I Died and Was Reincarnated as a Goth Femboy

The livestream feed was dead, but the fury in Kenjiro's heart was very much alive. He spent a solid minute on the ground, pulling at Kaito's fluffy ears and giant tail while the fox femboy just laughed, finding the tsundere tantrum utterly adorable.

"Stop laughing, you stupid fox!" Kenjiro yelled, his face buried in Kaito's fur.

Eventually, with the help of a very amused Gluteus and a very concerned Lyrielle, they separated the two. After rescuing the still-unconscious goblin leader, they gathered what little loot the Chimera had left behind and began the long trek back to the guild.

As soon as they stepped into the lobby, they were met by Ryo, who stood there with his arms crossed and a thunderous expression on his face.

"You took my car," he said, his voice dangerously calm.

"Oh, yeah, so... about that..." Kenjiro stammered.

"Don't care," Ryo cut him off, his angry expression suddenly melting into a grin. "I got a new, better car and a new driver, so we don't need to rely on that one anymore."

Kenjiro felt a wave of relief. A personal driver and car for his party!

"But..." Ryo continued, his smirk returning, "I'll be taking a portion of the loot as payment for the... unauthorized borrowing." He deftly snatched the best items from their haul before they could protest. "Also, since the Chimera escaped, you technically failed the mission, so no official payment."

The party deflated. Kenjiro sighed. It was his fault. "It's fine," he said, turning to his team. "You guys can have what's left. My bad."

Lyrielle shyly approached him, holding out a handful of valuable gems from her share. "Y-you s-should take s-some too..." she blushed, refusing to make eye contact.

"Thanks, Lyrielle," Kenjiro said, giving her a small, genuine smile. Across the room, Kaito watched them, his fox ears flattening with a hint of jealousy.

Suddenly, Kenjiro's LilyPad device chimed with a specific, rare notification sound. He pulled it out. It was a video call from Lysander.

"Hey Bombom, how are things going for you?" Lysander's calm, poetic face appeared on the screen.

"Good, I guess," Bombom grumbled. "But I'd still prefer being the old me."

Lysander laughed softly. "I have news. We have a clue where Elara might be. It seems he's forming a team with other powerful villains. If I learn more, I will tell you."

Kenjiro's temper flared. "Just that? I wanted more! Like where he's hiding! Where are his recruitment posts or something?!"

Lysander just sighed, a look of weary patience on his face, and ended the call.

"How dare he!" Kenjiro fumed, staring at the blank screen. "I swear, I'm going to put him in his place someday, too!"

Tired and angry, Kenjiro retreated to his room. His eyes burned with a furious energy. He dropped to the floor and began doing push-ups, channeling his rage. Just as he finished one, Ryo entered without knocking.

"So," Ryo said, leaning against the doorframe. "I noticed some changes in you. Your eyes changed colors. Do you know why?"

"I know the same as you," Kenjiro shrugged, moving into a plank. "All I know is I'm getting rich."

Ryo pulled out his own LilyPad and held it out for Kenjiro to see. The screen displayed a perfectly captured, high-resolution image of Kenjiro's butt-up landing in the cave. "This is going wild on the web, you know," Ryo said, his voice filled with mirth. "You're getting the hang of it, Sir Birl."

Ryo laughed as Kenjiro, face completely red, launched into a familiar tirade of nonsensical, rage-fueled catchphrases.