It was awesome

As the sun set and the sky darkened, I made my way to a secluded tavern in the neighborhood.

I don’t particularly enjoy drinking, but the situation called for it, and alcohol’s help was much needed.

Creak!

As I opened the door and stepped inside, a woman gave me a nod.

She was one of the waitresses working at this tavern.

“Back again? Aren’t you here a bit too often?”

“So what? Isn’t it a good thing since you sell a lot?”

“Haha. That’s true.”

Inside, there were many people.

Men with rough looks and dangerous weapons. They glanced at me with sharp eyes.

But the stern looks were short-lived. Once they recognized me, they showed a sheepish smile.

“Oh? Evan. Haven’t seen you in a while, was wondering what happened.”

“Just been busy here and there.”

“Haha. Gadel seems to miss you a lot. Seems like he’s waiting for you more than his wife now.”

Kind-hearted Evan always helps others. That’s why everyone here owes Evan a favor, big or small.

Since we had a friendly relationship from the start, it wasn’t hard to get close to these people.

And during my time as a mercenary, I had spent quite a long time with these people.

Thanks to my experience, I could easily get along with them.

‘Not that my experience is anything special.’

Getting along with mercenaries is easier than approaching a wild cat.

Just buy them a few drinks and have a chat. If you have a good conversation, you might even become blood brothers.

And there’s nothing wrong with getting along.

Even if I’m not familiar with this industry’s culture, mercenaries value loyalty.

If they need help, they’ll reach out without hesitation.

“Everyone looks happy.”

“Of course! How can you be unhappy when you’re drinking!”

“Evan, why did you come here? Obviously for the alcohol, but hehe!”

Gilbert raised a wooden cup of liquor.

Sitting next to him, Gadel also raised his cup and gave me a playful smile.

I responded with a short laugh.

‘Ah, this is healing.’

After a tiring day dealing with those crazy guys, having a drink with these men made me feel refreshed.

Of course, everything wasn’t perfect. Like the mocking laughter coming from the table behind us.

That laughter belonged to Amir’s gang.

Those bastards who NTR’d Evan’s heroines. Really despicable guys.

“They’re so loud every time we see them. What’s so funny, tsk tsk.”

“Ignore them, Gadel. Are you avoiding them because you’re scared? Because they’re dirty?”

“Amir, that guy, has been bothering me lately.”

Amir is a psycho who gets excited by taking others’ things and seeing their despair.

He probably mocked us for that reason.

“Oh? Isn’t it Evan, sir?”

When our eyes met, Amir waved his hand with a bright smile.

Anyone would think we’re close friends. I ignored him with a cold gaze and turned my head away.

“No need to engage with them.”

NTR Evan’s heroines? Do as you please.

It’s none of my business, and I’m not Evan. It would be strange to get angry over it.

“Hmm?”

At that moment, a glass of ale was placed in front of me.

“I didn’t order this.”

The waitress nodded towards them.

“They’re treating you. It’s free, so just enjoy it.”

I glanced at those guys out of the corner of my eye.

Once again, Amir was looking at me with his smug smile.

‘…Amir.’

Hehe, you little rascal, aren’t you? Quite a good one, huh?

My father once said, “Don’t take free drinks for granted.”

Applying my father’s words, I downed the ale without a moment of hesitation.

Glug glug!

The cold sensation running down my throat brought me joy.

“Ahh!”

An involuntary exclamation of admiration escaped my lips.

I continued to drink, emptying the glass one after another.

Hmm, a shame. Won’t they buy more?

Judging by Amir’s demeanor, it didn’t seem likely.

I felt unjustly treated. Weren’t they the ones who offered me a drink?

“How strange. Why are they being so nice to you?”

“Who cares. It’s free drinks, after all.”

“Hehe. That’s true. Let’s drink up quickly.”

Clashing glasses with Gadel, we resumed our drinking.

Lost in the moment, the door of the tavern opened.

I was so focused on my drink that I didn’t pay attention to the arrival of the guests.

“Evan.”

Somehow, a familiar voice called out my name.

The guests turned out to be Evan’s party members.

‘But something feels off.’

They all seemed to have something important to say.

Is something urgent? Well, that’s probably why they came all the way here.

