"Tohru-sama, can't you really leave with Kanna?" Kanna asked hopefully.
Tohru glanced at Raize and Kobayashi, then shook her head.
"Why?"
"Because I like staying with Kobayashi, and I also like being with Raize. They're my treasures!"
Like a heartfelt confession, Tohru happily introduced the two people she cherished most.
Kanna, however, looked unhappy. She first puffed up her cheeks and glared at Raize, then fixed her gaze on Kobayashi, who was looking helplessly at Tohru.
Raize had saved her, helped her, and fed her along the way. His healing had allowed Kanna to directly feel his goodwill, so she didn't harbor much resentment toward him.
But this perverted glasses-wearing woman was different. She must have used some strange method to bewitch Tohru-sama.
"As long as I get rid of you, the one who bewitched Tohru-sama, she'll come to her senses. I'll—"
A dark aura surged from Kanna as she locked onto Kobayashi. Experiencing a dragon's pressure up close while sober, Kobayashi jumped to her feet and staggered back in shock.
"Die!"
Kanna raised her tiny fist and charged straight at Kobayashi. Seeing that the punch was about to land on Kobayashi's stomach, Raize couldn't just stand by.
Kanna wasn't the powerless, magic-depleted version from the original story. A punch from those little fists was no joke.
Smack!
Raize flashed behind Kanna and grabbed her wrist. Feeling the enormous strength transmitted through his palm, he let out a breath of relief. Cold sweat beaded on Kobayashi's forehead—it felt as though a speeding truck had slammed to a stop right in front of her.
Annoyed, Raize grabbed Kanna by the back of her neck and gave her a light chop on the head. The pain made Kanna clutch her head.
"Kobayashi is Tohru's lifesaver. What kind of logic is it to kill the person who saved Tohru? If you want Tohru to leave with you, does that mean you'd kill me too?"
He poked Kanna's chubby cheek, scolding the stubborn little dragon without any mercy.
"Kanna, stop fooling around. I've already decided to stay in the human world. From now on, you're not allowed to lay a hand on Kobayashi or Raize. Otherwise, we won't even be friends anymore!"
Tohru knocked Kanna lightly on the head with a stern expression, then pulled Kobayashi—still sweating—into a tight hug, rubbing her cheek affectionately against Kobayashi's face.
"I… I'm sorry, Tohru-sama…"
Faced with Raize and Kobayashi, who felt like rivals stealing her away, and seeing the seriousness on Tohru's face, Kanna knew that if she kept acting up, she would truly fall out with Tohru—something she never wanted.
"If you really can't bear to leave Tohru, you can stay here," Kobayashi said gently, seeing Kanna's expression like that of an abandoned little animal. "After all, you can't go back, and you don't really have anywhere else to go."
Kobayashi understood now that Kanna had been exiled after running away from home and had nowhere to go, which was why she had come looking for Tohru.
Although Kanna had scared her just now, in her eyes Kanna was simply a stubborn child who had run away from home.
She also finally understood why Raize had brought Kanna here—she was just looking for a place to stay.
Kanna might be just like Tohru had been before. Kind-hearted Kobayashi didn't dislike her at all.
"I…"
After Raize set her down, Kanna looked at Kobayashi with mixed emotions. Just as she was about to say something tsundere and resistant, Raize spoke up.
"I know dragons don't trust humans easily, but I promise you, Kobayashi is absolutely not the kind of despicable person you imagine. She has no ulterior motives toward you and no intention of using you."
Looking up at Raize's serious expression, Kanna recalled everything he had done. There had never been any intent to exploit her—only kindness.
His assurance carried weight in her heart. Kanna fell silent and looked at Kobayashi, who then crouched down in front of her and smiled.
"Being cautious and distrustful toward strangers is only natural. If it were me, I'd feel the same. Trusting someone is something that comes after becoming friends—or lovers."
She gently placed her hand on Kanna's head and continued softly.
"I'm not asking you to be my friend. You can stay here. Time will prove everything. If I really am a human you can't stand, with your strength, you could easily kill me."
