Kalian and Serena’s date ended like that.
It had seemed like things were going well.
But with the Royal Knight Commander picking a fight, and a terrorist attack happening in Arcana, there was no way the date could have gone smoothly.
Elia caused an explosion to divert the Knight Commander’s attention, and it worked very well.
Yeah… too well, which was the problem.
Thankfully, the Knight Commander got distracted by the chaos and left, but Serena couldn’t continue the date either.
“I should check if there’s any problem with the merchant guild,” she said.
Serena’s guild operates several shops in Arcana.
To ensure none of her affiliated shops had been affected and to figure out any immediate actions needed, she had to end the date.
She looked visibly disappointed, but since it was something she needed to handle herself, she had no choice.
I plopped down by the fountain.
This date was a total disaster.
Lumia kept looking for Kalian throughout their date, and just when Serena seemed to be enjoying herself, she got caught up in this ridiculous mess.
Was dating supposed to be this hard?
“Evelyn, what’s your take on this?”
I asked Evelyn about the dynamics between Kalian, Lumia, and Serena.
I wanted her to tell me what was needed for these three to have a successful date.
“It was amusing.”
“Ah, I see. Amusing, indeed.”
She simply nodded in satisfaction.
“The delicate interplay between men and women is so sweet and touching. Just watching it stirs a refreshing feeling in me.”
“Right.”
“I’m curious about what it would feel like to go on a proper date with you.”
“Right.”
Please, keep your reflections on dating to yourself.
You’re not here to enjoy yourself. You’re here to help me improve the relationship between Kalian and the heroines.
Even the Demon King, who had been silently watching until now, added her two cents.
“Fascinating.”
“What is?”
“This thing called love between men and women. I’ve read about it often in books, but seeing real love in action—it takes this form, huh?”
“What nonsense are you talking about now…”
The Demon King crossed her arms, frowning slightly.
“True love always comes with endless trials. The world seems to conspire to tear two people apart, or so the saying goes. And it’s accurate.”
“I think you’ve misunderstood something. What you saw today wasn’t love.”
“Does this mean such trials aren’t enough to qualify as love?”
She looked at me with wide eyes.
This one… her understanding of love is completely off.
Maybe it’s because she spent so long as a shut-in Demon King, but her common sense is seriously lacking.
Seeing these absurd events and thinking this is normal? That’s not good for emotional education.
“It’s not that. It’s just, this isn’t what you call love.”
“Then what do you call it?”
“It’s a relationship that hasn’t yet developed into love. Hmm… In some faraway land, they call it ‘being in a fling.’ Though it’s not usually this extreme.”
“A fling…?”
She doesn’t know so much that I don’t even know where to start teaching her.
Oh well.
She’s going back to the Demon Castle soon anyway, so there’s no need to teach her everything.
“Ah, here you are.”
At that moment, a man approached the fountain.
The Demon King glanced at him and spoke.
“Commander.”
“I told you not to call me that here. People will stare. Anyway… it’s rare for you to step away from the designated meeting spot.”
“I was just looking around with these people for a bit.”
At the Demon King’s words, he glanced at me and Evelyn.
At first glance, we seemed ordinary.
Our behavior, appearance, and the aura we exuded—everything seemed unremarkable.
We weren’t knights or magicians, just regular people.
And yet, this man was supposedly the Commander of the Demon King’s army? That was unexpected.
The original story didn’t even mention who the Commander was or what they were like. I never imagined
it would be someone like this.
But there was another surprise.
“Alcatraz…?”
Evelyn recognized this Commander.
At her murmured words, the Commander smiled faintly and looked at her.
“What brings you here, Evelyn? Oh, wait, I see. You’re a student of Arcana, aren’t you?”
“What about you? Why are you here?”
“I heard there was a grand festival happening in Arcana. I came to enjoy it and make some good memories with this person.”
“What a coincidence. So you two know each other?”
Evelyn and Alcatraz began chatting naturally.
Soon, the Demon King and the Commander left after exchanging brief farewells.
Apparently, they had plans to do something together at the festival.
As soon as they left, I asked Evelyn,
“How do you know that man?”
The fact that Evelyn knew the Commander of the Demon King’s army was both shocking and concerning.
Evelyn answered calmly,
“Alcatraz? He’s one of the villagers who were attacked by bandits back when you visited my domain.”
“That man is just a villager?”
“Yes. He even came to see me personally, saying he wanted to repay me. We’d occasionally meet while I was in my territory.”
“Seriously…”
I let out a hollow laugh.
Now that she mentioned it, I did remember him.
He was the guy who’d begged Evelyn to avenge his village back then.
