“Um, I don’t think this is what I understood a date to be… Or are you still mad at me, Olga?”

Rean turned his head back awkwardly and shifted the arm Olga had locked in place. Olga’s eyes stabbed into him like knives. Instead of releasing her hold, she tightened it even further.

“No, not at all. Why would I be mad? You’re the one who said couples were supposed to hold hands on a date, right?”

Olga’s tone was utterly indifferent.

Under the strange looks of passersby, Rean kept walking. He covered his face with his free hand, doing his best to keep people from remembering the features of this man who looked like a prisoner being escorted away.

This wasn’t the hand-holding date he’d imagined! And she was definitely still angry about what had happened earlier…

After Olga had locked her arms around his waist in the alley, Rean had suffered another vicious suplex. Realizing he was going to be in serious trouble if things continued, he’d asked her out.

The first reason was to deepen their relationship. The second was to avoid getting beaten up by her.

Unfortunately, their current posture still looked like a prisoner escort.

“I’m saying… Isn’t hand-holding supposed to look more like this?”

Back in the present, Rean, feeling uncomfortable, reached up and pressed down on the hand Olga had planted on his shoulder. While she froze in surprise, he shifted their grip and laced their fingers together.

Hmm. This posture was pretty strange.

And his arm really hurt.

“I know that, obviously. I’m just upset… Dating someone for the sake of your own goals.”

Olga reluctantly released the hand pressing down on Rean. She puffed out her cheeks in displeasure, folded her arms, and shot him a sidelong glance.

No matter how inexperienced Olga was, she knew lovers were supposed to hold hands. But neither she nor Rean was together because they liked each other.

Their relationship existed for a clear purpose.

It was practically an insult to the word “love.”

If she had to describe it in one phrase, they were probably what people called “contract lovers.”

Neither of them had romantic feelings. They’d come together for their own reasons. Had she agreed to this relationship too rashly?

But Rean had said he felt that way about her…

“But maybe I really do like you?”

“Huh?”

Olga was so shocked by Rean’s sudden confession that she cried out. Her cheeks heated up despite herself, but she quickly regained her composure.

“You seriously think I’ll believe that at this point?”

Faced with Olga’s cold, resentful gaze, the corner of Rean’s mouth twitched slightly. Then he spoke in a quiet voice.

“You don’t have to believe me. But you’re the first person who’s ever made my heart skip a beat. That much is undeniable.”

“I’m not asking you to date me as the Seventh Demon King. I’m asking you as Rean Christin—the man standing before you right now.”

“I want to tell you how I feel. And I hope that, through this relationship, I can clarify these feelings that are still so vague…”

“That’s enough! What are you suddenly saying in the middle of the street?!”

Olga loudly interrupted Rean’s murmur. She covered her face and turned away.

“Honestly… Ugh… How can you say things like that so calmly? Could you pay a little attention to where we are? We’re in the middle of the street!”

“If we were somewhere more private, would that be all right?”

“Of course not! And where exactly is this ‘private place’ you’re talking about?!”

That was what Olga hated most about Rean.

He could say things that made her heart race without even changing expression. He wore such a serious face while expressing his thoughts so plainly.

It was even harder to handle than when he teased her with an affected, smug attitude.

Olga covered her burning cheeks, refusing to let Rean see how flustered she was.

Again, he was saying strange things with that guileless, honest expression…

And it wasn’t because he liked her. It wasn’t because he liked her!

So why did he have to look at her like that when he asked?

Who could refuse when he made that pitiful expression?

Ah, enough! Forget thinking about it!

Olga gave up and lowered the hand covering her cheek. She grabbed Rean’s hand instead, raised her head, and stared at his bewildered face.

Then, gritting her teeth, she forced their fingers together.

“Fine! It’s just holding hands, isn’t it? It’s not like I’ve never touched your hand before. If you want to hold it so badly, then hold it as much as you want!”

However, as Rean watched their joined hands, a crafty glint suddenly flashed through his eyes. The smile at the corner of his lips gradually turned sly and triumphant.

“Haha! I knew you’d take the bait! I knew you would—aaah! I was joking! I’m actually really happy!”

Olga’s expression turned icy. She relaxed the fingers she’d tightened like a medieval finger-crushing torture device, leaving Rean beside her grimacing in pain.

“Let’s see if you still dare to act like that. You’re clearly in need of some serious real-world discipline.”

“I won’t do it again. I won’t tease you anymore.”

Rean lowered his head and admitted defeat with a sullen look. Then he obediently held Olga’s hand as they strolled slowly down the street.

Come to think of it, this looked like the Old District.

Taking advantage of the rare moment of peace, Rean studied the scenery around them.

It was completely different from the commercial district they’d toured that morning. Old buildings stood everywhere, their faded gray-white walls as dry and lifeless as a corpse’s skin.

There were no rail cars connecting the various streets, either.

If the commercial district was a vigorous young man, then the Old District had one foot in the grave.

At last, something here matched his memories.

So why didn’t he feel happy?

Rean remembered the Old District clearly.

