Afterward, taking a deep breath, Mai Shiranui tried hard to calm her chest that had started rising and falling again. After the sudden huge surprise, her eyes gradually became somewhat moist!
"Grandpa, did you see it? Little Mai has grown up, and has also recruited her first student. Grandpa, don't worry, Little Mai will definitely make the Shiranui-style ancient martial arts flourish."
As her eyes gradually became resolute, Mai Shiranui wiped away the tears that hadn't fallen yet. Then, she once again looked at Aiden, her tone carrying excitement and trembling, "Little Aiden, from now on, you are my student!"
"Little… Aiden…" Aiden felt a bit helpless at Mai Shiranui's way of addressing him, but since the other party had already become his teacher, calling him Aiden didn't seem like much of a problem.
"But one day, I'll change this title of Aiden into something else…" Aiden thought to himself.
Mai Shiranui didn't notice the fleeting helpless look on Aiden's face. Right now, she was very excited, looking at him full of anticipation.
"Aiden, call out a 'teacher' for me to hear."
"Teacher Mai!"
Aiden hesitated for a moment, but still added an extra title in front of "teacher."
But Mai Shiranui didn't mind, she just nodded. Teacher Mai it is then, since the other party looked older than herself anyway.
Then she patted Aiden's shoulder with satisfaction, "Aiden! You are now my student, also the senior disciple of the Shiranui-style. If you have any needs or questions, just tell teacher, teacher will try her best to help you solve them."
Aiden smiled and said, "If that's the case, then I do have a few questions I'd like to talk over with Teacher Mai."
Mai Shiranui froze slightly, her heart becoming a little uneasy. Actually, she was just speaking casually. Even though she had taken three million yen from Aiden, the dojo itself had nothing at all. So she could only hope her student's questions wouldn't trouble her too much.
"It's really nothing, just a few small questions and small requests." Aiden could see her uneasiness, and continued smiling,
"First, Teacher Mai, does the dojo include room and board?"
"Uh…"
The first question already made Mai Shiranui troubled. She hesitated for a moment and didn't immediately answer.
Actually, when her grandpa was still alive, the dojo did include room and board. After all, with her grandpa's reputation back then, it was possible to get students. Accommodation wasn't a problem, the dojo had many houses, just needed to tidy up a few.
But food… that was a big problem.
Because in the past, the dojo only prepared ingredients, and cooking was always done by the later disciples.
This was the unspoken rule of all dojos in R country. But now, the entire dojo only had her and Aiden. If she let Aiden, this brand new student, cook by himself…
'Fortunately, I can still cook. Hopefully, he isn't too picky.'
Mai Shiranui thought in her heart, then nodded firmly, "Of course it includes room and board, and it will be personally prepared by teacher."
Hearing this, Aiden smiled again and said, "In that case, then may I make one small request regarding the room and board?"
"Go ahead!" Mai Shiranui had already thrown caution to the wind. As long as she could keep this student, she would do anything.
"First, I may not necessarily stay overnight at the dojo, but my bed must always be prepared, so that when I train too late and feel lazy to go home, I can sleep here."
This was a small problem, so Mai Shiranui quickly nodded, "No problem, tonight teacher will prepare your room, and it will be cleaned every day."
"That's good. Next is the second request. Because I am from Z country, I hope that in the three daily meals, at least one dish must be Z country cuisine, and I may not necessarily eat here."
'That's a bit excessive!'
But Mai Shiranui still nodded without hesitation,
"No problem, I also like Z country cuisine, and I can cook some."
'She agreed to this too… Teacher, you're really acting humble…'
Aiden thought, but still continued, "Very good, with the room and board problem solved, let's move to my second question."
"Go ahead!" Mai Shiranui lazily waved her hand. 'By now, there shouldn't be any problem harder than personally cooking, right?'
"May I ask, Teacher Mai, does the dojo have weekends and holidays?"
"???" Mai Shiranui looked at Aiden with a face full of doubt.
'What? You came to learn martial arts, and you even want weekends and holidays? You should know martial artists train in the cold of winter and the heat of summer. Without enduring hardship, how can martial skills improve?'
But what she thought in her heart, Mai Shiranui didn't dare say aloud. She could only put on a bitter face and nod, "Of course there are weekends and holidays, according to the official holidays."
"In that case, I can rest assured." Aiden smiled as he looked at the bitter-faced Mai Shiranui. He understood just how excessive his requests were, but the other party still agreed to all of them.
'Being a teacher to this extent… really is humble!'
Then Aiden said, "Alright, I don't have any more questions or requests. So, Teacher Mai, then tomorrow I'll officially start class. What do you think?"
