My Wives Are Seven Beautiful Demonesses-Chapter 168 - No. Healing Grayfia Fully!

[Location: Morningstar Manor, New York]

Zeraphira gave me a long, slow look.

"You found a cursed child in a vampire relic, adopted her, recruited an Elder, befriended a shadow army, and returned with a grieving vampire queen who pledged herself to you."

She folded her hands neatly. "You are, in fact, several tropes in a trench coat."

I opened my mouth.

Closed it.

"...That is slander."

"No," Selene said. "That’s genre awareness."

"Okay, no need to—"

"—finish that sentence," Ezravia said smoothly, pushing her glasses up. "Because the evidence is already overwhelming."

Selene pointed at me like a lawyer who just won a case. "Your Honour, the Protagonist rests."

"I object to this entire courtroom metaphor," I muttered.

"Overruled," Zeraphira said calmly.

I looked around the room.

No allies. Not one.

Even Eris had defected. She was now sitting beside Astra, feeding her cookie crumbs like she was taming a very polite, very deadly pigeon.

"Traitors," I sighed. "Anyway, it’s time for me do my daily training... anyone interested in joining?"

Grayfia’s gaze flicked to me the moment I said it.

"Training?" she repeated calmly.

There was no judgment in her voice.

Which was worse?

Selene gasped dramatically. "You just came back from a murder tower pocket apocalypse, and your idea of self-care is cardio?"

"It’s not cardio," I said defensively. "It’s structured post-trauma physical rehabilitation."

"That is cardio wearing glasses," Selene replied.

Gabriel raised her hand politely. "Um... is training like... stretching?"

"Yes," I said.

"No," Selene said at the same time.

Gabriel blinked. "Oh."

Valeria leaned back on the couch, pink hair spilling over the armrest. "I’ll watch. I support athleticism as long as I don’t have to participate in it."

Ezravia adjusted her glasses. "Observation may be useful. His combat growth rate is irregular."

"That is a very polite way of saying I flail," I muttered.

"You do," Astra confirmed gently.

Betrayal. Everywhere.

...

[Training Room]

I stood at the centre of the room, with my eyes closed.

[Daily Quest]

• Objective: Strength must be maintained through actions.]

• Tasks:

— 500 Push-ups

— 500 Sit-ups

— 500 Squats

— 50 km Run (indoors or outdoors acceptable)

• Rewards: +10 Stat Points, +1 Random Box (Common)

• Failure Penalty: Forced Penalty Zone Transfer

Tch~

"Do you know why he is just standing there with his eyes closed like a stupid—"

My lips twitched as I heard Selene’s not-so-whispered commentary drifting across the training room.

"—like a stupidly handsome malfunctioning statue," she finished, completely failing to lower her voice.

"I can hear you," I said, eyes still closed.

"I know. I want you to."

I inhaled slowly.

Exhaled.

Focused.

Behind my eyelids, translucent blue text flickered where no one else could see it.

[Daily Quest Accepted]

[Penalty for failure remains in effect.]

[Do not disappoint the system.]

Yeah, yeah. Threaten me with eldritch detention again. Very motivating.

I opened my eyes.

Grayfia stood off to the side, arms folded, posture perfect as always — but I could see it—the minute stiffness in her shoulders. There was a faint delay when she shifted her weight.

Her core was still unstable.

She’d hidden it well. She always did.

But not from me.

I eyed the reward I haven’t claimed yet.

[— Any one item available in the Store]

[Claim?]

And in the store...

[Phenex Tears: A special potion of liquid that can instantly heal injuries, as a single drop can regenerate the user’s injuries and restore their health.]

—Cost: 200,000,000 Gold

’I will give it to her later, when we are alone.’

I rolled my shoulders once, loosening up.

"Alright," I said, clapping my hands once. "Light warm-up first."

"Five hundred of anything is not a warm-up," Selene called from the sidelines, already seated cross-legged on a floating cushion she absolutely did not need but insisted was "aesthetic."

"It is if you’re emotionally repressed," I shot back.

