instantly disappeared, replaced by the same excitement he had when he first stepped out of the house.
"Pray for my success!"
Kai declared proudly as he quickly turned around and prepared to leave.
"Wait a moment!"
But before Kai could take another step, the Fairy Goddess quickly stopped him. She grabbed the back of his collar tightly, preventing the young man from going any farther.
"Ghk! What is it!? Why did you suddenly grab my collar like that?!"
Kai complained as his expression immediately turned irritated again.
"I don't know what's going on inside that head of yours or what ridiculous thing you're planning right now, but I'm certain it's not what I was talking about!"
the Fairy Goddess replied, clearly starting to look annoyed herself. At this point, she was already convinced that whatever Kai was thinking about was bound to be something foolish or troublesome... if not both.
"Then what is it?"
Kai asked again while pulling the Fairy Goddess' hand away from his collar.
"Have you forgotten something about him?"
the Fairy Goddess asked in return as she lifted Kyuubi right in front of Kai's face.The little fox immediately greeted him with a sharp, unfriendly glare, making it painfully obvious that he still hadn't calmed down. Seeing that hostile expression only made Kai pout even more.
"What about him? Don't tell me you want to cook him or something?"
"Kyuuuu!!"
"Kai! Could you please stop saying things like that?!"
Kyuubi instantly looked ready to claw Kai to death on the spot, while the Fairy Goddess hurriedly tightened her grip around the little fox with all her strength to stop him from breaking free and attacking Kai.
"Sorry, I was just joking... so what exactly am I supposed to do with him?"
Kai genuinely had no idea what the Fairy Goddess had been trying to tell him this whole time. Why did she keep shoving that troublesome little fox right in front of his face? As far as Kai was concerned, he currently had absolutely nothing to do with him.
"Did you forget to feed him?"
Only after hearing those words did Kai finally realize what the Fairy Goddess had been talking about all along.
"Do I really have to do that?"
Kai asked innocently.That response immediately irritated the Fairy Goddess. At that moment, she genuinely wanted to let go of Kyuubi and allow the little fox to beat Kai senseless, but somehow, she still managed to hold herself back and remain calm.
"Of course! You need to feed him so he'll stay here and grow bigger!"
"Why should I feed him when I haven't even eaten myself yet? Besides, what's the point of him staying here anyway? Honestly, I don't think I even need him to guard my field!"
The veins on the Fairy Goddess' forehead immediately began to twitch the moment she heard Kai's reply.
"You might think you don't need him right now, but the moment your field gets completely wrecked by dwarves, you'll regret saying that!"
the Fairy Goddess warned in a threatening tone.
"Hey! Don't threaten me like that! I'll be seriously angry if you actually send those dwarves I've never even seen before to ruin the field I worked so hard to take care of! If that happens, I'll mess you up instead!"
Kai immediately shot back with a fierce expression while making suspicious movements with his hands, as though he was already preparing to grope the Fairy Goddess all over her body.
Seeing those unsettling gestures, the Fairy Goddess honestly felt a little intimidated. Even so, she stubbornly maintained a firm expression and refused to back down. There was no way she was going to lose to Kai here.
"In that case, do your job properly and take care of him until he grows into an adult!"
The Fairy Goddess once again shoved Kyuubi right in front of Kai's face, causing him to immediately pout in displeasure.
He really didn't want to take care of the little fox. To Kai, the whole thing just sounded like a troublesome waste of time. Still, he also understood that having his field destroyed by other creatures would be even more troublesome and end up wasting far more of his time instead.
"Fine, I get it! I'll feed him!"
Kai finally gave in with a reluctant sigh before pulling out a berry he had found in the forest yesterday.
"This is the only thing I have, and I don't exactly carry food for foxes around with me... will this be enough?"
Kai asked uncertainly. He had no idea whether foxes in this world could even eat fruits or not. If Kyuubi couldn't eat it, then there was nothing else he could really do. After all, he didn't have any money to buy proper food for him.
"Yes, that won't be a problem at all!"