Had he approached her deliberately?
“What did he do when he visited you? Did you eat any food or take any medicine he gave you?”
“Nothing like that. I only received some advice from him. It was half out of amusement that I listened.”
“What kind of advice?”
“Well… it’s a bit embarrassing to say.”
She scratched her cheek awkwardly.
I grabbed her arm.
“Evelyn, you need to tell me everything you know about him.”
“Why are you so serious about this?”
“Do you remember the magician I mentioned before? Alca-whatever might actually be that magician.”
“Alcatraz? That can’t be…”
Evelyn started to shake her head, but my grave expression made her reluctantly speak.
“Fine, I’ll tell you everything.”
“Thank you.”
“The advice I got from him was about how to win your love.”
She said that when Alcatraz had visited her to repay her, he’d said this:
Recently, you’ve started to care deeply for someone. Wouldn’t you like to know how to win their heart?
It was probably just a shallow trick, but Evelyn decided to humor him and listened.
The advice he gave was incredibly mundane.
Approach him actively, express your feelings, try again even if you’re rejected… things anyone could have said.
“That’s it?”
“Yes. There was nothing suspicious about it. If there had been, I would have noticed immediately.”
That part indeed didn’t seem suspicious.
But the fact that it was so ordinary was precisely what made it strange.
A villager whose home was attacked by a bandit gang under the magician’s command, a Commander of the Demon King’s army, giving relationship advice?
And the fact that I, someone well-versed in the original story, had never heard of him was troubling too.
I warned Evelyn, “From now on, don’t meet that man under any circumstances.”
He seemed dangerous to me.
Evelyn smiled warmly, as if touched by my concern.
After parting with Wade, she strolled through the lively Arcana festival, replaying the day’s events with a happy heart.
Although she was supposed to join a play soon, she wanted to savor this lingering feeling a little longer.
She had come to help Kalian’s love life, but she was glad to use it as an excuse to spend time with Wade.
Since Wade mentioned repeating this throughout the festival, Evelyn couldn’t have been happier.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself.”
“Huh?”
Someone appeared before her.
Alcatraz.
With an eerie smile, he gave her a slight bow.
The warmth in Evelyn’s heart instantly turned cold.
“So we meet again. You said you had something to do—did you finish already?”
“Not exactly. I came because I had something to ask you, Evelyn.”
“So this isn’t a coincidence. Tell me, why are you following me?”
“That person you admire—it’s him, isn’t it? I refrained from saying it earlier because of the situation.”
Even amidst the crowd, Alcatraz’s voice carried clearly.
“How is your relationship with him going these days?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“I do hope there’s been progress in your love life. If you followed my advice, there should have been good results.”
“Is that all you wanted to ask? Now, answer my question.”
Wade had warned her to never meet this man.
If he felt the need to issue such a warning, this situation certainly couldn’t be safe.
Evelyn heightened her vigilance.
“Who are you?”
“Who am I? Why, I’m Alcatraz.”
“What’s your real purpose in approaching me? I know you’ve sent people to attack the area around my domain.”
Although she didn’t have concrete evidence, Evelyn tested him with her accusation.
Alcatraz tilted his head, feigning innocence.
“Hmm… I wanted to become your close friend, Evelyn, but it’s disappointing to be met with such suspicion.”
“Enough with the nonsense. Tell me your true purpose.”
“My true purpose? I don’t have one. I simply seek entertainment wherever I go. Sometimes as a villager, sometimes as a magician, and other times as the Commander of the Demon King’s army.”
“What?”
Evelyn began channeling mana, placing her hand on her sword, ready to draw it at any moment.
But Alcatraz ignored her cautious stance, shaking his head with a look of mock pity.
“No, no, no… This isn’t what I wanted. You’re meant to be a fruit saved for a later harvest.”
“What are you saying?”
“You were cultivating an unattainable love, fostering darkness within yourself so perfectly. Why did you suddenly veer off course?”
“Despicable fool.”
“Disappointing. Absolutely heartbreaking. I could cry from the sheer letdown. Boohoo, boohoo-hoo…”
He covered his face with his palm as if about to cry.
What initially sounded like sobs soon morphed into laughter.
When Alcatraz removed his hand, his face was lit with a wide grin, showing no trace of tears.
“Well, life is always full of surprises. Unpredictable twists like this make living so enjoyable.”
“You… what are you doing?”
“Evelyn, though this harvest comes a bit earlier than planned, I hope you’ll enjoy it with me.”
Once again, he bowed his head politely.
At that moment, a darkness surged forth from deep within Evelyn’s heart.