When his alarm rang the next morning, Tatsuya thought that everything that had happened yesterday was all a dream. Actually, he hoped that it was all a dream. All of it. It was too much for him to process at the time: Arashi's sudden arrival back in town and the reveal of her true identity as a dragon princess; Mr. Urushihara's true identity as a dragon and agent of the United Front, as well as his uncompromising passion to start up a club for their dragon-related activities; and the mysterious silver pen gifted to him by the same teacher, claiming it to be a really treasured item of the dragon realm. Everything happened too fast!
Yawning, Tatsuya slowly rose up from his bed. He felt something heavy on his left arm and uncovered his blanket to see what it was. He was surprised to see Arashi sleeping in his bed like a baby, hugging onto his left arm as if it was a teddy bear. The other two weren't present in the bed this morning, which was also surprising too, but not as much as finding his own childhood friend sleeping soundly in the same bed as him.
Before he could correctly react with a scream, Arashi woke up and yawned, stretching her arms like she was waking up from a very satisfying sleep. She sleepily looked over at Tatsuya and smiled. "Good morning, Tatsuya," she greeted with a satisfying smile.
"A-A-Arashi?!" exclaimed Tatsuya a moment too late. "What the hell are you doing in my bed?!" he shouted in bewilderment. It totally slipped his mind that Arashi was staying with them—something about getting permission from both her parents and Tatsuya's dad.
"Sleeping, what else?" she answered innocently. A devilish grin then took hold of her lips and she looked at Tatsuya with naughty eyes. "Perhaps you were hoping that we did more than just sleep?" she teased. She leaned forward with a seductive expression. "You know, it's still morning." Arashi then proceeded to unbutton her pajamas slowly. "Maybe we can just skip school all together and have fun all day," she suggested hotly.
Before it can escalate any further, Aika and Kanjomizu jumped out of Tatsuya's closet, surprising the two in bed and stopping Arashi's scheme. Tatsuya let out a surprised yelp. "What the hell were you two doing in my closet?!" he screamed.
"We were hiding to catch that witch red-handed!" revealed Aika proudly. Kanjomizu nodded along in agreement with a serious expression. "My 'Hide-in-Darling's-closet-and-wait-for-the-witch-to-make-her-move-so-that-we-catch-her-red-handed' plan is a success!" Aika gleefully whooped.
"Well hello there, little cuties," greeted Arashi with a smile. "My, I guess you caught me." She got out of bed and went ahead to get ready first.
Once everything settled, Tatsuya got ready and headed into the kitchen. There, he found a stranger rustling through the fridge. He had never seen that person before and wondered if it was another agent of the United Front coming to meet him. But if that did happen, wouldn't Ingrid have told him about it first? The stranger brought out a bottle of water and closed the fridge. Tatsuya was beyond dumbfounded to find a beautiful girl standing in his kitchen. She was a slim and short girl with flowing silver hair. When she opened her eyes after taking a sip, Tatsuya noticed that they were a brilliant pearl color. Her skin tone had a slight greenish tint to it. She was dressed in a silver and green maid outfit, complete with a bonnet. She was just like a doll. The girl turned her face slowly and noticed Tatsuya staring at her. "Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to be rude. It's just, I was so thirsty and—."
"I-It's quite alright!" Tatsuya quickly told her. He threw his hand behind his head and chuckled nervously. 'This girl's as cute as Kanjomizu!' he thought naughtily to himself.
"Oh, Sylphie!" Arashi called to the girl, entering the kitchen.
"My lady," bowed the maid.
"That's your server?" Tatsuya asked the air dragon princess.
"Yep," answered Arashi with a nod.
"She's very pretty," said Tatsuya with a dumb smile.
"Yes, he is," agreed Arashi.
It took few moments for Arashi's words to hit Tatsuya. When it became apparent what she had said, Tatsuya felt his entire world shatter before him. He slowly turned to his childhood friend with a shaken expression. "W-W-What di you just say?" he stuttered.
"I said, yes, he is," repeated Arashi.
With a shaky finger pointed at the server, Tatsuya asked, "Are you saying that she is really a he?" Arashi nodded seriously with no hidden meanings or jokes at all.
