The Magician of Sound

"Goodbye for now. I don't know if we will meet again." Kai smiled and waved his hand.

Mai nodded and smiled back. "This place will always open for you. Please come and visit us in the future."

"I will." Kai nodded. They were outside the village right now without any way to know the position of their entrance. However, Kai could understand their situation.

He had spent six days studying the Oni Language and slept for two days. This meant he had six days to stroll around United Asia with the others. And not a single time he saw the outside of the building. It might be due to Ishii's lack of ambition in the current stage, but it was just his simple way to protect his village.

"Then, it's time for me to go." Kai smiled and turned around. He walked forward while waving his hand until he entered the pedestrian area.

After that, Kai took out his device and called Michelle.

"Kai? Are you done with your business?"

"Yep. I am outside right now. Where are you? I will go to your location right away."

"We are in Kanagawa right now. I will send you the exact location."

"Sure." Kai then hung up and looked at the mail. After receiving the location, he quickly took the bus without forgetting to wear something to cover his appearance. Although he wasn't as famous as when he stayed in the US Base, some people would surely recognize him.

After one hour of traveling, he reached a restaurant where Michelle and the others waited.

It was a simple family restaurant, so he entered the building after confirming that this place was safe with his ears.

He saw seven people sitting together. It seemed they got the farthest seat, so no one would bother them too much. Besides, this spot would be perfect for Kai since not many people would see him.

"Here you are!" Michelle waved her hand and pulled him inside. "So, what is your progress?"

"…" Kai twitched his eyebrows while asking. "You are not talking about my relationship with her, right?"

"Hmm? Isn't that obvious?" Michelle narrowed her eyes and tilted her head as if thinking Kai was a fool.

Kai scratched the back of his head and sighed. "I don't have any relationship or whatsoever and I have no plan in doing that."

"But she is a looker, right?" Tasha joined the fray as she began questioning him.

"I do admit she is beautiful, but we are two different races. It's not about the matter of being a zodiac or something anymore. Besides, it's not like she or I have a plan to continue. So, you all don't need to worry." Kai shrugged.

Michelle and Tasha still looked at him suspiciously while Ayaka chuckled. "You two are oversensitive. It's not nice when you are asking those questions to him, even if you mean it as a joke. Of course, it's more terrible if you are not joking. Anyway, trust him a bit more, will you?"

Michelle and Tasha looked at each other and lowered their heads. "We're sorry."

Kai shook his head helplessly while smiling. "Haha, I can understand where you're coming from."

Obviously, the reason why these two pursued this topic was due to his identity as a protector. If he were just a normal genius, they wouldn't be bothering such a thing. Protectors were considered world class in this area, so there was no barrier between races.

"Anyway, what do you want to eat?" Sofia asked while handing the menu.

"Hmm, I will have this one." Kai pointed at the menu before Haruko called the waitress.

Since the group had finished, Kai ate alone until he was full before turning to Isabelle and Evan. "How are you two? Are the girls a bit pushy?"

"Nah, they're great." Isabelle shook her head with a smile. "Do you have any plan for the rest of our vacation?"

"Nope. I will just follow you guys around." Kai shrugged.

"I see. We have explored all of the Kanto Region. Our plan is to go around Chubu." Michelle answered.

"I don't have a problem. Besides, I need to think more about our plan in Dalian. It's going to be tough to be honest." Kai sighed.

"Do you need help?" Tasha, Ayaka, and Michelle asked in unison.

"It's fine. I can handle it myself. I am just considering where to trap them because we don't have a visual for the terrains. At the same time, I don't have the information of their force… I bet Ikeda Kenzo is going to fight them." 

As soon as Kai finished eating, they decided to start their plan, going around Chobu. Although the excitement wasn't like how they went without Kai, it was still fun.

Kai enjoyed it a lot too. Although they couldn't swim, they could walk around the coast to feel the breeze. It was heavily guarded as well, so it wasn't like they would easily meet another magical beast in that area.

After a joyful vacation, they finally gathered together on the coast of Yamaguchi, where it was the closest to South Korea.

"It's been a while since the last time we did this…" Kai smiled and looked at Tasha.

Other than Michelle and Ayaka, no one actually knew that Kai could use Space Magic, so they couldn't understand Kai's choice to go here instead of the airport.

Their impression became even more confused when they saw Tasha kiss Kai.

Only Sofia could see something different.

'His…His fire flares up while Tasha's dims down? What is actually happening?' her heart skipped a beat, trying to understand the situation.

However, when she and the others were about to react, Kai suddenly looked toward them with a serious expression. Everyone could realize that he wasn't actually staring at them. Instead, someone behind them.

The moment they turned around, they couldn't find someone behind them, confusing them again before Sofia saw a flame behind the building.

It turned out that the flame was the man they met in the airport, Hanashita.

"I have heard the report. Are you really not going to take the military plan?" Hanashita asked with a serious expression after reaching their position.

"Yes. I have told you about it, but since you must not want this information to come to an end this early, I have decided to say it again. I don't need the government's assistance to go there, nor do I need their help in my mission. Instead, you are the one who should move your military to Dalian tomorrow.

"If you are not, I am sure that the citizens will look down on you even more, weakening your power," said Kai with a calm expression.

Hanashita clenched his teeth before criticizing him. "This is a threat! Not a cooperation anymore."

"It's not a threat nor cooperation. I am simply doing my mission. Whether you want to take advantage of it or not, it's your choice. You can say that we have no cooperation with the US Government, but people will believe that you are just trying to prosecute me after everything happened to me." Kai shook his head.

Hanashita really wanted to beat this Kai Carter but couldn't do so. He took a deep breath before asking. "Why tomorrow?"

"Katsuragi Family. I am sure that you are aware of my conflict with them, right?"

"So you want me to delay the military for a day while spreading the news, allowing you to deal with the Katsuragi Family today?"

"Exactly. I am sure that they have been waiting for us there. It's still 8 AM in the morning, so we have plenty of time." Kai smiled. "That's all I want to say. I think you should go to work soon or else you will be put in a difficult situation."

"You are the one putting me in this situation…" Hanashita let out a long sigh before turning around. "We won't cooperate with you. We simply wish to get Dalian and will cooperate with you only for that objective, nothing else."

Hanashita turned away and left them in frustration.

After confirming that everyone had left, Kai looked at Haruko.

"Ehm… Can I come? I know that I haven't fought alongside all of you, but I can support you from behind. I promise that I will do my best not to become your burden." Haruko bowed her head.

"That depends on everyone's opinions." Kai glanced at his group.

"I don't mind." Tasha and Michelle shrugged while Ayaka and Sofia agreed to this decision. Isabelle and Evan exchanged looks and nodded in agreement. "I don't think it will be a problem."

"That's how it is…So, welcome on board." Kai smiled. He then snapped his finger and created a Teleportation Magic Circle.

"This!" Everyone, except Michelle, Tasha, and Ayaka, dropped their jaw because they recognized this magic circle. "Kai. This is—"

Before they had enough time to say something, Kai already activated and sent all of them to South Korea.