Chapter 42: That sounds too pragmatic

When Kai found out that he had been enrolled in a school, he tried with all his might to refuse. He kept arguing that he already knew everything they could teach him in high school and that it would just be a waste of time and money. But all his arguments crumbled the moment Momo showed up with tearful eyes, asking if he didn’t want to go to the same high school as her. Left with no other choice, Kai reluctantly accepted his fate, much to the amusement of the entire group who were present.

(Damn it, they really used a weapon of mass destruction against me—Momo's tears. I have to get revenge for this, I can’t just let it slide. Just wait, they'll be begging for mercy when I do!)

As Kai complained in his mind and plotted his “revenge”, he obediently finished putting on his new uniform, which mainly consisted of a Gakuran, a traditional Japanese military-style garment. It was a dark blue jacket that fit snugly, with a row of gold buttons aligned vertically down the center. The buttons were detailed with the school's emblem, while the jacket's collar had a Mandarin style. Paired with straight pants in the same dark blue color and black leather shoes, the uniform gave off an air of formality and discipline.

With a frustrated expression, Kai descended the stairs, glaring venomously at the group of adults who were looking at him like a cute little lamb, with amused smiles on their faces. Except for Yumiko, who instead looked at him like a proud mother seeing her chick grow up.

"Kai-chan, you look very handsome in your uniform."

"Thank you, Aunt Yumiko."

"Yeah, Kai, you look very 'seductive' in your uniform." Nemuri commented while trying to stifle her laughter, which only made Kai snort in annoyance, causing the group to burst into laughter.

"Hmph!"

"““““Hahahahahaha””””

After giving the group a look filled with a desire for revenge, Kai left the house, closely followed by Salem, only to find Momo outside, practically radiating excitement. She was wearing a long-sleeved white blouse embroidered with the school emblem, covered by an elegant dark blue jacket adorned with a tie that hung in the center of her chest.

Momo's lower half was dressed in a dark blue pleated skirt that reached her knees, complemented by white knee-high socks and elegant black leather loafers.

“The uniform suits you well, Momo.” Seeing Momo’s excitement, Kai could only offer a compliment with an ironic smile, to which Momo responded with loud, high-strung gratitude.

"It looks great on you too, Kai!!!"

“Haha, you don’t have to be so excited; we’re just going to school. Besides, we already know by heart what they’re going to teach, so there’s no reason to be nervous.” Kai smiled, a bit amused by Momo's attitude, to which she quickly responded, now a bit calmer.

"But Kai-kun, how can you not be nervous? We're going to meet a lot of new people, and we might even come home with a bunch of new friends!"

“Well, that’s because I’m not particularly interested in meeting more people. I’m fine as I am. But if you want, I can help you with that.”

With a warm smile, Kai kindly offered because even though he wasn’t interested in making "friends," he could easily understand why Momo was so excited. After all, in her entire life, the young girl with black hair had practically only interacted with two people of her “age”, him and Nejire.

“Really?!!!” Hearing Kai, Momo exclaimed excitedly, clutching her fists to her chest, something that made Kai chuckle a bit before he added,

“Hehehe, yes, but first, calm down a bit. Don’t let the prey know your intentions.”

“The prey? But I want to make friends.” Momo replied, confused, tilting her head cutely, to which Kai responded while shaking his head.

“In this context, the prey are the friends, Momo.”

"Sorry, I’m so excited that I’m not thinking straight, hehe."

A little embarrassed and shy about her silly comment, Momo replied, placing her hands on her cheeks to try to hide the slight blush that had crept onto them. Kai responded, not without laughing a bit at her first.

“Hahaha, I can imagine, but for now, let’s get in the car. At this rate, we’ll be late.”

"Oh no! You’re right, let’s run!"

Upon hearing Kai’s words, Momo exclaimed in surprise, then grabbed Kai’s hand and dragged him toward a black limousine that was waiting for them. Kai could only shake his head as he allowed himself to be pulled along.

When they reached the car, Kai couldn’t help but notice how Salem wanted to get in, which made him smile in amusement before he commented authoritatively.

"You’re not going, Salem."

The huge cat meowed in confusion while looking at Kai. After all, in his six years of life, he had never been far from his master, except when he took a nap, which greatly moved Momo from inside the limousine.

"Oh, poor Salem, don’t worry, baby, when I get back, I’ll pamper you all day."

Salem didn’t even look at Momo; he simply kept staring at Kai, then tried to get into the car again, only to be hit by a slight pressure as his master’s voice echoed.

"I already told you, you’re not going. I’ll be back in a few hours."

