Chapter 38: Service also has quality requirements

Morning breeze lifted the curtains.

Bathed in the gentle wind, Charis slowly opened her eyes, her body’s aches much improved.
The only flaw? Her tail was trapped.

“Ugh…”

Charis frowned, turning to find herself in Ophelia’s arms, her legs sprawled, clamping Charis’s tail all night.

‘My tail’s not your pillow!
Used for a whole night?
I, a mighty dragon, won’t stay under you forever!’

Charis shifted, carefully prying Ophelia’s hands off, inching toward the window to free her tail.

If Ophelia loved hugging pillows in her sleep, yanking it away would surely startle her.

‘Let’s see you not wake up when I pull my tail free.
Fall on the floor and don’t blame me—you insisted on clamping it!’

Charis saw no issue with reclaiming her tail’s freedom and acted.

“Hup!”

She arched forward, expecting to free her tail, but a strong force held it tight!

“Hiss! How’s that possible?”

Charis yanked, but couldn’t escape Ophelia’s thigh grip, only hurting herself.

‘She’s clamping so hard!
Is this from sword training?
Damn sword saintess, even your legs are trained!’

As Charis pondered other tactics, her tail loosened, then was grabbed.

“Morning, Charis.
Where’re you off to?”

Ophelia murmured, her clear eyes not at all like someone just waking up!

“What?! You were awake!”
Charis turned, shocked—Ophelia had been waiting for her move! So sneaky!

“I woke early.
So, where were you going?
Quite the effort to break free.”
Ophelia rubbed Charis’s tail tip under the blanket, soft and scaleless.

“Ugh… I just needed the bathroom!”

“You don’t know my house’s layout.
You’d wake me to find it, right?
With that strength, you were trying to trick me, huh?”

Ophelia kneaded and teased the tail tip, making Charis blush, biting her lip to spit out words.

“No way!
You’re paranoid!”

“Heh, sharp tongue.
Learned some fancy words, daring to talk back.”

“I’m just telling the truth—I love the truth!”

“Fine, fine, no rest for you this morning!”

Ophelia squeezed Charis’s tail harder.
Charis yelped, covering her mouth, muffling her protests at the sword saintess’s antics!

“Stop! You demon!”

“Still not yielding?
Guess I gave you too much face yesterday!”

“Ugh! Bullying a weak young dragon—what kind of sword saintess are you!”

“Who was bragging about being stronger yesterday?
Where’s that arrogance now?”

Ophelia stared into Charis’s eyes.
Charis took a deep breath, seizing her chance!

Whoosh!

She yanked her tail free, catching Ophelia off guard, who grasped at air.

“Heh, quick reflexes.
I’ll let you off this morning—playtime’s over.”

Ophelia sat up, clapping her hands, looking refreshed from a morning workout.

“…My poor tail, you worked hard.”
Charis hugged and blew on her tail tip, soothing it.

“I promised to grant your reward today.
What do you want?”

Ophelia turned, her red eyes serious, genuinely considering Charis’s needs.

“I want herbs.”
Charis answered curtly, needing Talos to identify the exact types.

“Herbs?
So you’re a herbivore dragon?”
Ophelia teased.

“Not just any herbs—those in your corridor.
I want to pick a few.”
Charis clarified, her eyes more serious.

“That’s it? Just a few herbal plants?”

Ophelia was puzzled—she’d expected Charis’s bold attitude yesterday meant demanding half the family fortune.

Instead, this dragon didn’t care for wealth, only herbs.

“Just herbal plants.”
Charis crossed her arms.

“Think carefully—herbs are the least of what my family lacks.”
Ophelia frowned, suspecting Charis had bigger plans, given her boldness.

‘If she’s shoving more at me, why be polite?’

Charis grinned, puffing out her chest.

“Then no more chaining me.”

“Hm?”
Ophelia’s expression shifted, but recalling yesterday, “Fine, but your freedom’s limited—no wandering outside.”

“Okay, and I want money.”
Charis added.

“Money for what?”

“To buy stuff!
Plus, my cooking isn’t free—it’s labor.”

Charis argued logically, aligning with human laws and ethics.

“Labor creates value—you want pocket money?”
Ophelia propped her chin, realizing Charis wasn’t a typical pet and needed careful handling.

“That’s all I want.
Surely the great Rodley heiress can meet these small demands?”

Charis teased playfully, and though Ophelia saw through her little scheme, she nodded.

“Of course I can, but…”
Ophelia’s lips curled into a sly smile.

“But what?”
Charis sensed trouble, scooting back on the bed.

“Can you meet my demands?
You’re talking about working for pay, right?
How can you earn pocket money without satisfying the customer?”
Ophelia turned the tables, leaving Charis stunned.

‘No way!
I was just being polite about working for money, and you’re demanding service quality?
I didn’t even ask for a fortune!’

Charis grumbled internally, trying to salvage her demands.

“Fine, just give me money as a reward.
Enough to eat forever.”

“Too late.
I’ll start with a small wage—let’s see how you spend it.”

Ophelia stood, opening the wardrobe to reveal an array of dresses.

“Come here, help me change—I’ll reward you one silver coin.”

“You’re already ordering me around?”

Charis was reluctant, but the silver coin tempted her.
It wasn’t hard, so she got off the bed to assist Ophelia.

“Oh, and Charis, I’m picking out clothes for you too.”

“Huh? I have to change too?”

Charis suddenly felt that silver coin wasn’t so easy to earn.