Summer break was almost here. The days were gradually getting hotter and humid. Meanwhile, Tatsuya was walking in town on a mission to buy some groceries. The worst possible thing had happened to his house this morning. He still couldn't believe how his entire kitchen became the spitting image of a disaster area and all of his food had vanished out of existence.
According to what his cohabitants told him, Aika had gotten up this morning with the impulsive desire to cook Tatsuya breakfast after having a revelation in a dream where she was rejected by her Darling because of her lack of housewife skills. Without Ingrid there to guide her, the princess took out various ingredients and started to go at it like an absorbent child. Arashi had woken up then and presumptuously situated herself in Aika's plan, much to the latter's chagrin. The two dragon princesses got into an argument about cooking, although it was really Aika that belligerently argued while Arashi did whatever she wanted for her own amusement. Apparently, Kanjomizu had woken up by that time and came to Aika's aid, albeit timidly and unsuccessfully; she didn't really do much and quickly broke down into a pile of sadness in a corner. Shurai got up and entered the kitchen and unnecessarily took part in the entire ordeal. Although she didn't necessarily do anything to stop the chaos between Aika and Arashi from elevating further, she resorted to solve the problem by easily consuming everything in the kitchen, raw ingredients and all. Seeing the Druk princess making a feast out of the entire kitchen, the other princesses tried their best to stop her but all of their efforts were in vain. It didn't take long before the kitchen became a mess of pots and pans and flour and condiments, and all of the food disappeared. When Tatsuya had finally woken up and entered the kitchen, he literally thought he had entered Hell. He ultimately gave them a stern talking too and admonished them like a father would his unruly children. To apologize for their actions, the princesses promised to clean up the kitchen. Their personal servants also apologized and took responsibility for their charges by resolving to help the princesses with their clean up duty. While the kitchen was being cleaned up, Tatsuya took it upon himself to shop for groceries and restock the kitchen.
And that is where we're at right now. Tatsuya shook his head in disbelief upon recalling the state his kitchen was in. He knew that his cohabitants were trouble, but he would've never guessed that they could be this much trouble. He heaved out a very exhaustive sigh. 'How the hell did my life turn out like this?' he wondered miserably. Continuing on his mission to the store, Tatsuya turned around a corner and suddenly crashed into someone. He quickly fell to the ground on his butt. "I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely, "I wasn't looking where I was going."
"It's alright," reassured the person he had just bumped into. "I wasn't aware myself."
Tatsuya looked over at the person and noticed that it was a girl. She had curly dark blonde hair styled in twin-tail ringlets like neatly stacked plateaus, noble chocolate brown eyes that exuded lady-like elegance, and full rose-pink lips. Her skin was a light tan color and smooth like marble. She wore a yellow and brown casual dress that stretched just past her knees, and a pair of yellow hair-bows. Around her neck was a string of polished garnets. The girl gave off an aura of refinement and possessed a very powerful presence that made it hard to ignore her existence. She was the dictionary definition of a proper lady.
Something silky and yellow caught Tatsuya's eye. He took a quick glance and suddenly wished that he hadn't. The sight was something that he was lucky to have seen as a man, but it also moved up his place in Hell. God had never been so kind and yet so unfair at the same time in Tatsuya's life. This glimpse of a maiden's secrets was something he had wished he could erase from his memory, but it was impossible.
The girl noticed his gaze and quickly understood what it meant. She could feel his eyes on her most private secret. "D-Did you see?" she asked him accusingly. Before Tatsuya could answer, she instinctively unleashed a very powerful punch to his face. "Scum!" she yelled out in anger. Tatsuya quickly fell to the ground like a paper doll. The girl got up, brushed herself off, and stomped away with an angry "Humph!".
Tatsuya sat back up and slowly rose off of the ground, rubbing his face and back. "Man, that was brutal," he muttered painfully to himself, "I didn't even get a chance to explain." Once the pain on his face and body began to clear up, he continued on with his mission to the grocery store.
At the grocery store, Tatsuya was able to secure many of the necessary items since there were fewer shoppers than usual. He entered the condiments aisle and was searching for some mirin when a familiar voice caught his ear.
