"Kobayashi-san! Do you want fish or meat for dinner?" Tohru didn't just call out to her girlfriend from the kitchen but walked all the way into the living room to ask.
"Fish is fine." We only just had meat yesterday and the day before and I don't have the energy to look out for hidden tail meat today.
Returning to the kitchen, Tohru had barely been there for a minute when something else came up. "Kobayashi-san. Want do you want as a side dish?"
"Surprise me."
"You got it!" Tohru was already on her way back to the kitchen when the voice of her master stopped her.
"Tohru." Kobayashi put down the small novel she was reading.
"Yes?" Turning around, she had a questioning look on her face.
"Keep the surprises limited to planet earth." The money maker of the household had a slightly grim expression as she said that.
"But-"
"The last time I spent half the night in the bathroom." Grim turned to exhausted. Just remembering that surprise was upsetting her stomach. If only I had ordered pizza that day instead.
"I can do that. It's a bit late to go to the other world and grab things anyway." And Tohru finally returned for the kitchen for the exceptionally long period of two and a half minutes. "Kobayashi-san."
Said woman was getting a little bit irritated now. "You do know that you don't need to ask me for every little thing, Tohru."
"Ah, no, I was just curious how your day at work went. Elma and part of your division was temporarily transferred to help out another workplace, right?" Tohru stood by the table, ready to return to the kitchen when she heard the signal.
Is the kitchen okay without her? "I'm surprised you remember that today was the first day with them gone." Putting the novel on the floor next to her, Kobayashi got off the ground and sat on the couch instead. "It was a bit quieter than usual. It doesn't really impact my work at all. It's kind of calm even."
"You've been home before night this entire month! Kanna is really happy that we can always eat dinner together." Tohru suddenly became more excited. "Of course I'm really excited as well!"
"I can tell." Kobayashi looked just a smidgen embarrassed to admit to that.
It had been a few weeks since they all went to that amusement park, and even though she had tried pretty hard, she could only give Tohru the tiniest of fingers at a time or she would swallow the whole hand. And so they progressed at a glacial rate. But for the lady of the house, that was fine. It gave her time to sort out her feelings. Which were pretty complicated, considering that she was dating a dragon that was from another world, had battled a god, perhaps the god, and was also the daughter of, what was it, the lord of chaos or something. Each time she thought about it like that, she wondered how exactly she was going to ever explain this to anyone else. Probably best I don't even try, was the usual answer to that.
"With that glutton Elma gone, it must be way more relaxing at work, right?" Tohru rarely ignored a chance to make fun of Elma. After all, she had quite literally succumbed to the human food of this world and started working because of that. The order faction is so silly. The irony of her own situation was not lost on Tohru but willfully ignored instead. Another peak one got from being, in the most technical sense at least, evil.
"She is actually kind of useful now. She's been sneaking a lot less snacks during work since Lucoa moved in with her, too."
"You can tell because nobody is yelling at her, right?" Tohru looked smug as she said that.
"Mostly."
As they spoke of the devil, the doorbell rang and only then did Kobayashi realize that the first day of Elma being gone was also the date of something else. "Crap, I forgot that Lucoa and Elma were invited for dinner tonight. I'm sorry, Tohru."
"It's fine, I was just warming up the grill, I haven't cut or sliced anything yet!" Rushing to get the door, shouting I'm on my way, Tohru didn't need to actually fake a smile when she saw only Lucoa wait out there. It wasn't fully dark yet, just past seven, and with the summer temperatures, it was still pretty hot out there. And despite that, Lucoa still wore that black sweater she basically always wore now.
"Welcome." Kobayashi didn't bother getting up. The ex-goddess had been over so many times that it didn't really feel like she had to formally greet her anymore.
"I brought a little something, as agreed." Lucoa handed a plastic bag off to Tohru, who judged that Lucoa's idea of little something had been completely warped by the standards of that walking Black Hole Dragon. "Tohru, wait a moment." Pulling something out of the huge plastic bag, the bag weighted at least five kilos, Lucoa carried the something, a six pack of beer, with her to the table in the living room. "A little treat." Putting the beer on the table, Lucoa sat on the couch to the other side of the table, making it so that when Elma arrived, they could sit together.
"Nice, thanks. You mind if I help myself?" Kobayashi could really put away beer and sake, despite her slim build. And not only that, she liked putting it away.
"Go ahead."
Cracking open a beer and taking the first sip, Kobayashi responded with an amazing reaction. Looking disgusted, sticking out her tongue for a brief moment, her face seemed to want to run away from her body. "It's… really warm."
"Oh my." Lucoa leaned backwards and checked out Tohru, who was now adjusting dinner plans to make use of whatever Lucoa had brought. "Tohru, you mind if I use a bit of magic?"
"Huh? You don't really have to ask me about that. Sure, go ahead." I guess she's finally figured out a bit of common sense. Although her outfit is still pretty outlandish.
Reading Kobayashi's thoughts through her face, Lucoa chuckled. "Elma has been trying to drill what she calls human common sense into me. She said it is good manners to ask the host for permission before we start to use our magic for convenience."
Reaching out to Kobayashi's beer, Lucoa created a small blue circle around it and the can immediately got so cold that Kobayashi looked excited. Putting it to her lips, she hesitated. "You're not going to drink?"
"Ah… I will after Elma joins us."
Oh. Right. Lucoa had a problem with alcohol in the past. Kobayashi tended to forget that a lot. "Where is Elma anyway?"
"She sent me a text earlier." Lucoa reached for the top of her chest out of reflex, as if she wanted to pull a cellphone from between her breasts, and then remembered she put it in the back pocket of her pants now. "It took me a little while to get used to this but Elma insisted I get the hang of it. I'm worried she's taking after Fafnir too much."
"He's really taken by technology." Or games, rather.
"She said she'll be late because the lead programmer kept her there." Lucoa stared really intently at the small screen and then showed it to Kobayashi. "How do you read this?"
"A… Ahagon?" Kobayashi guessed. "The company that hired the extras from our division is a game company, right? It's a bit unusual since we're not really dealing much with that end of the business."
"She said it was for something called DMR."
"Do you mean DRM? It's to protect software against thieves."
"Kobayashi-san, do you mind if I make something Italian? Lucoa brought a bunch of good tomatoes, western noodles and mushrooms." Tohru had showed up again.
"That sounds good actually. It might go well with some cold beer, too. Thanks, Tohru."