Sylphie walked up to Tatsuya and threw his hand behind his head with an embarrassed laugh. "I'm used to it," he told Tatsuya. "My real name is Sylvester. Sylphie is a nickname my lady gave to me."
"And you're a maid?" Tatsuya asked in disbelief.
"Yep," replied the maid with a nod. "I started out as a butler-in-training, but my lady wanted me to become her personal maid. I couldn't possibly refuse the offer."
"Right," said Tatsuya slowly.
"He was too cute to be a butler, so I decided to make him my maid," added Arashi. "I gave him the name Sylphie because he looks cute like a fairy."
"Thank you for your kind praise, my lady," thanked Sylphie with a smile.
"And you're okay with that?" Tatsuya asked Sylphie. The maid replied back with a nod.
"I will say that I wasn't really into it when I started out," admitted Sylphie with a laugh. "It felt a little weird for me to dress up in this get-up in the beginning, but I've really grown to like it."
Tatsuya glanced at Arashi and muttered so only she could hear what he was saying. "You're cruel, you know that?"
Arashi replied with a tee-hee. "Quetzalcoatls are known to possess rather feminine facial features," she explained to Tatsuya. "But Sylphie's features was so much like a doll's that I couldn't possibly pass up the chance to use him like one."
"I rather enjoy being my lady's personal maid," added Sylphie. "I don't mind the things she orders me to do. It's fun and I am quite satisfied to know that my lady is happy."
Even though he now knows that the maid was a boy, Tatsuya was still astonished over how cute the maid looked. He reminded Tatsuya a bit of his friend Manami. 'Maybe this is why guys are so over Manami,' he realized.
The group got ready for school and headed out. Along the way, Arashi held onto Tatsuya's left arm as if she was his girlfriend, an act that infuriated Aika to no end. She and Kanjomizu walked closely behind them like flies to a pig.
"Say, how long has Sylphie been your maid?" Tatsuya curiously asked Arashi.
"Since I left the human realm to return home," she replied.
Aika and Kanjomizu had met Arashi's maid after getting ready for school and were both surprised to find out that such a beautiful maid exists. They were even more bewildered beyond reason when they discovered the maid's actual gender. Of course it was common knowledge to them that all Quetzalcoatls possessed feminine facial features, but never before had they met a Quetzalcoatl with beauty like a doll's. Aika was a little relieved to find out that the doll-like Quetzalcoatl was just a maid and not a rival for Tatsuya's heart, but she still can't let her guard down. Who knows how many people will be after her Darling?
"Say, Acchan, you're originally from the dragon realm, right?" asked Tatsuya. When Aika heard her Darling call Arashi by her nickname, she shuddered and gritted her teeth in envy.
"My parents love the human realm," Arashi told him. "They wanted me to spend part of my childhood in the human realm, so they sent me to live with an auntie. It was their way of showing me that the universe was a bigger place than we can ever know." She looked at the sky with a distant look in her eyes. Tatsuya glanced over and his breath was taken away; he had never seen Arashi look so serious before. She looked very beautiful like that, just like a delicate maiden in an elegant painting.
From behind them with blazing eyes of fury, Aika loomed over the couple like a scary overprotective mother. Tatsuya could feel the intensity of her glare and shuddered. He quickly turned back to face the front, blushing a deep crimson color.
"I was present here in the human realm for a part of my childhood too," spoke out Kanjomizu.
"Really?" asked Tatsuya in surprise.
"Sure," she replied with a smile. "Actually, I'm pretty sure all royal members of the dragon tribes have spent a small portion of their childhood here," she told him. "It's like a rite of passage for us dragon royals. We call it the 'Passage of Inauguration'."
"That's news to me." This brand new piece of information suddenly brought a thought to mind. Tatsuya turned to Aika and asked, "So does that mean you've been here before too?"
Hearing her Darling's words talking to her for the first time today excited Aika greatly (she didn't count this morning's surprised exclamation since it was done out of reflex rather than genuine thought). "Of course!" she told him happily.
"So how long do they usually last?" Tatsuya asked the girls.
"Anywhere from three to five human years," Kanjomizu answered.
