An Imperfect Date

“You scoundrel, you broke my gem! Do you truly intend to walk away without consequence?”

“Hm?”

Ewan paused, his eyes narrowing. “Old man, what exactly do you mean by that?”

“Look!”

The bald elder, still clutching Ewan’s ankle with one hand, raised the gem with the other.

Under the sunlight, a distinct crack was clearly visible across its surface.

Yet, when Ewan had held it moments ago, it had been perfectly intact.

“You must have damaged it just now when you handled it!”

The bald elder’s face contorted with indignation. “You owe me compensation!”

“’Handled it and it broke’?”

Ewan looked at the old man, a hint of bewilderment in his voice. “How much do you expect me to pay?”

“I…”

The bald elder’s gaze swept over Ewan’s expensive attire, a glint of avarice flashing in his eyes. “One hundred thousand! I demand one hundred thousand!”

“One hundred thousand?”

Ewan raised an eyebrow.

‘That’s certainly an interesting figure.’

‘If that gem were truly the Tear of True Love, one hundred thousand Amirs wouldn’t even buy its casing. But this gem is clearly a fake; judging by its shoddy craftsmanship, ten Amirs would buy a heap of them at the wholesale market.’

‘Which means…’

“Extortion?”

A sudden amusement flickered across Ewan’s face.

“What ‘extortion’!”

The bald elder retorted indignantly. “You broke my gem, so you must pay for it!”

“And what if I refuse to pay?” Ewan asked, a half-smile playing on his lips.

“Refuse to pay…”

The old man’s shifty eyes darted about, then he promptly collapsed onto the ground, thrashing and wailing. “Oh, everyone, come and see! This person broke my belongings and refuses to compensate me! Is there any justice? Is there any law? Isn’t this just bullying an honest old man?”

The street, already bustling, quickly became crowded as the old man’s commotion drew a multitude of onlookers, all pointing and whispering about him and Ewan.

Just then, several uniformed figures pushed their way through the crowd.

“What’s going on here? Why is everyone gathered around?”

They were patrol officers.

The officer, wielding a baton, glanced over the scene. His eyes visibly brightened when they landed on Ewan, then he turned to the old man. “What happened?”

“Officer, you must uphold justice for me!”

Seeing the patrol officers, the bald elder’s confidence surged. He rose and pointed at Ewan.

“He broke my belongings! And he refuses to pay! He’s just bullying an old man who has no one to rely on.”

“Is that so?”

The patrol officer approached, tapping his baton against his palm as he addressed Ewan. “Young man, if you damage another’s property, you must pay compensation according to its value. Surely you’re not unaware of such a fundamental principle, are you?”

“Of course, I am aware.”

“If that’s the case, then hurry up and pay to settle this. Don’t block the road here and hold everyone up,” the patrol officer said impatiently.

“Given your attire, producing one hundred thousand Amirs shouldn’t be a difficult matter.”

“Exactly, exactly! Compensation according to value is only right and proper!”

“Young man, you wouldn’t be trying to renege on your debt, would you?”

Following the patrol officer’s words, many of the onlookers immediately began to accuse Ewan.

In that moment, Ewan seemed to truly become the scoundrel who had damaged a lonely old man’s precious gem and shamelessly refused to pay.

But when Ewan turned his head, he noticed that the voices were actually coming from only a few specific individuals hidden within the crowd.

“Oh my, junior, it seems you’ve encountered a specialty of Belrand’s Lower City,” Senior Sister Anna remarked from the sidelines, a smile playing on her lips, devoid of any apparent concern, as if enjoying a show.

“A specialty?”

“It’s this joint extortion scheme between officials and commoners. They usually target people like you, junior, who clearly look wealthy. Many people fall victim to it every year. I thought this street might be better, but it seems the Lower City is the same everywhere, isn’t it?”

“So brazen? Aren’t they afraid of biting off more than they can chew?”

“This is the Lower City, a place full of filth and stench that those big shot nobles wouldn’t even deign to glance at. Where would they find any ‘hard bones’? Besides, people like these usually have gang connections. They’ve already noted down who they can’t afford to provoke locally, which is why they pick on obvious outsiders like you, junior.”

“Do I really look that easy to bully?”

Ewan scratched his head.

‘Despite my ‘blond-haired’ appearance, why do I always stumble into these protagonist-exclusive plotlines?’

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

The patrol officer’s face turned ashen upon hearing Anna’s words. However, when his gaze swept over Anna’s beautiful face and her alluring figure, barely concealed by her dress, his eyes instantly burned with desire. He sneered, “You don’t look like a good person either. I suspect you’ve stolen something and are hiding it on your person. You’ll have to come back to the station with me for a thorough investigation.”

Ewan’s expression immediately darkened at these words.