"It's my pleasure! I'll cook you some amazing improved Italian-"
"Don't improve it. Remember what happened to your improved French dish."
"T-That's was a one time mistake! I did it correctly the next time!"
"And we agreed I'll be happy to try whatever you want to spice up after you cooked the base dish once."
Tohru pouted a little after being reminded that she had indeed made such an agreement. "I understand."
Getting comfortable on the couch, Kobayashi continued her conversation from before. "So Elma is working at… what was it? E… Eel Jam?"
Lucoa raised her right hand. "Eagle Jump."
"So how is Elma at home? It's been a while since you moved in together." Kobayashi was curious about it but again her conversation was interrupted, this time by something very small and almost criminally cute. "Kanna. Did you finish your homework?"
Nodding softly, the small dragon handed over a notebook. "Can you check it for me, Kobayashi?" Kanna's attention was immediately diverted to the nice smell that was just now starting to come from the kitchen. "Tohru, what are you making?" Bouncing around the chaos dragon like a fluffy ball of excitement, Kanna pestered her until Tohru explained things to her.
Looking over Kanna's homework, Kobayashi felt strangely relaxed. Oh, she's doing advanced multiplication correctly now. She's such a smart girl- ah, she missed a decimal there. I'll show her how to do this later.
"You look almost like her mother." Lucoa felt a hint of worry when Kobayashi looked up from the notebook, confused about what she had said. "Is that a sensitive subject?"
"No, I just realized you're right. Although I guess I skipped past the most troublesome stage."
"Dragons age slowly, but at her age and yours, you'll still be around for when she hits her rebellious phase." Lucoa smiled gently at first and then much more strongly when Kobayashi glanced towards the kitchen and looked a little tired.
"How old do I have to get before that happens?"
"Another ten, maybe twenty years? It's hard to tell exactly because she's living in this side of the worlds. There are so many outside influences to which her body adapts."
"You seem to know an awful lot about this." Kobayashi continued on with her beer and leaned back while she checked Kanna's homework for errors. She's gotten pretty good with her hand writing. Might be better than mine actually. Tohru always complains she can't read my notes.
"Some centuries ago, maybe a thousand years actually or thereabout, there was a dragon that lived among humans, grew up with them and eventually became a king. I think he has this really big legend in the western hemisphere. King A… Atlus? That seems wrong."
Kobayashi looked at Lucoa the same way as when she had first seen Tohru in her dragon form. "You don't mean… King Arthur? The legendary king of the English?"
"Yes! That's the one. He had a really powerful human mage friend too. I remember he was a really perverted person though. He was always slapping my butt. And- Kobayashi-san? Is everything alright?"
"H-Huh? Oh, yeah. Just… gonna need a moment to deal with the fact that King Arthur really existed but was a dragon and that Merlin was apparently a pervert."
"Shouldn't I have told you that?" Lucoa still didn't have a good grasp of what she should tell Kobayashi and what not. She knows all about dragons and a bit of the other world, so I thought telling her about old stories would be okay.
"No, it's fine, don't worry about it." Kobayashi finished her beer and then looked over the last few problems in Kanna's math homework. "Kanna, come here for a second."
While Kobayashi was pointing out the two math errors that Kanna had made and explained to her how to fix them, the doorbell went off. "Lucoa, can you go and get it? I can't leave the kitchen right now!" Tohru was busying frying some sauce. I'll seduce Kobayashi-san with my special cooking!
"Excuse me." Elma announced herself with a big smile, dropping off a pack of sweets by the table. But instead of heading into the living room to say hello to Kobayashi, she was captured and enthralled by the tasty smells that came from the kitchen. Immediately assaulting Tohru with questions, Kobayashi watched the scene unfold from the distance.
I'm glad she's calmed down around Elma a little. She still gets a bit feisty with her, but it's a big change from sending her to another continent. I think I'll treat her to something later. "I see Elma hasn't changed."
Lucoa turned around and gave Elma a quick glance. "I don't think she'll ever change when it comes to her stomach. But that's just part of her charm."
"Does it ever get difficult?" Kobayashi was just a bit younger than Lucoa, only a few thousand years, so she was secretly looking for some dating advice.
"There are so many places to go out and eat at that I never have to look far for a spot to go on a date." Lucoa was sharp enough to understand what Kobayashi was looking for. "I think Tohru would enjoy something where you can be alone the most."
"Am I that obvious?" The only human in the room was feeling a little embarrassed over being read like a book.
"Not at all."
"You didn't read my thoughts with magic, right?"
"Mind reading is actually really difficult and requires the caster to own something personal of the target." Lucoa was well versed in many types of magic. "Contrary to what most humans think, magic is not something you're born with. I don't think Tohru would appreciate it if I taught you any."
"I'm not looking to be a mage anyway." Kobayashi was petting Kanna's head, the tiny dragon swaying back and forth a little, her tail going back and forth in the opposite direction.
Lucoa turned around and looked at the kitchen, where Tohru was trying to get the sea serpent out of her hair. "Elma, how long are you going to bother Tohru?"
"I'm not bothering any-" Elma responded with a pout and was immediately shoved out of the kitchen because she let her guard down for a moment. "Hey!"
"Elma." Lucoa waved her girlfriend over and she followed the ex-goddess' invitation.
"Kobayashi." Elma finally said her hellos and then sat by Lucoa's side for just a second before she got up again and grabbed a beer. "You're lucky you didn't get re-assigned."
"Is it that bad?"
"Their lead programmer is scary. And there's a debugger that is constantly flirting with her, which just makes her angrier. I wish she'd get a clue… she can't read the atmosphere at all!"
Kobayashi and Lucoa both didn't say anything both exchanged amused looks that totally flew over Elma's head. "I'm impressed you got good enough that they brought you in to create DRM."
"Kobayashi, more." Kanna complained with a childish grumble about the lack of continuing head pats, a disastrous problem that was promptly fixed by her surrogate parent.
Next was Tohru. "Kobayashi-san, can you come and try the sauce?"
"I'll be right back Kanna." Leaving the small bundle of fluffiness behind, who just laid face down on the couch instead, Kobayashi joined up with her new girlfriend. That had to be said in a special way that was reserved for things that were technically true but a bit lacking in practice. Looking at the chaos in the kitchen, Kobayashi was happy that Tohru also cleaned up after herself.
