Chapter 281: 271 – Dawn of Redeeming Grace

Kai absently looked around the shop that the girls dragged him into.

It was a small bakery. There were glass shelves for displaying breads and other goods, a front counter, as well as some chairs for visitors.

At the moment though, the shelves were empty, cleared out because it was late.

Behind the counter, there was a small kitchen area where the bread was baked. And there was also a door in the back. Probably leading upstairs to a living area, considering that it wasn't far enough in to be the back exit.

A small but cozy bakery, warm and welcoming.

It seemed like the girls were doing well for themselves.

"Geez, Oppa." Yura went to lock the door and put up the blinds over the windows. "You need to stop being so reckless... Have you been drinking again?"

Kai shook his head. "I haven't. But maybe I need a bit more sleep..."

He could still clearly recall her figure. Elise, turning to look at him before vanishing. Exactly the same as the last time he saw her.

But that was impossible. ...Which meant that either all the glasses of alcohol he'd been drinking the past few weeks to go to sleep were having a toll on him or he was going crazy.

Probably both.

...But then again, the whole world seemed to be crazy ever since John arrived, so it might not be him.

In any case, that was an issue he could think about later.

Kai turned around to look at the girls who dragged him inside.

Sumire, Yura, and Sayuri. The three girls who trusted him and joined the idol group he opened. The rising stars of Mystic Bouquet who were forced to graduate at their peak because of his mistakes and suffered because of it.

From what he remembered, they were in terrible shape the last time they met. But they seemed better now. Not completely back to normal, but better.

Sumire had been thin and waif-like the last time, almost like a ghost with how pale her skin was. Now though, she had fleshed out a bit. It still seemed like she could use more food, but she just looked like a girl who took dieting a bit too seriously rather than malnourished. Her ghostly pale skin also had a tinge of healthy pink to it now.

In comparison, last time Yura had been really overweight. Enough to where she looked like a different person. But she wasn't like that anymore. A little pudgy still, yes. But only to where she looked like she just like sweets a bit too much.

And as for Sayuri... The last time her face was gaunt and dark circles ringed her eyes. Her hair had also been cropped short, like she was part of the military. But she had grown her hair out a bit, and it seemed like she was getting good rest since the dark circles were gone.

Altogether, they were doing well. Better than he expected, which showed just how strong they all were.

Kai smiled and said, "I'm glad to see you're all doing better these days."

Sumire let out a faint smile and said, "Of course. We couldn't let you worry too much. Although..." She frowned and gave Kai a once over. "It seems like you've been worrying a lot about other things, Uncle Kai."

Yura pulled some chairs over for the group and then sat down in one. "Yeah! What's been going on, Oppa? You aren't the type of person who wants to get isekai'd, so what were you doing running across traffic like that?"

Sayuri sat down and then crossed her arms. Staring at Kai, she nodded and said, "Yura's right. And there's still Tsuki to consider as well... So what's going on, Boss?"

Kai stared at the girls and then sighed before taking a seat. "It's complicated. I don't want to bother you girls with my troubles."

Sumire sat down as well and then said, "That's no good, Uncle Kai! Didn't you always tell us to talk when we had problems?"

"Yeah, Boss." Sayuri nodded and said, "Don't be a hypocrite now. I mean, you've always kind of been one in other things, but you can tell us the truth, you know?"

Kai laughed. "A hypocrite... Yes. I suppose I am one. But-"

Yura shook her head. "No buts, Oppa. And even if you wanted to escape... Well, I already locked up so you're stuck with us." She paused and then said, "Um. But you didn't have any other plans tonight, did you?"

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"Well..." He looked at the bag with Tsuki's gift and said, "Tsuki's sleeping over at a friend's house today, so I wanted to go gift shopping-"

"Great!" Yura nodded and said, "Then you should sleep over and we'll all go shopping tomorrow!"

Sumire's eyes lit up and she smiled. "It'll be just like old times!" She stood up and said, "I'll make some tea!" She looked at Kai and said, "You still drink green tea, right, Uncle Kai?"

"I-I do, but you don't need to-"

Sayuri spoke up and said, "Green tea's good, Sumi. And give it up, Boss. Once those two are set on something, they won't give up."

Yura laughed and said, "You've got that right." She rolled her shoulder and said, "I'll go warm up some bread to go with the tea."

With that, Sumi and Yura left towards the kitchen.

Kai let out a bemused smile and shook his head.

Sayuri noticed and said, "You should take care of yourself better, Boss. For Tsuki's sake at least."

Kai sighed and muttered, "I know. It's just... difficult."

"Obviously." Sayuri nodded and said, "But that's why you should do it anyway. If you don't take care of yourself first, how do you expect other people to take care of you?"

Kai changed the subject and looked towards the shop. "Seems like Yura and Sumi are doing good business here. Do you know if they have many customers?"

Sayuri shrugged and said, "They said they got a regular who likes leaving big tips. Other than that though, not really. But it's enough to pay the bills and let them enjoy baking every day."

Kai narrowed his eyes. "Is it a stalker? A fan who found out where they live and work?"

If that was the case...

Sayuri rolled her eyes and said, "Relax, Boss." She let out a wry smile and said, "With all of those new virtual idols, the world's already forgotten about us. Even the fan letters we used to get have dwindled."

"...I'm sorry."

Sayuri reached over and poked Kai's forehead. "There's no need to apologize, Boss. Even if you didn't make us superstars like you promised, we got damned close. And besides." She leaned back and said, "Our life now is still ages better than what we would have had working in soaplands."

Kai let out a thin smile.

Sumire came back carrying a small teapot and a stack of cups. "Please don't think too much on it, Uncle Kai. We're happy now, and that's all that matters. So you should start living for yourself more as well."

Yura walked back and set a tray of bread on the table and nodded. "What Sumi said. You don't need to always be worried about other people, Oppa. Every now and then you have to think about what makes you happy too instead of what makes other people happy."

Sumire poured Kai a cup of tea and slid it over.

He accepted it with a smile and then sighed. Looking back at Yura, he said, "I know that. But it's hard to apply in practice."

That was what John had been telling him since they started having their chats. That it wasn't good trying to always make it up to other people... and that trying to help so many women would come back to bite him in the butt. Especially if he didn't have the sense of mind or self to stay true to himself.

...Kai doubted his friend's words a bit considering that he seemed to be a guy who was similar to him in trying to help out every damsel in distress he saw.

But maybe he had a point. *Something* seemed to be the deciding factor between him and John. Other than the whole not being human and probably a divine entity of some sort.

Sumire poured herself a cup of tea and said, "Well, it's getting close to Christmas, so hopefully Uncle Kai can enjoy a bit of the cheer."

Yura clapped her hands together and said, "That's right!" She looked to Kai and said, "Have you decided on any special plans to celebrate yet with Tsuki?"

"Well..."

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