Chapter 36: A Bloody Date and Flowers

Chapter 36. A Bloody Date and Flowers

The trip back wasn’t nearly as dramatic as our arrival.

Well. Maybe that was because I already knew what was going to happen.

I looked down at myself.

Bare chest.

Bloodstained trousers.

A few stubborn crimson smears along my ribs that definitely didn’t belong to me.

Wonderful.

The three women had tried wiping the blood off before we left the temple. Ariel had even used water magic, but apparently dried assassin blood was more determined to remain on my skin than the assassins themselves had been to remain alive.

I respected the commitment.

The problem was my clothes.

I’d brought exactly one robe for Ariel.

One.

And when my three wives had rushed out of the restoration pool, they’d thrown on their clothes without drying themselves first. The fabric had become damp enough to cling to them in ways that would undoubtedly attract attention.

Now, I wasn’t particularly interested in letting an entire town admire my wives through wet clothing.

So Ariel got the robe.

Seris got my cloak.

Lily got my magus jacket.

And I got... A refreshing breeze.

At least I still had my trousers.

If anyone wanted to stare at somebody’s body, they could stare at mine.

Assuming they had the courage.

Which, considering my reputation, seemed unlikely.

I could have flown directly home, of course.

That had been the original plan.

Unfortunately, Lily had remembered something. "My seeds!"

She’d said it with the same expression someone might wear upon realizing they’d abandoned their firstborn child in a burning building.

Apparently, she’d purchased several varieties of magical seeds earlier, and the merchant had insisted they needed to be planted as soon as possible.

The seller had agreed to prepare them while we visited the temple.

Which meant... Back to town.

Naturally.

Because nothing completed a romantic date quite like returning from an assassination attempt half-dressed and covered in someone else’s blood to collect gardening supplies.

The moment we entered the market, the atmosphere changed.

It was almost impressive.

A conversation died halfway through a sentence.

A merchant stopped arranging fruit.

Somebody dropped a basket.

Then the whispers began.

"The Mad Magus..."

"Why isn’t he wearing—"

"Is that blood?"

"Don’t look!"

That last one was particularly funny.

Because everyone was looking.

A woman hurriedly pulled her child behind a stall. Two merchants suddenly discovered urgent business beneath their counters. One shopkeeper closed his shutters so quickly that he nearly trapped his own fingers.

I glanced at the emptying street.

Ah... My beloved public reputation.

Still going strong.

Beside me, Ariel held the edges of her robe together and looked distinctly uncomfortable.

Seris walked with her chin raised, wearing my black cloak like some victorious general returning from battle.

Lily, meanwhile, was practically bouncing.

She was thinking about seeds.

Not the blood or the terrified townspeople or the fact that her husband looked like he’d recently escaped from a particularly violent underground fighting arena.

I admired her priorities.

My gaze drifted across the market.

There.

A man pretending to examine a bundle of dried herbs.

Another standing beside a carriage.

A woman near the fountain who’d been watching us earlier.

And two more near the bakery.

Spies.

Still here.

Interesting.

I memorized their faces.

Their mana signatures.

One by one.

Killing them would be easy.

Too easy.

And stupid.

If every watcher assigned to Rey Valen suddenly disappeared, their employers would immediately know I’d discovered the surveillance.

Then they’d change their methods.

Send better agents.

Become more cautious.

No.

Let them watch.

That should make for a delightful intelligence report.

More importantly, I needed time.

One hero?

In a duel, I might have a chance.

Especially now that I could use Forbidden Energy without immediately destroying myself.

But four heroes?

Absolutely not.

Even Rey at his former SSS rank hadn’t been capable of defeating all four simultaneously.

And I was currently S rank.

A very dangerous S rank, admittedly.

But still.

I needed more than Rey’s former strength.

More than SSS.

Enough power that when those four finally decided to come for me, they wouldn’t be walking into a battle.

They’d be walking into a very expensive lesson in poor decision-making that cost their lives.

I smiled faintly.

The herb merchant across the street immediately looked away.

Keep watching.

Just don’t expect me to make it easy.

"Thank you!" Lily beamed at the seed merchant.

The woman behind the stall looked like she’d been having a difficult morning.

Her eyes moved from Lily’s delighted face to my bare chest.

Then to the blood.

Then back to my face.

Fear.

Confusion.

A rather fascinating moment of visual appreciation.

Then fear again.

Her expression went through an entire philosophical journey.

Apparently, discovering that the Mad Magus had a decent physique was causing some conflict with her existing understanding of the world.

I almost felt bad for her.

Lily accepted a carefully wrapped bundle of seeds. "These are perfect! I’ll plant them as soon as we get home."

"Y-yes, Your Highness." The merchant swallowed. "Please... enjoy them."

Lily smiled even brighter. "I will!"

I was about to suggest leaving before the poor woman suffered a nervous breakdown when something caught my attention.

Flowers.

Freshly arranged bouquets stood along the front of the stall.

Some carried faint traces of nature mana.

White blossoms.

Soft pink petals.

Deep crimson flowers with golden centers.

