Chapter 43: Why does that sound terribly wrong?

Shortly after, it was Momo's turn. She immediately stood up from her seat, just as all the previous students had done, and introduced herself with a serious tone, though there was a hint of nervousness in her expression that Kai easily noticed.

"Hello everyone, I'm Yaoyorozu Momo. My goal is to become a professional hero, both to maintain peace in our society and to uplift people's spirits. I love reading and learning new things, so I'm always open to gaining new knowledge. I can't stand injustice and lack of effort. Furthermore, I hope we can get along well!"

(Uwaa, how typical of Momo, hahaha)

With an amused expression on his face, Kai couldn't help but laugh to himself. But that quickly changed when he noticed how the whole class started looking at Momo with surprised and greedy expressions, even the teacher was not an exception. This made him narrow his eyes slightly, but he still got up to give his introduction since it was his turn, and it wasn't yet the time to make a scene.

"My name is Saito Kai. I don't have any future goals at the moment. I like building things, and I don't like being kept waiting. Nice to meet you."

The introductions continued without issues, and soon the class began. However, unlike Momo, who took notes seriously, Kai completely ignored the teacher and instead started thinking about more important things, like new training methods, various interesting projects, new weapons to forge, and so on.

The morning passed without many incidents, with four periods of about 45 minutes each, during which different teachers gave classes after introducing themselves, just as the first one had. However, everything changed when it was time for lunch.

As soon as the typical sound of the bell echoed in the classroom, hordes of people almost ran towards Momo, surrounding her like hungry predators, desperately trying to start a conversation with her. This initially made the black-haired girl very happy, but that soon changed.

"Yaoyorozu-san, my name is Suzuki Ryoto, from the Suzuki family. Your beauty and seriousness have captivated me at first sight. Would you grant me a moment of your time?"

"Don't pay attention to him, Yaoyorozu-san. My name is Shinomiya Reika, from the Shinomiya family, and I'd like to be your friend."

"Yaoyorozu-san, my name is… from the… family."

As more and more people introduced themselves, Momo's expression visibly soured as she began to understand what Kai meant when he said that most people want something from others and that she would notice it instantly. She could practically see the greed shining in the eyes of those around her, eager to associate with the daughter of the great Keiko Yaoyorozu and reap all the possible benefits from that relationship.

This only made Kai's pessimistic words echo in her mind, filling her with deep sadness to the point where her eyes started to well up with tears. But at that moment, a 'crushing pressure' stopped everyone in their tracks.

"You're all annoying."

Along with the terrifying pressure, a clearly irritated voice that seemed to come from a bloodthirsty demon resonated in the room. Everyone turned in the direction it came from, only to find an exceptionally handsome young man with black hair and blue eyes, speaking with a dark expression full of malicious intent.

"If I see any of you by the time I count to three, I'll throw you out the window. 1... 2..."

The blue-eyed young man commented in a deep voice, sending a shiver down everyone's spines. But that was nothing compared to when he started counting, as with each number he uttered, the horrifying pressure multiplied brutally, causing their legs to tremble.

By the time the young man reached 2, no one could bear to stay another second in the place, so they all ran out, some covered in cold sweat, while others were outright crying in panic. The young man then arrogantly and condescendingly, though still clearly annoyed, commented,

"That's better. If you're this obedient all the time, we won't have any problems."

As for Momo, who hadn't felt the 'pressure' that the others experienced, she looked at Kai, who was lying back on his desk with an irritated expression. She then moved her desk closer to his.

"Kai, this is your lunch. I hope you like it."

With a beautiful smile on her face, Momo commented after taking out two large lunch boxes she had prepared in advance from her bag, handing the bigger one to Kai, who stretched as he lazily remarked.

"Mmm? Oh right, it's lunchtime. Thanks for remembering me, Momo."

"I would never forget." Momo replied with a smile, which, for some reason, scared the onlookers both inside and outside the classroom.

Ignoring the 'audience,' Momo and Kai ate pleasantly and relaxed while chatting about various topics. Meanwhile, the other students who hadn't tried to bother Momo—and therefore hadn't received Kai's special treatment—continued with their own activities, although they occasionally couldn't help but glance cautiously at the terrifying blue-eyed boy.

The day ended quickly, and soon Momo and Kai headed home without much trouble. After all, having two good aunts and an influential writer and hero as a sister prevented things like being called to the principal's office and other similar situations.

