The Goddess' Playlist (Male Reader x Dragon Maid)

Chapter 2: The Art of Song

Five days past since Karu was diagnosed with his concussion, and he was already bored out of his mind. When he was not binging new shows, he was playing several rounds of the funny space game with bean-shaped characters. When he grew tired of that, he went back to binging old shows for the nostalgia factor. Staying home to recover was a double-edged sword. A supposedly numb mind could not hope to become more responsive if it is only surrounded by monotony. Karu needed to work. Kobayashi was kind enough to give him her number and told him to reach out if he needed anything. Out of all things, Karu only asked work related questions to try to keep his skills sharp.

Karu: "Why can't I just time warp five days later... "

Alas, the world did not work that way. The dissatisfied employee lied down on his couch and began to surf through his nearly bottomless collection of playlists.

Karu: "Techno... alternative... ska... something... different... "

Karu set his phone down and stared at the blank ceiling. As if he tempted fate, his phone emitted a new message tone. The programmer lifted his phone and saw that a text came in from an unknown number.

???: *text* "Heyo, Karu! How're you feeling?"

Karu arched an eyebrow. Certainly, the odds that this message was intended for another person with the same name and condition were slim to none. Feeling an irrational sense of paranoia, Karu remained still as he wrote back.

Karu: *text* "Fine thanks. Who is this?"

???: *text* "Guess~"

The disgruntled employee rolled his eyes. Karu despised guessing games. Since he was not able to meet any new people as of late, that only left him with three choices: Takiya, Elma and Lucoa. Takiya was friendly, but Karu only said a few words to the guy on his first day, so he did not think there was a connection yet. Although Elma worked out her differences with Karu, the tone of the message did not match her formality. Karu exhaled as he settled on his answer, feeling a little bad that he made such a fuss about it.

Karu: *text* "Lucoa?"

Lucoa: *text* "Yup! It's me!"

Karu's tone shifted now that he correctly deduced who his mystery messenger was.

Karu: *text* "Haha. How did you get my number?"

Lucoa: *text* "Hehe. I sneaked a peek at Kobayashi's phone when I was at her place."

Normally, an invasion of privacy like this would not resonate well with Karu. However, he was willing to let it go this time because it was Lucoa. After all, now he had someone else to talk to.

Karu: *text* "Wouldn't it have been easier to just ask?"

Lucoa: *text* "I tried, but Kobayashi was being difficult!"

Karu: *text* "Ah. I guess she wanted to keep it private?"

Lucoa: *text* "Oh, no it wasn't a privacy thing. She was just drinking again."

Karu could not help but chuckle at Lucoa's matter-of-fact tone.

Lucoa: *text* "Anyways~ Shouta's at school and everyone else is at work, so I've been feeling a little lonely."

Karu: *text* "Tell me about it, lol."

Lucoa: *text* "Since we have nothing but time, I'd love to pay you a visit! It would be a perfect chance to get to know each other~"

The graduate blushed at the self-proclaimed ex-goddess' proposal. She had been living rent-free in his mind for the past couple of days, and he had been anxious to see her again. Karu smiled as he wrote back.