"So, Kai, what are you going to do now?"
Marie asked as she looked at Kai with a curious expression. The man clearly didn't want to tell her or Martha about the problem he was facing, so she decided to change the subject.
"Hmm... I was actually planning to have lunch, but I've already had so much milk that I don't feel hungry at all."
In this world, they only needed to eat once a day. Although they could eat as much as they wanted, in the end, it was merely a way to satisfy their cravings.
Now that Kai had finally gotten past his depressive state, he didn't feel the need to fill his stomach again. Besides, he couldn't afford to spend his money carelessly, so skipping lunch seemed like the wiser decision.
"Isn't there any way for me to speed up the harvest?"
Kai asked toward an empty corner of the room, where the Fairy Goddess was actually standing and watching him.
Marie stared at Kai in confusion as he seemed to be talking to someone who wasn't there. However, she decided to remain silent. She didn't want to interrupt him and risk sending him back into depression.
"Actually, you can accelerate the growth of plants and animals, but unfortunately, you need a special medicine to do that. And, of course, it isn't exactly cheap."
Kai immediately gave the Fairy Goddess a look filled with resentment upon hearing her answer.
If only you had given me a lot of money, this wouldn't be a problem at all!
That was exactly what his gaze seemed to say.
The Fairy Goddess, who understood the meaning behind his stare perfectly, could only turn her face away and grimace.
"Looks like all I can do for now is wait until I can harvest the crops from my garden."
Kai said in resignation.
"But Kai, don't you think there's something else you could do? I don't really understand it myself, but isn't there something you can do to help this village? Isn't that why you came here in the first place?"
Marie asked as she watched Kai throw himself into a chair, his body going completely limp.
"What exactly can I do? Our opponent is a wealthy businessman who could wipe this entire village off the map in an instant."
Marie was at a loss for words after hearing Kai's response. She understood perfectly well what he meant. If this problem were easy to solve, it wouldn't have been a problem in the first place.
"Besides, why hasn't he done that already? Why go through the trouble of giving me a challenge instead of simply wiping this village off the map?"
Kai turned his gaze toward the Fairy Goddess once again, hoping she could give him a satisfactory answer.
"I'm sorry, Kai... I don't really understand why he hasn't done that either.... Like you said, he really could wipe out this entire village in the blink of an eye."
Kai could only sigh after hearing her answer. He hadn't expected much, but he still couldn't hide his disappointment.
"Can't you peek inside his head so we can find out what he's actually planning?"
"I'm sorry, Kai... but if I could read other people's minds, then I'd be very interested in reading yours!"
As Kai and the Fairy Goddess continued their exchange, Marie watched them with a curious expression. She could only see Kai, so from her perspective, it looked as though he had completely lost his mind.
Meanwhile, Martha merely looked at Kai with a warm expression. She didn't say anything at first because she didn't want to interrupt them, but she felt that she needed to say something.
"Miss! Sometimes, a man will talk to his imaginary friends when his mind is a mess... so what you're seeing right now really isn't that unusual."
"Oh, I see."
"NO! THAT'S COMPLETELY WRONG!"
Kai immediately objected to Martha's words before they could conclude that he was crazy, although, by that point, it was probably already too late.
"You might not believe me! But there's a Fairy Goddess standing over there who's been watching us this whole time!"
Kai said as he pointed his thumb toward the Fairy Goddess.
Marie and Martha simultaneously looked in the direction Kai had pointed. Even though the Fairy Goddess knew that neither of them could see her, she still waved at them in greeting.
"Well, Auntie... do you think Kai has been reading too many fairy tales?"
"No, Miss... boys just tend to have very active imaginations!"
The two of them whispered to each other so that Kai wouldn't hear their conversation. Unfortunately, with Kai sitting so close by, he could hear every word they said perfectly clearly.
"I know that the existence of a Fairy Goddess is hard to believe... so you can just assume that I've lost my mind or whatever you want."
Kai said as he turned his face away, clearly sulking over what he had heard from Marie and Martha.
"D-don't worry, Kai... We were only joking..."
"Yes, the Fairy Goddess really is here... I'm sure of it!"
The two of them quickly responded in a panic. They felt that Kai might cause an even bigger problem if they let him continue sulking.
Although Kai knew that neither of them truly believed what he had said, he decided to stop sulking. There was no point arguing about the Fairy Goddess, whose existence had been practically useless to him so far, aside from explaining how this world worked.
"Let's just forget about that useless Fairy Goddess... Besides, she really isn't useful at all, so you can just forget everything I said."
A vein popped on the Fairy Goddess's forehead.
She was deeply offended by Kai's words, but she held herself back. She felt that Kai was about to discuss something important, so she decided to postpone punishing him until after he was finished.
"So, do either of you have any idea why that man hasn't driven this village out?"
Marie and Martha fell silent and began thinking after hearing Kai's question.
"I'm sorry, Kai... but I know absolutely nothing about the outside world other than what I've read in the books here in the Mansion."
Marie lowered her head dejectedly. She felt useless in this situation, even though she desperately wanted to help Kai.
"You don't need to be sad, Miss. You simply need to start leaving the Mansion and learn about the outside world from now on."
Martha said as she gently placed a hand on Marie's shoulder, trying to comfort her mistress.
"But... Auntie... I..."
Marie seemed unable to get the words she wanted to say out. They were as if trapped behind an incredibly sturdy wall, unable to make their way past her throat.
"Don't worry. I understand..."
Martha said, as though she could read her mistress's heart.
"I know the outside world can be frightening... but, Miss... you don't have to worry. You won't have to face the outside world alone."
Martha then looked toward where Kai was standing.
Marie immediately followed Martha's gaze and looked at Kai as well.
Kai was utterly confused when he realized that the two of them were staring at him.
"Master Kai will be more than happy to help you!"
"HUH!?"