Uchiha Shin's Daily Life

Stepping out of the training grounds, Shin felt the muscles in his face stiffen from his smile; maintaining a gentle expression at all times was truly an exhausting chore.

For some reason, he suddenly thought of Aizen from Bleach, who also seemed to frequent the True Spirit Academy to instruct students as a way to build his own reputation.

Shaking his head to dispel the thought, he headed toward his home. Upon returning, he found that the little maid had already prepared dinner and was waiting for his return.

Seeing Shin return, the little maid knelt gracefully by the door and bowed respectfully, her crisp voice filled with delight: "Welcome back, Master Shin!"

Shin set the Heaven Cloud he was carrying to the side, washed his hands, and sat at the table to eat the meal the little maid had served. He had grown accustomed to this life of being served at home; sometimes he would sigh, thinking that if he were forced to live alone and do everything himself, he probably wouldn't be able to go on.

While eating, the little maid kept staring at Shin's face, wanting to say something but hesitating to speak.

"Shin... Master, are you unhappy?" Finally, she gathered her courage and asked timidly.

"Hmm?" Shin put down his bowl and chopsticks, touched his face, and asked in confusion, "I should have hidden it quite well. How did you notice?"

He was certain he had kept a smile on his face the entire time and that his behavior was no different from usual, so he couldn't understand how his own little maid had spotted it.

The little maid lowered her head quickly and said weakly, "Master's expression is the same as usual, but when Master enters the door, your footsteps are usually very light. Today, they were twice as heavy as usual. Normally, after coming home, you always have this servant help you change into a loose robe before washing up and eating, but today you sat down at the table right after washing your hands. Also, you just tossed that sword aside; usually, Master is very protective of ninja tools and never throws them around..."

Shin stared blankly at Chiyo Hotaru, never expecting her to discern his foul mood from such details—details that even he hadn't paid much attention to.

"Ma... Master!" The little maid felt uncomfortable under Shin's gaze and lowered her head even further.

"Stop lowering your head, or you'll turn into an ostrich. 'Master' is too distant; I don't like it. Change it to something else." Shin chuckled, his mood lightening slightly.

"Oh!" the little maid replied, actually lifting her head, her delicate brows furrowed as she asked, "If not 'Master', then what should I call you?"

"How about 'Big Brother Shin'?" Shin smiled, directly ignoring the fact that Chiyo Hotaru was actually a year older than this body of his.

The little maid shook her head like a rattle, refusing to agree no matter what.

Shin suggested two other titles, but the little maid rejected them both.

Finally, Shin glared at her and feigned anger: "This won't do, that won't do—you come up with a title yourself."

The little maid looked like she was about to cry; it was he who forbade her from calling him 'Master', and now he was forcing her to come up with a title—it was so unreasonable.

However, she only felt aggrieved in secret and dared not voice it. After thinking for a long time, she whispered, "I, I'll call you 'Master'!"

"Good enough, suit yourself."

"Master!"

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Master!"

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

The little maid seemed to really like the title and was tireless in using it until Shin scolded her twice, at which point she finally restrained herself, though she remained beaming with joy.

Shin couldn't do anything about her, so he reached into his robe, pulled out a pouch, and tossed it in front of her. The little maid took it, opened it, and exclaimed, "Master, there's so much money!"

Shin said casually, "I'll leave it for you to manage. From now on, you'll handle the household finances. If I need anything, I'll just ask you for it."

The little maid's eyes lit up. She hugged the money pouch to her chest and asked nervously, "Really? I'm still young, you can't lie to me."

Shin couldn't help but laugh; he hadn't realized before that his little maid was such a miser.

Having secured the financial power, the little maid became even more attentive, bustling about with immense enthusiasm while washing and boiling water. Watching her busy figure, Shin's mood improved even further.

After bathing, Shin felt refreshed. Wearing a thin robe, he lay on his bed. It was still early and he couldn't sleep, so he said, "Hotaru, come in for a moment!"

A moment later, the little maid pulled open his bedroom door and walked in with her head bowed. It appeared she had just bathed as well; she wore only a thin shift, water droplets still clinging to her jade-like arms. Her face was flushed, and her dark hair hung over her shoulders. A faint scent of cherry blossoms mixed with a milky fragrance drifted into his nose.

Shin turned over, lying prone on the bed, and said, "I'm a bit tired. Give me a massage."

The little maid replied and came to his side, extending her hands to knead gently. Her hands were extremely slender and it felt very comfortable, though the only drawback was that her strength was too light.

"Use more force."

The little maid nodded and added a bit of pressure, but unfortunately, to Shin, it didn't feel much different than before.

Frowning slightly, Shin said, "Stand on my back and use your feet to step on me. Your touch is too light."

The little maid's face turned deathly pale, and she shook her head repeatedly, not daring to do so.

It wasn't until Shin pulled a long face and scolded her twice that she climbed onto his back with a look of grim determination. Shin discovered that sometimes, one really needed to be firm with the little maid.

Feeling her small feet moving back and forth on his back, the weight of the little maid pressing down was just right. Shin silently thought to himself that this was what life should be, and quietly closed his eyes.

He silently summoned the system in his mind, and the system interface naturally appeared before him. Looking at his points, he wondered, what should he exchange for this time?