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"Since nothing's wrong, let's get some sleep."
Seeing that Miko Yotsuya clearly had something she didn't want to talk about, Max tactfully didn't pry. He just smiled and stood up.
"Uh… where do I sleep?"
Miko glanced around awkwardly.
"Master bedroom, second floor."
"The master bedroom… on the second floor…"
She blinked and hesitated for a second."Wait, then where are you sleeping?"
Max grinned. "The master bedroom, second floor."
"Ah?!"
Miko froze, eyes widening.Wait—so they were sleeping in the same room?!
And if they were sharing a room… then what would happen next?
Her mind immediately flooded with all kinds of restricted images—the kind that made her pulse race and her face burn red.
She looked like a ripe peach about to burst with color.
"Let's go."
Max smiled faintly, then, before she could react, he scooped her up princess-style.
The room was dimly lit.Only a faint stream of starlight slipped through the blinds.A passing cloud veiled the moon, deepening the night even more.
When the first light of dawn broke through, the darkness finally began to fade.
On the large, soft bed, Miko lay curled up against Max's chest, wrapped in a blanket.
Max slowly opened his eyes.He glanced down at the girl still sleeping peacefully in his arms, the corner of his mouth curving into a gentle smile.
A moment later, he called up the Encyclopedia of All Things.
Name: Miko Yotsuya
Rank: Blue
Description: Spirit-seeing girl
New Ability: Sky Magic
"Sky Magic?"
He frowned slightly.What exactly did that do? Flying? Something else?Where did it even come from?
Too broad a range to guess. But he didn't bother thinking too hard—he'd find out once he fused it.
Closing his eyes, he merged with the ability.
No sound, no flash of light.
Three seconds later, Max's eyes opened in realization.
So it came from Fairy Tail.
Specifically, from Wendy Marvell's magic—derived from the Sky Dragon Slayer arts, a healing magic with unique restorative powers.
It could cure poison, reduce fever, heal wounds… even fix dizziness and motion sickness.
The only drawback? It burned through a lot of energy.The tougher the injury, the more it drained you.
But that weakness meant nothing to Max—he had infinite energy.
"Nice. Real nice."
A top-tier healing magic? His mood instantly brightened.
He leaned down and kissed Miko lightly on the forehead, then carefully slipped out of bed.
After grabbing a clean robe from the closet, he left the bedroom.As he let the Force flow through his body, a refreshing clarity filled his mind.Only then did he pull the robe on.
Downstairs in the kitchen, Max opened the fridge and took out ingredients for breakfast.
He decided to make buns.
He mixed 500 grams of low-gluten flour with 270 grams of water and 30 grams of milk, then added 5 grams of yeast, 15 grams of sugar, and 10 grams of baking powder.
After mixing the dough, he set it aside to rise.
Then he chopped up pork—thirty percent fat, seventy percent lean—mixed in seasonings, and kneaded it with garlic water to bring out the texture.Finally, he added some chopped green onions to complete the filling.
While waiting for the dough, he thought of Miko.So he washed some red dates and red beans, then added millet to make a pot of jujube-red bean porridge.
Once the dough was ready, he kneaded it carefully, pushing out the air bubbles in one direction, then rolled it flat and started wrapping the buns.
He hadn't trained as a chef, but after cooking for himself every day, he'd picked up decent skills.
As long as you weren't cursed with "dark cuisine" talent, could read a recipe, and followed it properly, the odds of disaster were pretty low.
Practice makes perfect—try it a few times and you'll get it.So long as you don't randomly add "creative inspiration" halfway through, you'll get better fast.
You might not become a professional chef, but you could easily run a cozy little diner someday.
Once all the meat buns were neatly wrapped, he steamed them over high heat for fifteen minutes.
As for the porridge—since it normally took too long, Max just used his psychic powers to accelerate the process.
When the buns were done, he grabbed one right out of the steamer, using a touch of the Blue King's power to cool it instantly to the perfect warmth.
The aroma was incredible.The dough was soft and fluffy, the meat juicy and rich—pure happiness in a bite.
Time passed quietly.
At seven in the morning, sunlight streamed through the windows.
"Mmm…"
On the bed upstairs, Miko's eyelashes fluttered. She let out a soft sound and slowly opened her eyes, hazy and unfocused.
Her brain was still blank from sleep.But as she blinked and her thoughts cleared, memories from last night came rushing back—
—and her face instantly flushed pink, like a cherry blossom blooming under the morning sun.
Not seeing Max anywhere, a faint unease rose in her chest.
Just then, click—the door opened.
Startled, Miko instinctively yanked the blanket up to cover herself.
Max stepped in with a tray in hand and smiled when he saw her sitting up.
"Morning, Miko."
"Max…"
Her lips parted, her eyes flickering with emotion.The blush on her cheeks deepened again.
"Breakfast's ready—porridge and buns."
Max chuckled and walked over.
As he got closer, Miko realized she still wasn't dressed and turned even redder, clutching the blanket tighter around her.
Max sat down beside the bed, his tone soft.
"Let me feed you. Ah~"
He lifted a spoonful of steaming jujube-red bean porridge toward her.
"…Thanks."
After a brief hesitation, Miko accepted the spoon, cheeks glowing.
Warm. Sweet.
It tasted like honey.
The nervousness in her chest melted away completely, as if it had never existed.
As Max gently fed her, her gaze softened without her even realizing it.
Her worries drifted off, replaced by a quiet, tender warmth.
With every bite of Max's porridge, she felt her tired, aching body slowly come back to life.
"....."