"Now that you mention it, I've only known Acchan for four years," revealed Tatsuya.
"When we go back to the dragon realm, we begin our royal education," Kanjomizu added.
"Royal education, eh," muttered Tatsuya to himself.
School went about as normal as any other day ever since the arrival of the dragon princesses. During gym class today, Tatsuya and the boys were playing tennis; the girls were playing soccer on the field near the tennis courts. Tatsuya was partnered with Sasuke and played against Manami and Daiki. Tatsuya may not be known for his academic ability, though it's more likely an image that he projects and not an accurate representation of his abilities, he is more kindly regarded by his classmates for his physical capabilities, though it's still average to say the least (again, this is more of a self-induced mentality than actuality). The boys played passionately like true athletes while still upholding marvelous sportsmanship like true friends.
This is less so for the girls. Yet again, Aika and Arashi, who had been placed on opposite teams, took control of the game. Aika showed off her great athletic prowess by continuing to score goals at a superhuman rate. However, Arashi, who possessed stronger and more refined athletic skills than the fire dragon princess, gracefully answered back with complicated procedures and steals, scoring goals with insane speed and accuracy. Kanjomizu, whose timid personality and frail body was not made for such an intense game as this, tried her hardest to hide behind other players and get as far away from the ball as possible so as not to be targeted by the stronger players. While the boys played their game with enjoyment and camaraderie, the girls were engaged in a massive soccer war (mainly led by the dueling dragon princesses). Aika put forth her intense passion for her Darling and the burning anger towards the Quetzalcoatl princess into every strike. Arashi, clearly loving this energy and immensely entertained by the princess' burning desire to crush her, returned the princess' feelings with graceful almost mocking plays.
The soccer game didn't get any less intense further into the class period. Aika's team, Team Red, scored sixty-seven points (impossible for a human, but…). Arashi's team, Team Blue, scored sixty-seven points (again, impossible for a human, but…). The teams are now tied and it was five minutes before the bell rang for next period. It is now Team Red's ball. Aika performed the kickoff and passed it to a teammate who then passed it back to her. She aggressively dribbled the ball down the field, successfully dodging any attempt of a steal by the other team. Arashi quickly came to the aid of her team, actually for her own benefit and joy, and expertly followed Aika's every movement to gracefully steal the ball from under her nose. With a delighted smile, Arashi playfully traced each and every of the fire dragon princess' steps like a cat tauntingly chasing after a cornered mouse. She spotted an opening and kicked the ball away. However, either by sincere miscalculation or actual intention, the ball spiraled passed various players and dodged their attempts to take control. It eventually made it's way to Kanjomizu, who was on Aika's team, slowing down and stopping right in front of the water dragon princess.
"Oi, Mizu!" called Aika. "Pass it to me!"
Kanjomizu noticed the ball right in front of her and panicked, frantically scanning the entire field in a daze. Everyone stopped in their pursuit of the ball, giving her some needed space. Her mind literally exploded; the pressure was too much.
"Kick it, you directionally-challenged basket-case!" shouted Aika angrily.
Kanjomizu closed her eyes and used all of her strength to kick the ball, squealing with all of her might. The ball went flying through the field, rushing at the speed of sound and sending all nearby players into the air, followed by a very audible sonic boom. The amazing amount of power packed into the kick was even too much for Aika and Arashi to handle. Like a missile with pinpoint accuracy, the ball shot across the field and expertly landed right in the opposing team's goal. The shot was too quick and too powerful for the goalie, who was a mere human mind you, to process and correctly respond. Everyone was beyond astonished and dumbfounded. Aika and Arashi could only look at the water dragon princess with dropped jaws and wide eyes. Even Tatsuya, who was drawn to the game by Aika's voice, couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. The other boys had witnessed the amazing superhuman shot too and were too shocked to say anything.
The bell signaling next period rang, knocking everyone out of their paralyzing state of awe. The coach announced Team Red as the victor with the final score being Team Red: sixty-eight and Team Blue: sixty-seven. Aika cheerfully whooped and threw her hands into the air in joy. She ran over to Kanjomizu and hugged her. "You did it! You did it!" she happily praised. The other players of Team Red joined in and praised the water dragon princess for her excellent game-winning goal. They were beyond excited at their victory.