“…Seems like there’s a story to tell. We’ll give you some space to talk.”

“Hehe, Evan. We’ll leave you alone to chat with your lovers.”

Gadel left with a troubled expression.

Gilbert, who was next to him, playfully nudged my shoulder and chuckled.

“….”

They disappeared, leaving me alone.

This is getting troublesome. I rubbed my forehead as if complaining about the inconvenience.

#

Judy, who had been standing quietly, finally brought up the main topic.

“Have you noticed anything strange lately?”

“Is this about that again?”

“What? Just now, for example. You seemed so disinterested, as if you didn’t even want to talk.”

Well, that’s because you guys are always bothering me. Why don’t you just smile and agree when I ask you to do this and that?

Evan couldn’t understand their intentions at all.

And the women couldn’t understand Evan either.

Judy expressed her emotions without hiding them.

“We’ve put up with it, even though we don’t know why you’re acting this way. We know you’re not the type to throw tantrums and get angry for no reason.”

As Judy spoke, Cloe nodded in agreement.

Cecilia and Elinor, who were standing behind, awkwardly looked away.

“But it’s been too much, even for a week. We have our own struggles, so why are you the only one acting like this?”

“Exactly! Why should we have to tiptoe around you―!”

“Oh? What’s going on here?”

A man interrupted, cutting off Cloe’s words.

The party members seemed to recognize the voice instantly and flinched.

“Hmm~ What’s going on, everyone? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Amir shook his head.

Gail, with a sinister smile, looked at Evan.

“Hey, Evan. Got a lot of new admirers, huh?”

Gail tried to provoke Evan as usual.

But Evan seemed unusually relaxed today.

“Really? Maybe I just had a good day today.”

“Hehe. I’m curious about that good day. Care to share?”

“As you know, I just had free drinks. If that’s not a good day, what is?”

“Huh?”

The smile vanished from Gail’s face.

He pondered Evan’s words for a moment and soon understood their meaning.

“Oh, I see. Right. There’s nothing better than free drinks.”

“No need to thank me too much. We’ve also had a lot to eat thanks to you, Evan.”

While Gail awkwardly chuckled, Amir smoothly handled the situation.

However, the person in question was completely unfazed. Only the women beside him reacted as if they had been pricked by a needle.

“Huh? Is it happening again today?”

Amir stared intently at Evan.

At first, it seemed like he was casually acting, but it wasn’t an act.

Amir could intuitively sense that fact.

“It’s strange.”

It was both puzzling and uncomfortable.

Amir raised the corner of his mouth even higher and said, “For some reason, Evan has been acting a bit strange lately.”

“Is that an insult or a compliment?”

“Haha, that’s up for interpretation. If it offended you, I apologize?”

“I don’t need an apology. I was thinking of it as a compliment anyway.”

The party members who had been idly chatting during their conversation. Among them, Judy cautiously spoke up.

“Um, Amir? We have something to discuss privately, could you give us some space?”

“…I also want to join the conversation. Is that okay?”

“We’re fine, but Evan seems a bit…”

“No, right? Evan looks perfectly fine. So, we’ll join in too, okay?”

Judy sneakily glanced at Evan.

In contrast, Evan’s gaze was solely fixed on his drink.

“Ugh, damn it. I wish they would all just leave me alone.”

That was Evan’s sentiment. He just wanted to drink his alcohol quickly.

“Oh, get a grip. By the way, I have something to show you all. Gael, could you bring it out?”

“Sure, okay.”

At Amir’s instruction, Gael rummaged through her pockets.

What she pulled out was a rock.

A seemingly ordinary rock. Of course, the aura of magic emanating from it indicated otherwise.

“Evan? Do you know what this is?”

After a short while, Evan, who had changed his demeanor.

Amir, who had realized from the previous incident that ordinary taunts wouldn’t work, had prepared a secret weapon.

“Hmm~ I wonder if anyone knows what this is.”

Amir targeted the other people as well. Evan’s companions.

As expected, Evan’s party members began to show interest in the rock.

“What is this rock?”

“Wow, I can feel the magic. It’s not an ordinary rock.”

“…Sigh. How did things end up like this?”

It was Illyneth, Cecilia, and Judy’s words.

In any case, they had to go along with Amir’s rhythm.

