But tonight, she really was made a little out of control by Aiden.
"So it's my fault then?" Aiden countered.
"Otherwise, who else's fault… mine, this one's fault?" Nyotengu forcibly pressed down her tone.
"Fine, fine, fine, my fault." Aiden sighed, not wanting to keep tangling with Nyotengu anymore. Right now, he only wanted to go take a shower.
So he said again, "Alright, I admit my mistake, and I've touched you too, now can you let me go take a shower?"
"No." Nyotengu shook her head hard. "This one still doesn't know your name."
"Aiden."
In a soft voice she said, "Aiden, please go take your shower."
"Don't be like that, I can't really handle it." Aiden looked at her in alarm. 'This change in personality was way too fast, right?'
"This one's personality has always been like this." Nyotengu wasn't angry either, just smiled faintly.
"This one has always been very gentle with people."
"Could it be what I just saw was an illusion?" Aiden blinked.
"Yes, what Aiden saw just now were all illusions, this is the real me." Nyotengu still smiled.
Casting a strange glance at Nyotengu, Aiden shook his head, lifted his foot, and walked out of the bedroom. While walking he muttered, "Chizuru wasn't wrong, there really is a terrifying evil spirit in the back mountain."
And behind him, hearing these words, Nyotengu again ground her teeth and glared at him. But as Aiden seemed to sense something and turned his head, her face showed the smile of a Yamato Nadeshiko.
"Aiden, please take care."
———
When Aiden finished his shower and returned to the bedroom, Nyotengu was already gone, only leaving behind an empty plate on the tea table.
Honestly, Aiden felt it was a bit of a pity, because Nyotengu really was very pleasing to the eye. Whether it was her figure, or the alluring face… alright, it was normal for a man to be lustful.
But leaving without a word was indeed a little impolite.
Muttering under his breath, Aiden didn't dwell too much on it either. He tidied the bed and went to sleep…
No matter when, weekends always pass quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was Monday, and this day happened to be Tanabata.
Speaking of which, although the Yata Shrine was far less nationally known than the Kagura family's company, since this shrine usually didn't accept tourists and only opened on holidays, at the very least it was still a large-scale shrine.
It could even be said to be the largest shrine in the country. And since today was a holiday, the Kagura sisters got up early in the morning.
The two sisters were both a bit fond of sleeping in. Even though they got up, their eyes weren't fully open yet.
Sleepily they went to the washroom, started washing their faces, brushing their teeth, then helped each other wash and comb their hair. After finishing all that, the sisters put on makeup for each other.
But shrine maidens weren't the same as other professions. The sisters didn't put on heavy makeup, just drew their eyebrows a little, touched up their lips with red, and that counted as done.
Then, they went to the dining hall, preparing to head to the Kagura Hall after breakfast. Usually the sisters woke earlier than Aiden, so Chizuru didn't personally prepare breakfast. Only at this time did she show a bit of the Kagura family's second daughter attitude.
Also wearing shrine maiden clothes, Chizuru was listlessly lying on the table. Every morning she was basically like this after waking up.
But her elder sister, who knew her laziness, never said anything about her image at this time. What's more, today would be a busy day, so she just let her be.
"Shiranui-ryu Dojo…"
Kneeling neatly by the table, Maki kept her back perfectly straight, a piece of information in her hand. It was collected by the company's intelligence department.
Listed on it were dozens of dojos in Tokyo's outskirts, including the Shiranui-ryu Dojo and a few others also within Tokyo's area but farther out, and which Aiden was also familiar with.
The Kyokugenryu Dojo and the Todo Dojo.
But Maki's attention was fully on the Shiranui-ryu Dojo's file. That half-body photo of the current head of Shiranui-ryu Dojo, Mai Shiranui, made her frown deeply.
"Sure enough, very beautiful, and her figure…" Mumbling softly, Maki lowered her head to look at herself, then looked at the woman in the photo, and said dejectedly, "A very tough opponent."
Then she looked over at her younger sister. Chizuru was lying sloppily on the table with no care for her image, but because of her posture, her chest was almost being supported by the table.
However… compared to Mai Shiranui, it still seemed a bit lacking. She could imagine that if Mai Shiranui copied her sister's posture, probably…
"So what!"
Muttering again in a low voice, Maki tore that single page about Mai Shiranui out of the stapled dossier. As for the rest, she casually tossed it aside.
Those dojos, even though they also had pretty female fighters, were far less concerning to her than Mai Shiranui.
Folding that page and putting it away, Maki rested her chin on one hand, tapping the table lightly with the other. This posture was usually rude for her, but now was different, she needed to focus on thinking.
However, she couldn't come up with the slightest plan on how to defeat Mai Shiranui, when beside her, Chizuru lazily called out, "Big Sister, I'm so hungry, why hasn't breakfast come yet?"
