Sui, feeling sympathetic toward Elma's pitiful appearance, handed her a plate of delicious pork and cabbage rolls. "Do you want to eat this?" he asked.
The enticing aroma of the food made Elma hesitate briefly, but eventually, she took the plate and took a bite. As she bit into the sweet cabbage, hot gravy burst out, and the exquisite flavor made her tongue tingle, as if she might swallow it whole.
"This is incredible! Is all the food in this world this delicious?" Elma's face lit up with pleasure as her blue fish tail swayed gently behind her. She then looked at Sui with a complicated expression. "Or is it just this mortal who has such remarkable cooking skills?"
"Want some juice?" Kanna asked kindly, offering her a glass.
"Thank you." Elma took the juice and drank it down, feeling her energy return. Standing up, she said determinedly, "Alright! Let's continue our duel, Tohru!"
Without a word, Tohru handed her another plate of pork and cabbage rolls. "If you're willing to leave, the entire plate is yours," she said.
The room suddenly fell silent.
Elma stared at the plate of food, unsure of what to say.
After a long pause, she finally spoke. "Excuse me for the trouble, then!" Elma grabbed the plate and dashed out, overjoyed.
Sui stood speechless. 'Are dragon brains really this simple?' he thought.
Thus, another peaceful day passed.
In an effort to make up for the time he hadn't spent with Tohru and Kanna, Sui decided to take them out for a full day of fun.
That evening, as usual, Sui headed to the snack bar to work with Tohru and Kanna. From behind, the three of them—Sui holding Tohru's left hand and Kanna's right—looked like a small family.
"Hehehe, la la la. Wash the clothes and mop the floor. Curse the humans and destroy the earth, la la la," Tohru hummed a little tune, the absurd lyrics putting a smile on Sui's face. Clearly, she was in a good mood, having spent the past few days playing together.
Kanna, holding onto Sui's hand, wore the sunflower-patterned outfit he had bought her and was quietly humming her own tune.
Suddenly, Tohru's expression shifted. Her cheerful face turned serious, her pupils narrowing into cold slits. "Elma, come out!" she called in a deep voice.
"Huh? Didn't she leave already?" Sui asked, surprised. 'Didn't that dragon just run off happily with a plate of food?'
As if on cue, Elma appeared from the shadows. "Fight me, Tohru! I'm taking you back this time!" she declared.
But just as she finished her dramatic entrance, her stomach growled loudly.
Sui: "..."
'Has she not eaten all day again?'
Looking at the red-faced dragon girl, Sui asked, "You... can't go back to your world, can you?"
"Eh? No, that's not...!" Elma stammered, her eyes darting away guiltily.
"The dragons of the Reconciliation Faction don't have the ability to travel between worlds," Kanna bluntly revealed.
Elma: "..."
"Then how did you get here in the first place?" Sui asked, confused.
"I... I came through the door Kanna opened," Elma admitted, her face turning even redder.
"So, you've been starving for another day, and you don't have anywhere to stay?" Sui sighed. First it was Emilia, now a dragon. 'If people in this world knew that creatures capable of destroying the planet were stranded here, they'd be terrified.'
"So, what's your plan now?" he asked.
"I... I don't know." Elma's voice was much softer now, the bravado she had earlier completely gone. She looked more like a lost puppy than a mighty dragon.
At that moment, Sui couldn't help but appreciate Emi. At least she was self-sufficient—she found a job and a place to live. He didn't have to worry about her.
"So, do you have any useful skills?" Sui asked, hoping for something practical.
Elma perked up, her energy restored. "I can eliminate evil creatures that threaten this world and prevent its destruction!"
As she said this, her stomach growled again.
Sui: "..."
'Even if you can save the world, you still need to eat.'
"How about working as a maid?" Sui suggested.
Elma's eyes lit up. "I'd love to! I'll be a great maid! As long as there's food—delicious food, like the one this morning."
"Absolutely not!" Tohru quickly objected. In her mind, she was Sui's one and only maid, and she couldn't accept another dragon taking her place.
"It's fine. She'll just be working as a waitress in the snack bar," Sui explained.
"Oh, alright," Tohru reluctantly agreed.
"But you can't wear that outfit," Sui pointed out, eyeing Elma's eccentric clothing. Though many customers had started to assume his snack bar was a maid café, her outfit was just too outlandish.
"Not a problem," Elma replied. With a shimmer, the scales on her body shifted, and she transformed into a maid outfit similar to Tohru's, though her fish tail still peeked out, making her look like a mermaid.
With everything settled, Sui, Tohru, Kanna, and now Elma, headed to the snack bar.
"Hey, Tohru-chan's here again!" one of the regulars called out.
"We meet again, Kanna-chan! Here, candy!" another customer said, waving enthusiastically.
The patrons were fond of the two girls in cosplay, completely unaware that Tohru and Kanna were actual dragons.
"Hey, there's a new girl here. Is she going to work too?" a customer asked, noticing Elma.
"Yeah," Sui replied with a nod.
On the other side of the street, Emi arrived on time for her usual surveillance of the Demon King's activities. But the moment she spotted Elma, her expression darkened.
Elma's disguise might fool the average person, but not Emi. She clenched her fists, muttering, "Another demon dragon! As expected, the Demon King is secretly gathering forces, using the snack bar as a base to take over the world."
Her suspicions intensified.
——
[A-N: Everyone! It's time for Spirit Bomb! We only need less than 300 stones for mass release and we can have another mass release before the week end!
Me: "I need your energy! I need your spirit! If you're willing to help me, I need you to raise your hands and give me your energy!"
——