The Draco Prince Appears with Information

During breakfast the next morning, everyone had gathered in the kitchen. Aika excitingly divulged the events of yesterday’s outing to Ingrid and Umi. She especially put heavy emphasis on the “romantic and lovey-dovey” atmosphere that was present throughout the entire date to symbolize how much her relationship with Tatsuya had leveled-up, much to Tatsuya’s chagrin. As evidence, she even brought out the small keychain Tatsuya had bought her and boldly declared that it was the symbol of their union as betrotheds.

“Anyway,” said Tatsuya with a groan, redirecting the conversation away from Aika’s delusions, “there’s something I want to discuss with you, Ingrid.”

“Yes, Owatatsumi-sama?” asked Ingrid.

Tatsuya brought his right hand and the Mark of Marduk appeared. “Yesterday, this mark appeared again when I was being attacked by a thief with a gun. A man had stolen my wallet and we found him in a nearby alley. When we confronted him, he pulled out a gun and tried to shoot me. But when the bullets were within inches away from me, they just fell to the ground.”

“Interesting,” said Ingrid in an intrigued tone.

“Do you know why?” Tatsuya asked her.

“Not really,” admitted the maid apologetically. She quickly glanced at the clock and said, “My, my, it is time for Owatatsumi-sama and Princess Aika to go to school.” Tatsuya and Aika got up and left for school. Once they left the house, Ingrid let out a sigh of relief. She was happy to be rid of Tatsuya and his questions for the day. Lately, he had been asking questions that were beyond her pay grade. But of course, she couldn’t possibly let him know that.

“Where is My Love going with the Draco princess?” inquired Kanjomizu.

“To school,” Ingrid told her.

“School?” wondered Kanjomizu. She furrowed her brows in an expression of deep thought and contemplation.

Ingrid and Umi exchanged nervous glances. “This does not look good,” said Umi with a nervous laugh.

“This will not go well, indeed,” agreed Ingrid.

Ever since Aika transferred into the school, Tatsuya’s school life had been marred with constant clinging and embarrassing love-talk by the dragon princess, relentless jealous glares and remarks from guys and girls alike, and especially an absolute lack of privacy from the entire student body. No matter where he went, there would be either Aika or her fans chasing after him.

However, Tatsuya is pretty impressed with how quickly Aika adapted to high school life. She’s very popular with both girls and guys, no question about it, and is exceedingly adept in both academics and athletics. Her grades, in spite of her clingy and Tatsuya-obsessed personality, is well above average and puts Tatsuya’s own grades to shame. If only she wasn’t so annoying, forceful, relentless, and obsessive, Tatsuya could actually see her as a respectable school idol and, much to his own personal dismay, might’ve actually fallen in love with her.

It is now the period before lunch break and the teacher began the class with an announcement. “It appears that we have a new transfer student today,” he told the class.

“Is it a beautiful girl?!” asked Manami, jumping out of his chair. “I bet it’s a girl, right? Tell me it’s a beautiful girl!” His eyes glittered with pure passion. All of the girls in the class, except for Aika, turned to Manami and threw him murderous glares. The pressure in the classroom became unbearable. Manami gulped and bowed his head. “Please forgive me,” he apologized loudly.

“Well then,” continued the teacher with a nervous smile. “Let’s bring her in and have her introduce herself.”

The door opened and the new student came inside. Tatsuya and Aika immediately turned to stone, frozen in complete and utter surprise upon seeing just who the new student was. The new student was a beautiful girl with skin as white as sea foam with a tinge of blue, ocean blue hair that stopped just shy of her waist and covered her left eye, and her right eye was a bright sapphire-blue—Kanjomizu. She introduced herself as Suiryu Kanjomizu. Tatsuya wasn’t at all impressed by the ironic humor.

‘What the hell is she doing here?!’ wondered Aika furiously. ‘Just when I thought I can have Darling to myself, this emotionally unstable princess comes to place herself between us!’ An interesting thought came to mind and an evil smile appeared on her face. ‘Looks like I’ll just have to “convince” her that high school life isn’t fun at all. And then, she’ll be forced to leave of her own volition, and I’ll get to have Darling all to myself once again!’

“Oi , Aika, what’s with the scary face?” Tatsuya asked her with a weirded-out expression.

“Oh, nothing, Darling!” she replied innocently, batting her eyelashes.

Kanjomizu finished up her introduction and said, with a nervous stutter, “I-I-I hope you all t-t-treat me well!”

