Chapter 409: The Missy Who Ran Away

Erina stepped inside. The strong smell of blood hit her immediately, causing her to frown slightly.

Raised in a wealthy family, she had never been in such a grimy environment before. In the past, she would have turned her nose up at such a place and left without hesitation. But knowing that Sui was enduring the same conditions, she paused, reconsidered, and decided to stay.

"Are you a friend of Sui-sensei? Please, have a seat here," Atong said eagerly, moving a chair for her with a warm smile.

"Eh? Teacher?" Erina blinked in surprise, then glanced at Sui with amusement. "Why does he call you teacher?"

"Well, I taught him some basic knife skills, and ever since then, he's insisted on calling me 'teacher,'" Sui explained, shrugging helplessly.

Erina couldn't help but chuckle. Sui was only one or two years older than Atong, after all. Still, the title made her feel a bit closer to Atong. After all, if Sui was his teacher, that would make her, naturally, the teacher's wife—at least in her mind.

"Your knife skills are pretty solid," Erina commented as she watched Atong carefully cut through some ribs. "Your hands are steady, and your cuts are precise."

"Really?" Atong beamed. "It's all thanks to Sui-sensei! My dream is to be admitted to Totsuki next year."

"Oh? Totsuki?" Erina smiled faintly.

Because Erina had her collar pulled up high and her hat brim low, Atong had no idea that the woman standing before him was his idol—Erina, the God Tongue herself.

"When cutting beef, you should slice against the grain," Erina advised, "as beef is tougher and rougher than pork. Angle the knife 90 degrees to the grain. Not only will it look better, but it will cook more evenly and taste better."

"Ah! Thank you!" Atong quickly responded, bowing his head in gratitude.

"No need for that," Erina replied with a soft smile. Normally, she wouldn't have even spared a glance at a novice chef like him—such people didn't deserve to be called chefs, in her opinion. But since he called Sui "teacher," it felt like her duty, as his teacher's wife, to offer some guidance.

As Atong implemented her advice, he found cutting the beef to be much smoother and couldn't help but exclaim, "You're amazing! Are you also a student at Totsuki?"

"In a way," Erina replied with a nod.

As soon as Sui put down his knife, Erina rushed over with a towel, wiping his sweat with care. "How are you feeling? Do you want to rest for a while? Drink some water?" she asked, pulling out a bottle she had brought along.

"Alright," Sui nodded, though his hands were dirty. Erina carefully fed him the water, and Sui couldn't help but notice the faint, fragrant smell lingering on the rim of the bottle—clearly, it belonged to this tsundere.

Once she had helped him drink, Erina sat back down but returned a few moments later, worriedly asking, "Are you sure you don't need more water? Should I wipe off your sweat again?"

Sui looked at her, exasperated.

The other workers nearby chuckled at the scene.

"Haha! If I had someone like her helping me, I'd be ten times more efficient!" one of them joked.

"Yeah, right," another laughed. "As if a girl like her would ever help someone like you!"

Although Erina had kept her identity concealed, her graceful figure and soft, tender voice made it clear that she was quite the beauty.

Blushing, Erina whispered, "I was just worried that you might be getting tired."

Sui didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She was clearly bored and pestering him for something to do. "Can you please stop bothering me while I'm working?" he said with a sigh.

"Oh..." Erina murmured reluctantly as she sat down again. But moments later, she rushed back to Sui, asking, "Do you want some more water? Or maybe we could take a quick break?"

Sui rolled his eyes and groaned, "I told you, you're being annoying! You're distracting me."

Erina looked a bit hurt, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I was just worried about you..."

For the next three hours, Erina lingered around the workshop, repeatedly offering to wipe Sui's sweat, give him water, or suggest that he rest. Sui found her constant hovering utterly exhausting, but the others couldn't help but find the situation amusing.

Eventually, Erina glanced at the time and said, "I should probably head out now. Hisako doesn't know where I am, and she must be worried..."

"You're finally leaving?" Sui couldn't hide his relief. His work efficiency had plummeted with Erina around, and this was the first time he'd found her presence to be more of a hindrance than a help.

Annoyed by his reaction, Erina couldn't resist stomping on his foot.

How could he not appreciate her gentleness and care? Many people would have been envious of the attention she lavished on him, yet here he was, treating her like a nuisance!

"But Erina... you didn't sneak out here, did you?" Sui asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

At his words, Erina blushed. In truth, Hisako had been strongly against her coming to such a place. Her hasty retreat only confirmed Sui's suspicions.

Watching her leave in such a hurry, Sui shook his head. Finally, he could focus on his work again in peace!

Not long before the end of the day, Sui heard the notification he had been waiting for.

Since each animal provided multiple parts, accumulating processed ingredients with the Etsy Knife was much faster than it had been with the Nichirin.

"The host has processed over one hundred ingredients using the Etsy Knife, unlocking its hidden attribute."

—Attribute Description: Food processed with the Etsy Knife will retain its freshness for 24 hours.

"Nice," Sui thought, his eyes lighting up. This was a highly practical and powerful attribute. The moment food is slaughtered, its freshness is at its peak. After that, it gradually deteriorates over time. Even if the food is sent to the kitchen right away, some freshness will inevitably be lost.

But with the Etsy Knife, the freshness could be locked in for a full 24 hours. And paired with the Nichirin—which improved the quality of the meat—the Etsy Knife would preserve this enhancement for an extended period.

"The host has successfully unlocked the hidden attributes of three 'Collectors Knives' and has received a gourmet gift package."

Sui smiled wider. Having completed his mission, there was no need for him to stay any longer.

The Derous Knife—a traditional kitchen knife with a wide range of uses—was still locked. However, there was no rush to unlock it. With four 'Collectors Knives' already in hand, Sui decided he could take his time accumulating progress.