Chapter 151: Taffy (1)

Every morning, Elena dusted the front entrance of her house, checking if any letters or newspapers had arrived. The mansion, its mailbox worn and dilapidated, received letters through the bars. Elena found a single letter lying on the path, strewn with vines and straw.

[To Evan]

The stark white letter paper gave off a dry, cold feeling, as if reflecting the owner’s temperament. Elena, feeling an inexplicable chill, picked up the letter and returned to the mansion. At that moment, Evan wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead and slumped down in the backyard.

After returning from the hardships in the north, Evan was focusing on improving his physical abilities by following the training schedule that Bison Beastman had prepared for him.

When Evan first arrived in the north, he fought recklessly, relying solely on brute force, but now Evan was confident he could defeat even decently trained individuals. A person becomes stronger when strength and skill blend appropriately.

Evan idly moved his hands back and forth, gauging his own strength.

“Master. You look amazing. You seem to be getting stronger and stronger!”

Sophia wet a towel with water and then threw it towards Evan’s face. Evan caught the cold towel with his face, then lay down on the grass and let out a yell.

“Ahhh-.”

“Master. At this rate, aren’t you going to beat that Imp called Drak-Sai too?”

Evan chuckled at Sophia’s nonsensical remark. That was impossible. No matter how much Evan honed his martial arts skills now, he couldn’t defeat Drak-Sai. At best, Evan’s current skill level was only enough to contend with Bison Beastman. I don’t even have confidence I could beat Baara, so how could I possibly beat Drak-Sai?

Evan said.

“Seriously, I didn’t know he was that strong. Wouldn’t it be something if he ended up killing the Hero too?”

Evan clicked his tongue, and Sophia chimed in.

“It’s wrong for an Imp to be that strong in the first place. By the way, Master. Are you just going to keep training your body like this from now on? Do you want to become a muscular Incubus like that imp, Drak-Sai?”

“A muscular Incubus?”

Evan superimposed his own face onto Drak-Sai’s bulging muscles. He was certainly the epitome of masculinity, but it was questionable whether women would like that. Evan chuckled, shook his head, and stretched before getting up from his spot.

“I’m not really into that. Besides, to get that strong, you’d need an insane amount of magic power too.”

“So, are you going somewhere else soon? Master. You’ve just been staying home, training all the time lately. This time, let’s go out together.”

Evan glanced down at his own limbs, lost in thought. It was true that he had been cooped up at home for quite a while. Now that Drak-Sai had taken the lead in the north, it was clear that the other branch leaders would start making moves too. It wasn’t wise to be complacent amidst such rapidly developing circumstances.

“Right. I should probably head out soon, but where should I go… .”

Actually, there were many places he could go. He could go to the Magic Tower under the pretext of seeing Sylvia after so long, and then deliberately try to seduce a few more female mages there. Or he could go to Ithaca, where Alice and Lorena were, and increase his number of subordinates by seducing women.

“Evan. You have a letter.”

“A letter? From whom?”

Then Elena opened the door, waving the letter envelope. Evan looked puzzled at the mention of a letter. It was because there was no one he could think of who would send him a letter. It wasn’t likely that No. 5, working in the capital, would send such a neat letter, and if it were Alice or Lorena, they would have written their names on the recipient line.

“Hmm? There’s no name written on it? Isn’t it someone you know?”

However, the plain envelope had no name written on it, only ‘To Evan’. Evan sat down on a backyard chair and began to tear open the letter. Sophia and Elena also cast curious glances.

[Evan. My heart pounded when I saw the article featuring you. Your captivating brown hair, and your blue eyes. Your fair skin and smooth jawline. Everything about you makes my heart race. The fact that you are alive keeps me awake until the sun sets.]

“….What the fuck is this.”

Evan frowned and looked around. It was because reading the letter gave him an eerie feeling, as if someone was watching him. The sweet words, written in an unfamiliar handwriting, did not feel like a gesture of goodwill at all. Elena looked at the letter with a bewildered expression, while Sophia wagged her tail with an intrigued look.

“Master. You’re quite popular. Who is this woman?”

“You shouldn’t be flirting around everywhere. Okay?”

Elena looked at Evan with a worried expression. The two seemed convinced that Evan had sought out and slept with a woman he didn’t know. Of course, Evan, being a connoisseur who didn’t just sleep with any random woman, found their gaze offensive. Evan narrowed his eyes and said.

“She said she recognized me from a picture? That means she’s never met me before.”

“Nah, maybe she’s seen you somewhere before? Master. Read more. There must be a clue somewhere.”

Evan scoffed. There had been few moments in his life involving women. Most of the women he had encountered were dead, or likely dead. Evan said.

“Before I met Isabel, I had no connection with women. They all died. Even the ones who were kind to me, and the ones who fought me.”

“Master. But maybe some of them are still alive? Think about it.”

Evan frowned at Sophia’s words. Thinking about the past was never pleasant. Evan quietly retraced his past without making a sound. There had certainly been moments of contact with women. A female slave he met when he was 16 was a bit thin and neurotic, but she was good to the children. After exchanging names with Evan, who was then No. 3452, she was dragged to the arena and became lion fodder.

When I was a little younger than that, I recall a girl I made eye contact with briefly as a cart passed by. That cart was heading to the coal mine, so Evan thought he was lucky not to have been on it.

And even younger than that, there was one truly kind, cute, and pretty child.

No. 13.

A child whose silver hair stood out and whose doll-like appearance drew attention. Boys from slave backgrounds would often bully her or play strange pranks to gain her favor, reaching a point where Evan and No. 5 took charge of protecting No. 13. At the time, No. 5, who was large and good at fighting, played the role of scolding the other children, while Evan took care of soothing, coaxing, and looking after No. 13.

Thinking back, that’s what happened.

After the Master, who was framed as a devil worshipper, was burned at the stake, No. 13 was sold to a certain nobleman. She must be dead by now. Evan thought so and said.

“They’re all dead. Every last one.”

And then Evan began to read on. He was curious as to who exactly was showing interest in him. The letter paper had no patterns, but the paper itself was high quality. It was sealed with wax, and the ink seemed expensive too. Flirting with a nobleman’s husband implied that she was a woman with considerable confidence in herself.

[Evan. I heard the news that you got married. However, I wish to meet you face-to-face and talk.]

Evan snickered at this point. It was funny how she craved his love, even though she had never met him. If he actually met her, Evan was confident he could lay her on the bed immediately, drain her vital energy, and subjugate her wealth to the Flancia family. He could also envision a splendid future where he’d have some unknown woman wear a maid outfit and perform oral sex on him while he drank wine with Isabel. If this woman held considerable power in the region, he could rally all the local influential figures as his subordinates, rapidly consolidating power.

“Easy. So easy. I should head here, shouldn’t I?”

Evan said, continuing to read.

[Evan. You must be bewildered to receive such a letter. You must be wondering who the sender of this letter is, speaking as if they know you, when you thought they were dead.]

Evan’s face hardened. Seeing his body stiffen, both Sophia and Elena looked startled.

[Evan. I invested a great deal of time to find you. Evan. A boy in his 20s with brown hair and blue eyes. Do you remember the conversation we had lying in the warehouse together in the cabin back then? No. 5 used to talk about wanting to become a star. You always said you would get revenge on those who tormented you.]

“Huh?”

Evan’s mind went blank. The moment he saw the sentences in the letter, he couldn’t think of anything else.

The letter ended with four short sentences written in slightly different handwriting and an address.

[Evan.]

[Evan.]

[Evan.]

[It’s me. No. 13.]