The entire class felt their heartbeats rise to dangerous levels and couldn’t help but utter a sound of awe. They were immediately enraptured by her cuteness, Tatsuya included. The girls all swooned as if they had met the cutest, most innocent puppy in the entire world. The guys developed an impulsive instinct to want to protect her from all harm as if she was their very own dear little sister. Manami, in particular, wore a mesmerized dumb smile with a pool of drool pouring from the corner of his mouth.

‘Impossible!’ thought Aika in horror. ‘She’s trying to use her charms to hypnotize people into joining her side! Could she have known what I was plotting?’ She brought her finger to chin and tapped it in contemplation. ‘This is going to be harder than I thought,’ she concluded. ‘But no matter. I have to do whatever I can to rid myself and Darling of Princess Basket-Case!’

The teacher placed Kanjomizu in the seat right next to Tatsuya on his left. As she passed by him, Kanjomizu unashamedly curtsied and said, “Good morning, My Love.”

The moment those words exited out her mouth, the entire classroom was thrown into chaos. “Ehh?!” the entire classroom exclaimed in unison. “Suiryu-san, what is your relationship with Owatatsumi-san?” asked one of the students.

“He is My Love,” Kanjomizu told them innocently. “We did kiss after all,” she said with a blush.

“Kiss?!” exclaimed one of the girls.

“With Owatatsumi?!” added a boy.

“Impossible!” joined in Manami, his hands clutching each side of his face in disbelief.

All eyes turned to Tatsuya, staring daggers at him. Tatsuya could feel himself getting crushed by the pressure of everyone’s angry and envious glares. He closed his eyes and silently prayed for this all to be a dream.

“Wait a minute!” shouted Aika, pointing a finger at Kanjomizu. “You must be crazy to think that you can just waltz in here and attempt to steal my Darling away! If you must know, school is a place for learning! It is definitely not a place to advance romantic relationships!” she told the water dragon princess.

‘Talk about the pot calling the kettle black,’ thought Tatsuya to himself with a bitter expression.

“I understand,” replied Kanjomizu. She took her seat and wore a small smile. Even if school may not be the right place to improve her relationship with her Love, being in the same room with him is enough to satisfy her heart for now.

Aika glared at Kanjomizu maliciously like a gorilla about to go on a rampage. Her body grew extremely hot and the heat could be felt by everyone around her. Literal smoke, unlike the imaginary ones people would often picture when seeing someone enraged, rose up from her now glowing crimson hair. ‘How could she still be smiling like that?’ she wondered furiously.

Tatsuya was extremely alarmed to see Aika literally burning up and sending out heatwaves in every direction. “Aika,” he called to her, “calm down.” Aika simply flashed him a terrifying glare. He quickly shut his mouth and resumed minding his own business. After a few seconds of boiling, Aika let out a huge huff and sat back down. Her body gradually cooled back down to “normal” temperatures.

Soon, lunch break arrived. Tatsuya was just getting situated when Aika’s suddenly called out to him. “Darling! Let’s eat lunch together!” she excitingly declared. Before Tatsuya even had a chance to object, she pulled up a chair real close to him and laid out her lunch on the table. As she opened her lunch box, her body gradually leaned closer and closer to Tatsuya’s.

‘Too close! Too close!’ he thought alarmingly as Aika’s chest touched his arm.

Sitting across from him with dropped-jaws were Manami, Daiki and Sasuke. While Daiki and Sasuke were just too surprised for words, Manami was full-blown jealous of the proximity between Tatsuya and Aika’s womanly charms.

Aika, however, paid them no attention and proceeded to pick a piece of rolled egg with her chopsticks and situated it before Tatsuya’s lips. “Darling, say ‘Ahh’,” she told him.

“I can eat by myself!” Tatsuya told her with flushed cheeks.

“May I join too?” asked Kanjomizu. She had her own lunch and was standing before them with shy downcast eyes; her cheeks were a slight rosy color like that of a doll’s. Tatsuya couldn’t help but blush upon seeing her cute puppy-like innocence as she asked to partake in eating lunch with him and his friends. Sasuke, Daiki, and Manami also had their heartbeats elevated as a result of witnessing her innocent cuteness.

“Why don’t you go bother other people for a change,” Aika told her harshly with crossed arms.

“Of course you can join us!” quickly interjected Tatsuya.

“Yes, yes!” agreed Sasuke, Daiki, and Manami happily.

Kanjomizu pulled a chair next to Tatsuya on his other side. As she daintily untied the cloth covering her lunchbox, Aika furiously stared at her and breathed heavily like a fuming boiler. Sasuke could sense the tension in the air and decided to start some conversation to mollify Aika’s strong, passionate emotions. He took a glance at her lunch and was immediately enraptured by how delicious and gourmet they looked. “Did you make all of that yourself, Hiryu-san?” asked Sasuke with an interested smile.

