Evan D. Sherden, Added Sub-Party (2)

“Master, did you get permission to use the Marquis’ gate?”

“Yes, I think I’ll be leaving with Maybell. Still, going to the capital city by wagon is a waste of time…”

“Then, this might be your route. Master, on your way home…”

“Oh, if I could get permission to go to Leonine’s gate in advance, I would be wasting less time. No, I have to go to Elto Frent Sea anyway, so I’d better pass Leonine first and go to the capital city…well, but.”

That evening, Evan asked Diona and Belois to come up with a route for this trip. It was like he was trying to make himself get back to work as soon as he got back from the dungeon. On the same day, he complained to Shine that he didn’t have any time to rest.

“Wait, what…? I never took a day off since I became the Knight-Commander of Astray?”

“The only time you took a break was when you stopped by the hot spring village last time. But you went for work that time, too.”

“And you didn’t take much time off before you became Commander either, Master.”

“That’s weird. Have I always been a workaholic…?”

Looking at Evan muttering in disbelief, Diona and Belois exchanged dumbfounded looks. It was absurd that Evan just noticed it.

“You’ll probably be surprised when you find out how other nobles usually live.”

“I don’t know much because I’ve only served you my whole life, but I know that even Marquis Soline, who the citizens praise as a diligent and noble aristocrat, is more relaxed than you.”

“Belois, you don’t know what you’re talking about. If there were three more nobles like Marquis Soline, the Silk Line would’ve had the greatest power on the continent. Master Evan’s workaholic mindset is already the best on the continent.”

Evan pouted and grumbled as Belois and Diona exchanged harsh words about his workaholic nature.

“The problem isn’t about me, but it’s about other nobles. They never do anything right; that’s why the world is running with half a screw missing.”

“Hehe, Master seems to stand out a lot more because of other incompetent nobles in this world.”

Diona said it like a joke, but Evan, who heard it, couldn’t take it as one. The main character was especially active in RPGs because other characters had no personality and were often passive. Major NPCs had their roles, desires, and dreams, but the rest of the NPCs didn’t. The world was running like a game in that area.

‘Why did they keep all the drawbacks of the game…’

If the nobles were just as incompetent as the game, he wished the strong NPCs in the game were still the same! Evan hit the desk.

“There’s no time for me to play around. I need to kill the Demon King once he’s resurrected. And I will be busy until the cracks are somehow recovered. The Silk Line civil war cannot be completely prevented, nor can we be relieved unless we clear the pseudo-religion…”

“Master.”

Evan was groaning as if he was paranoid. Belois grabbed his hand and started to make a new schedule again. It was something she had never dared to do before, but as her relationship with Evan deepened, she started to express physical affection a lot more.

“I must tell you, Master. You’re overworking yourself right now. It hasn’t been long since you came back from the dungeon. Of course, I know it’s a busy time, but you still have the right to take a break.”

“No, I’m not that tired. There’s the Brotherhood Bathhouse, so I can relieve my fatigue perfectly just in a matter of minutes…”

“Master?”

“Uh, yeah?”

Belua’s expressions have become a little more powerful. Diona stared at Belois, standing right next to Evan, but then soon started to organize the data lying on the table.

“I’ll head out now, Master. I think the schedule has been arranged. The departure schedule was originally tomorrow…but can I schedule it for the day after tomorrow? I’ll contact the palace and Leonine about using the gate.”

“Yes, please. Thank you, Diona.”

“Okay, Belois. Then have a good time.”

“No, Diona. Wait…you seem to be listening to Lua more than me these days.”

However, Diona shrugged as if she had no choice but to back off. What did Belois teach Diona? Evan anxiously gulped as Belois came closer to him.

“I’m not talking about physical fatigue. You’re always pushing yourself. It would help if you took a break. You should take a break without having to think about anything.”

“Well, still…”

“It’s not a big deal even if you leave a day late. I mean, you always leave before any ominous signs occur.”

Belois made a slightly mischievous expression.

“I’m sure you made a promise to me last time. That someday, you will set a date and roll around in bed with me all day.”

“But we don’t have to do that right now…uhmm.”

Evan was trying to tell her that they had a lot of time to do that in the future, but he soon realized that he couldn’t guarantee that they’d actually have more time in the future, so he shut up. Belois grinned.

“Then what are you going to do?”

“Okay, I will rest. All day without thinking.”

“It starts now and ends tomorrow night.”

“Okay, okay.”

“Yay.”

As soon as Evan nodded, Belois cheered quietly and hugged him. He had never seen her like this before.

“I’m going to be right beside you from now on.”

“Yes, hold me tight, so I can’t run away to work.”

