Dr. Brief waved a hand with a smile. "You're much too polite. I should be thanking you for bringing that aircraft. Otherwise, I doubt I'd ever have figured out how to build a spaceship in my lifetime!" He sounded utterly casual.
"You're too modest!" Karochi said earnestly.
To be fair, Dr. Brief had even developed spatial folding technology. Building a spaceship would be a piece of cake! It was just that he hadn't put his energy into it.
"Let me show you around. As you requested, this ship is equipped with a gravity machine. Its maximum setting is three hundred times Earth's gravity! But you can't just crank it up that high whenever you want. It also has a camouflage mode. You said space was extremely dangerous, so I modified the ship's outer shell to perfectly reflect the stars on either side while it's in space. It also carries four aircraft like the one you brought. They're nowhere near as fast, but they can still fly in space!"
Holy crap! Holy crap! That was amazing! It was so amazing! Karochi instantly became Dr. Brief's biggest fan.
This was an overwhelming display of sheer intelligence!
"Thank you so much."
Tights stared at Karochi, whose eyes had turned into little stars, and was speechless. Why was he making such a big deal out of this? Wasn't this just basic stuff?
"Oh, right! Tights said you have a huge appetite, so I stored enough food inside to last you two whole years. And most importantly, this spaceship can be compressed into a capsule, too." Dr. Brief spoke casually as he squinted at the little black cat perched on his shoulder.
Karochi turned to Tights. At that moment, Tights was his own big sister, and nobody could convince him otherwise.
"All right, that's everything about its functions! You can explore the rest yourselves. I'll be off." With that, Dr. Brief left.
Yes, he left while Karochi gazed at him with admiration.
"Was all that really necessary? You're so excited!" Tights didn't quite understand.
Well, she wouldn't get it! It was all about the contrast. He'd thought he was getting a thatched hut, but it turned out to be a villa. That kind of unexpected happiness was impossible to describe to anyone else.
"Okay, okay! Let's go buy some clothes and get ready. We're setting off tomorrow." At last, at long last, the moment had come. Amen!
Uh! Karochi looked down at his clothes, which were already in tatters. The Combat Suit he'd worn when he came to Earth had long since fallen apart, and he was now wearing an outfit Tights had specially made for him.
Of course, it was the style Karochi had picked himself. Actually, he couldn't really call it his own design. He'd simply copied Vegito's outfit and had it made several sizes smaller.
After changing into his new clothes—Vegito's outfit—Karochi headed out with Tights! He also needed to buy some underwear and other personal things. He couldn't very well ask Tights to do that for him, could he?
West City was truly bustling, and there were an extraordinary number of places selling food!
Mm, Karochi was already carrying a whole armful of food! Tights watched him, her fists clenched.
Hadn't they just eaten before going out? Were Saiyans' stomachs bottomless pits? How could he fit so much in there?
"Tights-jie, do you want to try some? It tastes really good!" Karochi said around a mouthful of food.
Tights was so exasperated that she laughed. "Can you swallow what's in your mouth before you start talking?!" She was at a loss with such a little glutton.
Glug!
After finally swallowing his food, he was just about to speak when Tights shoved a chicken leg into his mouth. "All right, I know what you mean. I'm not eating any!"
Seeing Karochi like that, Tights couldn't help laughing! He was just too funny.
Just then, Karochi spotted a little girl with golden hair standing in the middle of the busy road. She looked around anxiously, as if she were searching for her parents.
A hovercar hadn't noticed her and was speeding straight toward her!
"Look out!" Karochi flung away the food and darted in front of the girl. He scooped her up and shot into the sky.
The driver of the hovercar was so startled that he crashed into a wall by the roadside.
Karochi carried the girl back down beside Tights. He set her down and checked her over from every side. Only after making sure she wasn't hurt did he relax.
"Are you all right? You're not hurt, are you?" Tights asked anxiously. Of course, she wasn't worried about Karochi! With his physique, even an armored car would be wrecked if it hit him.
The little girl had obviously been frightened. She stared blankly at Karochi.
He thought she'd seen his tail sticking out because he hadn't hidden it properly! The girl's mouth quivered, and tears immediately streamed down her face, leaving Karochi at a loss.
Tights immediately pulled the girl into her arms and comforted her.
The driver got out, looking ready to hurl some choice insults, but one look from Karochi sent him fleeing in terror.
