As Shichen walked along, he realized he seemed to be drawing a lot of attention.
All those stares were a bit too intense.
Whether it was the maids handing out flyers or the otaku milling around looking for something, everyone seemed to glance his way every now and then. The male onlookers couldn't last more than a few seconds before they speed-walked off as if they couldn't handle it. The females, on the other hand, actually froze in their tracks—one even bumped right into a utility pole. No one even noticed.
Meanwhile, some of the maids working in the area were so captivated by him that they forgot to hand out flyers to the people walking right past them.
Shichen obviously knew why he was getting so many looks. Sigh…blame it on being too handsome.
He wasn't self-conscious about his appearance; it really was his own face, just a bit younger, purer, and endowed with that unique aura from his "divine body," as if he was perpetually surrounded by a soft filter.
No one ever complains about being too good-looking.
Fighting back a bit of smugness, Shichen kept a neutral expression as he wandered the top-tier electronics street. Indeed, the whole place was saturated with otaku culture: every shop, every building, every person somehow tied to it.
But after walking for quite some time, he couldn't find a single work he recognized—not in novels, manga, games, or anime. And naturally, he didn't run into anyone familiar, either.
Sure, a lot of people here had hair in bright colors, but otherwise they looked just like normal folks back in his original world, as if a cosplay convention was taking place.
Because he had no clue which worlds might be fused into this one, he had no way to pinpoint any particular "canon" location. Over the past few days, he'd tried searching for clues about possible familiar faces, but found nothing. Perhaps not many worlds had merged here, or maybe it wasn't yet the right time to encounter them.
He just hoped none of them were still kids.
Though he liked the idea of raising certain people from childhood, he was even more eager to meet them as they were—already grown—and build a relationship directly. Otherwise, he'd practically be branded a lolicon.
But no matter what age they were, he'd like them all the same. If they'd already become adults, that would mean he arrived late. He doubted the system in his head had brought him to a 2D world just to meet them after everything was over—there would be no point in that.
He was more into experiencing the process of seeing them grow from young teens into adults, walking alongside them the whole way—unless, of course, their stories started with them as grown-ups.
At least Tohru and Kasumigaoka Utaha were pretty clearly established here.
For Tohru's part, though, he couldn't do much. This world wasn't a fused "Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid" setting; Tohru genuinely ended up here by accident. That meant there might be no Kanna to see. Pity—Kanna was so adorable, like a perfect daughter to raise.
Maybe someday, when he's powerful enough to help Tohru get revenge on the gods she fled, he could visit her original world and find Kanna, bringing her back. But that was a long way off.
So, that left Kasumigaoka Utaha's side of things—meaning, if it really was a partial "Saekano" scenario, you'd have the golden-twintail tsundere and the "invisible" saintly one to consider.
The twintail was basically "claimed" from a young age, and he hated the idea of stealing anyone away, but he still wanted to at least meet her. As for the saintly one, at this point in time she probably hadn't interacted much with anyone. He got a little excited thinking about meeting them, but for now, there was no easy way to waltz into their school.
He couldn't exactly loiter by the school gates, either. Even with his appearance, that'd be too conspicuous and disrupt the place. He might respect education and didn't want to trouble a school for no reason.
So the simplest route was to get closer to Kasumigaoka Utaha. If he could build a good friendship with her, maybe he could visit the school openly. That was a legitimate approach, and he wouldn't feel guilty about it.
In other words, first step: read Utaha's novel.
After wandering a while longer and failing to encounter any familiar faces, he gave up. He headed to a nearby bookstore and grabbed any light novels or manga that seemed interesting based on title, cover art, or placement in the bestseller section—plus the preceding volumes, too, because he never started reading halfway through.
Luckily, everything he picked out had a complete set from Volume One to the newest release.
After paying, Shichen loaded himself up with shopping bags and headed back to the station.
On his way, he spotted those same cap-wearing, glasses-wearing, potbellied men he'd noticed before. Their attitude had changed—seeing the bags of manga and light novels in Shichen's hands, they gave him friendly nods of approval.
Strangely enough, Shichen felt a little proud.
Indeed, the 2D fandom doesn't judge by looks. It's all about shared passions.
He felt honored to be part of that. He didn't go out of his way to strike up conversation, figuring if fate decreed it, they'd meet again. Instead, he boarded the train and headed home.
By the time he got back to the café, it was midday, and there were quite a few customers—mostly men.
As Shichen walked in, Tohru emerged from the kitchen, carrying plates of food. The male customers instantly lit up at the sight of her.
It was obvious—they'd probably heard about the adorable dragon maid from friends and came to see her.
"Shichen-dono!" Tohru called happily, hurrying over to him without even delivering the food first.
"You've been working hard. Let me help," he said, setting his bags down and taking the dishes from her.
"It's not hard at all." Tohru beamed, her big green tail swishing cheerfully.
"My Tohru is awesome," Shichen praised, ruffling her hair with one hand.
"Heehee! Did you buy everything you wanted, Shichen-dono?"
"Yeah, got it all. Next time, I'll bring you along."
"Promise?"
"Sure." He chuckled. "Anyway, which table does this go to?"
"Table Three."
"Got it."
Carrying the plates, he headed for Table Three while Tohru bounced back into the kitchen.
She was all smiles from the praise.
Meanwhile, the guys at Table Three looked a bit disappointed that Tohru hadn't served them, but Shichen didn't care. He set their food down and left.
"Enjoy your meal."
He figured it was normal for customers to come specifically for Tohru—she was too cute and a dragon maid, after all. As long as they didn't try anything crazy, it was fine. And he wasn't worried about Tohru's safety, either—he just didn't want his mood ruined. If they tried something nasty, he wouldn't hesitate to deal with it.
Eventually, as he traveled to other worlds, he'd no doubt deal with that sort of trouble sooner or later. Better to be mentally prepared. In any case, Tohru could handle just about anything physically.
That day passed quickly with no sign of Kasumigaoka Utaha.
In the evening, Shichen first rearranged his study before taking a bath. Once he was done bathing, he went to his study to read Kasumigaoka's novel. He already knew parts of the story, but not the details.
The study felt a lot cozier now with some books filling the shelves—perfect for reading. He soon got sucked into the story, which was indeed excellent.
For a brand-new author's first work, it had that fresh, unpolished sincerity. It broke free from typical formulas and only conveyed what the author truly wanted to express. Shichen found it all very captivating, finishing Volume One in no time.
It more or less matched what he knew, but he planned to reread it tomorrow—he might notice new things on a second pass.
After taking a moment to reflect, he closed the laptop and returned to his bedroom, ready to sleep. But the moment he walked in, he found Tohru waiting.
"Shichen-dono, let's go to bed. I've already warmed it up for you."
"…You're here again? I told you, no sleeping together tonight!" Shichen said firmly.
"But you let me handle all that work by myself today. Can't you at least keep me company tonight?" she pleaded.
"…"
"Just one last night, okay?" Tohru added, voice sweet with a hint of whine.
"…Fine, but this is the last time," Shichen insisted.
"Mm-hmm!"