During this morning al, Utaha kept a sharp eye on Tohru—so much so that Tohru began to squirm.
Chisato, anwhile, didn't care one bit that Tohru was a dragon; she was her usual self, focusing on giving Shichen as much food as possible.
"Chen-dono, can you keep Utaha from staring at ? It's making too nervous to eat," Tohru finally complained, unable to stand it.
Shichen chuckled and said, "Just ignore her. Pretend she's not there."
"That's impossible—the way she's looking at is just too intense," Tohru grumbled.
"Try to be understanding," Shichen said gently.
"Hmph…" Tohru had no choice but to turn away, giving Utaha only the back of her head.
"Hehe~" Shichen couldn't help a soft laugh.
He completely understood Utaha's current state—her mind was undoubtedly in chaos, unwilling to believe what she'd witnessed, yet faced with undeniable proof. If he were still living in his old world, he, too, would never have believed in the existence of dragons unless he saw it for himself. Now, of course, he wouldn't believe in dragons existing in his original reality either—he just happened to be in a world that had them.
Or rather, a world that a dragon had accidentally wandered into…
Anyway, now that world travel was possible, presumably he'd encounter all kinds of extraordinary creatures in the future. It promised to be quite the colorful journey.
After breakfast, Utaha didn't help out with the café. She just went upstairs to catch up on sleep. It was partly because she'd stayed up late the previous night, but also her head was in turmoil—she needed to lie down and think things through. Or maybe she'd have trouble sleeping.
The leisurely morning gave way to a busy noon shift, but Chisato was so capable that Shichen's help wasn't much required. In fact, if he offered to help, Chisato would mostly refuse—especially when it ca to delivering food to the female custors.
It wasn't that she was overly possessive, but a few of those won who ca to the café were rather bold. If Shichen brought their orders, they might take the opportunity to touch him. Conversely, the male custors would only steal glances at Chisato without daring to do anything.
After all, in this day and age, if a woman touches a man, people rarely make a fuss, whereas if a man touches a woman, it can lead to a big deal—cops, a scene, total public humiliation.
Anyway, Chisato and Tohru were strong enough to handle trouble; Shichen didn't worry about them being bullied. He'd told them before, "As long as you don't kill anyone, don't hold back if anyone tries anything."
But Utaha, being a regular girl, couldn't cope with that kind of trouble. If she helped with the café, she should stay behind the register, where there was at least a physical barrier. Should sothing happen, she'd have enough ti to call for help, and Tohru or Chisato would rush over—especially now that Utaha knew Tohru's true identity, she'd feel extra secure.
Still, Shichen remained slightly anxious. If soone used firearms, that could be dangerous. He planned that before he left this world soday, he'd have Tohru set up so magic to protect Utaha from bullets. Go big or go ho, right?
After the midday rush, they had a break to eat lunch. Utaha still hadn't erged from upstairs, so Shichen went up to check on her while Tohru and Chisato got busy cooking.
Upon reaching Utaha's bedroom door, he knocked lightly, waited a few seconds, and, hearing no response, knocked again, louder.
"Mmm…who is it?" Her drowsy voice finally ca through.
"It's ."
"Chen? What's going on?"
"It's lunchti."
"Lunchti…? This late already? Got it, I'll get up now."
"Can I co in?"
"Sure."
Shichen opened the door to see Utaha sitting up in bed, still wearing the sa clothes from earlier that morning.
"Haaah~" She let out a big yawn.
"You actually did go back to sleep, huh?" Shichen remarked with amusent.
"I stayed up late, got up early—why wouldn't I nap a bit?"
"And you can sleep just fine, even knowing Tohru's a dragon?"
"…So it wasn't a dream," Utaha sighed.
"Why would there be a dragon in this world? Have I been living under a rock? Or is everything in ani real?" she muttered to herself.
"Actually, this world doesn't have dragons—Tohru just wandered here by accident."
