Honestly, trying to flirt with a girl and realizing she’s your own friend is seriously awkward.

Whenever Meijie remembered what she’d just said to Bai Ye, she wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear!

Awkward. So incredibly awkward!

But...

Meijie snuck a glance at the ample curves of Bai Ye’s chest, then swallowed almost without thinking. She had to admit it: even without looking at Bai Ye’s face, she was still incredibly tempting.

She was only wearing a tight-fitting crop top, and it didn’t even show any skin—so why did she look so sexy? Were breasts really that noticeable?

“Hey! What are you looking at?”

Bai Ye felt like Meijie’s gaze was a little lewd. She quietly folded her arms over her chest to cover it up.

“N-no, I wasn’t looking at anything! I was just wondering how you ended up like this.”

“Sigh... It’s kind of complicated. Are you sure you want to hear it?”

“Of course!”

“All right, then...”

Bai Ye began explaining what had happened to her. The whole story was complicated, but it didn’t take long to tell. She gave Meijie a concise explanation, and Meijie soon understood what had happened.

“So, basically, you used some unknown teleportation array to escape the palace, and that’s what turned you into a girl?”

“That’s right.”

Bai Ye shrugged helplessly.

“It’s kind of ridiculous, isn’t it?”

“...”

Ridiculous? How could Meijie find it ridiculous? Bai Ye turning into a girl was absolutely wonderful!

Back when she’d first met Bai Ye, Meijie had already imagined what she’d look like as a girl. After all, Bai Ye had always had delicate features, and Meijie had always thought she’d look especially good in women’s clothes.

Now Bai Ye had really turned into a girl and appeared right in front of her. Meijie couldn’t have been happier.

Meijie had no idea who’d designed that array, but she really wanted to say one thing to him... “Well done!”

“By the way, I snuck out without telling An Jieli. You absolutely can’t let anyone know where I am!”

“Don’t worry. We’re good friends. I’d never betray you.”

Of course Meijie wasn’t going to reveal Bai Ye’s whereabouts. Until Her Majesty the Queen found her, Meijie would get Bai Ye all to herself. Why would she ever give that up?

Meijie usually followed the rule that you shouldn’t go after someone close to home. As Bai Ye’s friend, she shouldn’t have had any “improper thoughts” about her. But what was she supposed to do when Bai Ye had become so tempting?

Sure, you could avoid going after the girl next door—but “the girl next door” didn’t begin to describe Bai Ye right now. To Meijie, she was like a royal feast spread out right in front of her.

In a situation like this, there was no way Meijie could behave herself and not make some kind of move on Bai Ye.

“Oh, right. You just got to Maple City, so you probably haven’t found a place to stay yet. How about staying at my place?”

“At your place?”

Bai Ye hesitated. Her original plan had been to visit Meijie after arriving in Maple City, but she hadn’t actually thought about staying at her house.

“Would that be all right?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”

Seeing Bai Ye hesitate, Meijie hurried to reassure her.

“You’re my friend, after all. What’s the big deal if you stay at my place for a few days?”

“Hmm... All right, then.”

Bai Ye thought it over and agreed. She and Meijie were close, and she wasn’t the sort to worry about little things like whether she’d be a burden. She’d only given it a moment’s thought before saying yes.

Unlike the simple-minded Bai Ye, though, Meijie had much less innocent motives.

As far as she was concerned, once Bai Ye was staying at her place, she’d have a chance to do some “strange things” to her.

Meijie knew Bai Ye’s personality all too well. As long as she was a little forceful and knew where to draw the line, Bai Ye wouldn’t have the heart to turn her down.

Bai Ye had always been good-looking, but she’d been a boy—and boys just weren’t Meijie’s type.

But now Bai Ye had become a stunningly beautiful girl. There was no way Meijie could keep treating her the same as before.

“By the way, you didn’t come to Maple City just to see me, did you? You must have something else to do, too.”

“Yeah. Besides visiting you, I’m going to challenge Dungeon No. 45.”

In this world, the term “dungeon” specifically referred to an underground labyrinth crawling with monsters.

Dungeons were crawling with monsters that never seemed to run out, but they also produced many rare materials. Some of those materials could only be found in dungeons, making them an important strategic resource.

These underground labyrinths could be found all across the continent. According to official records from the various countries, there were at least several hundred dungeons of different sizes.

There happened to be one on the outskirts of Maple City. Its Imperial designation was No. 45, so people usually called it Dungeon No. 45.

“You’re going into a dungeon? Are you going to retrieve the Radiant Moon Spear?”

Meijie also knew that the Radiant Moon Spear had been left in the dungeon, so she wasn’t surprised when Bai Ye said she was going to challenge it.

“But you can’t just walk into a dungeon like that, can you? Don’t you need to get some equipment first?”

“Of course I do. I went to the armor shop earlier to buy some, but I happened to catch you flirting with the clerk, so I had to stop you first.”

