Breakfast was a bit quiet, and Utaha Kasumigaoka kept staring at Tohru, making her feel scared.
Chisato Nishikigi, however, didn't care if Tohru was a dragon; she continued to serve food to Lord Chen as usual.
"Lord Chen, can you please tell Poetry Feather to stop staring at me? I can't even eat my food anymore," Tohru finally couldn't bear it any longer and pleaded with Lord Chen for help.
Lord Chen chuckled and replied, "Don't mind her. Just pretend she's not there."
"How can I? Her gaze is too piercing."
"Just try to understand."
"Ugh..." Tohru sighed helplessly and turned her back, presenting Utaha Kasumigaoka with the back of her head.
"Hehe~"
Lord Chen could understand Utaha Kasumigaoka's current feelings; her mind was probably in chaos, unwilling to believe, yet the truth was right before her eyes.
If it were his old self, he wouldn't have believed in the existence of dragons in the world, even if others had seen them with their own eyes, unless he had seen them himself.
Even now, he wouldn't believe that his original world had dragons; he had simply arrived in a world that did.
No, it should be that a dragon had stumbled into the world he had arrived in.
However, since he could traverse worlds, he would surely encounter all sorts of creatures in the future; this journey was destined to be rich and colorful.
After breakfast, Utaha Kasumigaoka didn't join Lord Chen and the others in working at the shop; instead, she went upstairs to sleep.
Staying up late last night was one reason, and her mind was a bit muddled; she needed a good sleep to calm down.
She didn't even have the heart to write her novel.
It was just that she might not fall asleep so easily for a while.
The leisurely morning passed, giving way to a busy noon, but Chisato Nishikigi's work ability was quite strong, so Lord Chen hardly needed to help.
Moreover, even when he wanted to help, Chisato Nishikigi wouldn't let him, especially when it came to serving food to female customers.
It wasn't that she was too possessive, but that the female customers' thoughts were too blatant, even more direct than the male customers'.
If Lord Chen were to deliver food to female customers, he would likely be taken advantage of and touched, while male customers would only dare to glance at Chisato Nishikigi out of the corner of their eyes.
There was no way around it; these days, if a woman made a move, nothing much would happen, and the man wouldn't call the police just for being slightly taken advantage of. But if a man made a move and the woman dared to call the police, then he could expect to lose all face and become a public spectacle.
However, it was also possible that the customers who came to the coffee shop were generally more respectable, and hooligans seemed to have little to do with this place.
In any case, Lord Chen wasn't worried at all about Tohru and Chisato Nishikigi being bullied; anyone who dared to bully them probably didn't want to live.
He had also instructed both of them not to hold back; as long as they didn't kill, they should beat them to death.
Utaha Kasumigaoka, however, was different; she was just an ordinary girl. If she were to help out at the shop, she should honestly stay behind the cashier counter.
It's better to be safe than sorry; human hearts are unpredictable, and someone might do anything if they lose their mind.
The cashier counter provided a buffer time, enough for her to call for help, and crucially, she now knew Tohru's true identity, which gave her a guarantee.
Lord Chen was actually still uneasy. It would be bad if someone had a hot weapon. He planned to have Tohru cast a magic on Utaha Kasumigaoka that could defend against hot weapons before he left.
He wanted to be completely at ease.
After noon, Lord Chen and the others entered their break time and could have lunch.
Utaha Kasumigaoka hadn't come down from upstairs yet, so Lord Chen went up to see how she was doing.
Tohru and Chisato Nishikigi were in the kitchen cooking.
He went upstairs, arrived at Utaha Kasumigaoka's room door, and gently knocked.
After a few seconds, there was no response from inside, so he knocked a few more times with more force.
"Ugh... Who?" Utaha Kasumigaoka's muddled voice came out.
"It's me."
"Chen? What's wrong?"
"It's time for lunch."
"Lunch... Is it that late already? I know, I'll get up now."
"May I come in?"
"You may."
Lord Chen pushed open the door and saw Utaha Kasumigaoka sitting up. She was still wearing the same clothes from the morning and hadn't changed.
"Hah~" Utaha Kasumigaoka yawned.
"You actually slept?" Lord Chen looked at her with amusement.
"I went to bed a bit late last night, and woke up so early this morning... What's wrong with sleeping for a while?"
"How could you sleep? Are you just going to ignore the fact that Tohru is a dragon?"
"...Sigh, it really wasn't a dream," Utaha Kasumigaoka sighed.
"Why are there dragons in this world? Have I been living in vain before? Or are all anime real?"
