Chapter 126 | Don’t Go!
The next morning, Dexter woke up early, freshened up, and went through his routine. He took care of Mira, and both of them pretended as though the midnight event didn’t happen as Dexter finished up with her, dressing her up in a cloth she liked.
He had figured out the root of the problem. One of the herbs he used to make dinner last night gave a slight unwanted effect, which was definitely the reason for everything.
He sighed in relief and headed to the kitchen to cook breakfast.
The four of them were seated at the dining table, eating in comfortable silence, when it happened.
’Ding! Ding! Ding!’
Dexter’s phone suddenly erupted with a loud, blaring alarm—a sound he had never heard before.
Startled, he pulled the device from his pocket and stared at the screen. A bright red banner flashed across the display.
[EMERGENCY ALERT]
[F-Rank Hero: Dexter Ashford]
[Please rush to this location immediately to assist!]
[A Gate has appeared and a Monster Outbreak Detected]
[Estimated Gate: F-Rank to E-Rank]
[Based on your current location, you are the closest registered hero. Estimated arrival time: Under 3 minutes.]
[Please hurry! Every second wasted could cost a civilian life!]
Dexter’s eyes widened. It hadn’t even been three days since he had registered at the Hero Association, and he was already being dispatched to a monster outbreak.
Just as Dexter was about to push his chair back, a cold voice cut through the morning air.
"Don’t."
Dexter was startled as he looked up in surprise. He could see Selene glaring at his phone, her white eyes staring at him with furrowed brows.
"You’re not going."
This time, Mira spoke in a firm tone as she glared at the phone in his hand.
Dexter scratched the back of his head as he frowned. He was a registered hero now, and a part of the Hero Association.
He received a monthly stipend, and that came with obligations. He couldn’t simply ignore an emergency dispatch. Worse, the alert had explicitly stated that every second wasted could cost a civilian life.
If the Association tracked his GPS, they would know he had received the alert and chosen not to respond.
He glanced sideways and saw Lyra was also glaring at his phone.
The three girls’ faces had turned cold by now.
’It seems the trauma from the dungeon still haunts all three of them.’
Anything related to monsters, outbreaks, or dungeons triggered a deep, visceral fear that Dexter understood completely.
But he needed kills, not just for the Asura Slaughter Demon Body, but to upgrade the investment multiplier from 100x to 1,000x.
Right now. He needed 51 more kills to hit the 1,000x milestone for that; he would need to head into dungeons, go for more monster outbreaks, not just for the system but also for the girls.
If he wanted to find a cure for them, he would head into Dungeons more often than they would be comfortable with. As for the civilians, Dexter wasn’t too keen on saving them.
But he had just reconciled with Mira, if he left now, all of that progress might crumble and Selene and Lyra might just hate him for it.
Dexter’s brows tightened even further
Mira watched the struggle play across his face. The conflict in his eyes was unmistakable
As she gazed at him, her furrowed brows started to ease, and her gaze eventually softened. Because Mira understood something in that moment, something that cut through her fear and her trauma and her selfish desire to keep him safe within arm’s reach.
Dexter was a good person by nature.
If he weren’t, he would never accept taking care of a cripple, but he took on three instead.
If he wasn’t a good person, he could have ignored them, brought in several women into their home, or even had other girls on the side.
But he hasn’t done that. He has stuck with them, made sure they didn’t starve or lack anything, endured their insults, absorbed their pain, and never once complained.
He had pushed a wheelchair into the rain just to make her smile, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions not because he had to, but because he wanted to.
If she told him not to go, if she forced him to sit here while people died while he might listen, he would have to suppress that good part of himself that needed to save innocent lives.
And in doing so, she would be forcing him to go against his nature, changing him, twisting his good heart into something else until eventually he might just stop caring entirely.
Mira sighed internally, and her face shifted as it went from being fierce to indifferent.
"Just go if you want to go," she said flatly.
Dexter, still locked in his internal debate, was stunned as he turned toward her.
Lyra and Selene’s eyes widened as they turned towards Selene in surprise.
Mira turned her head away, refusing to meet his eyes. "When did you start listening to us?"
"Since you really want to go, just go."