Again. That same kindness. Kanna thought of how Raize had helped her through actions alone. She had felt his goodwill firsthand.
While she couldn't yet feel Kobayashi's kindness as directly, she sensed sincerity in her. Kanna was a dragon who longed for the warmth of a family—something she had never felt in her own world.
Her father had only treated her as a powerful comrade. Unable to feel familial love from him, Kanna resorted to pranks to draw attention.
What she truly wanted was nothing more than a little care and concern.
She had felt a stranger's kindness from Raize, and now she felt sincerity from Kobayashi. That was why, as time passed, Kanna would eventually open her heart to Kobayashi.
As expected, Kanna successfully moved into Kobayashi's home—the dragon adoption center. With his task complete, Raize prepared to leave.
"Here. This is yours."
As Kobayashi and Tohru came out to see Raize off, Kanna ran out from inside and handed him the Seven-Star Guard he had given her earlier.
"Huh? Isn't that the dragon scale I gave Raize? Why is it with you, Kanna?"
Seeing the extraordinary necklace bearing her dragon scale, Tohru looked at Kanna in confusion.
Kanna fidgeted, too embarrassed to explain, afraid Tohru would dislike or scold her. After all, taking something Tohru had given to someone else wasn't right.
"So what happened was…"
Raize explained how he had met Kanna. The necklace containing Tohru's dragon scale had only been used to protect her, in case Kanna refused to follow him—at least it would serve as insurance.
After hearing this, both Tohru and Kobayashi glanced at Kanna without any intent to blame her. Being cautious in an unfamiliar environment was normal.
What moved Tohru, though, was how Raize had gone all the way for her sake. The dragon scale she had given him to save his life had been passed on to protect Kanna instead.
She had only casually mentioned her friends while chatting with him. She never expected him to do something like this just to help one of them.
"I'm not weak. I can protect myself," Raize said calmly. "And back then, Kanna didn't really trust me. If she hadn't wanted to come with me, at least this would've ensured her safety."
Smiling, he took the Seven-Star Guard back from Kanna and put it around his neck again, speaking casually.
Since he considered Tohru a friend, he couldn't ignore Kanna's safety. Even if she hadn't come with him, he had planned to secretly watch over her using Doppelganger.
"Oh, right. Kanna eats a lot and has quite an appetite. I'll leave this to you, Kobayashi."
He suddenly pulled out some easy-to-prepare fantasy ingredients from his storage space and handed them to Kobayashi and Tohru.
Then he gave three boxes of prepared rainbow pudding to Kanna, telling her to share them with Kobayashi and Tohru.
"Isn't this a bit too much?" Kobayashi said awkwardly, holding the heavy, high-quality ingredients. When Kanna opened the boxes, rainbow light spilled out, along with the familiar pudding aroma that instantly made her mouth water.
These ingredients were clearly exceptional, and Kobayashi knew just how delicious that rainbow pudding was.
"Well, think of it as a personal bonus for your excellent work. When the new game launches, if the results are good, there'll be more rewards and bonuses. That's it—see you."
Raize smiled, handed the remaining items to Kanna, waved goodbye to the three girls laden with food, and left without giving Kobayashi a chance to refuse.
"Kobayashi, this is Raize's goodwill. Let's accept it," Tohru said with a smile, watching him leave.
Kobayashi looked helplessly at the ingredients in her arms. After Kanna happily ran back inside with them, she didn't say anything more.
After all, it was a gift from her boss—it would be rude to refuse. And with another dragon in the house, they really would need more food.
Especially since Raize said Kanna had quite the appetite.
"Ah—so tasty!"
The moment they returned to the living room, they saw Kanna tossing all of the ingredients straight into her wide-open mouth, swallowing everything in one go. She then opened the box of rainbow pudding and started eating it.
"Hey, hey! Don't eat my share too!"
Seeing Kanna reach for the other two boxes of rainbow pudding, Kobayashi immediately panicked. That supreme delicacy was something she wanted to enjoy too.
Watching Kanna swallow the ingredients without even processing them, Kobayashi finally had a concrete idea of just how terrifying "good appetite" really meant.