“Of course!” answered Aika with a haughty smile and her hands placed on her hips in a triumphant gesture. Tatsuya didn’t like at all how confident she was nor the fact that she did all of the cooking. He still remembers his very first experience with her “cooking”.

“May I try some?” Sasuke asked her.

“Please, help yourself!” she told him cheerfully, holding up her lunchbox for him.

“Me too!” joined in Manami. Daiki nodded in agreement. All three of them picked a piece from her lunchbox and held it in front of their lips.

Tatsuya quickly turned to his friends and was horrified to find Aika’s food in their hands. Having had experience with her “cooking” before, Tatsuya couldn’t in good conscience let his friends suffer the same fate as he did when he placed the princess’ food on his tongue for the first time. As he jumped from his seat to catch their attention and warn them of the consequences, he found himself too late to do anything to stop them. His friends had already placed the food in their mouths! Tatsuya suddenly lost all the color in his face—his friends were in for a rude awakening and he couldn’t do anything to save them from a bad fate. Now, all he could do is watch them suffer and silently pray for their health and quick recovery.

“Delicious!” exclaimed Sasuke with a giant smile.

Tatsuya glanced at his friend and was dumfounded to find him safe and not showing any signs of sickness. However, this seemed to good to be true. “How is it?” he asked his friend.

“It truly is delicious!” Sasuke said sincerely.

“Mmm! I would give this food five stars!” praised Manami.

“The texture is flawless! The flavor is dynamic! Even umami cannot describe how umami this culinary masterpiece is!” added Daiki with the grandiose of a connoisseur.

“May I try some too?” Kanjomizu asked Aika.

“Be prepared to be wowed by my awesome cooking!” Aika replied haughtily.

Kanjomizu took one of Aika’s rolled eggs and ate it. The burst of flavor excited her taste buds immensely. “I love your cooking, Aika-san,” said Kanjomizu with a cheerful and content smile.

Aika turned to Tatsuya and took one of her rolled eggs and brought it up to his face. “Do you want to try too, Darling?” She inched the egg closer to his face, but Tatsuya tried his hardest to back away and avoid his fate. It wasn’t long before he reached his limit and involuntarily gave in. He closed his eyes and scrunched up his nose as he opened his mouth to allow for the deposit of Aika’s poison. She gently placed it on his tongue and Tatsuya closed his mouth.

With just the egg in his mouth, Tatsuya could taste nothing wrong with it at all. In fact, it tasted familiar, but he just couldn’t put his tongue on it. He chewed slowly and the flavor built up in his mouth and exploded, covering his taste buds in a sweet and savory wave. The flavor was strong yet gentle on the tongue. He knew he had tasted something with the same passionate flavor before. The first thing that came to his mind was the breakfast he had this past weekend cooked by Ingrid. ‘Yeah, it tastes very much like that breakfast platter,’ he thought. And then the pieces started to come together.

“How is it, Darling?” asked Aika with sparkling eyes and an expectant smile.

“Say, Aika, what spice did you use to make the egg? It’s very delicious,” replied Tatsuya in a false tone of admiration. More or less knowing the truth behind this façade, Tatsuya now plans to draw Aika out and expose her lies. ‘Let’s see you try to weasel your way out of this,’ he thought to himself with a cruel smile.

“Uh, i-i-it’s wasabi!” replied Aika thoughtlessly, sweat pouring down her face like mini-waterfalls. She smiled awkwardly to try to lie her way out of this uncomfortable situation and her face began to turn bright scarlet.

“Really? Wasabi?” said Tatsuya, playing along. “Amazing! I never knew that a pungent and spicy condiment could have such a sweet and savory flavor on egg!”

“I-I-I know, right?” agreed Aika with an awkward laugh.

“Say, Manami, you have some wasabi in your lunch box, right?” Tatsuya asked his friend.

“Yup! We bought take-out sushi yesterday and had some left over, so my mom packed them for me today,” replied Manami. He held his open lunchbox for Tatsuya to see.

With a smile that was more malicious than mischievous, Tatsuya took a clump of the wasabi with his chopsticks and said to Aika, “Try some wasabi.”

Aika glanced at the green condiment in his chopsticks and back at his eyes. Never before had she seen Tatsuya with a discomforting look in his eyes. “Darling, why do you have a scary look on your face?” she asked with a terrified smile.

“Eat up,” urged Tatsuya, pushing the chopsticks towards her lips.