He stepped forward, blocking the patrol officer’s line of sight, and said in a low voice, “How interesting. Can a mere patrol officer disregard evidence and arrest people at will?”

“What ‘disregard evidence’? We have both human testimony and physical evidence right here!” The patrol officer’s face was arrogant, as if he had done this countless times, making him appear practiced and complacent.

‘After all, a little intimidation usually makes most people obedient.’

“Hah, it seems arguing with you is merely a waste of time.”

Ewan sighed and pulled out a family crest carved with a sword emblem.

“Do you recognize this?”

“What is that?”

“You don’t recognize it? Then go find someone who does.”

“What right do you have to tell me what to do? Why should I listen to you?”

The patrol officer continued to sneer.

‘He doesn’t even have a pass from my Scarlet Flame Gang. What’s he trying to show off for?’

But in the next instant, he saw a powerful fist, as large as a pot, rapidly growing in his vision.

“What right? This right!”

Rarely had such unconcealed fury erupted from Ewan’s eyes as he swung his fist with force.

‘Originally, I didn’t want to resort to violence; it would make me seem uncouth in front of Senior Sister. But it appears this is the quicker way to handle things!’

The patrol officer’s face, still twisted in arrogance, instantly contorted under Ewan’s fist, and he was sent flying backward.

As the officer lay on the ground, groaning but not yet completely unconscious, Ewan coldly added, “Of course, most importantly, your eyes are too dirty.”

****

“It’s over. We seem to have run into a tough one.”

On the other side, watching the patrol officer sent flying by Ewan’s punch, the bald elder’s face instantly turned pale.

He seized the confusion in the crowd, crawling on the ground, attempting to sneak away. However, his hand was suddenly pinned by a white leather boot.

Anna pressed down on her long skirt, preventing her ‘sacred domain’ from being glimpsed, and looked down at the terrified old man, a smile gracing her lips. “What’s wrong, old man? Don’t you want your compensation anymore?”

****

Just as Ewan had predicted, once he directly ‘assaulted an officer,’ events rapidly escalated.

First, a pot-bellied, corpulent man arrived, surrounded by a group of people, muttering curses. Upon seeing the family crest in Ewan’s hand, the anger on his face instantly transformed into terror, nearly frightening dozens of pounds of fat off his body.

Immediately afterward, a black carriage arrived at a furious speed, its wheels almost flying off. A middle-aged, balding man with dark circles under his eyes, resembling a panda, leaped from the carriage and practically scrambled to Ewan’s side.

“Ca-Campbell Young Master.”

The balding middle-aged man incessantly wiped the sweat from his forehead. “What brings you to the Lower City?”

“What? Am I not allowed in the Lower City?”

Ewan glanced at the middle-aged man, whom he vaguely remembered from a previous encounter. “Viscount Guen, isn’t it? Your Lower City, it seems, is not very well managed.”

“My mistake, my mistake! I’ll certainly rectify it, I promise!”

Viscount Guen smiled obsequiously, his voice humble.

‘His heart was shattered into countless pieces.’

‘Did I accidentally desecrate someone’s ancestral grave recently?’

‘First, a Count’s son died, drawing the Princess’s attention. Now, even a Duke’s son comes wandering, and coincidentally stumbles upon this whole mess.’

‘What’s going on? When did the Lower City become a tourist attraction for you high-and-mighty figures?’

‘You’re going to make my already sparse hair even more precarious!’

“I have already understood the situation. I will handle it properly and give Young Master Campbell a satisfactory answer.

So, does the Young Master have any other requests?” Viscount Guen asked cautiously, wiping cold sweat from his brow.

“No, now disappear from my sight.”

Ewan waved his hand dismissively.

Viscount Guen, as if granted a great pardon, quickly scurried away with his subordinates, escorting the patrol officer and the old man they had just apprehended.

The street quickly returned to its peaceful state.

Ewan turned to his senior sister, who had been waiting beside him. The gloomy expression on his face instantly vanished, replaced by a helpless, wry smile. “I just feel like my good mood has been completely disrupted.”

“Is that so?”

Anna tilted her head, smiling. “But I thought you were very dashing just now, junior.”

“Was I?”

“Of course! Especially when you said, ‘Your eyes are too dirty.’ It felt just like a prince from a story, didn’t it?”

“That’s an exaggeration.”

“But it’s truly so.”

‘…’ At that moment, looking at Senior Sister Anna’s crescent-moon shaped eyes, Ewan’s heart couldn’t help but flutter once more.

“Shall we continue?”

“Yes, alright.”

And so, the date continued.

Ewan once again flipped through the *Belrand Dating Guide*, determining a new route.

However, while he was still deliberating whether to turn left towards the highly-rated food street or right towards the riverside, where fireworks were rumored to be held that evening, Anna’s attention was drawn to something else.