"Here." Tohru tamed her inner lust dragon and just held out a tasting cup to Kobayashi. Calm… calm… just like a normal maid. It was advice she had gotten from Lucoa. Kobayashi was, according to Lucoa, the type that needed a delicate, slow approach, even though that was absolutely not her style. But she was a mighty dragon! Self-control was definitely one of her powers! Otherwise, she surely would have eradicated all the humans other than Kobayashi-san already!
Trying the sauce, Kobayashi paused a moment before she nodded approvingly. "See, if you mostly follow the recipe, you make some really tasty food."
"I totally followed it!"
"You added garlic and onions." Kobayashi could not taste them but she saw the remainder of the chopped bits.
"Human palates are scary." Tohru took back the cup and added a bit of seasoning to the sauce. "I knew I was right to spice it up a little! I'll do my absolute best for you, Ko-" Tohru stopped and cleared her throat."I'm glad you like it."
Kobayashi chuckled twice and then broke into a soft laughter. "It's really cute, the great Tohru trying to be all collected." For how hard Tohru was trying, Kobayashi tried to meet that effort. Taking the dragon maid's free hand, Kobayashi smiled at her as much as her shyness allowed.
The maid's tail slammed the ground once, then twice, then rapidly when Kobayashi started to blush. Tohru mindlessly stirring a sauce that was already finished and Kobayashi shyly looking away while holding her maid's hand, their little moment was interrupted by an adorable distraction.
"Tohru. Kobayashi. The noodles are already boiling..." Kanna's comment caused them to finally separate; Tohru focusing on the cooking and Kobayashi hastily patting Kanna's head so she wouldn't get any weird ideas. But it was too late. "Lewd Kobayashi. Lewd Tohru."
"Kanna has keen eyes." Lucoa was poking a little fun at the young couple.
"What a simpleton you are, Tohru, getting excited over- ow, ow!" Elma went for more than just a little fun and promptly got her just desserts in the form of Lucoa pinching the tip of her tail. There were few places and fewer people still around whom they could be mostly themselves. They were used to their human forms, but showing their tails and horns was something that just gave them a strange sense of comfort, of being in a familiar and trustworthy place.
"No dinner for the rude puddle serpent!" Tohru bared her teeth and she too immediately earned her reward; Kobayashi pulled on her horns, similar to humans would pull on each other's ears. It didn't have the same effect however. Tohru just grinned like a happy kid instead.
"Is Tohru tsundere for Elma?" Kanna sometimes sad very interesting things; things she had picked up somewhere.
"Gross!" Elma shook from head to tail, literally. "I don't understand what Kobayashi sees in that violent maid!"
Tohru didn't lose any time in retorting. "I feel bad for Lucoa, being tied to someone who can only think with their stomach because their stomach is what takes up their entire being!"
This time the two squabbling dragons received more harsh reactions from their respective partners. "Tohru, cut it out. What kind of maid disrespects her guests like this?" Kobayashi didn't
Elma didn't fare any better than that. "We're guests in their house, Elma. This is behavior I'd expect from a chaos dragon, and only the really evil ones."
Both of them lowered their heads and said no more. Two dragons tamed alone by minding words from their loved ones.
Kobayashi was not one to hold grudges however. "I don't expect the two of you to be best friends. But I work with Elma, Lucoa is a good friend of us both and Elma's girlfriend. So both of you need to work a little on your people skills."
Lucoa put her arm around her girlfriend and rested her head against hers. "Now, now, I think they both understand they shouldn't growl at each other like that. Right, Elma?"
"Sorry." Elma understood full and well that getting Lucoa's forgiveness was a top priority. It's not like she pushes me around or makes me sleep on the couch or anything human like that… but she always spends the night out when I mess up and I sleep like crap without her.
"It's not my fault-" Tohru noticed the slightly scolding look not going away. "My bad." And with just a whisper, she added something else. "But mostly Elma's."
"Kobayashi, Kobayashi, let's play!" Kanna had used the situation to grab a board game that she was now actively pushing against the woman's legs.
"Usually we wait until after we eat, Kanna. Do you think you can do that?" Patting her head again, Kobayashi tried to console her.
"Can I turn on the TV then?" Kanna didn't watch nearly as much TV as most kids her age, but there were a few shows she really liked. Although lately she was particularly drawn to a re-run of an anime that was about animals in human form. Something called friends. Kobayashi didn't admit it to Tohru but she liked to watch it with Kanna.
"Sure. Want me to watch with you?" She was sure Kanna actually knew she herself liked to watch it. Probably because she knew all the names of the characters in the show. Especially that silly but hard working cat that served as the main character's best friend. Reminds me of Tohru, actually, was what Kobayashi thought of her.
"Yup!" Dragging the much taller Kobayashi back to the couch, Kanna jumped on the soft furniture and grabbed the TV remote from the table.
"You two won't mind, do you?" She directed that question at Lucoa and Elma.
"Not at all. In fact, Elma bought some kind of disc that can play these episodes at will the other day. A blue ray, I think it was?" Lucoa was not the most technologically adept but she was learning, most at Elma's insistence.
"So what about it? I like it. I earn money! So I can buy it!" Elma felt oddly defensive about others knowing she bought things that weren't food. And right after, she felt conflicted because everyone expected her to just buy food.
"You're talking too much! It's starting!" Kanna was lying flat on her stomach, her legs kicked back and forth.
Lucoa was oddly fascinated by the show as well. Over the next five minutes, the goddess, two dragons and human lounged on the couches in silence, until one of the characters, a bird girl, started to sing in a shrill voice. "This reminds me of the time I met a Banshee in Ireland."
"Banshees are real?" Kobayashi knew what they were, if just barely. And right after asking that, she felt silly. "Of course they are real. If Dragons and Goddesses are real then elves, dwarfs and banshees must be real too."
"Elves are kinda like a branch of humanity though." Elma interjected and grabbed one of the beers. She didn't mind the taste much and it increased her appetite. "Pretty sure dwarfs are also related to humans somehow."
"Huh?" Kobayashi looked at the water serpent with big eyes. "Now that I think about it, fiction doesn't really explain where elves and dwarfs come from."
"There was a type of people that are human but don't get very tall because they and their ancestors have lived in mountainous and underground villages for thousands of years." Lucoa took over explaining and ended up with a big smile when Kanna shushed all three of them.
Lucoa switched spots, leaving Elma by her lonesome, and sat next to Kobayashi who had looked pretty interested. Why those two quietly, so not to disturb Kanna, conversed about the not-existence of dwarfs, Elma got back up and peeked into the kitchen. "Going well?"