Aika gulped and took the wasabi in her mouth. Once it hit her tongue, a really unexpected reaction shocked the entire table. Aika smiled delightfully as she ate the wasabi without so much as a yelp of pain. “This is delicious!” she announced to the table with sparkling eyes. “Do you have more of this?” she asked Manami hungrily. Manami quickly handed her his lunch box and Aika scarfed down the wasabi like sweet candy. The explosive flavor was sweet and savory, tickling her taste buds and leaving her wanting more.

Tatsuya couldn’t believed that his plan had backfired. “What the heck is happening?!” he asked aloud in disbelief. “How can you eat it like candy?”

“This is candy!” answered Aika happily. “Thank you, Darling, for introducing to something so good!” she told him with grateful eyes.

“How is this even possible?” Tatsuya asked himself.

“Dracos are immune to anything fire related, let it be heat or spices,” Kanjomizu told him.

‘How could I have forgotten that she wasn’t even a human girl,’ Tatsuya berated himself.

Throughout the rest of the school day, Aika became even clingier than before. Additionally, Kanjomizu had also taken upon herself to not lose this war of love and joined her rival in clinging to her Love. Tatsuya was getting tired of being at the center of this one-sided relationship war and the (purely negative) attention he receives everywhere he goes. ‘This is going to be a loooong school year,’ he thought miserably to himself.

Back home from school, Tatsuya was greeted by both Ingrid and Umi. Behind him, Aika and Kanjomizu were engaged in a staring contest to the death. With a heavy sigh, Tatsuya told the maids that he was going to take a bath. “Owatatsumi-sama, there is someone who wants to meet with you,” Ingrid told him.

“Who?” Tatsuya asked.

“Someone of great importance who can tell you more about everything going on and answer any questions you have,” Ingrid told him.

Tatsuya nodded and walked off to the bathroom. He got the bath ready, undressed, and then got in. Finally, he was alone. He let out a sigh of relief and satisfaction. Nothing in the world right now could possibly ruin this perfect moment. He closed his eyes and slowly entered his own meditative world of peace and comfort.

The door to the bathroom opened and Kanjomizu entered, undressing herself. She stood unashamedly naked before the meditative Tatsuya. Kanjomizu gently entered the bath and sat across from her Love.

Deep in an almost trance-like tranquility, Tatsuya hadn’t realized at all of the princess’ presence in the bath with him. He imagined himself peacefully drifting among clouds, free without a care in the world. There was nothing to bound him to the ground below and especially no dragons or dragon-princesses to drive him crazy. His world is now one big haven of calm and comfort. There is only the presence of soft clouds to give him peaceful company. In his peaceful dreamland, Tatsuya saw himself coming upon two gentle clouds. He held out his hands to grab them. They were soft and smooth and fluffy, like feather pillows. He was surprised to find how realistic they felt. Their touch was so engrossing that he couldn’t find himself letting go. ‘So soft and smooth,’ he thought happily to himself. He squeezed the fluffy clouds and was startled by the sound of a high-pitched whimper. The sound surprised him, but he quickly disregarded it and continued to swim in his peaceful dream of soft, gentle clouds. Again, he took hold of the soft smooth clouds and squeezed them satisfyingly. This time, instead of a high-pitched whimper, he was greeted with a loud pleasurable moan. Tatsuya quickly opened his eyes and was horrified to find Kanjomizu sitting across from him with flushed cheeks and panting like a dog in heat. He slowly glanced down at his hands and found that those clouds he thought he was squeezing to release some stress was really the soft, smooth bosoms of the water dragon princess. Tatsuya quickly turned a deem crimson red and let out a scream of terrified embarrassment that echoed throughout the neighborhood.

Immediately, Aika swung open the doors to the bathroom and found Tatsuya with his hands clasped on Kanjomizu’s chest. Tatsuya and Kanjomizu turned to see Aika boiling over like a volcano on the verge of erupting. “This isn’t what it looks like!” Tatsuya told her quickly in a terrified tone.

Aika pointed a finger accusingly at Kanjomizu and said, “So this is where you are, you directionally-challenged basket-case! Take my Darling’s hands off your disgusting flabs of meat!”

Kanjomizu pouted her lips in objection and wrapped her arms around Tatsuya, bringing him closer to her. Tatsuya felt his face getting hotter than the sun and redder than a firetruck; streams of blood exploded from his nose.

“How dare you!” shouted Aika at Kanjomizu. “I’ll save you Darling!” she called out to Tatsuya. Without anything further to say of her plan, Aika quickly stripped and stood naked before the bathtub couple. She jumped into the tub behind Tatsuya and wrestled against the water dragon princess for control of her Darling. Using her draconian strength, Aika managed to free Tatsuya and pulled him back into her chest.

