"Huh, what happened?!"
Evan was confused. He had trained hard to become the Dungeon Knights Commander until now, which was why he had tried to strike the Prince as lightly as possible, but the Prince fell on the ground as if he was lifeless.
Evan knew he would've been in big trouble if he had so much as scratched the Prince's face, so he had turned just at the last minute. He hadn't even used a little of his potential yet, but still, the Prince had been knocked out! Something like this had happened once before too!
"What is going on?"
"Look at Master Evan… He looks so surprised."
"It's because his opponent was weaker than he expected…"
"The Prince couldn't even see the attack coming. He passed out as soon as he was hit…"
"He didn't even get time to respond properly and then boom! Haha! Ah, no! I can't laugh!"
Evan ran towards the Prince. The blow's trauma wasn't great thanks to Evan, who had backed off and turned at the last minute. But due to the nature of the technique he had used, which was called Cheonjung, the amount of energy collected in his fists had been enough to give the Prince an internal wound.
"But I didn't even use my abilities yet…"
"Young Master Evan, you have special fighting skills. However, the Prince… is simply too weak."
One of the escort knights stepped forward and whispered into Evan's ear. When he heard that, Evan felt foolish.
'Does it mean that he couldn't estimate my strength even when I was fighting with the Knights Commander!? Is he so weak that he hasn't even found his aptitude yet?' Evan was perplexed.
"Where is the Priest?"
"Oh, I can heal him."
The Royal Family had brought a priest along with them whose duty was to heal any possible injuries, but Serpina had already moved towards the Prince and was awakening him. Seeing as she was the Bishop's assistant, she had excellent healing techniques, which she was using right now. Everyone in the crowd admired her expertise.
"There are many talented people in this dungeon city. If the Bishop's assistant is showing so much adeptness, then what about the Bishop himself?"
"I think it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the smartest and strongest people in the world are found in the dungeon city."
"Oh, my!"
The Prince stood up suddenly. His breathing was shallow. First, he looked at himself and then at Evan, who was feeling anxious as well as absurd.
Showing some reluctance, he spits out.
"If only I would've won… I will still entrust to you, my sister."
"No, you can't. Didn't you already promise that you wouldn't ask for anything if I won?"
Evan nodded in the Prince's direction. The Prince growled at him.
"Hmm, I will honour my words. I won't ask anything of you. But how will my sister get over you? She is so stubborn that no one can handle her."
"You are part of her family. You are her brother so only you can make her see reason."
"Woohoo! What a battle it was! Of course, I'm not proud of it, but I will certainly get stronger to defeat you in the future!"
Evan felt fortunate enough as the Prince had decided not to insist on giving him the responsibility for the protection of his younger sister.
After exhaling a sigh of relief, Evan decided to tell him something. He approached the Prince so that no one else could hear him and said in a small voice.
"Majesty, I want to give you a suggestion."
"Go ahead."
"…The sword doesn't suit Your Majesty."
"What!"
At Evan's remarks, the Prince exclaimed loudly. The people nearby started to wonder about what had made the Prince shout aloud and what they were talking about.
"To wield a weapon that doesn't match your aptitude is almost like poisoning yourself. If you want to practice with weapons, how about you start practising with a different one?"
"But I'm going to be the King someday. The sword is the King's weapon."
"The sword is just one of those convenient weapons which can be regarded as the emperor's weapon as soon as he wields it, or it can become the weapon of a beggar too as soon as he gets hold of it. Your Majesty doesn't have to bother himself by giving useless meanings to different things."
Learning swordsmanship was considered a crucial part of the 'aristocratic arts'. Evan's father, the Marquis, also tried to appoint him a swordsman once.
In particular, the Prince, who was a successor of the Royal Family and would later become the King, thought that he had been defeated because when he could not handle his sword.
'In the game, it was recommended to deal with a weapon that suited you. Everyone came to know about their speciality either through a shocking incident or came to realize about it themselves later.'
It was beneficial to train according to your aptitude. Evan wished he had a chance to experience it, even if he had discarded it by now.
"I think a hammer would suit you."
"What, a hammer? Not even a spear but a hammer?"
"Yes, a hammer. Please try to wield one at least once."
It sounded ridiculous. However, the Prince could not bring himself to ignore Evan's words, the opponent who had just defeated him. Evan was satisfied with what he had said and stepped back.
'If the Prince tries to train with a hammer at least once then he would feel the difference. Due to this, the Prince will begin training with the hammer a few years earlier than in the original games, and he will become stronger… The more the allies increase in strength, the better it will be for me.'
If the Prince, who was mighty even in the game, discovered his aptitude sooner and began to practice it, he would surely be able to acquire even more strength in the future. Maybe he could also help the Princess from being kidnapped.
"Okay, I'll keep that in mind… Serena, will you be present here for the rest of the day?"
"Yes, I would be with Master Evan, Your Majesty."
"Alright then. Evan D. Sherden, I entrust my sister's security to you for the day."
"…If it's just for the day then I'll be more than happy to be the Princess's knight."
Inwardly, Evan wished that the Prince would take the Princess with him too, but he quickly left along with his escort knights.
Looking at the Prince who had appeared like a sudden gust of wind and was now leaving just as dramatically, some of the explorers were still bursting with laughter intermittently.
'If they would have seen the Prince with his hammer, then they wouldn't have dared to even grin.'
If the Prince met him again, and he had become stronger, then Evan could have been facing another death sign. That was why Evan made a mental note to keep crushing slimes so that he could be vigilant in the future. A higher level meant higher stamina, and more stamina meant greater strength!
Now, Evan simply wanted to escape from the party.
"Evan Oppa, do you want to dance again?"
"I have danced enough for today, and anyways, I do not like the song they are playing."
"Then play with me."
