"He's not here right now. What do you need him for?" Beroba eyed the visitor closely once she realized Natsumi was looking for Raven. She began to size her up. Hmm, nice figure. Cute face. And she's wearing black stockings and high heels. Very much Raven's type. Looks like another beauty who's fallen deeply for him.
A mischievous thought instantly sparked in Beroba's mind.
"It's nothing, I'm terribly sorry for disturbing you." Natsumi's eyes held a hint of disappointment upon hearing Raven was absent, and she prepared to leave.
But Beroba called out, "Wait, onee-chan. If you don't mind, why don't you come in and sit down for a bit? Maybe he'll be back soon." She adopted an innocent, cute facade to earn Natsumi's trust and show goodwill.
"Alright then." Natsumi had no suspicions and walked right in.
The two began chatting. Beroba introduced herself as an employee of the shop and volunteered a lot of information, claiming to have traveled through many worlds with Raven.
"I see. So, Raven-san is a traveler, too," Natsumi thought. "So, what kind of woman does Raven-san like?" she asked, testing the waters.
Beroba's eyes twinkled. She immediately leaned in and whispered, "Well, he acts proper on the outside, but he's quite the pervert. You just need to seduce him."
"What! Raven-san would never be like that..." Natsumi's face flushed bright red, and she instinctively refuted the claim.
"Beroba, is your butt itching for a spanking again?" A voice suddenly cut in from the back courtyard. It was Raven, who had just returned from Helheim. He had walked in just in time to hear the little minx badmouthing him. Sure enough, I can't leave her unsupervised. It had only been a short time, and she was already being unruly.
"Ah, he's back!" Beroba jumped, startled. She thought Raven would be gone for at least a few days, not back so soon.
"Raven-san!" Natsumi stood up, a look of joyful surprise on her face. She had assumed she wouldn't see Raven again after traveling to the next world, yet he had appeared so quickly. But why did he come from the back courtyard?
"Natsumikan, what can I do for you?" Raven looked at her, giving a warm, gentle smile.
"Hey, don't call me that, you're sounding just like Tsukasa," Natsumi complained with mock exasperation.
"What, don't you like it?" Raven asked.
"No! You can call me whatever you want," Natsumi quickly replied.
"We must have traveled to another world by now. Why don't we go out and take a look together?" Raven extended his hand to Natsumi in a perfectly gentlemanly manner. He pulled her along as they walked out the door.
As for Beroba, she was, of course, left alone to watch the shop.
"Hmph, typical, dumping the old for the new," she grumbled, making a face at Raven's back. She plopped down on the counter and started eating a large jar of candy.
Outside the photo studio, Tsukasa Kadoya had suddenly changed his attire. He was now dressed as an artist in a beige coat, carrying a violin.
"Tsukasa, why are you dressed like a waiter?" Natsumi, walking hand-in-hand with Raven, teased him.
"How should I know?" Tsukasa was just as confused.
He then looked into the distance. The scenery down the street had changed from the Mount Hitoki of the Kuuga's World to a gigantic castle.
"Castle Doran," Tsukasa murmured to himself. The name automatically popped into his head.
Just then, a man in a white suit walked up flamboyantly. "This is supposed to be a café, isn't it?" He walked into the photo studio and said to Eijiro Hikari, who was brewing coffee inside, "I'd like a cup of coffee."
"What? Can't you see, this is a photo studio!" Natsumi followed him in. "The café is next door."
"A photo studio, huh? Perfect! It's about time I had a photo taken for my omiai (arranged marriage meeting)." The man in the white suit straightened his collar, looking delighted.
Natsumi's expression instantly lit up with excitement. "Grandpa, he wants a picture!" Taking photos was their actual profession. They had been mistaken for a café for days for various reasons, which had been frustrating. This was a long-awaited piece of business.
However, Raven knew that this man was actually a Fangire. But in this world, most Fangire suppressed their true nature and coexisted peacefully with humans. He wasn't necessarily a bad person.
The white-suited man's gaze fell upon the curtain inside the photo studio, and he was immediately captivated by the image of Castle Doran. He stood in front of the curtain.
"That's beautiful. I think I should change outfits to match the scene." Saying this, the man struck what he believed was a cool pose and began to transform. Several vein-like patterns spread up from his neck. His body transformed into the appearance of a kaleidoscopic Kaijin.
His true identity was one of the Kaijin species of this world, a member of the Fangire Tribe.
This was the World of Kiva.
"This looks much better, don't you think? How do I look?" the Fangire asked without reservation.
"What a flamboyant outfit," Tsukasa immediately assumed the man was an enemy upon seeing his form.
Natsumi was clearly startled. "There are monsters in this world too!" She hid behind Raven, extremely nervous.
"What? Are you going to drive me out just because I'm a Fangire?" the Fangire said, growing angry at Natsumi's reaction.
"So noisy, shut up." Tsukasa had no intention of letting the man explain. He was about to put the Decade Driver on his waist.
"Wait!"
At that moment, the most composed person was Eijiro Hikari. He calmly placed the contents of a magazine in front of Tsukasa.
"Grandpa?" Natsumi peeked out from behind Raven and looked over.
It read: "Fangire Tribe and Human Coexistence Guide."