Tatsuya could feel Aika’s naked bosom on his back and unleashed another torrent of blood from his nose. His face was now a boiling stew of embarrassment and perversion. His mind became broken like a TV that had lost its signal. Never before had he been caught in surreal moments like these.

Kanjomizu wasn’t satisfied with losing either and thought of another approach. Instead of wrestling back for control, she inched forward and positioned herself right in front of Tatsuya, her chest touching his. Again, Tatsuya found his body heating up beyond blue flames level. Being sandwiched between two naked beautiful princesses was too much stimulation for him. This moment felt like some sort of surreal dream. ‘How could this moment get any worse?’ he wondered miserably to himself.

“My Love, something is hard is touching me,” Kanjomizu told him with flushed cheeks.

As his shame skyrocketed above bearable levels, Tatsuya unleashed yet another scream that echoed throughout the neighborhood. He quickly jumped out of the bath and shouted, “This is too much for me to handle!”, and exited the bathroom with a towel quickly wrapped over his waist.

Tatsuya locked himself up in his room following that shameful incident and got dressed. He felt his heart rate slowly reaching normal levels and his breathing became more natural. Once dressed, he walked back outside and into the living room.

“Owatatsumi-sama,” called Ingrid. She stood near the couch and gestured for Tatsuya to come sit. Tatsuya followed her directions and sat down. He looked across from himself and noticed the presence of a new visitor sitting in the chair in front of him.

The visitor was a handsome young man with crimson red hair like living flames, bright red ruby eyes that blazed intensely like smoldering fires, and a rosy skin complexion. He was extremely good-looking, like a model off of a magazine. He wore a smile of intrigue and looked at Tatsuya with great interest. Tatsuya didn’t know why, but he felt something familiar when he looked at his visitor.

“Owatatsumi-sama, this is Nobi-sama, crown prince of the Draco Tribe and leader of the United Front,” introduced Ingrid.

“Hello,” greeted Tatsuya politely.

Nobi stood up from his chair and slowly approached Tatsuya with outstretched hands. Tatsuya was getting a little more apprehensive the closer Nobi got to him. Once the dragon prince got close enough, he grabbed Tatsuya and pulled him into a tight hug. “Oh, it is so great to finally meet you!” cried Nobi hysterically. “I’ve heard so much about you, Tatsu-kyun!”

“K-Kyun?!” cried Tatsuya in surprise. He was dumbfounded to be caught in this situation. ‘Who the heck is this guy?” he wondered terrifyingly to himself. It seems as if Tatsuya has become some sort of weird people magnet.

“Ahem! Prince Nobi!” called Ingrid, clearing her throat.

Nobi glanced at the maid and back at Tatsuya in his arms. He noticed Tatsuya’s weirded-out expression and put him back down. “I’m sorry,” said Nobi with an embarrassed laugh. “It seems that I got too excited.” He walked back to his seat and sat back down. He cleared his throat and said, “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Owatatsumi Tatsuya,” greeted Nobi. “I am Nobi Draco, crown prince of the Draco Tribe and head of the United Front, an organization established by the dragon tribes to protect our kind and administer justice to ensure safety for both the dragon realm and the human realm.”

“So it’s like a police force,” compared Tatsuya.

“Exactly!” agreed Nobi with a big smile.

“So, Ingrid said that you’re here to discuss the events that happened these last few days.”

“Yes, I am,” Nobi replied with a nod. “Would you mind telling me everything that has happened in your own words?” he asked.

“Well, for starters, there was the chance encounter with a very clingy dragon princess,” began Tatsuya. “She just barged into my life and claimed me as her fiancé. My bastard-father had promised my hand to her in a marriage deal, which I myself didn’t even have a single say in! Anyway, that first night, I fought against a really bad dude who had white hair and was dressed in a white suit. He transformed into a giant ice dragon and tried to freeze both me and the princess to death. However, I managed to take him out. He said something about Ouroboros before he ran away. The next day, I was attacked by a giant lightning dragon. At first, he seemed to be a normal guy, but then he suddenly transformed into a dragon and just attacked me. The day after that, I came across a dark dragon and was attacked again. This happened after I met another dragon princess. During both occasions, I was with dragon princesses the entire time.”

“I am so sorry for all of the trouble you’ve been through because of our kind,” apologized Nobi. “I can assure you that after those incidents, we investigated into the cause and came upon a really interesting conclusion.”

“What was it?” asked Tatsuya.

