"How about this—you take one of everything you like?" Seeing Yara in a dilemma, Kai suggested.
"Okay, thanks, big bro! I want cookies, brownies, and cupcakes!" Thanking Kai for his suggestion, Yara made her choice—leaving the donuts for another time.
"So, when should we head out tomorrow?" Alex asked as Yara sat at a table with her bucket of cookies, brownies, and cupcakes.
"Let's see... I'll come around 7:00 AM. Then we'll head to the Slime Cave. How long would the round trip take?" After thinking for a moment, Kai decided that 7:00 AM was a good time.
"The Slime Cave isn't that far away—it's about a 30 to 40-minute walk from the town gate. Even if you spend an hour hunting Slimes, you'll be back before 10:00 AM."
Recently, after undergoing his third Heavenly Trial, Alex had been looking for a new team to help him grow.
He'd applied to a few teams but hadn't received any responses yet. So, he'd been free these past few days. Aside from practicing his swordsmanship, Alex spent the rest of his time helping his father.
"Tasty."
While Kai and Alex discussed their plans for tomorrow, Yara was enjoying herself to the fullest.
"Be on time," Alex reminded Kai as they left the Kato Bakery.
Along the way, Yara kept glancing at the bag in Kai's hand. Since she'd been too immersed in her treats earlier, she hadn't noticed what Kai had bought.
After half an hour of walking, Kai and Yara finally returned to the Candy Complex, marking the end of their adventure.
Kai placed the bag full of desserts he'd bought for everyone on the kitchen counter and headed back to his room.
Meanwhile, Yara started telling Tony all about her adventures and soon forgot about the bag of goodies Kai had carried. Otherwise, before everyone returned, everything in that bag would've been taken care of.
Back in his room, Kai spent three hours absorbing Ki.
[Ki: 624]
Looking at the increase in his Ki reserves, Kai felt a little bored and left the room.
Entering the lounge, Kai saw Tony teaching Yara.
"Quite an adventure you guys had," Tony said upon seeing Kai. Yara had spent a whole hour telling him about their adventure.
Hearing Yara talk so excitedly about exploring the Hunter Market, Tony felt that in pursuit of their goals, everyone had neglected Yara.
For about four months, Yara had been with them, and not once had she asked for anything. After the first week—when she would constantly cry about going to look for her parents—Yara had been very obedient.
She would never complain and, at most, ask someone to play with her.
"It's nothing," Kai replied while picking up today's newspaper and starting to go through it.
Aside from two news stories that caught his eye, the rest was either everyday stuff or recruitment notices.
The first article that caught Kai's attention was about the confirmation of another town located on the other side of the Talif Mountains.
The mayor was planning to send an expedition team to this town.
The second article was about a loan scheme initiated by the mayor, which provided loans to hunters as well as other professions—without any interest.
As Kai was busy reading the newspaper, Yara finished her lessons and dragged both Tony and Kai out to play.
"I'm telling you, we should get her checked," Kai complained as he tried to catch his breath. After all, Yara's stamina was beyond what was humanly possible for kids her age.
"You think a Fairy doctor would know about her awakening?" Tony asked. When it came to matters involving fairies, he knew far less than Kai.
"Anyone with Soul powers and knowledge of awakenings can tell us about it. I just hope it's not some special kind," Kai answered.
In fact, if Kai had Soul power, he could check Yara's body himself—note down the changes in her body—and then compare those changes with different awakenings until he identified which one she had.
Checking what type of awakening Yara has isn't the problem; it can easily be done after paying a few Silvers. The real problem lies in the nature of the awakening itself.
If it's a normal awakening like the Life Seed, Life Veins, or the Life Body, then there's nothing to worry about. However, if it's a special awakening, things can become complicated.
That's because Yara already has Source Ki, and special awakenings have a history of never co-existing with any other awakening.
"Finally, today was the last day of the Monster Tide. Now, I don't always have to be wary of the monsters I kill." As Kai and Tony were thinking about getting Yara's awakening checked, the rest of the gang entered the backyard after unloading.
"Do you think Henry is planning to move out?" Orion asked out of nowhere. Ever since Henry found out that Alice was pregnant, he had been spending most of his free time with her.
"Move out? No. But move someone in—that's the real question," Omar corrected Orion, feeling he was heading in the wrong direction.
Since Alice is pregnant, the logical next step would be for Henry to marry her. After they get married, they would either move into the Candy Complex or rent a house. Omar felt moving into the Candy Complex would be a good choice.
"How was today?" Tony asked Eric as Eric, Oliver, Omar, and Orion sat down.
"Much better than yesterday. Today we hunted four Elite Silver Wolves," Oliver answered before Eric had the chance to speak.
"Today the Raven Team was going all out. I think by tomorrow, the Silver Wolves will be extinct," Omar said with excitement. They had spent the whole day hunting Silver Wolves that had accidentally slipped through the Raven Team's encirclement.
After talking about the day's events, everyone started helping to prepare dinner.
After dinner, Kai headed back to his room. Lying on his bed, he closed his eyes and slowly drifted into dreams.
[Ancient Calendar: 23 April 0001]
The next day, Kai woke up pretty early. He took a shower and then left the Candy Complex without having breakfast.
Leaving the Candy Complex, Kai hurried toward the Kato bakery and arrived before 7:00 AM.
"Kai, wait a minute! I'll be right there." Hearing the banging sound, Alex opened the window of his room and saw Kai standing outside the bakery.
Alex quickly gathered his things, along with the equipment he had prepared for hunting Slimes.
"Here, these will help you hunt Slimes easily." Jumping from the window, Alex landed beside Kai and handed him a big shield and a long spear.
Alex had bought both the shield and the spear for hunting Slimes. However, after a few days, he moved on from Slimes to Kobolds and no longer had much use for such a large shield.
Since then, the shield had been collecting dust in his room.
As for the spear, ever since he got a sword, he hadn't touched it once.
Leaving the Kato bakery, both Kai and Alex headed straight for the North Gate.