"O-Owatatsumi Tetsuya!" exclaimed Torahime in shock.
"Oh? Natsume-san?" said Tatsuya in surprise. However, his reaction wasn't as over the top as the former's.
"What are you doing here?" she asked him suspiciously. "You're planning something evil, aren't you?" she said with an accusing finger.
"I'm just here grocery shopping," Tatsuya told her with an exasperated sigh. He glanced behind her and noticed that the bottle of mirin he was searching for was stocked on that very shelf. "Can you hand me that?" he asked, pointing to the bottle of mirin behind her.
"What are you talking about?" she asked him, oblivious to what he was asking of her.
"Never mind," he told her. Tatsuya walked up to her and leaned forward to grab the bottle.
As he did, Torahime found herself caught in between him and the shelf. She got a very close up view of his azure-blue eyes and became hypnotized by their beauty. They were just like precious jewels that she wouldn't mind devoting her entire life to viewing. Something about them made her heart flutter, a feeling that she had never felt before yet she enjoyed each and every moment of it. But other than his eyes, she found herself looking at the enemy as a totally different person; his serious yet kind expression, his radiant orange-red hair that was just like a precious crown of flames, and the small scar under his right eye, it all culminated in a very manly aura that took her breath away.
Once Tatsuya secured the bottle, he returned to put it in his cart. "Thanks anyway," he told the dragon slayer.
Torahime quickly recovered from the spell and noticed that he was already leaving. "Owatatsumi Tetsuya! Next time we meet—," she began to yell after him.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," he replied back, cutting her off. He stopped at the end of the aisle and turned around. "Thanks for your help a few days ago," he told her with a sincere smile, referring to their battle against the Bakunawa at the town square. Torahime was taken aback by the comment and smile; it completely caught her off guard. Tatsuya quickly left the aisle and continued his shopping.
After spending about 27,000 yen (about $200 USD) on groceries, a good chunk of his finances—his allowance had only arrived two days ago, he walked back home with many bags on his arms. They were heavy and felt like he was carrying around weights, but he was able to muscle through for the sake of his home and lifestyle. He arrived at his house and walked in.
"Darling! You're back!" exclaimed Aika excitedly. She graciously helped him with the bags and hummed happily to herself while doing so. "Did you have a good day shopping?" she asked cheerfully.
"Of course, I wouldn't have to go shopping for groceries in the first place if the kitchen wasn't in such a mess," he told her, rolling his eyes.
"Please forgive me, Darling! I'm truly sorry for what happened," apologized Aika sincerely, hanging her head in repentance.
Tatsuya sighed and said, "It's alright. As long you weren't hurt." He added a kind smile to show her that he sincerely meant it.
"Darling!" shouted the dragon princess happily. She threw her arms up and was about to pull Tatsuya into a lovey-dovey bear hug when the doorbell rang, causing her to miss her mark as Tatsuya walked off to answer the door.
He opened the door and asked, "Yes?"
"Is this the Owatatsumi residence?" asked the guest.
"Yes, it is," Tatsuya answered.
His guest was a dapper young man with a defined jawline and square shoulders. He was taller than Tatsuya, probably even taller than Daiki, and had neat black hair in a flattop. His eyes were brown and sharp and possessed to them a sense of responsibility—the eyes of a dedicated guardian. Across his left cheek was a faded scar that didn't detract at all from his neat and manly handsomeness. He wore a brown suit with a black bolo tie that had a light brown jeweled clasp. His expression was serious like that of a soldier's, and his voice was strong and emphatic yet light, like a sonorous trombone. The man turned around and bowed before someone that Tatsuya hadn't noticed before. "We are here, my lady," he said like a true gentleman.
"Thank you, Rocco," replied his mistress. She walked up to the door and Tatsuya immediately recognized who it was—the twin-tailed ringlet girl he had crashed into this morning. She met his eyes and was quickly taken aback by the reveal. "Y-You?!" she exclaimed in horror.
"Princess Panties?" exclaimed Tatsuya in surprise.
