After teasing Chika Fujiwara with Ai Hayasaka, Shin left the hotel feeling quite satisfied.
Of course, he left Ai Hayasaka behind in the room to recover her strength—after all, Hayasaka's Stand ability allowed her to restore her energy and stamina, so Shin didn't have to worry about her overexerting herself.
However, on his way home, Shin noticed that someone seemed to be following him.
The person had likely started tailing him after he left the hotel. Although they stayed hidden in blind spots, under Shin's perception of "Ki," they were almost impossible to miss.
At first, Shin wondered if it might be Chika Fujiwara, who had left the hotel earlier. Perhaps she was still unwilling to let things go and had decided to follow him to ambush him or something.
But upon further thought, considering how Fujiwara had fled in a panic earlier, it was unlikely she would calm down so quickly and start tracking him. It was probably someone else.
Maybe it was someone like Utaha Kasumigaoka? After all, Kasumigaoka had suddenly approached him earlier today, which made Shin a bit suspicious.
In the original story, Utaha Kasumigaoka didn't show much interest in supernatural events, but now she suddenly wanted to join the Paranormal Research Club. It was likely that she was targeting him—though Shin wasn't sure why.
Thinking this, Shin changed direction, deliberately leading the follower into an empty alleyway, just like how he had once lured out thugs in the JOJO world.
The stalker, clearly not thinking much of it, quickly followed—only to be caught red-handed by Shin, who was waiting at the alley's entrance.
"Alright, stop following me. I noticed you a while ago."
Shin looked at the figure peeking out from the alley entrance and couldn't help but twitch his lips—this was his chance to finally see who had been tailing him.
Contrary to his expectations, it wasn't Utaha Kasumigaoka. Instead, it was a little girl dressed in white and purple clothing that resembled traditional ethnic attire.
What's more, this little girl had two small curved horns on her head, just like Tohru, making it clear she wasn't human.
Shin recognized her—like Tohru, she was a dragon from another world, named Kanna Kamui, a dragon with lightning attributes.
Before his transmigration, Shin had seen many memes featuring this little girl, but he never expected her to be the one following him.
Thinking about it, in the original story, Kanna had appeared not long after Tohru arrived in the human world. By the timeline, it was about the right time for her to show up.
What Shin didn't quite understand was that, in the original story, Kanna had only found Tohru after sensing her magical cannon blast, which Tohru had used to disperse rain clouds.
But so far, Tohru hadn't used her magical cannon in the city, as Shin's home had a dryer, so rainy days didn't prevent them from drying clothes.
Now that he thought about it, the day before yesterday, it had rained, making it impossible to go to the rooftop. That was why he had established the Paranormal Research Club as a new lunch spot.
Perhaps, according to the original plot, that rain had been the one where Kanna was supposed to sense Tohru's magical cannon dispersing the clouds.
Seeing that Shin had discovered her, Kanna's face showed a hint of vigilance. She silently took a step back and assumed a stance that seemed ready for combat at any moment.
This stance looked rather cute and didn't seem intimidating at all.
However, underestimating her combat posture when she had ample energy would be a big mistake—after all, Kanna was still a dragon, and humans were no match for her.
But right now, Kanna was in the human world, her magical energy completely depleted. In terms of strength, she was no different from an ordinary little girl.
This was also why Shin hadn't recognized her when he sensed her "Ki"—after all, Kanna's "Ki" now felt no different from that of a regular person.
"Are you here looking for Tohru?"
Although Kanna's age was likely much older than Shin's, her mentality was no different from a child's. So, Shin didn't take offense at her wariness.
Sure enough, Kanna quickly let her guard down. Seeing that Shin didn't seem to mean her any harm, she hesitated for a moment before nodding.
…
"Shin-Kun, welcome back~"
When Shin returned home today, the one who came out to greet him wasn't Tohru or Gabriel, who was working part-time as a maid at his house, but Irisviel.
Standing at the entrance of the courtyard, Irisviel was also wearing a maid outfit. Her tall figure and innocent expression gave her a unique charm.
It seemed that Irisviel had gradually adapted to modern society. Shin wondered if her wearing a maid outfit this time was related to the Stand ability he had given Ai Hayasaka, which allowed her to transform into a maid.
However, Irisviel soon noticed Kanna hiding behind Shin and was shocked.
After a moment of hesitation, Irisviel spoke to Shin in a serious tone:
"Shin-Kun, although I shouldn't comment on your personal interests, I still think… isn't this little girl a bit too young? This is practically a crime, isn't it?"
"What are you talking about?"
Shin was both amused and exasperated. Did Irisviel really see him as some kind of deviant who would go after anyone, regardless of age?
Well… considering his past experiences with Irisviel and the fact that he had replenished her magical energy, it was understandable that she might have some misconceptions about him. But he would never go after someone so young, right?
"What? What little girl!?"
At that moment, as if hearing the words "Shin" and "girl" in the same sentence, Tohru rushed out of the house.
It seemed that the number of girls around Shin had given Tohru some form of PTSD.
After rushing out, Tohru immediately spotted Kanna—thankfully, unlike in the original story, Tohru recognized her right away:
"Huh? Kanna?"
"Lady Tohru!" Seeing Tohru, Kanna ran out from behind Shin and threw herself into Tohru's arms.
"Anyway, that's the situation. This kid is Tohru's acquaintance."
Seeing the confused look on Irisviel's face, Shin shrugged.
"She doesn't have a place to stay for now, so she'll probably be living with us for a while."
According to the original story, Kanna had been exiled from her world after causing too much mischief, so it was likely she wouldn't be able to return for some time.
To be continued…
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