The sun gradually set over the clouds, and Shichen, dressed neatly, recalled the familiar beast that had been flying all afternoon back into his body.
"Come back."
The huge, colorful bird-beast was very obedient, not complaining about watching action movies all afternoon, and transformed into a ball of magic that drilled into Shichen's body.
Shichen could clearly feel as if a creature existed within his blood.
At this moment, he was truly the Fifth Progenitor he claimed to be.
"Lord Chen..." Tohru crawled up from the cloud bed and knelt, having been lying prone before.
Just now, Shichen had finally fulfilled his small wish of hugging her tail.
It had to be said that Tohru's large green tail was truly thick and strong, making it particularly easy to move around while hugging it.
"Tohru, what's wrong?" Shichen looked at her with a smile.
His dignity had been restored, and now he felt even more refreshed and invigorated.
"Lord Chen... how did you become so amazing?" Tohru asked curiously.
"Didn't I say? I've gotten stronger."
"Is this what Lord Chen meant by getting stronger?" Tohru tilted her head.
"Cough, cough, not exactly, this is just a bonus."
"I see... Then next time, Lord Chen can take the initiative, right?" Tohru looked at him expectantly.
"Hmm... that sort of thing depends on my mood, can't always be thinking about that."
"Really? But I'm eager to get pregnant with Lord Chen's child." Tohru rubbed her fair, flat stomach.
"?" Shichen paused, then quickly asked, "Can dragons and humans get pregnant?"
"Probably... yes?" Tohru said uncertainly.
"...Never mind, it's not important, you won't get pregnant for now anyway."
Shichen breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, he had taken some precautions just in case. He didn't particularly care about having a child, but it was still too early.
"Eh?" Tohru looked blankly at Shichen, "What does Lord Chen mean?"
"It means I'm not ready to have a child yet."
"How could this be..." Tohru pouted.
"Don't you want to spend more time with just the two of us?" Shichen diverted her attention.
"That seems true too."
"Right? No rush for a child yet."
"I understand, I'll listen to Lord Chen!" Tohru smiled again.
"Good girl, put your clothes on first."
"Oh."
Light appeared on Tohru's body, and then her familiar maid outfit materialized, covering her, and even her previously loose golden hair was tied up.
It was truly convenient.
"Time to buy groceries." Shichen looked at the setting sun in the distance, estimating the time.
There should still be a little time before Utaha Kasumigaoka gets out of school, so he could accompany Tohru to buy groceries and see how everyone's attitude towards her was now.
"Does Lord Chen want to come with me to buy groceries?" Tohru stood up in surprise.
"What else?"
"That's great!" Tohru excitedly ran to Shichen and hugged him.
"Are you okay?" Shichen asked.
"What problem?"
"Can you walk normally?"
"Of course! I've recovered completely." Tohru said, hugging Shichen's arm and jumping twice, perfectly fine.
They had been so intense just now.
"...I see." Shichen couldn't help but feel a pang of panic.
Tohru seemed to recover a bit too quickly. If she had wanted another round just now, wouldn't he have been unable to win?
Dragon girls really were formidable.
It seemed he shouldn't get cocky for now; he'd wait until he became stronger.
The two left the clouds and teleported back to the town. This time, Shichen brought Tohru back.
Unfortunately, Tohru was still uninterested and didn't ask many questions, which made it difficult for him to show off his current abilities.
On the way to the commercial street, Tohru held Shichen tightly, unwilling to let go of him even for a moment.
Shichen let her hug him, as the softness from his arm was truly hard to refuse.
"Tohru, coming to buy groceries again?"
"Tohru, is this your boyfriend?"
"Tohru, freshly delivered vegetables, want some? I'll give you a discount."
"Tohru, freshly butchered beef, want some?"
Upon arriving at the commercial street, Tohru seemed to instantly become a big star; every vendor greeted her warmly.
If it weren't for the fact that the vendors were all uncles and aunties, Shichen would have suspected they were trying to curry favor with her.
His handsome appearance was no longer effective here; only when Tohru introduced him did everyone greet him.
Even though he had been here before.
"Tohru, what's going on?" Shichen couldn't help but ask in a low voice.
"It seems that some time ago, I caught a thief, and then everyone became enthusiastic about me."
"Caught a thief? How did you catch him?"
"Don't worry, Lord Chen, I didn't use magic, I just used a little force."
"I see..."
In that case, Shichen could understand. A cute little girl who knew martial arts and helped catch a thief everyone hated—the uncles and aunties would certainly like her.
"Lord Chen, is that okay?" Tohru asked nervously.
"Of course, it's okay." Shichen smiled and rubbed her head, "It doesn't matter even if you use magic."
"Didn't Lord Chen say before that you shouldn't expose extraordinary powers?"
"You shouldn't expose them, but compared to your freedom, it's irrelevant."
"My freedom?" Tohru tilted her head in confusion.
"I hope you can be a bit more unrestrained; your happiness is more important. If it's exposed, we can just leave."
"Lord Chen..." Tohru looked at him with emotion; if she didn't have things in her hands, she would have hugged him directly.
"But you can't kill innocent people indiscriminously, okay?" Shichen reminded her with a smile.
"I'm not that kind of dragon." Tohru pouted, refuting him discontentedly.
"Haha~ Of course, I know."
"Hmph~ Lord Chen is mean, I'll punish Lord Chen by making him carry my things."
"No problem!"
There were many ingredients to buy, and Shichen didn't realize the store needed so many things now. Thankfully, Tohru was there.
However, he only symbolically carried a few bags; the other items he directly sent back to the store.
This was the correct use of spatial magic.
Tohru also knew what he had done, so she didn't ask many questions, which made Shichen feel a bit antsy.
Soon after buying the groceries, Shichen didn't return with Tohru but instead went separately to Private Toyogasaki Academy.
It was just about time for Utaha Kasumigaoka to get out of school.
Tohru had no intention of going with him, as the satisfaction of the afternoon made her very happy.
Shichen left her with only two bags, which she carried as she slowly walked towards the coffee shop.
But not long after leaving the commercial street, she suddenly felt a spatial disturbance. When she stopped and looked up, she saw ripples appear in the void several hundred meters above the ground, like a water surface.
Immediately after, a beautiful giant white dragon, like a spirit, flew out from within.
It was sacred, it was radiant, shining like an angel.
The spatial ripples behind the white dragon quickly disappeared, as if they had never appeared, if the white dragon weren't there.
But what was miraculous was that the people on the ground didn't notice the scene in the sky at all; they simply couldn't see the giant dragon, which was as conspicuous as an airplane.
"That is..."
Tohru frowned tightly; she recognized the identity of that giant dragon at a glance. She had met her before.
But it shouldn't be; how could she have come to this world?
However, now was not the time to think about this. She ran into a small alley, cast an invisibility spell on herself, then transformed back into her dragon form and flew towards the white dragon in the sky.
The white dragon, circling and flying in the sky, immediately noticed Tohru. It excitedly flew towards Tohru.
"Lady Tohru!"
"Kanna, why are you here?"