[Target: Tohru]
[Mission: Rescue Tohru, gain her trust, make her dependent on you, then spend a month together to obtain a Divine Fragment.]
Shichen realized the mission was different. This time, he had to gain trust first, and trust was truly unpredictable.
The time needed to complete the mission became uncertain.
Perhaps the subsequent mission to obtain the Divine Fragment would also be different, meaning it would take more than just eight years.
But for Shichen, it didn't matter. Since the second world was also related to anime, future worlds might be too. The mission could take a hundred or even a thousand years.
Becoming a god or anything like that truly didn't matter; he just wanted to travel through the dimensional worlds.
"My apologies, my apologies, I got a little excited seeing a dragon."
Shichen ignored the prompts and smiled at the giant dragon before him, apologizing, yet his hand showed no intention of retracting from the dragon's lower jaw.
Dragons, to humans, were absolutely beings to be avoided. They were enormous, cruel, temperamental, arrogant, dismissive of humans, and even man-eaters.
Like monsters.
Dealing with humans was as easy as humans dealing with ants. Don't believe you can communicate or build good relationships with them; that might be seeking death.
After all, humans don't build good relationships with ants.
Moreover, the giant dragon in front of him might be impervious even to nuclear bombs.
But Shichen wasn't afraid of the giant dragon before him, not because he had some ability, nor because the giant dragon was injured, and certainly not because he liked dragons.
He just knew the giant dragon in front of him, even knew it inside and out. How gentle it was, at least in this world, no one understood it better than him.
"Human, do you not fear me?" The giant dragon spoke again, its massive maw opening like an abyss, very intimidating.
Shichen twitched his nose, not smelling any bad breath from the dragon.
Not bad, not bad.
"No need to speak to me like that. Let's get along amicably," Shichen said with a grin, patting its huge jaw.
"..." The giant dragon stared at Shichen with its lantern-like eyes, puzzled.
It was a little confused by the human in front of it. He didn't seem like a human; the special aura about him didn't match humans at all, but rather resembled those beings it disliked.
Yet, he was clearly not one of those beings.
"You... are you truly not afraid of me?" The giant dragon asked again, changing its phrasing.
"Why should I be afraid of you? You just told me to leave, so you definitely don't want to hurt me. Besides, you're a dragon! How cool! I love dragons the most," Shichen said excitedly.
"...Strange person."
"Strange?"
"At least stranger than all the humans I've ever seen."
"Then I'm quite honored?" Shichen asked, blinking.
The giant dragon didn't want to discuss this topic anymore. It changed the subject and asked, "...How did you get here? I clearly set up a barrier."
"Why set up a barrier? Are you afraid of humans accidentally entering?" Shichen didn't answer its question, but instead retorted.
"I just don't want to be disturbed by humans."
"You're clearly afraid of scaring humans, aren't you?" Shichen asked, smiling.
"What's wrong with you? Never mind, it's not important anymore. You should leave quickly; I don't have much time left."
"Not much time left?" Shichen looked up, gazing at the giant sword plunged into its back.
The giant dragon noticed his gaze and explained, "This is a god's possession... After a battle with a god, I retreated to this 異界, and now my life is nearing its end..."
"You'll be fine as long as that sword is pulled out, right?" Shichen interrupted her.
"Huh? Pulled out?" The giant dragon was stunned for a moment.
Without another word, Shichen withdrew his hand, moved to the side of the giant dragon, and then lightly leaped onto its back.
Seeing Shichen's action, the giant dragon immediately understood what he was going to do. It quickly warned, "Stop! Humans cannot touch this object, or their souls will be shattered... destroyed?!"
Before the giant dragon could finish speaking, Shichen had already grasped the hilt of the sword and effortlessly pulled it out.
The light reflecting off the blade mirrored in the giant dragon's eyes, leaving her stunned.
"What were you saying?" Shichen held up the giant sword, smiling as he met the giant dragon's gaze.
"H-how did you do that?" The giant dragon asked, its massive maw agape in a daze.
"Perhaps... I'm a little out of the ordinary?" Shichen tilted his head and countered.
"...Do you believe in gods?"
"Only a fool believes in gods," Shichen scoffed.
He trusted gods the least, even though he was collecting Divine Fragments and on the path to becoming a god.