At best, he could refuse the Princess's offer, but at that exact moment, a girl with immense beauty came into his view. Of course, it was Arisha von Pellati.
She was holding fat skewers in both her hands, but unlike Serena, her mouth was clean. However, that wasn't the important thing now.
"Why won't you dance? It looks fun."
Evan could choose to dance with someone other than these two. That tactic could work. Or it might backfire. He remembered that when he had asked Arisha why she wanted to become a dungeon knight, she had replied by saying,?'Because it would be fun.'
Arista's response to most of the questions and things in her life was,?'It might be fun.'
"Come on, Master Evan. One more time please…" Arisha had decided what she wanted, and there was no way she could now be stopped.
"He doesn't even want to dance with the daughter of the Royal Family so there are lesser chances that he would dance with you Arisha… Master Evan also has a younger sister and he'll know what's it like when she grows up."
Crow bit the skewer he was holding in his hand and said in a depressing voice. Evan finally gave in and held Arisha's hand, which she had outstretched towards him. Holding their hands together, ?they walked to the stage.
"Bye, Oppa. When you come back, you have to play with me, you know."
"Master Evan is a very popular guy."
"I've been trying to hit on some beauties already, but so far? Hard luck."
"With that face of yours, who'd want to go with you! Haha!"
Evan's most probable cause of death right now was holding his hand at that very moment! That meant he had to be careful!
'Women! I can't flirt with them at all!'
Arisha had never killed Evan herself in the past.
She only provided the motive for Evan to commit suicide. Arisha was a person who had been held by Evan, who was her pathetic fiancé, for years, and then she finally found love and fled from him to freedom!
'I won't even get engaged this time.'
He was already different from Evan in the game. He wasn't going to be a miserable man who would choose to commit suicide if he broke up with his fiancé.
There was so much to do and enjoy in this life. Why would he ever commit suicide?
"We're here. Let's dance."
"…Okay."
When Evan stepped on the stage with Arisha, the Lute Girls, who were taking a break until now, got up again and started playing. Evan tried to express his gratitude through his eyes, and they rejoiced with glee and excitement.
"They're so popular, right?"
"Yep, they are. And their tunes are also quite catchy."
This song was a little slower than the rest of them had been. The two moved slowly, waltzing to the tune and talking in whispers.
"I am very popular too. But I'm not very good at dancing or playing lutes."
"It's like a coincidence! It's the same with me."
Even then realized that it was a tremendous blessing to be born with a beautiful appearance. Even more so, Evan knew how much he had been blessed because his former girlfriend had a unique appearance. If he hadn't known that there were hundreds or thousands of ways he could die just because of his appearance, in the future, then quite honestly, he might have flaunted his beauty.
'I don't know, I may have enjoyed the popularity.'
"The outer appearance doesn't tell you anything about what the person is from the inside, because it's stupid to think otherwise."
"Is it time to philosophize? However, I can't deny your elegance. If you start denying such elements or blessings then you might as well deny them all. Maybe even inner beauty."
Evan thought some people were inherently evil, while others were pure.
One's appearance could only be changed a little according to one's efforts, but could those efforts be affirmed or even encouraged? No matter how much one wanted to try to appear attractive, it didn't matter in the end.
"I am thankful for everything that I have been blessed with. I can only change some of my attributes according to my efforts."
"Yes, it's like that… But I hate being popular."
Arisha seemed a little surprised to hear Evan's thoughts, but she didn't deny that he was right. After all, the norms were different in this world. Though she was the same age as Evan, that was only in this world. Evan still had all his memories from his past life, after all!
"Popularity is not as bad in itself, but I hate it because I have to expect negativity from people. Are you sure you have also experienced something like that?"
"Yes, I have." Arisha coolly affirmed. Of course, she had. Evan was still twelve years old, but wasn't she beautiful? It was present everywhere in the world. Only the perverts had changed such a blessing into a curse for her.
"But… That doesn't mean you can't compliment me on my appearance. I think you're right."
"I'm glad you were able to look at things positively."
"It was fun to do so."
"So what is it you wanted to say?" At the moment, Evan, couldn't stand it any longer and found himself asking. Arisha then casually dropped a bomb on their conversation.
"Maybe we will be engaged."
Evan was shaken to his core. He could barely stand up while Arisha was still dancing while holding his hand calmly.
Evan controlled his trembling voice and somehow tried to counter her words.
"No, absolutely not. My dad will refuse. At least I decline."
"Father was pushing me. So I had to give in."
And just then, Evan remembered something. The fact that the King, the Marquis of Sherden, and Count Pellati were away together could be a sign that they were discussing Evan's death!
Evan had thought they were just going to talk about the current issues of the two countries and the conditions inside the dungeons. Were they talking about Evan's engagement!?
"Nope, probably not. I'm going to be the Dungeon Knights Commander so no one in their right mind would want to engage their daughter with me."
"I already said yes."
"…Why would you accept?"
This person who said they didn't like evaluating people by appearance must have ironically been affected by Evan's appearance.
"You, you try to scare me as if you know everything in the world."
At that moment, Evan felt his heart contract. This was just his second meeting with her. But how had she guessed so much? How did she know?
Evan tried to revert his expression back into a poker face, but he found that he was terrible at it.
"This is so fun!"
Arisha von Pellati swung her silver hair in a round turn. The moonlight that came through the window lit her hair, making her look like a beautiful dancing fairy.
"I'm curious about when you will finally get scared."
After the turn, Arisha, who was holding hands with Evan, smiled faintly. It was the expression she made when she found something really interesting.
Evan intuitively realized that she was already aiming for him.
"I just want to watch from the sidelines." Evan thought sincerely, confronting her while trembling.
That was because when fairies appeared in old stories, bad things would inevitably happen.