"Shichen-dono, I've finished making breakfast—co give it a taste!"
Seeing him approach, Tohru twirled around happily, then presented the breakfast she'd prepared, brimming with excitent.
"…And what is this?" Shichen asked stiffly, corner of his mouth twitching as he eyed the item on the plate.
Quietly lying there was a piece of at—like those oversized cartoon-style cuts of at, except the bone in the middle was missing. The color was bright and glossy with a sheen of oil. It looked appetizing… or not.
"It's my tail at! Pan-seared dragon tail!" Tohru replied proudly.
"…"
Shichen glanced at Tohru's back and saw that her thick, green tail was gone. She'd actually cut off her own tail to make his breakfast!
He opened his mouth, at a loss for words. Only when faced with the situation in real life did he realize how surreal it was.
If it were just a normal, speechless dragon—nothing but a wild beast—maybe he'd be curious to try "dragon at." But this was Tohru's own tail. There was no way he wanted to eat that.
Drinking dragon milk might be one thing, but…
"Shichen-dono, you don't like it?" Tohru noticed his troubled expression.
"…Do you really think I can eat this?" Shichen asked in return.
"What's the problem? It tastes really good, and it's even better with white rice."
"My body rejects it," Shichen muttered, pressing a hand to his forehead.
Tohru definitely needed to learn more about human common sense.
"Your body rejects it?" Tohru tilted her head, not following. "Shichen-dono, are you a picky eater?"
"Are you an idiot?" Shichen took two steps forward, raising a hand-chop and lightly smacking her on the head.
"Oww… Why'd you hit ?"
"Let's put it this way: if I chopped off my own leg and served it to you, would you eat it?"
"Of course not! Oh—I see!" Tohru exclaid in sudden understanding.
"Sigh. Looks like I'll have to teach you a bit more about human norms for the next couple of days." Shichen sighed, shaking his head.
"But won't this at go to waste now? It's super nutritious, and removing the toxins took ti."
"I don't need 'nutritious'!"
"All right then."
Tohru turned away from him, sowhat put out, then took a big bite out of her own tail at. It was impressive how wide her dainty face could open.
After she swallowed, sothing amazing happened. A "whoosh," and her big green tail sprouted right back out, even wagging a couple of tis.
Self-sustaining, indeed.
At least the miraculous sight eased Shichen's exasperation sowhat.
"I'll handle breakfast myself," he said.
"Huh? Won't you trust one more ti, please?"
"You can do lunch."
"All right. What would you like for lunch, Shichen-dono?"
"Anything normal will do."
"Hmm…"
Shichen headed into the kitchen and opened the fridge, looking over the ingredients. He'd checked yesterday and seen plenty of expensive items.
Tohru had at least cooked rice, so he decided to fry up a couple of steaks to go with it. Steak and rice—should be quite tasty together.
"Tohru, how many steaks do you want?"
"The sa amount as you, Shichen-dono."
"Will that be enough?"
"What do you take for?" Tohru huffed, pouting.
"Aren't you a dragon?"
"I'm a dragon maid now!"
"All right, all right."
Shichen took out four steaks—one in each bag. Two each seed reasonable.
"Shichen-dono, let help you with the apron," Tohru offered. She removed her own apron, ca behind him, and began tying it around his waist.
Shichen didn't refuse and focused on cooking. These were high-quality steaks, marbled like fine stone, so controlling the heat was important.
It didn't take Tohru long to finish tying the apron. But inhaling his unique scent, she couldn't resist hugging him from behind.
"Heehee~ Shichen-dono slls so good."
"You perv," Shichen said, feeling the soft pressure against his back. Still, he didn't struggle.
In her human form, Tohru was quite tall—close to 180 cm. Had Shichen still been his old self, he'd be shorter than her.
"I'm not a perv! I just need to recharge using Shichen-dono's energy." She pressed her face against his back as she explained.
He could feel her warm breath through his clothes, tickling his skin.
"If you need 'recharging,' you'd better work hard later," he teased.
"No problem! Just let hold you like this a bit longer."
"Fine."
