Chapter 173: Special Quest: A Home-Cooked Meal I

Evren pushed open the frosted glass doors of the thermal pavilion, stepping into a warm mist and quiet tranquility.

In the center pool, Amber and Zephyra were leaning back against the submerged marble ledge. Their hair was pinned up in loose, damp buns, and their skin glowed with a healthy pink flush from the steaming mineral water.

Amber turned her head as the doors clicked shut, her dark brown eyes lighting up with amusement. "Well, look who’s here. Are you done playing supreme commander downstairs?"

"For now," Evren replied with an easy smile. He stripped off his shirt, hung it on the wooden bench beside the entrance, and walked toward the stone steps.

The water was piping hot, rich with soothing natural minerals that immediately melted away the stiffness in his shoulders. Evren waded across the pool, coming to a stop between the two women and resting his arms along the ledge.

"You two looked pretty fierce down on seventy-five," Evren said, glancing between them. "I could hear the mats squeaking all the way from the terrace."

Zephyra looked away, her cheeks coloring slightly as she tucked a loose silver strand behind her ear. "Amber was trying to take my head off with that spinning back-fist."

"You were the one trying to sweep my legs out from under me," Amber shot back with a laugh. She shifted in the water, turning her back toward Evren with a hopeful look. "My shoulders are locked up solid, Evren, so be useful and work some of these knots out, will you?"

"Demanding as always," Evren chuckled, though he didn’t hesitate. He moved his hands onto her shoulders, pressing his thumbs firmly into the tight muscle fibers near the base of her neck.

Amber let out a long, shuddering sigh of pure relief, letting her head drop back against his chest. "Oh, that’s heaven. Don’t stop."

Evren worked with slow pressure, using his mana to gently warm the deep tissue and dissolve the fatigue from their spar. After a few minutes, Amber’s breathing slowed into complete relaxation, and she tapped Zephyra’s knee under the water.

"Your turn, Z," Amber said with a mischievous grin. "Don’t sit there pretending you’re not stiff as a board."

Zephyra stiffened, her violet eyes darting toward Evren with obvious hesitation. "I am fine. Shadow mana naturally accelerates muscle recovery."

"You took three direct shoulder counters," Evren pointed out smoothly, reaching out and gently guiding her closer. "Turn around, Zephyra."

Zephyra hesitated for only a second before turning her back to him. When Evren’s warm hands settled onto her shoulders, a sharp shiver ran down her spine, though she quickly forced herself to relax.

Her muscles were wound tight as iron cables, carrying years of instinctual tension that even her full physical recovery hadn’t completely erased. Evren applied steady pressure, kneading the tight knots along her shoulder blades.

Across the pool, Amber rested her chin on her folded arms against the marble ledge, watching them through the rising steam with a knowing smile.

A heartbeat later, Amber’s voice echoed directly in Evren’s mind through their soul-bond.

"Stop playing dumb, Evren. She’s head-over-heels in love with you, but she’s terrified her past makes her too damaged to ever cross that line."

Evren’s thumbs paused at the base of Zephyra’s neck. He glanced across the water at Amber, projecting a response back through the link: "And how would you know that?"

Amber raised an eyebrow at him across the pool, her silent laughter bubbling in his mind. "What do you think?"

Evren blinked as the dots connected in his head. "Wait... did she actually say something to you on the balcony?"

"Of course she didn’t spell it out completely, you dense man," Amber answered with an affectionate mental scoff. "She spent ten minutes staring down at you like you hung the stars, then told me cold-blooded killers like her don’t get to dream about normal things."

"That doesn’t mean..."

"Just kiss the girl and put her out of her misery already."

Evren felt heat rise in his chest. "Amber... are you really okay with this, right in front of you?"

Amber’s warm laughter rippled through his thoughts, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Oh, come on, don’t act like a saint now when we both know what you’re capable of behind closed doors, and you still owe me a couple of rounds tonight anyway. Melt the ice, Evren, because she needs to know she belongs to you."

An amused smile touched Evren’s lips, and he sent Amber a gentle wave of warmth before turning his focus entirely to Zephyra.

His touch softened, shifting from firm sports therapy to something slow, tender, and deeply personal.

"You spent years living in the dark, Zephyra," Evren murmured softly near her ear, his breath warm against her damp skin. "Carrying out brutal orders for people who saw you as nothing more than a disposable weapon."

Zephyra’s breath hitched, her fingers tightening against the submerged stone ledge as a tremor ran through her body. Beneath his hands, he could feel how fast her heart was pounding.

Evren slid his hands down to her slender waist and gently turned her around to face him. Her violet eyes were wide and guarded, yet filled with vulnerability and deep longing.

"You don’t have to be a weapon here," Evren said quietly, raising one hand to gently cup her flushed cheek. "And you don’t have to keep your heart locked away."

"Evren..." Zephyra whispered in a trembling voice as she leaned minutely into his palm. "Someone with my past..."