"I am cooking for Kobayashi-san. It always goes well." Tohru liked to brag about how far she had come as a maid, even though she still relied a lot on magic. But what point was there in being a dragon if you couldn't make use of your abilities? Remembering Kobayashi's earlier comment, Tohru actually went for a conversation with the water serpent. "Do you or Lucoa cook at your place?"
"Lucoa cooks and cleans up." Elma, too, didn't want to piss off Lucoa by pissing off Tohru. "It's a bit like you and Kobayashi."
"Were you always into women? I didn't think that was a thing with harmony folks." Tohru didn't know a whole lot about the chaos faction, or the harmony faction, so she made some assumptions. Such as whether harmony or order was the actual right term for them.
"We're not that stuck up. It's just about not messing around with humans."
"You haven't given up on your plan to take me back, have you?"
"I don't think it'll hurt me to put it on hold for sixty or seventy years." Elma looked away as she said so, not wanting to indirectly admit to Tohru's face that she was stopping until Kobayashi-san was gone. Dragons lived long and they always talked about how a human life is just a small drop in the bucket, but they still experienced every day as any other living being. Seventy years were over twenty-five thousand days. Plenty of time for Tohru to think about going back voluntarily.
"There are the lazarus pit waters and-"
"You'll get into trouble with far worse people than me if you try that. That's a lot worse than stealing water from the elves."
"Well, it's a long time off." Tohru continued to work in the kitchen and Elma continued to stand there. "Having Lucoa and Kobayashi-san breathe down our necks to get along is making this kind of awkward."
"I kinda understand why you don't want to go back. I wouldn't go back without Lucoa either."
Tohru felt strangely put off by Elma being this friendly. "I'm not giving you extra."
"It's not all about food with… me…." Elma's eyes followed a leftover pack of pasta that Tohru was swinging around now. "Stop that!"
"Not all about food, huh? I bet you go to some kind of restaurant for every date!"
"What's wrong with restaurants?"
Tohru opened her mouth and then closed it when she caught a glimpse of Kobayashi checking in on them from the living room. "I guess it makes things easy for Lucoa."
"It's not like you aren't happy no matter where you and Kobayashi go. Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't eaten anyone."
I'm kinda tempted to eat Kobayashi-san's boss. "I don't want even more harmony gluttons on my tail. And Kobayashi-san would be really mad if I ate any humans." Finishing up her preparations, Tohru turned up the stove and rushed past Elma to spend a few quality minutes with Kobayashi. "Did I miss anything?"
Tohru almost lapsed back into old habits and tried to cling to Kobayashi, but instead she sat next to her, slightly leaned forward to look at the TV. And her heart nearly flew right out of her dragon sized chest when Kobayashi leaned against her from the side. "Thanks for making nice with Elma." She was sure that Elma, who she spotted pilfering cookies from the literal cookie jar right before dinner, couldn't hear them from here. "I know it's not easy."
"If-If it's for you, I'll make nice with anybody!" Tohru could just barely keep her tail under control. The whole pulling, not pushing thing was really working out for her.
"Do you think you can serve food at the table here? It might be nice to just casually eat with everyone here while we watch something nice." Kobayashi didn't have the biggest sense for tradition. Comfort superseded a lot of things.
"That's no problem." Tohru was happy to oblige. She personally didn't care for the cartoons that Kanna and Kobayashi seemed to really like, but she didn't mind it either. Noticing the faint smell that Kobayashi carried on her when she came from work, Tohru kept on wondering what it was.
It wasn't quite cigarette smoke or alcohol or paper or even that stuff the machines connected to the computer things used to make text appear on paper. And of course it wasn't sweat either. She knew exactly what that smelled like. Kobayashi had forbidden her from doing the laundry by just dissolving dirt with her saliva, but that didn't stop her from smelling Kobayashi's clothes after taking them from the laundry basket.
Dinner for six and a half, Elma and Kanna ate for two while Kobayashi was a light eater, was served just moments later, right as the commercial break of the show came on. Tohru sat to Kobayashi's left and Kanna to her right, on the floor. Elma and Lucoa were on the other couch. Although the plates were served on the table, only Kanna really ate at the table. Everyone else had their plates on their lap or held them up to eat.
Elma was wolfing down food so quickly that Lucoa took away her plate for a moment to at least finish chewing. "It's rude to eat like that, Elma."
"I don't mind. I'm sure Tohru feels flattered she likes it so much." Kobayashi looked at her maid and could tell that it was true, even though Tohru hid it perfectly. They had been living together for a while now, being able to notice such things were to be expected.
The show came back on before they had finished eating and even after they had cleaned all of their plates, Kobayashi remained with Kanna, who watched the show with sparkling eyes. Seeing that, Kobayashi wondered if there wasn't maybe a stuffed plush of the show she could get Kanna. After the show was over and Tohru had finished her maid duties, the five of them played a board game until Kanna was almost falling asleep by the table and got carried to bed by her surrogate parents.
Returning from putting Kanna to bed, Kobayashi and Tohru saw Elma and Lucoa off as well, the former pretty drunk and the latter still sober like a judge. And finally, they were alone. Tohru was putting the board game away, but not without looking at everyone's hidden cards. Seeing Kanna's cards, Tohru worried about the future. She's gotta win the lottery one day. Meanwhile, Kobayashi laid down on the couch, putting on the TV, more as background noise than anything else.
"I'm glad you were able to get along with Elma. Having my favorite maid get along with my co-workers makes me happy." Turning over, Kobayashi covered her mouth with a half fist and chuckled. Her tail is wagging back and forth. I guess even small gestures like this make her happy. "Hosting dinner like this really drives home that we're a family."
"T-Then, I'm the wife, yes?" Tohru flung around, with all the stars of the cosmos glittering in her eyes.
"I'm not sure I like the implication here," she said it with such obvious jest that even Tohru immediately saw it was a joke. "I know I've said this before, but why are all dragons so big?"
"Hm? I suppose because that's just how dragons are? I mean, if we're talking about size, Lucoa is dozens if not a hundred times my size in her true form for example. I think that's why she never takes it in this world. If you're asking why dragons themselves are so large, I don't really know. I wonder if the order faction has any books on that- what's wrong? You look like I said something wrong."
"No. It's nothing." I don't know if I should be mad or glad that she doesn't realize what I was talking about. But heck, share some dammit! Kobayashi had a moment of enlightenment. "But since we're talking about the other world, there are magicians over there, right?"
