Free Web NovelChapter 12: 12 | Cute Neighbor
"It turns out the gate was not misclassified by accident. Someone intentionally altered the records to trap those three girls inside that dungeon permanently."
She let out a soft, mocking chuckle. "If they wanted them dead back then, you might want to ask yourself... will they want to finish the job now?"
Without waiting for his response, she stepped out of the house, her bodyguards closing the heavy door behind her.
Dexter stood frozen in the middle of the living room.
From the table, Mira let out a cold, sharp snort. "If you hadn’t realized that already, ’husband’, then you are even dumber than I thought."
From the start to the finish, she hadn’t once glanced at lady Ashford. Her eyes closed as though she was sleeping in the wheelchair.
Dexter stood in the kitchen for a long time, staring at the closed front door.
Valentina’s words had confirmed his worst fears. The SSS-rank gate disaster was not as simple what they said. It was a targeted, assassination attempt to wipe out the talents of the three families all at once. And now that the three girls were living together in a defenseless, run-down bungalow, it would be even simpler to kill then.
He needed to grow stronger, fast.
With his newly awakened E-rank mana affinity and the Flame Demon bloodline, he had a solid foundation. But he had no formal combat techniques, and he could not afford to purchase expensive monster nexus cores to accelerate his cultivation without a hero license.
To get a license, he would have to register with the local Hero Guild, undergo a physical test, and successfully clear a trial dungeon.
But the fastest way to build his power was still through the system. He needed to take care of his wives, provide for them, and earn more investments.
The next three days passed in a quiet, steady rhythm.
Dexter woke at 4:30 AM every day. He showered, dressed, and began cooking breakfast. The meals were simple — rice porridge, eggs, vegetables — but he added a thread of mana to each one, just like he had with the first nourishing meal.
At 6:00 AM, he woke the women.
Mira was the easiest. She was always awake before he came for her, sitting in her wheelchair by the window, staring at nothing. He’d push her to the bathroom, help her with her morning routine, and then wheel her to the kitchen.
Lyra required text messages. He’d type [Wake up] on his phone and hold it in front of her face until she opened her eyes. Then he’d give hwr the glasses. Afterwhich everything else name easy.
Selene was the hardest. She didn’t wish to wear the glasses and thought it might be humiliating but he convinced her tht the other two girls are wearing she reluctantly wore it on the third day.
Breakfast was eaten in silence. Dexter fed Mira. Lyra fed herself, though she ate enough for three people and he was constantly having to cook more. Selene required guidance Lyra assisted with that.
---
Mid-Morning.
After breakfast, Dexter prepared the Five Body Nourishing Meal for the day. Each meal took between two and four hours to cook, depending on the recipe.
Dexter rotated through the meals, one per day, following the recipe manual’s recommended schedule.
He fed each meal to the women and watched for changes.
Mira’s pain levels decreased gradually. The Serenity Bangle helped, but the meals were making a difference too. After three days, he saw in the system that her chronic nerve pain had dropped from 6/10 to about 5.2/10 — not a huge change, but noticeable.
Lyra’s appetite remained enormous, but her mood seemed slightly more stable.
Selene’s seizures didn’t stop, but the Frost Sense Dexter had acquired let him anticipate them and adjusted the serum in advance reducing the seizure by a lot.
---
Afternoon.
After the nourishing meal, Dexter worked with Mira on physical therapy.
Her muscles were atrophying and if he didn’t act, she’d lose what little function she had left. He didn’t know if the meals would eventually repair her meridians enough for her to move again, but he wasn’t going to wait and find out.
Mira hated it.
"This is useless and humiliating," she said through gritted teeth as he bent her left arm at the elbow. "Unhand me you pervert."
"Yes. I’m a pervert."
Dexter replied.
"What’s the use when we’re going to die in a few days?"
"This is for when you will be able to walk again. "
She glared at him, even the nunber one geneticist in the city couldn’t do anything, what’s makes you think you can?
’The system.’ Of course Levi wasn’t stupid enough to blurt it out.
While he worked with Mira, Lyra sat nearby and watched.
---
Late Afternoon.
Dexter trained in the backyard.
The space was small but it was enough for basic practice. He’d cleared away the debris and set up a makeshift training area with a punching bag he’d bought from a secondhand store.
He practiced basic punches. Jabs. Crosses. Hooks. Uppercuts. The movements were crude as he had no formal combat training, but he was learning.
He practiced kicks too. His legs were stronger than his arms as the Flame Demon bloodline seemed to favor lower body power.
Then he tried to use his abilities.
Flame Burst Step was the easiest. He activated it, and the world blurred and he appeared at another location in a split second. The speed was disorienting, but he was getting better at controlling it. He could now choose a specific destination instead of just launching himself forward blindly.
Flame Slash was harder.
---
Evening.
Dinner, more simple food, more silence.
Then bedtime.
Dexter helped each woman to the bedroom — Mira in her wheelchair, Lyra guiding Selene. He helped Mira into bed, arranged the blankets around Selene, and made sure Lyra was comfortable.
Then he retreated to his own room and cultivated until sleep claimed him.
---
This happened for three days and the rewards he got were astronomical. He broke through to Tier 3 Awakened Hero stage the next morning.
Dexter headed to the backyard, practicing his punches, when he heard something.
His enhanced hearing picked it up immediately.
He turned just as a girl climbed over the low fence that separated his backyard from the neighbor’s.
She was about sixteen, with messy brown hair and a face full of freckles.
"You’re the guy from the news," she said. "The one who married the three cripple."