"Ah," she nodded. "So this is a coping mechanism."

"It’s called discipline."

"It’s called denial with abs."

Valeria snorted. Ezravia didn’t even pretend not to be taking mental notes.

I dropped into my first push-up.

"One."

"COUNT LOUDER," Selene demanded.

"Why?"

"So we can judge you."

"...Two."

By fifty, Gabriel had started clapping softly every ten reps like I was a child performing in a school recital.

By a hundred, Selene had started providing commentary.

"His form is decent. Core engaged. Mild existential dread in the shoulders."

"Please stop diagnosing my posture like it’s a horoscope," I grunted.

By one-fifty, Valeria had rolled onto her stomach on the couch, chin in her hands, watching like this was pay-per-view.

"Do you always glisten like that, or is that a dungeon buff?" she asked lazily.

"That’s sweat."

"Still counts."

I did not dignify that with a response.

At two hundred, my arms started burning.

At two hundred and fifty, Selene gasped dramatically.

"OH MY GOD HE’S TREMBLING. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT."

"I am not—" I shook slightly. "—trembling."

Astra tilted her head from where she stood near Eris. "You are trembling."

"Et tu, Astra?"

She bowed slightly. "Always, my king."

Traitors. All of them.

Between reps, I glanced toward Grayfia.

She hadn’t moved.

Arms folded. Back straight. Expression composed.

But now that I was looking for it...

Her breathing was slightly uneven.

Subtle. Almost invisible.

But I knew her rhythm.

Her core was still cracked from overexertion back when she fought the Satans’ scouts alone.

She hadn’t complained. Hadn’t mentioned it. Hadn’t asked for help.

Of course, she hadn’t.

I hit three hundred.

My arms nearly gave out.

"THREE HUNDRED!" Selene shouted like I’d just slain a dragon.

"It’s push-ups," Ezravia corrected.

"EVERY REP IS A BATTLE."

"Please stop narrating my suffering like an anime training arc," I faked wheezing.

...

Push-ups done. I rolled onto my back.

Selene leaned over the side of her cushion. "Oh, good, now we watch the abdominal crisis."

Gabriel knelt closer. "Do you want water?"

"Yes," I said.

"No breaks," Ezravia said at the same time.

Gabriel froze, holding an imaginary cup midair. "Oh. Okay."

"Traitor," I told Ezravia.

"Scientist."

I started doing sit-ups.

At rep eighty, Eris crawled over and sat on my stomach.

I wheezed.

"Resistance training," Selene said approvingly.

"Papa strong!" Eris declared proudly.

"I am... being ambushed by a five-year-old," I groaned.

Astra gently lifted Eris under the arms and moved her aside. "Princess, we must not assassinate the king during exercise."

"Okay!" Eris nodded.

I resumed.

At two hundred, my abs were on fire.

At three hundred, I briefly left my body and saw the afterlife.

At four hundred—

"IS HE CRYING?" Selene asked.

"I AM SWEATING FROM MY EYES."

"THAT’S CRYING."

...

I stood.

Immediately regretted it.

My legs felt like decorative noodles.

Valeria gave me a lazy thumbs up. "You look like a newborn deer."

"Encouraging," I muttered.

Squats began.

Selene started counting in increasingly unhelpful ways.

"Thirty-seven! Thirty-eight! Existential crisis! Forty!"

Ezravia sighed. "You’re interfering with rhythm."

"I am enhancing drama."

At rep two hundred, my thighs began negotiating surrender.

At three hundred, Ravvy timidly raised a hand.

"U-Um... if he collapses... do we catch him?"

"No," Selene said. "We observe. For science."

"I hate all of you," I said through clenched teeth.

"You love us," Valeria corrected.

"...Unfortunately."

...

I finished squats and staggered toward the indoor track loop, conjured into the training hall.

"Fifty kilometres," Selene said. "That’s not running, that’s migrating."

"I will pace," I said.

"You will suffer," she corrected.

I started jogging.

Lap after lap.

At first, everyone watched.

