Morning sunlight streamed in warmly.
Haruno opened her bleary eyes, quietly savoring a rare moment of calm.
After a while, she sat up, her shapely figure stretching languidly.
"Let's see if Yukino's awake yet~."
Haruno left the bedroom. She saw Yukino's door was closed. Not sure if Yukino was inside, she headed for the living room first.
There, she spotted Mabel at the dining table, glumly gnawing on some bread. With Yukino not having woken up to cook, that was the best breakfast Mabel could manage.
"You"
Haruno spoke up suddenly, and Mabel turned around.
" "
Haruno froze. At this closer distance, the girl was so lovely and delicate, with a faintly cool aura.
"You're Yukino's sister?"
"Uh yes. Do you know where Yukino is?"
Haruno politely asked.
"She's still sleeping," Mabel answered weakly, pointing to the main bedroom.
"Oh, okay."
Haruno went to Yukino's bedroom door, knocking gently.
"Yukino, are you up?"
" "
After a while, Yukino's voice came from inside the room.
"Yes, Sis. I'm still sleepy. Do whatever you want; I'm going back to bed."
"Huh?"
Haruno looked a little surprised. Yukino rarely slept in, as her routine was always so regulated. But soon she let it go.
Perhaps Yukino had stayed up half the night bringing Haruno back, cleaning her clothes, and was utterly exhausted.
"In that case, since it's the weekend, rest as long as you like. This noon, I'll cook a fancy meal for you, mmkay?"
" "
Silence fell inside the room.
Yukino, curled up beneath the blankets and seeing the messy state around her, felt too drained to do anything. She closed her tired eyes and drifted back to sleep.
Meanwhile, after leaving Yukino's place, Rei Ao had no downtime.
He went to the appointed spot where he was supposed to meet Michiru.
There, he saw Michiru holding Kanna's hand under the shade of a tree, waiting for him.
Today, they were finalizing Kanna's enrollment. Kanna's official identity had her recorded as Rei Ao's younger sisterarranged for him by Raphiel.
For Kanna, Emilia, and any other folks from different worlds, leaving it to an angel to handle ID paperwork was foolproof.
"Let's go, Michiru."
"Yeah."
They had chosen an elementary school very close to their integrated academy. As they prepared to head in, Kanna suddenly took Rei Ao's hand as well. Both Rei Ao and Michiru noticed, and now the three of them formed a "big-little-big" chain with Kanna holding hands in the middle.
They looked just like a warm, loving familyand with their respective attractiveness (handsome, pretty, cute)they quickly drew gazes from passersby. Some even quietly commented, "Wow, that family of three is so good-looking!"
Aa family of three?
Michiru blushed deeply.
"H-hey, Rei Ao-kun, let's go in?"
"Sure."
Rei Ao smiled and, holding Kanna's hand, walked into the elementary school they'd already contacted.
Elsewhere
"Snnff snnff!"
While Kobayashi led Shin around a shopping mall, Shin suddenly flared her nostrils, sniffing at something. Kobayashi noticed her odd behavior.
"Shin, what are you doing?"
"Mommy, I smell a dragon's scent!"
"That must be Tohru."
Kobayashi, looking utterly unfazed. Maybe once upon a time, she would have been shocked by talk of dragons. But times had changed, and hearing "dragon" didn't really surprise her anymore.
"No, it's not Tohru. It's another dragon!"
Shin's tone was firm.
"Another dragon?"
Kobayashi blinked.
Suddenly, Shin grabbed her hand and, with ridiculous strength, ran, pulling Kobayashi along.
"Mommy, let's go slay that evil dragon!"
"Wha?"
"Om nom! So good!!!"
Having finished her enrollment, Kanna was now sitting on a bench, happily eating ice cream.
"Kanna, slow downdon't eat ice cream like that."
Michiru worried Kanna might get a brain freeze from eating too fast. She still tended to treat Kanna like a normal child, not like a dragon.
The same went for Kobayashi, who had just been pulled over by Shinshe also found it hard to picture Kanna as a dragon. This was the "evil dragon" Shin spoke of? She looked more like a silly dragon, right?
"Stare"
Off to one side, Shin was staring hard at Kanna with her big eyes.
"Um, do you want some? Kanna can share."
Kanna offered the ice cream to Shin.
"Want it!!!"
Instantly, Shin dropped her hostility, took the ice cream, and beamed happilycompletely forgetting she'd come to defeat an evil dragon. Kobayashi sighed.
"Shin, how do you respond when someone gives you something?"
"Oh! I have to say thanks!"
Recalling her mom's lessons, Shin straightened up her expression and said to Kanna, "Thank you for the ice creamit's really yummy!"
"Mm."
