Chapter 30: A Day in the Life of Tene.

“….Hwaaa… chomp…”

Tene’s day begins a bit later compared to those who live in the mansion.

While the employees wake up before dawn, using the rooster’s crow as their alarm and waking the Evergarden family in turn, Tene, as a guest and a laid-back individual, literally sleeps whenever she wants and wakes up whenever she feels like it.

“Mm…”

With the bright sunlight breaking through, her eyes naturally opened, and the chirping of birds signaling the morning helped Tene regain her consciousness.

She lightly sat up, blinking her still sleepy eyes.

“…Still sleepy…”

And then, she simply collapsed back into bed, falling asleep again.

Tene typically sleeps for about 12 hours a day, which was a stark contrast to the 5 hours of sleep she used to get in modern times due to school and cram sessions.

This moment felt like bliss to her.

However, Tenebricks Knox, the original body she inhabits, had only woken from a deep slumber during the latter part of the story, and thus, her body still required more sleep to make up for the deficit.

Her sleepiness was a result of this.

If Tene were determined enough, she could sleep for months, like hibernating.

But—

Grrruuuuu…

“I’m hungry!”

Her stomach growled, forcing her out of bed.

Tene’s internal clock was punctual, and her hunger made sure she got up.

The first thing she did after waking up was to tidy her bed and quickly change into clothes.

“Being a dragon makes this all possible.”

She took off her soft indoor clothes and pulled out a dress from her closet, putting it on.

The entire process was done with her eyes still closed.

Even though her sight was blocked, Tene’s dragon senses allowed her to process all the surrounding information, feeding it directly into her brain.

It might seem illogical to keep her eyes closed when she could just open them, but it was an instinctual action from her teenage boy self, still not quite used to being in a female body.

Unlike the people in the Evergarden family, who were used to being served, Tene, as a guest, had to manage by herself.

The clothes in her wardrobe were altered versions of the maids’ outfits, modified for easy changing.

Tene wasn’t used to being waited on, so this style of clothing suited her better.

“….I look really pretty today.”

Tene muttered to herself while looking at her reflection in the mirror after changing clothes.

“I used to imagine having a girlfriend like this every day, but now it’s me… I can’t believe it.”

Tene had just become a woman and had to part ways with her previous body.

But upon reflection, she realized that her new body was a kind of blessing.

As a dragon, Tene didn’t need to wash for days yet always remained clean.

Her hair never got greasy and always felt silky, and her scent was a fresh, minty fragrance.

Dragons were the apex of the food chain and humans, being at the top of the food pyramid.

Even a slight stomp would shake the ground, and a single roar could send hundreds or thousands of humans reeling or even fainting.

While she couldn’t use magic or breath attacks, her physical abilities were still extraordinary.

And to top it off…

“Hehe.”

Her face was that of a perfect beauty, so she enjoyed looking at herself in the mirror every day.

Grrruuuuu…

“Guess I’ll go eat first.”

Her stomach growling again interrupted her self-admiration, and she walked out of the room.

“Ah, Tene? Are you awake?”

“Hello, sis.”

“That’s not right. I’m your older sister, not ‘sis.’”

“Hehe. I’m not used to that yet.”

The maids, who had initially treated her with the formality reserved for distinguished guests, now greeted her casually, since Tene had told them she was just a guest and that they could treat her comfortably.

Tene’s true form was that of an ordinary high school boy, and rather than treating her like a noble, Freya decided it would be more natural to interact with her on a friendly basis.

Tene found this more comfortable.

“Still a late sleeper, huh? Reminds me of my little sister.”

“Tene! Where are you going?”

“I’m going to eat.”

“Hehe, look at those chubby cheeks. So cute.”

“Ahh… hehe…”

At first, the maids weren’t sure how to treat her, but now they simply saw her as a cute young girl living in the mansion.

They didn’t know that Tene was actually a legendary Black Dragon, and if they did, they’d probably faint.

Surrounded by the maids, receiving various praises, Tene was enjoying the peak of her life’s popularity, which caused her to let out a carefree laugh.

“Take care~”

“See you later~”

After being lovingly seen off by the maids, Tene set off again.

Her destination was clear.

She passed through the hallway, went down the stairs, and entered a room where steam was rising.

“Uncle! Hello!”

“Ah, our glutton has arrived?”

