Carter family's house.
It was a humble modern family house. The house was designed to have a peaceful atmosphere. However, even with that design, it couldn't replace the tense atmosphere inside the house.
Eight people were sitting in a living room. In front of them, there was a big white box that had a big cake in it.
Kudo Ayaka, Fujino Chitose, and Carmina Elvera were sitting on a sofa while Kai and Tasha were standing on the side. It seemed that their father had run away with whatever excuse he gave to his wife, Ayaka Carter. Ayaka Carter's face was full of smiles.
Kai was sweating when he saw this situation. He didn't know why they were in this situation.
...
An hour ago.
Kai went outside for a while to call his sister. He opened his communication device and dialed her number.
Not long after that, he heard his sister's voice, "What is it? It's rare for you to call me."
"You know about my practical test, right?" Kai asked.
"Yeah. You'll go to Kanggye Region in two days. The student council is currently handling the paperwork. And that teacher really made groups of four for this class, which is supposed to have five people per group, just because she was lazy," Tasha explained.
"Well, my teammates want to meet you because you're their idol."
"Who suggested it? Was it Kudo Ayaka? No, she couldn't be the one to suggest it. Then it must be either Fujino Chitose or Carmina Elvera."
"Eh? How do you know my group members? It was Fujino Chitose who suggested it," Kai said with astonishment.
"As I said earlier, the student council is handling the paperwork. So I've seen your group. Well, I think I can make time for that. Although I've seen their profiles, I need to make sure whether they will be your teammates or just burdens," Tasha said righteously. In fact, she got the information by abusing her authority as one of the members of the Student Council.
However, before Kai said anything, he could hear another voice in the communication line.
'Tasha, who is it? Judging from your tone, it must be Kai. What's he talking about?'
Kai recognized this voice, but he never expected that she would be there. "Sister, where are you right now?"
"Hold on! Mom! I'm talking with Kai!" Tasha shouted as their mother suddenly stole her communication device. Tasha tried to grab it back, but to no avail. It might be her motherly instinct that let her avoid Tasha's movement, or might be something else. She still effortlessly asked Kai, "What do you want, Kai, for you to suddenly call your sister like this?"
"Nothing. My classmates just want to meet Sister. And since they're also my teammates for the practical test in two days, so I thought it would be good to know better since it won't be anywhere similar to the practice class."
"Oh, who are they, Darling?" She asked.
"Kudo Ayaka, Fujino Chitose, and Carmina Elvera," Kai answered honestly.
Ayaka Carter's eyes were replaced with stars. She smirked, "Are you going to meet her in school later? Or somewhere else?"
"I don't know, It'll be up to Elder Sister," Kai said.
"How about setting it in our house? I also want to see your future wi- Ahem, your teammates."
"But, isn't Sister busy right now? I mean, handling the paperwork and stuff. I thought it would be fine as long as they met her," Kai said confusedly.
"Is she? She didn't say anything like that when she came back. She said she was frustrated because you would go for a 'picnic' with three beauties. So, she wanted to make several plans to intercept that. So just bring them home, okay?" Ayaka Carter explained.
"..." Kai was speechless when he heard that. He could even hear Tasha's complaining voice in the background.
"This is an order from your mom, all right? You're bringing them here!"
"... Yes, Mom..." He could only agree to his mother's overbearing tone.
Kai could only shake his head as he went back to the classroom. He looked at Ayaka, who had a red face, confused. He tried to look at Fujino Chitose and Carmina Elvera to seek an answer.
Fujino Chitose glanced at Ayaka first before looking at Kai. She shrugged her shoulders and said while glancing at Ayaka from time to time like she was unsure whether she could say it or not. "Well, Ayaka was curious, so she tried to eavesdrop on your conversation. But she was startled by the fact that we would go to your house. So, she called someone to buy a present. I don't know who she called though."
"No no no. That's not it. I just thought it would only be ethical for me to bring a present since this would be my first time meeting the honorable uncle and auntie," Ayaka immediately denied, but the way she explained it was…
Kai could only sigh helplessly. "Anyway, it's as you heard. We're going to my house… and don't expect anything since it's only a normal family house."
"I don't care! I only want to meet my idol," Fujino Chitose replied hurriedly. Carmina Elvera was reading something on her device, and her face became somehow tense. However, because of the situation, no one was paying attention to her.
"Well, I'll guide you there."
"We can go using my car!" Ayaka suddenly suggested another solution proudly. And as she had investigated him when he had a 'family trip', she already knew his address.
Looking at her, they thought they shouldn't decline her offer. Kai could see the butler with a white box in his hand.
"Young Miss, this is the most expensive cake from the nearest store since I didn't have enough time," As expected of an experienced butler. Ayaka only asked him a few minutes ago, but he already came back to this place with a box of cake. He was even ready to greet them.
He opened the car door for them. And from their movements, Kai could see that Fujino Chitose seemed to be one from a wealthy family, as her movement was elegant. As for Carmina Elvera, she was acting crudely like him, so their families should be at the same level.
After that, the butler immediately drove the car.
As soon as they arrived at the Carter family's house, Fujino Chitose was surprised at how ordinary their house was. She thought that they would have at least a bigger house as they had Tasha Carter, who was an S-rank magician.
However, she already said that she didn't care, so she only followed Kai's lead. And surprisingly, before they were close to the gate, his mother, Ayaka Carter, suddenly came out of the house.
"Ah, so you three are Kai's teammates. Come in, come in," she said with a cheerful tone.
"This… this isn't much, but please accept it," Ayaka became embarrassed when she was trying to give it to her.
"Oh! Such a thoughtful young lady. What's your name?"
"Ayaka, Kudo Ayaka."
"Nice to meet you. I am Ayaka Carter, Kai's mother," she introduced herself as she looked at her up and down. "So this is Kai's partner for the practice classes. Hmm… All right, I approve. And her name is also Ayaka, so we'll have double Ayaka in the future. Sounds nice."
When Ayaka realized what she meant, Ayaka blushed and tried to explain it to her, "I… I'm not. I'm just Kai's classmate, and Kai has been taking care of me this whole time."
"Well, come in first."
When they came in, they could see Tasha standing on the side. Fujino Chitose suddenly came to her, "Woah! I finally met my idol! I'm Fujino Chitose, I came to this school just to meet you."
"Ye-yes. Thank you." Tasha smiled just to show her appreciation for Chitose's determination. "If I'm not mistaken, you're from the Fujino house in Miyagi, right?"
"Yes! I'm honored you know about us," Chitose was happy when she heard that. She never expected Tasha to know about her.
Since Kai didn't need to worry about Chitose again as she was occupied with her admiration for his sister, he then turned to the rest. And surprisingly, before anyone realized it, Ayaka was already in the kitchen with his mother to prepare the cake.
And the most suspicious one was Carmina. Even though she appeared very calm while sitting on the couch, her heart was beating rapidly. Kai shook his head and thought it must be because it was the first time she visited their house.
After his mother felt satisfied with Ayaka, they came upstairs, specifically to his room. He thought this would be their original purpose as he wanted to discuss it more openly with others. However, they didn't know why, but Tasha Carter also followed them to the room. But it seemed that no one was bothered by her presence.
Kai shook his head helplessly as he took out a big map that showed the North Korea region. Well, the map was on the device, so it wasn't an actual paper map. As the map was from the internet, there was no further explanation, unlike a military map. They might have a bit of marking every now and then, and that showed their progress or something.
Kai looked at Ayaka and the rest as he said, "Now, the first objective has been completed, and my sister is here too. So, let's start talking about our mission, shall we?"