'Actually, today would be fine, I can already teach you now…'
"What about now? Will you sit here for a while?" Mai Shiranui asked in a low voice.
"Sit for a while… fine." Aiden nodded. Anyway, it was still early now, and even if he went back to the shrine, he had nothing to do there.
Seeing Aiden nod, Mai Shiranui's anxious heart finally eased a little, but to truly feel at ease, she still needed to ask once more.
"You won't go back and then never come again, right?"
"What are you saying, Teacher Mai, I already gave the money." Aiden felt this question was kind of dumb.
'But maybe… looking at how casually you gave money, a few million clearly doesn't mean much to you. What if you don't come tomorrow?'
Mai Shiranui pouted, worrying in her heart. Then she thought for a moment and said, "How about this, Aiden, you stay tonight and eat dinner here. Teacher will go out to buy food right now, how about that?"
To capture a man's heart, you first capture his stomach. Mai Shiranui was still confident in her cooking skills.
Although this was something usually said about couples, but… since it was just one man and one woman, applied to teacher and student it should also be suitable, right?
Hearing that Mai Shiranui planned to personally cook for him tonight, Aiden hesitated a bit, but thinking that eating here or at the shrine wasn't much different, he nodded and agreed.
"Then Aiden, sit for a while, I'll make you some tea first, then go buy groceries." Mai Shiranui immediately stood up, said that, and ran into the room next to the dojo. Very soon, she brought Aiden a pot of tea.
After personally pouring a cup for Aiden, she then walked toward the door. But when she reached the door, she turned her head back and shouted loudly at Aiden, "Aiden, don't run away, I'll be right back!"
"Go, go!" Aiden waved his hand at her.
Only then did Mai Shiranui leave the dojo uneasily.
Watching Mai Shiranui's figure disappear at the door, Aiden slightly shook his head and muttered, "The world has turned upside down. Why does it feel like I'm the teacher and she's the student?"
"But, a student bossing the teacher around, it actually feels kind of fun."
Smiling, Aiden looked at the tea in his hand that Mai Shiranui had brewed. She used very ordinary tea leaves, since the conditions here were like this, but still, he picked it up and took a sip.
But before he had swallowed the tea, hurried footsteps once again sounded outside the dojo.
Turning his head, Aiden saw Mai Shiranui had returned.
"Forgot to bring money, Teacher Mai?" Aiden glanced at her empty hands, swallowed the tea, and asked curiously.
"No!" Mai Shiranui shook her head firmly. After catching her breath, her large white rabbits bounced a few times along with it. She continued, "Aiden, what food do you like, do you have any taste preferences?"
Teacher Mai, you're being a little too thoughtful!
"Sour, spicy, both are fine. Really, as long as it's tasty. Of course, don't make it too complicated." Aiden didn't have too many demands.
"Then hot pot! I can make mixed stew, it should be similar to hot pot." Mai Shiranui thought for a moment, then once again ran out the door, her bouncing rabbits in her chest very eye-catching.
'Nice!'
Aiden nodded in satisfaction, and continued drinking tea.
Not long after, Mai Shiranui came back again, still running, out of breath, though probably not from exhaustion.
'Good, he's still here!' Seeing Aiden still sitting cross-legged in the same spot, Mai Shiranui let out a long sigh of relief, then carried two big bags of ingredients into the kitchen.
But since it was only afternoon and still some time before dinner, after putting the ingredients away, she went out again. This time she went to buy bedding for Aiden.
Before leaving, she replaced Aiden's teapot with a fresh one, and placed two small plates of newly bought snacks on the little table.
Not long after, Mai Shiranui returned once more, hugging bedding into the room next to her own where she now lived, and began preparing Aiden's sleeping place.
After laying out the bed, she fetched a bucket of water, took off her cumbersome kimono, and holding a rag began wiping the floors and windows.
Standing at the doorway, Aiden couldn't help rubbing his nose as he looked at this scene.
'Truly… so white, so big, so round!'
'Mai Shiranui, truly worthy of her name!'
But watching the extremely busy Mai Shiranui, even Aiden, thick-skinned as he was, started feeling awkward. He was a student, but was being treated like a lord.
Yet when he opened his mouth to offer help, Mai Shiranui refused, insisting this was what a teacher should do.
With no choice, Aiden could only continue drinking tea while watching her bustling around.
After Mai Shiranui finished cleaning Aiden's room, she didn't rest for a moment. Picking up a broom, she started sweeping the fallen leaves in the dojo yard.
'Even the Kagura family's maids still slack off sometimes, but Mai Shiranui was even more diligent than a maid!'
Aiden thought with a sigh.
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