Chapter 173

Fortunately for Max, aside from Zerena and Colonel Delgado, none of the people present realized that he was responsible for the miracle they had just witnessed.

To them, it was simply like watching a high-level mage cast some incredibly powerful spell.

What they couldn’t understand was why.

Why would someone capable of using such a powerful spell come all the way to this relatively backward part of the region just to cast it over a field of herbs?

And not even particularly impressive herbs at that.

Most of them weren’t even mid-grade.

The workers could only stare at the transformed fields in confusion, completely unable to make sense of what they had just witnessed.

And no one higher up was willing to give them an answer.

That only made the soldiers and workers feel as though they had accidentally witnessed a fleeting moment in the journey of some incredibly powerful mage—something they weren’t important enough to understand.

Even Colonel Delgado gave them nothing when several officers of similar rank questioned him about what had happened.

"I don’t know," was all he told them.

And while the commotion was still spreading throughout the army compound, Max and Zerena had already left the premises. Zerena wore a bright, almost beaming smile that she simply couldn’t contain.

Max had completely blown away her expectations. She had expected him to prove himself capable, but what he had done had gone far beyond that, she felt genuinely optimistic about their future.

Hopefully, it would be a future where she could grow as a mage as well—not merely become wealthy. Money was certainly part of what she wanted from the future, but it wasn’t everything.

There was still much more she wanted from her life than simply becoming obscenely rich.

"Did I do good?" Max asked, sounding a little tired as he downed the expensive bottle of fruit herbs juice Zerena had bought for him.

She had bought one for herself as well, but after seeing how exhausted Max looked, she was already reconsidering her spending habits.

At this point, she didn’t care if a single bottle cost a thousand bucks.

If drinking it helped Max recover, she would happily buy as many as he wanted.

Fortunately for Zerena, Max was satisfied after drinking just one bottle.

They boarded a taxi back to their laboratory. Although the town was small enough that they could have reached the lab on foot in half an hour at most, Zerena wasn’t taking any chances.

After what she had just witnessed, she genuinely wanted to give Max every possible opportunity to experience more of the world.

To her, what he had accomplished at the army post had been nothing short of a miracle.

"You did amazing..." she said, glancing at the rearview mirror to make sure the driver wasn’t listening.

Once she was satisfied that he wasn’t, she leaned slightly closer and added in a softer, teasing voice, "I’ll show you back home just how good you did..."

Max blinked, genuinely surprised.

He hadn’t expected Zerena to flirt with him so openly, especially when they were sitting in the back of a taxi.

But the small smile on her face made her meaning clear. She wasn’t talking about another compliment. She intended to give him some good loving when they got back home.

She reached over and grabbed his thigh, giving it a playful squeeze with a wide smile.

Max’s excitement became considerably harder to hide, and the already noticeable bulge in his pants became even more apparent.

She shifted closer to him and whispered with a playful smile,

"Pray to God the System grants you some more quests. I don’t want to keep doing the same one over and over again. It’ll get boring..."

Max could barely control himself anymore. His hand moved almost on its own as he slipped it behind Zerena and wrapped an arm around her waist from the other side.

Zerena didn’t say anything.

She simply let him pull her a little closer, allowing his hand to settle lower against her hip and the side of her buttocks.

Max’s fingers playfully searched for a way beneath her shirt, trying to tease it loose from where she’d tucked it firmly into her belted skirt.

He gave it another little tug, then another, but Zerena had secured it far too well.

She noticed his futile efforts and couldn’t help smiling at his persistence.

Before Max could come up with another way to bother her, the taxi had already pulled up in front of the laboratory.

Max didn’t wait even a minute.

He jumped out of the car, hurried to the laboratory door, opened it, and stood inside with a wide grin, clearly waiting for Zerena.

Zerena chuckled as she stepped out of the car and followed him inside.

The change in her wasn’t simply because of the System.

Something about Max himself had changed the way she saw him.

She had always known he was troublesome, shameless, and far too confident for his own good. But after seeing what he had accomplished today, she couldn’t help feeling proud of him.

More importantly, she had started looking forward to the time she spent with him.

The future she had once imagined for herself had been mostly about survival, becoming stronger, and securing enough wealth to live comfortably.

Now, somehow, Max had become part of that future.

And as she watched him standing there with that ridiculous grin, looking like a horny dog that had finally convinced its favorite mate to follow him somewhere private, she couldn’t help smiling.

She didn’t mind it nearly as much as she once would have.

Hell, even Zerena was starting to look far too eager herself, like a bitch in a heat.

They had initially planned to reward Max after he convinced the colonel to support them, but that had only been part of the deal. The real reason was to make up for the System Points Max had spent during the demonstration.

And he had spent every last one of them.

Zerena hadn’t even gotten angry about it, nor had she questioned how many points he needed. From what she understood, it had been a ridiculous amount.

Based on what she had learned from their previous arrangement, Max had enough System Points to cover the equivalent of four or even more batches of potions.

Considering that, she could hardly complain about him spending them when the results had been this impressive.

So, if she allowed herself to enjoy it a little, there was nothing wrong with that.

After all, Max had worked hard for everything they had gained today, and Zerena didn’t mind letting him enjoy the rewards of that hard work.

Technically, they were still doing it for the System Points anyway.

At least, that was how she chose to think about it.

Now, though, it felt less like simply repaying him for the points he had spent and more like her own way of thanking him for all the possibilities he had opened up for her.

For the first time in a long while, her future looked genuinely bright.

And Max was a big reason why.

So she didn’t mind giving him some leeway when it came to treating her body like his personal plaything whenever he needed somewhere to release all that pent-up lust.

Zerena walked inside with a smile, only to notice that Max had already gone upstairs.

She looked slightly curious.

Why had he gone up so quickly?

Usually, Max would be waiting near the door for her, ready to start bothering her the moment they were out of everyone else’s sight except his own—fondle her body, take her out of her clothes as soon as he could, and make her mouth suck on his tongue.

Those were the first few things her mind had automatically remembered and, over time, had started to consider normal things that were simply going to happen whenever they were alone.

So what was he doing upstairs?

With a puzzled expression, Zerena followed after him to find out.

There, she found him pulling something out from his side of the closet.

It was still inside the shopping bag he had bought it in.

Max kept the bag behind his back as he turned toward her.

"So, I was thinking... since you asked about getting new quests, Aunt," he said.

He then extended his arm, presenting the shopping bag with a wide smile.

It was obvious he wasn’t saying this merely because of the possibility of earning more System Points. After the performance he’d just given in front of Colonel Delgado, Max clearly wanted to reward himself as well.

And if Zerena still couldn’t figure out what he was getting at, he quickly added,

"I’m just pointing out the advantage here. But even if it doesn’t give me a new quest, I at least want to do the existing one with you using this as my reward for impressing the colonel."

As she heard him, Zerena couldn’t help thinking that perhaps she shouldn’t do these quests with him anymore and should let Max complete them with other women instead.

Yet her hand had already reached out and taken the bag.

And judging by her expression, she wasn’t exactly frustrated by the idea.

She wasn’t doing it because she expected another quest to appear, either. At this point, she wouldn’t even mind if it produced nothing.

She simply wanted to reward Max for what he had accomplished today.