Kanna was the classic quiet-loli type. Even though she happily kicked her feet, her face betrayed no expression.
~~~
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Chapter 426: Shin is enrolling too! Can't beat her cuteness...
"Ah, so Kanna's a young dragon."
After Rei Ao's explanation, Kobayashi realized that Shin had made another mistake. She threw a glance at the girl, then looked over at Rei Ao.
"You said she's going to enroll in that elementary school?"
Kobayashi recalled that there indeed was such a grade school nearby. A dragon attending elementary school She found that scene hard to imagine.
"Mom, I wanna go to school too!!!"
All of a sudden, Shin raised her hand and called out.
"Huh?"
Kobayashi was taken aback, but Rei Ao said,
"Kobayashi, I think it's great. They can attend together and be friends, keeping each other company. If money's tight for you, I can pay."
""
Kobayashi shrugged. "I've got enough money, reallyjust didn't expect that before I even get married, I'm already taking on child-rearing, ugh, so tiring."
Shin scampered over to Rei Ao's side and clung to his arm. "Mommy can marry Daddy, then Daddy and Mommy can both take care of me together~"
Her bright-eyed daydream made her own face light up with happiness. Kanna squinted and followed her lead, running over to Rei Ao's other side and holding onto his other arm.
"Michiru, marry Rei Ao-nii, take care of Kanna."
"Wha?"
Kobayashi was dumbfounded. "Eh?"
Michiru froze up.
Rei Ao ruffled the two little heads and laughed. "I don't mind."
"It absolutely matters!"
Mortified, Michiru waved her hands about. "Th-that's not how any of this works!"
Kobayashi rubbed the back of her neck. "I think Rei Ao-kun would be fine with it, anyway."
"Huh?"
Michiru gaped at herwhat was that supposed to mean?
"Ahem."
Kobayashi, now slightly embarrassed, explained, "I don't mean I'd consider it. I'm just pointing out that Rei Ao probably would."
""
Michiru couldn't deny it. A man who fostered dragons couldn't possibly be ordinary.
"Shin, I see you just want to do absolutely nothing and have others take care of you."
Kobayashi gently scolded her, then said, "Come on, I'll take you to get your enrollment settled. Phew, once you start school, my life'll get easier."
Without a second thought, she dragged Shin off.
At last, Michirusomewhat flusteredasked, "Rei Ao-kun, who is this Miss Kobayashi, and what's with that tone about Shin's 'mom,' calling you 'dad'?"
"Kobayashi? You could say she's someone with rather bad luck." Rei Ao smirked, then described how he met Tohru, along with how Shin was born. He spoke of energies, faith, and souls, leaving Michiru utterly bewildered. She didn't fully get it, but understood that those two people weren't normal, and that the trio's relationship wasn't at all what she had assumed.
After learning Shin wasn't actually Rei Ao's or Kobayashi's child, Michiruthough not sure whyfelt a weight lift from her mind. She showed no outward reaction, though. She asked calmly,
"What you said just now, about being willing to marry herwas that a joke?"
"How could it be a joke?"
Rei Ao looked genuinely earnest. "I absolutely meant it."
"Huh?"
Michiru opened her mouth slightly.
"But, what about you and Mai"
Understanding what she meant, Rei Ao spoke plainly. "They're all the same. I simply want to give each of them a home. Even Kanna's included. I wouldn't mind giving her a joyful, loving home."
"Kobayashi pointed it outindeed I'm special."
Seeing Michiru's astonished expression, Rei Ao opted to keep it simple:
[Ding! You have chosen to bestow sub-group chat privileges upon Kanna and Michiru Hyodo.]
"!!!"
In that moment, Michiru saw a glowing interface appear, and a mass of strange knowledge flooded her mind. Kanna, too, formed her mouth into a cute O-shape.
"Rei Ao-nii, you're amazingI see Tohru!"
This World's Group Chat.
Kanna: "@Tohru, Tohru, is that you?"
Tohru: "Oh? Kanna, so you've been invited to the chat group as well."
Megumi Kato: "@Michiru Hyodo, Michiru, you've joined toowelcome."
Michiru Hyodo: "This chat group is everything said here really true?"
Rei Ao: "Heh, you yourself are looking after a young dragonstill have doubts?"
Michiru: ""
It's different, though!
Kasumigaoka Utaha: "Wait, so you're raising a young dragon?"
Eriri Spencer: "Could it be something like a light-novel dragon tamer?"
Michiru Hyodo: "N-no, it's just I happened to come across her by chance"
She still felt awkward about talking with these folks. In particular, Eriri and Utahashe knew them as famously beautiful girl novelists from her own school.
Rei Ao: "Allow me to introduce them: Michiru is in the same class as me and Kato, and she sits right behind me. Kanna is Tohru's frienda young dragon who came from the dragon world, whom Michiru just happened to pick up and take in. [Image]this is Kanna."