I stopped.

Dates involved flowers, didn’t they?

At least that was what I’d gathered from books, overheard conversations, and the occasional romantic drama I’d watched while pretending I wasn’t procrastinating on research.

My personal experience was somewhat limited.

Actually... Nonexistent.

Before reincarnating, I’d been considerably more successful at developing mana theories than developing relationships.

A tragic but entirely predictable consequence of spending most of my life in a laboratory.

I pointed at the bouquets. "I want those."

The merchant stiffened. "A-all of them?"

"Five arrangements."

"Five?"

"Yes."

Seris looked over. "Are they magical ingredients?"

Lily immediately examined the flowers. "Oh! Are you planning to use them for potions?"

I stared at them. Then sighed. "No."

Three confused faces turned toward me.

"They’re for you."

Silence.

Ariel blinked. "For... us?"

I scratched the back of my head.

"Well, today was supposed to be a date."

I glanced toward the direction of the ruined temple.

Admittedly, I’d taken Ariel to an abandoned monster nest, cured her mana mantle, fought six assassins, created an experimental human-monster hybrid, and sent it after one of my former comrades.

Not exactly a conventional romantic itinerary.

"I know it probably wasn’t what you expected," I continued. "But I figured I could at least get you flowers."

Another silence.

Ariel’s eyes softened.

Lily stopped moving entirely.

Seris stared at me.

Oh, come on.

Don’t do that.

I was trying to improve my romantic competence here.

This was a perfectly normal gesture.

Probably.

"Five bouquets?" Ariel asked quietly.

"For all five of you."

Lily’s lips parted. "But Nia and Liora aren’t here."

"They’ll be home eventually." I shrugged. "Flowers don’t become less romantic just because the recipient is temporarily unavailable."

Seris looked away.

Very quickly.

Unfortunately for her, I noticed the faint pink spreading across her cheeks.

Ariel pressed her fingers to her lips.

Lily made a small noise that sounded suspiciously close to a squeal.

Ah... Romance progress.

Possibly.

I should probably keep track of this.

The merchant hurried to prepare the arrangements.

I paid her, accepted the bouquets, and distributed three of them.

Ariel held hers against her chest.

Lily buried her nose among the petals.

Seris accepted hers with an expression of dignified composure that lasted approximately three seconds before she started smiling.

I stored the remaining two in my dimensional ring, carefully isolating them from the monster corpses.

Because giving your wife flowers that smelled like dead monsters seemed like a remarkably efficient way to ruin the gesture.

We left town shortly afterward.

I activated Voidwind Manipulation.

The air gathered beneath us.

Ariel immediately stepped closer and wrapped one arm around me, keeping her bouquet safely tucked against her chest. She insisted on holding the flowers throughout the flight, even though I offered to store them in my dimensional ring.

Apparently, she wanted to experience what it felt like to be a flower fairy.

Lily slowly turned toward her.

The actual fairy princess.

Holding an actual bouquet.

Wearing my oversized jacket.

She stared at Ariel for several seconds, seemingly struggling to process the fact that a mermaid princess was enthusiastically role-playing as her own race.

Eventually, she just shook her head.

Seris burst out laughing.

Ariel, meanwhile, remained completely unbothered. She simply smiled and hugged her flowers a little tighter, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

Well.

Who was I to ruin a mermaid’s dream of becoming a fairy?

And apparently the other two decided she had a point, because neither of them accepted my offer to store their bouquets either.

So there I was.

Flying home with three princesses.

All three clutching flowers.

The wind swept around us.

Below, the forest stretched across the landscape in endless shades of green.

Ariel rested her cheek against my shoulder.

Lily hummed softly.

Seris looked toward the horizon, smiling to herself.

I glanced at them.

Well.

Maybe the date hadn’t been a complete disaster.

A little unconventional.

A little bloody.

But nobody could accuse it of being boring.

Our mansion appeared beyond the treetops.

I began descending.

Then noticed something.

A carriage.

Parked near the entrance.

Not ours.

My eyes narrowed slightly.

Guests?

Interesting.

I lowered us into the courtyard and gently set Ariel down first.

She immediately adjusted her robe and checked her flowers.

Seris landed beside us.

Lily was already looking toward the mansion.

Then the front doors opened.

Four figures stood near the entrance.

Two men and two women.

The men wore traveling coats bearing the unmistakable sigil of Arcane Academy. One carried a leather satchel stuffed with documents, while the other stood beside him with the stiff posture of someone attending a very important meeting.

The women, however...

I stopped.

Oh.

Well, well.

Apparently, the remaining members of my household had finally returned.

Nia Aeris stood beside the two academy representatives, one hand resting on her hip. Her fox ears twitched, and her fluffy tail swayed lazily behind her.

Beside her stood Liora Cryst, watching us with her usual composed expression.

Then both of their gazes traveled over me.

My bare chest.

My bloodstained trousers.

The three women wearing my clothes.

The bouquets.

Silence.

A very long silence.

Even the two academy representatives seemed to forget whatever important business had brought them here.

I smiled. "Welcome home."