After the battle that had taken place the night before in the Strawberry Dream courtyard, the sun finally rose and a new day began, brimming with energy.
Inside the warehouse, a large metal door slowly opened. Kairus, who had just woken up, looked bright and refreshed, as if he had just emerged from a deep, healing sleep. After rubbing his eyes a little, he let out a small yawn, stretched, and walked cheerfully down the hall toward the table area, filled with the joy of having won the battle.
When he arrived, he found Jake surrounded by an aura of death. He was lying face down like a decomposing corpse on one of the tables, rubbing his back, completely hunched, messy, and covered in dirt. Unlike Kairus, he had spent a completely different kind of night. Two flies were even circling his head as if it were a Nascar track.
— Wow, Joaquín! What happened to you? — asked Kairus upon seeing the pitiful state of the Dark Lord.
After asking, he noticed Jake's head turning around like that of a possessed doll, creating a rather disturbing image.
— I don't know… what could've happened? — he said sarcastically, glaring at the knight with eyes so full of fury that you could practically read the word "die" drawn in his pupils — And don't call me Joaquín…
— Come on! Don't be such a crybaby. It can't be that bad. — said Kairus as he poured himself a bit of water.
After that comment, Jake started mumbling things and laughing uncontrollably.
— Hahahahaha! "It can't be that bad," he says! Hahahaha!
After laughing, he suddenly threw himself to the floor and began crawling toward Kairus on all fours, making him uncomfortable for a moment. It looked like more than a chiropractor, he needed an exorcist.
— Stop! You're creeping me out! — exclaimed Kairus, spitting out the water he was drinking.
The Dark Lord grabbed the knight by one leg and started climbing bizarrely up to his shoulders.
— Creeping you out? What happened to me yesterday was terrifying! — said Jake, squeezing the knight's shoulder — It turns out that at midnight I went into the bakery to get some water because my throat was so dry I couldn't stand it anymore. I went in, drank the water, and all good—until I went out! Guess what I found?
— What did you find? — asked Kairus curiously.
— Not one, not two—but three! Three damn rats inside my property! There they were, those filthy little monsters, sleeping soundly as if it were their home!
— W-wow, that must've been rough… I didn't expect that — said Kairus, brushing off the dirt Jake had left on him — But if that was the problem… why didn't you just scare them away?
— Wait, the best part's coming! I tried grabbing a stick to scare them away while still in human form, but I only managed to make them run deeper inside! So I had no choice but to transform into a dog again and fight all three of them at once! And look at this!
The Dark Mage showed his arm to the knight, covered in bites and scratches — clear scars of a wild, animalistic duel to the death.
— Ugh! — exclaimed Kairus, backing away with a grimace of disgust at Jake's bitten-up arm — If I were you, I'd get that checked… fast.
The knight scratched his head, trying to process the story Jake had told him, then continued:
— So? What did you do with them?
— Ah, after knocking them out, I went back inside, grabbed some tape that was on one of these tables, and tied them up so they couldn't escape — replied Jake proudly, scratching his nose. He had fought a 3 vs 1 barehanded battle; even if it was against rats, it was still a win — a fight without using a single spell.
Upon hearing the method Jake used to neutralize the intruders, the knight's eyes widened like balloons. He started recalling the "tape" Jake mentioned. When he finally remembered what object that was, his expression completely changed, and his body tensed up.
— A tape? No way…
Kairus quickly turned his head toward one of the tables, searching frantically.
— Joaquín… don't tell me you grabbed a ribbon from that table over there — exclaimed Kairus, glaring so intensely that Jake's fate seemed to hang by a thread.
— Hmm… I think it was that one — replied Jake, scratching his chin.
The knight went silent for a moment. His fists slowly clenched.
— I see… so you used my favorite hair ribbon to tie up a bunch of rats — said the knight with a disturbing grin spreading from ear to ear — Haha! How interesting!
— I didn't know it was yours, but I gotta admit it was quite useful — replied Jake with a thumbs-up, while Kairus muttered something — By the way…
— Ten… nine… eight…
— Why are you counting?
— Oh… no reason… seven… six… five…
— H-hey, stop it, seriously, you're scaring me.
— Four… three… two…
Before finishing, the knight grabbed the cash register, lifted it with one hand, and as if casting a high-level spell, shouted:
— One!
— Wait! — cried Jake, alarmed by Kairus's sudden change in demeanor. He jumped back to gain distance and avoid being caught.
— This was gonna be my breakfast… but I guess I have no choice! — said Jake, pulling a completely white egg out of his pocket.
— That thing's raw, Joaquín! — shouted Kairus, gripping the cash register with both hands as if preparing for an epic throw.
— Raw? The rats were rawer! — replied Jake, placing a hand dramatically on his chest.
— Oh, so you ate them like a good filthy dog, huh? Then if you handled those rats, there should be no problem with this! Open your mouth and say "ah!"
At that moment, Hikari was coming down from her room on the second floor, just waking up.
— Hey guys, what's with all the noise~? — she murmured as she descended the stairs.
When she saw the scene, she froze.
— Hey! Seriously, what's going on here?!
The cash register was already flying through the air, heading straight for Jake.
— Oh no, don't even think about it! I'm not letting you two fight inside the shop! — shouted Hikari, rushing to stand between them and prevent further chaos.
