(MC POV)
I wasn't sure why, but I woke up in the middle of the night.
That's odd… In the first place, I don't even need to sleep but I'm just doing it out of habit, so it's unusual for me to wake up like this after I fall asleep.
I extracted myself from Xun Guan, the slime girl having been very satisfied after I embraced her last night.
She seems to be especially needy after every date with my disciples since I wasn't bringing her along in case she gets discovered. It wasn't really a big deal anyway and I've already done this a few times so I've already gotten used to taking care of her like this.
"Ara, ara? That's rare of you to wake up like that Master. Did something happen?" Iris asked, having sat beside my bed the entire time.
"Mnn… I'm not so sure, something feels a little off I think? I'll take a walk outside."
"Ara? If Master is feeling bored, I wouldn't mind being embraced by Master as well, you know?"
I chuckled, "Maybe later, ok? I want to walk around for a bit."
"Ufufu~ In that case, allow me to accompany you, Master."
"Mmm, I don't mind. Come on then."
I carefully got out of bed without waking Xun Guan, materialising a simple set of clothes on myself while Iris rose from her seat.
I opened the door to step out into my courtyard, breathing in the fresh, night air.
It was a full moon tonight and the courtyard was bathed in its ethereal glow. Of course being the middle of the night, the entire place was empty except for myself and Iris.
"Seems like today's a quiet night," I muttered, making my way towards the pavilion in the centre of my courtyard.
"Ufufufu, I suppose that is one way to see it~ Does Master have a destination in mind?"
"Mmm… Not really, I just thought that I'd relax a bit now. Maybe I should check up on my disciples first."
I was about to head towards the building where my disciples were sleeping when Iris suddenly stood in front of me.
"Ara, ara? Where is Master going?"
"Hmm? Like I said, I'm going to check on my disciples. Why?"
"Ufufu~ I just thought that it might not be necessary since they are already asleep aren't they?"
"Err… Yes, but you know… Some of them might have kicked their blankets off the bed or something so I should go and tuck them back into bed, right?"
"Master really spoils your disciples a lot, don't you? Could I ask Master to spoil me a little more?"
I smiled at her before patting her head, "What do you mean? Don't I spoil you a lot as well?"
Iris shivered and let out a soft moan at my touch, "Ahhnnn~ I suppose Master does spoil me quite a bit~ Is it wrong that I feel a little jealous of your disciples?"
Huh… Is that why she was trying to stop me from going to check on my disciples? Was she afraid that I would start spending more time with my disciples instead of her after I went inside?
Oh my, Iris really is growing isn't she?
Before this, she definitely wouldn't have cared if I was with my disciples all day. But now she actually wants to monopolise my attention? That's definitely something she would not have done before.
Why would I consider being jealous as a sign of growth? That's because this feeling means that Iris has started to take note of other existences aside from myself.
The only reason why she did not feel jealous before was because she never cared or even acknowledged other existences aside from our own, so this could be seen as a big improvement!
In the past, she would regard my disciples' existence as something similar to space dust. Then it got better as she started looking at them like she was looking at a rather interesting rock.
For her to be jealous, it means she's finally looking at them as equals!
I'm so proud of her~
While Iris was still engrossed in the pleasure of the headpat, I stepped past her and went towards the building where my disciples were sleeping in.
"Unnn… Ara? Master!" Iris suddenly shouted when I pulled open the door.
I was quite surprised by her shout since she has never shouted aside from that time when she was extremely angry at my disciples.
Before I could ask what was wrong, I heard a soft voice call out in front of me, "Mnnn?! Papa?!"
I turned back towards the door that I had opened slightly to see Cai Hong standing there with a cookie in her hands.
"Cai Hong? What are you doing up so late?" I asked, even more surprised about this fact than Iris shouting.
She hid the cookie behind her back, "Cai… Cai Hong do nothing?"
No, no, I already saw that…
I gestured for her to come out and my loli dragon shuffled out of the room sheepishly.
"What were you doing, Cai Hong?" I asked gently.
Cai Hong took out the cookie that she had been hiding, "Uuu… Cai Hong hungry… So Cai Hong took a cookie… Cai Hong sorry… Papa angry?"
Ok… I'm not mad that Cai Hong went to take a cookie on her own, I'm more confused on how she got this cookie in the first place.
I have the cookies I made for Cai Hong stored in my storage ring so unless she went to get the ring and also figured out how to operate said ring, she should not have been able to get one.
Yet here she was with one of the cookies that should have been impossible for her to get.
"I'm not angry Cai Hong, I just want to know how you got this cookie in the first place?"
"Umm… Cai Hong thought really hard that Cai Hong wanted Papa's cookie! Then big hole went poof! Cookie drop from big hole for Cai Hong!"
…
Did Cai Hong really just learn how to manipulate space unconsciously? She basically forced open a portal that linked directly to my storage ring to get the cookie!
Is this the reason why Iris was trying to stop me from entering the room? Because I would find out about Cai Hong doing this?
I guess this was indeed quite a big shock to me and I'm honestly trying my best to hold back and not-- Oh fuck it, I'm gonna do it.
I picked up Cai Hong in my arms and cuddled her to my face, "Ahhhh! Well done Cai Hong! Papa is so proud of you!! You're such a cute genius!! Ahhhh!! You're so smart!!"
Hey! She managed to do it all on her own! Cai Hong is most definitely a genius! I'm going to give her all the head pats tonight!
Hmm? I think I heard something like a relieved sigh from Iris but that should be my imagination, right?