“The Druk and the Amaru were dragons who have entered the human world through the lottery system and possessed no ill intentions. They came into this world amicably and lived well amongst humankind. The Druk became a banker and had a small circle of friends. His coworkers and friends described him as a very friendly man and he loved his job dearly. The Amaru got a job working for a talent agency and was well liked by coworkers and clients alike. He tended to keep to himself, but is otherwise an upstanding citizen who was known to donate to online charities.”

As Nobi told Tatsuya all of this, Tatsuya couldn’t believe everything he was hearing. He was now beginning to have second thoughts about dragons. ‘Looks like they’re not that different from us after all,’ he thought to himself.

“However, when we investigated into why they did what they did, we found traces of a drug in their system,” continued Nobi grimly. “It is a synthetic drug created in our world. The drug, called Dracolax, is an ugly substance that disrupts the neural functions of dragons and turn them into mindless zombies that rely solely on primal instincts, the only neural function that is enhanced rather than diminished by the drug’s effect, while also increasing their powers and strength. Dracolax was originally created by our scientists, specifically through a joint venture by the Draco Tribe and the Bakunawa Tribe, as a substance to enhance our soldiers’ strength and turn them into indestructible machines of war. However, upon learning of the dangerousness of the drug after a few tests, it was abandoned and every known formula to create it was either locked away or burned to ashes. Somehow, information of the drug were leaked to the public and many people were successful in recreating the drug and marketing it through various mediums. Since then, it became a scourge on the dragon population as a whole.”

“So those two dragons were drug users?” asked Tatsuya.

“I don’t think so,” replied Nobi. “If there was one thing that those two had in common, it was that they both owed an insurmountable debt to an underground organization. Unfortunately we couldn’t find out any more details about said organization. However, you said that the first person whom you went against said something about Ouroboros, correct?”

“Yep.”

“We speculate that Ouroboros could be the ones behind these incidents. And the underground organization both of those victims owed debts to could very well be a branch of Ouroboros,” said Nobi.

“What is Ouroboros anyway?” inquired Tatsuya.

“Ouroboros is a radical terrorist cult of dragons across the thirteen tribes who believe in the obsolete Darwinistic ideal that dragons are the ultimate creatures in the universe and humans are inferior insects that should either be made to serve dragons or be exterminated from existence,” explained Nobi with a disgusted shake of his head. “The name Ouroboros means ‘rebirth’ and is represented by a dragon eating its own tail, symbolizing the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. The organization believes that the age for dragons to dominate the universe once again is nigh, hence the rebirth of a golden age.”

“That’s crazy,” muttered Tatsuya with a frown.

“They have been the number one organization on the United Front’s list of ‘Organizations Detrimental to the Cosmic Order’,” Nobi told Tatsuya with a grim smile.

“So you’re saying that the two dragons from a few days ago were innocent victims,” concluded Tatsuya.

“That is correct,” agreed Nobi. “It is likely that Ouroboros forced the two dragons to act as personal terrorists through the use of coercive blackmail and extortion.”

“Is there anything we can do to stop them?” wondered Tatsuya.

“Well, Ouroboros, like the entire dragon population, believes in the arrival of the Dragonborn. They view the Dragonborn as their enemy and the only who can stop them in their goal,” explained Nobi. “Speaking of Dragonborn, Ingrid told me that you possess a certain mark. May I see it?” Tatsuya obliged and revealed the back of his right hand. The black mark appeared and glowed brilliantly before settling down into a normal tattoo. “The Mark of Marduk!” exclaimed Nobi excitingly. He jumped out of his seat and hugged Tatsuya yet again. “This is a good sign indeed! I am so glad to have made your acquaintance, Tatsuya-kyun!”

“K-Kyun?!” exclaimed Tatsuya in bewilderment.

“Nobi-sama!” called out Ingrid. Nobi glanced at the maid and noticed that she wore a very terrifying frown with a noticeable bulging forehead vein. He let out a small yelp and quickly let go with an embarrassed chuckle.

“Ahem,” uttered Nobi, clearing his throat and sitting back down in his seat. “That is the Mark of Marduk,” explained Nobi. “It a sign that is only bestowed upon the legendary Dragonborn.”

“What is the Dragonborn?” inquired Tatsuya eagerly.

“The Dragonborn is a child of a dragon and a human. Since ancient times, there have been many dragonborns. But the Dragonborn is a special case. You see, the Dragonborn is a messiah type figure who is destined to unite dragons and humans and save both races from ruin,” explained Nobi with a sagely smile. His expression quickly changed to a dark frown.

“What do you mean by that?” asked Tatsuya.

“It’s an age old prophecy,” Nobi replied. He brought his right hand to his head and laughed awkwardly. “There is nothing to worry about,” he reassured.

