In the end, Jun An couldn't overcome the furious Theresa. The bedroom became unusable, forcing the two to take a bath and then sleep on the floor, making do with the sofa.
Early the next morning, Theresa changed her clothes, pulled on her stockings, and looked at Jun An smugly. "Well? Still want more?"
"Yes," Jun An clutched his aching waist, letting out a groan that aged him fifty years, "but my back hurts..."
Theresa was genuinely angry yesterday. To prevent Jun An from going soft, she had specifically used Honkai energy to enhance her strength, keeping little Jun An fully stimulated. Even though Jun An had put points into recovery, a MANTIS was still a MANTIS. When she got serious, he couldn't win at all.
Theresa really wanted to utter the word "average" just to provoke the Captain, but thinking about yesterday's ordeal, she decided against it. The Captain was good in many ways, but his thought process was particularly bizarre. This time, she had mostly stayed off the communication screen; next time, he might actually broadcast it live for Himeko to see.
Thus, after getting up, Theresa tidied her room while issuing a warning, "Next time you do that, I'll clamp you shut!" She seemed serious. Jun An felt a chill down his spine.
After this incident, Theresa concluded she needed a spare bed and shouldn't drink too much water before sleeping.
"I've prepared breakfast for you two." Himeko watched Theresa emerge from the room with an awkward gait, unable to suppress a smile. "Theresa, aren't you the strongest MANTIS? How'd you get so pathetic after just a short while?"
In truth, it had only been a day since they last saw each other, but thanks to the Captain's efforts, Theresa's legs were already somewhat unsteady.
"It was mutual destruction, that's all." Theresa sat down directly on the stool, her face refusing to admit defeat.
But Himeko became anxious. Mutual destruction? With Theresa, the strongest MANTIS in the current era?
"Then how's the Captain? Is he still usable?"
Theresa paused, recalling her rampage last night, her face full of guilt. "Should be... alright... maybe? After all, he still had morning wo—, so the function should be mostly fine. But the ammo reserves should be completely empty, so..."
"Doesn't that mean he's unusable?" A gun without ammunition was just a fire poker.
Himeko didn't know how wild Theresa had played yesterday, but it was true that Theresa's mood had improved considerably. Although she didn't show it, the expression of savoring last night's memory—a mix of pain and pleasure—was plain to see.
"Anyway, it's your turn today. Whether he's usable or not is your problem!" Theresa immediately shifted the blame, gobbled down the breakfast on the table like swallowing dates whole, chugged a bottle of freshly squeezed bitter melon juice, and quickly ran off to work remotely.
Himeko sighed helplessly and decided to check on the Captain's condition in the room first.
At this moment, Jun An had already changed his clothes. Seeing his appearance—a young boy looking like an old man with back pain, clearly suffering from kidney overdraft—it was obvious he was drained. Theresa had probably helped him change.
"Captain, are you okay?" Himeko walked over to Theresa's bed.
"Not okay at all." Jun An sighed helplessly. He felt as if all the strength had been sucked out of his body. Only with Himeko's support could he barely leave the bedroom.
"If this continues, I might actually develop a fear of women."
"Complaining after getting the good end of the deal, that's exactly you." Himeko was instantly speechless. Who did he think he was sharing a bed with? Setting aside Theresa's status as Schicksal Overseer, just considering Theresa's delicate skin and tender flesh, her appearance of around twelve while actually being forty-going-on-fifty, a legal, super-long-shelf-life white-haired loli—that point alone would hit the XP of countless men.
Even as a woman, Himeko knew that the terms loli, Schicksal Overseer (female boss), adoptive mother, and childhood friend—any one of these could have its own dedicated fan category, let alone the fact that for Jun An, this wasn't even roleplay.
Fear of women? Him? It was just simple Sage Mode.
The three great lies of men were just like that: We're just friends, I'll just rub, I won't go in, and This is really the last time. Hmph, men. Who'd believe them?
Himeko helped Jun An to his seat, then brought out the breakfast specially prepared for him. "Deer antler velvet and lotus seed soup, deer blood soup, Five-Penis Major Tonic Soup, plus rice and congee made with goji berries. Dessert is ginseng. Eat up."
Looking at the spread on the table, this breakfast was almost as lavish as dinner.
"You got up early just to make all this?" Jun An frowned. "Are you afraid you won't kill me with nourishment, or afraid you won't squeeze me dry?"
"You're already this drained, and you're not taking tonics?" Himeko looked at Jun An helplessly. "Honestly, I was a bit hesitant at first, but I didn't expect Theresa to wear you out like this." As for the concept of being too weak for potent remedies (xū bù shòu bǔ), even at his weakest, the Captain was still A-rank.
"..." Jun An silently ate the goji berries. Honestly, he acknowledged there was an element of self-inflicted suffering here. But looking at the food in his hands, then at Himeko's unwavering gaze fixed on him, Jun An still felt a lingering fear. "I really don't have a single drop left."
Himeko said playfully, "It's okay. Things like this, if you squeeze, there will always be some."
Jun An could only bury his head and eat, hoping his stomach would digest quickly, and that his recovery rate was strong enough to regenerate sufficient cells within a few hours.
Seeing the Captain looking defeated, Himeko's mood finally improved somewhat. "Alright, I'll stop teasing you. Today will be a normal date, no messing around with you."
"Really?" Jun An was skeptical. Judging by her usual behavior, Himeko seemed even more insatiable than Theresa.
"Don't judge me by how I seem now. During my university days, I really longed to have an ordinary relationship with someone I liked." Himeko was a normal person before finishing university. Unfortunately, her father went astray and passed away back then. It was only to investigate the truth that Himeko joined Schicksal, underwent the Stigmata surgery which left her with limited time, and combined with the influence of Captain Ragna and the others, developed the mindset of seizing pleasure while she could.
This led to her somewhat unrestrained behavior in the past, even causing that embarrassing incident when sleeping with the young Jun An.
"But things are different now," Himeko looked at Jun An with a smile, her eyes full of deep affection. "Things I didn't have time to do before, I now have plenty of time to slowly accomplish." Captain Ragna and the others have also been resurrected by the Captain. I no longer need to live on behalf of them as well; I can live at my own pace.
"Now, I can always be with the Captain, go on dates, experience all sorts of things, have an ordinary relationship together, love each other, yearn for each other."
This was Himeko's true inner thought. The only difference from before was the lack of time then, whereas now, she no longer needed to be anxious.
"But can our situation really be considered ordinary?" Jun An asked. After all, even he hadn't expected that the two parental figures who seemed the most proper would actually team up to exploit him. Theresa's invitation alone had shocked Jun An; what shocked him even more was that Himeko actually agreed.
"If I had been first, of course, I wouldn't be willing to share the Captain with anyone." Himeko sounded quite helpless about this. "But what choice did I have? Theresa made the first move." Since she couldn't be the only one, she might as well get a sip of the soup.
Jun An quickly finished his breakfast, and then began his date with Himeko for the day.
Unlike yesterday's date with Theresa, which was mostly decided on the fly, Himeko today had already planned the date out. Jun An just needed to enjoy a normal date.
Before getting into Himeko's car, she specifically asked, "Captain, you brought your wallet, right? Got your ID card too?"
Jun An nodded and took out his ID card.
"Good," Himeko got into her car, had Jun An sit in the passenger seat, and immediately drove towards the city center.
And Himeko's first destination was crystal clear: the Civil Affairs Bureau, Marriage Registration Office.