The remaining third of the spread consisted of writhing, grotesque masses harvested from an Outer God. In the entire lavish feast, only two or three dishes were actually recognizable as food.
While some might have been adventurous enough to try a bite, Kawashima Toya knew his limits.
"Master, please try some! It's actually quite good!"
"Darling, trust me, it's delicious! A true legendary classic!"
Tohru and Nyaruko made one final attempt to appeal to his appetite.
"No," Toya said firmly. "That's not up for debate."
Accepting defeat, the two stopped pestering him and began eating their own creations. Nyaruko ate with relative decorum, sticking to human methods. Tohru, however, unhinged her jaw and swallowed a massive segment of roasted dragon tail in a single go.
Kasugano Sora and Kasumigaoka Utaha watched the display in silent horror.
Tohru and Nyaruko cleared the table with the speed of a localized storm, leaving only the few normal dishes behind.
"Now I can finally eat," Toya muttered. Once he was certain no dragon tail or eldritch parts remained, he began his meal.
Tohru nibbled on a handkerchief, her gaze lingering on him. "I specifically removed the toxins from the tail meat. I don't understand why Master won't try it."
Nyaruko looked over in surprise. "Wait, your tail is actually poisonous?"
"Is that strange?" Tohru tilted her head. "So many humans have tried to eat dragon meat over the centuries that we had to develop defense mechanisms. Unless I prepare it myself with specific counter-agents, anyone who eats it will die quite miserably."
Toya felt a cold sweat. These two were his residents; the thought of eating Tohru's flesh was inherently nauseating. If he were hunting a wild dragon, he might consider it a delicacy, but he wasn't about to treat his household like a butcher shop.
.....
After lunch, Toya returned to his usual routine of lounging in the sunlight. The others were flipping through TV channels, looking for something to pass the time.
"Darling, aren't we being a bit too lazy?" Nyaruko leaned over the back of the sofa, her silver hair drooping as a sign of her boredom.
Toya glanced at her. "What's wrong with a quiet life? Do we really need to go looking for trouble every day?"
If he could help it, he wanted to stay as far away from the supernatural as possible. Every minion of the Outer Gods he had encountered seemed like a deliberate insult to the concept of aesthetics.
"I've already cleared out most of my followers for you. Only the ones in the main tower are left. If you're that bored, I suppose I could spawn a few more for you to hunt."
Suddenly, a news report caught their attention.
[Announcement: The festival commemorating the birth of Abe no Seimei, the legendary Onmyoji of the Heian period, is set to begin.]
Nyaruko's hair suddenly twitched and stood upright. "Darling! Let's go raid Seimei's tomb! Imagine the legendary loot we could find!"
"I'll pass. I'm busy," Toya said. "The world isn't as simple as the history books say. Everyone assumes Seimei is dead, but who knows if he actually stayed that way?"
"An era-defining figure like him doesn't just disappear."
Hanazono Yurine and Yusa both insisted he was long gone, but Toya wasn't convinced. A man who could manipulate the Taizan Fukun Rite to usurp divine power wasn't someone who played by the normal rules of life and death.
"Toya, we might actually have to look into this."
Toya felt the sunlight vanish. Hanazono Yurine stood before him, her gothic lolita dress casting a shadow over his face. Jashin-chan stood just behind her.
Toya noticed a familiar, predatory glint in Jashin-chan's eyes. He knew exactly what that snake was thinking. He was about to get up and deliver a preemptive strike when he saw a mechanical stag beetle fly into the office. Realizing Nyaruko was already moving, he settled back into his chair.
"An opening!"
Jashin-chan, assuming Toya was defenseless, leaped into the air. Her green tail coiled with immense tension before snapping forward with all her strength.
"Payback for last time, Toya! Prepare to die!"
"Jashin-chan Dropkick!"
"Hands off my Darling!"
"Henshin!"
"Cast Off!"
"Rider Kick!"
[One... Two... Three... Rider Kick!]
A silver and red blur intercepted the attack. Nyaruko, now armored as Kamen Rider Kabuto, stood between Toya and the assault. She pressed the beetle's trigger, gathering a surge of energy into her right leg.
Toya watched with mild amusement. He wanted to see which was more effective: Nyaruko's borrowed power or Jashin-chan's raw persistence.
Yurine hadn't even had time to react before the two collided.
Boom!
A shockwave rattled the office, followed by two distinct yelps of pain. Nyaruko was thrown backward, skidding across the floor as her transformation gave out. The Rider Belt hit the ground, sparking from the impact.
Jashin-chan fared worse. She was launched across the room, slamming into the wall with enough force to leave a snake-shaped crater in the plaster.
A mutual knockout.
Toya sat up, looking at the visibly irritated Yurine. "Don't worry about them. They're just blowing off steam."
"I see." Yurine took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "But I'm serious. Besides my studies, I still serve as a shrine maiden. Last night, I performed a divination that suggested something is shifting at Abe no Seimei's resting place. The seal is weakening."