Everything is black… an infinite void
Then suddenly…
A laugh echoed through the darkness
A female voice
"Well well—"
"Kiyoshi—" a male voice interrupted
The female voice immediately snapped
"Hey! Didn't I tell you to shut up!? I'm supposed to talk first!"
The male voice clicked his tongue
"I don't remember agreeing to that"
"Stupid idiot!"
"Ugly pig"
"What did you say!?"
"HAHAHA— OW! Hey!!"
Sounds of the two fighting echoed through the void
Kiyoshi awkwardly raised his hand
"Ah… excuse me…"
The two instantly turned toward him and shouted in perfect sync
"WHAT!?"
Kiyoshi flinched from the sudden scream…
Then veins popped from his forehead
"Could you two shut the hell up already!?"
BONK! BONK!
Kiyoshi karate chopped both of their heads
"AWWWW!!"
After a while the two is now kneeling on the floor like children being scolded by their mother
Kiyoshi stood in front of them with his arms crossed, tapping his fingers impatiently
"Start explaining. Who are you two… and what's happening?"
The girl nervously raised her hand
"Ah… we are the spirits of the God Gems…"
Kiyoshi blinked
"You mean the admin candies?"
The girl twitched in irritation
"…Ugh. If you want to call them that, then fine. My name is Samantha. I'm the Red Gem…"
She pointed beside her
"And he's—"
"I am Dean. The Blue Gem"
Kiyoshi stared at them silently
Dean continued
"We were never supposed to gain consciousness. The Red and Blue Gems are poloar opposites. When you swallowed both of them, the two powers started clashing inside your body"
Samantha crossed her arms
"The conflict created limitations to your full potential… but because of how abnormal your body reacted, the two gems eventually developed consciousness"
Kiyoshi scratched his head
"I kinda get it… and also not at the same time"
Dean sighed
"Well, the one who created the gems exceeded the laws of nature itself. So naturally it's hard to understand"
Kiyoshi nodded slowly…
Still processing everything he just heard
Then suddenly—
"Oh right… what time is it?"
Dean answered casually
"7:00 PM"
Silence
"WHAT!?"
—
Inside the Laurent Estate…
Kazumi sat quietly beside Kiyoshi's unconscious body
Lisa and Chase were also inside the room, both covered in bruises from the earlier fight
The atmosphere was tense
Then suddenly—
Kiyoshi's eyes shot open
He instantly jumped out of bed and dashed toward the door
"Kiyoshi!?" Kazumi shouted in shock
The guards and maids immediately surrounded him
Kiyoshi froze
His body lowered into a fighting stance out of pure instinct
His sharp eyes scanned everyone around him carefully
Kazumi finally caught up and stood in front of him
"Calm down! Everything's fine now! Nobody's going to hurt you!"
Kiyoshi looked hesitant…
But after a few seconds, he slowly lowered his guard
Chase stepped forward
"You don't need to worry anymore. We won't try taking the gems from your body again"
Lisa then explained
"Earlier, while you were unconscious, Father called the family sage to examine your body… and he concluded that the gems can no longer be extracted, and even if it does we dont have the power to do it"
She lowered her head
"So… we came to apologize"
Then all three bowed toward him
"We, the Laurent Family, apologize for what we've done"
Kiyoshi awkwardly scratched his cheek
"Ehhh...well anyways I really need to go home now. My mom's will surely will get angry when she finds out i still haven't cooked the rice yet"
Lisa quickly replied
"You don't need to worry. We already informed your mother that you were at a classmate's house finishing a school assignment"
Kiyoshi blinked
"…How did you even do that?"
Kazumi awkwardly looked away
"We… used your phone"
"…What?"