The thing in his mind shouldn't be a god. Shichen was willing to believe it, after all, it could bring him to the world of anime.
"I see, perhaps it's because you don't believe in gods, that you lack the heart of faith, which allowed you to pull out this sword," the giant dragon said.
"Perhaps." Shichen didn't explain further. He threw the giant sword to the ground and then jumped off her back.
"You won't die now, right?"
"Yes, thanks to you for saving my life. Thank you very much."
"Why are you addressing me so formally?" Shichen glared at her, displeased. "Didn't I say we should get along amicably? And you're a dragon, can't you be a little more imposing?"
"Ah, well, you... you are right."
The giant dragon suddenly became reserved, making Shichen shake his head and laugh.
"My name is Shichen," Shichen introduced himself.
"Shichen? Hello, Lord Shichen, my name is Tohru."
"Why 'Lord'?"
"Lord Shichen is my savior, please allow me to call you that."
"You really don't act like a giant dragon," Shichen shook his head.
"Uh..."
"Never mind, whatever makes you happy. What are you going to do next?"
"Me? I don't want to go back..."
"Don't want to go back?" Shichen's eyes lit up, and he eagerly asked, "Then, would you like to come with me?"
"Huh?" Tohru looked at Shichen blankly.
"To be honest, I'm alone right now. It would be great if someone could accompany me."
"But I'm a dragon..."
"Can't you shrink? Or transform or something? It's always like that in anime."
"Anime? I have learned transformation magic... I understand."
As Tohru spoke, her entire body suddenly glowed golden, and she was enveloped in the light, revealing only a faint draconic silhouette.
The dragon-shaped figure continuously shrank, floating in the air, slowly transforming, finally taking on a human form.
Shichen watched intently, not missing a single detail.
The human figure slowly landed, and the golden light gradually dissipated. First, a pair of exquisite small feet, delicate and dainty with rounded toes; then, fair and smooth legs, with radiant, rosy skin... followed by a flat and firm abdomen, a small navel, and a luminous, exposed lower chest not covered by the linen cloak, until finally, her face appeared.
She had a very cute girl's face, with long, dazzling golden hair cascading down, a pair of dragon horns on her head, and a thick green tail behind her.
It wasn't out of place at all; instead, it made the girl appear even more petite and adorable.
The giant dragon... no, the girl Tohru had transformed into was a little embarrassed. She stood shyly, facing Shichen with her eyes closed, her cute face flushed.
It wasn't because she was almost naked and being watched by Shichen, but rather because she was shy about transforming into a human.
Shichen unreservedly scrutinized Tohru from head to toe, not out of lust, but because he was no longer separated by a screen, by dimensions. He wanted to imprint her thoroughly in his eyes, in his memory.
But to be fair, as expected of a dragon's transformation, she was flawless and so soft and tender.
"So Tohru is a girl," Shichen remarked after his observation.
"Ah, um..." Tohru opened her eyes, not daring to look at Shichen, and said awkwardly, "Th-this is the transformation magic taught to me by the Dragonkin Elder."
"Is that so? You're very cute~" Shichen gave her a thumbs up.
"As long as Lord Shichen is satisfied," Tohru breathed a sigh of relief.
"Then... will you come with me?" Shichen looked at Tohru gently and asked again.
"I..." Tohru hesitated.
"Want to come to my home?"
"Yes! I want to go to Lord Shichen's home!"
"Then let's go," Shichen extended his hand to Tohru.
"Yes! Lord Shichen!" Tohru pounced, directly embracing Shichen.
Shichen was enveloped in her embrace and felt her astonishing softness.
"Wait! Can't you conjure some clothes?" Shichen tried to push her away, but she wouldn't budge.
"Huh? Does Lord Shichen not like me like this?"
"I do, I do, but who gets so honest the first time they meet?"
"For Lord Shichen, it's completely fine!"
"No! Quickly conjure some clothes and put them on!"
"Huh? Why like this?"
"Listen to me!"
"If Lord Shichen says so... then what kind of clothes should I wear? Like the ones Lord Shichen is wearing?" Tohru hugged Shichen, looking up and down at his clothes.
Shichen shook his head: "My clothes won't do, they're for men. But there's a set of clothes that would suit you perfectly!"
"What kind of clothes?"
"That would be... a maid outfit!"
"A maid outfit? What's a maid outfit?"