Evan D. Sherden, Broke the Ice (2)

Evan completed recruiting talented people, leaving the members questioning, “Is this right?”

Evan thought about staying one more day and waiting for another colleague at the pub, but he decided to cancel his plan after listening to Enoch.

“There’s no place that needs a mercenary these days, so I tried to close my business and raise funds to build a temple in Roizen using the money I’ve saved so far. But when I came by for my last drink, it seems like fate destined me to meet the Master.”

“I know. I almost saw a priest who would fall into slavery because he couldn’t pay off his gambling debts.”

Roizen was a city of gambling. This dorky priest was saying that he would gamble all the money he had earned from mercenaries!

“Haha, God always takes care of me, and I don’t think I’ll ever be sold into a gambling debt!”

“Hahaha, you’re never allowed to gamble when you get to Sherden.”

“Yep.”

The young priest bowed his head gently at Evan’s stern warning. He didn’t have to gamble because the temple’s construction would not be a problem with the money funded by Evan anyway.

But…… that was how Evan managed to reflect on one possibility. In a world where much had already changed from the game, there was no guarantee that he would meet his fellow characters who were originally scheduled to meet in this pub again.

‘If I need a new colleague from now on, I’d better ask Maybell to collect some information first.’

Of course, five people would be enough for running a sub-party right now, so Evan didn’t have to rush to find another colleague. Some of them were already active in Sherden or Pellati. Like the Sacred Guild of Yo-Ma Great War 4.

“Then, I will work with the people you have raised.”

“Yes, they are all very talented for their age, so I hope you’ll respect them when you work together.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Enoch replied sincerely to Evan’s words. Lucid, the 14-year-old boy, had phenomenal hiding skills.

Moreover, according to the rumors he had heard so far, all those who reached Evan’s hands grew to be the strongest warriors, so he thought that there was no need to doubt the party’s ability.

“Enoch, you stay in the city with Lucid for a while, and then you go back to Sherden with the man I will send. When you get there, the Vice-Commander of the Astray Knights will instruct you on everything.”

“Okay, Master.……Hmm?”

“Oppa, Dad wants to have dinner with us the next day no matter what.”

Enoch had followed Evan for the money. And when Evan told Enoch step by step what he had to do in the future, Serena opened the door and spoke. Evan replied with a rotten look on his face at her words.

“Let’s have breakfast. I was going to leave today, but I am delaying it for him, so tell him that.”

“Did you hear that? That’s what my Oppa wants you to tell him.”

“Your Highness……!”

He belatedly noticed a guard who escorted Serena, who returned alone after an audience with the King.

He was called a guard, but he looked like he would not be able to handle a single slime. But it was all just a show to fit with the appearance of a royal.

“Oh, did you hear……? I’m sorry. Anyway, tell him we can join him for breakfast.”

“Okay…”

He could not say anything to Evan, who said so with a shameless look, and the guard calmly walked away.

Evan thought it was a little embarrassing, but he didn’t regret it. In the last battle with Kraken, his favor for the King had dropped considerably, and it hadn’t recovered yet.

“…… That’s great. I can’t believe you can change the King’s schedule!”

“You don’t have to put it that way.”

And Enoch, who watched the scene from the side, opened his mouth and admired him. Evan unintentionally showed off his power in front of him.

“If I follow you, Master Evan, can I get money and power together……?!”

“… Are you really a priest?”

Evan narrowed his eyes.

Of course, in-game, Enoch was often described as weak to money and power, but wasn’t this too much? What happened to him in this different world from the game? However, Enoch responded unfairly.

“This is all to establish the authority of the unnamed god on this earth. We need money and power to build a temple without conflict with anyone.”

“The authority of the unnamed god…”

Did the priest not even know the name of the god he served? No, that was not it. The god he was serving had no name. It was unknown whether it was really without a name or Enoch was using it as a pretense for money.

The unnamed god was not very important in the game. Enoch, the priest, could be easily replaced by someone else.

Therefore, some users guessed that he could see the secret episodes on DLC, not the main version, but no episodes were dealing with the unnamed god even when all DLC of Yo-Ma Great War 4 was released, let alone Yo-Ma Great War 3.

In the end, the theory that the name of the god was ‘Unnamed god’ gained the most support……

“If you complete the quest, I’ll build you a few temples. All you have to do is kill the Demon King.”

“Does Master Evan casually call the Demon King like he is the neighbor’s dog?”

Enoch, who was listening to Evan, asked Shine, who was still next to him. Shine thought for some time and shook his head soon.

“For him, the Demon King is like his first love. He has such a strong impression, and it’s nothing special, but he keeps coming to mind.”

“Shine, be prepared for later. I’ll send you to my first love.”

Evan hit Shine’s forehead and called the maid to escort Enoch and Lucid to their quarters. Then, he tried to enter the bedroom, but Belois suddenly withdrew.

“I will yield to the princess tonight.”

“Thanks for your consideration, but you won’t try anything against me afterward, right?”

