Chapter 65: Morning Discussions Are Getting Stranger
"Do you know why it has to be specifically three hours?" Zerena asked again as she wiped the water from her face.
She didn’t seem to care that Max was currently using the toilet. Judging from the unmistakable sound coming from inside the bathroom, he clearly was.
Max simply shook his head.
"I don’t know..."
Despite the answer, a broad grin spread across his face.
Rather impressively—or perhaps embarrassingly—he was already hard again, even though he’d orgasmed only minutes earlier.
The reason was simple.
This was another first for him. Not using the bathroom in front of someone.
Using the bathroom in front of a woman.
A hot naked woman, to be more precise.
If one were quoting Max’s thoughts directly, he would’ve insisted the distinction was extremely important.
It wasn’t just lust.
Well...
Not entirely.
The bigger reason was curiosity.
Max was quietly trying to figure out just how thoroughly the system had managed to corrupt Zerena’s common sense over the past week.
A few days ago, she’d probably have thrown something at him for leaving the bathroom door open while using it.
Today?
She didn’t even glance in his direction.
She simply stood at the sink, calmly brushing her teeth as though the sound coming from behind her ranked somewhere between a dripping faucet and inconvenient weather.
By the time he finished, he casually gave himself a quick shake before walking out of the bathroom, toothbrush already in his mouth.
Unfortunately...
His penis had once again decided that returning to work immediately after clocking out was a perfectly reasonable.
Zerena, meanwhile, had already changed into a fresh pair of panties, the new this time light green fabric once again hiding the overgrown bush between her thighs.
She continued brushing her teeth for another second before her eyes drifted downward.
They stopped.
Even at rest, ignoring it had become increasingly difficult.
Now that it was hard again...
For a long moment, Zerena simply stared.
Then she slowly looked back up at him.
"...Why," she asked, sounding genuinely annoyed this time, "are you hard again?"
Max looked genuinely confused.
"...Why?" he asked, blinking at her. "Is something wrong with it?"
A hint of worry crept into his expression.
"I’m usually still hard if I’ve only done it once in the morning..."
Zerena slowly lowered her toothbrush.
She stared at him.
"...You masturbate more than once every morning?"
Max gave a small, embarrassed nod.
"...Not the first thing," he mumbled. "Usually after I’ve been awake for a bit."
He really didn’t need to add that.
Still...
Maintaining the image of an awkward, hopelessly perverted virgin had quietly become one of Max’s greatest survival skills. It certainly seemed to be working. At the very least, Zerena still hadn’t resorted to beating him with the nearest blunt object. Zerena, however, wasn’t buying the attempted defense for even a second.
Her eyelid twitched.
"...Whether it’s the first thing, the second thing, or the third thing," she said flatly, "it’s still disgusting."
Max looked genuinely embarrassed.
This time...
He wasn’t entirely acting.
"I can’t help it..." he muttered.
Zerena looked at him with raised eyebrows, equal parts disbelief and irritation.
"What, did someone put a gun to your head?"
Max quickly shook his head.
Technically...
That excuse might come in handy someday.
Today wasn’t that day.
"It’s just..." He rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding her eyes. "Aunt’s body is too hot for me to control myself."
He sounded thoroughly embarrassed.
Or at least, embarrassed enough to deserve an award.
Then, lowering his voice just a little, he added as though absentmindedly leaving behind a comment he never expected anyone to read,
"And it’s honestly a miracle I can even fall asleep with you lying next to me..."
He was, of course...
Very much hoping she would hear it.
She did.
Zerena froze for a brief moment.
’...So he really does find me attractive.’
The suspicion she’d quietly carried around for days was finally confirmed.
Which immediately raised a far more troublesome question.
’...Why?’
The thought felt far too complicated to unpack before breakfast.
So she shoved it aside and asked something much more practical instead.
Something that, if answered properly, might at least let her lower her guard a little when they slept together.
She narrowed her eyes at him.
"...You don’t do anything weird while I’m asleep..."
A brief pause.
"...Right?"
Max shook his head immediately.
Absolutely not.
Sure, he occasionally fondled her breasts in his sleep.
And every now and then, he’d wake up to find himself absentmindedly rubbing his penis against her unbelievably soft butt.
But that wasn’t weird.
Well...
Not by their current standards.
After all, they’d been sleeping like this for almost an entire week now.
Zerena narrowed her eyes at him.
"And don’t even think about it," she warned.
Max nodded obediently.
A few moments later, both of them finished brushing their teeth.
Using the same towel Zerena had just hung back in its place, Max wiped the moisture from around his mouth before falling unusually quiet.
He waited another few seconds.
Then, deciding the timing was probably as good as it was ever going to get, he changed the subject.
"...Umm..."
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Since I don’t have enough System Points to make another batch of potions right now..."
He glanced toward her.
"I was thinking..."
"...Maybe I should try making my first mana ring?"
"Didn’t I tell you to wait at least a month?" Zerena asked.
She spoke as casually as though the conversation had nothing to do with her current state of dress.
Aside from the fresh pair of panties she’d put on earlier, she made no effort whatsoever to cover the rest of her body.
"I was going to..." Max said as he pulled on his underwear.
Unfortunately, that did very little to solve his current problem.
His still-aroused penis stubbornly protruded over the waistband, seemingly refusing to acknowledge that getting dressed was supposed to involve cooperation.
"But over the last two days, I haven’t noticed any progress with my mana core," he continued. "No matter how much refined mana I feed into it, it barely accepts any of it anymore. Most of the mana just keeps rotating around the core instead of being absorbed."
As he spoke, he walked over to the refrigerator, opened it, and pulled out a carton of juice.
He poured a glass for himself.
Then, after a brief pause, poured another for Zerena as well.