“Isn’t this it?”
‘Forget it, forget it. Having no one to disturb me is for the best. No one wants someone to have ill intentions while they’re bathing, right?’
The Little Princess walked barefoot into the bathroom.
It was the same familiar pool, unchanged in the slightest.
She placed her fresh clothes on a nearby rack, started the water, and lay on the floor to reach down and test the temperature.
“It was just right.”
“Yay! Time to get squeaky clean!”
Zhu Qiu jumped in excitedly, sending a splash of water everywhere.
Fortunately, the pool was large enough; otherwise, the water would have surely splashed all over the floor, and she might have clumsily slipped and hurt her bottom when she tried to get out.
For now, let’s leave Zhu Qiu to her own devices.
One hour later, Zhu Qiu appeared at the door of Zhu Xiaxia’s room, looking as if she had been completely drained of energy.
At that moment, Zhu Xiaxia was sitting at the table, researching something unknown, and didn’t look up at Zhu Qiu.
“Zhu Xiaxia, I’m finished. I can finally sleep, phew…”
She walked toward the bed with limp steps, nearly falling, before finally making it onto the bed safely.
Hearing Zhu Qiu’s tone, Zhu Xiaxia didn’t quite understand why she had taken so long to bathe, or why she looked so lifeless afterward.
If she had accompanied her like before, it would be understandable, but since she was alone, it was hard not to suspect what Zhu Qiu had been doing in there.
Zhu Xiaxia stood up and looked at the lying Zhu Qiu.
Seeing her messy hair, she finally realized the truth.
‘So she spent all that time drying her hair.’
She reached out with concern and grabbed a handful of Zhu Qiu’s hair.
“It was dry.”
“What a little dummy.”
Zhu Xiaxia smiled happily; she also needed to take a bath.
However, after taking off her shoes and stepping into the bathroom, she took just one step before slipping on water and nearly falling.
After several stumbles, she realized there was water everywhere on the floor.
‘Why is there so much water on the bathroom floor?’
Regardless, it wasn’t important and wouldn’t interfere with her bath.
Soon, Zhu Xiaxia returned to the room, turned off the lights, tucked herself in, and hugged Zhu Qiu like a body pillow.
“My precious daughter, you smell so good~”
Zhu Qiu had already fallen asleep from exhaustion and couldn’t hear a thing.
“Goodnight, baby~”
Whether it was because she felt the warm embrace or something else, though Zhu Qiu was asleep, she unconsciously replied:
“Mother… good, goodnight~”
It was a dreamless night.
***
The next morning, Zhu Xiaxia woke up early.
She moved quietly as she got out of bed, fearing she might wake Zhu Qiu.
“Rest well, daughter. Mother will help you complete your task. Love you~”
She leaned down, kissed Zhu Qiu’s small cheek, picked up the book she had been reading yesterday, and left the room.
Upon arriving at the kitchen, she spread the book open on the side and began preparing breakfast according to the tutorial.
She would make something simple today—Tomato Egg Noodles.
First, she fried the eggs, then washed the tomatoes and set them aside.
She heated oil in a pot, tossed in the tomatoes to stir-fry them quickly until the juices were released, then added the eggs to stir-fry together.
Finally, she seasoned it with salt, MSG, and other spices.
The stir-fried tomato and eggs were finished.
After scooping them out, she used another pot to boil the noodles.
Finally, she poured the tomato and eggs over the noodles.
“Ta-da!”
Zhu Xiaxia’s special Tomato Egg Noodles were ready!
Now she had to hurry and deliver them to Sodlan, as she didn’t know when he would wake up.
Zhu Xiaxia checked the time; it was exactly 8:00 AM.
‘It shouldn’t be too late. Time to go.’
—
The House of Sodlan, Dragon Territory.
Sodlan had woken up around 7:00 AM to begin washing up.
Since he was going to live here from now on, he decided to start by familiarizing himself with the surrounding terrain.
While he was at it, he wanted to see if there was any flat land he could use; it would be quite nice to clear some land for farming.
He walked to his son’s bedroom door, instinctively wanting to knock, but after a moment’s thought, he couldn’t bear to disturb him.
‘Forget it, Soran must be exhausted. I should let him rest properly.’
Sodlan grabbed a vegetable knife for self-defense and prepared to head out to scout the area.
However, just as he opened the door, he ran into a stranger.
That stranger was Zhu Xiaxia.
Similarly, Zhu Xiaxia, who had come to deliver the noodles, was momentarily stunned.
Fortunately, she was prepared and had used Magic beforehand to hide her dragon traits.
To Sodlan, Zhu Xiaxia looked like an ordinary Human Race maiden.