"P-Princess Panties?!" shouted the girl with reddening cheeks. "How dare you! You contumelious blackguard!" she yelled at him. ("Contumelious blackguard" = "Rude scoundrel").
"C-Contumelious blackguard?" questioned Tatsuya, referring to her archaic style of speech. "I only thought samurais and aristocrats speak like that in film and anime," he added with a nervous laugh.
"I (Warawa) see that you must be a baseborn to behold such a dark view of the world," she said haughtily. ("Baseborn to behold such a dark view of the world" = "A person of low standing who holds an ignorant view of the world"). "Just who are you anyway, you picaroon?" she asked Tatsuya snobbishly. ("Picaroon" = "Scoundrel").
"I'm Owatatsumi Tatsuya," answered Tatsuya casually. "This is my house after all."
"Y-You?! You're Owatatsumi Tatsuya?! Zounds!" she shouted in disbelief. ("Zounds" = exclamation of disbelief or indignation).
The young butler from before walked up to Tatsuya and bowed. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Owatatsumi-sama," he said.
"Um, sure," replied Tatsuya.
"I am Rocco, personal butler and retainer to my mistress," said the butler. "May I introduce to you, Princess Sunaji of the Python Tribe."
"So you're the Dragonborn, I presume?" asked the princess in a haughty manner.
'And you must a pain in the butt,' thought Tatsuya, yet he was careful not to say it out loud no matter how hard he wanted to. "Yes, I am," he simply answered her.
"Rocco, must we stay in this varlet's dwelling?" she asked her butler snootily. ("Varlet" = "rascal").
"No, you don't," Tatsuya answered her with a smile. He only did so because her attitude was really getting on his nerves. He had never met someone so rude and stuffy as this princess before in his life!
"I did not ask you!" she spat. "How insolent!"
"Sure, sure, your highness," muttered Tatsuya carelessly, rolling his eyes.
"My lady, we were instructed to stay with the Dragonborn," Rocco told the princess.
"You can stay or you can go, doesn't really matter to me," Tatsuya told her rudely with pursed lips—the face of an impertinent child. "To be honest, I have too many uninvited houseguests already," he added, "So having one less will actually benefit me a lot."
Sunaji couldn't believe Tatsuya's behavior. Never before had she met someone so rude and childish as him! "Let's go Rocco! I don't want to stay in this bridewell either!" she declared with a huff. ("Bridewell" = "prison"). She then turned around and walked off, followed by her butler.
"Have a nice day!" called out Tatsuya after them with a big smile, waving happily. He then closed the door and let out a sigh of relief. "Man, that girl could really afford an attitude adjustment," he muttered to himself half-jokingly. But in all seriousness, he was kinda glad that she decided to find somewhere else to live—he already has too many cohabitants in his home right now. Satisfied with how everything turned out, he was about to return back to the kitchen when the doorbell rang again. He opened the door and found Sunaji standing there with her cheeks puffed out like a little kid and her eyes avoiding his. "Can I help you?" he asked her reluctantly.
"I, er, I actually don't have anywhere to go," she muttered in a soft voice.
"What was that?" he asked her seriously.
"I, er, I…," she began, eyeing the ground below her and twiddling her fingers as her cheeks reddened. "I don't have anywhere to go," she said in a soft embarrassed voice.
"You really got to speak up," he told her politely.
Sunaji stomped her feet in anger and yelled out loud, "I'm asking you if I can stay at your dwelling because I have nowhere else to go!"
The sudden volume increase shook Tatsuya and scared him out of his wits. "S-Sure," he answered her in a small but audible voice.
"Really? Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" said Sunaji happily, jumping up and down like an excited child. She quickly stopped and composed herself and cleared her throat. "Perchance you are not such a malapert mooncalf after all," she said in her typical lady-like manner. ("Malapert mooncalf" = "impudent fool").
"Right," said Tatsuya slowly, not sure if that was a compliment or just some subtle insult.