"Your past ended the day I bought your contract," Evren interrupted softly. "You’re part of this house, and you belong here."

Before she could find another excuse to retreat into the shadows, Evren leaned in and captured her lips with his own.

Zephyra froze for a fraction of a second, her mind going completely blank as the intoxicating heat of his mouth claimed hers.

Then, with a soft, shuddering breath that dissolved into the steam, every wall she had spent a lifetime building completely shattered. Her arms came up around his neck, her fingers tangling into his damp dark hair as she kissed him back with a breathless hunger she had denied herself for months.

Beside them, Amber smiled warmly, sliding through the water to drape an arm around both of their shoulders. She pressed a tender kiss to Evren’s cheek before resting her head against Zephyra’s temple.

"Finally," Amber whispered with an affectionate laugh. "I was beginning to think I’d have to lock you two in a storage vault."

Zephyra pulled back slightly, her lips parted, her face completely flushed. She hid her face against Evren’s chest, letting out a trembling laugh of happiness.

Evren wrapped an arm around each of them, pulling them close against his chest as they soaked together in the peaceful heat.

"Enjoy the rest while we have it," Evren said after several quiet minutes, looking out over the skyline. "The S-Rank Astral-Chasm Rift on the western frontier opens in twenty-two hours."

Amber sat up slightly, her tactical instincts returning. "The one with the core for Calista’s cure?"

"Yes," Evren confirmed, nodding. "We’re going to hit it the moment the barrier fractures. We need that core secured and refined before the sky rift causes problems."

"Count me in," Zephyra said, lifting her head with resolve. "My blades are ready."

"We’ll tear that titan apart," Amber agreed, her eyes gleaming with battle confidence.

They spent another twenty minutes relaxing in the steaming pool before getting out and drying off. Amber and Zephyra headed toward their suites to change into evening loungewear, while Evren walked down the hall to his private master bedroom.

He stepped into his bathroom and took a quick hot bath, washing the mineral water from his skin. After toweling dry, he pulled on a pair of comfortable dark trousers and a soft gray long-sleeve shirt.

Sitting on the edge of the wide bed, he recalled the system notification from earlier. With a quiet thought, Evren called up his interface.

[S-RANK FORTUNE WHEEL SPIN: 1 AVAILABLE]

[INITIALIZE SPIN SEQUENCE? YES / NO]

"Yes," Evren mentally commanded.

A large golden wheel materialized in front of him, covered in glowing runes that pulsed with radiant power. The wheel began to spin with a high-pitched hum, blurring into a blinding kaleidoscope of divine relics, ancient techniques, and mythic armaments.

Evren watched the needle closely as the wheel gradually began to decelerate. It clicked past a high-tier flying chariot, skipped over an ancient lightning scripture, and slowed to a crawl near a glowing purple section.

With a final click, the needle settled onto a shimmering golden tile decorated with the image of a blazing hearth.

[SPIN COMPLETE!]

[REWARD CLAIMED: S-RANK FRESH INGREDIENT BASKET & PRIME MARBLED BEEF]

[ITEM STORED: SPATIAL STORAGE RING]

Evren stared at the golden text in disbelief. "Cooking ingredients from an S-Rank wheel? What am I supposed to do with fresh steaks and vegetables right now?"

Before he could close the screen, the golden runes flared with sudden intensity as a new quest notification popped up:

[SPECIAL QUEST: A HOME-COOKED MEAL]

[OBJECTIVE: Prepare a proper home-cooked dinner for your heroines using the S-Rank ingredients. Personally feed Calista to help her body absorb the nutrients before tomorrow’s raid.]

[QUEST REWARDS:]

[- HOUSEHOLD HARMONY: +10% ]

[- HEROINE RECOVERY BOOST: +50% PHYSICAL & MANA RECOVERY]

[- RAID BLESSING: 30% DAMAGE REDUCTION ON NEXT RAID]

Evren stared at the quest rewards, a slow, amused chuckle escaping his throat. A thirty percent flat damage reduction for tomorrow’s S-Rank rift was a massive tactical advantage that no armor in the empire could match.

"Fine," Evren murmured with a smile, closing the interface. "Guess I’m putting on an apron tonight."

He stood up, tucked his phone into his pocket, and walked out of the master suite, taking the private stairs down to the main living lounge.

Calista was still seated near the wide windows, though she had changed into a soft lavender silk robe. Beside her on the sectional sofa, Amber and Zephyra were lounging in loose cotton shirts and shorts, their damp hair combed back neatly.

Amber looked up from her tablet as Evren walked in, waving a hand toward him. "Evren, we were just debating dinner. Should we order from the culinary floor downstairs, or do you want Director Mikay to send a catering team up?"

Evren smiled, walking over toward the open gourmet kitchen and unbuttoning his cuffs. He rolled the soft fabric up his forearms with practiced ease.

"Neither," Evren said, an amused smirk playing on his lips. "How about I cook for us tonight?"