After all, it was just a hug and didn't interfere with cooking. Totally not because he enjoyed her embrace.
She didn't cling on for too long, though, because Shichen soon finished pan-searing the steaks.
Pairing them with rice was indeed delicious. Drizzling the juices over the fluffy grains added a burst of flavor that had them both polishing off two full bowls of rice each, still hungry for more.
As expected, top-notch ingredients only require the simplest cooking.
Once breakfast ended, Tohru took charge of cleaning up the kitchen while Shichen got ready to open the café.
He planned to open at ten since it's not like people typically rush out for coffee first thing in the morning… and if they do, they're probably coffee addicts.
The café already had a printed nu. Aside from various coffees he'd brew by hand, there were desserts and even main dishes. Honestly, it was more of a combination café-restaurant, which explained the well-stocked fridge.
Fortunately, these were all dishes Shichen was confident he could make—benefits of that little "system perk," no doubt.
After setting everything up, he hung the "Open" sign outside and officially started the day.
It was his first ti running a shop on his own. He felt a bit nervous, but half an hour passed with no sign of custors.
He'd even baked cookies and so sweets, filling the place with a mouthwatering aroma, and tested his coffee-making skills by preparing two cups—one for himself and one for Tohru. But still, no one showed.
Didn't this café co with so magical ambiance to attract people?
He wasn't that desperate for custors—there was plenty of money in the safe. Enough to decorate his study and ga room, at least. As long as Kasumigaoka Utaha showed up, he was fine.
But c'mon, at least one or two custors to inaugurate the place?
Fate finally smiled on him around 11 o'clock. The door swung open, and a young man and woman walked in—apparently a college couple.
"It's so empty," the guy muttered softly.
"I like it quiet. Besides, the atmosphere here feels really good. It's oddly calming," the girl countered, clearly liking the vibe.
"All right, if you say so…"
"Welco! May I take your order?"
Tohru stepped forward to greet them. The man's eyes went wide—no words ca out.
It was the maid outfit. Or more accurately, the dragon maid outfit. With golden hair, it looked like a cosplay fantasy. Any regular guy would be stunned.
"What—are—you—looking—at!" the woman hissed, pinching his side.
"Ow! I wasn't looking at anything!" The pain jolted him back to reality, and he hurriedly shifted his gaze away.
"Haha, is there a table for two?" the woman asked Tohru cheerfully, putting on a bright smile.
"Yes, right this way," Tohru said, turning to lead them. Her big green tail swished behind her, but neither of them seed to find it odd. In this era, outrageous outfits and cosplay were perfectly acceptable; they just assud it was a costu.
Not long after, Tohru ca back to inform Shichen of what they'd ordered. They weren't there for coffee but for lunch—maybe they changed their minds after seeing the nu.
So Shichen set about cooking while Tohru stayed at the register.
The café did have a nice vibe—though not huge, it was cozy and soothing. Custors found it hard to leave once they sat down.
The woman was delighted by the café's environnt, ssaging her friends about it—particularly ntioning how the manager was unbelievably good-looking. The guy was also pleased that his girlfriend seed happy, though he kept sneaking glances at Tohru. Probably he'd co back alone soti.
So they each had their own thoughts.
Once Shichen finished preparing the couple's al and finally sat down for a mont, a new wave of custors arrived. He got busy in no ti.
So ca specifically for coffee, while others ended up having lunch after seeing the food nu. The dishes were delicious, the atmosphere pleasant, plus there was a handso manager and a dragon maid—people couldn't help but like the place.
Judging by the satisfied smiles on their faces as they left, Shichen knew they'd be back. Business was bound to pick up soon.
That wouldn't be good for him, though. It was only day one, and he alone was both manager and chef. He preferred being a hands-off boss—perhaps Tohru would need to assu more responsibility.
They were swamped through the lunch rush, but the afternoon lull was more relaxed. While they did get so foot traffic from people wanting coffee and a break, it was manageable.
Then, in the early evening—finally—the person Shichen had been anxiously waiting for, Kasumigaoka Utaha, showed up again.
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