Without looking back, Kai got into the limousine, leaving Salem sitting on the ground, watching as the car quickly drove away. Momo, on the other hand, could only look out the window, seeing how the large cat became smaller with distance.

"Poor Salem, he must be so sad…" Momo commented in a sad tone, to which Kai simply responded by changing the subject, successfully drawing the attention of the black-haired girl.

"Well, Momo, let’s talk about how to make friends. The first lesson in making friends is that in this world, 99% of the people who approach you want something from you. It can range from emotional support and companionship to money and benefits. It could be anything; the point is they want something.

So, the trick is to use that as bait to attract them and never give it to them entirely. That way, you’ll keep them interested long enough for you to get used to each other and eventually call each other ‘friends.’

But you have to be very careful with the people you associate with because those who only seek money and benefits will never become true friends. At best, they’ll leave you when you can’t offer them anything more. At worst, they’ll take everything from you and step on you when you’re down."

"That sounds too pragmatic and pessimistic, even a bit manipulative…" Momo commented with a pout, to which Kai responded with a shrug.

"Well, I can’t deny it, but it’s a pretty effective strategy for building personal relationships."

"But I don’t want that kind of utilitarian relationship. I care about you for who you are, not for what you can offer me. I didn’t know you saw us that way." Momo said with a pout, crossing her arms under her chest and turning to look out the window at the passing scenery.

"I don’t see you that way. I said 99%, remember? You’re part of that 1% of people whose only intention is to love and support me. After all, you offered me so much when I had nothing to give in return. I could never consider you part of that 99%."

Kai responded in a warm tone as he pulled Momo onto his lap, making the girl rest her head on his legs. She looked up at him with teary eyes and asked.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course. You’re my precious family, the most important thing I have." Kai replied with a smile, which caused Momo to turn and bury her face in Kai’s abdomen before softly saying.

"I believe you…"

"Hehehe, that’s good. But really, you should be careful with those who are only interested in the 'benefits' they can get from you. Those people are usually quite dangerous." Kai commented while stroking Momo’s long hair. She responded, her voice sounding a bit muffled as it came from Kai’s stomach.

"I’ll keep that in mind, though I’m not sure if I’ll be able to detect them…"

"Oh, don’t worry about that. You’ll notice it instantly."

"Do you really think so?"

"I’m completely sure. But don’t worry, you’re a wonderful girl, and it won’t be long before you find that 1% of people you can truly call friends. I’ll take care of the others."

"Hehehe, thanks, Kai."

Momo responded in a somewhat shy tone from Kai's stomach, a position that allowed her to hide the slight blush on her cheeks. She then closed her eyes and tried to calm her emotions; after all, she couldn’t let her prey figure out her intentions.

(Hehehe)

Momo laughed in her mind at her own thoughts, while a beautiful smile formed on her face and her heartfelt warmer and more at ease, letting the rest of the journey pass in comfortable and reassuring silence.

Once they arrived at the school, Kai and Momo stepped out of the limousine. However, they didn’t stand out much because of the ostentatious vehicle, as they weren’t the only ones who had arrived in a luxury car. After all, the school where they would “study” for the next three years was an elite institution where the children of the crème de la crème of Japanese society gathered.

In their respective classroom, the pair of black-haired youths sat together at the back, where they started chatting about random things. Not long after, a very elegant man in his forties, who seemed to be the teacher, entered the room.

Noticing the man’s arrival, Momo immediately ended the conversation and sat up straight in her seat, not without first telling Kai to do the same. However, the blue-eyed boy just leaned back in his seat in a relaxed manner.

"Good morning, students. My name is Tanaka Ryoichi-sensei, and I will be your homeroom teacher this year, so you can refer to me as Tanaka-sensei." The man spoke with an eloquent tone that seemed to be trying to sound “elegant” by force, which made Kai roll his eyes before tuning out the pretentious guy.

"“““Good morning, Tanaka-sensei.”””

Momo, on her part, responded in unison with all the other students, which brought a pleased smile to the man, Tanaka, who continued speaking in the same obviously fake and rehearsed tone.

"Today, I’d like to start with a brief introduction from each of you, where you’ll tell the class your name, your future goals, something you like, and something you dislike. I’ll start first by setting an example.

As you already know, my name is Tanaka Ryoichi, and my goal for the future is to become one of the best teachers in Japan. I also like reading, and I dislike cold coffee. Well, that’s the type of introduction we’ll do. We’ll start from right to left."

(It really doesn’t matter what culture or world I’m in, this part never changes…)

Kai thought to himself with an ironic smile on his face, while he tried to ignore how. One by one, all the students introduced themselves following the same format, stating their name and then mentioning their future goals and things they liked and disliked.