Chapter 409: Apostle Meeting (1)
After finishing their conversation, Kai took Helik’s hand and went to the dormitory. It seemed it was about time to sleep, as Helik began nodding off even while walking.
"Helik, are you sleepy?"
"Mhmm..." Surprisingly, Helik’s walking speed dropped by nearly eighty percent as she yawned and rubbed her eyes.
"Then excuse me for a moment." Using a gravity field, Kai gently lifted her and whispered softly, "You can sleep. I’ll take you to your room."
Before she could respond, she had already fallen asleep. The sound of her soft snoring, like a baby’s, echoed faintly through the dormitory hall.
Carefully, carefully.
Kai focused all his attention as he carried her. Though he had used gravity fields countless times, he had never concentrated this hard before.
I can’t make a mistake and wake her.
Helik’s floating body glided gently through the air.
When he quietly knocked on the door to Helik and Rashya’s room, the door opened.
"Kai... huh?" Rashya was surprised when she saw Helik floating in the air. "What happened? Did she pass out or something?!"
"No. She’s just asleep," Kai quickly cleared up her misunderstanding.
"Ah... I can’t with her, really." Letting out a deep sigh, Rashya pressed her aching forehead and, clearly embarrassed by her friend, lowered her head and pointed to the bed on the left. "Please lay her down over there."
"Alright."
After laying Helik down safely and tucking her in, Kai finally looked at Rashya. She was wearing pajamas, but not the kind with cartoon characters that children wore. They were shiny silk pajamas, like the kind rich daughters wore in dramas. The deep maroon color made her look more mature.
"Your pajamas suit you well, Rashya."
"R-really? Hehe..."
With just one compliment, Rashya smiled brightly. Her friend had returned safely, and after another busy day, the fatigue finally showed on her face.
"I’m getting sleepy too."
"Go ahead and rest."
"When will you... be back again...?"
"I’ll probably be staying at the academy tonight."
It did feel like a complete waste of space, but this academy still had something called a director’s office.
"Heh... Then... I’ll see you in the morning..."
As if to prove how close they were, Rashya also began nodding off. Kai lightly lifted her and carried her to bed just like he had done with Helik. He tucked both of them in and even made sure they were lying in ergonomically comfortable positions.
"Hm. Perfect."
Kai quietly watched as the two goddesses snored softly and traveled through dreamland, then turned off the lights.
"Sweet dreams, you two."
***
Knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock. Knock knock knock.
"Ugh..."
Kai, who had gone to sleep in semi-sleep mode without logging out, opened his eyes. Someone had been banging on his door since morning as if they were trying to break it down.
"Who... who is it?" he asked with a groggy voice while staring at the door.
Cheerful voices replied.
"My dear apostle, it’s morning!"
"Kai, wake up!"
Kai quietly opened the interface window and checked the time. It was seven in the morning.
I went to sleep past two a.m. after researching all that stuff last night, so...
That meant he barely slept five hours. Meanwhile, the two goddesses had gone off to dreamland before nine p.m.
"Uugh."
Kids indeed did need more sleep. Unable to withstand the pressure from the two goddesses, Kai finally opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.
"What’s going on so early in the morning...?"
"Good morning!"
"Good morning, Kai!"
The two goddesses, having slept soundly, even looked like their skin was glowing. Annoyed for no reason, Kai tugged at their cheeks.
"Ow... ouch..."
"Why are you doing this..."
"It’s a morning greeting."
Once he finished his greeting, Helik stood to his left and Rashya to his right.
"Now, we must go quickly."
"We can’t be late!"
"Um... Where are we going?"
Helik and Rashya’s eyes widened at his question.
"To the dining hall, of course."
"Don’t you eat breakfast, Kai?"
"I do, but..."
No one just ate one minute after waking up. Still, Kai didn’t argue and simply followed them.
"By the way, is there a reason we're rushing like this?"
"There is."
"Huh? Don’t tell me you didn’t know?"
"Know what?"
Of course, Kai was the one who built this academy, but he had never paid attention to the dining menu, so he was simply curious as to why the two goddesses were in such a hurry.
"Every morning there’s a special menu that only the first thirty people can eat."
"It’s really good. It’s a special dish made by the chef himself."
"Ah... So that’s a thing," Kai replied in a disinterested voice.
At that, Helik tilted her head. "Don’t you want to try it? It’s super tasty..."
"No, I do want to try it. I just didn’t think we needed to rush for it."
After the war with Aldebaran ended, most of the remaining students had gone back home. Naturally, the only students still at the academy were either...
People who really didn’t want to return home for some reason...
Kai glanced down and stared at the two goddesses.
Or ones who just want to eat the special menu or whatever it’s called.
However, that was a very naive thought.
"W-what is this?”
Kai was shocked when they arrived at the cafeteria. He had received a report just yesterday saying there were no more than seventeen students residing in the academy.
What, I definitely got that report from Prescott yesterday!
But now there were at least over fifty students eating in the cafeteria.
Prescott, who was eating in one corner, stood up and greeted Kai, "Well well, isn’t this our Director?"
"Good morning, Prescott. But... what exactly is going on here?"
"What do you mean?"
"Didn’t you say yesterday there were about seventeen students currently living in the academy?"
"Ah, yes. That is right," Prescott nodded as he stroked the tip of his mustache. "But during meal times, quite a few students use teleportation to come to the school."
"They use teleportation just to come and eat...?"
"That’s right."
"My goodness."
Teleportation was by no means cheap. Of course, Kai had Shadow Shift and enough wealth to afford the cost of teleportation without worry.
Most of the students are nobles, sure... but they spend that much every time just to eat?
For what reason, exactly?
