Lunchtime, Tohru noticed someone's gaze lingering on her. She knew exactly who it was, but she didn't have time to address it. After seeing Kobayashi off to work, she stepped out of the office building's lobby and spotted Li Mo sitting by the roadside, sharing snacks with Kanna. That's when she realized she'd have to deal with this matter.
"Miss Tohru, has Kobayashi already gone back to work?"
"That's right. Her lunch break is over. Kanna, make some room, would you?"
Kanna, another dragon, took on the appearance of a young girl. In human terms, her true age was astronomical, but by dragon standards, she was still in her infancy.
Li Mo handed the snacks to Kanna, giving the girl an excuse to step away so he could talk to Tohru.
"Come to think of it, this is only our second time meeting, right?" Tohru sat down and said.
"That's correct, Miss Tohru."
"In that case, do you realize how rude you were today? Staring at me like that—what was that about? Just so you know, the only one I like is Kobayashi." Tohru's expression turned fierce. "Or… do you have some kind of interest in my body?"
Li Mo shook his head. "In stories, a dragon's body is often a treasure trove. I don't know if that holds true in other worlds, but for me, material things are far less important than knowledge. Miss Tohru, you're from another world, aren't you? I want to know—how did you cross between worlds?"
"Oh, so that's what this is about. I thought you were like those so-called 'heroes' from other worlds, coming to slay me for gold and glory."
"And how did that turn out?"
"Most of them ended up as a single breath of fire."
Dragons, in most worlds, stood at the top of the food chain. In many places, slaying a dragon was synonymous with fame and honor.
But Li Mo had no need for such glory. "Miss Tohru, I'm not interested in your past. I really just want to know how you travel between worlds."
His visit to **Cat House** had been solely because of its mysterious door—one that led to another world, brimming with the secrets of time and space.
Originally, Li Mo had planned to wait until tomorrow, when **Cat House** would host guests from another world, to study the door. Or rather, observe it.
But after running into Tohru, he realized he might have another avenue. Memories surfaced—Tohru was a dragon who had arrived on Earth after being wounded in battle against a god in another world. That meant she had crossed worlds to get here.
Perhaps her method of crossing worlds differed from what he imagined. Maybe her "other world" was just another planet in this universe. But as a mage, gathering knowledge was essential, no matter what.
"It's an innate ability," Tohru answered. "A dragon's gift. I don't know what you've done to make your own aura so complicated, but I can honestly say—you won't be able to learn it."
She paused, then added, "Take **Cat House**, for example. When they're open to *otherworldly* guests, they have a dragon working as a waiter. Supposedly, it's a powerful dragon from that world, but even *it* doesn't know how to cross between worlds."
Tohru emphasized the words *otherworldly guests*.
Li Mo understood—she was referring to the times when **Cat House** served visitors from beyond.
But this raised another question: "Is the other world connected to **Cat House** the same as the one you originally came from?"
"Of course not. While they're all called 'other worlds' from Earth's perspective, not all of them are the same," Tohru explained.
Then she continued, "Do you know what lies *outside* worlds? Or rather, beyond the universe?"
Li Mo shook his head. Though he had traveled to many worlds, he had no idea what lay beyond them.
"Beyond worlds, there's *nothingness*," Tohru said. "Not pure 'existence,' nor pure 'void'—something in between. 'Nothingness' is the best word for it."
She went on to describe the structure of worlds in the simplest terms. If someone were fortunate enough to leave a world and survive in the space beyond, they would witness a breathtaking sight—each world like a bubble, shimmering with vivid colors. And between these worlds, there was *distance*.
"Why is there distance?"
"Why *shouldn't* there be?" Tohru replied flatly. "Honestly, I remember mages debating this topic. But the funny thing is, they hadn't even fully explored the knowledge *within* their own worlds—how could they hope to understand what lies beyond?"
Distance was simply distance—a fact, an observation. There was no deeper *why*.
Just like how humans could use computers without understanding every component. They knew computers were made of *something*, but beyond that? Why did they work the way they did?
Nobody really knew—they just used them.
Another black box.
Tohru's understanding of the world beyond wasn't based on rigorous study or principles—just observations accumulated over her long life.
After digesting this, Li Mo asked, "Why do you know so much about this, Miss Tohru?"
"Hmm… how to explain? It's a racial trait. Crossing worlds is an innate ability of my dragon lineage. And since there aren't many of us, the knowledge has been passed down carefully," Tohru said. "Among the nearby world clusters, our kind is somewhat well-known."
Li Mo asked a few more questions, each answered patiently by Tohru, broadening his perspective.
Finally, he asked one last thing: "Why are you helping me, Miss Tohru?"
"Partly because Kobayashi thinks you're decent. And partly because I don't want you getting in the way of our time together."
*(Though technically, there's also Kanna…)*
Since Tohru had genuinely helped him, Li Mo refrained from voicing that thought. After thanking her, he left.
As for Tohru's claim that world-crossing was a dragon's innate ability—Li Mo accepted it. Some things, like supernatural gifts, couldn't be taught. Just like how he couldn't pass on certain abilities to others.
It wasn't a matter of *wanting* to—but of *being able* to.
Walking down the street, Li Mo watched the crowds pass by. In truth, if he used certain forbidden methods… he might be able to *absorb* the knowledge. But that wasn't the kind of person he was.
Achieving his goals by any means, trampling over everything—that wasn't Li Mo's way.
"Koyanskaya, Koyanskaya…"
Sighing at the thought of a certain pink-haired fox (or was it a rabbit?), he muttered to himself, "I'll just have to rely on Cat House after all."
But then—
A notification from his system appeared.