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"Also… there's one more thing."
Miko Yotsuya blinked, a little wary.
Seeing Max deliberately acting mysterious, she sighed and typed back:
"What thing?"
Max : "If nothing unexpected happens, Miko, you'll be getting a third close sister soon."
"Huh?!"
Miko's eyes went wide.
Wait, another one?!
What, did he go out and buy them in bulk or something?
First two, now a third woman sharing the same man—her little jar of jealousy definitely tipped over this time.
A sour pang hit her chest. Her nose stung, eyes turning slightly misty.
She wasn't like Akashiya Moka.
Miko was just a normal girl, raised in modern society where "one man, one woman" was the rule.
Sure, she knew Maxi wasn't exactly human.
He was a superpowered being, strong enough to be called godlike.
Knowing that was one thing.
Even though he'd been upfront with her, and she'd prepared herself mentally… she still couldn't help getting jealous.
Because honestly, if she could, she wanted him all to herself.
She'd belong to him forever—and he'd belong to her.
Then Max sent another message:
"Her name's Tohru. She's actually a dragon. She was badly injured before—almost died—and I saved her."
"…A dragon?!"
Miko froze, eyes widening again.
Her jealousy was instantly replaced by disbelief.
Seriously? One was a vampire, now the next one's a dragon?
Couldn't he at least find someone human for once?!
Just then—
Ding-ling-ling~~~
A video call request popped up from Max.
Miko's eyes flickered. She bit her lip lightly.
After hesitating for a few seconds, she slid her finger across the screen and answered—but quickly lowered the volume.
"Hey, what's up? |_?)"
Her tone had a hint of poutiness.
From the background, Max seemed to be in the living room downstairs.
He noticed her expression, narrowed his eyes slightly, and seemed to figure out what was going on.
"Jealous again?"
"I'm not."
Her eyes flickered away.
"Yeah, sure," Max chuckled.
Then, pretending to sniff the air, he frowned.
"That's weird. If you're not jealous, then why do I smell something kinda sour?"
"You—!"
Miko's cheeks flushed pink. She glared at him, clearly embarrassed.
Max laughed. "Alright, alright, don't pout, Miko. I'm doing this for your sake, you know."
"?!!"
Her heart gave a little flutter when he called her 'wife', but when the rest of his words sank in—
"For my sake?!"
You picked up two mistresses, and now you're telling me it's for my own good?!
Do you even hear yourself right now?!
Max, still pretending to be serious, smiled faintly. "Of course it's for your good. Don't get mad yet—hear me out."
"Fine, go on," she said, laughing in disbelief.
Turns out when someone's speechless enough, they really do laugh.
Max grinned. "Every time we play fighting games together, you give up too easily. You always surrender way too soon."
"So I figured I'd find someone to help you take the pressure off."
"See? Totally for your sake."
"You—!"
Miko's face went red again, torn between shame and anger.
She had no words.
Unbelievable. He actually had the guts to say that with a straight face.
Max's smile widened. "Tell you what—how about this? If you can play a whole match without begging for mercy, I'll stop taking new 'companions,' deal?"
"Fine! You said it!"
She hesitated for a second, then clenched her teeth and forced out the words.
"Really?" Max's eyes narrowed playfully.
"I…"
Miko faltered.
Before she could backpedal, Max continued with a smirk:
"Since you're so confident, I'll come find you right now. We'll settle it once and for all."
"If you win, I'll keep my word."
"But if you lose…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't have to. She knew exactly what that meant.
"You decide," he said with a teasing smile.
"I…"
Miko's lips parted, but she couldn't find the courage to speak.
She wanted to try—but she also remembered what "playing games" with Max was like before.
Her body went soft just thinking about it, her cheeks burning bright red.
He was so strong, so relentless.
It made her both scared and—well, a little thrilled.
"…Ugh, fine. Lucky you."
After a long pause, she finally caved, glaring at him with a pout full of reluctant affection.
"My wife's so generous—come on, give me a kiss."
He leaned toward the camera, pretending to blow a kiss.
"Nope. Hmph."
She blushed again and rolled her eyes.
Max chuckled. "Coming over tonight?"
"…Forget it."
"I can't keep using 'going to Hana's place' as an excuse. And my mom's off work tonight—I wanna spend some time with her."
She caught the glint in his eye and instantly guessed his intention, quickly shaking her head with a shy frown.
"Ah, I see. Fair enough," he said casually, not pushing it.
They chatted a bit longer before hanging up.
When the call ended, Miko spread her arms and lay back on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Then her thoughts drifted back to the part about him having two other girls.
The more she thought about it, the more irritated she got.
Grinding her teeth, she grabbed a stuffed toy, imagined it was Max, and smacked it repeatedly.
"Stupid Max."
"Two-timing jerk."
"Baka…"
With every slap came a muttered insult, her cheeks puffed up, full of adorable frustration.
If Max saw her right now, he'd probably grin and say, "Oh, kawaii koto~."
Because this sulking, emotional side of Miko was so different from her usual calm and logical self.
That contrast was exactly what made her so irresistibly cute.
——
Meanwhile, back at his place, Max flopped lazily onto the couch after the call.
He opened LINE and searched for Satania's contact.
They'd been emailing back and forth for a while now, and he'd learned quite a bit about her—
for example, that she attended a private school called BuTen Academy, located in Adachi Ward.
After chatting through email for a few days, he'd convinced her to download LINE.
Her username? "Legendary Demon Lord."
Profile pic: a cartoon devil.
——
At the same time, in Itabashi Ward—
Ding-ling-ling~~~
Satania, on her way to buy pineapple bread, heard her phone chime. She immediately pulled it out.
Max "What are you up to?"
"It's Max!"
Her smile brightened even more.
They hadn't talked since yesterday, so she hurriedly started typing back.
"....."