As she stepped between them, the cash register narrowly missed her head, grazing her hair.
— Whoa! — she gasped, barely dodging it.
— Hey, lis—
Her words were cut short as the egg Jake had thrown in retaliation to Kairus's attack splattered squarely against her face, slowly dripping down.
— Oh… — murmured both men at the same time.
Hikari stood still for a few seconds, her head hanging low. As time passed, a dark aura emanated from her — danger was imminent.
— That… that was the last egg we had…
With a furious glare, Hikari slowly approached the two of them with heavy, menacing steps, like an angry lion. They tried to escape, but before they could, she grabbed them both by the neck and slammed their heads hard against a table.
— Alright, since you two are so full of energy this morning, and yesterday you said you wanted to help with the bakery, here's what's going to happen — and you're going to listen carefully! — she shouted, pressing their heads even harder against the table — You're going to go to the store and buy every single ingredient we're missing! Got it?!
— Y-yesss, ma'am! — screamed both, terrified of the beast they'd awoken.
— But… h-how are we supposed to know what ingredients are missing? — asked Kairus.
— Don't worry, I'll handle that — said the girl, pulling out a sheet of paper with a thumbtack and a dark shadow forming on her face. Her idea was anything but good — Just… don't move!
— Wait! What do you mean "don't move"? — asked Kairus, alarmed by the clarification.
Without hesitation, the girl pinned the shopping list to Kairus's back with the thumbtack.
— Done! — exclaimed Hikari.
— Ouch! That hurt!
°°°
After a few minutes of walking, the two arrived at the city's supermarket. It wasn't huge, but it had a wide variety of important goods for sale — eggs, milk, flour, and other top-quality products.
— Wow! This place is nothing like the merchant stalls back in Nocturne — exclaimed Kairus, amazed by their surroundings.
— It's called a supermarket. I read about it in a thing called a magazine. Basically, it's a place where they sell all kinds of stuff together.
— How useful!
— You're telling me… now, don't move.
After entering, Kairus and Jake stood near the counter, carefully reviewing the shopping list.
As the Dark Lord checked the products, he noticed one of the employees — specifically, the cashier — staring at them intently.
— Hey… that girl's staring at us a lot, isn't she? — Jake whispered into the knight's ear.
— Ha, she probably likes one of us — replied Kairus, turning around and giving a thumbs-up.
— Are we that handsome?
— Of course we are! Have faith!
At the counter, the girl was still staring awkwardly at them with a forced smile. Beads of sweat dripped down her forehead like a broken faucet.
[ Wow, those two guys are really handsome, but what I'd really like to know is… ] — thought the girl as her sweat intensified — [ Why the hell does the blonde one have a sheet of paper pinned to his back with a thumbtack?! Is that… BDSM!? ]
She quickly turned her back, holding her nose — trying to stop a sudden, heavy nosebleed caused by her twisted imagination.
[ No! I'm at work, I can't have thoughts like that here! Get it together! ] — she thought, slapping herself twice.
[ Maybe it's just my imagination… yeah, that's it! It's all because I've been reading naughty stuff too late at night! I'll just look again and I'll see I was wrong— ]
She turned around to check.
— Good morning! — exclaimed Kairus right in front of the counter, cheerfully greeting her.
— Kyaa! — screamed the worker, startled by the sudden greeting. Her scream was so loud it echoed through the whole supermarket, making other customers turn their heads.
— Hey… are you okay? — asked Kairus, confused.
— Y-yes… don't worry about it — said the girl, bowing her head, embarrassed by the commotion — What can I help you with?
— I'm looking for the flour. Where could I find it?
— O-of course, you can find the flour down the middle aisle, sir.
— Thank you so much, miss! — said Kairus, placing a hand on his chest in a courteous gesture.
[ See? It was all just my imagination— ]
Kairus turned around to walk toward the flour section, his back now facing the girl — who could clearly see the paper with the thumbtack stuck to it.
[ No way!! ] — she thought as she collapsed dramatically to the floor in defeat, while Kairus walked away with his usual cheerful energy.
°°°
A few minutes later, still inside the store, the Dark Lord was walking down the left aisle, scanning the shelves for one of the products they needed.
— Eggs… eggs… — he muttered while calmly reading the labels. After a while, he finally found the right shelf — Here they are! — he exclaimed.
Jake grabbed the eggs and placed them in the cart. However, when he turned around, he noticed a person wearing black jeans and a gray hoodie that completely covered their face, struggling to reach a pack of bread due to their short height.
The Dark Mage walked behind the person, grabbed the bread, and placed it on their head. Then he simply walked away without saying a word — he wasn't good at socializing anyway.
The person gasped, grabbed the bread, and placed it in their cart. Then they quickly turned toward Jake and said:
— H-hey… th-thank… you — in a voice so soft it was almost inaudible.
— Huh? Did you say something? — asked Jake, scratching his ear.
— N-nothing! — shouted the person, turning around and running down the aisles, passing by a boy who saw the hood fall off their head, revealing long, golden strands of hair.
That boy was none other than Kairus, who was left completely shocked by the surreal sight. However, after a moment of thought, he rubbed his palms together mischievously.
— Hehehe! I know exactly what we're going to do to save the bakery!
[ What could Kairus's plan be? ]
---To be continued in Chapter 8 ---