Kanna: "I'm Kanna."
Hiratsuka Shizuka: "Hmph, that's a dragon?"
Sayuri: "How adorableso pale and soft, cuter than Eriri was as a kid!"
Eriri: "Mom! Don't compare me to that!"
Even Eriri felt powerless. But seeing the picture of Kanna, she had to admit "Ugh, she's so cute, I just wanna hug her!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha: "No denying it, she beats you in cuteness."
Eriri: "?"
Kawasaki Saki: "Never imagined a little dragon could be so adorable."
"Rei Ao-nii, are they talking about me?"
Kanna blinked her wide, innocent eyes.
"Sure are. They think you're cute."
"Cute?" Kanna's eyes sparkled.
Among the dragons, she'd never been someone people likedmore of a nuisance. Being told she's adored here made her happy.
Miura Yumiko: "Wait, so once again it's a classmate of his, is it possible you, Rei Ao, also slept with Hyodo Michiru?"
Michiru Hyodo: "S-slept with?"
Wide-eyed, Michiru turned to look at Rei Ao, the phrase sounding so weird to her ears.
~~~
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Chapter 427: Kanna is Cute! (Bonus Chapter)
Rei Ao: "Come on, don't make a big deal out of this. I only invited Michiru here because she got in touch with Kanna. It's just more convenient for us to coordinate."
Yumiko Miura: "Jeez, you scared me. I thought maybe you'd barely left Yukinoshita's bed before moving in on a new girl."
Michiru Hyd: ""
Michiru felt like she'd just stumbled onto something... huge.
Yui Yuigahama: "Ahem, um, how's Yukinon doing?"
She was worried about Yukino, being such a close friend and all.
Rei Ao: "Pretty sure she's still asleep."
Yumiko Miura: "Heh, I bet you wore her out. By the way, Rei Ao, do you have any pictures of her looking totally wrecked? Send them! I need a good laugh."
Yui Yuigahama: "Yumiko, th-that's really not okay, you know?"
She did try to stop Yumiko, but for some weird reason, Yui felt a tiny flicker of guilt and excitement. She also kinda wanted to see what the always-serious Yukinon would look like in that situation.
Rei Ao: "She'd never let me do that, so don't get any funny ideas. Besides, I don't have any photos."
Yumiko Miura: "Ugh, what a waste. That was the perfect chance to roast her."
Yui Yuigahama: "Hmm"
""
But, in fact, Yukino was already awake, sitting on the couch listening to Yumiko trying to badmouth her. Her fists were clenched. Thankfully, Rei Ao didn't actually have any photosand seeing him think about her feelings made her look at him with softer eyes.
"Yukinon, it's weird why's your room smell so funky?"
Haruno Yukinoshita wandered out of the room, looking puzzled.
""
Yukino's ears burned. She had tidied up the mess and tossed aside towels after getting up, but Rei Ao's lingering scent was too strong to disappear that fast. And obviously her sister had never dealt with anything like that before. Luckily, Yukino had a ready-made excuse. She put on a frosty expression. "If you hadn't thrown up all over me last night, Sis, my room wouldn't smell like this at all."
"Ah right"
Haruno forced a laugh. She really had blacked out from drinking, so throwing up wasn't exactly far-fetched. She didn't suspect a thing.
"Sorry, sorry. To make it up to you, let your big sis take care of you for lunch today, all right?"
""
Yukino just dropped it, same as usual. Haruno wasn't put offshe was used to Yukino acting like that. Meanwhile, Mabel, who was standing nearby, opened her mouth like she wanted to call Yukino out on that lie but couldn't bring herself to say a wordmostly because Yukino had "warned" her to keep quiet around Haruno. Haruno didn't seem to mind that she was being ignored and cozied up to Yukino on her own.
"Hey, Yukino, did you wake up with a stiff neck or something? You're walking pretty gingerly."
"!!!"
Yukino's body stiffened up. The reason for her stiff movements was the gentle-but-rough treatment she'd gotten from a certain someone, which had left her both exhausted and craving more. But of course, there was no way she could say that. So, once again, she lied. "When Mabel and I carried you home last night, I managed to hurt my back."
"Oh, gotcha"
A look of concern flashed across Haruno's face, and she grew more serious.
"All right. I'll head out and buy some nourishing food to help you recover!"
She quickly changed into her now-dry clothes and headed for the door. Just as she slipped her shoes on in the entryway, she whipped her head around like she sensed somethingonly to see Mabel peeking out of the living room at her, eyes full of hope. Curious, Haruno asked,
"Mabel-san, is there something you'd like to say?"
"I, um I"