"Lots of them. We also have elven magic, dwarven magic and some other stuff like necromancy and alchemy. Why? Are you interested in becoming a mage? You shouldn't bother, Kobayashi-san, you're already perfect as you are!"
"Thanks. I'm just a little curious about it. They're probably pretty powerful, right? Are there any magicians that can transform into something else for example? I'd imagine it would be pretty nice to just change what you look like." Sitting up, Kobayashi grabbed a strand of her red hair between her thumb and index finger. "Do you think I'd look good for more traditionally Japanese black hair?"
Tohru squinted for a moment. "That'd remind me of Elma. Please don't do that."
"Blonde then? Like Lucoa?"
"You look great with red hair!"
"Thanks. It's just human nature to sometimes want to change things up."
"If it's just that, I can do a bunch of transmutation magic." Tohru was done cleaning up now and stood next to the couch, her face lighting up like a christmas tree when Kobayashi moved to the side and patted the couch, signaling her to sit down with her.
Throwing holding back out of the window, Tohru jumped on the couch, clinging to Kobayashi's arm and leaning against her. But her restraint was magically enchanted to come back like a boomerang that always managed to fly right in your face and hurt. Trying to back off now was not going to do her any good.
But to her surprise, Kobayashi wasn't trying to rid of her. No, she was even going along with it now! "I never thought I would end up with a dragon as my girlfriend. That is probably more fantasy than most of the fiction that people write. For someone like me, that's a big challenge."
"You even stood up to my old man! You're probably the strongest human there is!" Tohru just followed suit when her human girlfriend leaned back, more relaxed than a moment ago.
"Want to just watch some TV like this?" Small steps, small steps...
"Yes!" Tohru settled for small victories now, small pleasures. Her big victory she had already achieved; they were officially dating, although only a handful of people knew.
Staying like this for almost fifteen minutes, Kobayashi rested her head against Tohru's shoulders eventually. "The long weekend starts tomorrow. Do you want to go anywhere?"
Tohru was a smart dragon so she understood that just saying Anywhere is fine was not a good answer. "Hm… we already went to an amusement park a few weeks ago and I don't really like the theater…" Putting her hand on top of Kobayashi's by accident, Tohru smiled wildly when her lady mistress didn't pull her hand away. "I think the Titan's fighting championship is happening in the other world actually!"
"That's exactly what it sounds like, isn't it?" I always lounge around at home and sleep off fatigue. Maybe I'll cheat a little and ask Tohru for some kind of revitalizing magic item. There is bound to be something like that over there. "But I don't mind if it's safe to watch."
"You're safe anywhere with me by your side! I could take out a bunch of titans in an iffy!" Tohru liked to brag about her power every now and then.
"But are things okay with you taking a trip to the other world?"
"No problem!"
If I suggest we invite Lucoa and Elma she'll probably be disappointed. I guess it'll be just us three. I'm sure she won't mind Kanna coming along. And just as she thought that, Tohru appeared to have read her like a book.
"Kobayashi-san, do you think that maybe… we can leave Kanna with her friend?"
"I understand it's a bit different from having a date with just the two of us, but don't you think Kanna would like to see titans fighting? It sounds like something she'd like."
"I know, I know… but trying is free!"
"You almost had it. It's asking is free. You're really adjusted well to living in this world. It's kind of making me proud somehow."
"Kobayashi… san..." Tohru was so happy that she threw her arms around the office worker, rubbing her face against the woman's chest; the lack thereof not bothering her at all.
"Tohru, calm down." Patting the dragon's head, right between her horns, Kobayashi pushed her limits like a car pushed the limits after getting some blue nitro. Swiping a few strands of Tohru's blonde hair from her forehead, Kobayashi kissed the dragon. Not on the lips, not on the cheek; those were still too hot for her. The forehead was all she could handle.
And it was more than Tohru could handle. If she had been a machine, the steam that rose from her head wouldn't have seen as unnatural now. But as a Dragon, Tohru was still overheating, her expression slipping and becoming silly as she slid down, resting her head on Kobayashi's lap.
And this intense reaction caused Kobayashi to be embarrassed as well, even though she had managed to stay her feelings until right then. With both of them temporarily out of commission, minutes passed with Tohru just laying there on Kobayashi's lap and the maid's mistress unable to bring herself to make her get back up.
Only when the program conveniently ended did Kobayashi make her move. "Tohru. I still have work tomorrow. Let's go to sleep."
Together?! No, of course not… I think she would freak out if I tried that now. Steady… steady… ah, it's so hard to not try and grab what I want! I just wanna pick her up and take her to bed! "Do we leave tomorrow evening then? Or Friday morning?"
"Friday is fine. I don't want to travel to another world right after coming back from work, without dinner and a bath. But Tohru, I have a favor to ask."
"Anything!"
"Since we're on a date, you should wear something that isn't a maid outfit." Kobayashi paused for a second to see if Tohru would object, but she didn't. "I like your current look, but for the other world, something more… impressive might be nice. Now that I think about it like that… I don't really own anything fancy myself."
"I can get you something to wear! Just leave it to me!" Tohru was suddenly enthusiastic again. I can just mimic whatever I buy for her in the other world with my scales and we'll have a partner look going on! Take that Elma, I'm pulling ahead of your gluttonous ass!
"Then-" Kobayashi turned off the TV. "I'll get ready for bed. Goodnight, Tohru."
=== Curses can be a Blessing too ===
"Can't… we… fly… there..." Kobayashi, dressed in the clothes of an elven warrior, a long green skirt, lower arm sleeves magically attached to the skin, a carefully designed upper part of a dress. It didn't do much to conceal her lacking endowments, but with all the otherworldly people around and the big show going on up ahead, nobody cared to even look twice at her; with the exception of Tohru, who couldn't keep her eyes off of her, even though she wore the very same outfit. She didn't hide her horns or tails and she didn't need to; there were dozens of dragons around.
"There is an immensely powerful anti-magic barrier dome over this place. I could probably break it with no sweat, but-"
"We'd get into trouble. I need a break." Kobayashi sat on a nearby rock. They were climbing up a steep grassy slope, just to reach the top of the donut shaped series of hills. In the center, twenty meters beneath the top of the hills, was the magically reinforced arena of the giants.
