"Uh... I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Silence pooled like still water; only then did Yumigawa Senki realize her mistake. "My bad. I'll fix this right now."

She whipped out the Sacred Life Sword at her waist—seriously, what kind of maid wears a sword on her hip?—gripped it one-handed, and raised it. "Time Sword: Reverse Flow!"

Whoosh.

A glare burst open like lightning on snow. In the kitchen, chaos rewound at a speed the naked eye could chase; it was like watching a river run backward. Not the world—just this room’s time unfurled, thread by thread, while the outside remained still as stone.

A few heartbeats later, the light thinned like fog at dawn. The kitchen stood whole again, as if the rubble had been a mirage on hot pavement.

"Phew—I'm wiped."

She swiped sweat from her brow, then slowly sheathed the Sacred Life Sword. Time magic drains like winter wind; her face went pale, paper-white under lantern glow.

"So strong! That’s the legendary time school, right?"

"No wonder Miss Qianji from the Mizumi Clan. Even this legendary art—she can bend it like bamboo."

Eastern Moon Aixue and Faya stared at the restored kitchen, mouths open like fish at the surface. It figured; time magic defies heaven’s ledger, rare as qilin tracks. Few are born for it, fewer still can master it.

"Qianji Sister is scary-strong. No matter how many times I watch, time magic still blows me away."

"Indeed. Though I hate to admit it, Yumigawa Senki is the most gifted person I've met."

Even Elyar and Little Sis sighed, like wind through pine needles. I agreed—Yumigawa Senki’s talent feels like someone toggled cheat codes in the sky.

But enough of that. I stepped up and rapped her on the head, knuckles like a judge’s gavel. "Yumigawa Senki, explain why you needed magic just to cook rice. And you used a Sacred Realm-level fire spell."

"Uu... sorry! I only wanted the rice to cook faster."

She cradled the spot I’d tapped, voice small, like a sparrow in rain.

"I get the idea. But can you use something lower-tier? Like an F-rank Fireball, baby flame, slow and steady like a simmer?"

I’ve had that thought before, seen others try it too, so it wasn’t shocking. But a Sacred Realm fire spell? That’s flirting with a wildfire on the grasslands. And you say you have common sense? My mind kept grumbling like distant thunder.

"Eh? Isn’t a bigger flame faster rice?"

Thump.

Her guileless answer made my hand act again. Honestly, what’s in her head—cloud fluff or river stones?

"Ouch!"

Tears swam in her eyes like morning dew. "Uuu, Xinuo Miss, wasn’t that a bit much? I just made a tiny mistake..."

"A tiny mistake? If I weren’t here, this whole dorm might’ve gone up with it. How many would your ‘tiny mistake’ have hurt? Think. Think hard, like chiseling words in stone."

Before I teach her chores, I should teach her common sense.

"Sir Xino is right," Elyar said, voice stern as frost. "The right spell can cut cook-time like wind cuts waves. Push past the line, and you brew disaster. Mind yourself."

"This place is crowded and small; it’s not our Central Continent," Little Sis snapped, sharp as a snapped twig. "Qianji Sister, get this through your head. Don’t drag your reckless habits here. You’re an adult—act like one."

"Uuu..."

Yumigawa Senki really did look ashamed. Head down, no retort, her shadow long as dusk.

"Uh, um..."

"Let’s all cool it..." Eastern Moon Aixue and Faya said the words, but their faces stormed like summer clouds. Status held them back; anger still smoldered like charcoal.

"Hey. Enough. All of you."

The sun had dipped. Moonlight poured through the window like milk, and time, once more, had slipped away like sand. It was evening, and we didn’t even have rice ready. Sigh.

"Uh... Aixue, I’ll cook the rice," Faya said, glancing at me like a timid doe. "You take Miss Qianji to chop and stir-fry."

"Got it. Miss Qianji, with me. And no more stunts—move like a creek, not a flood."

"I’ll... try."

So Eastern Moon Aixue led the jittery Miss Qianji toward the table piled with ingredients, worry fluttering around them like moths.

"Qianji Sister... you can do it!"

"I deem Yumigawa Senki has no talent for being a maid," Elyar muttered, dry as fallen leaves.

Strange. Their expectations for Yumigawa Senki were sinking like the sun.

...

Unlike Yumigawa Senki, Faya finished the white rice fast, steam drifting like mountain mist. I turned to Senki and Aixue. Aixue’s washing and chopping moved smooth as flowing water. Senki’s did too... and yet I’d stopped hoping. The process glides like silk, the result crashes like pottery. Why?

"Miss Qianji, please cut the meat and the vegetables. We’re low on seasoning. I’ll grab some from the cupboard."

"Okay, leave it to me! When it comes to cutting, I’m confident in my knife work. I practice swordplay all the time."

Her gloom vanished like fog in sun; confidence flared like a torch. Should I be worried? Yes. Yes, I should.

"Mm... let’s hope."

Aixue shot a wary glance at the chef’s knife in Senki’s hand, then hurried to the cupboard, footsteps quick as a rabbit’s, aiming to get back before trouble took root.

"Alright! I’ll reclaim my honor this time!"

She set the meat on the board, raised the knife high, and brought it down in swift arcs.

Thock. Thock. Thock...

Blade and board met in a rhythm like rain on eaves. The meat turned into thin slices, each one uniform as stacked paper—width, height, thickness, all the same.

"Oh! This might actually work!"

"It could! Look at that—Yumigawa Senki can really cut."

Drawn by her knife-work, Little Sis and Elyar leaned in, excitement sparking like flint.

"Heh-heh!"

Praise puffed her up like a proud cat. She finished the meat, then set vegetables on the board... Huh? Was it my imagination, or did cracks spider across the board?

"Okay, next up: vegetables."

She swung with gusto.

Crack—bang!

The cutting board split clean in two. The table beneath it groaned and cracked as well, grain rupturing like frozen lake ice.

"Miss Qianji... you’re using way too much force! Who cuts vegetables like they’re cleaving boulders?!"

Aixue had returned at some point. Her face darkened like a storm rolling in.

"..."