By kilometre five, Valeria was bored and braiding Ravvy’s hair.

By kilometre ten, Selene had produced snacks from somewhere and was eating loudly.

By kilometre fifteen, Gabriel was walking along the inside edge of the track, cheering gently.

"You’re doing great!"

"I can’t feel my soul," I panted.

"That’s okay!"

I wasn’t sure it was.

I slowed near Grayfia on one pass.

"You should sit," I murmured.

"I am fine, Master."

"You are not."

Her eyes flicked to mine.

A pause.

"...I will observe from a seated position," she said finally.

Small victory.

She moved to a bench with perfect posture, but the moment she sat, I saw the tension leave her shoulders just a little.

Good.

Just hold on a bit longer.

At kilometre thirty, blue text flickered again.

[Physical threshold exceeded]

[Endurance stat increased]

[Keep going]

Oh, now it’s supportive.

Where was this energy when it was threatening me with cosmic detention?

I kept running.

Not because of the stats.

Because if I stopped moving, I’d start thinking.

And if I started thinking, I’d start remembering.

Tower.

Blood.

Screaming.

Choices.

So I ran.

Around kilometer forty-two, Gabriel trotted alongside me, wings fluttering awkwardly.

"Um... Dominic?"

"Yeah?"

"Is... exercising when you’re sad a human thing?"

"...Yeah."

"Oh. Okay. I’ll remember that."

"Why?"

"So when you’re sad again, I can bring snacks instead."

I almost tripped.

"...Thanks."

She beamed as she’d just solved world peace.

I crossed the fifty-kilometer mark and promptly collapsed onto my back.

The ceiling stared down at me like a judgmental sky.

[Daily Quest Complete]

[+10 Stat Points]

[Common Random Box Acquired]

[Failure Penalty Avoided]

Good. No eldritch timeout today.

Selene leaned over me upside down. "He lives."

"Debatable," I wheezed.

Valeria tossed a towel onto my face. "You’re disgusting."

"Affectionate," I corrected weakly.

As the others drifted into side conversations, I pushed myself up slowly and walked toward Grayfia.

She looked up immediately.

"Master."

"You overexerted your core," I said quietly.

She didn’t deny it.

"...It was necessary at the time."

"It isn’t now."

A pause.

Her eyes softened, just a little.

"I did not wish to worry you."

"You failed."

"...I see."

I sat beside her.

For a moment, we just listened to Selene loudly explaining anime training arcs to Gabriel, who was taking it very seriously.

Then I said quietly, "Walk with me."

She rose at once.

We stepped out of the training hall, down a quiet corridor of the manor where the noise faded.

No witnesses.

Good.

I reached into my inventory.

A tiny vial appeared in my palm, filled with liquid gold that shimmered like captured sunlight.

Phenex Tears.

Worth more than kingdoms.

Worth less than her life.

Grayfia’s eyes widened slightly. "Master...?"

"One drop," I said. "That’s all it takes."

She looked at the vial like it was sacred.

"You should keep such things for yourself."

"I am," I said. "You are part of that category."

Her breath caught.

I uncorked it carefully and let a single drop fall onto her chest, over the core fracture point.

Light spread instantly.

Warm. Gentle. Radiant.

Cracks that had lingered invisibly beneath her composure sealed like glass mended by dawn.

Grayfia’s eyes widened.

Her shoulders relaxed fully for the first time in days.

Her breathing evened.

"...It’s gone," she whispered.

"Yeah."

She looked at me like I’d just moved a mountain with one hand.

"Thank you... Master."

"Don’t thank me," I said softly. "Just don’t hide it next time."

She lowered her gaze.

"...Yes."

We stood there a moment longer in the quiet.

Then, from down the hall—

"ARE THEY HAVING A SECRET EMOTIONAL SCENE WITHOUT US?!" Selene yelled.

I sighed.

"Moment’s over," I muttered.

Grayfia allowed the smallest, rarest smile.

"Yes," she said. "It is." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"I might kill her someday~"

"Oops!"

***

Stone me, I can take it!

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