"I want to go to school."
When Kanna raised her hand and said those words with an earnest expression, Tohru, Lucoa, and Yuto were surprised.
As for Fafnir, he remained absorbed in his game.
"Kanna, what are you talking about?" Tohru looked at Kanna in confusion.
For dragons, school was something they did not need.
Their education came through family inheritance, making Kanna's sudden request puzzling.
"I want to go to school! I want to go to school like Shoko!" Kanna insisted.
That earnest look on her innocent face was cute!
Perhaps feeling that words alone were not enough, Kanna placed her hands on the counter and pushed herself upright.
Her legs were too short to reach the floor, but her arm strength was enough to support her body, leaving her feet dangling in the air.
Seeing her unwavering stance, Tohru and Lucoa's expressions shifted.
"Why do you want to go to school, Kanna?" Yuto asked.
"Because Shoko said school is fun! I want to go to school and play with Shoko!" Kanna sat back down.
Her expression remained serious, but her reasoning gave everyone a headache.
Kanna might look like an elementary school student, but at her core, she was a dragon.
Even though she was young, she had enough power to destroy a city.
"Kanna, don't make trouble, okay?" Even after drinking, Lucoa's mind remained clear.
The metabolism of dragons defied imagination, and Lucoa could control hers at will.
She spoke calmly to Kanna, her eyes narrowed as usual, though her face carried a trace of helplessness and surprise.
"I'm not making trouble. I want to go to school." Kanna shook her head and looked at Lucoa with that same serious yet innocent expression.
Her decision was firm.
"If Kanna goes to school, then what about Kanna's papa and mama? They probably won't agree, right?" Yuto reasoned.
He did not think Kanna's parents would approve of her attending school.
After all, in their world, the relationship between dragons and humans was poor.
"Uu... I'll talk to them!" After a soft pondering sound, Kanna raised both hands and spoke to Yuto with absolute focus.
She seemed to have boundless confidence in persuading her parents!
Yuto and the others hesitated.
At the moment, it seemed impossible to convince Kanna to give up.
She looked far too determined!
"Then why don't you talk to your papa and mama first, Kanna? Once they agree, we can discuss school again, all right?" Yuto suggested.
He guessed Kanna's parents would not agree to this idea, prompting him to stall by having her speak to them first.
"All right, then." After a few seconds of silence, Kanna agreed.
As soon as she finished speaking, she jumped down from the stool.
Yuto watched her curiously as Kanna looked up at him and said, "I'm going to talk to Papa and Mama right now!"
She turned and began walking toward the door.
Tohru grabbed her by the collar with a soft pop, leaving Kanna walking in place.
"Tohru, let go of me," Kanna said, turning her head.
Tohru looked at Kanna. "Are you planning to leave right now?"
"Mm."
Seeing Kanna nod with such innocent calm, everyone felt helpless.
Yuto sighed inwardly.
That was far too fast.
"Uu... In that case, why don't we leave for tonight?" Listening to Kanna, Lucoa tapped her cheek with one finger.
After a moment of thought, she made her decision.
She had enjoyed herself tonight, so leaving now left her with no regrets.
"If that's the case, then all right," Yuto nodded.
Hearing Lucoa, Kanna stopped trying to march out.
Lucoa stood up. She walked over to Fafnir and called him twice.
However, with the helmet on, Fafnir did not hear her.
He was lost in SAO and unable to pull himself out.
Lucoa sighed with a mix of embarrassment and helplessness, but before she could act, Kanna jumped up and headbutted Fafnir in the back!
Duang!
A sound that made one's teeth ache rang out from Fafnir's back.
Fafnir let out a muffled groan, then removed the helmet. His face looked unpleasant as he turned toward Kanna.
"Kanna, what are you doing?" The fact that he pinpointed Kanna meant Fafnir had experienced something similar before.
"We're leaving," Kanna said.
"Don't remind me like that next time. It hurts." Fafnir spoke calmly, though his face was pale.
"Oh." Kanna's face remained calm and blank.
The credibility in that "oh" was questionable.
Yuto doubted this was the first time Fafnir had reminded Kanna about this. It had likely not worked before either.
"Boss, I'll leave this helmet here for safekeeping. Treat these as the storage fee." Fafnir acted decisively and took out a pile of strange items.
There was a pocket watch, a slip of paper, a straw doll, a fountain pen... An ominous aura shrouded these miscellaneous items.
f Yuto's guess was correct...
"These are curse-killing tools I made a long time ago. Tohru should know how to use them. Boss, I hope you take good care of the helmet. Otherwise, I will curse you—"
Bonk!
"Fafnir, speak properly, okay?" Tohru waved her fist and smiled cheerfully at Fafnir.
Fafnir fell silent as a bump had risen on his head
It hurt.
"Please don't worry. I'll take good care of it. As for these tools, you can take them back. I don't... curse people that often." Yuto felt awkward.
He had not even used the curse slips Fafnir gave him last time.
Now there were these new curse items too. At this rate, he felt like he could open a supernatural goods shop!
"I have no use for them anyway. Just leave them here." Fafnir refused Yuto's attempt to return them.
These tools had been made a long time ago.
They were old items, and compared to his newer tools, their effects were weak. Keeping them did nothing for him.
"Then... all right." After receiving Tohru's subtle signal, Yuto accepted the items.
Fafnir nodded.
After that, the three dragons left.
Yuto put away Fafnir's VR helmet, along with the cursed tools.
"Fafnir doesn't need these tools anyway, so it's just right for you to keep them. Boss, Boss, let me explain what these do!" Tohru became excited while explaining the tools. "This one is a hypnosis pocket watch... This one is a control straw doll... This one is an instant-kill fountain pen..."
When she talked about each item's effect, she seemed eager to try them out.
That startled Yuto.
He felt that from now on, he had to keep an eye on Tohru at all times.
Otherwise... Something bad might happen!