Shinryong-nim♪
In the peaceful city of Seoul, beyond its strikingly modern streets, there lies an ancient forest where the landscapes of several centuries past still breathe and thrive. Far, far away in that dense woodland—known to mortals as the Great Cavity—lives the Divine Dragon and her cherished servant, Niyu. This is the story of a servant and her chief deity, of Niyu and Shinryong, who have seized the strongest and greatest being in existence with both hands and now tumble messily, helplessly in love with each other.
Early that morning, I measured a cup of roasted brown rice and six cups of water into the kettle and set it to brew. Ever since I became her servant, I had not missed a single day of preparing this brown rice tea for her. Did you know that drinking a cup each morning helps restore the body heat lost during sleep and even raises your basal metabolic rate for the day? I have no idea if it’s scientifically proven. I simply tried it, found it beneficial, and kept the habit.
Today, however, I wasn’t drinking the brown rice tea myself. Before the kettle could even come to a boil, I opened the refrigerator and began searching for something I suddenly couldn’t remember where I’d put.
“Where did I leave the cheong…”
The star of the show was, of course, my lemon cheong. Ah, there it was—tucked right behind the leftover curry I’d stored in a container the other day.
“Mmm, what a wonderful aroma.”
The moment I lifted the lid, a sharp yet sweetly tangy scent rushed out. I took a quick appreciative sniff, then began boiling a separate cup of water. After spooning a generous dollop of the lemon cheong into the cup, I returned the jar to the fridge, leaned against the sink, and started humming softly to myself.
Skin care is an absolutely vital matter for any woman. Men will never understand the sheer stress of staying up even a little too late and waking to the smallest pimple. Ah, except for the men who do understand. If you know, you know.
Here’s a handy tip for those of us sensitive about our complexions: drinking lemon tea first thing in the morning helps reduce facial puffiness~
…What? It loses the effect if you add sugar? Oh, you’re in for it now.
Three-week survival experience in the Great Cavity. No lodging or food provided. Escape? Haha, go ahead and try.
“…Niyu.”
I had been leaning against the sink with my eyes closed, humming away, when her voice reached me. I hadn’t even noticed her arrival. Shinryong had finished her morning meditation; she entered the kitchen with both arms slipped into the wide sleeves of her casual robe, her thick tail swaying gently behind her.
I turned with a bright smile to welcome her. She approached slowly, leaning against the sink beside me until our shoulders touched, then tilted her head slightly in my direction. In answer, I tilted my own head until our temples met in a soft press—our little morning ritual.
It was a habit we had only recently developed. If we could touch foreheads, we did; if she wished, we stayed like this, shoulders and heads together. I suspected it was her own quiet way of expressing affection. I loved it. Any chance to be even a fraction closer to her was always welcome.
After our gentle greeting, Shinryong took her seat at the table. I prepared a teacup and set it before her. Her tail swished happily from side to side as she offered me a faint smile. I poured the perfectly brewed brown rice tea with careful reverence.
She waited patiently until I carried my own lemon tea over and sat across from her. The moment I settled and brought my hands together, she mirrored the gesture. Then, with a graceful motion, Shinryong lifted her cup, supporting its base with one hand, and inhaled the aroma first. Only after she had savored it did I slowly sip my own, letting the liquid glide down my throat.
While she drank, the tail that had been wagging softly lost its strength and drooped limply toward the floor. The instant the cup left her lips, it fluttered rapidly to make up for lost time before settling back into its original gentle rhythm. I watched every second of it before finally enjoying my lemon tea.
With a soft slurp, the sweet-tart fragrance of lemon filled my mouth—thick yet somehow light in texture. This unique mouthfeel was exactly why I insisted on adding plenty of sugar to the cheong. Though… perhaps I had added too much. Why did it taste so intensely sweet? Damn it. The diet would have to start tomorrow. I was doomed.
“…Is it to your taste?”
Shinryong had been quietly observing me. Her voice was cautious, almost hesitant.
I immediately offered to pour her a cup as well.
“No… it is simply that you appear to be drinking it with such evident pleasure.”
Her tone was strangely awkward. She turned her gaze toward the hallway beyond the kitchen door. Something felt off. The way her tail kept swaying in that rhythmic left-right-right, right-left-left pattern told me she was up to some mischief. An irresistible wave of affection surged through me.
I promptly moved my seat right beside her and stared directly into her face. Shinryong, who had been determinedly avoiding my eyes by focusing on her brown rice tea, rolled her gaze desperately in the opposite direction.
“Hmmm~? Hmmmmmm~?”
Every time she tried to flee my gaze, I leaned in closer, following until my face hovered just before hers, even chasing the tilt of her chin. At last, even with her head thrown back as far as it would go, she could endure no more. She pushed my face away with one hand in surrender and revealed the truth.
“Ehe… It was only… only that I was watching your tail twitch beneath your clothing…”
Startled, I touched the thin tail I had wrapped around my own waist. Shinryong’s face flushed scarlet. She covered it with both hands and turned away in embarrassment.
Wondering whether it really showed that much, I glanced down at my shrine maiden robes, patting and adjusting them here and there. No matter how I looked, everything was meticulously covered. I couldn’t fathom how she had seen it so clearly.
Yet…
“Ah—Shinryong-nim!”
It didn’t take me long to understand. Those piercing ruby eyes that saw through all things… sometimes they saw straight through my flesh as well. I felt my own cheeks heat at her lewd gaze and quickly covered myself with both arms.
Of course we had already done everything there was to do, but still—having one’s maidenly body so suddenly laid bare to such a stare was rather embarrassing. I clutched my arms tighter, wriggling this way and that while lamenting, “How will I ever get married now? How can I possibly live with such a perverted Shinryong-nim~” and spinning her around playfully.
Shinryong offered no reply. She simply closed her eyes and took another sip of tea to soothe her burning throat.
“You know it is not by my own will,” she said at last, opening one eye to glance sideways at me.
She was right. Sometimes her power acted against her conscious intent. Much like the way I pitched a tent between my legs every single morning. Because of that, her abilities were occasionally called not a divine mystery but a divine instrument—though she seemed to dislike the term. Of course, those who spoke of divine power understood the distinction, but if she disliked it, I would refrain.
“In any case… you will take responsibility, won’t you?”
No, actually, I wanted to do even more.
“W-what manner of words are those…”
My mischievous question, delivered while still holding her arms, nearly made her drop her teacup. She asked me to explain myself again.
“What do I mean? You already know perfectly well~”
I drew closer, fingertips catching the knot of her robe.
“Res-pon-si-bil-i-ty.❤”
Of course she firmly pushed my hand away.
“Sip. We shall do such things at night, as always.”
“Ehhh~”
When the sun was high, her iron wall of a personality remained firmly in place. I shook my body with an exaggeratedly regretful expression, making every courting gesture I could think of, but daytime Shinryong was simply unbeatable.
“Matters of the night hold greater value when kept for the night. The tea was excellent, as usual.”
Unable to keep her any longer, I watched her rise, wash her cup, return it neatly to its place, and leave the kitchen.
“You still brew a fine cup… Niyu.”
Her quiet parting words melted away every trace of disappointment. I simply beamed.
After sending her off with a small smile as she headed toward her morning duties, I remained alone in the kitchen, turning her words over and over in my mind. And eventually—
“Uhehehehehe——”
I couldn’t hold back the frivolous laughter that burst from my lips.
This was probably my true morning routine. Of course I still had to mop the hallways, check the weather stripping, dust everywhere, tidy the rooms… there were truly countless tasks waiting. But for now, I decided my morning routine would end right here. I wanted it to. I waaaaannnnnaaaaa———