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It was twilight.
Minato and Clara walked hand-in-hand back to the apartment.
When she saw them strolling in like that, a flicker of surprise flashed across Utaha's eyes.
She couldn't help but mutter, "So where did Master pick up this new follower?"
Seeing the bags they were carrying, Asia tilted her head in curiosity. "Master, what were you two doing out there?"
Clara tilted her head and gave a warm smile. "I went on a date with Lord Minato. It was super fun."
"Date?" ×N
All the girls' expressions instantly changed.
A date?
Wait a sec… None of them had been on one yet!
"This is outrageous! I was here first!" Utaha bit her lip, full of frustration.
It's not like her master was some clueless block of wood—so why hadn't he asked her out on a date?
"Looks like this new girl's really won the king's favor," Erica said with a serious look on her face.
"You're not so bad yourself, foxy. You were moaning all night yesterday," Liliana shot back, rolling her eyes.
Heaven help her!
She did live right next to Erica, after all.
The struggle was real.
Minato gave Clara a playful head pat and said with a smile, "I guess you've all figured it out. This is Clara, my new follower."
So warm. So comforting.
Feeling the gentle touch of his big hand, Clara's eyes narrowed in contentment.
This feeling… was something completely new.
"..."
Watching Clara curl up like a happy little kitten, all the girls came to the same conclusion:
This woman is dangerous.
"Aight, everyone, introduce yourselves to Clara," Minato said, bringing everyone back to their senses.
They stepped forward one after another.
"Hi there, I'm Utaha. You can just call me Utaha."
"Nice to meet you, big sis! I'm Asia. Hope we can get along!"
"I'm Jenova. I..."
"..."
After the quick intros, Minato walked into the living room carrying all the bags.
"Master, is this... pizza?" Utaha poked one of the boxes. "You guys bought this much?"
"Yup. Thought it smelled good, so I bought a bunch for you all to try."
With a casual smile, Minato started opening the boxes and handing out slices.
The girls nodded and began to eat.
But their eyes drifted toward Clara, who was already digging in with a blissful expression.
Sure, the pizza was good…
But was it really that good?
Almost on instinct, they turned to look at Artoria, who was also eating like there was no tomorrow.
Wait a second… is she another glutton?!
"Lord Minato, I want the one you're holding."
Just then, Clara slid her chair closer, eyes locked on the fruit pizza in Minato's hand.
Looking at her—pitiful and puppy-eyed—Minato chuckled.
Seriously.
Sometimes Clara didn't seem like someone who'd lived for nearly a thousand years.
But it made sense.
After all that time, she'd never really had a taste of ordinary life.
"Here, it's all yours."
Clara looked up at him, eyes focused and sincere, as she slowly ate the pizza bite by bite.
"Oops, I bit your finger."
Clara looked a bit embarrassed and gave a sheepish smile.
"It's fine. We've still got tons of pizza."
Minato passed her another slice.
Honestly, that little moment just now... kinda felt nice.
Clara glanced at him, then started eating faster.
"Oops, bit it again. Besides the pizza, there's something else tasty too."
Her cheeks turned bright red.
Still—
Lord Minato looked pretty happy about it.
"???"
All the other girls were full of question marks.
Was this chick seriously just a foodie?
Or was this something else?
Why didn't they think of that!?
Utaha grabbed a slice of the same pizza. "Master, I want to try this flavor too."
Jenova followed suit. "Me too! I haven't even had dinner yet!"
Erica: "..."
These damn cats in heat!
Are y'all really just here for the pizza?
But… should she join them?
No. No way. Being lumped in with them would be beneath her lady-like dignity.
"This... uh..."
Asia held a slice in her hand, completely flustered. At some point, her whole face had turned pink.
Irina leaned in and whispered, "Just go for it already."
Asia fidgeted with her nun outfit and whispered back, "But..."
"You're way too shy," Irina sighed with a complicated look. "If this keeps up, you'll never get anywhere. Maybe… you should ask Jenova to teach you a thing or two?"
Wait.
What was she even saying?
Was she seriously about to drag Asia into that kind of hell?
Irina quickly shook her head. "Nah, forget I said that. Jenova's a bit… unpredictable."
"But Irina, you managed to pull it off, didn't you?"
"Uh…"
Irina froze.
Okay, fair point. No comeback for that one.
"Alright! I've made up my mind. I'm going to ask Jenova for help. It's time for Asia to take the next step!"
Asia clenched her tiny fists and made her big declaration.
Late that night, under a sky full of stars…
[Minato][Class: Origin Mage][Magic: Origin Lightning Magic LV85 (...)][Origin Points: 352]
"Out of Origin Points again?"
Minato looked at the system display and muttered to himself, "Still… I got stronger again."
The higher his magic level got, the harder it was to upgrade.
And every level-up brought massive changes.
So even though his god-slayer powers hadn't really changed—
His overall combat strength had skyrocketed compared to when he'd first become a god-slayer.
Still, even with the strength gains…
He'd used up a ton of the knowledge he'd acquired earlier.
If things kept going this way, he might end up burning through all his resources for good.
He wondered if the world Clara came from—the world of mechs—might offer him some surprises.
As he was thinking that, he heard footsteps approaching.
He smiled slightly.
Here we go again.
Utaha? Erica? Jenova? Or someone else?
He focused for a second to sense who it was.
"…It's Clara?"
He blinked, caught off guard.
That… was unexpected.
After all—
She'd only just become his follower. Not even a full day had passed yet.
"....."