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Extra Story 1 – A Black Sorcerer’s Date With A Vampire / After the Raid Battle 1 (Part 1)

Extra Story 1 – A Black Sorcerer’s Date With A Vampire / After the Raid Battle 1 (Part 1)

This happened on a certain day after the Raid Battle.

「Hmm…」

Break time in the “Impregnable Demon King Castle”.

I was alone in my office, troubled by a certain thing…

It was the matter of my date with Milla.

A woman who serves as the Boss of the 3rd Floor of the “Impregnable Demon King Castle” as Carmilla, the “Vampire Queen”.

She’s someone I owe a great deal to, as well as being my ally, my friend… and my rival.

The other day, during the Raid Battle, she was able to defeat the World Ranked 3rd “Hero of the Cursed Sword” Hervor.

It seems that she promised to reward his subordinates for their success.

But in that case, who will reward her for her success as a Floor Boss?

For that reason, when she asked me for a reward, after thinking about it for a moment, I finally suggested going out.

And since she accepted, the matter of the reward had been settled, but…

「Hmm…」

My voice expresses my worry for the second time today as I remain in my office alone.

Incidentally, my dog-eared secretary Cashew is spending her break time with employees from another floor.

Yesterday, she spent it watching videos with the Boss of the 6th Floor, the “Ruler of the Waters” Vepar, and today she was having a tea party with our Demon King.

Now at last Cashew is a popular person in this Demon King Castle.

That aside…

Back when I was an adventurer who was constantly thinking about becoming number one, I lived a life unconcerned with women.

Of course, this is no more than an excuse.

There are people in the world who can manage both their work and their personal life well.

But it’s clear that I’m not part of that kind of person.

And people can be surprisingly fragile when problems arise related to things they’re inexperienced with.

To put it simply, I can’t come up with a plan to go out at all.

「I have no choice. I need to ask someone for advice.」

If you can’t make a decision after worryingly dawdling about it, then it’s crucial to rely on someone.

That, however, brings me to my next problem.

「But who am I going to talk to regarding this…?」

Do you talk about this usually with friends?

Fenix is… out of the question.

This kind of topic is embarrassing, so I won’t be able to ask him. The more serious I get about this, the more I’ll feel like running away.

In that case… How about Blitz, the owner of the fruit shop?

Yeah. I think he’ll treat this matter with kindness.

◇

「So that’s basically it.」

Work for the day was finally over.

After sending Cashew home, I headed to the fruit shop.

His large build and bald head may make Blitz look a little scary, but he is a very kind person at heart.

While helping him close the shop, I talked to him about the thing I needed help with.

「Ohoho, so, basically, you want to go on a grown-up-like date with young Milla in order to deepen your relationship with her.」

「I didn’t say that.」

So that’s what my explanation of my troubles sounds like when summarized, huh?

Still, Blitz laughs.

「Even though you didn’t say that, I understand. You’re a man too, it’s a natural desire.」

「Um…」

「Well, well, your bittersweet relationship is finally progressing! This reminds me of my own lovestruck fourteen-year-old self…」

I’m glad that you can think of your friend’s request for advice as if it were your own matter, but it seems that you’ve gotten the wrong idea.

「Blitz?」

「Hahahaha, I’m just kidding. So what exactly do you want to ask?」

I tried to correct his misunderstanding, but I’m glad to hear that he was only joking.

「Ah, I see. I’ve never made a plan to go out with a girl before in the first place, so… I’d like to ask you to teach me starting from the basics.」

「Well, I don’t have a great deal of advice to give you… You just need to be careful not to get too excited about things, even though we may be prone to going around in circles, especially in the beginning. As long as you remain true to yourself, you should be fine. Still, it is fundamental to be respectful of the other person as well.」

「Mm-hmm.」

「For example, it’s fine to think about going to a special place since it’s a special occasion, but it’s a special occasion, so it’s fine to think of a special place, but even if you set up a date at a fancy restaurant that doesn’t match your income, you may end up making a faux pas if you don’t know the proper etiquette, you know?」

「I think I see what you mean.」

So far, as a member of the World Ranked 4th party, I’ve had some experience with fancy restaurants and their cuisine, but saying that I’m familiar with them would be a bit of a stretch.