There was nothing good about looking upset, and the man wouldn’t leave just because he was being ignored.

“This is a kind of test. I’m curious to see how Evan’s party members will turn out.”

The party members showed signs of discomfort at Amir’s words.

Gael looked at the anxious women and twisted her mouth.

“Don’t worry. It’s not harmful to the body. Let’s each touch it one by one, okay?”

The party members hesitated but eventually reached out one by one, and changes followed.

When Illyneth touched the rock, its color turned ashen.

Cecilia’s turned red. Chloe’s turned orange.

And when Judy touched it last, it turned completely black.

“Hmm. The colors changed. What does this mean?”

“Oh! I get it. It’s that, right? Measuring the concentration of magic. Just by looking at it, that’s what it is.”

“…Black seems ominous.”

They each had doubts according to their respective changes.

There was no point in hiding anything. Amir immediately dispelled their doubts.

“This is an artifact that judges purity. The color darkens with each encounter.”

“…!”

“Haha. Surprising, right? Isn’t that so, Evan? But why did these women have such dark colors from their encounters?”

They had not had any intimate relations with Evan.

And because Evan knew that fact, the women were momentarily flustered.

They tried to deny it by coming up with various excuses, but Amir beat them to it.

“Evan might be suspected as the culprit, right? Hurry up and show your hands.”

“….”

Amir chuckled and gestured to Evan.

Gail also watched this scene with amusement.

“Well, you see Evan!”

“Amir seems to be mistaken!”

“W-what! What does a stone prove about purity!”

“Hmm.”

Evan muttered under his breath.

Just as Amir was about to say something in response to Evan’s nonchalant attitude, swish―

Evan reached out and grabbed the stone.

And as if in response to that touch, the color of the stone changed.

“…Huh?”

It turned pitch black.

Even darker than Judy’s color just now, the implication was clear.

“C-crazy! What color is this!”

“W-what is this…?”

There shouldn’t have been any change at all, right?

Amir was at a loss for words in a situation far beyond expectations.

Not only the party members, but everyone present couldn’t believe what was happening.

They looked at Evan with widened pupils.

Under the weight of their gaze, Evan explained.

“I’ve been frequenting the red-light district for the past month.”

As a knight, Mayer had to maintain physical purity, so he had not engaged in any relationships for a whopping 15 years.

Therefore, on the first day of possession, Evan went straight to the red-light district.

There, he engaged in sexual relations with the women there, handing them money.

“R-red-light district…? E-Evan. Why with those dirty women…?”

Judy’s question left Evan dumbfounded.

Avoiding them because they’re dirty? Not at all.

There’s no difference between those women and the party members here. If anything, the prostitutes are better. They at least get paid.

Evan, accustomed to the capitalist society of South Korea, thought so.

“Haha, today is really a strange day.”

Among the bewildered women, only Amir could maintain his composure.

He put on a relaxed expression as much as possible, though his mind was in chaos.

Amir’s consistently gentle expression turned cold.

That’s how intense the discomfort Amir was feeling was.

“That’s not right, Evan. Leaving these beautiful women aside and cavorting with prostitutes.”

“Are you ignoring the prostitutes? They’re not that different based on looks.”

“Ugh. I still don’t understand. Did you confess to these women and then seek comfort in the arms of a prostitute?”

“What are you talking about. I confessed to them. And I comforted them too.”

“W-what? What does that mean? Did you…?”

Amir turned his head towards Judy.

Judy, without panicking, slowly shook her head.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“Oh, right. I had a blast with a prostitute a week ago. But she fell for my technique and started pestering me.”

“Haha. So a woman who enjoys playing with a prostitute likes a man? Whoever she is, she’s quite a strange woman.”

Evan chuckled at Amir’s words.

Not only his pure gaze, but his following tone was also pure.

“Huh? You don’t know who it is? You know best.”

“…What?”

“Her name was Amy, right? She talked about you a lot.”

Amir’s mouth opened slightly in surprise.

As if time had stopped, he stood there with his mouth agape, unable to utter a word.

“Amy, you know her? She’s there, right?”

As Amir was in a daze, Evan took a step closer.

Just before their noses touched, Evan said.

“Your mom is amazing.”

Evan raised his thumb.