Chapter 46: 46 | Diamond Rice & Promise Not To Leave
He opened the door and under the envy and pity of the officers, Dexter and his wives all they all went in.
The apartment finally felt like a home again.
Everything had been repaired. The window, the door, the chairs and even the cracked floor.
It was as though nothing ever happened there.
Dexter spent the next hour arranging everyone’s luggage.
He carried each bag to the appropriate room without rushing. He neatly placed Mira’s belongings beside her room, organized Selene’s clothes inside the wardrobe with precision, and helped Lyra arrange hers as well.
As he looked around the bedrooms, he scratched the back of his head.
"Two more beds..."
Three girls sharing two beds wasn’t exactly ideal. Once he earned more money, new beds would be one of the first things he purchased.
With that decided, Dexter headed into the kitchen.
He rolled up his sleeves and washed his hands. He opened the refrigerator and examined the ingredients inside. Vegetables. Eggs. Rice. Seasonings. Nothing special, but enough to work with.
He pulled out a cutting board and began slicing vegetables with practiced ease. The knife moved rhythmically against the wood as he sliced them precisely.
Soon, the aroma of freshly cooked food spread throughout the apartment, making throat dry and stomach grumble.
At that moment, a system notification rang out inside of his head.
[Ding! Congratulations! You’ve successfully prepared your first Effect Meal!]
[Name: Comfort Vegetable Fried Rice]
[Grade: 1]
[Effect: Soothes the consumer’s muscles, relieving minor fatigue and accelerating physical recovery for 30 minutes.]
[Description: A simple yet nourishing meal infused with a vast amount of mana. While its taste is slightly above, it’s effects are impressive, capable of easing sore muscle soreness and restore stamina, sooth the meridians and increase mana recovery after strenuous activity.]
The smell seeped under bedroom doors and drifted through every corner of the small living space.
Even though everyone had eaten before leaving the hotel, especially Lyra, who had consumed enough food for three people, she still wandered into the dining room with sparkling eyes the moment she smelled Dexter’s cooking. Her feet padded softly against the floor. Her nose led the way.
"...Hungry already?" Dexter laughed from the stove.
Lyra nodded without the slightest embarrassment. Her eyes were fixed on the pan where eggs sizzled in golden oil.
Mira rolled her eyes from her wheelchair.
"She’s a bottomless pit."
Selene simply smiled faintly before taking her seat at the table. She found her chair by memory and sat down gracefully.
The four of them ate breakfast together.
The moment the first bite entered their mouths, the girls froze.
A warm current flowed through their bodies like liquid sunlight. It soothed their muscles, eased their joints, and replenished their stamina.
Even the exhaustion from cultivating throughout the night and day disappeared almost instantly.
The internal soreness in Mira’s legs faded. The stiffness in Selene’s shoulders melted away. The fog in Lyra’s mind cleared.
Lyra’s eyes lit up like two burning stars.
Without hesitation, she began stuffing food into her mouth at an alarming speed. Rice disappeared in spoonfuls. Vegetables vanished between bites. She barely chewed before swallowing.
One bowl.
Two bowls.
Three bowls...
Dexter watched in amazement.
"At this point, I’m convinced your stomach is connected to another dimension."
Lyra read the words and smiled sheepishly with rice grains stuck to her cheek and continued eating.
---
[Ding!]
[10,000× Investment System Activated]
[Investment Target: Mira, Selene, Lyra
[Investment: You sincerely cooked for your three wives]
[Multiplier: 100× ]
[Calculating Returns...]
[Rewards Obtained:]
[Cooking Mastery has advanced.]
[Foodsmith Rank: Peak Master → Grandmaster.]
[Grandmaster Foodsmith]
[Info: You can now prepare foods capable of nourishing the body, strengthening physiques, restoring vitality, healing internal injuries, and granting temporary or permanent attributes depending on the ingredients used]
Dexter blinked.
"...Grandmaster already?"
He stared at the translucent blue screen floating before his eyes. The golden letters gleamed softly.
Before he could react further, another notification appeared.
[Rewards Obtained:]
- Type-II Spirit Cooking Pot
- 50 kg Diamond Rice
Dexter’s eyes widened.
The information flowed into his mind immediately. It arrived like a stream of pure knowledge, filling his understanding without effort.
Diamond Rice was an extremely precious grain nurtured inside high-density mana fields. Every single grain contained pure life essence condensed over months of careful cultivation. The grains absorbed ambient mana from their environment, storing it inside their crystalline structure.
Long-term consumption greatly strengthened the body. Muscles became denser. Bones grew harder. Reflexes sharpened.
Legends even claimed that someone who ate Diamond Rice continuously for an entire year would awaken the legendary Diamond Physique — a body with skin as tough as steel and bones as hard as diamonds. Blades would break against it. Blunt force would barely dent it.
Most people dismissed it as a myth.
Not because it was impossible...
But because no one, not even the wealthiest family in the city could afford enough Diamond Rice for a year. A single kilogram could cost more than most families earned in a year.
Yet inside Dexter’s system inventory...
There was an entire fifty-kilogram bag.
He couldn’t help smiling.
This time, even Mira who usually didn’t finish her food told Dexter to continue feeding her till not even a single grain was left.
As he stood up to clean the dining table, the girls glanced at each other as though in silent communication and didn’t stand to go cultivate.
Dexter frowned and asked. "is there something wrong?"
Mira glanced at the girls then Selene opened her mouth to speak in her tiny voice. "We just want to ask."
Dexter raises an eyebrow as he placed the bowls in the sink. " Ask what?"
"Why?"
Dexter blinked his eyes and asked. "Why what?"
Lyra types something on her phone and a female robotic voice came out. "Why are you doing all of this? Risking your live for us, taking care of us, taking our pain away. Why? What do you gain from it all? No one truly does anything so selfless."
"You are a good person and we all know that. But at this moment, it’s gotten a bit extreme. You risking your lives to save ours and killing those assassins. Not kneingvif you would live or die...its a bit much for us to handle. We haven’t owned anyone such huge a favor."
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