It would probably be different if only I had some kind of particular admiration for such places, but I’m more fond of popular, unpretentious places.

Even if my date preferred to go to fancy places, she wouldn’t be able to enjoy her time there if the man she was going out with is constantly restless and fidgety while eating.

If a place doesn’t offer me some kind of sense of space in my heart, I will probably not enjoy it myself.

「Even so, you can’t just go to your favorite set meal restaurant to have a special date. Needless to say, there’s simply nothing special about it.」

It’s not just about the place’s appeal, but whether it’s suitable as “the right place”.

This “right place” may change once a relationship feels close enough and starts dating regularly.

「That too, yeah.」

「Also, if you suddenly put too much effort into picking the right place, there’s a possibility that she will misunderstand your intentions.」

「Misunderstand?」

「She may think you’re trying to propose to her.」

「I-I see…」

You can’t go to the place you always go, and you can’t put too much effort into it either. How much harder can going out on a date be?

Well, in this case, it’s a “special” date, so it’s even more difficult, huh?

This is the reward she asked for, so I want to make sure she feels happy about it.

However, that thought has increased the difficulty of planning this out.

「Or is it that you do want to propose?」

「Ah, no, no, it’s not like that…」

「It hasn’t even been a year since the two of you happened across each other… oh well, I suppose it happens, huh?」

「Please don’t tease me.」

My face feels very hot.

「Hahaha, sorry. Okay, let’s pick up right where we left off, shall we?」

「Thank you.」

「Dating means spending time together, just the two of you, so you’re going to need some conversation material. Here’s where talking smoothly can fail, which may create some awkward moments… But oh well, the two of you should be alright.」

Certainly, getting stuck in the middle of a conversation is something that can happen.

Milla and I are coworkers, and we share a common interest in the adventurer industry, so luckily we don’t have to worry about such a thing.

When that’s not the case, people tend to stock up on conversation material in advance, or look into things that the other person is interested in.

If you think that the couples that you see walking happily down the street may be making tremendous efforts for one another behind the scenes, your way of looking at couples may change a little.

「I can tell you about a few date spots in this town, but… it would be better if you could consider what she likes.」

「What she likes…」

「Not everyone wants to go to the same kind of place, right? It’s not a good idea to take someone who enjoys quiet spaces to a noisy place. And yet, there’re people who do like to go to their usual places, as well as people who don’t show interest in any particular kind of place at all… Really, choosing the right place for a date is very difficult.」

Blitz’s stare became vacant, as if he was recalling a distant memory.

I wonder if something happened to him in the past.

But I guess that’s just like Blitz. I can only nod at his words.

He’s not judging me despite me being a beginner in love even at my age, and instead is imparting his knowledge with kindness.

「A place… that Milla likes…」

I know she loves her workplace, but that’s not a suitable place for a date.

She seems to have so much fun watching and editing videos and sinking her teeth into the net, but that’s something she can do alone at home…

She’s also quite close to Cashew, but it could hardly be called a date if we bring Cashew along as well…

All I have left is —

「Well, I’m sure she’ll be happy with a date even to the middle of the desert so long as you are around.」

From Blitz’s point of view, Milla seems to be having fun when she’s with me.

This makes me feel embarrassed but in a happy way.

Nonetheless, Milla and I have spent a considerable amount of time together since I started working at Demon King Castle.

I think the time when we were the most apart from each other was back when I was working hard to restore the “Elementary Level – Beginner’s Dungeon”.

And even at that time, we would still manage to meet occasionally via summoning, and she even came to support me during the Tag Tournament along with everyone from the Demon King Castle.

So for instance, even if I tell her that I’ll be with her all day long for our date, I don’t think it’ll make much of a difference with what we already do.