At the mention of what had happened earlier, Meijie looked a little awkward. She scratched her head and hurried to change the subject.

“Ahem. The dungeon won’t open for a few more days, so there’s no rush. How about coming to my place first? I’ll cook you a welcome-home meal myself.”

“You’re going to cook?”

Bai Ye looked at Meijie doubtfully.

“You’re a spoiled rich kid. You can cook?”

“Hey! You don’t believe me?”

Meijie seemed a little annoyed by the doubt. She stepped forward and, as naturally as could be, took Bai Ye’s hand, ready to lead her home.

“I’m going to show you what I can do in the kitchen, whether you like it or not!”

“All right. I can’t wait to see what kind of culinary disaster you make.”

Bai Ye didn’t notice that, despite Meijie’s righteous indignation, the corners of her mouth had already started to curl up. Holding Bai Ye’s hand, Meijie secretly rejoiced to herself.

“Bai Ye’s hands are so soft!”

...

Meijie’s father was the lord of Maple City. As far as Bai Ye remembered, Meijie had always lived with her family at the lord’s manor.

But the place Meijie brought her to now clearly wasn’t the lord’s manor. It was still a rather luxurious residence, but it couldn’t compare to the manor.

“Did you move out and start living on your own?”

Bai Ye was puzzled. Meijie came from a typical noble family, and her father held an important position as the city lord. Families like that usually didn’t let their children become independent too early.

Children from noble families generally couldn’t leave the family home and live independently until after they were married. It was strange for Meijie to have moved out of the lord’s manor and started living on her own so early.

“Well... There are a lot of reasons. I’d rather not get into them.”

Meijie waved a hand, seeming unwilling to answer Bai Ye’s question directly.

“Forget about that for now. Come see me show off my cooking!”

On the way back with Bai Ye, Meijie had bought a whole pile of ingredients. But Bai Ye seriously doubted she knew how to cook, considering she hadn’t even recognized a potato when they were shopping.

It was ridiculous. Was there really anyone in this world who didn’t know what a potato was? Or had Meijie only ever seen them peeled and cut into pieces?

“What are you planning to make?”

Bai Ye looked at Meijie with deep suspicion. She honestly couldn’t imagine what Meijie was capable of making.

“How about beef and corn chowder?”

Meijie showed no sign of realizing that Bai Ye doubted her. She was aiming high right from the start.

Bai Ye could only raise an eyebrow and say,

“Chowder? Maybe not. How about you start with some tomato and egg stir-fry?”

Going from beef and corn chowder to tomato and egg stir-fry made it obvious that Bai Ye had no faith in Meijie’s cooking.

But Meijie didn’t seem to notice. She just rubbed her chin and nodded.

“Sure.”

She casually took out a bowl and two eggs, then handed them to Bai Ye.

“Here.”

“What for?”

Bai Ye was confused. Hadn’t Meijie said she was going to cook? Why was she handing the eggs to Bai Ye?

“Crack the eggs into the bowl for me first.”

“All right...”

Bai Ye deftly cracked the eggs into the bowl and asked Meijie,

“It’s just cracking a couple of eggs. Why can’t you do it yourself?”

“I don’t know how.”

“...”

As it turned out, Bai Ye’s suspicions had been right. Five minutes later, when Meijie brought out a blackened mass, Bai Ye immediately regretted letting her make the tomato and egg stir-fry.

That plate of black stuff wasn’t just a waste of food... It was an insult to the ingredients!

“Meijie, weren’t you supposed to make tomato and egg stir-fry? Why is there a plate of coal in front of me?”

Bai Ye stared at Meijie without expression. She’d suspected all along that Meijie couldn’t cook, but she hadn’t expected her to be this bad. Just look at that plate of black, unidentifiable stuff. Was it even fit for human consumption?

“I-I admit it doesn’t look very appetizing...”

Seeing Bai Ye’s expressionless face, Meijie felt a little guilty.

“But before you judge it, why not give it a taste? Maybe it’ll taste surprisingly good.”

“Oh, really?”

Bai Ye handed Meijie the spoon.

“You made it, so why don’t you taste it first and see how it is?”

“Gulp...”

Holding the spoon, Meijie stared at the unidentifiable stuff on the plate and swallowed, but still couldn’t bring herself to take a bite.

After a fierce inner struggle, she finally made her decision!

She was going to dump the whole thing...

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to try your own cooking?”

“Forget it. I don’t want to give myself a stomachache.”

As she said this, Meijie actually headed back into the kitchen.

“Th-that was just a mistake. Let me try again. I promise I’ll surprise you this time.”

Seeing that Meijie still had the wild idea of cooking for herself, Bai Ye hurried over and snatched the knife from her.

“Forget it. I’ll do it. I’m worried you’ll waste all the ingredients we bought.”

“Huh? Are you sure? You’re the guest, after all.”

At Meijie’s question, Bai Ye gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder and said,

“Trust me. If we both want to have something to eat, it’s better if I do it.”

“All right, then...”