The little one knocked on the door again with a lighter force, but still got no response.
‘Well, no one’s here after all.’
‘Better not bother them. Maybe they just forgot to turn off the lights while sleeping. I should find another place.’
Just as the little one turned to leave, the door of the room opened.
Zhu Qiu had just finished showering and was standing at the door in her pajamas.
She came over quickly when she heard the knocking.
“Hello, did you need something?” she asked politely.
After all, she was Zhu Xiaxia’s little princess, so she knew her etiquette well.
The little one, hearing the response, slowly turned around.
Her hands hung down nervously, and she stammered out her request.
“H-hello, I-I’m a new exchange student from the Elf Race. You can call me Yiluo Enya. I didn’t know the academy wouldn’t open the gates early, so I came at the wrong time, and, and…”
Yiluo Enya couldn’t get the words out.
Zhu Qiu looked at the other girl, who was only a little taller than her and had slightly larger… assets.
Suddenly, she had an idea and offered proactively.
“You’re looking for a place to stay tonight, right?”
Yiluo Enya had green hair and green eyes, wearing a white-and-green small floral dress.
Her ears were the standard elven ears, and she wore a flower necklace around her neck.
‘Is this girl a minor?’
‘But she said she’s an exchange student, so she should be an adult, right?’
‘Did the school start a junior class?’
‘That might be possible too.’
Yiluo Enya’s face turned red, and finally, she forced out a single word: “Yes.”
“Then come in quickly!”
Zhu Qiu warmly welcomed Yiluo Enya into the room.
After all, she looked like a child, and it wouldn’t be good for her to be wandering the streets at night.
Since it was just for one night, it wouldn’t be a problem.
“Th-thanks. Um, should I take off my shoes? Your floor looks really clean.”
“No, no, just come in. I’m not a bad person or anything, haha.”
Zhu Qiu smiled sincerely, from the bottom of her heart.
But that smile made Yiluo Enya a little nervous.
After all, this was someone else’s house.
Still, this dragon seemed younger than her—probably not an adult yet?
‘Around twelve or thirteen years old?’
‘Oh, right, a minor. Then where are her parents? Why aren’t they home?’
Yiluo Enya thought for a moment, then pointed to a chair and asked, “Can I sit here?”
“Of course! I forgot to tell you my name. I’m Zhu Qiu. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too.”
“Are you a student at the First Academy of the Dragon Clan?”
Zhu Qiu asked.
“Yes. Because the academy doesn’t open early, I had to ask to stay here. I’m really sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about, haha. And I’m also a student at the First Academy of the Dragon Clan!”
Facing an unexpected elf, Zhu Qiu was very excited.
Before, she had only lived among the Human Race, seeing humans and magic creatures.
Now in the Dragon Kingdom, there were dragons everywhere, so this elf was a refreshing sight.
At least tonight wouldn’t be so boring, right?
Hearing that Zhu Qiu was also a student at the same academy, Yiluo Enya completely relaxed.
‘She must be a good person. No doubt about it.’
Then Yiluo Enya made a request.
“C-could I borrow… your shower?”
“Of course!”
Zhu Qiu agreed without hesitation.
“Thanks.”
Yiluo Enya went in empty-handed, carrying nothing.
While she was gone, Zhu Qiu considered how to set up a bed on the floor for the elf.
She walked to the closet, but there were no extra blankets inside—mostly empty.
The only thing related to sleeping was a roll of cool mat.
Because the weather was hot, Zhu Xiaxia bought a cool mat so Zhu Qiu wouldn’t be too hot on the bed.
‘Uh…’
Zhu Qiu scratched her head.
This house was newly bought by Zhu Xiaxia, so it was normal to have no extra blankets.
With no other choice, she laid the cool mat on the floor and then took her own blanket from the bed to place on top of the cool mat.
‘It’s hot, so she doesn’t need a blanket. But it’s not extremely hot, so sleeping directly on the cool mat might not be good either. So I’ll let her lie on the blanket without covering anything. That should be fine.’
After setting it up, Zhu Qiu lay down on the bed, and her mind started racing.
‘Oh my god, she’s an elf! So this is what elves look like? They’re really beautiful.’
But that feeling was fleeting. Pretty was pretty, but what use was it?
‘Boring.’
‘I thought having another person would liven things up, but it’s still dull.’
Soon, Yiluo Enya came out of the bathroom.
Zhu Qiu sat up on the bed and noticed that the other girl was wearing the exact same clothes as before she showered.
She couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
‘Did she really take a shower?’
“Yiluo Enya, do you have two sets of the same clothes?”
Zhu Qiu asked curiously.
“No, I only have one set.”
“Huh? Only one set?”
Zhu Qiu was surprised.
“Even if it’s dirty, you just wear it?”
“No, I washed it while I was in the shower.”
Zhu Qiu shook her head.
“Even if you washed it, it couldn’t dry that fast, could it?”
“No, no, no,” Yiluo Enya explained.
“We elves can use magic too. Life magic like drying things off is very simple. And I didn’t use your towel, so don’t worry.”
“Oh, I see.”
Zhu Qiu suddenly understood, feeling that her question was a bit… stupid.
‘Whatever. Stupid is stupid. I’m not stupid anyway.’
Zhu Qiu told Yiluo Enya where she would be sleeping tonight, then prepared to go to sleep.
‘I hope things go smoothly tomorrow. Yiluo Enya stayed here tonight, so at least I’ll have a companion tomorrow. That’s pretty nice.’
Seeing Zhu Qiu close her eyes, Yiluo Enya didn’t say anything.
She was already troubling her host, so she couldn’t disturb her rest.
A silent night passed.
The next morning at seven o’clock, Yiluo Enya woke up early.
Today was a very important day—the first day of school.
She had to report in at eight o’clock sharp.
After reporting, she could move into the school dormitory and wouldn’t need to trouble others for a place to sleep again.
Yiluo Enya didn’t have much luggage.
She planned to buy all her daily necessities in the Dragon Kingdom.
After all, she would be studying here for a long time.
If she brought things from home, she couldn’t just go home or ask someone to send more when she ran out.
That would be troublesome and inconvenient.
So adapting early was the best.
Once she was ready, Yiluo Enya looked at Zhu Qiu, who was still sound asleep on the bed, and felt conflicted.
‘Should I wake her up? If I do, she might think I’m annoying. If I don’t… what if she forgets to wake up for reporting?’
No need to think further.
Reporting was a big deal—she couldn’t afford to be late.
She walked over, poked Zhu Qiu’s cheek, and whispered softly:
“Time to wake up.”