Side Story Chapter 324

“Love... No matter how hard I think about it, I think it’s a luxury I can’t afford.” Iruca smiled bitterly.

However, Cain didn’t give up.

“I received a special order from Queen Consort Icarus.”

“...A ‘special order’?”

“I promised her that I would get you a boyfriend before she leaves for the Magic Tower.”

Icarus had simply asked him to talk to Iruca about it, but his motto as the Martial God’s first knight was that any job worth doing was worth doing right.

On the other hand, Iruca’s attention went elsewhere.

“Hold on. She’s going to the Magic Tower?! I-Is it because of Father...?”

“Ah, yes. She got a message from Queen Consort Iceline. I guess you haven’t heard the news.”

Iruca sprang to her feet excitedly. “Seriously?!”

“Yes, I’m serious. Which is why you should get a boyfriend, regardless of whether you like him or not. You might get to meet your father, so it would be rather sad if you were the only one who was single.”

“I don’t care if I’m standing among a hundred couples!”

“It matters because your father will scold me, not you,” Cain answered.

“...Huh?”

“He’ll say, ‘You’re married even though you’re all wrinkly, so why didn’t you help my baby girl get married too?!’” Cain mischievously mimicked.

Iruca went silent.

Cain pounded his chest. “Just trust me, Your Highness. I’ll bring you a man you’ll like.”

“...I’m sorry to say this, but it’s a little—no, it’s very hard to trust you on this.” Iruca narrowed her eyes.

“Why is that?”

“You were single up until your sixties...”

Cain was left speechless.

Iruca sighed. “Give me some time to think about it.”

“I’m asking you to date someone at least.”

“I don’t want to. Do I look like I have time for that?”

“You’re still young! You can’t give up yet!” Cain insisted.

“No, I think I can give up dating in this life,” Iruca answered firmly as she made her way back to her desk. “I need to get some work done so that I can follow Mother to the Magic Tower.”

“Your work isn’t what needs your attention right now, Your Highness. You’re at the perfect age to get married. In only a couple of years, you’ll be thirty and it’ll become harder for you to get married.”

“Didn’t you just say that I’m young? Besides, I don’t want to marry someone whom I don’t love just because it’ll get harder later.” Iruca scowled at Cain, silently telling him not to bother her any further.

In the end, Cain could only sigh. “But I still have to save face when I report to Lady Icarus, so do me a favor, please? Three dates. Go on one blind date with each of the three men I bring.”

“That’s too many. Let’s make it one date.”

“What? That’s too—”

“I’d actually prefer not going on any dates,” Iruca interrupted in a monotonous voice.

As expected from the daughter of Cain’s master, Iruca was stubborn.

“...Phew. Okay. One date it is.”

“In addition, you won’t bother me about marriage after this date. Don’t even try to send me on more dates.”

“Understood, Your Highness.”

Cain gave up completely. He felt he had done enough for the sake of his old friend.

“Y-Your Highness!” One of Iruca’s strategists ran into the office.

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

“What is it?”

“Umm... We ran into a problem during the renovation of the main palace. The architects say that they’ll have to change the blueprints because some parts don’t meet the specs...”

“Ahhh... Nothing gets done without me.” Iruca sighed dramatically. “See? This is why I don’t have time to date, Sir Cain.”

“Hold on, Your Majesty. Can’t your strategists handle it if it’s just about the renovation? It’s not like Avalon’s fate depends on this.”

“I was in charge of every stage in the construction. It’s better this way. Even if I give people step by step instructions, surprises like this still occur.”

“But that would increase your workload too much.”

“It’s better to work more than stress about it. That’s why I’m the leader of these strategists.”

Cain realized that Iruca’s meticulousness was both her greatest strength and weakness at the same time.

“I seriously can’t stand people who work inefficiently. They might as well go outside and play. Hmm. Actually, I think I would hate that even more,” Iruca murmured.