The praises comforted Kanjomizu greatly. Their smiles and kind words warmed her heart. "T-Thank you," she told them shyly.
"Alright, high-five!" said Aika happily.
Kanjomizu suddenly felt her body become lighter and weaker. She felt lightheaded and her vision began to blur. Without any warning at all, she fell to the ground; her face became paler than a ghost's. The other students were terribly shocked to see her suddenly drop to the ground. Aika quickly bent down and grabbed the water dragon princess. "Oi! Are you okay?" she asked the unconscious Kanjomizu. One of the students rushed over to the coach and explained the situation.
Tatsuya noticed Kanjomizu lying on Aika's lap and knew that something was wrong. He rushed over from the tennis courts and bent down right near Aika. "What happened?" he asked.
"She just fainted," one of the other students told him.
It was then that Tatsuya remembered an important piece of information from his first encounter with the water dragon princess—Umi had told him that Kanjomizu is very frail and possesses a weak constitution. It literally took all of her energy to cast just one spell. The coach had arrived and ordered Aika to take Kanjomizu to the nurse's office. Tatsuya requested that he too go along with them, but the coach advised against it. "It would be bad to crowd her while she's in that state," the coach had told him. Tatsuya gritted his teeth, but he knew that the coach was right. All he could do now is hope that she recovers quickly and healthily.
During lunch time, Tatsuya, Aika, and Arashi were called by Mr. Urushihara to meet him in the same empty classroom as yesterday. He energetically welcomed them in. As the others took their seats, Mr. Urushihara informed them that he had been aware of Kanjomizu's incident. "Now, the first thing I want to talk about is an update on the Dracolax case," began Mr. Urushihara.
"Excuse me, Mr. Urushihara," interrupted Tatsuya, raising his hand.
"Yes, Tatsuya?"
"Why are being we briefed on this?" asked Tatsuya. "I understand that I was the one who asked questions in the first place, but I seriously don't have anything to do with this at all."
"You are the Dragonborn," countered Mr. Urushihara with a playful smile. "You are the one that are enemy is afraid of. This has everything to do with you. Additionally, you're already too deep into this. You stopped two dragons intoxicated with Dracolax from causing further destruction and have brought it to the attention of the United Front."
Tatsuya couldn't possibly argue with those facts. It seemed that he was too deep into this that he can't crawl back out of it. "Y-You're right," he conceded.
"Now, the Dracolax cases has only appeared during these past two weeks," began Mr. Urushihara. "We have received information from our human realm agents that attacks by dragons intoxicated on Dracolax is happening all around the world." He walked over to the lights and switched them off. Walking back to the lecture stand, he reached into his pocket and brought out a circular disk the size of a small frisbee. He placed it on the lecture stand and a giant blue hologram of a globe projected out of the device.
"What is that?" wondered Tatsuya in awe.
"This is an Information Projector," answered Mr. Urushihara. "It's a technology from the dragon realm. It is capable of projecting any image previously programmed into it through the input of magical data from magical flash-drives." Mr. Urushihara proceeded to spin the globe projection like a scene from a sci-fi movie. Pop-up pins suddenly appeared on the globe. "The pins are the locations of recorded attacks," explained Mr. Urushihara. "Agents of the United Front have exhaustively handled these situations as carefully as they can and erased any memories of these attacks from the minds of human witnesses. These attacks are now being reported around the human world as natural disasters or construction failures or something else along those lines."
Tatsuya looked closely at the globe and made mental notes of all of the pins. In Russia: "A Church Collapsed In St. Petersburg Due To Structural Failure". In China: "Major Damage From An Out-Of-Control Ship Results In Closure of Shanghai Port Till Further Notice". In the United States: "Millions Of New Yorkers Evacuated—A Major Fire Destroys Half Of Manhattan". In France: "Flood Attacks Paris Yet Again—Seine River Levels Off The Charts". In Norway: "Heavy Snowfall Results In Nationwide Blackout". In Egypt: "Strong Winds Bring Massive Sandstorms Never Before Seen". And in South Korea: "All Electric Lines Being Repaired—Busan Currently Under Lockdown".