Kanna was there with them, having borrowed time from Lucoa again. It wasn't that the games were for adults; there was not even any price for admission or something like that. It was merely spectacle that the giants, the titans, let other people watch freely. But Kanna had been exiled from her world. She no longer felt the need to go back there permanently, not with how much fun it was to live with Kobayashi, and still she needed to be in disguise. Wearing the same elven clothing that Tohru and Kobayashi wore, with the bonus of looking so much older, nobody would recognize her.
But longer legs or not, Kanna was bored of walking up this slope and sat down next to Kobayashi. "Kobayashi, you look awesome!" It was the second time she had said that.
"I need to thank Tohru for that." Looking over her shoulder, she waved to the dragon maid that was not actually a maid right now. "Have you seen anyone that you recognize, Kanna?"
Shaking her head and adding a hum of denial, Kanna stretched her legs and enjoyed the feeling of eleven leather boots on her feet. Having long legs and the extra height gave her some new perspective. It made walking around much easier and it was funny to be able to look right over other people.
"Kobayashi-san, Kanna!" Tohru waved to the two of them from about thirty meters out, standing next to a short girl with short platinum blonde hair. She talked to her for a few more seconds before she came running over to her girlfriend. "It looks like the next match will start in one hour!"
"Was that girl a magician? She looked like one." Kobayashi found her curiosity piqued almost non-stop by the wonders of this other world. It was a bother when she just wanted to relax, but once she was actually seeking it out, it was a completely different story. "That purple robe, the big book."
"She's the current Sage of the thousand words. What was her name again… Me… something. I forgot." Holding out her gloved hand to Kobayashi, Tohru helped her up. "There should be some running stalls up ahead at the top."
"Tohru, they don't take Japanese Yen as payment, right? I totally forgot to think about that." I got a little excited over the trip to another world. I feel like a character in a light novel right now. A little bit at least.
"Don't worry! I thought of that already!" Procuring a leather bag from her waist, Tohru opened up and revealed a bunch of gold coins. "It's kind of expensive to eat and drink here so I brought a lot!"
"I guess the myths about dragons and hoards of gold coins are true." Kobayashi joked and the gag immediately backfired. Tohru looked really proud. "Is that really a thing? Dragons hoarding valuables? Come to think of it, I feel like you've told me about that before."
"Yes, a lot of us do that. Well, not so much anymore, but we still like to surround us with the things we value most! Of course-" Tohru started to wag back and forth with her entire body. "In my case, that's you, Kobayashi-san!"
"Perverted Tohru." Kanna's tongue didn't get any less sharp, no matter what form she took.
"So we still have some time before we have to make it up there, right?" Kobayashi quickly changed the topic away before anyone overheard them. Looking down the hill, it felt more like she was climbing a mountain. They had spent more than twenty minutes getting up here and the slope was pretty steep. This is definitely a mountain, even though it's called the giant hills. "Tohru, who named these hills?"
"Hm? I dunno. Probably the giants. I mean, it's their place. Ah, Kobayashi-san, look over there!" Tohru pointed in the distance, where a massive silhouette was approaching from below, quickly climbing the hill with large steps. "That's the next contestant."
Getting a better view as the giant came closer, Kobayashi found that her expectations were betrayed. "I expected them to look more… hm, I don't know. Giants in human legends are often pretty sparsely clothed." The titan, the giant, she looked at was pretty well armored up top and below, wielding an ax so large that it could have fifty trees in one go. "How big is that arena up ahead?"
"Twenty or thirty times as big as the apartment building we used to live in? If they rise up their arms you can see that from down here, but otherwise you have to be up top to see the fight. You can definitely hear the crowd and the fight from here though!" Tohru was a bit excited over seeing the fights herself. It had been a while since she watched, or had, a big fight.
Seeing Tohru's excited face, Kobayashi got back on her feet, patting some grass off her butt. She wasn't the most ladylike person around by a long shot, but that didn't bother her at all. "Kanna." Waiting for the young dragon to stand up, the three of them continued their climb. For Tohru it was simple. For Kanna it was just boring. But for Kobayashi it was tiring.
All… this… exercise… better… be… good… for… me… Even in her thoughts she was out of breath. But the top was slowly creeping closer. They had left early in the morning and the two worlds had the same day and night cycle. But by now it was almost noon. The Titan Championship ran over sixteen days and this was day eight. The finals would be on the following Sunday.
"Should I carry you? I totally don't mind!" Tohru offered a helping hand, or two, when Kobayashi stopped again, hands on her thighs and bend over. She wasn't used to this much physical exercise. But strangely enough, it didn't seem to aggravate her lower back pain at all.
"No, I'll… make it up there myself. But thank you." I signed up for this, I'll make it on my own power. This time. I'll definitely let Tohru carry me down later.
By the time the three arrived at the top, Kobayashi was parched and had a red head. "Hills for a giant are mountains for a human…" Falling to her butt and just sitting there, Kobayashi's face lit up with wonder when she realized everything around her. There were thousands of people littering the top of these hills, a horribly steep decline right in front of them, almost like a cliff. And in the center, a giant stage.
"Ah, seeing this makes me want to fight too!" Tohru felt an itch she couldn't scratch. Not during these games and certainly not with Kobayashi here. "It's amazing to look at, isn't it, Kobayashi-san!" Tohru was still full of energy, almost dancing around the exhausted Kobayashi. "I'll go get us something to drink!"
Instead of running away, Tohru put both her thumb and index fingers to her lips and whistled. Or seemed to whistle because no sound escaped her lips. Or so it seemed! Moments after, a dust cloud was rushing towards them and Kobayashi recognized a two-headed dog pulling a big wooden cart that resembled one of those things that Gypsy's were pictured to use to travel around. "Tohru, what's that?"
"The running stalls! They sell drinks and food and because it takes a while to get around here, they constantly walk in a circle. There's six or seven of them here." Tohru explained and waved over the big dog that was at least three heads taller than Tohru and was slobbering quite a lot, even though it wasn't that hot. "Three pure waters and a large bag of fried Kraken please." Tohru placed an order immediately.
Kobayashi couldn't make out who or what was processing that order inside the cart because it was parked in front of Tohru, diagonally to her own position. Three tankards were handed out to Tohru first, making Kobayashi feel amused with her expectations. The dragon quickly handed them over to Kanna and Tohru before she received a big leather bag, big enough to fit a human head with ease, out of the cart and paid for all of it with sixteen gold coins.
