On Sunday, when Shichen woke up, he felt a slight sensation and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
It felt so good to have his little brother feeling refreshed.
Thanks to Tohru, he had been a bit on edge lately.
Although it was a normal thing, since someone was sleeping next to him, he couldn't treat it with a normal mindset.
It would be mortifying, and with such a strong smell, sharing one blanket, it would be easily discovered.
Moreover, with Tohru's personality, it would be hard for her not to become curious and question him thoroughly, especially since she knew nothing.
Dragons shouldn't have such physiological phenomena... even if they did, Tohru was still just a young, innocent female dragon.
Shichen couldn't just say anything, he had promised not to lie to her, so he had to keep his word.
The key was that Shichen had taught her how to use computers, and there was a lot of common human knowledge and maid knowledge that she needed to understand deeply.
So even if Shichen said nothing, Tohru would still curiously look up related information, and once she understood, wouldn't that prove he was interested?
Tohru had been eager for a long time.
What if she was led astray by online content and secretly did something while he was sleeping at night?
Shichen was a man of his word; if he said one month, it was one month. This was not only for his own innocence but also to uphold quality for the vast two-dimensional audience.
His liking for them wasn't due to lust, but stemmed from an inner yearning, wanting to interact with them, get to know them, spend time with them, and develop feelings.
Not everyone had the chance to meet them, but now he did, and these processes definitely had to be experienced first.
Shichen decided he absolutely wouldn't sleep with Tohru tonight. He was too soft-hearted, always unable to bear making her sad. If this continued, he would make a fool of himself sooner or later.
No matter what excuse Tohru came up with tonight, it wouldn't work!
Shichen tilted his head to look at Tohru and found her still sound asleep, her lips slightly upturned, sleeping very sweetly.
Seeing her blissful sleeping face, Shichen couldn't help but chuckle softly, but then quickly pulled his arm out from the soft spot, and without hesitation, threw off the blanket and got out of bed.
"Ugh… hmm?"
The comforting presence was gone from her embrace, and coupled with Shichen's not-so-small movements, Tohru was easily startled awake.
She opened her eyes blankly, wanting to see the person she longed for at first glance, but all she saw was an empty bed.
She woke up quite a bit, and then saw Shichen standing by the bed.
"Shichen… Master?" Tohru slowly sat up, the collar of her pajamas slipping to the right, revealing her fair, fragrant shoulder.
Tohru had lived for almost ten thousand years, so she could be considered an old hand at being smooth.
"Good morning, Tohru." Shichen greeted with a smile.
"Good morning…" Tohru responded blankly, but then immediately reacted.
"Shichen Master, why are you up?"
"If I'm awake, shouldn't I get up? Besides, I have things to do today."
"Huh? Aren't you going to sleep a little longer?" Tohru was a bit reluctant.
Sleeping with Shichen these past two days had been too comfortable; she would wake up and it would already be daytime. She still wanted to stay in bed and chat for a while.
"Then you sleep a little longer, I'll go wash up first." Shichen said, then turned and left the room.
"Huh? Why like this?"
...
After breakfast with Tohru in the morning, Shichen sat in the cafe for a while but didn't wait for Kasumigaoka Utaha to arrive.
It seemed he wouldn't be able to see her for the next day or two.
Shichen didn't stay in the shop for long. After telling Tohru, he changed into casual clothes and went out.
He was going to buy some things on the street today, like light novels and manga, to decorate his study.
It was too empty and lacked atmosphere.
He had been in this world for a week now; it was time to build his little base.
Business had been good recently, and he had earned some money, enough to make the study look decent.
The game room didn't have enough capital to build yet.
Of course, Shichen didn't just go out for this; he also wanted to see if he could be lucky enough to meet someone he knew.
Although this world was very similar to the island nation in his original world, it was clearly different, feeling somewhat like a combination of multiple worlds.
Because this world actually had two Tokyo Towers.
One old, one new. The old one was broken for some unknown reason, and the new one was rebuilt ten years ago.
Shichen had some impression of this background, but couldn't recall it for a moment, always feeling it wasn't anything important.
He had seen too much, and some irrelevant background settings weren't remembered very clearly.