“Who are you? Why are you at my door!”
Sodlan was highly alert.
He quickly took a few steps back, holding the knife in front of his chest in a defensive stance.
Zhu Xiaxia was someone who had seen many grand scenes, so she wasn’t afraid at all.
Her heart remained calm—terrifyingly so.
“Sir, do not be afraid. I am here to deliver something.”
“Deliver something? Do you think you can fool me? This is the Dragon Territory. Why would a member of the Human Race like you show up here for no reason? What is your purpose!”
Sodlan began to suspect the girl was sent by the King.
Because the King’s goals hadn’t been met, he certainly wouldn’t give up and had likely sent someone to find him.
As for how she dared to break into the dangerous Dragon Territory or why the King would send a frail woman, Sodlan wasn’t sure.
In any case, being in an unfamiliar place, it was better to be cautious.
“Sir, I really am just delivering something.”
Zhu Xiaxia maintained an innocent expression as she walked over slowly, carrying the noodles.
“Don’t come any closer! If you do, I won’t be polite!”
Although Sodlan spoke tough, his body honestly continued to retreat; he didn’t want to hurt an innocent person.
“Your son asked me to bring this over.”
With that, Zhu Xiaxia turned to leave.
“Wait!”
Sodlan called out to her.
“My… daughter? Since when did I have a daughter?”
Realizing she had misspoken, Zhu Xiaxia quickly corrected herself.
“I misspoke. It is your son.”
The moment the words left her mouth, Zhu Xiaxia left without looking back, leaving Sodlan standing there in a state of confusion.
Sodlan thought for a long time before only two words escaped his lips:
“Strange person.”
He walked to the table and stared at the steaming bowl of noodles, observing them carefully.
‘Tomato Egg Noodles? And they were just made.’
But in this wilderness of the Dragon Territory, where would one find cooking utensils?
No smoke had risen nearby either.
‘Isn’t it eerie that a young girl suddenly appeared to deliver noodles and claimed to be commissioned by my son?’
To verify this, he decided to wake Soran.
“Soran, are you awake?”
Sodlan even knocked on the door, but there was still no response.
‘He really must be tired to sleep so soundly.’
“Then…”
Sodlan was hungry.
He walked back to the bowl of noodles.
‘Should I eat some first? But what if it’s poisoned?’
“Isn’t this it?”
‘Forget it, forget it. Having no one to disturb me is for the best. No one wants someone to have ill intentions while they’re bathing, right?’
The Little Princess walked barefoot into the bathroom.
It was the same familiar pool, unchanged in the slightest.
She placed her fresh clothes on a nearby rack, started the water, and lay on the floor to reach down and test the temperature.
“It was just right.”
“Yay! Time to get squeaky clean!”
Zhu Qiu jumped in excitedly, sending a splash of water everywhere.
Fortunately, the pool was large enough; otherwise, the water would have surely splashed all over the floor, and she might have clumsily slipped and hurt her bottom when she tried to get out.
For now, let’s leave Zhu Qiu to her own devices.
One hour later, Zhu Qiu appeared at the door of Zhu Xiaxia’s room, looking as if she had been completely drained of energy.
At that moment, Zhu Xiaxia was sitting at the table, researching something unknown, and didn’t look up at Zhu Qiu.
“Zhu Xiaxia, I’m finished. I can finally sleep, phew…”
She walked toward the bed with limp steps, nearly falling, before finally making it onto the bed safely.
Hearing Zhu Qiu’s tone, Zhu Xiaxia didn’t quite understand why she had taken so long to bathe, or why she looked so lifeless afterward.
If she had accompanied her like before, it would be understandable, but since she was alone, it was hard not to suspect what Zhu Qiu had been doing in there.
Zhu Xiaxia stood up and looked at the lying Zhu Qiu.
Seeing her messy hair, she finally realized the truth.
‘So she spent all that time drying her hair.’
She reached out with concern and grabbed a handful of Zhu Qiu’s hair.
It was dry.
“What a little dummy.”
Zhu Xiaxia smiled happily; she also needed to take a bath.
However, after taking off her shoes and stepping into the bathroom, she took just one step before slipping on water and nearly falling.
After several stumbles, she realized there was water everywhere on the floor.
‘Why is there so much water on the bathroom floor?’
Regardless, it wasn’t important and wouldn’t interfere with her bath.
Soon, Zhu Xiaxia returned to the room, turned off the lights, tucked herself in, and hugged Zhu Qiu like a body pillow.
“My precious daughter, you smell so good~”
Zhu Qiu had already fallen asleep from exhaustion and couldn’t hear a thing.
