Orca’s explanation went like this:
“For today, you all are to go on a date. During this time, you can sort out your feelings about the days you’ve spent together as fiancés. You may also rekindle the forgotten spark.”
Thus, it seemed like he was urging them to make a firm decision by the stroke of midnight.
Apparently, the head of the family, Cain Arkwright would not argue with the decision made then.
It was a very good proposal.
Simultaneously, it seemed somewhat suspicious.
A proposal too good to be true tends to be approached with suspicion.
“…A date? This evening? Suddenly? What kind of talk is that? According to whose will?”
Victoria likewise questioned the proposal, as if sensing its dubious nature.
Victoria was the vice president of the student council, known for her exemplary conduct and excellent grades.
It was impossible for her not to notice that something was off about this conversation.
Orca said.
“Victoria, it’s the Family Head’s command. As the daughter of Arkwright, you understand well what the Head’s command means.”
“…”
The nobles depicted in D&A were generally authoritarian.
Among them, Cain Arkwright was a man who ruled with a light hotter than the sun rising high in the summer sky.
His commands were law within the family.
If he said the shadow was bright, it was bright, and if he said the sun was dark, it was dark.
“Well, forcing it leaves a bitter taste, so think about it for a bit. In that sense, I’ll go smoke a magic cigarette for a while.”
Orca got up from his seat.
I also got up and followed him.
“Are you trying to follow me?”
Trust you to do something alone?
Thus, to the smoking area in front of the restaurant.
There, he took out a high-quality magic cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth.
Since he had become an adult after graduation, I had no intention of saying anything about his smoking, but it was clearly a potent magic cigarette.
“A high-grade magic cigarette.”
“You can tell by looking?”
“It’s not good for your health. The ability to temporarily boost your magic power is nice, but the backlash is severe. It’s something you shouldn’t abuse.”
“Yeah, that’s true. But somehow, I couldn’t quit.”
The perfect man Orca’s addiction to magic cigarettes.
Everyone has at least one human flaw, it seems.
Of course, I knew why he smoked something like magic cigarettes.
“It must be to compensate for your low magic power. Arkwright’s Light Sword Style consumes a lot of magic power.”
“You suddenly hit a sore spot. Victor, it’s so like you. I wondered why you followed me. Was it to tease me? Cut me some slack.”
Orca’s low magic power seemed to be the same in both this reality of Ludens and the game.
Though he grew up under the Sword Saint father, he didn’t fully inherit his skills and became a warped child of misfortune.
That was Orca Arkwright.
Of course, Orca’s skills were enough to rival most promising talents.
Cain was just too strong.
The stronger the light shines, the darker the shadow becomes, as the saying goes.
Whoosh.
The tip of the magic cigarette burned.
Orca said, emitting white smoke.
“Since it’s just the two of us, let me ask honestly, man to man. Why did you break off the engagement with my sister?”
“Victoria should have already told you? It was a difference in personality. There are other reasons, but it’s hard to explain, so I won’t.”
My stomach hurt.
But it was only the second lie.
I could endure it.
“Victoria may be my sister, but she’s an amazing woman. With her looks, which are among the best even in the capital, and her considerable abilities. Breaking off the engagement with someone like her, I wouldn’t have done it.”
“Yeah, you wouldn’t have. That’s why you’re forcibly maintaining the engagement with Rebekah, whom you don’t even like, right?”
“Did you notice? But that’s how noble marriages are. Feelings or personalities don’t matter. Who marries whom and who they give birth to, that’s what’s important.”
Swoosh.
Orca Arkwright, finishing his words, discarded the magic cigarette on the ground.
I couldn’t help but say something to him, who was stepping on it.
“If nothing else, I must say this. Don’t litter.”
“…”
* * *
“How does it feel to have your engagement broken off?”
After an awkward silence, Rebekah was the first to speak.
Victoria flared up momentarily.
“It wasn’t that my engagement was broken off, it was me who broke it off.”
