"Kai, could you explain your intentions?!"
Claire asked, fixing Kai with a sharp glare as he knelt on the floor. His head was lowered, his eyes fixed on the ground, seemingly intimidated by the piercing look she was giving him.
Kai felt that he should be the one asking Claire for an explanation. After all, why had he been kicked by Goldchick when he had not done anything at all, aside from trying to give Elly some flowers?
"Kai! Why are you staying silent?"
Claire grew even more irritated when Kai still did not answer her question. It seemed as though she could kill him if he did not give her an answer soon.
"Hm... I..."
Kai finally opened his mouth, though his voice trembled with hesitation.
"I?"
Claire echoed, tilting her head in confusion as she waited for him to continue.
"I... want..."
"You want?"
"I want to get married and start a family with all the beautiful girls here!"
Kai blurted out the true desires hidden deep within his heart in one breath, without the slightest hesitation.
His answer left Claire utterly stunned, not only because of what he said, but also because of how passionately and confidently he said it.
"You... you still haven't given up on that?"
However, it did not take long for Claire's anger to return.
"I already suspected you were planning something disgusting when I saw that disgusting grin on your face... but I never expected it to be this disgusting!"
Claire was about to beat Kai up, but Kai quickly raised his right hand and held out his open palm toward her, signaling for her to stop.
Somehow, Claire immediately stopped when Kai made that gesture, even though she was still furious with him.
"Calm down! There's a reason for all of this!"
Kai said in a serious tone.
"Yes, I know... you're going to say you did all this to save the village, aren't you?"
Kai froze when Claire accurately guessed what he was about to say.
"How do I know? Because the exact same thing happened yesterday... or have you already forgotten?"
Thinking about it, Kai really had tried to flirt with Elly yesterday, just as he was doing now. Of course, his approach was different this time. Rather than bluntly asking her to marry him, he had only been trying to raise Elly's affection parameter by giving her a flower.
"I know you're an idiot... but didn't it occur to you that doing the same thing would lead to the same result?"
"I'm not doing the same thing! I was only trying to give Elly a flower so she'd like me more!"
"Maybe it's not exactly the same thing... but you came to flirt with Elly in the morning yesterday, and now you're doing it again this morning. So I'd say getting beaten up again was a perfectly natural outcome."
Kai absolutely hated Claire's logic. Why did he have to get beaten up when he hadn't done anything wrong?
"If you honestly think you didn't do anything wrong or commit any sort of offense, then you should take some time to reflect on your actions while reading a book on basic decency!"
As though she had read his mind, Claire answered the very question running through his head.
"But... if I don't do anything, then nothing in this village will ever change. No matter what, I need to get closer to all of you. That's the only way an event might happen and give us a clue on how to save this village!"
Claire looked directly into Kai's eyes. There was no sign of deception in them, yet she still could not bring herself to trust him in the slightest.
"U-Um... Claire... may I say something?"
Elly, who had been quietly watching the exchange between Kai and Claire from behind Claire, finally gathered the courage to speak.
"What is it?"
Claire's expression softened as she turned to Elly. Her voice became gentler, and a faint smile appeared on her face.
"I know that what Kai wants isn't right... talking about marriage and all that when we've only just met isn't exactly appropriate... especially if he really plans to marry several girls at once. I don't think that's right."
Claire nodded in satisfaction. She couldn't have agreed more with what Elly had said.
"But I also think... that the fact he's trying so hard to save this village is admirable."
However, Claire's smile instantly vanished the moment she heard Elly's next words.
"What are you talking about? How could his goal possibly be admirable?... You may have forgotten, but in the end, he just wants to keep a bunch of beautiful girls all to himself! I'm sure he wouldn't marry an ugly woman even if she truly loved him!"
Kai desperately wanted to shout, "That's not true!" but thought better of it and kept his mouth shut. The dangerous aura radiating from Claire was more than enough to crush what little courage he had left.
"I... I don't know. Honestly, I'm confused myself... but I feel like Kai might be our only hope."
Elly's voice trembled as she spoke. Even she seemed uncertain of her own words, yet there was a faint desperation behind them that she could not hide.
Hearing that, Claire's expression softened slightly. She could tell that Elly genuinely believed what she was saying, even if she herself still found it difficult to believe.
Claire looked at Elly for a long moment, a troubled look crossing her face. Then she gently placed both hands on the girl's shoulders.
"Are you sure about what you're saying?"
Her voice was so quiet it was almost lost in the silence.
Elly answered with a silent nod.
Why?"
Claire asked again, still unable to accept Elly's answer.
"Kai... he is the person chosen by the Fairy Goddess... so he must have the power to save this village."
The answer did little to convince Claire. It was vague, resting on little more than faith rather than anything concrete.
So what if Kai had been chosen by the Fairy Goddess? What was so special about him that he had been chosen in the first place? And even if he truly possessed something special, did that automatically mean he could save the village?
Question after question surfaced in Claire's mind.
In the end, however, she slowly let go of Elly's shoulders and chose not to press the matter any further. There was little point in asking questions that neither of them could answer.
After giving that answer, Elly could only avert her gaze. Even she wasn't entirely sure why those words had come out of her mouth.
Thinking back on it, Kai had done a few positive things for the village. None of them were particularly remarkable, but they still felt like small steps forward—something the village had desperately needed for a long time.
And yet, when Claire asked her that question, none of those thoughts came to mind. For some reason, the only thing she could think of was that Kai had been chosen by the Fairy Goddess.
Kai, who had remained silent throughout their conversation, could only lower his head.
If they knew what kind of person he had been in his previous world, they would probably lose faith in him immediately.
The trust Elly placed in him felt less like encouragement and more like a weight pressing down on his shoulders. He didn't know what he had done to deserve it, nor did he know how he was supposed to live up to it.
Kai's gaze slowly shifted toward the Fairy Goddess, who had remained silent throughout the entire conversation. Anxiety lingered on her face, and for some reason, that only made him feel worse. Even if he asked for her advice, he doubted she would be able to help him.
After all, she had chosen him because he was a useless person—someone whose disappearance would not matter to anyone back in his old world.
The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. A faint, self-deprecating smile found its way onto his lips.
In the end, silence was the only thing left filling the room.
Not knowing what else he could possibly do there, Kai slowly rose from where he sat and walked toward the door of Elly's house.
"Sorry... for bothering you..."
Kai muttered quietly before finally leaving the house.
Claire and Elly could only watch his departing figure, neither of them finding the right words to stop him. Their expressions remained frozen in a complicated silence that was hard to interpret.