"Alright, enough of that."

Kai stood up after leaving no plate with even a speck of meat. Everyone was still in an uproar and asking questions which were faithfully answered by Amelia and Angelina.

"Unfortunately, I'm really busy today. I have to go meet two more people, Angelina come with me. Whoever wants to tag along may do so."

Kai kept bringing them to several places, everybody except Date and Kei chose to come. Though, they would cry tears of blood when they find out where Kai was actually headed.

Sitting on a luxurious sofa was a burly man with red hair. Beside him was a white haired girl wearing a hood.

"So, Tatsuya, what brings you here today?"

"Cut the crap, Lion. We both know I'm here for the dragon."

"Sheesh, as impatient as ever are we? Syl, the map."

"Yes."

The white haired girl removed her hood which revealed her ears and face. Every person in the room other than Lion and Kai had to stare at her for a second before regaining themselves. Erina was a pure beauty, Amelia was a mature beauty, but Syl was a beauty which felt as if she wasn't of this world, like the slightest touch would break her. Yet, her eyes contained fierceness that were noticeable.

A very detailed map made from light formed in front of them.

Lion pointed at ten spots around the map and each time he did, a dot of light would stay in place.

"A perimeter around this area. Ballistae to catch and pin down the dragon in case it escapes. A squad equipped with Enchanted Gear from Superbia and Ms. Angel as the main attack force. Correct?"

"Yes, price?"

"A fight."

"Of course it is. Let's go."

Kai stood up and walked outside accompanied by everyone.

"I didn't think you'd accept it so easily..."

"Getting cold feet? I've just woke up after a month so I may be sluggish though."

Lion stood in front of Kai and pointed his sword.

"I will defeat you today!"

"99-0. That's our record, in my favor."

Lion roared and his sword burst into flames. Then, he charged forward and slashed at Kai. Kai dodged it with smooth movements and disappeared. Then, he appeared behind Lion and aimed a kick towards the side of his head.

Lion raised his arm and blocked Kai's leg but was sent crashing towards the wall.

"Such amazing physical strength..."

Kazuki who boasted the strongest physical strength save for Kai praised them. The two of them had physical strength several times higher than his.

"That kick dealt at least a hundred tons of force..."

Erina murmured.

Erina's physical strength wasn't all that high but she more than made up for it with techniques and the utility of ice. Kazuki and Yoko had a higher physical strength than her but they had no way to measure force with the level of science in the world.

"I'm not down yet!"

Lion shot out from within the smoke while bursting in flames. He looked like a giant fireball speeding towards Kai. The instant he passed through, the ground got scorched. He aimed his fist at Kai but it was stopped when Kai met his fist.

BOOM

The fire that gathered around Lion was dispersed by the sonic boom that came from Kai's punch.

"HOW DO ALL YOUR ATTACKS PRODUCE SHOCKWAVES?!"

Lion felt himself going crazy.

"When something moves at the speed of sound, it produces a sonic boom. I just make it so that my attacks accelerate a second before contact."

Kai retracted his right fist and used his left but he stopped it five inches before Lion. Shortly after, Lion was sent flying towards the wall when a huge gust of wind slammed into his face.

"Delayed attack, looks like it actually worked."

Erina blinked several times and walked towards Syl.

"Does this happen everytime?"

"No, this is a surprise for me as well. Sir Tatsuya normally allows the battle to prolong for at least five minutes while giving pointers but right now... I feel like he's treating Lion like a punching bag or rather, a practice dummy."

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"Hahahaha..."

Erina laughed awkwardly.

Amelia moved towards Erina and handed her a round ball.

"Hm? What is this?"

"Just press the button at the center. Syl."

Syl faced Amelia and stepped backwards. Erina took that as the cue to press it and in an instant, a translucent cyan barrier covered them.

"An item from Superbia, instant barrier. It has unlimited uses but needs time to recharge in between. The power of the shield depends on how long it's been charging."

"...Why are you advertising your product?"

"Sorry, it became a habit after Kai told me to advertise each time I use a product... He already told me to stop but sometimes I still remember when we had to do that and unintentionally advertise. I know each product that Superbia sells like Kai's body so..."

Erina blinked twice.

"...Pervert."

"I may be when compared to a pure maiden like you."

Back at the battle, Kai continued his onslaught on Lion.

"Good, you lasted this long. It's time to test my next weapon- I mean, to bring an end to this battle!"

"You just admitted that you're using me as a test dummy!"

Kai placed a hand on his pendant and retrieved a shotgun shell, much like the one that he used against Hyosuke. Then his left arm opened like a chamber and with a click, he loaded the shell inside.

He placed his arm right in front of Lion and with a bang, his arm launched forward like a bullet being shot out from a gun and sent Lion flying towards the wall. But he didn't stop there, he continued to fly and break through several walls until he reached the end of his mansion's wall.

"...That might've been a little too much. I guess I can't use that 'Knockback Shell' against a normal person. Or maybe I could tweak my arm..."

Kai said so as the chamber on his left arm opened and the remains of the shell fell down. Then, it closed and Kai began to take a screwdriver from his pendant and was about to use it on his arm when he decided against it before storing it in the pendant once more.