“Goodnight, baby~”
Whether it was because she felt the warm embrace or something else, though Zhu Qiu was asleep, she unconsciously replied:
“Mother… good, goodnight~”
It was a dreamless night.
***
The next morning, Zhu Xiaxia woke up early.
She moved quietly as she got out of bed, fearing she might wake Zhu Qiu.
“Rest well, daughter. Mother will help you complete your task. Love you~”
She leaned down, kissed Zhu Qiu’s small cheek, picked up the book she had been reading yesterday, and left the room.
Upon arriving at the kitchen, she spread the book open on the side and began preparing breakfast according to the tutorial.
She would make something simple today—Tomato Egg Noodles.
First, she fried the eggs, then washed the tomatoes and set them aside.
She heated oil in a pot, tossed in the tomatoes to stir-fry them quickly until the juices were released, then added the eggs to stir-fry together.
Finally, she seasoned it with salt, MSG, and other spices.
The stir-fried tomato and eggs were finished.
After scooping them out, she used another pot to boil the noodles.
Finally, she poured the tomato and eggs over the noodles.
“Ta-da!”
Zhu Xiaxia’s special Tomato Egg Noodles were ready!
Now she had to hurry and deliver them to Sodlan, as she didn’t know when he would wake up.
Zhu Xiaxia checked the time; it was exactly 8:00 AM.
‘It shouldn’t be too late. Time to go.’
—
The House of Sodlan, Dragon Territory.
Sodlan had woken up around 7:00 AM to begin washing up.
Since he was going to live here from now on, he decided to start by familiarizing himself with the surrounding terrain.
While he was at it, he wanted to see if there was any flat land he could use; it would be quite nice to clear some land for farming.
He walked to his son’s bedroom door, instinctively wanting to knock, but after a moment’s thought, he couldn’t bear to disturb him.
‘Forget it, Soran must be exhausted. I should let him rest properly.’
Sodlan grabbed a vegetable knife for self-defense and prepared to head out to scout the area.
However, just as he opened the door, he ran into a stranger.
That stranger was Zhu Xiaxia.
Similarly, Zhu Xiaxia, who had come to deliver the noodles, was momentarily stunned.
Fortunately, she was prepared and had used Magic beforehand to hide her dragon traits.
To Sodlan, Zhu Xiaxia looked like an ordinary Human Race maiden.
“Who are you? Why are you at my door!”
Sodlan was highly alert.
He quickly took a few steps back, holding the knife in front of his chest in a defensive stance.
Zhu Xiaxia was someone who had seen many grand scenes, so she wasn’t afraid at all.
Her heart remained calm—terrifyingly so.
“Sir, do not be afraid. I am here to deliver something.”
“Deliver something? Do you think you can fool me? This is the Dragon Territory. Why would a member of the Human Race like you show up here for no reason? What is your purpose!”
Sodlan began to suspect the girl was sent by the King. Because the King’s goals hadn’t been met, he certainly wouldn’t give up and had likely sent someone to find him.
As for how she dared to break into the dangerous Dragon Territory or why the King would send a frail woman, Sodlan wasn’t sure.
In any case, being in an unfamiliar place, it was better to be cautious.
“Sir, I really am just delivering something.”
Zhu Xiaxia maintained an innocent expression as she walked over slowly, carrying the noodles.
“Don’t come any closer! If you do, I won’t be polite!”
Although Sodlan spoke tough, his body honestly continued to retreat; he didn’t want to hurt an innocent person.
“Your son asked me to bring this over.”
With that, Zhu Xiaxia turned to leave.
“Wait!”
Sodlan called out to her.
“My… daughter? Since when did I have a daughter?”
Realizing she had misspoken, Zhu Xiaxia quickly corrected herself.
“I misspoke. It is your son.”
The moment the words left her mouth, Zhu Xiaxia left without looking back, leaving Sodlan standing there in a state of confusion.
Sodlan thought for a long time before only two words escaped his lips:
“Strange person.”
He walked to the table and stared at the steaming bowl of noodles, observing them carefully.
‘Tomato Egg Noodles? And they were just made.’
But in this wilderness of the Dragon Territory, where would one find cooking utensils?
No smoke had risen nearby either.
‘Isn’t it eerie that a young girl suddenly appeared to deliver noodles and claimed to be commissioned by my son?’
To verify this, he decided to wake Soran.
“Soran, are you awake?”
Sodlan even knocked on the door, but there was still no response.
‘He really must be tired to sleep so soundly.’
“Then…”
Sodlan was hungry.
He walked back to the bowl of noodles.
‘Should I eat some first? But what if it’s poisoned?’