“Let’s say that’s true. There’s no way a commoner like Victor could dump the daughter of a duke’s family like you.”
“Right.”
“But I realized yesterday and today. Victor, that man, he’s not someone who gets dumped, but someone who dumps others. He’s scarier than I thought.”
“…”
“But let’s assume, Victoria, that you demanded the breakup. So, how does it feel? Breaking off a marriage arranged by the family? A relationship that lasted for ten years?”
Victoria tried to find the intention behind Rebekah’s question.
‘Is she teasing me?’
Rebekah could be.
As a member of the De Winter family, she harbored a subtle inferiority complex and jealousy towards the people of the duke’s family.
Victoria was certain about this feeling because she had experienced it occasionally since she was at the Arkwright mansion before enrolling at Ludens.
However, the current question didn’t seem to be filled only with envy and jealousy. There was a strange sincerity felt somewhere in it.
‘Could it be that Rebekah also wants to break off the engagement?’
Orca and Rebekah did not have a good relationship.
Except for formal occasions, they didn’t seem to have private conversations.
Although they had maintained their engagement since childhood, there was no physical contact like holding hands.
It was a model engagement arranged by their families.
‘It’s natural to want to break off a loveless marriage. Marriage is about finding a partner, after all.’
Simultaneously, it made her reflect on herself.
Victoria, who had made a cold judgment about Rebekah and Orca’s engagement, realized that her relationship with Victor was not much different.
‘Perhaps our breakup was inevitable. It was just a matter of sooner or later.’
But things had been a little different lately.
Victoria felt she knew Victor, the iron-like man, better now than when they grew up together in the same mansion, keeping their distance.
He liked animals like spiders and insects and was good at cooking. He also made jokes and subtly smiled at times.
For some reason, or perhaps just a matter of feeling, she thought they were closer now than when they were engaged.
“Rebekah, it’s funny to ask this about a noble’s engagement, but do you like Orca?”
Victoria decided to ask frankly.
When Rebekah’s mouth twitched, as if she was about to speak, tall men appeared at the table again.
The atmosphere around them suddenly felt heavy.
At that moment, Victor, with his neatly cut black hair, said.
“Victoria, then today we go on a date.”
* * *
I had done a wide range of work to pay off debts.
But I had never been on a date.
I hadn’t even held a woman’s hand, so how could I have gone on a date?
So when Orca proposed, “You guys, go on a date,” I was naturally going to refuse. But then Orca added a proposal I couldn’t refuse.
“Victor, you like things clear-cut, like a descending blade. This date is a good chance to settle everything once and for all, so don’t refuse.”
Indeed.
If this date could end all the annoying ties with the Arkwright family, then fine.
“I promise in the name of the family head.”
I even got a pledge.
With that in mind, I accepted the date with Victoria.
We would probably just wander around the city for about three hours until midnight, right?
I didn’t like walking around at night because of potential surprise events, but with the Demon Sword Tyrfing, I could handle any surprise event.
Besides, the central area had a low probability of triggering a surprise event at night. It was a setting where the public order was good.
With that, I left the shop with Victoria.
“A date, really? Are you going through with it?”
“Yes. We just need to wander around.”
Swoosh.
Victoria stood up from her seat.
And she walked out the door with me.
As we stepped out of the shop, I was honestly a bit nervous.
I was worried Orca might say, “You have to pay for what you ate,” but it seemed he was indeed paying for this meal.
It looked expensive.
At that moment, Victoria said.
“…You seem to be in a good mood?”
“Did I?”
Did it show on my face?
I usually kept a stern expression.
It felt a bit embarrassing to think she noticed I was in a good mood from a free meal, so I lightly changed the subject.
“Today’s plan is simple. We wander around, declare our complete breakup, and that’s it. Then there will be no more annoying ties between us.”
“Yes, that’s true. It would be nice if there were no more annoying ties.”
“Then, let’s go.”
“Where are we going?”