"This is horrible," said Tatsuya with a shake of his head.
"Many of these disasters came about because of rampaging dragons doped on Dracolax," explained Mr. Urushihara. "We have managed to get them under control and bring them into custody. The stories you see now were put in place by the agency to hide the existence of dragons from the public. It is safer for humans to take refuge in these stories and believe that these terrible disasters were caused by natural disasters and such."
"How far are you with learning who is behind these attacks?" inquired Arashi. "Do you have any idea who the middle-man is?"
"We're still looking into it," replied Mr. Urushihara. "Right now, we have agents in the dragon realm across the thirteen tribes tracking down any and all possible distributors of Dracolax, from known criminals and syndicates to independent pharmacies and research labs."
"Pharmacies in the dragon realm sell Dracolax? I thought that stuff is illegal?" questioned Tatsuya.
"Small doses of Dracolax is used as a stimulant to treat certain conditions," explained Mr. Urushihara. "For example, Kanjomizu's condition would normally be treated with small doses of the drug."
"Seriously?!" Tatsuya couldn't believe that such a solution was possible.
"However, it is frowned upon by the general public and much of the nobility," added Mr. Urushihara. "Users are quick to develop an addiction and abuse it. Cases of rampaging dragons aren't that uncommon in the dragon realm. However, in our own realm, it is easier for us to enforce justice. Releasing rampaging dragons on the human realm is a crime worthy of death, but it's very hard for us to do our job without drawing unneeded attention. What's more, these intoxicated dragons had very high levels of Dracolax in their systems, way beyond the regulated amount and even the average amount normally seen in addicts! It was as if they were pumped full of the drug!"
"That's crazy!" exclaimed Tatsuya.
Mr. Urushihara swiped at the projection and brought up a new image—a clear humanoid body. "Regulated amounts of Dracolax in a dragon's system would look like this," he said, pressing an invisible button on the projection. Suddenly, the clear humanoid body had lines running through it, connecting giant organs that had also appeared when the button was pressed. The lines—veins—were a dark red color, too dark to be blood.
"Is that Dracolax running through the veins?" Tatsuya asked.
"Yes, that is," said Mr. Urushihara. "Just like any drug, Dracolax is absorbed into the bloodstream and uses the blood for transportation to different organs and parts of the body." He pressed the same invisible button and the veins on the body grew more wide and thick. The body's organs had also increased slightly in size and took on more irregular shapes. "This is what the body system of a typical addict looks like. Some addicts use a little less and some use a little more, but the average is something like this." Mr. Urushihara pointed to the veins and said, "As you can see, the Dracolax affects their body greatly. It strengthens the body and organs, but in doing so disrupts their natural state. Additionally, the greater amount of Dracolax in their bloodstream transform their veins into expressways for this drug to slowly infect every part of their body system." He then pointed to the head of the image and Tatsuya noticed a brain; the neural organ had a massive amount of the drug being pumped into it from the veins, resulting in it pulsing dangerously. "As you may already know, Dracolax numbs almost every neural function of a being except for the part that governs instinct and emotion, of which it enhances greatly."
"So you're saying that the ones responsible for those attacks had their systems filled with Dracolax?" Tatsuya asked Mr. Urushihara.
Mr. Urushihara responded with a grim nod. He pressed the invisible button again and the image changed one more time. Now, the veins in the body took on a more distorted shape, almost like twisting vines rather than straight tree roots. The organs grew bigger and took on a more rectangular shape. The brain, in particular, was pulsing even more than before like a second beating heart and glowed a bright red color. The drug had by now infected every part of the body and continued to feed the brain like a never-ending stream. From what Tatsuya was looking at, it appeared as if the body was ready to explode. "This is what the systems of our victims looked like," revealed Mr. Urushihara. "More than fifty percent of their bodily fluids was Dracolax."
"Is it possible to die of an overdose?" wondered Tatsuya.
"Yes," answered the teacher with a nod. "Once a dragon finishes their rampage, their systems automatically fail and they die. The brain and the heart cannot take any more of the stress and ultimately give up. This is why even addicts are careful not to overdo it."