Rocco entered the house first, carrying the princess' things inside with him. Sunaji followed behind him and entered the living room. Tatsuya closed the front door and joined her. Ingrid entered the living room and noticed Sunaji's presence. "A new guest, I presume?" the maid asked Tatsuya. He simply answered her with a nod. Ingrid introduced herself and welcomed the Python princess.
At this moment, Aika ran into the living room and threw herself onto Tatsuya. "Darling!" she cried, "What took you so long at the front door?" Before Tatsuya could answer her, she immediately changed the subject and said, "Anyway, we cleaned up the kitchen and restocked it! Now you don't have to worry about it, Darling. Would you say that I did a good job? Huh, Darling? Huh, Darling?" She was fighting for his attention and praise like an excited dog.
"Sure, you did good," Tatsuya told her with a smile.
"Darling!" shouted Aika joyfully. She gripped tightly onto him and pulled his face close to her chest. "I'm really sorry for causing you trouble, Darling. And to show you how sorry I am, how about you let me wash your back for you?" she offered in a romantic voice.
"O-O-Outrageous!" screamed Sunaji, her face reddening quicker than a ripening fruit. She clutched her face in a horrified expression and shook her head frantically. "Y-Y-You really are a baseborn picaroon!" she shouted accusingly.
Aika quickly turned her attention to Sunaji and asked, "Who are you?"
"How can you live in the same dwelling as that lewd varlet?" asked Sunaji in horror.
"Varlet?" questioned Aika. "Excuse me, but are you using real words?" she asked sincerely. That's when a thought occurred to her. "Wait a minute, I've heard that word used before! You must be the princess of the Python Tribe! Only the Python royal family speaks like that."
"I am Princess Sunaji of the Python Tribe," introduced Sunaji with a curtsy.
"I'm Princess Aika of the Draco Tribe!" introduced Aika happily.
"C-Can't b-breathe," struggled Tatsuya. Aika immediately released him from her grip and Tatsuya was glad to be able to breathe again. "I'm amazed that you can tell who she is," he commented after catching his breath.
"I knew that she was a Python by her scent, but it was the way she talked that told who she was," revealed Aika.
"Princess Aika, how can you be friendly with such a lewd varlet?" questioned Sunaji in disbelief.
"Who? Darling? He's not a lewd whatever-you-just-said," Aika reassured the Python princess. "Besides, I love him. He is my betrothed after all. I can't wait for the day when we marry and can finally do lovey-dovey things together," she told Sunaji, wearing a lovesick grin on her face and hugging her body while writhing in ecstasy.
Sunaji couldn't believe what she was watching. "A princess shouldn't act like that!" she declared stringently. "You are embarrassing yourself as a royal princess! More than that, you are embarrassing yourself as a proper lady!" proclaimed the Python princess.
The Python princess' attitude was really starting to get on Aika's nerves. "Who cares about acting like a proper lady if I can't express my love for my Darling?" she argued, turning her face sideways in a gesture of impertinent opposition.
"Zounds!" exclaimed Sunaji in anger. "So you would rather degrade yourself for this varlet and become a loathly strumpet? Fie, you quean!" insulted the Python princess. ("Loathly strumpet" = "repulsive prostitute"; "Fie" = exclamation of disgust; "Quean" = "an impudent girl").
"Who are you calling a strumpet?!" exploded Aika. Her eyes were quick to burn with furious flames. "You Pythons and your "high-class" words," she mocked with a huff.
"Who in their right mind would fall in love with that knave anyway?" wondered Sunaji with a disgusted scoff. ("Knave" = "unscrupulous man").
"How dare you call Darling a knave!" bursted out Aika furiously.
"Yeah!" agreed Tatsuya beside her. 'Wait, what's a knave again?' he thought to himself, not knowing what the word meant.
"Sure, Darling may be mean-spirited most of the time," began Aika in her attempt to defend Tatsuya, "and he may not really know how to have fun, and he's sometimes hard to deal with because of his stubbornness, and he's not that great at handling sensitive things like being considerate to a girl's feelings."
Those words struck Tatsuya hard like piercing arrows. They echoed in his mind like church bells and flipped a switch in his brain. He crouched down in a fetal position in a nearby corner and froze up in a state of his own personal despair. "Mean-spirited…don't know how to have fun…stubborn…hard to deal with…inconsiderate…," he mumbled to himself like a madman.