This was the kitchen, where the Evergarden mansion’s meals were prepared.

As soon as Tene entered and greeted loudly, a man who was kneading dough cheerfully greeted her.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m preparing dough for tomorrow morning’s bread. You have to make it ahead of time, so it rises and bakes into a soft, fluffy loaf.”

“Wow… That’s amazing.”

“Wait a minute. I’ll prepare the food after finishing this.”

“Can I watch?”

“Hehe, looks like you’re interested in cooking. Feel free to watch.”

“The most important thing is the gluten. The more you knead the dough, the fluffier and softer it gets.”

“Ah! I know! Gluten, right? I learned that flour contains gluten.”

“Gluten? I don’t know what that is, but I learned it from my master. Watch closely.”

“Ah, okay. Yes, sir.”

While the man was busy kneading the dough, Tene quietly pulled up a chair and watched beside him.

“Here, eat up.”

“Thank you for the meal!”

After finishing the dough, the man quickly prepared breakfast and handed it to Tene.

“Yum! This is delicious! It’s so good!”

“Heh, is it? It’s nice to see you eat so well.”

The man, Gren, the head chef of the Evergarden household, smiled happily as he watched Tene devour her food.

Recently, after being ordered to reduce the variety and amount of food served at meals, the nobles of the Evergarden family had begun to leave food uneaten, which had hurt Gren’s pride.

The family, accustomed to only eating western food every day, had become gradually unable to eat properly without kimchi, but due to their status, they couldn’t directly ask the kitchen staff for traditional foods like kimchi and rice.

Thus, they began picking at their meals.

Gren, however, wasn’t aware of this.

One day, Tene, who appeared as a guest of the family, had wandered into the kitchen.

Gren had invited her to taste some of his dishes, and from there, their interactions began.

Now, he was preparing her meals every day, a tradition that had become quite regular.

Tene had been starved for proper meals after she had reincarnated here, and thanks to her dragon nature, she could enjoy anything she ate, but Gren simply appreciated how she ate everything so quickly and thoroughly.

“I’m thinking of making cream stew for dinner. Will you come eat?”

“Yes!”

“Heh, you.”

Gren smiled proudly as he patted Tene’s head, happy to see her enjoy her meals.

“Ah… that was delicious.”

Tene, with a full belly, smiled contentedly as she wandered the hallway.

Her full stomach made her sleepy, and she couldn’t help but want to retreat to her bed for a sweet nap.

Agreeing with her body’s wishes, she headed to her room.

Just then…

“Ah! There you are!?”

“Ugh—Sis…?”

Tene, using her dragon’s keen sight, saw a figure rushing towards her from a distance, and her smile quickly turned into a look of unease.

The figure was none other than Felix Evergarden, the eldest son of the Evergarden family.

Felix was rushing towards her so fast that it looked like he was flying through the air—actually, he had momentarily lifted himself off the ground, gliding towards her.

“Hey, you need to help me with my experiment again today!”

“WHAT?! You want to do that again?”

Felix arrived in front of her, telling her to help with his experiment, and Tene recoiled in horror.

Tene, being a dragon at her core, still had incredible strength and resilience even though she was currently in a human form, and Felix often used her as a target for his magic experiments.

“It’s fine! You said it won’t hurt, right?”

“Last time, you put me on an experiment table to test fire magic, and my clothes burned off! Do you know how embarrassing that was!?”

“Well… I guess there was a little mistake with the setup…”

Tene had grown increasingly annoyed with Felix’s constant experiments.

At first, she had naively followed him, thinking she would help with the magic, but instead, he had turned her into a target for all kinds of magical attacks.

Although she had tried to learn magic, she couldn’t even feel mana, and Felix’s explanations were so complicated that she gave up on the idea of learning magic altogether.

Thinking back to the time when he threw a fireball at her during a previous experiment, leaving her clothes in ashes, Tene’s face turned pale in embarrassment.

“It’s okay! This time, it’s ice magic! Let’s try out ice magic!”

“But still…”

“Huh? You’re going to help, right?”

“…Fine.”

Unable to refuse Felix’s persistent requests, Tene, with a kind heart, agreed to become his experiment subject once more.

…And so, after being struck by ice magic, her frozen clothes shattered into dust, leaving her once again in an awkward, nude state.