Good news was—while Nia was also on the verge of death, she was still alive.
There was bad news, however, which made his pupils constrict.
It was Juan—he didn't have any pulse, nor was he breathing.
Max knew if he wanted to obtain Mrs. Martinez's heart along with her body, both Nia and Juan had to be alright, otherwise, given how much she loved them, even if just one of them died, she would become a living shell.
'Wait!' Suddenly he remembered the feeling when he checked his pulse—his hand, it wasn't cold like it should have been if he was dead.
Without wasting even a moment, he activated [Discerning Eyes] and scanned him.
[Name: Juan Martinez]
[Level: 0]
[Status: Dying.]
'He is not dead.' He sighed in relief before opening the system shop and typing 'something that can save a level 0, dying human's life' in the item request.
[Harem Points: 14→13]
A list of items appeared in front of him as soon as one harem point was deducted. Seeing he only had 13 harem points left, he ignored all the items worth more than 13HP which left just one item.
[Vitality Potion (Low Grade) {1 Piece/12HP}: Can extend the life of the consumer by 1-2 hours as long as they are not dying from serious injuries and complete organ failure.]
'Buy!' His eyes lit up upon reading its description and he quickly bought it.
A glass bottle, the size of his pinkie, appeared in his hand. Uncorking it, he forced open Juan's mouth and poured the greenish potion inside.
Then, he clamped his mouth shut with one of his hands so the potion didn't come out before lifting his head and upper body off the bed to make sure it went down his throat. Unsure whether it worked, he began shaking his head lightly and began massaging his neck.
"Come on, little guy. Gulp it down." He muttered, feeling a little anxious.
After a few excruciatingly long seconds…
"Cough! Cough!"
Juan suddenly heaved and began coughing violently as if he was choking on something.
Max removed his palm from his mouth and immediately, Juan coughed out some of the green potion.
Hearing Juan's loud whizzing and coughing sounds, Nia regained her consciousness and slowly opened her eyes.
As she turned her neck around with difficulty because she was completely spent with no energy left in her body, she first saw Max, sitting beside her younger brother, Juan, looking at her with a gentle smile on his face.
"You are awake?" She heard his voice and watched as he stood up, circled the bed and came to her side before sitting beside her and lifting her upper body.
"Can you drink?" She heard him ask which confused her. Drink? Was there anything to drink? Moreover, how come Max was here?
Just as she thought this, he brought a cup filled with water in front of her face.
Her eyes widened. She then blinked to make sure she wasn't hallucinating, but the cup was still there, and she could still feel his warmth against her back.
Her breathing increased, but she didn't take the cup. Instead, she looked at her brother worriedly and asked, her voice hoarse and low, "What's wrong with Juan, Max?"
"Nothing to worry about." Max said, soothingly caressing her head, "Go on, drink some water. Then I'll give you something to eat."
"Mm." After hesitating for a moment, she nodded and taking the cup in her trembling hands, she began sipping the water as if it was some precious brew.
On the side, Juan stopped coughing after a while and now, his chest was visibly moving up and down, a sign that the Vitality Potion had worked.
'Now, should I go check up on Jose?' He thought for a moment before he took out a piece of bread, tore it into two slices which he placed on the bed. Then, he told Nia to eat one slice and help Juan drink and eat.
"I understand, Max." Nia nodded. Max rubbed her head and walked out of their room before heading toward the one where Jose was.
…
Creak~
As soon as he opened the door, a nauseating odor hit him.
Stopping his breathing, he looked at Jose, lying unmoving on the bed. His mouth was slightly open while his eyes were shut.
'He is dead.' Max realized the moment he saw him. Still, however, he used [Discerning Eyes] on him.
[Name: Jose Martinez]
[Status: Deceased (Died 7 hours ago)]
Max sighed in his heart, went over and covered his body with a blanket before walking out and closing the door.
He wouldn't have minded saving him if he was still alive. After all, whether he was alive or not didn't really affect his plans of making Mrs. Martinez and Nia, his women.
Sighing once again, he shook his head and returned to Nia and Juan's room and saw Juan was conscious now and Nia was helping him drink the water.
Seeing this, he went downstairs to the kitchen, took a jug, filled it with water and placed it on the table beside bed before saying to Nia, "After he eats the slice of bread, rest here. Only when the two of you have recovered come downstairs, alright?"
Juan's mind was still hazy after being unconscious for over two days, so he didn't respond, but Nia nodded her head in understanding.
Just as Max was about to leave the room, Nia asked, "How is M-Mom and Dad? Are they alright?"
"...Yeah. Don't worry about it." Max nodded before leaving the room.
Soon, he returned downstairs and sat beside Ruth, who was nervously looking at him, wanting to ask how her children and husband were…
However, she was afraid to hear the answer even though she had seen him take the jug upstairs, meaning, if not everyone, someone was still alive.
Max took a breath, took her hands in his, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "Fortunately, I wasn't late, so I managed to save Juan."
She had to know Juan was alive because of him, so he told her this.
Ruth was frozen for a moment before she let out a breath and tears welled up in her eyes, "T-Thank you, Max. Thank you so much."
Juan's condition was worse than that of hers and Nia's, since she was already on the verge of death, she could only imagine his situation. So, she didn't doubt when he said Juan had almost died.
"Nia was in better condition compared to him. I have given them water and food, so they are out of danger and soon they will be fine." Saying this, he paused for a moment and added, "However… Mr. Martinez… he has passed away."
"Huh?" Ruth stared at him dumbly for a few moments as her mind comprehended his words. Then, she began sobbing uncontrollably.
Max stared at her, feeling awkward. He didn't know how to console someone, so he did the only thing he could do—he pulled her in his arms and let her cry on his chest as he caressed her back to comfort her.
Almost half an hour later, Ruth stopped crying and pulled herself away from him. She was already prepared for this news in her heart, otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to calm down so soon.
Max gave her some water to drink before he looked her in the eyes, his expression serious, and said, "Mrs. Martinez, your family needs someone to protect and provide for you. Not only that, Nia, especially Juan, needs a father figure…"