"But he is a very strong and kind person who is worthy of my devoted love!" finished Aika strongly. She turned to flash Tatsuya a thumbs up but stopped upon taking notice of her Darling's depression episode. "Darling!" she cried. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say those things out loud!" apologized Aika.
"That varlet is nothing but a pervert who does not deserve to live!" argued Sunaji.
"Take that back!" snarled Aika threateningly.
"If you must know, he knowingly peeped on my maiden secret!" said Sunaji, crossing her arms furiously.
"Maiden secret?" wondered Aika.
"My panties!" screamed the Python princess desperately with flushed cheeks.
Those words sent a chill down Tatsuya's back and snapped him out of his depression episode. He slowly turned his head and saw Aika wearing a very scary face. "Did you?" she asked him in a creepy low voice. Tatsuya gulped and didn't say anything. "Well, Darling? Did you?" she repeated in a more intense tone.
"I-It was an accident! I didn't do it on purpose!" Tatsuya told her in a desperate attempt to explain himself.
"So you did," concluded Aika with a scary laugh. Before Tatsuya could do or say anything, Aika cupped his face in her hands and picked him up. "What color were they?" she asked softly him with a smile. The atmosphere she projected with that smile somehow made Tatsuya feel safe and comfortable, as if she had forgotten all about her rage.
But Tatsuya wasn't still sure about answering her question. This could very well be a trick. What if she was lulling him into a false sense of security to get an answer out of him and then punish him accordingly? That was indeed a scary idea, but could Aika really be capable of something as clever as that? Tatsuya wasn't sure and decided to approach the situation cautiously. He took a deep breath and gave his answer. "Yellow," he said.
Immediately, Aika unleashed a megaton punch to his face and KO'd him right then and there. "Darling you fool!" she cried out following the punch. Tatsuya fell to the ground dazed and out of it. Aika realized what she had done and quickly rushed over to her Darling's side. "Darling! I'm sorry, Darling! I still love you!" she told him, placing his head on her lap and fanning him with her hands.
"I don't know how a maiden in her right mind can fall in love with a froward dandiprat like him," said Sunaji with a shake of her head. ("Froward dandiprat" = "difficult insignificant person"). "And he is the Dragonborn? Fie, I say!"
"Oh, would you just shut up already?" said Aika acerbically.
Sunaji didn't like it when others act rude to her. It gets on her nerves and gives her goosebumps. Her body shook as anger consumed her mind. When this happens, a noticeable change occurs. It wasn't a physical change, but a very noticeable change nonetheless. "Wha yer lil' hussy!" shouted Sunaji furiously. "Yer dun wanna bark up da wrong tree!" she threatened the Draco princess. "Jus' know Ah can take yer on enytime!"
Upon hearing the Python princess' hilarious accent switch, Aika couldn't help but laugh heartily to herself. "What the heck is that?" she said while laughing, referring to Sunaji's sudden accent switcheroo. "I've never heard anyone talk like that before!" she exclaimed hilariously.
Sunaji caught wind of her mistake and quickly brought her hand to her mouth in shame. "Ah…*ahem*…I don't know what you could possibly mean," she said with bright red cheeks.
"It's alright with me if that's how you usually talk," Aika told her after calming down. "I don't judge. And I know that Darling doesn't either. He's really a good guy if you just give him a chance." She flashed the Python princess a smile to show that there were no hard feelings between them.
Sunaji cleared her throat and said, "I will continue to talk like a proper lady." Aika simply nodded in agreement with her decision. "And as for the Dragonborn," continued Sunaji, "I'll judge him for myself. Until I see something different, he will always be nothing but a perverted baseborn malapert varlet to me!"