Returning to her love's side, Tohru smiled at her. "It's pricey but it's actually bad manners to bring your own meals or drinks here. A bunch of people do that anyway since they can't afford the carts, but those of us that can always pay for stuff."
"Is this just water?" Kobayashi sipped on the contents of the tankard that certainly looked like it contained just water. And sure enough, it mostly was. But it was very cold, very clear, almost unreasonably so. "Is this from some sort of magical spring?"
"Just water from one of the hundred and seven pure springs around the world. They also serve alcohol but we'll be here for a while." Tohru sat about half an arm's length away from Kobayashi and her heart beat a lot faster when the human slid over the grass to sit closer to her. "Kobayashi-san, everyone will know we're together~."
"That's why I moved up." Bending forward to see what was in the bag that Tohru had gotten, it looked like fried squid rings. "Kraken… is that the same legendary sea monster from my world?"
"It's actually a family of giant squid monsters. The water gods breed them for sale to other gods and some higher beings."
"How big are they?" Kobayashi curiously reached into the bag and took one out of the rings. It was five times the size of a regular squid ring. The taste was so good that Kobayashi felt her head filled with almost erotica like descriptions of how delicious it was.
"Bigger than me. But if we're talking about fighting power, I could take on a dozen of them easy!"
A squid bigger than Tohru? Now that's scary. "I wonder why they taste so much better than regular squid."
"Kobayashi, Tohru, I want some too!" Kanna nearly knocked Kobayashi over because she tried to climb over her legs.
The flavor of the Kraken rings was so addictive that Kobayashi just kept eating them. "I guess some food from the other world is pretty good."
"My tail meat is even-"
"Tohru," Kobayashi didn't even need to say anything else. The topic of Tohru's tail meat was one they had gone over countless times already. "But I won't mind if you make something from this world every now and then. But please ask me first."
"Understood!" Tohru wouldn't let her mood take a turn for the worse just because she was shot down on the matter of her tail meat for the 244th time.
"Kobayashi, look!" Kanna pointed at the ring, where now something was slowly growing from below.
Rushing to her feet, Kobayashi took a peek down and saw that the ring was not as simple as it seemed. To the far ends of it, south and north from where she stood, were staircases that were easily overlooked because the arena was all in white stone. But now she could feel the steps of the giant reverberating through the hills. And then another came up, on the opposite side. The match was starting.
Tohru and Kanna both joined Kobayashi, the three of the standing there. While Kobayashi still thought about what to say, the hills erupted in ear deafening cheering for the combatants. Kobayashi herself had to yell to talk to Tohru. "Is it always like this?!"
"It's a big festival!" Tohru yelled back and then went on to cheer.
Kobayashi could make out two names that were being shouted; Hercules and Ares. And she immediately figured that they were the real life equivalents to myth. "Do giants live for thousands of years!? There's myths on earth about Hercules and Ares!"
"Those are just common names for giants! You get six or seven Hercules' every time the festival happens!" Tohru shouted back and then started cheering for Ares, a giant measuring over fifteen meters tall and with a bright red bears, wielding sword and shield.
So I guess once upon a time, the two the myths are about were just regular giants from this world? Kobayashi figured she'd teased Tohru a little and started shouting Hercules' name instead.
The fight started without much ado and the wind of the giants swinging their weapons around pushed a lot of the audience back. But not Kobayashi, who was held by Tohru with one arm.
The match lasted for almost twenty minutes and Kobayashi felt almost as exhausted as the fighters were when it ended. Standing, raising her arms, shouting and withstanding the constant winds with Tohru's help made her hungry and thirsty. Luckily, nobody dared touch the drinks and food bags of anyone else at these games and their snack was still there.
Sitting back down where they had left their tankards and bag, Kobayashi felt really tired now. "I think I will never be able to look at wrestling back home and actually be impressed. Not after this." Her voice sounded a little hoarse. "I never cheered so much for something. Ever." Picking up her tankard and putting it to her lips, Kobayashi felt immensely refreshed by the cold water.
"It's amazing how you get swept up in the atmosphere, right?" Tohru sat down, looking a lot more excited than even Kobayashi was. "Makes me want to fight, too."
"Do giants have a chance against a dragon as strong as you?"
"I could probably beat most of them easily. But the favorites are really strong! If I take a clean hit from them, I'd be in trouble. I bet I could still win against them!"
"So there aren't many things that are stronger than you then?"
"Just a few." There's a lot actually. A bunch of gods and ex-gods. I probably wouldn't fare too well against the demon king either. Especially not the current one that has a legendary hero at her command. And there's a few really strong chaos and order dragons that I'd have trouble with. "A handful at most!"
"I remember you sparring with Lucoa before and you did pretty well against her. I guess ex-goddesses are not that strong compared to dragons."
"She always holds back." Kanna spilled the beans. "She's way stronger than Tohru!"
"Kanna!" Tohru actually blushed over being exposed like that.
"Eh, so dragons do have some ego over how strong they are." Kobayashi made a little fun of her maid.
"Strength is important in this world!"
"I wonder what Elma will think about this."
"Kobayashi-san!"
"I'm kidding." Getting one of the Kraken rings, she held it in front of Tohru's mouth like a peace offering. "Here. Let me off the hook with that."
Tohru ate right out of Kobayashi's hand. She's so bold today! It's making me fall for her all over! "Should I go and buy some alcohol? Ogre drops go great with these. It's a bit like sake, just stronger."
"Ogres? Is that safe for humans to drink?" Kobayashi was, a little, confident in her ability to drink but Ogre drops sounded like something that could be used as airplane fuel.
"Hm, it is stronger than sake, but I don't think it is much stronger. You can try a little and if you think it is too much we just leave it or give it away."
"Isn't alcohol pricey?"
"I don't do anything useful with the gold coins anyway." And I have enough to probably buy a city in the human world. But Elma would probably blow fifty gaskets if I tried to bring over a bunch of gold and mess with the human economy.
A few minutes later, Kobayashi was happily enjoying a drink that was basically really just normal sake. Tohru might have said it was stronger, but that was probably because it came in a three liter bottle. That was six times the volume of a can of beer and almost painfully heavy to lift. So Kobayashi sat back and let Tohru pour her drinks.
Kanna had dozed off, lying in the soft and warm grass. The sun was bright in the sky, providing the perfect weather for the competition. If she hadn't borrowed time from Lucoa, she would have looked like a tired child, asleep on the ground. She still looked like that to Kobayashi.