"We unlocked it using your fingerprint…"
Kiyoshi stared at them silently…
Then sighed in defeat
"…Well. Can't even argue with that"
—
A few moments later…
They arrived in front of a massive pair of black doors
The atmosphere suddenly became heavy
Even the air itself felt cold
The guards standing outside looked incredibly tense
One of them slowly opened the doors
CREAK—
Inside the room sat a man behind a large dark desk
James Laurent
The head of the Laurent Family
The moment Kiyoshi entered…
He immediately felt pressure crushing down on him
It was suffocating
Like standing in front of a giant beast pretending to be human
James sat calmly in his chair wearing a black suit
His sharp golden eyes alone were enough to intimidate people
Every movement he made carried authority
Even Chase and Lisa unconsciously straightened their backs
Kiyoshi could instantly tell…
This man was dangerous
Not just powerful
Terrifying
James calmly looked toward Kiyoshi
"Welcome"
His deep voice echoed through the room
"Please, take a seat"
Kiyoshi sat down beside Kazumi
James folded his hands together
"First… allow me to apologize for the actions of my children"
Chase and Lisa immediately lowered their heads
James glanced at them with disappointment
The pressure alone almost made the room hard to breathe in
Then he looked back at Kiyoshi
"As compensation… you may ask for whatever you desire"
Kiyoshi instantly answered without hesitation
"Give me 69 trillion dollars"
Silence
Kazumi froze
Lisa's eyes widened
Chase nearly choked
Even James himself paused for a second
"…Excuse me?"
Kiyoshi looked completely serious
"69 trillion dollars"
James coughed awkwardly
"…Unfortunately, even the Laurent Family does not possess that amount"
Kiyoshi immediately continued
"Then give me everything you own"
Kazumi almost fell from her chair
Lisa stared at him in disbelief
Chase looked horrified from Kiyoshi's boldness
Meanwhile James slowly smiled…
Though veins slightly appeared on his forehead
"That… is also impossible"
Kiyoshi looked genuinely disappointed
"…Fine then"
He crossed his arms
"Buy me a chocolate cheesecake to go and we'll call it even"
The entire room became silent again
"…What?"
"And maybe add cassava cake too"
James stared at him for several seconds…
Then suddenly burst out laughing
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
Even the guards outside were shocked hearing the family head laugh that loudly
James wiped a tear from his eye
"You truly are an interesting young man"
He snapped his fingers
"Prepare the cakes immediately"
A maid instantly bowed and left the room
Kazumi looked at Kiyoshi with disbelief
She genuinely couldn't understand him anymore
Then James suddenly spoke again
"There is another matter"
His sharp eyes narrowed slightly
"The Laurent Family wishes to establish ties with you"
He calmly continued
"If you desire… you may marry Lisa my beautiful daughter."
Lisa froze instantly
"F-FATHER!?"
Kazumi also looked shocked
Kiyoshi blinked
Then casually waved his hand
"Nah. Arranged marriage isn't really my thing"
Kazumi secretly sighed in relief
James raised an eyebrow
"Oh?"
Kiyoshi continued casually
"If you guys need help someday, I can help if I have time"
Then he looked toward James directly
"But you really shouldn't decide stuff like that for her"
The room froze
Even the maids looked terrified
Nobody dared speak to James Laurent that way
Especially not a normal student
But Kiyoshi continued anyway
"Lisa should be the one choosing who she likes"
Lisa widened her eyes
James stared silently at Kiyoshi
The atmosphere became terrifyingly heavy
Then suddenly—
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
James laughed loudly once again
This time even louder than before
He looked genuinely happy
Then he turned toward Lisa
"…You are right"
Lisa looked shocked hearing those words from him
James sighed
"My apologies"
Then he stood up from his chair
The moment he stood…
The pressure inside the room intensified even more
His overwhelming presence alone made Chase and Lisa nervous
James walked toward Kiyoshi and extended his hand
"From this day onward…"
"The Laurent Family shall consider you a friend"
Kiyoshi casually shook his hand
"Cool"
Kazumi, Chase, and Lisa stared in complete disbelief
None of them had ever seen James Laurent treat someone this way before
—
After leaving the room…
Lisa and Chase waited outside for them
Kazumi looked at the two siblings
"So… what happens now?"
Chase scratched his cheek awkwardly
"That depends on Father"
Lisa nodded
"But… we'll probably still attend class"
Kiyoshi stretched lazily
"Good. Less awkward that way"
After that…
They finally left the Laurent Estate
—
When Kiyoshi arrived home…
The moment he opened the door—
"KIYOSHI!!"
Mary immediately hugged him tightly
"Brother your late!!"
Kiyoshi awkwardly raised the cake boxes
"I brought sweets"
Mary instantly rejoice after hearing that...
—
Meanwhile…
Inside the Laurent Estate
Lisai lay on her bed staring at the ceiling
Everything that happened today still felt unreal to her.