After a long while, the girl finally calmed down. She pulled away from Tights and clutched the hem of Karochi's clothes. "Thank you, big brother and big sister!"
Mm! She was polite. Very nice.
Karochi didn't mind her clutching his clothes.
"What's your name, little girl? How old are you? Where do you live? And why were you standing in the middle of the road? It's too dangerous!" Tights softened her voice as much as she could.
"My name's Lazuli. I'm four years old! I'm looking for my little brother. I got separated from him." As she spoke, she looked ready to cry again.
Karochi hadn't really learned much about the characters in Dragon Ball. At the time, he'd only thought the fight scenes were cool! If he'd looked it up, he would've known that Android 18's name before she was modified was Lazuli.
"All right, all right! Don't cry, don't cry. How about big brother and big sister help you look for him?" As he spoke, he picked her up.
Well, I'm not that much older than her. After all, he was only five, about the same age as the girl.
Even after being picked up, Lazuli kept hold of Karochi's clothes. She also described what her little brother looked like!
Karochi didn't mind her clutching his clothes. It was only natural that she'd been scared.
"Um, big brother, what's your name? Y-you can fly! That's so amazing!" Her voice seemed to stutter from fright, and her little face was bright red.
"Hm? Me? Just call me Karochi. You don't have to call me big brother or anything." Karochi laughed. It felt strange being called big brother by a girl about his age. It was like being a teenager and having someone call him an old man.
Then Karochi leaned close to her face and whispered mysteriously, "I can use magic, you know. How about I send you and your little brother home in a bit?" He knew a little about how to coax kids.
He didn't notice that Lazuli's face had turned even redder, all the way to the tips of her ears.
With Tights and Karochi searching together, they finally found her little brother.
Tsk! What a handsome kid. Karochi grumbled inwardly. The little guy was quite the looker—the type who'd charm countless girls when he grew up.
The rich-lady's dream boy!
Come to think of it, Lazuli was quite pretty, too. She'd grow up to be a beauty! He wondered which lucky kid would end up with her someday.
"Hey! Don't you need us to take you home?" Tights's voice pulled Karochi from his wild thoughts.
"No, thank you, big sister. I used your phone to call my family, too! They'll be here to pick up my little brother and me soon." Lazuli held Lapis by the hand, then walked over to Karochi.
She bowed politely, then quickly kissed Karochi on the cheek! She kissed Tights, too, as she passed her, as if to show her gratitude!
Karochi stared in shock at being "ambushed." Oh my gosh, in both his lives, this was the first time a girl had ever kissed him! It was only a thank-you kiss, but it was still a kiss, wasn't it?
He could brag about this!
Watching Lazuli lead the little boy away, Karochi called out, "Don't go wandering off again. It's too dangerous! Now hurry home."
Lazuli didn't turn around. "I know, Karochi-gege!"
His face was red, and her heart was beating fast! Lapis saw that and grew a little nervous. "Big sis..."
But before he could finish, Lazuli said, "Don't say anything!"
Watching the two little kids walk away, Karochi really wanted to sigh and say how nice it was to be young! But he couldn't say it aloud. He was a kid now, too.
"They're such close siblings, aren't they, little brother Karochi?" Tights looked at him with a smile.
Karochi nodded solemnly. "Yes, big sister Tights!" He'd only just gained a big sister today, so he had to keep it up for at least a day. It was worth it.
Their shopping trip lasted until dusk! Tights had everything she bought loaded into a truck. Karochi watched, dumbfounded.
As expected, all women were the same, especially rich women. Their spending power was terrifying! According to Tights, the things she'd bought would provide enough food for ten years.
It was a good thing Dr. Brief had modified the spaceship. Otherwise, that whole truckload of stuff would've filled it to the brim! There wouldn't have been room for either of them to set foot inside.
That night, Tights was so excited she couldn't sleep, so she kept chatting with Karochi about this and that! They talked about Saiyans, then Frieza, then Frieza's older brother and father.
Before long, Tights fell sound asleep! Looking at her sleeping face, Karochi let out a soft sigh.
To be fair, there was far more danger in the universe than just the Frost Demons!
You couldn't truly understand the dangers unless you experienced them yourself. Even just watching the anime in his previous life, the sense of impending death had made him feel awful in front of the screen. How much worse would it be to face it for real?!
He smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Why think so much about it?!" If he couldn't stop it, he'd just have to accept it quietly.
Before you continue