Then, he walked towards Syl.

"Put all the repair costs under my tab. Let's talk about the real price since that musclehead is knocked out."

"Yes, I would very much prefer if you weren't to destroy all the walls while pummeling him though."

"...I'm sorry."

With Kai's apology, Syl smiled and led them all towards a room while leaving out everyone except Amelia.

"We'll begin the negotiations now so I will ask a maid to tour everyone around the mansion while we're waiting but if they prefer to just sit around then I can ask someone to prepare a room for them."

Erina turned to everyone and without gathering their opinions, talked.

"These three want to look around."

Erina said while pointing at Arata, Kazuki, and Umi.

"And the rest of us will stay in a room."

"Alright."

Syl clapped her hands twice and two maids came from out of nowhere.

"You called, madam?"

"Prepare a room then tour around these three."

Everyone was surprised at the sudden appearance of the maids but with calm maneuvers, one maid led Arata, Kazuki, and Umi towards the hall to tour them around and the other maid took everyone else inside a room.

"So, what do you want to talk about?"

Yoko said as she crossed her legs.

"Can't we just have a normal talk as friends...?"

Erina was a bit downhearted because of Yoko's suspicion but regained her calm.

"I just want to catch up on old times. I brought Natsumi here in case you try to hide any embarrassing moments though."

Erina said this as she carried Aya on her lap and began to play with her hair.

"...I still can't get used to the fact that you suddenly changed after Kai stopped your father."

"Eh?"

Erina said this like it was the biggest surprise she received. Her eyes widened and her body froze.

"W-what do you mean? Did I get fat or something?!"

Erina was about to stand up and grab Yoko in surprise but decided against it when she remembered Aya on her lap.

"No, it's not like that... It's like..."

Yoko said this while trying to figure out what to say.

"It's like the light has returned to your eyes and your movements became real instead of forced, as if you had finally decided to not live as someone else but instead as you."

Natsumi explained for Yoko.

"Really? I don't think I've changed all that much though."

"You've changed, or rather... returned."

Yoko said this while reminiscing.

"In the past, you used to be very cheerful while hiding something painful. But in truth, you wanted to be normal and tried to do everything we did. Honestly, it made me praise you for your hardwork. I don't think anyone other than I was able to notice it."

Erina smiled softly and shook her head.

"No, Kai noticed it immediately. When we first met, he didn't say anything but I could tell he noticed it. He confronted me when he got back to the clan and advised me to stop doing it. We actually had a fight because of that, he didn't want me wasting away at my life but he was very hypocritical. Immediately after telling me that I shouldn't waste my life, he wasted his own and nearly died. But you know, I learned one thing after meeting him again."

Yoko smirked.

"That he's really awesome?"

"Exactly. The owner of Superbia, the third princess' Royal Guard Captain, demon slayer, mentor to the strongest adventurer, Kai's just that type of person."

"You two are strangely in sync for people who've been at odds with each other for half a dozen years..."

Natsumi was truly in wonder how these two had connected their thoughts and took Aya from Erina's lap.

"Kai should be just about done in a few more minutes so let's roam around for a bit."

"Alright."

Yoko nodded and stood up with Erina following suit.

----------------------------------------

"I'm troubled if you go for that sort of price, Sir Tatsuya."

Syl said so as she placed a hand on her cheek.

"20,000 gold is a lot, wouldn't you say?"

Kai leaned forward on the table in front of him and intertwined his fingers in front of his mouth.

"Enchanted Gear from Superbia, the cost for buying them is removed because of you providing them but the cost of maintenance for Enchanted Gear would cost a lot. Also, the ballistae that you require for dragon hunting need to be repaired since they had recently just been used. Then, the squad you require is obviously not within the capabilities of this kingdom and require it from our personal force so it would cost the most."

Kai raised his index finger and waved it sideways repeatedly.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Maintenance would cost at most two hundred gold per weapon since I will be providing brand new ones and I'm only hiring a capable squad filled with a dozen people who will follow Angie's orders and not an entire platoon. We both know that with Angie's capabilities, none of your soldiers would die."

Syl placed a finger on her lip and began to talk again.

"You excluded the men needed to maintain and arm the ballistae. Even if the soldiers we will provide you have A-class and B-class bodies, it'll be difficult for a dozen men to arm several ballistae. At the least, a platoon is necessary. I also haven't calculated the amount of ammo required. 45,000 gold."

"Aren't you underestimating your men a little bit? We both know that about two dozen are enough to arm the ballistae and assist Angie in the frontlines. Ballistae also aren't the main form of attack and the special ammo is being sold quite cheaply in Superbia. 25,000 gold."

"But the time and effort we need to provide to get all you need before the end of this week also troubles us. There's also the fact that you scammed 100,000 gold from us recently. 44,000 gold."

Kai sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Lion was never much of a guy who thinks. If you were the one to compete against me during the bidding, I'm not sure if I could've scammed you that price, I may actually be the one who would be scammed if we were to compete. So, how about 30,000 gold?"