“What’s so special about this mark anyway?” Tatsuya couldn’t understand why this Mark of Marduk was such a big deal.

“The Mark of Marduk serves as the symbol of the Dragonborn,” began Nobi, “It is also said to possess magical qualities that allow it to protect its owner from all danger.”

Tatsuya stared at the Mark of Marduk in astonishment. ‘Protect from all danger,’ he thought to himself, thinking back to the many times it did its job to ensure his survival. He suddenly gained a new appreciation for the mark.

Nobi showed Tatsuya the back of his right hand and revealed a glowing red symbol. It was different from the standing snake-dragon of the Mark of Marduk. The symbol was that of a large reptilian-like dragon with large scales and bat-like wings and a crown on its head, standing before a giant burning flame. “This is the mark of Draco,” said Nobi. “Every dragon possesses a mark to show what tribe they belong to and their heritage. For example, all Dracos possess this same symbol, except for one difference. The crown on top of the dragon’s head is a symbol of royalty and only members of the royal family possess this exact symbol. Moreover, this mark is also a symbol of our descendent from the great fire dragon Draco.”

“So does your mark only appears in the presence of other dragons too?” wondered Tatsuya.

“Actually, we dragons can sense each other’s presence through smell. Unlike the Mark of Marduk, we dragons can willfully make our marks appear.” The mark disappeared from Nobi’s hand. “On another note,” he began, “I heard from Ingrid that you are a practitioner of Dorajutsu.”

“Dorajutsu?” wondered Tatsuya.

“It’s an ancient dragon martial art developed long ago,” explained Nobi. “It’s rarely used anymore in a martial function. Many of the techniques became lost once the art was retired from military usage. Only high ranked officials, military officers, and certain clans still practice it as a martial art.”

“I remember having an uncle who taught me how to fight,” Tatsuya told him.

“Interesting! Extremely marvelous!” exclaimed Nobi delightfully.

“Anyway,” Tatsuya said slowly, changing the subject of conversation, “what’s your relationship with Ingrid?”

“Ingrid is a maid of the Draco royal family, but she is also an agent of United Front,” revealed Nobi. “She joined the United Front after finishing school and was a natural. I gave her the position of being a maid for the Draco royal family because of her abilities. I trust her with my life.” Upon hearing those words, Ingrid blushed a deep shade of red. Nobi turned and waved flirtatiously at her.

At that moment, both Aika and Kanjomizu entered the living room. “Ah! Big brother!” cried Aika.

“B-Big brother?!” Tatsuya was completely taken aback by Aika’s declaration.

Nobi quickly jumped up from his seat and held his arms wide open. “Ashira-tan!” he called out to her. He ran up to her and quickly pulled her in a tight hug.

“T-Tan?” questioned Tatsuya with a frown.

“Oh, I missed you so much little sister! How are you today, little sister? Doing well, I hope? Oh, father and mother will be glad to know that their precious Ashira-tan is doing well!” jabbered Nobi mindlessly, smothering Aika both physically and verbally.

Aika, having had enough of this uncomfortable show of stifling affection, broke away from Nobi’s grip and slapped him hard across the face. “You idiot!” she screamed at him with a fiery flare.

Nobi rubbed his face with an unfazed smile. “Oh, fiery as always, Ashira-tan,” he said, disregarding her act of violence as nothing more than her own special way of showing him affection.

“You’re always like this!” she admonished him. “You’re too clingy and too stifling with your show of affection.” She crossed her arms and turned away from him like a mother angry at her child for embarrassing her.

“Okay, I see the family resemblance,” Tatsuya said to himself. Nobi was just as crazy, clingy, and overly shameless in his display of affection as Aika was. But there was something weird Nobi said that irked his curiosity. “Excuse me, Nobi, but did you just call Aika by another name?” he asked.

“Ashira,” replied Nobi. “When we dragons come to the human realm, we also take on human names to fit in,” he explained. “Our dragon names are alien to the human world. But it also serves as a way for us to settle into our new world with a new identity, as well as allowing us to live anonymously among other dragons without any problems or bringing up past grudges.”

“I see,” said Tatsuya with a nod, “It makes sense.”

“My little sister’s dragon name is Ashira, but her human name is Aika. As for me, my dragon name is Nobara Draco. But here, I go by the name Nobi.”

“How about Ingrid?” asked Tatsuya.

“She’s one of the few where her dragon name and human name are one and the same,” revealed Nobi. “Surprising as that may be, it’s uncommon for dragon names and human names to align, but such cases aren’t unheard of.”

“Anyway, what are you doing here, big brother?” Aika asked Nobi with a pout.