Although her thoughts were interrupted by her sister's voice, Maki also found it strange. The family maids were hereditary, having received standardized maid education from childhood. It should've been impossible for them to be so derelict.
Thinking for a moment, Maki called toward the door, "Yumiko, come in a moment."
With the sliding door pushed open, the maid Yumiko walked in.
"Eldest Miss, what are your orders?"
"Did something happen? Why hasn't breakfast been delivered today?"
With Maki's temper, naturally she wouldn't accuse others without asking clearly. Of course, even if angry, she usually wouldn't casually punish the household servants.
But hearing this, Yumiko's face showed a strange look, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
Seeing her expression, Maki asked curiously, "Was the kitchen equipment broken? Or did the maid responsible for cooking fall ill?"
"Neither." Yumiko shook her head.
"Then what's the reason?" Maki frowned, her tone turning cold. This was the sign of her anger.
As the head of the family, without any temper or authority, how could she manage such a big family?
"Because…" Seeing the eldest miss frown, Yumiko stammered and said, "Because… early this morning… before dawn… Mr. Aiden went to the kitchen, saying he wanted to prepare breakfast for the eldest and second misses."
"Originally, Mr. Aiden told us not to tell you, saying he wanted to give the eldest and second misses a surprise… he…"
"Alright, Yumiko, don't say any more, and don't say what he's preparing for us this morning." Maki pinched her brow. She felt a bit depressed, why didn't she wait a little longer just now? Now the surprise was ruined.
But though the surprise was gone, the anticipation instantly shot to the max. Even the listless Chizuru sat up straight, eyes full of curiosity staring at the door.
"Big Sister, do you think Aiden… that guy can cook?" After staring a while and not seeing Aiden come in, Chizuru glanced sideways at her sister.
"He… should be able to… I heard Z-country men all know how to cook." Maki couldn't be sure either. Thinking for a bit, she added, "Later, no matter how Aiden's cooking turns out, you can't show a disgusted expression."
"Big Sister, you're too biased. When I cook for you and it doesn't taste good, you always say something." Chizuru looked unhappy, loudly accusing her sister, "Big Sister, you're way too partial."
"How can that be the same? Aiden is a man." Maki said seriously, "You need to give him enough face. And men rarely cook normally, even if he's a Z-country man."
"Anyway, Big Sister is biased, biased, biased…" Chizuru pouted, muttering under her breath.
But Maki just acted like she hadn't heard, thinking to herself.
'Am I biased?'
'Mm, naturally yes.'
———
The Kagura sisters didn't wait long before Aiden's voice came from outside the dining hall.
"Yumiko, could you lend a hand?"
"Yes, sir."
"Yumiko, don't bother, let me."
Yumiko had just responded and was about to step out when Maki stopped her. Then, she saw her elder sister trot out the door herself.
As for Chizuru, seeing her sister already gone, she had no choice but to sit back again. But Yumiko noticed the displeasure on her face.
"Maki, why did you come out?"
Outside the dining hall, Aiden was pushing a small serving cart when he saw Maki appear, and asked with some surprise.
"Aiden working so hard to cook breakfast for us, how could Maki just sit there?" Maki pursed her lips and smiled at Aiden, then helped carry the food out of the cart.
"You can't put it like that. Usually you and Chizuru take such good care of me…"
"Stop, Aiden, don't say such things." Maki set the plate she had just picked up back down again, then reached out a finger to press lightly against Aiden's lips, stopping him from saying more polite words.
Then, like startled, she pulled her hand back, picked the plate up again, and carried it into the dining hall.
Touching his lips, Aiden chuckled softly. 'The eldest miss's hand really was… smooth…'
As he sighed in his heart about his low level of literary talent, unable to think of too many adjectives, he handed the rest of the plates to Yumiko who came to help. Then, holding a bowl of fried rice in each hand, he entered the dining hall.
Given the conditions and skills, he couldn't make time-consuming foods like buns or steamed bread. But having lived alone for so long before, this fried rice of his he was very confident in.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Placing two bowls of fried rice in front of the Kagura sisters, Aiden said a little embarrassed, "Not very familiar with your country's stove and tools, otherwise it wouldn't have been this late."
"Aiden, tomorrow I'll have someone renovate the kitchen, add some better kitchen tools."
"Eh, no need for that trouble. Besides, I don't usually cook either. Mm, I actually really like Chizuru's cooking."
"Now you know what's good."
Even though she was treated like a tool, hearing Aiden say that, Chizuru still happily laughed.
After that, the sisters began tasting the breakfast Aiden had made.
[🎉 Shoutout to Acheron13, LightEvil, Amirul, Benedict, Jordan, Cameron & Jerome for joining p@treon. There is also a discount event ongoing till 6 November 12.00 P.M. Thank you very much.🤗]