Roommates

El's first day at the academy came to a fulfilling end.

He elbowed Zhou Yi in the morning and wandered around campus in the afternoon.

He took a stroll along Sea God Lake to see the lake and the Golden Tree he had always wanted to visit; went to Shrek's cafeteria to check whether the tables really had no chairs; and inspected the communal toilets in the dormitory...

There really was only one per floor!

Exiled to Shrek to fight two hundred people for a toilet!.JPG

"Once I join the academy's upper management, all of this is getting changed!"

Sitting in his dorm room, El frowned.

"The dorms need private bathrooms with separate wet and dry areas, and the cafeteria has to have booths and private dining rooms!"

"And the decor absolutely has to look good!"

How could the continent's number one academy have such shabby facilities?!

The dorm rooms were practically unfinished shells slapped with a coat of whitewash, and they had gone years without repairs.

Forget the treatment of prisoners of war stipulated by the Geneva Convention-these were worse than the dorms at the high school he had attended in his previous life.

One word: awful!

In a dump like this, any comfort depended entirely on what the students brought themselves.

For instance, El had brought a mattress pad made from Silvermoon Wolf fur and a quilt stuffed with Skyfeather Duck down.

"Ah, that's the stuff."

El flopped onto his soft bed, felt it spring beneath him, and rolled around a few times.

The sheets Little Huo had smoothed out by hand became rumpled again.

"Looks like my roommate knows how to enjoy himself too."

After flailing around a little, El glanced at the bed opposite his. It, too, was furnished with bedding that looked anything but cheap.

A spotless floor, expensive decorations and supplies, and a faint fragrance mingled with an aura of light in the air...

An almost imperceptible smile curled El's lips.

"Tsk, tsk. So he really has set his sights on me..."

Click!

The lock turned with a soft sound.

The boy's crimson eyes shifted toward the door.

"Hello there..."

"Xiao Xiao!"

Huo Yutong looked at the figure rolling around on her bed and called out somewhat helplessly.

"Stop rolling around on my bed."

"But Yu Tong, your bed is so soft..."

The petite girl buried her face in Huo Yutong's soft pillow, her voice muffled.

"This pillow is stuffed with dream-calming mugwort, right?"

"They say it soothes the mind, brings sweet dreams, and even helps Soul Masters recover their mental energy."

"Boo-hoo, I bow before you, rich girl."

Xiao Xiao reluctantly lifted her head from the pillow and looked at the girl whose hair faded into icy white, making a show of wiping her completely tearless eyes.

Her roommate's entire bedding set was made from Soul Beast materials.

Not only was it exceptionally comfortable to sleep on, it even had special effects.

Although those effects were rather weak, the price was anything but low.

At least, Xiao Xiao couldn't bear to spend Gold Soul Coins on such "luxuries."

With that kind of money, she would rather buy a couple of support pills. Those would work even better.

"If you like that pillow, you can have it."

Huo Yutong waved a hand dismissively.

"No, no, no!"

Hearing that, Xiao Xiao immediately let go instead.

"There's no need to go that far."

"Anyway, Yu Tong."

Climbing off Huo Yutong's bed, Xiao Xiao pattered over to her barefoot.

After making a show of looking left and right, she mysteriously hooked an arm around Little Huo's neck, her face brimming with curiosity and anticipation.

"Hey, Yu Tong, what's your relationship with El?"

She had known it.

What was coming had finally come.

Huo Yutong resisted the urge to slap a hand over her face and sighed softly.

Ever since class, Xiao Xiao had kept finding ways to get close to her, sometimes subtly and sometimes not. Once she discovered they were roommates, she stopped even pretending.

"Are you his girlfriend?"

When Huo Yutong remained silent for a long while, Xiao Xiao narrowed her eyes like a fox plotting to steal a chicken, a teasing look creeping onto her face.

"G-girlfriend?!"

A blush swiftly spread across Huo Yutong's cool, pale face.

She lowered her head and shyly pinched the hem of her uniform skirt. Her voice suddenly rose, then quickly dropped to a mosquito's whisper.

"El and I aren't a couple yet."

But does that mean everyone thinks we're a couple?

Hehe.

As a mental-type Soul Master, Little Huo began weaving an illusion for herself.

Hah.

Watching her roommate, who no longer seemed to know where to look, Xiao Xiao gave a cold laugh.

"He even beat up that old hag Zhou for you, and you're still not a couple?!"

"You're not fooling me, are you?"

"Confess everything!"

While Huo Yutong was still lost in a fantasy of pink bubbles, the petite girl's wickedness gave birth to courage, and she reached her sinful little hands straight toward Huo Yutong's waist.

Time to tickle!

"Don't!"

Huo Yutong cried out.

The moment the sensitive spots at her waist came under attack, she reacted and forcefully subdued Xiao Xiao's mischievous hands.

How could a mere Tool Martial Soul Master possibly challenge the mighty Ice Dragon King's physique?

"Waaah!"

Huo Yutong hoisted the petite girl up with one hand.

"Uh, can we settle this peacefully?"

Xiao Xiao offered an awkward yet polite smile.

"What do you think?"

Huo Yutong retorted with an unfriendly expression.

"You actually dared to ambush me..."

"Accept your punishment!"

The dragon king's very tangible hands descended upon Xiao Xiao's body.

"Hahahahahahaha-oof! I was wrong!"

"Stop tickling me! Yu Tong!"

"I really was wrong!"

Xiao Xiao thrashed like a fish strung up in the air.

But no matter how violently her body jerked, she couldn't break free of Huo Yutong's grip.

In the end, kindhearted Little Huo let her go of her own accord.

Of course, her main concern was disturbing the students next door.

Weak from laughing, Xiao Xiao lay on the bed, her face still flushed as the excitement faded. Even her body gave an occasional twitch.

"Yu Tong, seriously, what exactly is your relationship with El?"

Only after recovering for a good while did Xiao Xiao speak calmly, an arm draped over her eyes.

"Strictly speaking, we're cousins. He's older."

Huo Yutong explained her character's backstory.

"What?!"

"Distant cousins, with a very distant blood relationship."

Huo Yutong made sure to add that at the end.

"Oh."

Xiao Xiao, who had briefly grown excited, returned to being a limp salted fish.

Why had Huo Yutong stressed that their blood relationship was so distant?

Such a difficult mystery!

"Ah, I was thinking that if you two were brother and sister, I could become your sister-in-law..."

Xiao Xiao moved her arm away, seemingly resigned to her fate.

"Now it looks like I don't have a chance."

"Why?"

Huo Yutong looked at Xiao Xiao with curiosity mixed into her unfriendly expression.

"You only met El for the first time today, didn't you?"

"I know El is strong, handsome, and outstanding, but what makes you like him so much?"

"Love at first sight?"

Xiao Xiao paused.

"Why?"

"Because El is really handsome."

"In the entire academy, Wang Dong is probably the only one who can compare to him, right?"

"And then there's what you said. He's strong, talented, and really friendly..."

"Of course, the most important thing is that he drove Teacher Zhou Yi away."

Xiao Xiao turned her head to look at Huo Yutong.

That long, icy-white hair was reflected in her black eyes.

"Yu Tong, you have twin martial souls, don't you?"