"Are there many festivals like this? I guess it might be nice to visit them once every other month or so." Holding a small cup, that Tohru had bought extra, Kobayashi let her dragon give her another refill. "Thank you for bringing me here, Tohru."
The maid in disguise swayed back and forth from glee. "I'm so happy you like it. I was worried something violent might put you off, but I really wanted to see this."
"It can be nice to leave your comfort zone every now and then. Not too far though." Kobayashi paced herself as well as she could with the sake. This is really good. "Do you think we can take the rest of this back for Takiya and Fafnir? It feels selfish to enjoy all of this and not bring anything back as a gift."
Tohru was still not a hundred percent on board with Kobayashi being so casual towards her male co-worker, but she trusted her enough to flat out accept and believe that there was nothing dubious going on there. "We can do that."
"So, are there any other festivals? Maybe something that isn't about fighting." Kobayashi let Tohru refill her cup one more time before she put it down. She didn't feel light headed yet but that was a good sign; the day was still young.
"Something that isn't about fighting… there is the grand scavenger hunt of great Moria in eight or nine weeks."
"A scavenger hunt? Not that's something I didn't expect. But that sounds like a lot of walking." Kobayashi was not too keen on physical activities.
"One of the prizes at the scavenger hunt is a fruit from the Ambrosian tree. It would fix your lower back pain!" Tohru wanted to sell Kobayashi on that event because although it was about fighting, fighting was part of it.
"That does sound nice." I'd be happy to be rid of that. No more heat patches and pain killers."There's something you're not telling me. You're always smiling in that particular way when you're hiding something." Kobayashi knew her simplegon well.
"Sometimes, one member of a scavenger group can challenge someone from another group for information or their piece of a puzzle." Tohru tried to look as innocent as a powerful god-fighting chaos dragon possibly could; which was to say, not very innocent at all.
"You're been sacrificing a lot for me, Tohru." Kobayashi moved over the grass, sitting a little closer to Tohru. "I'll go with you. But no killing people. And no fighting everyone we come across."
"You're no fun..." Tohru pouted for a moment but couldn't really be mad at Kobayashi. "But I'll be happy to protect you!"
"When did you say this was?"
"Eight or nine weeks. It's always in the beginning of fall."
"Might be difficult to get time off then..."
"If we can't make it, there is always next time!"
"You're really enthusiastic today."
"Ehehe, it's because we're on a date together!"
She's so easy to please. This is just the same thing as when we're at home, just with something different to watch.Looking over her shoulder, Kobayashi found that Kanna was still asleep. "She might look like this, but she's still a child on the inside."
"Even though she's older than you. It's a bit like dogs and humans, only in reverse!"
"Because we say that one year for a dog is like eight years for a human?" Kobayashi picked up on Tohru's little reference. "Lucoa was telling me about how some dragons adjust to the humans they grow up with. It would certainly makes things easier at school."
"If it doesn't work out, she can always borrow a bit of time from Lucoa or I can use some perception altering spells." Tohru was not too concerned about this. Magic was pretty versatile.
Their conversation was interrupted by Kobayashi's stomach rumbling. All that exercise, the excitement and the alcohol had really emptied out her stomach. "Do they sell any real meals at the carts?"
"I would have brought something homemade but I didn't want anyone to think you didn't have manners, Kobayashi-san." Tohru was ever thoughtful of her mistress. "I do think they sell some real meals. Do you have any preferences?"
"Rice. Bread. Or anything that seems normal." Kobayashi was not a picky eater. "But no eggplants."
"Understood!" Tohru left Kobayashi in charge of their stuff, the tankards, the bag and the sake bottle, stepped away and whistled for one of the carts.
"Tohru." Kobayashi got her attention while they waited for one of the carts to approach. "Thank you for today. I'm really enjoying myself."
The dragon maid blushed like crazy hearing that, her tail appearing from underneath her clothes, hitting the ground a few times and quickly vanishing again because she didn't want to attract attention. I'm so glad I brought her here! Ah~, I love you, Kobayashi-san!
Ordering from the food truck, Tohru got something very simple for all three of them. Three large wooden bowls of Human Spaghetti. But in contrast to the frightening name, it didn't contain anything unusual. It was basically regular spaghetti with white sauce and bacon. "So they call it Human Spaghetti because it's basically spaghetti made the same way humans make it?" Kobayashi stuffed a fork full of spaghetti into her mouth and much like the Kraken rings, it was quite delicious.
"Probably." Tohru liked human cuisine. It was pretty easy to get leftovers out from between her teeth, unlike armor pieces if she ate a bunch of pesky wannabe heroes.
"I like what you cook a bit better though." Kobayashi was not one to lie or exaggerate about food. Tohru was a good cook by now, but these were expensive on-location foods that tasted even better because of how and where they were served. "What is that Moria scavenger hunt like?"
"It was once a great city with ever more complex streets and towering buildings. They kept building more and more on top of it and beneath it too. And they got so greedy that one of the earth gods sunk the entire city underground. But even that didn't stop the people there from building and they started digging tunnels into the rocks around them. It's now a gigantic labyrinth. All of this happened before I was born, so I don't know the details but the scavenger hunt has been an event for as long as I can remember." Tohru looked incredibly proud that she could showcase her superior dragon intellect. "I participated a few times before on my own but I never won."
"That sounds more like an adventure than a date."
"Adventures can be romantic!"
"If we want to win, we should bring more people though."
Tohru new what Kobayashi was getting at and while she wasn't too happy about it, she wanted to win more than she wanted to be alone with Kobayashi. "I guess we can ask Lucoa for help."
"That means Elma will come as well."
"We'll have a sacrificial pawn then!"
"Tohru." Kobayashi couldn't help but chuckle at that. Finishing up her meal, Kobayashi imitated Kanna and laid down in the grass, looking up at Tohru, who had the sun behind her now. The maid outfit she wears hide it a little bit but she is really beautiful.
"Should I wake you for the next match?"
"Won't the match and the cheering wake me anyway?"
"I'll wake you right before it starts then!" Tohru looked down at Kobayashi, who had already fallen asleep. With her stomach full and her body tired from the unusual amount of exercise, compounded with the warmth of the sun and the softness of the grass, the office lady in elven clothing had just fallen asleep almost instantly. "I love you, Kobayashi-san." That day, Tohru didn't receive an answer to that, but she could tell that the woman she so liked was changing and starting to return her feelings.