“Junior, look, a cat.”

On a stone bench by the roadside, a creamy white kitten was curled up, meowing softly.

“Senior Sister likes cats?”

Ewan asked instinctively.

But there was no need for an answer, as Anna had already stepped forward with light footsteps.

“Meow—”

“Meow, meow…”

“Meow, meow—”

“Meow, meow, meow…”

Anna mimicked the cat’s meows as she cautiously approached the kitten.

She mimicked it so well that the kitten’s wariness quickly dissolved.

In a daze, in Ewan’s eyes, Senior Sister Anna seemed to transform into a cat herself, lazily meowing under the sunlight.

“So cute…” Ewan said instinctively.

“Right? This cat is so cute.”

Anna had successfully gathered the adorable kitten into her arms and was gently scratching its chin, eliciting comfortable purrs from the little feline.

“It seems to be injured.”

Anna looked at the kitten’s hind leg with pity; there was a gruesome wound there, almost deep enough to expose bone. This was why the kitten had remained curled up, not fleeing even when strangers approached.

Anna thought for a moment, then took out a pair of scissors and a small knife to shave off the fur and remove the necrotic flesh from the kitten’s hind leg.

The kitten cried out in pain, immediately scratching several bloody marks onto Anna’s hand.

“Senior Sister!”

“I’m fine.”

Anna paid it no mind. She gently held the kitten down with one hand and took out a magical potion, pouring it onto the kitten’s wound.

The wound healed visibly before their eyes. Anna then meticulously bandaged the kitten.

By the time she finished, the kitten had regained its ability to move. Seemingly startled by the recent pain, it pushed off Anna’s lap, darted up a nearby large tree, and quickly disappeared.

“Oh my, what a shame.”

Watching the disappearing kitten, Anna seemed somewhat reluctant.

“I wanted to pet it a little longer.”

“Senior Sister, are you alright?”

Ewan walked over, looking at the scratches on her hand.

“I’m fine, it’s just a few scratches.”

Anna poured the remaining magic potion onto the back of her hand, and the small scratches quickly healed, leaving no trace behind.

“See how amazing the magic potion is?”

Anna seemed to say, a touch of pride in her voice.

“Amazing, Senior Sister is the most amazing.”

Ewan couldn’t help but smile wryly, surprised to see such a childish side to Senior Sister Anna.

“But junior.”

Anna suddenly rested her chin on her hand, looking at Ewan with a half-smile. “After waiting so long, you must have figured out where we should go next, right?”

‘…’ Ewan’s smile instantly froze.

‘Oh no, he had been so engrossed in watching Senior Sister that he’d completely forgotten.’

****

Ultimately, they decided to find a restaurant for lunch first.

Ewan’s stomach suddenly rumbled thunderously, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten anything in over thirty hours.

His stomach had long since been growling with hunger, but the anticipation of his date with Senior Sister had temporarily suppressed this primal bodily urge.

Although this highly anticipated date had, so far, been far from smooth.

“But this time, nothing will go wrong!”

Ewan clenched his fist, brimming with confidence.

There’s a saying: ‘The way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach.’ So, along the way, the most frequent entries he’d consulted in the guide were about the various famous restaurants on this street.

After much comparison, Ewan finally settled on a private restaurant that, from its ratings to its decor in the pictures, was utterly faultless in his eyes.

The only drawback was its secluded location; it had even moved beyond this commercial street, venturing onto another street primarily composed of residential areas, named Durank.

However, for a date, wasn’t such a serene environment, paired with pleasant music and candlelight, the most perfect setting?

‘No woman could possibly resist a perfect candlelight din—… candlelight lunch!’

“It seems I should look forward to it,” Anna said, a smile gracing her lips as she watched the confident Ewan.

****

“How… could this be?”

Half an hour later, upon finally locating the indeed very secluded small restaurant, Ewan couldn’t help but question his life choices.

“Why… isn’t it open?”

Staring at the large words “Temporarily Closed” on the restaurant’s tightly shut door, and then at the somewhat peculiar expression on Senior Sister’s face, Ewan once again plunged into the fear of being dominated by extreme misfortune.

‘What’s going on?’

‘Am I really that unlucky?’

‘Meeting an extortionist was bad enough, but why, after finally finding a suitable restaurant, is it closed?’

‘Isn’t today Sunday?’

‘Generally, would a restaurant specifically choose Sunday to close?’

‘I just want to have a good date; is it really that hard?’

“I refuse to believe this evil! Damn you, heavens, have the guts to make me even unluckier!”

Ewan couldn’t help but roar to the sky, his eyes bloodshot.

Then, as if something had been forgotten, and thus was bound to happen, Ewan heard another familiar voice at that very moment.

“Ewan… Ewan, is that you?”