Even though he knew that this was the likely outcome, Tatsuya still couldn't believe it. After hearing everything about the incidents and the investigation, including the identity of those attackers, Tatsuya felt sorry for them. He knew that they were forced to do something they didn't want to do. And now, as a consequence of it, they're going to die. He didn't want to accept it at all.
"However, there is one way out of it," put in Mr. Urushihara. "An antidote, Dragon Lotus Extract, can help to rid the body of the drug. It is extracted from the Dragon Lotus, a powerful medicinal herb that grows within the domain of the Wyvern Tribe. By ingesting it, one can draw out the drug from the body. Basically, it induces heavy regurgitation once it makes contact with the drug in the user's body."
Tatsuya and the others were immensely disgusted by that explanation and wore sickly expressions on their faces. "So the only way out of it is to vomit it all back out," concluded Tatsuya with a disgusted look and a shudder. "I guess that's one way to do it."
Meanwhile, in the infirmary, Kanjomizu had woken up and found herself resting on a bed. Her energy had returned and she felt well-rested and healthy. She pulled away the curtains and caught the nurse's eye. The nurse explained to her what had happened and was glad to see that she was okay. Kanjomizu thanked the nurse and exited the office. She glanced down the hallway and suddenly came to a horrible revelation: she didn't know where she was. She was by herself with no one to ask for help or directions. Worse, she didn't have her Love nor the other dragon princesses to guide her. With a fearful whimper, Kanjomizu blindly walked down the hallway with no knowledge of where she was going.
Back in the office, Mr. Urushihara had finished his presentation and closed the projection, placing the disk back into his pockets. "Now, here's an update on the club," he told the group with an excited smile. "I have received permission from both the United Front and the school!" he told them excitingly. "Our club is going to be a dream come true! Oh, how marvelous will that be? I can't wait!"
The teacher's intense unwavering passion reminded Tatsuya just what kind of dragon he was. "So what is it called?" asked Tatsuya half-interested.
"It's called the 'Cultural Mythologies and Supernatural Research Club'!" announced Mr. Urushihara proudly.
"That's…okay, I guess," commented Tatsuya slowly.
"According to the official club description, as submitted by me to the school, we are a club that is dedicated to learning about the rich cultures and mythologies of the world, which includes research into the supernatural." Mr. Urushihara wore a very proud smile on his face, completely satisfied with himself for coming up with the club and everything about it.
"That…is…amazing!" shouted Aika joyfully. "I praise you and your ideas, Mr. Urushihara!" Both Aika and Mr. Urushihara nodded and gave each other a thumbs up with intense smiles on their faces. Tatsuya could feel the strong heat of their passion and was equally amazed and terrified at how powerful it was.
"Alright! Now that that's settled, dismissed!" announced Mr. Urushihara brightly.
As Tatsuya and the others were going out, a question popped into Tatsuya's mind. "What about those other three members you talked about?" he asked the teacher.
"Ah! I forgot to tell you about them!" said Mr. Urushihara, facepalming himself with an embarrassed smile. "Well, you'll meet them soon enough," he told them. "Actually, there's an opportunity to meet them this weekend. How does that sound?"
Tatsuya looked at the other two and they nodded. "Works for me," he told the teacher.
"Good deal, good deal!" exclaimed Mr. Urushihara brightly. Tatsuya and the others were at the door when Mr. Urushihara called out to Tatsuya one more time. "Tatsuya, I hope you'll use the gift well," he told him. Tatsuya looked back at the teacher and answered with a nod. Satisfied with his answer, Mr. Urushihara waved goodbye to him with a smile.
The trio left the room and walked back to class. Along the way, Tatsuya wondered if Kanjomizu was doing okay. He was worried for her. As they walked down the hall, a strange dark figure approached them from the other side. They couldn't see who it was. Aika was frightened and gripped Tatsuya's arm tightly. Arashi herself was getting a little disturbed by the dark figure's presence and stealthily hid behind Tatsuya. As the dark figure approached them, the trio held their breath. Finally, the figure exited out of the darkness of the hallway and the trio could now see just who it was: Kanjomizu. The water dragon princess noticed the trio and ran up to them with tears streaming down her eyes.
