39: My Dragon Maid?

Night deepened. By the time Lin Luo returned to the apartment with Tohru, it was long past the time he had agreed to return with Yukino Mifuyu. Just as he stood still in the hallway, the doors of both apartments opened simultaneously.

Kirisu Mafuyu and Yukino Mifuyu stepped out of their respective rooms. Their gazes met in the air, making Lin Luo, who was caught in the middle, feel a chill run down his spine. The air froze for a moment before Yukino Mifuyu finally broke into a smile. She walked lightly to Lin Luo's side and naturally took his arm:

“Why are you back so late? The food is getting cold.” Her voice was soft and gentle as water, but her gaze swept over Tohru as if by accident.

Seeing this, Kirisu Mafuyu gave a cold snort, her sharp gaze fixed firmly on their linked arms. Seeing that Lin Luo had no intention of pulling away, her eyes grew colder, and her lips thinned into a straight line. Finally, she turned abruptly, venting all her pent-up anger on her door—

“Bang!”

The heavy impact echoed through the hallway, making even the paintings on the walls tremble slightly. Before the loud sound could fade, her door slid open a crack again. Mafuyu's frost-like gaze shot out from the gap as she coldly dropped a sentence:

“Don't forget school tomorrow. Your vacation ends today.”

Before she finished speaking, the door was slammed shut again, causing dust to fall from the doorframe.

Yukino Mifuyu acted as if she hadn't heard anything, still holding Lin Luo's arm and saying softly, “I specially made a few extra dishes. Why don't you and your new friend join me for a meal?”

Tohru, who had been left aside, blinked her vertical pupils. The keen perception of the Dragon Clan allowed her to understand instantly—it seemed this human was being fought over by two females.

However, that thought was quickly pushed to the back of her mind because another word firmly caught her attention:

“Eating?”

The blonde dragon girl's vertical pupils instantly lit up, her expression of watching a show immediately replaced by anticipation. She leaned in a few steps, her nose twitching slightly as she caught the aroma of food wafting from Yukino Mifuyu's room.

“The food of your human world smells quite fragrant.” She made no effort to hide her interest, looking at Lin Luo with burning eyes, completely forgetting the undercurrent of confrontation from just now.

Lin Luo shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. “Let's go, though I don't know if there will be enough for you to eat.”

After saying that, he gently pulled his arm out of Yukino Mifuyu's grasp, but in the next second, he naturally took her hand. The moment their fingertips touched, he felt Yukino's hand tremble slightly.

He originally wanted to say something, but when he looked down into Yukino Mifuyu's smiling eyes, he was momentarily lost for words. The warm light of the hallway fell on her face, and that gentle smile actually made him dazed for a moment, as if he were seeing a wife waiting for her husband to return home.

“...Let's go inside first,” he finally said in a low voice, leading her by the hand into the apartment.

Yukino Mifuyu let him lead her, a smile she couldn't hide touching her eyes and brows. She quietly tightened her fingers, feeling the warmth from his palm, and even her steps became light.

At the dining table, Tohru was like a hungry Dragon descending upon the world. She poured a whole bowl of rice directly into her mouth, chewed twice, and swallowed. Yukino Mifuyu watched in a daze and could only continue serving her rice until not a single grain was left in the rice cooker.

Tohru tapped the empty bowl dissatisfiedly. “Keep it coming.”

“There really isn't any more,” Yukino Mifuyu said helplessly, spreading her hands.

Tohru's molten-gold vertical pupils suddenly contracted, and the breath of a giant Dragon filled the small apartment. “Little snow spirit, you can't even handle an offering properly. Then you'll be my snack.”

She opened her mouth, revealing an abyss-like maw large enough to swallow a whole head, but she was lightly struck on the top of her head by Lin Luo's hand-knife.

“Tohru, stop scaring Yukino.”

The dragon girl, who had just been exuding such a menacing Aura, immediately deflated. She pouted and muttered, “But I'm not full at all...” Her aggrieved look was a world away from the Dragon might she had just displayed.

Intimidated by that sudden, terrifying Aura, Yukino Mifuyu felt her whole body go stiff. At that moment, her vision went dark, and she could only see those molten-gold vertical pupils burning brightly in the gloom like the entrance to a nightmare. The Dragon might bore down like a mountain range, almost suffocating her.

“She, she, she...” Yukino Mifuyu subconsciously grabbed the corner of Lin Luo's clothes, her gaze flitting frantically between the terrifying dragon girl and the person beside her. Finally, she looked up at him, on the verge of tears, so scared she couldn't even finish a sentence.

Seeing this, Tohru raised her chin triumphantly, a low, rumbling laugh with the resonance of a Dragon's roar rolling from her throat. “Hoho~ How is it, tiny snow spirit? Tremble before true Dragon might! If you can offer up a proper tribute,” she crossed her arms arrogantly, her Dragon tail swaying happily behind her, “I might even take you in as a little familiar if I'm in a good mood.”

“Tohru.” Lin Luo's voice rang out again, not heavy, but with a clear command to stop.

The dragon girl, who had been so arrogant just a moment ago, immediately let out a “Tch.” She retracted the terrifying Aura around her and turned her face away resentfully, muttering softly, “I know, I'll stop messing around...”

Her eyes darted around, landing on the untouched bowl of rice in front of Lin Luo.

“...Lin Luo, are you still eating?”