“I’m worried about the word ‘yield’.”

Belois was just a little uncomfortable to sleep with Evan in the royal palace—which was almost like Serena’s home ground. Evan, who was listening to the funny conversation between the two, smiled and clapped lightly to draw attention to himself.

“Yeah, I thought I’d talk to Ray at least once. Lua, thank you for your consideration.”

“If you make up for it later, I can endure whatever you toss at me. Goodnight.”

Belois said so with a slightly mischievous tone and then backed away. Shine and Anastasia did not show where they disappeared, and Raihan, a sensible adult, disappeared at that point, saying he would go to bed.

“Well, then I’ll go to bed now…….”

When the only two were left in the spacious guest room, Serena stepped back with a nervous look. Evan was dumbfounded and grabbed her arm.

“What are you scared of now? Let’s talk about it.”

“Oh, was that so? We’re just talking?”

Serena sat down with an expression of disappointment, feeling blatantly relieved by his words. Not knowing which rhythm to play, Evan also sat across from her.

“Have you heard anything from His Majesty?”

“Um…… He wants me to get pregnant with your baby as soon as possible.”

“Where did he sell his shame and pride? Phew…….”

Evan sighed and took a bottle of wine out of his arms. Somehow, these days, he felt like he knew why Duke Leonine was always putting brandy on his desk.

“I’m sorry this is happening, Ray.”

“Yeah, you’re taking enough care of me. Rather, it’s amazing that we have more to talk about.”

“But I thought I had something to talk to you about before we had a seat with the King.”

Evan tried to pour the liquor into his and Serena’s glass, but he stopped. He won’t get drunk just because he drank, but he didn’t like it because it looked like he was using alcohol to escape important things.

“This.”

Once he had put the bottle down on one side, he took a small box out of his arms and stuck it out to Serena. When he opened the box, of course, it was a ring with a pretty pink jewel in it.

“It’s a ring made of magic jewels that remember your mana. Um…… let’s get engaged, Ray.”

“Ah.”

“I thought I’d tell you about this first.”

Perhaps tomorrow, when he met the King, he would bring up Evan and Serena’s engagement and even marriage.

However, Evan, who had promised to engage with Serena, could not say he would not do it now, and eventually, he would talk about getting engaged on a natural premise.

He hadn’t properly asked Serena to get engaged with him until now. Evan thought it was too much of an excuse for her to pass it on implicitly.

“Oppa…….”

“Will you get engaged to me?”

“Of course…….”

Although half pushed by the King, Serena knew well that it was not because of the King that she accepted his proposal. She could see at a glance how invaluable the ring Evan put out for her was.

“I’m so happy, Oppa.…… I wanted a moodier confession.”

“You’re asking for a lot.”

Evan said so, but he tried to get up straight from his seat. Evan was already prepared to present all the confession performances he knew! Then, Serena was embarrassed and held him.

“Oh, no, no, no! I just said that because I was so happy and surprised! It’s perfect enough right now! My heart is pounding!”

“That’s a relief.……Give me your hand.”

Evan must have been surprised to see her gibberish. Evan sat down again, holding her left hand lightly and directly putting her engagement ring into her ring finger.

“It’s on.”

“Wow…….”

Serena usually spoke strange words, but she seemed to lose her vocabulary this time because she was really surprised.

Serena raised her hand and looked blankly at the engagement ring on her ring finger. She was always beautiful, but her kind of beauty changed depending on the situation.

“Ruby, Lucy. Pinch my cheek.”

-Cuuu.

-Cuuu

“Argh. It’s real. Hahaha”

Slimes, who were waiting calmly after reading the atmosphere, pulled her cheek from both sides, following her orders. Serena smiled like a fool as if she had the last conviction from him.

Her eyes were watery, probably not only because of the pain in her cheeks.

“That’s weird, I’ve been prepared to do this, but I’m much happier than I thought.”

“I’m glad you’re happy. Please take good care of me in the future.”

“Yes. ……yes.”

Evan once thought of her as his little sister, but……. seeing Serena in tears and rejoicing, Evan strongly felt that she had already grown into a mature woman.

And it was a very dangerous thing. Serena was originally full of physical attraction, but it would be dangerous if other parts of her become more attractive.

“Then I’ll go to bed now.”

“No, I want you to stay with me like this.”

“Well.”

Serena didn’t mean to do anything. She just wanted to enjoy the happy moment even a little bit more if she could. Evan didn’t know what to do but soon decided to accept her request.

‘I wonder if my mind can hold up.’

He shrugged and put the bottle back in his arms. This was because he was convinced that he would commit something if he drank alcohol in this situation.

“Yeah, we can stay up all night.”

“Yay, that sounds great, Oppa.”

“Stop provoking me. Just stop.”

Evan sighed inwardly, stroking Serena, who was in his arms.

The next day, Evan lifted Serena’s left hand with the ring during a luncheon with the King. He made the King’s mouth shut and headed to Elto Frent Beach with his party as planned.