"Mizu! You're okay!" exclaimed Tatsuya joyfully.
"I'm glad I've found you guys!" she cried. "I woke up in the nurse's office and she told me everything. I feel fine now and well rested. But when I exited the office to go back to class, I…I…I…." She couldn't finish her sentence at all and whimpered.
"What happened?!" the three of them asked her in unison.
"I realized that I was lost and didn't know where the classroom was," she told them hysterically, crying her eyes out.
That's when it dawned on Aika and Tatsuya one of the most important piece of information regarding the water dragon princess. Kanjomizu was beyond hopeless when it comes to directions. Hence, "directionally-challenged basket-case". Arashi didn't really know what was going on and just stared blankly at the others. And so, with the crying Kanjomizu now completing their group, Tatsuya and the others returned to class.
School had ended and the group came home to a dazzling dinner. Ingrid, Umi, and Sylphie had prepared a table full of spectacular meals. The hallway was filled with the delectable aroma of the great feast that awaited them. After Tatsuya and the others showered and got ready for dinner, the feast commenced. On the table were plates full of some of the most sensory pleasing dishes Tatsuya had ever seen or smelled. There were dishes that he knew, dishes that he hadn't seen before in his life, dishes that he had tasted before, and dishes that he could only dream of tasting. Once everyone gathered at the table, they were ready to eat.
"Thank you for the meal!" said Tatsuya.
"Praise Father Draco, Great Dragon Lord of Fire. I humbly accept your blessing and shall partake in your name. Thank you for the meal," prayed Aika and Ingrid.
"Thank you Father Naga, Great Dragon Lord of Water, for your guidance and your mercy. We thank you for this food that you kindly provide for us so we may live on to praise your name. Thank you for the meal," prayed Kanjomizu and Umi.
"Father Quetzalcoatl, Great Dragon Lord of Air, we humbly thank you for this boon. We will accept this gift in your name. Thank you for the meal," prayed Arashi and Sylphie.
Without further ado, the feast began. Tatsuya was surprised at first to find gyudon at the table. He took a bite of the dish and was immediately in love. The texture of the beef was fantastic and perfect, the amount of sauce in the dish helped to balance the flavor and texture and immersed his tongue in delightful waves of savory sweetness, even the rice was cooked just right to really bring the dish together in a cohesive bomb of umami flavors.
"How was your school day today?" Ingrid asked the table.
"It was horrible," admitted Kanjomizu. Everyone turned to look at her and she immediately regretted having made that statement. The water dragon princess didn't like the look of everyone's eyes glued onto her. She now wishes that she could just shrink away from existence.
"What happened?" inquired Umi worriedly.
"She had a little incident during gym class today," answered Aika casually.
Umi grabbed her mistress' hands and became teary-eyed. "I'm so sorry, my lady!" she cried. "You suffered terribly without me there by your side! I am a failure as your personal maid! Please forgive me!" The maid cried with anguished and remorseful tears.
"It's not your fault, Umi!" quickly cried Kanjomizu. "I fail as your mistress! My frail body and incompetent health is to blame! How can I expect to call myself a princess of the Naga Tribe if I am just a weakling?"
"No, my lady, you're wrong!" Umi responded back tearfully. "It is the duty of the maid to help her mistress when she is in trouble! The fault is none but mine own!"
"The failures of a maid is the fault of the mistress!" countered Kanjomizu. "It is my own fault that I fail as your mistress, Umi. Because of this, I have given you nothing but constant anguish!"
"My lady!" cried Umi.
"Umi!" cried Kanjomizu.
Both maid and mistress cried hysterically into each other's arms. Tatsuya and the others watched the entire scene with awkward and discomfited expressions. The drama was unnecessary, but it was too late to say anything once it started.
"Well, it's a good thing that you're doing better now, Princess Kanjomizu," offered Sylphie with a smile.
Tatsuya found himself captivated by the male maid's cute smile and blushed a deep red. Aika immediately took notice of this and cleverly picked up a piece of food, turned around to Tatsuya, and quickly pushed into his mouth. "Have some food, Darling," she said with a twitching smile. The action took Tatsuya by surprised and he was forced to chew the food and swallow. "Is it delicious, Darling?" asked the fire dragon princess.
