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Max entered his classroom.
He exchanged greetings with familiar classmates, responding to a few others as he made his way toward the back row.
Taking his seat, Max took out his textbooks. Keeping his voice low, he greeted the person in front of him:
"Kato, good morning."
His front-row neighbor was Kato Megumi, the "plain heroine" among the heroines of Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata (How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend). She was a genuinely attractive girl—with regular features, clear skin, and a pretty face—but possessed an almost inverse presence. At first glance, she seemed entirely ordinary, the kind of person who'd be completely overlooked in a crowd. However, a closer look revealed her subtle cuteness.
Her expression was perpetually calm, giving her a very cool and composed look. Half a month into the school year, Kato Megumi still hadn't made any friends and remained alone, one of the class's 'lone wolves.'
"..."
Kato Megumi, who had been quietly reading, paused slightly when she heard the greeting from behind her. Her eyes shifted, a flicker of surprise passing through them almost instantly. Her usual calm expression didn't change visibly; you'd have to be staring right at her face to catch the fleeting astonishment.
She blinked gently, then turned to face Max.
"Good morning, Max."
Her tone was level, her voice sounding quite soft.
As she looked at Max, her expression remained placid, yet her mind was already processing several thoughts. This was only the second time Max had actively greeted her. The first was on the very first day of school, a quiet word after their self-introductions. But that was it. Later observations led her to conclude that Max, like everyone else, subconsciously overlooked her existence. Consequently, they hadn't interacted since. She was surprised that he'd suddenly spoken to her today and, moreover, remembered her name.
Their eyes met, and Max offered her a slight smile.
A faint ripple crossed her gaze, and after a moment, Kato Megumi turned back to her book.
Max, for his part, took out the notes Kirisu Mafuyu had given him and began to read. Time silently slipped away.
Meanwhile, in Class 1-F...
Hana Yurikawa Hana approached Miko Yotsuya , staring intently at her, a slight frown of astonishment on her face.
"Miko, I feel like you look... even prettier!"
As close friends, Hana could clearly sense that Miko was different today. The light circles under her eyes were gone. Her skin glowed with a healthy pink, and she looked completely radiant, almost like a changed person.
"Huh? Do I?" Miko, who knew exactly why, played coy.
"Yes, you do! Totally!" Hana nodded enthusiastically.
Miko smiled faintly. "Maybe it's because I slept really well last night," she explained. "That's probably why I look a little different than before."
"Is that it?" Hana blinked, still a little doubtful.
Perhaps it was true, though. Hana knew Miko hadn't been sleeping well lately, even getting dark circles. Now that they were gone, it proved she'd had excellent sleep quality.
"It should be," Miko confirmed, chuckling softly.
However, the moment she mentioned "last night," a crucial realization hit her: she had been bred. Although the details of the night were hazy, she distinctly remembered Max not using a condom. And he had finished inside her.
Oh God, I could be pregnant, right?
She absolutely did not want to be walking around with a baby bump this early. A wave of anxiety washed over her, giving her a sudden urge to rush to the pharmacy for the "Uh-Oh Pill" (Emergency Contraception). Her left hand instinctively went to her lower abdomen, gently touching the spot where the Servant Contract mark now rested.
"Miko, what's wrong?" Hana noticed Miko's face flushing one moment and frowning the next, making her tilt her head in confusion.
"I'm fine," Miko replied, shaking her head to appear calm, forcibly pushing down the complex rush of emotions.
"Okay..." Seeing this, Hana felt something was up, but after a moment's thought, she decided not to press for details.
As soon as Hana returned to her seat, Miko quickly took out her phone and messaged Max.
Over in Class 1-C, Max felt his phone vibrate and took it out to check.
Miko: Max, we didn't use any protection last night. Is it still okay to buy the medicine after school?
Miko clearly didn't know much about these things.
As if he could sense her worry, Max smiled slightly and started typing a reply:
Max: Relax, Miko. I took care of some things last night, so you don't need to worry about anything.
He had no intention of having a child right now. When the 'cavalry charged' and he 'spilled the seed,' he had used the Force to completely deactivate the billions of sperm, also reducing their life energy by over ninety-nine percent. Thus, what Miko received was simply a potent tonic rich in nutrients, great for her body, capable of enhancing her beauty and preventing illnesses.
After all, he now possessed a perfect physique, comparable to a god's body. Even a single drop of his blood contained enough massive energy to help an ordinary person live for decades or a century longer. He was immune to all diseases and virtually ageless. He possessed superhuman physical conditioning, like a mini-Captain America.
It's just how powerful I am.
On the other side, upon reading Max's reply, Miko breathed a sigh of relief, her worry instantly melting away. She didn't know what Max had done, but all she needed to do was trust him.
The days turned into weeks, passing quickly.
It was Friday afternoon, a little past five.
Max returned home.
After a simple dinner, he went to his room and started up a game called 'Yggdrasil.' It was an MMOARPG, an open-world adventure game. True to its name, Yggdrasil was said to hold nine realms, and the game would gradually open up nine massive world maps. Each map was rumored to be huge—big enough that even with a million concurrent players, the world would still feel vast and sparsely populated.
The game had been in open beta for only three days. Max registered an account on the first day, choosing his usual ID: Daydream.
At half-past seven that evening, the doorbell rang, interrupting Max. Checking the video intercom, he saw it was Miko. Over the past few days, they had only communicated via LINE, otherwise not seeing each other at all.
He set his game character to idle and went downstairs to open the door, letting Miko inside.
Tonight, Miko was wearing a white hoodie paired with black denim shorts, highlighting her long, slender, pale legs.
"Did you miss me?" Max pulled Miko into a hug in the living room.
Cradled in his arms, Miko's face flushed slightly. Though shy, she still managed a soft "Mm." She wrapped her arms around Max's waist. She really had missed him during the past few days apart. Since the Servant Contract and their intimacy, she had come to view Max as her anchor, her pillar of support.
Receiving her response, Max's lips curved upward. He lowered his head and captured her soft, red mouth.
Miko's body tensed for a moment. Then, she closed her eyes and began to clumsily respond to Max's kiss.
"....."