Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at Kawashima Toya, speechless. "What is this? Am I really expected to take care of her all by myself?"
"Why does it feel like I'm the outsider in my own home...?"
Despite her complaints, she still shouldered the responsibility of looking after Kato Megumi.
At the very least, she needed Megumi to wake up by tomorrow so she could send her home.
Back in his room, Toya lay down on the soft tatami mats. Drowsiness quickly overcame him, and he fell asleep.
That night.
Japan looked just as it always did.
However, high in the sky, in a dimension imperceptible to ordinary people...
A massive tear ripped across the pitch-black night sky, scattering the aura of spatial distortion in all directions.
A green dragon, exuding the terrifying pressure of a higher being, howled in agony as it plummeted straight out of the rift.
It crashed directly into a mountain range less than twenty kilometers away from Toya.
The massive weight of the dragon caused the mountains to tremble violently, leaving behind a colossal crater.
Yet, no one noticed this scene—not even the Japanese government.
They couldn't detect it, see it, or hear it.
Late at night, a drunken female programmer stumbled her way up that very mountain.
Before she could reach the peak, the overwhelming pressure of a higher species struck her.
The drunken programmer didn't even realize what was happening; she unconsciously changed direction and walked back down the mountain path.
The next morning.
The scorching summer sun shone through the window, landing directly on Toya.
"I can't sleep anymore." Knowing he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, Toya sat up, his handsome, sunny face filled with helplessness. "Fatty Kasumi, if you're going to school, just go."
"Why did you have to pull my curtains open?"
A short while ago, Utaha had come to his door with Kato Megumi, who had woken up from her coma.
But since he was still asleep, Utaha had simply taken Megumi and left.
Before leaving, however, Utaha had disregarded any gender barriers, entered his room, and flung open the curtains that were blocking the sunlight.
Toya stretched and sighed contentedly. "So comfortable."
"I really don't want to experience the life of a net cafe refugee ever again. Not even for a day."
After getting himself together, Toya took the toiletries Utaha had prepared earlier and went to the balcony to wash up.
While brushing his teeth, Toya inadvertently glanced next door and happened to see Gabriel performing her daily prayers.
Gabriel's prayerful posture was exceptionally pious; there was not a trace of the fallen angel she would become in the future.
Toya had no intention of interacting with Gabriel.
If this were a purely slice-of-life world, he might have approached her without hesitation.
But in a world where Evil Gods and Angels had appeared, who knew what other existences might descend in the future?
In such a dangerous and chaotic world, it was best to minimize contact with these transcendent races.
"System, open World Commissions."
A minute later, Toya sat on the balcony, eating the breakfast bread Utaha had prepared.
[System Notice: World Commission Issued.]
[In the mountains twenty kilometers away, a wounded dragon from another world is on the verge of death. Host, please arrive promptly.]
[Note: For this World Commission, you may choose to kill the dragon or save the dragon.]
[Reward: 10,000 Source Points. Subsequent rewards or penalties are undetermined.]
Toya finished the bread in a few bites, surprised. "There's actually a dragon?"
"I need to go see if it's dead yet."
"Every part of a giant dragon's body is a treasure."
"Dragon materials sell for astronomical prices in the System Shop."
Action followed thought. Toya pocketed the daily living expenses Utaha had left him and extravagantly hailed a taxi to head toward the location of the World Commission.
The Mountains.
Twenty minutes later, Toya stood outside the continuous mountain range, gazing into the distance.
His clear, sky-blue Mystic Eyes of Death Perception pierced through the falsehoods, seeing directly into the real world.
Deep within the lush, dense mountains, the pressure of a higher species was ceaselessly spreading in all directions.
It seemed to be warning any intruders: There is a noble dragon here.
Toya could feel the weakness within that pressure; it was as faint as a candle in the wind, liable to be extinguished at any moment.
"I'll have to walk the rest of the way myself."
Toya looked at the journey ahead, which would take nearly half an hour, and muttered with a wry smile, "Next time, I'm definitely exchanging points for a speed-type ability."
There was a road leading deep into the mountains, but the taxi driver couldn't drive in at all. The driver was even bewildered as to why he couldn't find the entrance to the road.
To avoid arousing the suspicion of ordinary people, Toya had to get out early and walk.
Even if a dragon from another world was critically injured and dying, its status as a dragon wouldn't change.
As long as it willed it, ordinary people could not cross the boundary set to keep idlers away.
When Toya stepped into the mountains, it felt as though he had crossed a dividing line between two worlds.
The air inside was the extreme opposite of the air outside the mountains.
The atmosphere was filled with a heavy, scorching heat, and the aura of the dragon shook the mind.