My Milf System-Chapter 348. Ifrit.

Asher’s eyes fluttered open as he squinted against the light.

Above him stretched a tall ceiling. Sunlight filtered through the windows, and a soft breeze drifted across the room.

Somewhere nearby, someone was humming.

Thud... thud... thud...

The rhythmic sound of a pestle grinding something in a mortar.

Asher slowly pushed himself upright, rubbing his eyes.

"Oh... you’re finally awake."

He paused for a moment.

That voice sounded familiar.

Looking up, he saw Sister Samantha standing nearby, dressed in her church cloak as she worked with a bowl of crushed herbs.

"I guess so..." Asher muttered groggily. "What happened? Where am I...?"

Then his eyes widened.

"Wait—Genzai!" he gasped. "Did I get him?!"

Sister Samantha chuckled softly as she mixed the ground leaves into a bowl of hot porridge and carried it over to his bed.

"Easy there. Don’t push yourself. You’re still weak."

She held the bowl toward him.

"Here. Eat this."

Asher eyed the porridge suspiciously.

Then he looked at her.

She gave him a warm smile.

"Relax. It’s not poisoned."

"That wasn’t my concern..." he muttered.

His memory was hazy. He remembered fighting Genzai... remembered his strength draining away... and falling toward that massive water-filled chasm in the arena.

Then...he felt someone holding him.

His eyes suddenly widened.

"Wait!" he blurted. "Were you the one who saved me?!"

Samantha nodded proudly.

Asher’s jaw dropped.

"But... how? That place was collapsing! You could’ve died down there with me!"

"Shhh."

Before he could protest further, she calmly grabbed the spoon from his hands and shoved a mouthful of porridge into his mouth.

Asher froze.

Then his face twisted.

"Ugh! This tastes horrible!"

"Good," she said cheerfully. "That means it’s working. Every medicine tastes horrible."

She fed him another spoonful.

Then she smiled thoughtfully.

"If it meant dying... I was prepared to die with you."

Asher blinked, stunned.

For a moment, the room went quiet.

Then—

"HA!"

Samantha burst out laughing and slapped his shoulder.

"Just kidding!"

"OW!" Asher winced.

"I might not look it," she continued proudly, "but I’m a B-Rank myself. I have an Air Leap skill. I can literally jump on air. There was no way I was falling into that abyss."

Asher exhaled slowly.

"...Thanks for the save."

Then something suddenly struck him.

His eyes widened in horror.

"WAIT!"

Samantha paused.

"My sword!" Asher cried dramatically. "I lost my sword in that battle!"

He lowered his head in grief.

"Rest in peace... my friend..."

"You’ve got some nerve thinking I’d die that easily."

The voice came from the doorway.

Asher blinked.

Standing there was a small boy—maybe five years old—dressed like a tiny sultan. His red hair was spikey and messy, with thicker eyebrows of the same color.

Asher looked at the boy.

Then at Samantha.

She was smiling.

"...Who’s the kid?"

The boy froze. His eyebrows twitched violently.

"Kid?" His voice rose an octave. "KID?! I am centuries older than you!"

"Huh?" Asher said skeptically.

The boy pointed dramatically at himself.

"I’m disappointed you can’t tell it’s me!"

Then he struck a proud pose.

"I am Ifrit! Lord of the Smokeless Flames! The most feared demonic sword in the world!"

Asher’s eyes sparkled.

"Whoa!" He leaned forward excitedly. "You can take a human form now?! That’s awesome!"

He squinted at him.

"...Also you’re kinda handsome."

"W-WHAT?!" Ifrit immediately turned bright red. "Don’t be ridiculous!" he snapped, crossing his arms while trying to hide his blushing face.

"Turns out after using my Ultimate Form, I leveled up! Now I can do things on my own—fly, take human form, all kinds of stuff, so it was pretty easy avoiding falling into that abbyss we created."

Asher nodded approvingly.