The next day at school, Tatsuya heard that Shurai had transferred in as a first-year student. Additionally, another new transfer student is debuting today. However, they weren't making their debut as a member of Tatsuya's class (something he was kinda grateful for after experiencing nothing but pain and embarrassment from the few who did). The second break arrived. Tatsuya found himself surrounded by Aika, Kanjomizu, Arashi, and Shurai. Apparently, Tatsuya's classroom number was divulged to the Druk princess from a very "reliable source". Aika clung onto Tatsuya like always, something that he has gradually grown accustomed too but still finds extremely annoying. Kanjomizu lightly grasped his other arm and held onto him like an innocent younger sister. Arashi hovered behind him and cleverly placed chest at a very dangerous distance from Tatsuya's head; she enjoyed seeing her childhood friend squirm nervously and smiled amusingly as he did. Shurai had a bag of chips with her and dazedly ate them while also trying to feed some to Tatsuya by poking his lips with them. Somehow, Tatsuya was starting to feel as if he was some playground attraction and not a living and breathing human being at all.
The doors to their classroom and Sunaji entered. Tatsuya wasn't that surprised to see her here at school, concluding correctly that she must be the new transfer student for one of the other second-year classes. His experience with the other dragon princesses kinda made him expect this outcome. It appears that Sunaji was introducing herself to the other students and establishing friendships. She wore a kind smile and was polite and generous to everyone she met. This was a complete one-eighty to how she is at home, especially towards Tatsuya. She got along well enough with most of the dragon princesses and the servants, but she still doesn't trust Tatsuya at all and believes him to be a giant pervert. Her nickname for him was: "Perverted Mooncalf-san".
She made her way around the classroom and finally arrived at Tatsuya's table. "Oh, it's just Perverted Mooncalf-san," she said snootily. "Well, I have no business with a varlet like you." She took her leave from his table and continued on with her introductions.
"Tatsu-kun, you're not eating?" asked Shurai, poking the same chip piece to his lips.
"I'm not hungry right now," Tatsuya replied in the best polite voice he can muster right now.
"Is something bothering you, Darling?" wondered Aika.
"More like someones," he answered her through gritted teeth.
"Now, Tatsuya, you should relax yourself a bit," urged Arashi in a seductive manner. "It is break time after all. Here, let Acchan make you feel better." She grabbed Tatsuya's face from behind and brought it close to her chest. "Are you starting to feel relaxed, baby?" she asked him in a sexy whisper.
"Y-You shameful strumpet!" shouted Sunaji with a shaky finger pointed straight at Arashi. She had only saw everything through the corner of her eye, but that's all it took for her to understand the situation. "Know you no shame, you perverted mooncalf?!" she yelled at Tatsuya, changing her target without a second thought.
"M-Me?!" shouted Tatsuya in disbelief. "I didn't even ask for this!"
Arashi brought his face closer to her chest until he was literally resting on top of them. "Now, now, Tatsuya, you don't have to listen to that mean old-fashioned lady. Let Acchan help you feel better."
Tatsuya couldn't take it anymore and pushed away. "Acchan!" he shouted like an embarrassed little boy. Arashi bursted out laughing at his reaction—it appears that her amusement quota was met for the time being.
A shadow then loomed over Tatsuya. He turned his face to see Sunaji standing before him with murderous eyes. "You filthy varlet," she said in a cold voice.
"W-Wait a minute! She was just messing around," attempted Tatsuya unsuccessfully. Sunaji unleashed a megaton slap to his face, shaking his entire body to the core like massive shock wave.
"I will never accept you as nothing more than a perverted mooncalf for the rest of my life!" she announced clearly for him to hear.
'Again, how is this my fault?' thought Tatsuya miserably to himself.
"Owatatsumi Tetsuya!" called out Torahime, marching over to his table.
'Oh great, another pain in the butt,' groaned Tatsuya.
The dragon-slayer appeared before him and asked with a pointing finger, "What are you planning?" Her accusatory tone was intense and authoritative, but it wasn't anything new. "If you think you can charm me for your evil plans, then you thought wrong! I will take you down before your evil plans can be fully recognized!"
"H-Huh?" was all Tatsuya could say in response to this confounded accusation.
"What do you mean by that?" Sunaji asked Torahime.
"He is a demon!" denounced Torahime seriously.