Lin Luo helplessly pushed his bowl of rice in front of her. Then, he naturally reached out and gently pulled the still-shaken Yukino Mifuyu into his arms. Feeling the slight trembling of the person in his embrace and seeing the lingering terror and dependence in her moist eyes, a strong protective urge rose in his heart—her pitiful appearance was truly heart-wrenching.

Lying in Lin Luo's arms, the corners of Yukino Mifuyu's mouth curled into a fleeting arc. Her cheek remained pressed against his warm chest, feeling his soothing pats. Her moist eyes flickered at an angle no one could see.

Across from them, Tohru was busy shoveling the rice Lin Luo had pushed over into her mouth, her cheeks bulging. Her molten-gold vertical pupils, however, glared dissatisfiedly at the hugging pair. She mumbled indistinctly, “She's clearly just a snow spirit... yet she's so cunning...”

While stroking Yukino Mifuyu's back, Lin Luo looked up at Tohru and said helplessly, “You have the nerve to say that? Who was the one scaring people first?”

Tohru gave a “Hmph” and turned her head away, but her tail wagged impatiently behind the chair, making a light thumping sound against the floor.

The clock in the living room pointed to eleven o'clock at night.

Lin Luo had just finished showering and came out of the bathroom. While wiping his wet hair with a towel, he said to Tohru, who was staring intently at the TV, “The bathroom is free now. Tohru, do you want to take a bath?”

Hearing this, Tohru immediately wrinkled her nose in disgust. “I'm not like you humans! My Dragon scales stay clean all year round; they don't produce that kind of filth.” She raised her chin proudly, her golden vertical pupils shimmering under the light. “The Dragon Clan is perfect!”

Lin Luo couldn't help but laugh. “That certainly is convenient...” His gaze unintentionally swept over her and then paused. “Hm? Why did you change your look?”

At some point, the Tohru before him had changed into a black and white maid outfit. The ruffled apron was tied meticulously, her legs beneath the skirt were wrapped in white stockings, and even the hair accessory on her head had become a delicate lace headband. This outfit was completely different from the casual one she had worn during the day.

Tohru immediately became excited and pointed at the TV screen. “I learned it from that! Does it look good?”

The screen was playing a soap opera about the grievances of a wealthy family. At that moment, it happened to show the female lead in a maid outfit standing on her tiptoes, deeply kissing the young master of the wealthy family who was dressed in a suit.

“How can such a vulgar plot reach number one in the ratings...” Lin Luo frowned at the exaggerated acting on the screen. He picked up the remote and switched channels. “It's better to watch less of this kind of mind-poisoning, kitschy TV in the future.”

“Eh? I think it looks pretty good.” Tohru tilted her head, her blonde hair sliding off her shoulder. Not only was she not convinced, but she also imitated the movements she had just seen in the show, curtsying smoothly with her hands elegantly folded in front of her skirt, just like a well-trained maid.

But when she looked up, a light of eagerness flickered in her molten-gold vertical pupils, and her mouth curled into a smile that was both innocent and dangerous, unique to the Dragon Clan.

She took a step forward, the lace edges of the maid outfit swaying slightly under the light. Lin Luo could clearly smell the lava-like warm scent coming from her—the unique scent of the Dragon Clan.

“Master~” Tohru deliberately elongated her tone, her golden vertical pupils glowing slightly in the shadows. “Let me serve you for bed.”

Lin Luo reached out and pressed against her smooth forehead, stopping the over-enthusiastic dragon girl from getting any closer. “Stop messing around, Tohru.”

“Why!” Tohru wagged her tail dissatisfiedly, the skirt of her maid outfit swaying gently with her movements. “Clearly, when that snow spirit got so close to you, you were very happy!”

She imitated Yukino Mifuyu's usual posture, tilting her head slightly and trying to make a submissive expression, but the light flickering in her eyes betrayed her restless nature.

“It's not the same.” Lin Luo sighed.

“How is it different?” Tohru puffed out her cheeks indignantly. “I'm stronger than her, more powerful than her, and I can fly! And look—” She spun around, her skirt fluttering. “I look much better in a maid outfit than she does!”

Lin Luo looked at the self-confident dragon girl before him and couldn't help but facepalm. Just then, Tohru suddenly had a flash of inspiration and revealed a cunning smile:

“I know! Is it because I didn't do what they did in the TV show...”

As she spoke, she suddenly stood on her tiptoes and lunged toward Lin Luo. Lin Luo was caught off guard and was knocked back two steps, nearly losing his balance.

“Tohru!”

“Hehe~” The dragon girl laughed as if she had succeeded, her tail unconsciously wrapping around his calf. “Is this okay now?”

Lin Luo looked down at Tohru hanging on him. Those golden vertical pupils were looking at him expectantly, as if waiting for praise. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart—where on earth did this Dragon learn all this mess?

“I've decided.” Tohru put her hands on her hips, her tail wagging excitedly behind her, her molten-gold vertical pupils shining with a light of determination. “Since you said you didn't want anything in return—”

She deliberately elongated her tone and suddenly took a big step forward, almost crashing into Lin Luo's arms. The lace collar of the maid outfit swayed gently with her movements.

“Then let me be your personal maid to repay you!” She looked up, revealing a smile that was both innocent and cunning, unique to the Dragon Clan. “How about it, Master~”