Soon, the limousine that had picked up the black-haired pair arrived at Kai's property, where almost the entire gang awaited them, greeting them with big smiles at the door as soon as they got out of the car.

"Welcome back! How was your first day at school?" Nemuri was the first to greet the youngsters, hugging them affectionately, to which Kai casually replied,

"Mmm, pretty good. The classmates are quite cooperative."

"Why does that sound terribly wrong, Kai? What did you do?" Shino, who was beside Nemuri, asked accusingly while hugging Momo.

"Me? Nothing, right, Momo?" Kai didn't even flinch and responded casually while looking at Momo, who replied with a cheerful smile on her face.

"That's right, Kai just politely asked them to let us have lunch, and they easily stepped back to give us our space."

"Oh no!! Kai has corrupted little Momo-chan, something he hadn't managed to do until now, we're doomed!!!" Ryuko commented dramatically while pulling Kai out of Shino's arms, causing everyone present to burst into joyful laughter.

"But tell mom, Momo, how did you feel at school today?" Keiko asked with a smile after greeting her youngest daughter, who responded with a small smile.

"Kai was right, Okaa-sama, the school doesn't seem all that special, but I'm still glad I enrolled; I've learned a lot."

"I'm glad that's the case, then."

As they conducted a full debrief on the kids' first day at school, the group entered the main house, where they settled into the comfortable sofas and were attended by two of the house staff. But shortly after, Yumiko and Nejire arrived, with Nejire still in her uniform.

"Momo, Kai!!"

""Nejire nee-chan!""

As soon as she arrived, Nejire exclaimed excitedly before jumping to hug the black-haired pair, who greeted her back with smiles on their faces. She then asked with an excited expression,

"How was your first day at school? Did you have fun?"

"Well, it was interesting, though I can't say it was particularly fun," Momo replied with a smile while returning Nejire's hug, who nodded in understanding.

"Well, yeah, school isn't that fun..." A somewhat melancholic smile crossed Nejire's face, but she quickly regained her usual energy and then asked while looking around, "By the way, where's Salem? It's strange that he's not with Kai."

"Oh, he's being dramatic on the second floor." Kai replied with an ironic smile, which caused the girls to drag him upstairs, while he could only wave at Yumiko from afar.

"Hello, Aunt Yumiko."

"Hello, Kai-chan, fufu." Yumiko greeted with an amused smile as she watched Kai being dragged upstairs, then she greeted the other adults in the house and started a casual conversation.

Once on the second floor, the girls quickly made Kai lead them to where Salem was, only to find him in his playroom—the place where his scratching posts, toys, and other items were kept—lying on a reinforced platform that allowed him to look out the window. He exuded a melancholic and lonely aura, as if the world had betrayed him.

"Poor Salem!!"

"Come to mama, Salem!!"

Upon seeing the huge cat, Momo and Nejire couldn't help but exclaim in sad tones as they rushed toward him. While Kai just leaned against the door frame, watching the whole dramatic show of the spoiled cat with some amusement.

As soon as the girls reached Salem, they quickly hugged him and began speaking in soft, somewhat sad voices.

"What's wrong, Salem? Are you sad because you were left all alone today?"

Nejire commented in an almost maternal tone as she stroked the large cat's head, who simply continued staring out the window while his nose made soft, intermittent breathing sounds, as if he were crying.

"Forgive us, Salem, but we couldn't take you to school. It's against the rules to bring pets, but I promise I'll play with you a lot and take you on plenty of walks..."

Momo apologized with a tone full of guilt as she hugged the cat's sturdy body, who kept looking out the window as if he were a tragic victim, to which Kai could only roll his eyes before casually commenting.

"Stop being silly, Salem, let's go. We need to train."

Hearing his master's voice, Salem turned to look at him with his blue eyes appearing sad, clearly trying to look pitiful—something Kai completely ignored as he simply turned to leave the room while speaking.

"Come on! We didn't train this morning, and we need to make up for it."

With his master's command, the 'sadness' disappeared from Salem's feline face. He then freed himself from the embrace of his master's females, who had loosened their hold to look at Kai with accusatory eyes, and quickly caught up with him, his sturdy tail gently swaying in the air.

Seeing how the cat's mood changed so quickly, Momo and Nejire could only look at each other in surprise before shouting loudly in clearly angry tones.

"Dammit, Salem, you tricked us!" Nejire yelled at the cat walking away with Kai, to which Momo immediately added, pointing indignantly at their backs.

"Go with your silly Kai and don't come back!!!"