"Nice. That’s really cool."

Samantha immediately shoved another spoonful of porridge into his mouth.

"Well that’s great and all," she said, "but your friend here has been harassing children around the kingdom."

Ifrit clicked his tongue.

"Tch. I was teaching them a lesson. Those brats tried to bully me like I’m their age!"

Samantha shrugged casually.

"Well... you are shorter than most of them."

Ifrit slowly turned toward her.

"...Say that again."

His eye twitched.

"I dare you."

Samantha smirked.

"Or what, Pipsqueak."

Ifrit’s fists clenched.

"I’ll knock your teeth so far down your—"

"GUYS!"Asher cut in quickly. "Will you two chill out?!"

The two glared at each other before finally backing off.

Then Asher remembered something.

"Oh right," he said, turning to Samantha. "The Key of Ascension... I won the match, right?"

Before she could answer, the door suddenly opened.

"Look who’s finally awake after three days."

Joyce walked in.

Asher shot upright.

"THREE DAYS?!" he literally yelled in disbelief.

"Yup! Pathetic, don’t you think?" Joyce mocked with a chuckle. "The queen and the entire kingdom have been waiting for you. Come on. You’ve got a reward to claim."

Asher immediately jumped out of bed and started following her.

"Wait—at least bathe first!" Samantha shouted.

Of course he ignored her completely. He was way too excited to get his hands on the Ascension keys.

As they walked, Joyce filled him in on everything that happened after he passed out—how Samantha rescued him, how she insisted on personally caring for him until she got permission from the higher ups, and how the kingdom had reacted to the massive hole he created in the arena.

Apparently, when water began bubbling up from the crater, the people of Shangani believed it was a miracle.

In this world, water symbolized life.

And the kingdom had been suffering from a water shortage, so this was enough for them to believe it was the will of the gods.

Now the crater was being used as a well—pumping water to citizens and nearby farms, while if course, being maintained and built around in a way that will prevent people from falling inside. Thanks to magic, it wasn’t that difficult.

And more importantly, it’s supply of water seemed almost endless.

By the time they reached the palace gates, crowds had already gathered.

People cheered wildly.

"We love you, Asherman!"

"May the gods bless you for saving us!"

"Are you married?!"

Asher grinned and raised his hand, revealing the String of Marriage tied around his wrist.

Joyce gasped.

"You’re married?! Why have I never seen that before?!"

Asher smirked.

"I hide it with magic most of the time."

Joyce narrowed her eyes.

"So that you can cheat on your partner?"

"No." He shrugged. "So I can gather power without causing a scene."

"...That makes absolutely no sense."

The massive golden palace doors opened.

Royal guards stood aside as Asher and Joyce walked in.

One guard stopped Ifrit.

"Sorry. Kids aren’t allowed inside."

Ifrit’s face turned red like a ticking bomb. His eye twitched.

Alright.

That’s it.

A terrifying aura suddenly erupted from him, heat shimmering through the air as everyone nearby shivered.

"I’ve had ENOUGH of everyone calling me a ki—"

Asher gently patted his head.

"Sword mode."

Poof.

Ifrit instantly transformed back into a sword in Asher’s hand.

"HEY!" Ifrit’s voice echoed angrily inside his mind. "Why did you do that?! I was about to blast those humans!"

"Yeah, yeah," Asher muttered. "No blasting humans today."

"Tch..."

They entered the palace.

Inside, a massive table stretched across the hall.

Nobles, ministers, Bishops, Priestesses and royal officials were seated along its length.

And more importantly.....the table was covered in food.

Asher’s eyes lit up.

"Now THAT’S what I’m talking about!"

He marched straight to the table, grabbed a chair, and began stuffing food into his mouth before even greeting anyone.

After eating that horrible porridge, this was a blessing.

Several nobles stared in stunned silence.

Someone leaned toward another and whispered quietly—

"...He doesn’t have much table manners, does he?"

To be continued.