Somewhat surprisingly—or perhaps not surprisingly—the Fairy Goddess immediately gave her approval before gently placing Kyuubi down onto the ground so he could start eating breakfast as soon as Kai filled his food bowl.
"So I just need to put this berry into his bowl, right?"
Kai asked while crouching down in front of Kyuubi's food bowl. He had once played a game where leftover food could somehow be turned into pet food, so he assumed the same kind of logic applied in this world as well.
"Yes, you only need to bring the berry close to the bowl, and it will automatically transform into food for Kyuubi!"
Kai slowly brought the berry in his hand closer to the bowl. The moment it approached the bowl's edge, the berry suddenly vanished from his hand, replaced by brown-colored pet food inside Kyuubi's bowl.
Kyuubi immediately began devouring his breakfast happily. The anger he had been holding toward Kai vanished almost instantly the moment food appeared in front of him. His nine tails swayed cheerfully from side to side, making it painfully obvious just how happy he was right now.
"You only need to feed him once a day, so it won't be a problem even if you don't feed him again this afternoon... although you still can if you want, whether during the afternoon or even at night. Still, I'd recommend feeding him in the morning, just in case too many things happen later and you end up forgetting to feed him altogether."
The Fairy Goddess added that final explanation so Kai wouldn't accidentally make mistakes in the future once she was no longer around to constantly watch over him.
"I also only need to eat once a day. Does that mean every creature in this world only needs to eat once a day?"
Kai asked after suddenly remembering that he himself was only required to eat once per day, even though he could technically eat as much as he wanted as long as he still had food.
"Yes, that's simply how things work in this world... you still need food to survive, but only once a day no matter what kind of food you eat. However, you must remember that poisonous food is still dangerous here. You could get sick, and in the worst-case scenario, you could even die!"
The Fairy Goddess warned him in a serious tone while pointing directly at Kai's nose.
Hearing that, Kai could only nod nervously as he swallowed hard. Of course, he had no intention of dying from something as ridiculous as accidentally eating poisonous mushrooms he found in the forest.
That warning suddenly reminded him of the cake he had received on his first day in the village. The memory alone was enough to make Kai silently vow to properly confirm whether something was safe to eat before putting it into his mouth.
"Good, as long as you understand... so from now on, make sure not to feed Kyuubi anything strange, or he'll get sick and never come near you again!"
'So you're more worried about that than my health...'Kai thought after finally realizing the Fairy Goddess' true reason for giving him that warning.
"If you feed him properly, he'll grow bigger and start attracting girls to come closer to you!"
The moment those words left the Fairy Goddess' mouth, something inside Kai suddenly ignited.
"Is that true?!"
Kai immediately leaned forward with wide eyes filled with disbelief and excitement.
"Yes, it's true!"
the Fairy Goddess replied with a nod.
"Hahahahaha! Why didn't you say that from the beginning?! If you'd told me earlier, I would've fed him without even being asked!"
Kai burst into loud laughter.
Hearing such an unbelievably stupid reason for him to suddenly become motivated made the Fairy Goddess desperately want to punch him in the head. Even so, she somehow managed to hold herself back.
'Why is it that anything related to girls immediately makes him this excited...?' the Fairy Goddess wondered inwardly while staring at Kai's overly delighted face.
"Hurry up and finish your food, grow up big and healthy, then help me attract girls!"
Kai said while happily stroking Kyuubi's back with an absolutely shameless grin spread across his face.
Unsurprisingly, those words immediately made Kyuubi furious.
"Kyuuu!!!"
Without hesitating for even a second, Kyuubi immediately pounced straight at Kai and wildly swung his claws toward his face.
"Wait a second! Why are you getting angry again?! I already fed you, you know!"
Kai shouted in panic while desperately trying to protect his face from Kyuubi's claws.
"I already told you not to say anything that would make him angry..."
The Fairy Goddess could only facepalm as she watched the scene unfold before her. She was no longer sure whether Kai would actually be able to improve his relationship with Kyuubi and help the little fox grow faster. At this point, all she could do was hope that Kyuubi wouldn't leave Kai behind out of anger toward the young man.