Where else?
“I’ve already planned our route.”
“What? You acted like you weren’t interested, but did you secretly plan this date route?”
Victoria seemed to misunderstand a bit, but it was true I had planned the route.
When Orca said we’d meet at the central shopping street, I had already planned the route thoroughly.
Since we’re out in the central street at night, it’s best to buy some items unique to this place, right?
As I recall, there’s a ‘Secret Merchant—Balkan’ who appears in an alley on weekend nights in the central shopping street.
This guy sells some really good items.
Originally, he appears from the second playthrough onwards, but since the 「Mysterious Forest」, which is accessible only in the second playthrough, is open, there’s a high chance he’s here.
I know all the places where Balkan appears.
However, there are many back alleys, so the chance of getting ambushed increases if I go alone.
Taking Victoria around in that situation?
This means I get free escort, you know.
Of course, I don’t plan to exploit her for free.
I’ll buy her some snacks nearby.
Fair trade is important.
In that sense, the first destination was the alley in Section A of the shopping street.
Behind a peculiar stall was a spot where the secret merchant was supposed to appear, but unfortunately, it was a miss.
At that moment, Victoria asked, “Here’s a taiyaki stall. Shadi said it’s delicious. Did you bring me here to buy some?”
That wasn’t really the case.
But I vaguely remembered hearing that the taiyaki here was good from someone, maybe it was Nike or Enio.
It might be worth trying as it could give a hint about a new product.
So, Victoria and I bought one taiyaki.
“Here, one fish-shaped cake. It’s 5,000 Rene. And isn’t this Miss Victoria? It’s an honor to meet such a famous person from the academy here.”
5,000 Rene for one?
That’s extremely expensive.
The central street sure has high prices.
“I’ll pay for it.”
Since I was bringing Victoria along as an escort, I decided to pay upfront to avoid any complaints later.
Victoria looked quite incredulous, saying, “You, who have been acting like a penny-pincher lately, are paying?”
But she didn’t seem displeased.
It seemed she wouldn’t later say, “I guarded you, so pay up.”
Victoria said, “Let’s split it. I’ll eat the head, and you eat the tail.”
“Alright.”
The taste was ordinary.
Was this really popular?
With that feeling, Victoria and I walked around for quite a while.
Section B was also a miss.
“They say the cotton candy here is good.”
The taste was just ordinary cotton candy.
Section C was also a miss.
“They say the strawberry mochi is popular with girls here. Of course, it’s not that I want to eat it. Shadi said so.”
It just tasted like regular strawberry mochi….
Wait a minute.
It felt like there was a popular snack shop at each secret merchant spot.
If this continues, my allowance for today will be spent on Victoria’s snacks.
Please, let there be no snack shops in Section D.
With a prayer-like hope, I headed to the alley in Section D.
“How much more are we going to walk? I want to sit down for a bit. Can we rest on that bench over there?”
Victoria grumbled.
Was she not happy with the date course I planned?
But she seemed to enjoy the snacks.
“It’s the last spot, so bear with it a little longer. We can rest after a bit more walking.”
Finally, we arrived at Section D.
This place was more luxurious than Sections A to C of the central shopping street.
The glowing signs everywhere read ‘Rest Area’ and ‘Lounge.’
Just like in the game.
This was the inn district of the central area.
Unlike the cheap inns on the outskirts of Ludens, staying in a place like this would give a ‘Comfortable Rest’ buff the next day, which was beneficial in many ways.
The best part was that there were no snack shops in Section D.
Thinking my wallet was safe, I was looking for the secret merchant when Victoria suddenly stopped walking.
“…Hey, this place.”
“This is our final date spot.”
If he didn’t appear in Sections A, B, or C, the secret merchant would definitely appear in the alley of Section D.
“Don’t dawdle, let’s go, Victoria. You said you wanted to rest too.”
Let’s quickly meet the secret merchant, end this date, and go back to our rooms to sleep.
