"A severely injured dragon, but she looks somewhat familiar." Looking at the dragon lying weakly before him, Takeru landed directly, feeling a sense of familiarity.
"A human helper. Damn it." Sensing Takeru's arrival and feeling her own mana almost depleted, Tohru felt a bit angry.
"Be careful!" Seeing Takeru casually walk up to Tohru, Konomi called out nervously. Although she didn't know how Takeru had gotten here, his dangerous actions made her worry for him.
"You can understand my words, right?" Then, Takeru attempted to ask Tohru.
"Inferior, foolish human. What do you want to say?" Hearing Takeru's words, Tohru spoke arrogantly.
"Tch, tch." Hearing her address, Takeru was slightly displeased, but it also felt more familiar.
"Your life right now is in the hands of the human you look down upon. Your name." Then, Takeru spoke with a slight frown.
"Hmph, a mere human. If I weren't severely injured, I would have already burned this place to a sea of flames." Hearing Takeru's words, Tohru spoke disdainfully.
"I see. Then how about a bet?" Hearing her words, Takeru said calmly.
"What do you want, human?" Hearing Takeru's words, Tohru frowned slightly.
"The cause of your injury is that special long sword on your back, right? It contains a special sealing magic that prevents you from recovering. So, I will pull it out and heal you. Then we'll have a match. If you win, you can do as you please. If I win, you obediently answer all my questions. How about it?"
Looking at the unruly Tohru, Takeru needed to make her understand who was in charge in this world.
When dealing with species that look down on humans, showing one's strength might be the simplest method.
"A mere human could never pull out the divine sword on my back!" Although surprised that Takeru could see the sealing ability of the divine sword on her back, Tohru didn't think Takeru could budge it.
"Let's find out." Seeing Tohru's expression, Takeru nodded directly. He went onto her back and, looking at the three-meter-tall long sword, grasped its blade.
With slight force, he easily pulled the sword out.
This so-called divine sword looked intimidating, but to an atheist, it was just a somewhat heavy giant sword. However, the special ability attached to it surprised Takeru, so he directly stored it in his item bar for later study.
As Takeru pulled out the divine sword, Tohru felt the power sealing her disappear, and her mana quickly recovered.
Also, without the divine sword's suppression, the wound area healed quickly.
"So, can you accept the bet now?" Watching her strength quickly recover, Takeru jumped in front of her and asked calmly.
"Human, your name." However, hearing Takeru's words, Tohru didn't answer. She just looked at Takeru with a complex expression.
"Nara Takeru." Hearing her words, Takeru shrugged.
"Nara... Takeru? Why did you help me? Aren't you afraid I'll kill you once my strength recovers?" Then, Tohru asked with some confusion.
"Didn't I tell you? It's just a bet. Also, from your eyes, I can see that although you seem to look down on humans, you don't actually hate them. And your attacks just now were meant to drive them away, not kill them. Am I right?" Hearing her words, Takeru said calmly.
After hearing Takeru's words, Tohru was silent for a moment, then directly transformed into her human form, standing before Takeru.
"Eh, she turned into a human!" Seeing Tohru's action, Konomi beside her was stunned. She hadn't expected Tohru to be able to transform into such a cute girl.
"Ask your questions directly. I will answer what I can." Ignoring the surprised Konomi, Tohru looked directly at Takeru.
Seeing Tohru calm down, Takeru snapped his fingers. A stone table and two stone chairs appeared between Takeru and Tohru. Takeru gestured for Tohru to sit, then sat down himself.
"First question, your name." Looking at Tohru as she sat down, Takeru asked.
"Tohru." Hearing this, Tohru answered honestly.
Hearing her words, Takeru nodded slightly, feeling enlightened. He clearly recalled information about Tohru, but specifics still needed to be asked.
"Where are you from, and why are you here?" Thinking this, Takeru continued.
"Where am I from?" Hearing Takeru's words, Tohru was stunned. Looking around, she realized she seemed to no longer be in her original world?
"It seems you don't know that this place is no longer your original world. Do you remember how you got here?" Seeing Tohru's actions, Takeru patted his head and changed the question.
"How I got here? I was challenging the gods and was struck on the back, then fell. I think I passed through a vortex as I fell." Hearing Takeru's words, Tohru remembered seeming to have fallen into a vortex last night.
Then she appeared here, and the gods didn't find her, presumably saved by the vortex.
Hearing Tohru's words and combining them with information from his previous life, Takeru roughly understood Tohru's situation.
Then, after thinking, Takeru asked again: "So, what will you do now? Find a way back to your world, or stay and live in this world?"
"One thing, if you want to stay and live in this world, you must obey certain rules. Otherwise, whether it's me or others, we will come to subdue you. Of course, as long as you behave, you can come to me for help if you encounter problems." Looking at Tohru, Takeru spoke directly.
"Return or stay? I have nowhere to go anymore." Hearing Takeru's words, Tohru showed a disappointed expression. As for returning, she abandoned after a moment's thought.
She had challenged the gods to break the shackles of the dragon race, but the gods' power exceeded her imagination.
Coming here, she felt that this world didn't seem to have beings like gods, another way to break free from shackles.
But she was lost in this unfamiliar world. After all, although she had lived a long time, by human age, she was just a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl, lost about the future.
"I see. If you have nowhere to go, how about coming to my home? Although I might not be your kin, there are dragons in my home. Perhaps you can become good friends." Looking at Tohru, Takeru thought for a moment and said.
"Go to your home?" Hearing Takeru's words, Tohru was stunned, but her eyes gradually brightened.
"Yes. You can stay at my place until you decide to leave." Hearing her words, Takeru spoke seriously.
"Really? Aren't you afraid of me? I..." Then, Tohru spoke expectantly.
"It's settled. Now, let me formally introduce myself. My name is Nara Takeru. You can just call me Takeru." Looking at the nervous yet expectant Tohru, Takeru nodded seriously, interrupting her words.
There were two reasons for bringing her home. One was that Tohru was a dragon. Casually letting her loose in the human world might cause great disaster, whether intentional or not.
The other was that Tohru was a cute dragon girl, smart and capable. Bringing her home and nurturing her a bit would yield another top-tier combatant.
"Yes, Takeru-sama." Then, Tohru directly addressed Takeru.
"Th-that, Takeru-san, are you taking her back? Is that really okay?" Beside them, Konomi, who had been watching Takeru's miraculous handling of the situation the whole time, spoke belatedly after Takeru had settled everything.
"Yes, we've already agreed. And I'll keep Tohru in line." Looking at the unconvinced Konomi, Takeru said calmly.
"N-no, that's not what I meant. Isn't it dangerous for you to just take her home?" Seeing Takeru as if he didn't understand her words, Konomi said helplessly.
"Don't worry, there won't be a problem." Looking at her expression, Takeru naturally understood what Konomi meant. But trusting Tohru and having absolute confidence in his own strength, Takeru still spoke casually.