*

After Iruca left her office, Cain headed outside. Staying in a room without its owner was too awkward.

Cain zoned out for a moment as he felt the sunlight on his face. Even though he had boldly declared that he would bring men that would attract Iruca, Cain wasn’t sure if he would be able to do it. He sighed. Anyone would feel the same, considering how picky and focused Iruca was.

An irritating noise coming from the palace’s roof jarred Cain from his thoughts. It was almost inaudible, but it was loud enough for his heightened senses to pick up. When Cain realized that the sound was snoring, he looked up at the sky.

“Everyone is working right now and yet someone dares to take a nap. If I hadn’t retired, I would be beating them within an inch of their life.”

Cain nimbly leaped onto the rooftops to see who it was. It was Avalon’s laziest bum: Valmont. The moment Cain realized who that was, he immediately lost the urge to teach him a lesson. Well, not many people had the audacity to do what Valmont was doing anyway.

“...Gosh,” Cain muttered.

It was said that one shouldn’t mess with a person who was close to their retirement[1], but it bugged Cain quite a lot to see Valmont was napping, especially after he had just met Iruca, who was drowning in paperwork.

“Hold on.” A brilliant idea flashed across Cain’s head. Iruca and Valmont were total opposites of each other, so maybe...

“...They might actually be a good match.” Cain’s face lit up as he began to draw plans.

Marriage was supposed to be about complementing each other. And while Iruca was the most meticulous person in the world, Valmont couldn’t be lazier. What would happen if they started dating?

“It’s a match made in heaven. Hahaha.” Cain couldn’t stop chuckling at the idea of putting Valmont through the wringer just before his retirement. The age gap wasn’t much of a problem. The first time was always the hardest, but Kireua had gotten off to a fantastic start with Anna. The world couldn’t look more beautiful in Cain’s eyes as he gently shook Valmont awake.

“Hey, wake up.”

“Urgh!” Valmont tried to fend off Cain. “Who dares interrupt my sle— Huh? Sir Cain?”

Valmont sat up, blinking.

“How was your sleep?” Cain cheerfully asked.

“Huh? Umm, well, it was okay.” Valmont blankly wiped his cheek.

Cain gave him the most gentle smile he could manage. He hoped that his friend would get to experience a happy marriage too.

*

A huge lab in the Magic Tower lit up. Theta quickly put down his book, eyes wide with wonder, and ran over to Iceline where she stood in front of the light.

“D-Did it work?”

“...This is the last one.” Iceline solemnly looked at the product of her long research.

It had already been close to a decade, but she hadn’t changed much. While she still had her beauty from her twenties, she had also become elegant with age. Being one of only two Eighth Circle mages in Igrant had its benefits.

Both of the aforementioned Eighth Circle mages were working on this project, which made the impossible possible. However, dedicating both of their lives would still not have been enough without...

“Thank you, Creshua. This was only possible because of you.” Iceline smiled.

“No need to thank me. I did it because I wanted to.”

The supreme dragon already exceeded the Eighth Circle, becoming the sole living Ninth Circle mage—but Iceline suspected he might have reached the legendary level of the Tenth Circle.

Iceline shook her head. “If you hadn’t given me a piece of your heart, this research would never have met any success.”

The final key in their research was a dragon’s heart, but because of the Battle God, their race had been slaughtered—except for one. If Iceline hadn’t had the sole survivor’s help, her dream would never have come true.

“...I wouldn’t have been here if it hadn’t been for him, so don’t concern yourself with it, human mage.”

“Thank you. I’m really grateful to you.” Iceline excitedly bowed to Creshua over and over. She had endured everything for this day, so she was smiling from ear to ear. “I’m going to see you again no matter what it takes. Hold on a little longer, Joshua.”

1. The raw is ??? ??? ???? ? ?????. It’s a Korean military joke. The military tends to go easy on people who are about to be discharged from their service because people could file complaints against their officers after they’re discharged. ☜