Just when Tatsuya was ready to shout at Aika for playing a dirty trick, the food's taste filled his mouth with a savory flavor that put both his body and mind at peace. "It's pretty good," he said with a soft smile.
"Ah, really? Thank you for the compliment," said Sylphie with a cute smile.
"Did you cook this, Sylphie?" Tatsuya asked.
"Yes, I did," answered the maid with a happy nod.
"It's very delicious!" praised Tatsuya.
'Crap!' cursed Aika, grinding her teeth in fury.
Arashi caught sight of the fire dragon princess' ire and was very much amused by it. Fanning the flames for her own enjoyment, she made a comment that really got under Aika's skin. "Say, Tatsuya, don't you think that Sylphie would make a great wife if he was a girl? He can cook and clean and has an overall great personality."
"Please, mistress, you're embarrassing me," said Sylphie bashfully, blushing a light pink color.
"Um, sure, I guess," responded Tatsuya carelessly.
Aika was practically seething. Her body was burning up, ready to erupt like a volcano. Smoke was literally being emitted from her head. Tatsuya could feel the intense rise in temperature and glanced over. He was terrified to see the fire dragon princess steaming in her seat and he felt a very dangerous aura coming from her. Aika quietly picked up another piece of food and glanced over at Tatsuya with a very cruel smile. "Have another piece, Darling," she said slowly in a low and creepy voice. She thrusted the food into Tatsuya's mouth with the speed of a bullet and the force of an elephant.
Tatsuya forced the food down his throat and gulped down his glass of water. "What the hell was that for?!" he yelled furiously. Aika glared at him with dangerous eyes, immediately shutting him up.
Arashi enjoyed this confrontation greatly. "Did you enjoy that piece of beef?" she asked Tatsuya. "Sylphie cooked that one too."
A large crack resounded through the table as Aika broke her chopsticks in half just by tightening her grip on the utensils. Her head was burning like fireplace. A strong heat wave began to envelop the entire kitchen. Tatsuya tried to calm her down by placing a hand on her shoulder, but he almost got burned and quickly pulled away, his hand had gotten only within a few inches of her body.
Ingrid noted how furious the princess was and knew that it would be very dangerous to let it go any further. If this was to continue, the Earth would suffer a very big sunburn. The maid cleared her throat and calmly said, "Princess Aika and Owatatsumi-sama make a really good couple, don't they?" The comment eased the heat wave somewhat, a signal that the princess was calming down.
"Yes, I agree," said Umi with a smile, nodding in agreement. Once again, Aika eased her fury and the heat began to disappear slowly but surely.
"She knew My Love the longest, so I assume that she is far more knowledgeable about him than me," admitted Kanjomizu. Aika's rage dissipated into the air and a feeling of calm and satisfaction cooled her body.
"I'm still new to this place and I'm not well acquainted with everything yet, but I agree with the consensus," added Sylphie with a smile. The dangerous atmosphere disappeared from the kitchen entirely. Aika's head had cooled and returned back to its original state.
The maids and Kanjomizu then looked at Tatsuya. He was surprised by their sudden attention and clueless as to why they were all suddenly looking at him. Ingrid gestured at Aika with her head. Tatsuya turned to look at the fire dragon princess, who had by now calmed down, and it all clicked. With a sigh, he put on a genuine smile and said, "Come on, Aika. I said that I would protect you with my life, didn't I?"
That did it. Aika immediately returned to normal and quickly grabbed Tatsuya's arm, leaning in close with a satisfied smile on her face. "Oh, Darling! You always know what to say!"
"Oi, that's too tight," groaned Tatsuya painfully.
"Shall we plan for our wedding right now?" she suggested dreamily. "We can have our honeymoon in the dragon realm! Or maybe we can honeymoon in Hawaii! I've heard that the islands of Hawaii are a very popular place for newlyweds!" Her words kept on coming faster than a bullet train, as if they were placed on a conveyor belt connecting her mouth to Tatsuya's ear with the speed setting on high.
"Hold your horses," protested Tatsuya unsuccessfully.
And so, the Owatatsumi household went back to enjoying their feast.