"D-Demon?" asked Sunaji in surprise. She could easily imagine someone like Tatsuya act the part: committing unforgivable perverted acts, defiling fair maidens without any remorse, engaging in lewd behavior out of his own selfish desires…. She could feel her mind exploding in terror. Her face grew bright red and sweat dripped down her temples.
"He's also a coward and an unscrupulous man!" added Torahime. "He even had the audacity to grope my chest when I had tripped onto him."
"G-Grope?!" squealed Sunaji, quickly placing her hands around her own chest in fear.
"I-I thought we were past that?!" screamed Tatsuya, "It was a total accident!"
Torahime flashed him a scary glare and said, "Cowardly pervert."
The words struck Tatsuya hard like a pair of piercing arrows. He got into a fetal position behind his own desk and gave in to depression. "Coward…pervert…," he mumbled madly to himself in a low voice.
"That's going too far, Natsume Torahime!" opposed Aika, getting up from her seat. She quickly attended to her Darling and patted his back. Kanjomizu joined her in offering support to her Love.
"You truly are weak if you let a few words hurt your pride," huffed Torahime.
Sunaji, having had enough of being exposed to Tatsuya's pervertedness, quickly finished her introductions and marched out of the classroom to avoid being further defiled by the lewd atmosphere. And then a scary thought entered her mind. What Torahime had told her about the Dragonborn gave birth to a wild imagination: 'What if he is really a beast who preys on fair maidens and is using the dragon princesses for his own perverted desires?!' An image of Tatsuya tearing the clothes off of the dragon princesses and taking pleasure in hearing their shameful cries popped up in her mind. "How can I trust the Dragonborn if he is a demon?" she asked herself in a frightened voice.
School ended more or less on a middle note. Tatsuya and his group (his friends and the girls) walked into the clubroom for today's club meeting. Mr. Urushihara happily welcomed them with his usual energetic and passionate character. Shurai and Sunaji were already sitting and waiting for them. Sunaji, in particular, squirmed uneasily when she saw Tatsuya enter the room.
Mr. Urushihara and Tatsuya's friends formally greeted the two new princesses with a bow and the usual address for the continued prosperity of their respective tribes. (Shurai was Princess Shana of the Druk Tribe and Sunaji was Princess Sonia of the Python Tribe). Once introductions were out of the way, the club meeting commenced.
"I have an announcement for all of you," began Mr. Urushihara. "The Cultural Mythologies and Supernatural Research Club will be having our very first field trip this weekend!" he announced with the excitement of a game show host.
"Field trip? To where?" inquired Tatsuya.
"Kobe," answered Mr. Urushihara. "We'll be going to the beach for our first ever field trip," he elaborated. "Ah, this is actually perfect considering how Summer break is almost here."
"The beach?" uttered Tatsuya in a deflated tone. "So? What are we going to be doing there?" he asked.
"Come on, Tatsu-chin! It's the beach! Of course we're going there to have fun!" declared Manami with twinkling eyes.
"Actually, there is something we have to do at the beach," revealed Mr. Urushihara. "The United Front believes that there is a weapon located on that beach that belongs to the dragon realm."
"A dragon realm weapon?" repeated Tatsuya anxiously. He wasn't sure if he had heard that right. "What do you mean by that?" he inquired cautiously.
"Do you know what a golem is?" Mr. Urushihara asked him.
"Golem? Isn't that like some sort of monster?" he answered back uncertainly.
"In the human realm, a golem is defined as a magical creature from Jewish mythology that is created by bringing to life a mass of inanimate matter such as clay or mud. However, in truth, a golem is a creature from the dragon realm," explained Mr. Urushihara like he was giving out one of his actual class lectures. "Golems are magical creatures that were created by the Bakunawa Tribe as automaton-like weapons. They are made from an aggregate of inanimate matter like rocks or sand and animated with a special seal. Golems are used for a variety of purposes ranging from security guards to footsoldiers."
"Before, golems were used as the main military force of the Bakunawa Tribe," added Daiki. "However, they've been replaced a long time ago with an actual military force made up of real soldiers. Their increasingly amicable relations with the other tribes have also played a part in this shift. Now, golems are rarely used as widely as before, but they are still employed by the nobility and royal families as extra muscle for security."