"Wandered…like a dinsional thing?"
"Pretty much."
"So, that ans…you're not normal either, are you?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at him. "Given how you look, that's suspicious—like you're not really human."
"How could that be? I'm definitely just a regular guy," Shichen retorted.
"Then how did you get to know Tohru?"
"I saved her, once."
"Oh, that explains why she calls you 'dono'—you're her savior," Utaha nodded in realization.
"She's not scary at all, though; you don't have to be so worked up about it," Shichen assured her.
"I'm not scared of her—she's practically a living ani cosplay. What's there to be scared of?" Utaha rolled her eyes. "I'm just baffled that a dragon exists at all. But if you say she just wandered in, I guess that's easier to accept."
"Feeling better now?"
"There's still one more question." Utaha's tone grew serious.
"All right."
"Don't tell …you have so weird fetish?"
"…Huh?"
"Like, not liking normal girls, but being into dragon ladies?" she asked, looking him over skeptically.
Shichen's forehead twitched. "And here I thought you were genuinely worried about ."
"Hero saves the beauty, she repays him with her body—typical. Wait, could Chisato also be 'not human'?"
"She's a normal human…just very skilled physically."
"Skilled how?"
"She can dodge bullets."
"How's that 'normal'?!"
"She is human, at least."
"…So I'm the only ordinary one here?" Utaha said with a wry twist to her lips. She finally understood why Tohru and Chisato seed so nonchalant—neither was truly "normal." Why sweat the small stuff when you're a bullet-dodger or a dragon?
"You're not ordinary at all," Shichen soothed.
"How so? Aside from being pretty, what else do I have? This world isn't short on pretty girls."
"Plenty! You're a novelist who's about to be a bestseller. You're a genius high schooler. You think that's 'ordinary?'" Shichen teased.
Utaha blinked. "Now that you ntion it, guess not."
"You're unique. Why compare yourself to Tohru or Chisato?" He ca over to the bed, reaching out his arms.
"What are you—? Hey!" She suddenly felt weightless, her body instinctively wrapping around Shichen as he lifted her.
"Co on, let's go eat," Shichen smiled, holding her in a bridal carry and heading for the door.
"…You jerk, I didn't ask you to carry !" Utaha complained, face flushing, hugging him on reflex.
"Well, you're too slow," he replied casually. He had no intention of letting go, carrying her downstairs to the kitchen.
Utaha, rather embarrassed, bowed her head and stared at her knees. Shichen's large, warm hands were beneath her thighs and around her ribs—this position was far too intimate.
"Chen-dono, here you are. I just need two more minutes on the—Utaha, get down from there!" Tohru turned around and froze at the sight of Shichen carrying Utaha in a princess hold. It was almost picturesque, but Tohru found no pleasure in watching it.
"Wow, a real princess carry~," Chisato remarked enviously, though without tension.
"Hmph~ Chen carried himself; why should I get down?" Utaha retorted, hugging him more tightly and pressing closer against him.
Shichen could feel the softness but decided to keep holding her for now.
"Chen-dono?" Tohru gave him a pitiful look. "I want a princess carry too."
"You're a dragon, for crying out loud," Utaha muttered, dumbfounded.
"That doesn't matter—I want a princess carry from Chen-dono," Tohru insisted.
" too!" Chisato piped up excitedly.
"No problem." Shichen grinned. "Wanna do it now, or after we eat?"
"Now!" they answered in unison.
"Sure."
Shichen gently set down a pouty Utaha, then proceeded to give Tohru and Chisato their turns in a princess carry. Neither weighed much—Tohru's dragon weight evidently didn't apply in human form—so he handled both with ease.
Feeling satisfied, the two got even more motivated. Although there had been only two dishes left to make, they decided to make two more on top of that.
Lunch was harmonious; Utaha no longer fixated on Tohru. After all, whether Tohru was a dragon or not didn't affect her. It simply added a bit of fantasy color to the world.
~~~
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