“I’m going to sleep with you, too.”

“Yes.”

“And take a bath together with you.”

“That’s…”

Maybe she just wanted to act like a child as an excuse to make Evan rest? Evan’s eyes narrowed. However, he couldn’t resist her when she was looking at him with helpless eyes.

“Okay, I get it. I understand.”

“Then go right away. Please.”

Belois clung to Evan with a rarely seen expression and pestered him…No, it was a bit awkward to say that it was rare to see her like that even though she followed him constantly. Her image, which Evan had known before, wasn’t everything. Maybe he would see more of this in the future. Evan mumbled inside and lightly held Belois in both arms.

“Hhhhh…”

“Lua likes hugging like this.”

“Of course, I do, but…would you hug me while we’re laying?”

“Yes.”

At Evan’s outspoken reply, Belois opened her mouth wide and looked frightened.

“Oh no, then I’ll have to think about it for a while.”

“Think about it while we take a bath.”

“There’s no way I can think about anything else while taking a bath with you.”

“Really, what are you thinking?”

Evan smiled and hugged her before heading to the bath. He thought it was good to set up a luxurious bath facility in his room.

* * *

Evan washed with Belois as she requested, slept with her, woke up late in the morning with her, and ate a late brunch with her.

“Maybe it’s the first time in my life that I’ve had brunch…”

“Even in the dungeon, you were disciplined and ate three meals a day.”

“Well, it feels good to get some sunshine while lying in bed.”

When he had been working in his previous life…when he came back from work on Friday, he suddenly remembered the time when he woke up from the sun shining over the curtain, as he lay in bed late in the morning and fell asleep. How was it now compared to then? It was the same in a sense that he was tired from work, but the biggest difference was that a beautiful lover was lying beside him now. It was such a big difference as if the world had changed—because it had. Even if he had to kill a hundred Demon Kings for her—no, even if he had to kill about ten thousand of them—Evan was confident that he could do it. Maybe he could even defeat the Devil.

“I love you, Lua.”

“I love you too, Master.”

Belois replied as if she had been waiting, even though he just said it. Evan turned his head because he was ashamed, but he couldn’t avoid her eyes as she immediately went inside of his arms and stared at him. Indeed, this woman was a real witch.

“You should be very grateful to your wife. She has a rare beauty that makes people happy just by looking at her. I’m confident that I’ll be happy just looking at your face for the rest of my life.”

“And it’s the same for me, Lua.”

“No matter who you ask, they will say you’re much more beautiful than me. Even men would say that.”

“I don’t want to conduct that kind of survey. I will never accept whatever the result is.”

The two rolled around in the bed all morning, then faced each other for a while, and then rolled back on the bed. They were like animals. No one came looking for Evan all day long. Perhaps Belois had been preparing for this day for quite some time.

“I wish I could stay like this forever with you, Master…”

“Oh, yeah. I remembered the reason why I didn’t want to rest. Resting is addictive. The more I rest, the more I want to rest. Maybe I was worried about this.”

“…I wonder.”

Evan knew very well how easy it is for a person to become lazy. He knew himself very well because he had abandoned his studies and part-time jobs in his previous life and only hung onto games.

“That’s not good. It’s like poison, especially for those who have to do something. The moment I think it’s okay to rest a little longer, it’s over.”

“I understand you. Especially for a man with a lot of burdens like you…”

Belois looked disappointed but nodded in agreement with Evan. Come to think of it. It would’ve been the same for Belois to assist Evan perpetually and not rest. He stroked Belois’ head slowly and gently hugged her again.

“But I promised to take a rest today, so I’ll make sure that it’s worth it. Lua, you don’t have to think about anything useless today.”

“Yes. I’ll figure out how to perfectly fool Lady Arisha later.”

“… So, you are going to hide what happened today.”

“If I get caught, Lady Arisha will ask you for the same thing. I can’t let that happen because I’ll be jealous.”

Evan, who thought it might be possible to have a happy family together due to what he experienced in the last dungeon, decided to put aside the idea. The conflict seemed likely to continue for some time.

* * *

Was it because of Belois’s excellent skills? Or was it because she ordered Diona to conduct the maneuver in advance? They were able to get away with spending the whole day together without anyone noticing it. Evan took care of the rest of Sherden’s work, so he was feeling much better. The revised scenario was distributed to all the main characters, including Louise, and the sisters Lin and Lan. Jhin was embarrassed when he heard the future scenario but eventually nodded. After getting rid of Elizabeth, who cried because she wanted to follow him, and training with several close combat tactics with Eir, who was perfectly adapted to the Devil Rune, Evan finally gathered the Knights.

The break was over, and it was time to go back to the field.