"So you're saying that there is a golem on that beach? How is that possible?" wondered Tatsuya.
"The United Front doesn't know either, but they supposed that Ouroboros had placed many hidden weapons across the world as a contingency plan in case their current plan fails," revealed the teacher. "After securing many Ouroboros members, the United Front was able to piece together this theory about hidden weapons in the human realm. We're not exactly sure what they are, but this is our chance to find out."
"I wouldn't put it past Ouroboros to come up with contingency plans like this," said Sasuke in a grim voice.
"Anyway, that's the announcement!" wrapped up Mr. Urushihara cheerfully.
The club meeting ended and Tatsuya walked home with the girls in tow. "Is this club supposed to be some makeshift host or levy?" asked Sunaji when they were halfway home. ("Host"/"Levy" = "army/troops"). She stood at the far back to be as distant from Tatsuya as possible. The dragon princess couldn't bear walking beside him for fear of being taken advantaged of.
"You mean like an army of sorts?" clarified Tatsuya.
"Forsooth," replied Sunaji with a nod. ("Forsooth" = "indeed").
'F-Forsooth?' thought Tatsuya awkwardly to himself. "I'm not so sure myself," he admitted. "But we do help out the United Front. So…I guess?" Tatsuya wasn't really sure what the right answer is, but this line of thought seemed the most appropriate to him in his opinion.
"How more of a dark mooncalf can you be?" scoffed Sunaji spitefully.
"Listen here, Lady Macbeth," said Tatsuya, turning around and pointing an angry finger at the Python princess.
Sunaji was taken by surprise by Tatsuya's quick turnaround and quickly said, "What are you going to do to me? Don't you dare try to enact any loathly actions upon my maiden self!"
"Excuse me?" came Tatsuya with a frown. He honestly didn't know what the dragon princess was going on about.
"I will never allow you to defile me with your demonic hands, you varlet!" she told him fearlessly.
"Defile?" wondered Tatsuya in confusion.
"It's okay, Darling! You can defile me!" happily announced Aika shamelessly. She threw herself onto Tatsuya and rubbed his face under her chin. The close proximity between her chest and Tatsuya's face was enough to make Sunaji jump back in fear with a whimper.
Kanjomizu lightly grabbed Tatsuya's hand and held it. "I-I-I wouldn't mind it either if it's with you, My Love," she told him softly with reddened cheeks and a bashful smile.
"The Naga princess too?!" exclaimed Sunaji in disbelief.
"I want to eat sweets with Tatsu-kun too," said Shurai. ("Defile" = "yogosu", "sweets" = "yogashi").
"It's defile, not sweets," corrected Tatsuya.
Arashi wrapped her arms around Tatsuya's neck and brought him close to her. "You know that my body is always on the table for you," she told him seductively. Tatsuya blushed a deep shade of red; his entire body was shaking with shame and adrenaline.
"I-I can't believe this," stuttered Sunaji in disbelief. All of this pervertedness made her feel sick to the stomach. "You people are nothing but loathly queans!" she yelled at the princesses. "And you, Owatatsumi Tatsuya," she said with a pointed finger, singling him out, "you are the worst! I've never met a malapert varlet like you before in my life! I will never acknowledge you as the Dragonborn! You perverted demon mooncalf!"
Even though she said all that, Tatsuya somehow got a feeling that this would not be the end of their interactions. Something told him that this is just the beginning. He also knew that he needed to do something about their worsening relationship—her identity as one of the dragon princesses means that it is his job to protect her. Although he would rather disregard his entire duty as the Dragonborn and distance himself away from this mess, his inbuilt sense of duty compelled him to do otherwise. He couldn't possibly in good conscience, no matter how much he hated to be a puppet of Fate, just leave the dragon princesses alone when they are being targeted by a malicious organization. He would need to somehow fix his relationship with the Python princess if he wants her to acknowledge his position as the Dragonborn…and it looks like he has his work cut out for him.