"Hey! Assistant Xia Mi, are you even awake?"
At the breakfast table loaded with food, Xia Mi held a scallion pancake in hand, her head nodding sleepily. Nono, sitting opposite her, suddenly barked a loud command that landed like a hammer, finally jolting the girl out of her dreamlike stupor.
"Ah! I'm awake, I'm awake! What time is it now?"
Shaking her head and blinking rapidly, Xia Mi finally dispelled the fog in her mind. She took a bite of the pancake, a loud crunch bursting forth from her lips. Juices from the stuffing splashed out as her teeth sank in, running down her fair skin—only to be quickly swept up by her soft little tongue in one slick motion.
"It's almost nine, lazy assistant! Thank the heavens you're not like a certain lazy cousin of yours (Melusine), who sleeps till noon. If you were, this whole breakfast spread would've been cleared already."
Nono herself had yawned more than once this morning. She'd woken up early, but couldn't fall back asleep, so she got up right after Shirou.
"Thanks for the reminder, dear Nono-senpai! Long live senpai!"
Thank the heavens—no 8 AM classes!
Xia Mi raised her half-eaten pancake toward Nono, like she was proposing a toast with a foaming mug of beer instead of a breakfast snack.
"You know, I've never lived in a house this big before. This is my first time in one, and I was so excited I couldn't sleep all night! Senpai, you have no idea. I'm from the capital back in the mainland, where house prices are insane. People like me could work a lifetime and still never afford something this luxurious!"
"Back when I was renting while working outside, my room didn't even have air conditioning, a TV, or a private bathroom. It was basically a converted power supply closet. After a day's work, I'd cook, clean, then stare out of the rusted floor-to-ceiling window, watching the sunset and wondering how big the world really is..."
As Xia Mi rambled on, Nono could genuinely imagine a little girl living alone in a run-down rental, living a grayscale life in complete contrast to her own colorful upbringing in the Chen family.
And that's when Nono quietly slipped into profiling mode.
In her mind's eye, her imagination painted a vivid scene: a dimly lit room with a floor-to-ceiling window, a bear-patterned pillow on the bed, an old dresser in the corner, a gas stove and a double-door fridge. White lace curtains mixed with dark green velvet framed the window where a lone figure stood every day, staring out at a world not her own.
'It's real…'
Nono clearly pictured the poor girl toiling for her family far from home. Xia Mi's loneliness and hardship couldn't have been faked. She had clearly misjudged her before.
Moved by pity, Nono glanced at Xia Mi's hopelessly flat chest and sighed with compassion. No wonder her development was stunted—malnutrition due to poverty.
In contrast, Nono's own diet, whether in the Chen family or under Shirou's care, had always been excellent. Her "development" had never lacked proper nourishment.
"It's okay, Xia Mi. You still have time to grow—to pursue whatever you want in life," Nono said with motherly compassion, like a great merciful Bodhisattva come to enlighten the masses.
"...?"
Xia Mi had just been thinking, "Heh, you little human miko think you can see through me, the King of Earth and Mountain? As if—"
Then she saw Nono's gaze land once again… squarely on her chest.
Unforgivable!
Xia Mi could feel the world's malice toward flat chests radiating from this girl. One day, when her divine skills reached completion, she would shatter this ridiculous world where cup size determined status!
But for now, the future Death Goddess Hela remained a lowly assistant—bullied even by ordinary human girls.
Humiliation poured from her heart, tangled in frustration and indignation. Furious, she decided to unleash all her emotions on the food in front of her, demolishing it like a storm.
"Why are you scarfing down food without saying a word?"
Nono looked puzzled at first, then figured Xia Mi must've been deeply touched by her earlier comfort and found mere words inadequate—so she expressed her gratitude through a devouring feast.
"I didn't think my random breakfast shopping trip to Yokohama's Chinatown would hit your taste so well! I'll keep this up from now on… But no more slacking! When you're done eating, take a look at this. It's your assistant schedule for today—"
Xia Mi looked up and saw Nono gracefully gliding away, leaving behind a paper schedule. She peeked at it and nearly fainted.
Magical theory studies, combat training combining magic and martial arts, project research guidance… not just today, but the entire week had been filled in.
What do you mean there's no onboarding process?! You're just throwing me straight into full-on work?
Talk about intense!
———
Meanwhile, Shirou—the ultimate overachiever—had finished breakfast first and was already in the backyard, practicing his daily projections while waiting.
"Nono, you're here," he said without turning.
"Huh? I moved really quietly. How'd you notice?"
"You didn't suppress your footsteps well. I could hear your breathing. Plus, the scent from breakfast still lingers."
Shirou stood with sword in hand, back to her. His Mind's Eye (True) was running at full capacity. Since bathing in dragon's blood, his physical capabilities had skyrocketed, allowing him to combine his enhanced senses and battle instincts to perceive all things around him.
His path forward was becoming clearer.
This "Mind's Eye (True)" was essentially a fusion of hardware (body) and software (experience), turning his entire being into a supercomputer constantly reading, analyzing, and reacting to environmental input.
If both components reached high enough levels, would it be possible to foresee the future?
Bang!
Training began. Nono lunged with a wooden practice sword, only for Shirou to dodge with a slight tilt of his head—still facing away.
"You call that an attack? Faster!"
"Arghhh!" Nono shouted, infusing her limbs with mana to strengthen them. Dust and fragments flew from the backyard with every step.
The sparring escalated—explosive clashes filled the air. But it was all one-sided. No matter how fast Nono moved, she couldn't even graze Shirou's clothes.
From the side, Xia Mi watched silently.
Wow. You humans are seriously intense. You spend every waking minute—outside of eating, sleeping, and bathroom breaks—pushing yourselves. No wonder the old dragons got left behind. But of course… that won't include the future me, the great Hela.
She made a secret vow: she too would train at night in secret—conquering the Great Grail, mastering the leylines, and shocking the world with her brilliance!
Eventually, Xia Mi was dragged into sparring as well.
"Why me!?"
Shirou insisted that no mage should be a combat idiot. Nono, smiling sweetly, chimed in, "Xia Mi, it's all for your growth."
You've come all this way to Japan—are you really satisfied being just a humble assistant? Make this place your second home. Work hard, and you'll learn amazing things.
Xia Mi rolled her eyes. As the King of Earth and Mountain, she was already a martial arts master beyond human comprehension. She could destroy objects with a touch just by manipulating internal stress. What could these humans teach her?
So she played dumb—putting on a flawless rookie act.
By afternoon, Nono had been worked to the bone and collapsed in exhaustion. That's when Shirou summoned Xia Mi to a quiet chamber—a makeshift workshop for magical research.
"Alright. What's your project topic?"
"…Huh?" Xia Mi froze. She stammered something about revealing it soon, because in truth… she had no idea.
Back when she rushed to catch the same flight as Shirou, she had her classmate pick a topic at random. She hadn't looked at it since.
She opened her bag, pulled out the title, and—
"…On Discovering and Researching Historical Artifacts Useful to Modern and Future Magecraft."
"History? That's a humanities paper?" Shirou scratched his head. "You're asking an engineering-type mage to help with archaeology? Are you messing with me?"
"…" Xia Mi pouted. She hadn't chosen it!
She'd wanted to pick something on applied magic or alchemy, something Shirou could actually teach her. Damn those Zhou family classmates!
"Well… I do know a few stories from the past," Shirou said.
"What kind of stories?"
"Wanna hear one? I'm familiar with a tale about a king."
(End of Chapter)
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