Her gaze suddenly turned cold as she glared at him. "If you like, get yourself killed and don’t come back. I am going to haunt your soul."
Dexter stared at her, stunned. ’She’s really serious.’
Mira, feeling the intensity of his gaze, rolled her eyes. Two spectral arms materialized behind her, one of them scooping up a spoonful of rice as she ignored him and continued eating.
Lyra and Selene’s brows were still furrowed. Selene’s fists were clenched, her nails almost digging into her palm.
Dexter smiled gently. "Don’t worry. I promise to come back." He paused, a hint of playfulness entering his voice.
"As you three keep pointing out, I apparently have a mysterious backing. So I’ll be fine."
Mira’s eyes snapped to him. "So you admit it," she said, her voice sharp. "You admit having a mysterious backing."
Dexter shrugged innocently. "I never said I did. I never said I didn’t."
Mira clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes, returning to her meal.
Dexter smiled as he turned to Selene and Lyra. But Lyra had resumed eating while Selene was staring at Mira with her white eyes.
Seemingly to have gotten their permission, he pushed back from the table and disappeared into his bedroom.
In under ten seconds, he had pulled a clean shirt over his wife-beater singlet, grabbed his shoes, and was at the front door.
He turned back to the girls. "I promise I will be back. Don’t open the door for anyone."
Mira snorted in irritation. "Not funny."
Dexter chuckled and waved goodbye, opened the door, and stepped out. The door closed behind him with a soft click.
•—•—•
The dining room fell silent.
Then Lyra and Selene’s gaze snapped toward Mira, their expressions hardening.
’Why did you do that?’
Lyra’s telepathic voice echoed inside Mira’s mind, and for the first time, the soft, melodic tone had turned cold. Dangerously cold.
Selene’s face was equally frigid. Her sightless eyes were narrowed, her jaw tight. "You shouldn’t have told him to go," she said quietly. "After what happened to us, monster outbreaks and dungeons should be the one thing we prevent him from walking into. Yet you let him go."
Mira finished chewing her bite, swallowed calmly, and set down her spoon.
"You two are also his wives," she replied evenly. "You could have told him to stay, and he would have listened."
Lyra rolled her eyes so hard it was almost audible.
Selene indifferently spoke. "We all know you are closer to him than either of us," she said. "He wouldn’t have listened to us. But if you had said something, regardless, he would have stayed. Just like he always does when it matters to you."
Mira blinked, and she found herself momentarily caught off guard. She glanced between the two girls, reading their expressions. Her eyes widened slightly in sudden realization.
A small smile crept across Mira’s lips. "Are you two... actually jealous?"
Lyra’s eyes blinked rapidly, and a slight flush crept up her neck to her cheeks. She immediately ate her last spoon and stood up, then announced into their minds: ’I’m done.’
She practically fled the dining room, leaving Mira and Selene alone at the table.
Selene, however, didn’t back down. She continued glaring at Mira without blinking, and her chin tilted upward in defiance.
Mira’s smirk widened. "Since you two are jealous, that means you are beginning to like him," she said casually. "Since you like him, why don’t you just tell him? I’m pretty sure it would make his day—two pretty girls confessing their feelings to him."
The silence that followed was deafening.
Selene’s lips pressed together tightly, but she didn’t flinch. Her pale, sightless eyes accurately locked on Mira’s eyes.
Mira’s smirk shifted into something more dangerous. She tilted her head slightly. "What? Do you truly want to fight for his attention with me?"
There was silence at first, but then Selene replied in a cold and indifferent tone. "I can try."
Mira’s smile widened further and then suddenly broke into a genuine, incredulous laugh. "Are we really about to quarrel because of a man?" She shook her head, her red hair swaying in disbelief. "I’m really fighting about a man."
Selene remained unblinking, unyielding, and she was dead serious.
Mira’s laughter faded. She studied Selene’s face for a long moment, searching for any trace of jest but there was non!
Mira frowned but then shrugged. "Fine. You can have him."
Selene held her gaze for three more seconds. Then, slowly, she lowered her head and resumed eating her breakfast in silence.
Mira’s brows remained furrowed, her eyes lingering on Selene for a few more seconds before she finally looked away.