"There are no dragons in this world; it's just that Tohru accidentally stumbled into this world."
"Stumbled? Like some kind of transmigration?"
"Something like that."
"Then you're not a normal person either, are you?" Utaha Kasumigaoka stared intently at Lord Chen. "It's obvious someone who looks like you isn't normal."
"How could that be? I'm just a normal person," Lord Chen shook his head.
"Then how did you meet Tohru?"
"I saved her before."
"So that's it. No wonder she keeps calling you 'Lord.' Her savior, huh?" Utaha Kasumigaoka nodded in realization.
"Tohru isn't scary. You don't need to be so unable to accept her."
"I'm not afraid of her. She's always in her dragon maid form; where's the scary part?" Utaha Kasumigaoka rolled her eyes at him. "I just couldn't accept that there are dragons in this world. Now that I've heard your explanation, I feel relieved."
"No more problems, right?"
"There's one more question," Utaha Kasumigaoka's expression turned serious.
"Hm?"
"Are you... into something unusual?"
"?"
"Like, you don't like normal girls and prefer dragon girls or something."
Lord Chen's forehead twitched with black lines. "I really worried about you for nothing."
"A hero saving a beauty, and then she pledges herself to him, isn't that this kind of situation? Wait, Chisato isn't abnormal too, is she?"
"Don't worry, she's a normal person, just exceptionally skilled."
"Exceptionally skilled?"
"Yes, she can dodge bullets."
"How is that a normal person?!" Utaha Kasumigaoka couldn't help but retort.
"At least she's human."
"...So, I'm the only normal girl here, right?" Utaha Kasumigaoka pouted.
She now completely understood the reason for their open-mindedness; since neither of them was ordinary, how could they care about such trivial matters?
"You're not ordinary either," Lord Chen said with a comforting smile.
"How am I not ordinary? Besides being good-looking, there's nothing else, and this world isn't lacking in good-looking girls."
"...The fact that you're so confident is already extraordinary, but what I mean is, you're a novelist, about to become a bestselling novelist, and a genius high school girl. Do you think you're ordinary?" Lord Chen countered with a smile.
Utaha Kasumigaoka blinked. "When you put it that way, I guess so."
"You're unique. Why compare yourself to Tohru and the others?" Lord Chen came to the bedside and slowly extended his hand.
"What are you doing... Huh?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka felt a sense of weightlessness and instinctively wrapped her arms around Lord Chen.
"Let's go, it's time to go downstairs and eat," Lord Chen smiled slightly, then carried her in a princess carry and walked out.
"...You jerk, I didn't tell you to carry me!" Utaha Kasumigaoka glared at his profile, annoyed and blushing.
"It's because you're so slow."
Lord Chen showed no intention of putting her down; he carried her downstairs and into the kitchen.
Utaha Kasumigaoka naturally didn't struggle, but she felt a bit embarrassed, lowering her head and staring at her knees.
Lord Chen's hands on her thigh and at her ribs felt a bit large and warm.
"Lord Chen, you're here! There are two more dishes, almost ready... Poetry Feather, get down!" Tohru turned around and saw Lord Chen carrying Utaha Kasumigaoka in a princess carry. The scene was somewhat beautiful, but she couldn't appreciate it.
"Wow~ It's a princess carry~" Chisato Nishikigi wasn't as reactive, but her eyes showed envy.
"Hmph~ Lord Chen carried me first, why should I get down?" Utaha Kasumigaoka retorted unhappily, her competitive spirit rising, and she hugged him even tighter, her front pressing closely against Lord Chen.
Lord Chen felt the softness and decided not to put her down for now.
"Lord Chen?" Tohru looked at Lord Chen with a wronged expression. "I want a princess carry too."
"You want that too? You're a dragon!" Utaha Kasumigaoka scoffed.
"What's important isn't the princess carry, it's Lord Chen's princess carry," Tohru emphasized.
"Me too!" Chisato Nishikigi raised her hand excitedly.
"No problem," Lord Chen agreed with a smile. "Do you want it now, or after dinner?"
"Now, of course!" Both said in unison.
"Alright."
Lord Chen put down the reluctant Utaha Kasumigaoka and took turns giving Tohru and Chisato Nishikigi a princess carry for a while.
Neither of them was heavy, and Tohru wasn't at her original weight, so it was effortless for Lord Chen.
After satisfying them, their motivation became even stronger; they had only two dishes left, but they ended up making two more.
Lunch was very harmonious, and Utaha Kasumigaoka no longer focused on Tohru.
After all, whether Tohru was a dragon didn't affect her; it just added a bit of fantasy to her worldview.