No matter what, this world couldn't be the world of "Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend"; it wasn't because Tohru was here, she had indeed mistakenly entered this world, perhaps this world was special.
The strongest evidence was that when he first came to this world, the thing in his mind didn't prompt him what world it was.
Frieren had a prompt.
It couldn't be that the prompt from Frieren's world was a benefit given for the first transmigration, could it?
Shichen had figured out the purpose of the thing in his mind: it wanted him to collect fragments of divinity, and it would provide assistance as much as possible.
He had also roughly guessed the characteristics of the people who housed the fragments of divinity; they seemed to be important characters in the world.
In other words, if the worlds he transmigrated to were all two-dimensional worlds, then the fragments of divinity were basically housed in every important character.
So far, they were all heroines; that thing seemed to understand him very well.
After all, who would want to interact with male protagonists? Maybe even get intimate.
There weren't many excellent and charming male protagonists, and he wasn't someone who liked to get intimate with men.
According to its purpose, it would definitely prompt him what world it was, which would also make it convenient for him to quickly grasp information and approach the target characters.
So there was a high possibility that this world was a mixed world, and many of the people he knew had not yet appeared.
After a week of stability, if he didn't actively try to encounter them, some people might even suspect if he was a two-dimensional person.
Was this the attitude a normal two-dimensional transmigration should have?
Normal two-dimensional people would wish they could run around every day looking for encounters.
Shichen wasn't in a hurry either, he just had to proceed gradually. After all, he couldn't be in two places at once, and if too many acquaintances appeared at once, it would be difficult to deal with and approach them.
Biting off more than one can chew.
He was very greedy, and being too eager would only make him flustered.
However, Shichen didn't know much about the island nation. He had never traveled there before. He had the idea of visiting holy sites but was a bit lazy and had not acted on it.
Anyway, the world was different now, so even if he had been there before, it would be useless.
Shichen did know a possible encounter spot, where he could also find the light novels and manga he needed, and he could also check for games first.
That place was a paradise for two-dimensional enthusiasts, named Akihabara. This name, naturally, was known to everyone.
Shichen took the train alone to Akihabara.
Tohru wanted to go with him, but the cafe had to stay open. Shichen promised to go with her next time, which dispelled her idea of coming along.
Shichen also didn't have to worry about any problems with the shop. Tohru could completely replace him now, and as for accidents or thugs causing trouble, he didn't have to worry even more.
He had instructed Tohru that as long as no one died and her identity wasn't exposed, she could do whatever she wanted. He even added a patch: if someone used knives or guns, then she didn't have to worry about human lives.
Compared to the lives of strangers, Shichen cared more about whether Tohru would get hurt, but real bullets seemed to be unable to harm her at all.
Privilege was good; it also made Shichen recognize Japanese characters, so he didn't have to worry about taking the wrong train or getting lost.
Getting off at Akihabara Station, Shichen arrived at Chuo-dori. The overwhelming scent of electronics, the anime GGs on the screens, and various anime posters reminded him of the excitement the protagonists felt when they first arrived in Akihabara while watching anime.
He didn't play many games before, so he might not have been particularly interested in Akihabara, but the feeling of empathy he had back then still made him continue his tour.
Shichen couldn't help but take a step, entering
On the roadside, he could see girls in maid outfits handing out flyers, smiling brightly; there were also bespectacled men with large backpacks and big bellies walking around, looking left and right as if searching for a target.
There were also people walking together; today was Sunday, so there were many young people, and of course, middle-aged uncles.
Apart from locals, there were only one or two women.
What was with this inexplicable sense of déjà vu?
Shichen shook his head, dispelling his impolite thoughts. Really, the image of a normal two-dimensional person wasn't a bespectacled man with a big belly, wearing a hat and looking gloomy.
It must be because this was a two-dimensional world, and the image of otaku had been realisticized in it.
Just kidding, real two-dimensional people are one by one fair and handsome. Even if they're a bit fat... isn't that normal?
They don't exercise much, and they like to eat fried food and drink soda, but if they just exercise a little and lose weight, they'll charm countless girls.
They just want to leave some opportunities for those who find it difficult to find partners.
That's how great they are.