“I came here to discuss some things with Tatsuya-kyun,” explained Nobi.

“K-Kyun?” questioned Aika with a disgusted look in her eyes.

Nobi pulled both Tatsuya and Aika into his arms. He squeezed them tightly together and said, “Now our family is complete!” He hummed happily to himself while swaying to and fro with them locked in his arms. “Oh, welcome to the family, Tatsuya-kyun!” he cried hysterically.

“Stop!” screamed Kanjomizu aloud. Her voice echoed through the house and shook everyone in their boots, forcing all action to stop. Nobi, Aika, and Tatsuya turned to see the water dragon princess quickly clutching her mouth and blushing a deep purple color. “I-I-I’m sorry,” she apologized.

Nobi let go of the couple and turned to Kanjomizu. He bowed in a gentlemanly manner and said, “Pardon my rudeness. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Princess Kinara Naga.”

Kanjomizu covered her mouth to hide her shyness and replied back in a bashful, quiet voice, “M-My pleasure.”

The fire dragon prince glanced back between Tatsuya, Aika, and Kanjomizu. A huge smile formed on his face and he immediately grabbed Aika’s hand and brought it over to grasp Tatsuya’s left hand and then he grabbed Kanjomizu’s hand and brought over to grasp Tatsuya’s right hand. Nobi then took a step back and made a frame gesture with his hands and looked through it like a photographer, smiling and nodding to himself, saying, “Mm-hm! Perfect!”

Aika gladly clung to Tatsuya’s left arm and was very much pleased with her brother’s interference. Kanjomizu also clung to Tatsuya, albeit more gentler, and wore a very bashful but content smile. On the other hand, Tatsuya found himself caught in yet another uncomfortable situation. Just when he thought he was safe after escaping their bathtub wrestling match, he was now forced into another troubling arrangement.

Ingrid noticed Tatsuya’s red, distressed expression and took pity on him. “Nobi-sama, shouldn't you be leaving back to attend to your duties?” she asked the fire dragon prince.

“That’s right!” announced Nobi aloud, surprising everyone in the room. He bowed before the group and said, “I must take my leave. Please excuse me.” As he made his way to the front door, Salazar, Aika’s pet Primordial Salamander, walked up to him panting like a dog.

“Kra! Kra kra!” it barked happily at Nobi.

“Salazar!” exclaimed Nobi excitedly. He picked up the salamander and held it like a baby, tickling its belly. “I haven’t seen you in ages! Who’s a good salamander? Who’s a good salamander?”

“Nobi-sama!” called out Ingrid sternly.

“Oh, right!” Nobi quickly put down the salamander and again said his farewells with a bow. He exited the household, but before he closed the door behind him, he told Tatsuya one more thing. “Tatsuya-kyun, tomorrow you’ll be hearing from an associate of mine. He is also an agent of the United Front and has been serving in the human realm for quite a while now. He’ll take good care of you.”

After Nobi left, Tatsuya felt both Aika and Kanjomizu resting their heads on his shoulders. They wore happy smiles like children hugging a giant plushie, and he was their plushie. This moment couldn’t possibly get any worse. But of course, everything isn’t set in stone. Ingrid walked up to Tatsuya and presented him with a note. It was from Nobi. The note read: “Dear Tatsuya-kyun, This note is to inform you that I have received permission to reconstruct your dwelling to accommodate for magic. This will allow for you to house many inhabitants. With that being said, Ingrid and any other persons of similar occupational skills will be living with you as your personal overseers. This reconstruction will take effect throughout the night, so you won’t be feel a thing. What’s more, your home won’t look any different than it is now! Good luck on your future relationships! I have a feeling that your house will become a castle quite soon, wink wink. Best wishes, Nobi.”

“Reconstruct my house!” shouted Tatsuya in disbelief.

“Nobi-sama and the other heads of the United Front believe that this is the best option,” explained Ingrid. “Your house is also now the home of two dragon princesses. This is to ensure their protection as well as your own.”

“Who the hell gave them permission? That’s what I like to know!” fumed Tatsuya.

Ingrid gestured towards the end of the letter. It read: “P.S. Your father was really accommodating when we inquired him about this proposal. He really is a good man and a good father to care so much about his son’s safety. Please tell your father thanks for understanding for us. Good luck!”

That was all Tatsuya needed to see. “That no-good bastard!” he fumed. Once again, Tatsuya lost to his father and is now forced into yet another absurd situation. It was because of his father in the first place that caused him to be dragged into this weird world of dragons and dragon princesses. It appears that his life will never be the same again and his world will only continue to change, for better or for worse.