Kai wore an expression that showed he simply could not understand. At that moment, the two goddesses standing on either side of him had hollow looks on their faces.
"We’re late... We’re too late..."
"It’s over..."
Seeing their reaction to missing the special menu or whatever it was, Kai couldn’t help but feel bad.
He leaned in and whispered to Prescott, "Prescott, what was today’s special menu?"
"It was the chef’s signature sandwich. Thick-cut ham, assorted vegetables, and the chef’s signature sauce."
"Is it possible to get it some other way?"
"Sir? You mean..." Prescott glanced at the two girls and then nodded. "I see. There are too many eyes here, so would you mind waiting in the director’s office?"
"Sorry for making such a request."
"Why would you apologize for such a thing? If it weren’t for you, this academy wouldn’t even exist."
Though he had been in the middle of his meal, Prescott went into the kitchen.
"Let’s go wait in the room," Kai took the hands of the two goddesses, whose shoulders were drooping, and led them back to his room.
***
The chef in charge of Arkan Academy’s dining hall was a very famous cook. A high-cost individual whose daily wage neared one hundred gold. That same chef pushed a cart of ingredients into the director’s office and began cooking right in front of them. Naturally, the two goddesses’ gazes toward Kai changed.
"You... You really are an incredible person."
Respect visibly poured out of Helik’s eyes as she looked at Kai. At this point, one couldn’t tell who was the god and who was the follower.
"He summoned the chef and got food made right in front of us... Kai, I didn’t know you were such a successful person."
A recent memory suddenly resurfaced. When he had visited the celestial garden, he had once proudly told the two of them that he had become the Lord of the East, the grand lord representing the eastern region of the Kingdom of Rashion. But back then, their reactions had been lukewarm.
"Grand lord? Hm, I see."
"Congratulations."
That had been all they said, but now it was different.
"A man who can get the special menu anytime he wants..."
"Truly a powerful person!"
Judging by their reactions, one would think he outranked a king.
"Your meal is ready."
The chef’s signature sandwiches for the three of them were ready. Before eating, the two goddesses offered a brief prayer and then turned their heads to look at Kai.
"Hm? Why are you looking at me instead of eating?"
"We learned this in Professor Prescott’s ethics class."
"He said we should wait until the elder takes the first bite before we eat."
"Wow, you really learned that?" Kai looked at the two with a gaze full of affection and lifted his sandwich. "Then I’ll take the first bite."
As Kai took a big bite of the sandwich, his eyes widened.
I-it’s delicious...!
His assumption that a sandwich was just a sandwich shattered like glass. At the same time, he understood why Helik and Rashya were so obsessed with the special menu.
If I could eat something this good every morning...
It was definitely worth waking up early. If early birds catch worms, then early risers eat the special menu.
"It’s delicious!"
"Sniff, I’m so happy."
Having finished a satisfying breakfast, Kai patted his stomach and walked out into the hallway with the goddesses. At that moment, he saw many students walking across the courtyard through the hallway windows.
"That’s strange. There aren’t any classes today, so where is everyone going?"
"Obviously, the snack bar," Helik replied in a nonchalant tone.
"Ah, the snack bar. Now that you mention it, I did set one up," Kai nodded as he finally remembered. "But that’s surprising. I thought you two would’ve asked to go there."
Helik and Rashya simply blinked at his question.
Tilting her head, Helik said, "My apostle, in order to buy something at the store, you need something called money."
Her voice was extremely gentle, like she was teaching a child.
"What? Who doesn’t know—oh."
Kai stopped his sentence mid-way without realizing it.
Now that I think about it...
He had never actually given Helik or Rashya any allowance. Before coming to the academy, they had lived on the celestial island, so there had been no need for money.
With a sinking feeling, Kai asked, "Um...Have you two never bought from the store then?"
The two nodded at the same time as if it had been rehearsed. Helik flipped out the pocket on her uniform skirt and shook it.
"I have no money."
"Me neither," Rashya, standing beside her, shook her pocket too.
"Ahem..." Kai lifted his head with tears forming in his eyes.
He felt like he might cry if he looked into their innocent eyes. They couldn’t go to the store because they had no money and had only watched the other students go.
My girls... no, my goddesses can’t be treated like this.
Kai opened his inventory and took out two pouches of gold.
"Helik, Rashya. This is something called an allowance."
"Allowance...?"
As Helik reached for it as if hypnotized, Rashya stopped her.
"No, Helik."
"Why, why not?"
"Professor Prescott said we shouldn’t receive rewards without effort."
"He did say that..."
Helik lowered her hand with a gloomy expression, but her eyes, full of lingering desire, remained fixed on the pouch of gold.
"It’s okay to accept it," Kai forced the pouches into both their hands.
"B-but Kai..."
"Rashya, this isn’t just a free gift." Kai waved his index finger. "This is a reward for doing well on the recent exams. If you get good grades again next time, I’ll give you more."
"Exams..." Staring at the pouch of gold in her hand, Helik murmured with determination, "I’ll get first place. I mean it."
"Helik, what are you supposed to do when someone gives you a gift?"
At Rashya’s gentle voice, Helik came to her senses. She bowed deeply and expressed her gratitude to Kai.
"Thank you for the allowance."
"Thank you as well. I’ll keep studying hard," Rashya added.
Kai teared up as he received ninety-degree bows from both girls.
Oh, is this what happiness feels like?
He finally understood why older relatives looked so happy giving out money during holidays. They were just too adorable.
"Alright, you two. Now go to the store and buy the things you always wanted."
"Okay! I’ll be back!"
"Me too!"
Kai called out as he watched the two goddesses cheerfully holding hands and running down the hallway, "No running in the halls!"
What was this feeling? He hadn’t even gotten married, yet somehow it already felt like he was a parent.