Chapter 74: The Maid's Self-Cultivation
"You shameless jerk! You have no conscience! You're a lying scoundrel!"
The furious roar echoed from Sui's room the next moment.
Erina was on the verge of losing her mind.
Just yesterday, she had agreed to be his girlfriend. Yet, this morning, she walked in to find him embracing another woman. It was absolutely infuriating!
With a loud 'bang', Erina slammed the door shut and stormed back to her room.
"Eh? How did she leave so quickly? Does Sui's house also have a magic portal?" Tohru asked, wide-eyed with surprise.
"And who was that woman? Is she a princess? Should I capture her and make her your slave?" she asked, her expression full of curiosity.
Sui rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. He gently pushed Tohru aside and explained, "That girl... is my girlfriend."
"What? Sui already has a girlfriend?" Tohru's face showed obvious shock, quickly followed by a hint of sadness.
Sui, sensing the awkwardness, quickly changed the topic. "Well, I have to go to class soon. Are you going to be okay staying here alone?"
"Of course! I'm a very capable maid!" Tohru's energy returned instantly as she raised her hand enthusiastically.
'Dragons sure have simple minds', Sui thought.
"Oh really? So, what exactly can you do?" Sui asked with a hint of interest.
"Too much to list!" Tohru responded excitedly. "I can turn this city into a sea of fire, curse humans, and kidnap a princess if you'd like. Sui, where's the princess of this world? I can go get her for you right away!"
Sui: "..."
'Are you sure that's something a maid does?'
"Maybe we need to go over what it means to be a proper maid," Sui said dryly. "For starters, do you know how to clean?"
"Of course!" Tohru grinned, her eyes gleaming with confidence. She opened her mouth and shot a beam of light across the room.
In an instant, everything in Sui's room vanished, leaving the floor shining with a bright light.
Sui: "…"
"I said to 'clean', not to make everything disappear!" he shouted in frustration.
"Huh? Sorry about that! I'll fix it right away." Tohru waved her hand, and the room instantly returned to its original state.
"What about laundry?" Sui asked, thinking about how his clothes always ended up in tatters, thanks to a certain someone.
"This is my specialty!" Tohru exclaimed joyfully. She walked over to the bedroom, grabbed all the clothes Sui had worn, and stuffed them into her mouth. Chewing happily, she said, "I can secrete saliva that dissolves only stains. The clothes I clean are spotless!"
Sui: "…"
Though he knew Tohru was a dragon, the idea of having his clothes washed with dragon saliva made him feel a little uneasy.
"And cooking? Can you cook?" Sui asked, trying to steer the conversation into safer territory.
"Of course! Cooking is no problem!" Tohru announced proudly.
"Oh? Really?" Sui was intrigued.
"Yes! Here, have some of my roasted tail meat!" Tohru beamed, handing Sui a large plate of barbecued meat.
Sui: "…"
"Uh… never mind," he said, declining the offer.
"Huh? Sui, are you not satisfied?" Tohru asked, looking disappointed.
Seeing her sad expression, Sui felt a pang of guilt. He couldn't bring himself to scold her any further.
"Anyway, I have to head to class now. Just stay here and don't wander off," Sui instructed.
"Don't worry! If there are any criminals, I'll take care of them all!" Tohru cheered, throwing her hands up in excitement.
Sui nodded and quickly changed into his school uniform. As he mentally prepared for another day of classes, he opened the door and headed toward Erina's bathroom.
At that moment, Erina was angrily brushing her teeth, muttering indistinctly, "I'll never trust him again! He calls me his girlfriend, and then he's hugging another woman the very next day."
Her heart was full of frustration and a sense of betrayal.
When Sui walked in, Erina immediately shot him a fierce glare, huffed, and turned away, ignoring him.
Sui sighed, feeling a bit helpless, as he moved beside her to brush his teeth and wash his face.
Seeing him acting so nonchalant only made Erina grind her teeth harder.
Finally, after a moment of silence, Erina couldn't hold it in any longer. She hesitated briefly before asking, "Who was that girl just now?"
"Oh, her? She's a distant relative of mine. We haven't seen each other in a long time," Sui replied casually. He couldn't exactly tell her that Tohru was a dragon from another world.
"Then why were you two hugging?!" Erina demanded angrily.
"Huh? Are you jealous?" Sui asked, his tone teasing.
"Jealous?! Don't be ridiculous! Why would I be jealous?" Erina's face flushed bright red as she denied it.
"Then why are you so upset?" Sui asked with a knowing smile.
"T-That's because, well… I'm your girlfriend now, right? Even if it's just in name!" Erina stammered, her face growing even redder.
"She was just excited to see me after such a long time, so she hugged me," Sui explained calmly.
"Is that really the case?" Erina asked, her voice softer, sounding a bit hesitant.
"Of course," Sui reassured her.
Erina let out a sigh of relief, and her mood visibly lightened. A small smile appeared on her face.
As expected, she was a classic tsundere, inexperienced in love, and easy to calm down.
Sui also felt a wave of relief as the tension subsided.
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly turned back and said, "By the way, I think we still have something to do."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Erina asked, confused. She had already finished brushing her teeth and washing her face.
"You know, something that boyfriends and girlfriends usually do," Sui said with a serious expression.
"W-What do boyfriends and girlfriends usually do?" Erina's face flushed even deeper, her heart beginning to race. A strange sense of nervous anticipation filled her.
"Yeah, like… kiss," Sui said with a playful smile.
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'Authors Note: Some readers have pointed out "bugs" in the story. But let's not forget that this world has fantasy elements like portals. Why nitpick about small details? Plenty of anime are full of unrealistic moments. Look at Pokémon—characters get hit with 100,000 volts and walk away just fine. In reality, they'd be dead. Even cooking shows like 'Cooking Master Boy' have exaggerated moments. It's all for the sake of storytelling. Let's just enjoy the ride!'