When he’d first come to Lutan, the rail cars hadn’t existed yet. To avoid exposing his identity, he’d walked all the way here from the city gate.

The Old District’s security had been terrible. In the end, he’d had to beat up three groups of muggers before he could leave.

That was why he hadn’t even come this way the last time he visited.

Still, something was strange.

The Old District seemed much quieter now. Forget muggers—he couldn’t even see anyone fighting in the streets.

Had the area finally been brought under control…?

Ah, all right!

The truth was, he was extremely nervous about walking hand in hand with Olga. He was only distracting himself with thoughts like these.

Rean forcefully turned his head away, refusing to pay attention to the fact that he and Olga were walking along with their fingers intertwined.

But the more he tried to ignore it, the more clearly he realized that they looked like a real couple.

They held each other’s hands and strolled through the Royal Capital’s afternoon streets.

He’d expected it to feel rather strange.

Instead, from the place where their hands touched, a gentle warmth spread through him—one he couldn’t put into words.

His fingertips, knuckles, and even his entire palm grew hot from the warmth passing freely from Olga’s hand.

That heat traveled from their joined hands through his upper body. Rean felt his heartbeat speeding up again.

How strange.

He’d held her hand before, but his feelings were completely different now. It was as if a rabbit had been stuffed into his chest, and his heart was pounding out an excited rhythm.

Rean hadn’t expected his emotions to become so simple after acknowledging them.

Happy meant happy.

But wasn’t he being a little too naive? Getting this excited over something so minor… Was he some teenager?

Still, if he and Olga were both ordinary humans around Cang Lin’s age, if they hadn’t experienced life-and-death adventures or carried any responsibilities, perhaps they could have fallen in love properly.

Although Olga would certainly still have beaten him up from time to time.

Ah, there he went overthinking again.

When would he ever cure himself of this habit?

Rean mocked his tendency to overthink, but his grip on Olga’s hand unconsciously tightened.

“Are you tired? Should we find somewhere to rest?”

Rean turned his gaze forward again and asked her from the corner of his eye.

“…That might be a good idea. But is there anywhere suitable to rest around here?”

Olga frowned and thought for a moment before asking.

The Old District was so run-down that Olga seriously doubted Rean’s suggestion could work.

At first glance, the surrounding homes looked as dilapidated as slums. The only remotely decent place was a building ahead that looked like a tavern.

And it didn’t look like the sort of place any decent person would enter.

“The worse it looks, the more interesting it might be inside, right? Besides, with the two of us, even if something bad is happening in there, we can deal with it smoothly.”

Rean saw Olga’s concern. He shrugged with a smile, then strode toward the shabby tavern.

“I still don’t think it’s a good place. And if we absolutely have to go in, let go of my hand first. I don’t want to enter looking like this.”

“Eh…”

Rean was clearly reluctant, but he still obediently released her hand.

“I’ve noticed that you get incredibly clingy whenever you’re being honest… I don’t dislike it, but I’m not used to it.”

“Excuse me!”

Before Olga could finish speaking, Rean had already pushed open the tavern door.

The strong stench of cheap liquor immediately assaulted Olga’s nose, making her wince. She didn’t even know how she could tell it was cheap liquor.

But the scene inside shocked her more than the smell.

A scantily clad girl stood in the middle of a group of hulking men with rough, vicious faces. Heavy shackles bound both her wrists and ankles.

On a nearby table, banknotes lay scattered across the damp, alcohol-soaked wood. The money carried a filthy air that made Olga frown in disgust.

A slave auction?

“What did I tell you?! I said this wasn’t a good place!”

“Instead of complaining, you should hit a few more people!”

She furiously punched Rean in the back while he stood there staring down the brutes.

Rean kicked a nearby stool into one of the men’s heads. At the same time, Olga tore the door from its hinges and hurled it at the brutes.

With a deafening crash, three men collapsed beneath a heap of splintered wood.

“Don’t just stand there! Someone’s trashing the place!”

A man who looked like the leader shouted. The others immediately snapped out of their shock and charged at Rean and Olga.

Of course.

The more magnificent a place looked, the easier it was to hide filth beneath the surface. But run-down places were full of trash everywhere you looked!

Did Rean never encounter anything good whenever he came to the Old District?

Rean grabbed one man by the collar and flung him into another. The two rolled across the floor and overturned a table.

One of them somehow produced a gleaming dagger and stabbed at Rean. Rean easily dodged the attack, then wrested the weapon away from him.

This was getting dangerous.

Rean locked an arm around the brute’s neck. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the slave girl nearby.

He and Olga definitely wouldn’t get hurt, but the girl looked completely terrified. She seemed too stunned even to remember how to run.

He should have Olga take her away first. He could deal with the rest of these thugs himself.

“Hey! Take her and—who are you?!”

But just as Rean was about to tell Olga to get the girl out, a black shadow suddenly burst through the doorway.

It passed straight through Olga, who was still beating down her opponent, rushed to Rean’s side, scooped up the dazed girl, and fled outside.