Divine Milking System-Chapter 113 | Perhaps

Three percent.

Still basically nothing.

But three was more than zero.

Three meant I existed.

Three meant she’d noticed I was human instead of furniture.

I dismissed the overlay and continued my sets.

Didn’t push it. Didn’t try to force conversation. Just lifted weights while she moved through her routine on the other side of the room.

Twenty minutes passed.

Neither of us spoke.

But we were in the same space. Training at the same time. Breathing the same air.

For Hikaru?

That was basically a marriage proposal.

I finished my final set and racked the weights.

Hikaru was stretching near the mats. Her leg extended straight up beside her head in a split that should have been anatomically impossible.

Jesus Christ.

I grabbed my water bottle. Took a long drink. Focused very hard on not staring.

Failed completely.

Hikaru’s compression shirt rode up slightly during the stretch. Revealed a sliver of toned stomach. Abs defined enough to suggest serious training. Hip bones visible above the waistband of her shorts.

The binding was doing its job. Her chest looked completely flat. But I knew what was underneath.

Gold-tier essence.

36E measurements.

An A-rank ability that could cut through steel invisibly.

And a baseline attraction that had just ticked up from zero to three.

Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Hikaru straightened. Caught me looking again.

This time she didn’t look away immediately.

Just held my gaze.

Red eyes meeting amber.

Three seconds.

Four.

Then she grabbed her bag and headed for the exit without a word.

I followed after a respectable delay.

Found her waiting by the rec center entrance. Arms crossed. Expression neutral.

"You are slow."

"I’m working on it."

"Work harder."

Then she pushed through the door and walked into the morning light.

I caught up. Fell into step beside her.

We walked back to Building C together. Through campus paths empty except for joggers and overachievers getting their cardio in before breakfast.

The sun was starting to rise. Painting everything orange and gold.

"Friday’s results post at noon," I said.

"I know."

"You nervous?"

"No."

"Liar."

Her head snapped toward me.

I kept my eyes forward. Kept walking.

"Everyone’s nervous about rankings. Even the S-rank heirs pretending they’re too good to care. It’s normal."

Silence.

Then.

"Perhaps."

Two words instead of one.

We reached Building C. Took the elevator back up to the fifth floor.

Stood in the hallway outside apartment 5E.

Hikaru pulled out her key card.

"Monroe."

First time she’d said my name directly.

"Yeah?"

"Your. Celebration. Last night."

Oh God.

"Was appropriate volume. Acceptable behavior between consenting adults." She paused. "You do not need to apologize again."

"Right. Thanks for. Being cool about it."

She nodded once.

Unlocked the door.

We went inside together.

I headed straight for my room to shower and change. Had classes in two hours. Needed food. Needed to check on Naomi. Needed to figure out if Belle was still speaking to me after I’d rearranged her internal organs last night.

The system pinged softly.

◆ RELATIONSHIP PROGRESS ◆

Target: Hikaru Tanaka

Attraction: 3% → 5%

Status: Acknowledged your existence

Note: Small steps with this one

I smiled at the notification.

Yeah.

Small steps.

But five percent was better than three.

And five would become ten eventually.

Then twenty.

Then fifty.

Then I’d have access to that Gold-tier essence and the Phantom Edge ability that could cut through anything.

Just had to be patient.

Just had to keep showing up at five AM to lift weights while she did pull-ups.

Just had to keep being the harmless roommate who asked about her day and didn’t push boundaries and apologized for excessive sex noises through thin walls.

Eventually she’d crack.

They always did.

I turned on the shower and waited for the water to heat up.

In the mirror, my reflection looked back at me. Face slimmer than a week ago. Jawline visible. Eyes bright despite the early hour.

The body was changing.

Slowly.

But changing.

I stepped under the hot spray and let it wash away yesterday’s gate run. The blood. The exhaustion. The fear of dying to an alpha Crawler.

Today was Saturday.

Results posted at noon.

If the Midnight Foxes broke top five?

I’d just bought myself another week of survival and made an enemy of the most dangerous first-year at the academy.

If we failed?

I was one giant step closer to Blair owning me and Misato transferring to her squad.

High risk. High reward.

Exactly how I liked my bets.

I finished showering and got dressed in comfortable clothes since it was Saturday.

When I stepped out of my room, Hikaru was already gone.

Probably at the arena doing sword forms or whatever assassination training she practiced at dawn.

I grabbed my phone and checked the group chat.

Belle: who’s awake

Jordan: why are you texting this early

Belle: couldn’t sleep 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Jordan: terrible reason to wake me up

Belle: you’re already awake genius

Jordan: i hate this school

Naomi: Good morning everyone!

Belle: naomi why are you this cheerful

Naomi: I slept really well! How is everyone?

Belle: i’m sore in places i didn’t know could get sore

I choked on air.

Jordan: tmi belle

Belle: you asked

Jordan: no i didn’t

Naomi: Belle are you okay? Do you need healing?

Belle: i’m fine. just need to walk it off

I typed a message.

Me: heading to breakfast if anyone wants to join

Three dots appeared immediately under Belle’s name.

Then disappeared.

Naomi responded first.

Naomi: I’ll be there in 10 minutes!

Belle: fine. i need food anyway

Jordan: im going back to sleep

Belle: coward

Jordan: correct

I pocketed the phone and headed out.

The dining hall at eight in the morning on Saturday looked completely different from dinner service. Quieter. Cleaner. Only about thirty students scattered across the massive space.

I loaded a plate. Scrambled eggs. Bacon. Toast. Protein shake.

My body was demanding fuel after burning through reserves during the gate run and the extraction with Belle.

Found a table near the windows.

Sat down.

Ate mechanically while watching the sun climb higher over the Pacific.

Footsteps approached from behind.

Naomi’s voice. Soft. Careful.

"Is this seat taken?"