First, Kain marveled that the animals had already begun to grow so large. Then his brows furrowed. He couldn’t remember then becoming so large so quickly unless this is a contained incident.

Not everything evolves at the same pace. The koi have only gotten larger, but he didn’t see any enhancement like the beasts of his past life. It has only been a few days. It might take some time for that to happen.

He licked his lips, thinking of eating the koi. Shaking his head, he thought against it. Not every part of a mutated animal could be eaten. He couldn’t see the bad parts yet. He still had food; he was in no hurry.

He waited for everyone to completely snap out of their revelry before he made any comments. Even with the disapproving glare they had given, everyone had turned back to stare at the large fish.

"Stop staring. They’re koi fish."

"Koi isn’t that big," Danielle denied.

"Well, sometimes big things get small and small things get big," Kain retorted.

He had no obligation to explain anything. He needed to take care of his own trouble.

He left them staring at the waters and walked to the side of the house. Two people stood off to the side watching. They could see the chaos. Their eyes were wide, and they looked dazed.

They hadn’t left with the others.

Kain snapped his fingers, grabbing their attention. The young man with the calculating eyes and the young woman, Jay, broke away from their trance.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Kain remarked offhandedly.

Crossing his arms, he leaned against the side of the mansion. "Glad you both decided to stay. Now let’s get into it." He paused, then held up three fingers. As he talked, he put a finger down. The middle finger went down last.

"I don’t ask for much, just three things. First, anything you see, hear, feel, smell, taste, or even lick stays within our group. We don’t mention anything to outsiders. Follow all commands given. I’m giving you a chance at a good life. Of course, I won’t restrict your freedom.

Second, the kids. Protect them. If anything happens. If there’s even a hair out of place, you feel the same thing they do. If they get a paper cut under your watch, I’ll cut off a finger. If you notice anything unusual, tell me. Don’t wait, don’t investigate.

Third, LOYALTY." He didn’t continue. He allowed the word to linger.

"You don’t have to like me. You don’t have to agree with everything I tell you. You don’t even need to understand why I do or don’t do certain things. All you need to do is stay. If you’re offered the deal of a lifetime, you stay. If you get scared, you stay.

Because the moment you leave. The moment you decide that everything I have given you is worthless and you use it against me or anyone I hold dear. I will find you, even if you travel to the ends of the earth, and I will peel the skin off your bones and make sure you’re alive to feel every bit of it."

He pushed off the side of the mansion, smiling relaxedly. The tremor in their eyes was undeniable. They didn’t even realize their bodies were shaking.

Clapping a hand on their shoulders, Kain felt them jump. He ignored it.

"Anyway, welcome to the family."

A chime sounded in Kain’s mind. He knew it was the system. Now wasn’t the time to check. He could do that later.

"I forgot to ask. What are your names?" He looked at the woman. "Don’t tell me it’s Jay, I want your actual name."

"It’s Matthew," the man croaked out. He cleared his throat and continued. "Hers is Jaylin."

"Ok. Matt, Jay, welcome to the family. I’ll introduce you to everyone later. Oh, and what about your families? Do you need me to go with you to get them?"

The contrast between Kain when he was giving his rules versus the one now was different. When he leaned against the mansion. His posture was relaxed, but his tone was severe. Now, he was like a puppy. Matthew and Jaylin felt like they might get whiplash.

Confirming their family status, Kain was delighted that he didn’t need to bring a bunch of people with him. Two extra people. He could handle two extra mouths to feed.

Kain ushered them towards the group. Their interest in the large koi had waned, but they were still outside. When they saw the two people trailing behind Kain, the Hartwells’ faces turned red.

The anger at having their supplies stolen had only just lessened when they saw the group being eaten by the giant koi, and now Kain has appeared with two of the perpetrators.

"What are they doing here?" Mr. Hartwell asked. The disgust and anger in his voice left no room for interpretation.

"They’re with me," Kain replied. "They’re a part of my team now."

"Like hell they are. I won’t have thieves in my home," Mr. Hartwell shouted.

"Too late for that." He raised an eyebrow and turned to Amelia.

She pursed her lips and returned his look. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"What’s that supposed to mean?" Mrs. Hartwell asked.

"Ask your daughter. Maybe she’s willing to tell you." He laughed and dodged when he saw Amelia coming over to hit him. "Pick a room when you go in," Kain shouted to the newcomers.

When he and Amelia were far enough, she stopped chasing him.

"How did you manage to get them to stay?"

She didn’t question why they were here. She questioned how. She was with Kain the entire time and hadn’t seen him move.

"Sent the kids to do an adult’s job," he shrugged. "Everyone underestimates kids. All I did was have them send a message to both of them. Whether they wanted to stay was their own choice.

But I doubt there is anyone who would refuse food, shelter, and clothing at a time like this. I expected their lives to be crappy; the team on the boat wasn’t tight-knit, so it was easy to get them to separate."

"So when you asked us earlier what we thought, you already had the idea of recruiting them?" Hands on her hips, she eyed Kain suspiciously.

"Maybe...Everyone should feel like they’re part of the discussion. If I didn’t, wouldn’t everyone be upset about the new members? Now, everyone’s happy."

The words were reasonable, but Amelia felt like she was used.

"Don’t think about it so much." He rubbed his palm up and down her arms. "Now, I need you to do me a favour."

"What is it?" She eyed him suspiciously

"I need to borrow the boat. Matt and Jay have family they need to get back to. I need to bring them over."

"You’re better off leaving early and stealing the boat."

Kain’s eyes widened. He hugged Amelia. "Good idea. Don’t bother asking. I’m setting off early tomorrow."

Walking away, he left a speechless Amelia behind.