In his private room at Marquis Garm's estate, Dalton received the good news from an aide.
"Young Master, I have wonderful news! It seems a commoner has obtained the Starblue — the legendary flower said to make any confession succeed!"
"Atta boy! With this, Mireine will be head over heels for me! No matter what it takes, bring it to me — got it?!"
◇◇◇
The night after Randy received the Starblue from Alan.
Dressed in a tuxedo and wrapping the Starblue in luxurious gift paper, Randy headed toward the finest restaurant available to commoners — one he had arranged to meet her at beforehand.
"Now, at last, I can confess. Hmph hmph hmhm-hmm~..."
In such high spirits that he was even humming a tune.
Just a short walk from the restaurant, three brutish men suddenly emerged from an alley and blocked his path.
"Well, well, aren't you in a good mood, buddy? C'mon, why don't ya hand over that flower for me? Bwahahaha!"
One of them leaned in close, making his "request."
"What the—? Who the hell are you people? I'm using this! There's no way I'm handing it over!"
"There's someone who needs that flower. A commoner like you doesn't deserve it. Hand it over nice and easy, and you won't have to get hurt."
"No way! I'm using this to confess to my girl!"
"You just don't get it, do ya. Boys, get him!"
"Let go — mmph, mmph—"
The trio grabbed Randy, clamped a hand over his mouth, and dragged him into the darkness.
◇◇◇
Thud! Crack!
Randy was being beaten senseless by the three men.
But even so, he refused to let go of the Starblue, gripping it with sheer stubborn will.
"Just let go already, you stubborn bastard."
"Look at that face — all battered to hell, and your one good outfit's completely shredded! You don't even have a face left to show your precious girl! So just hand over the damn flower already!"
"I'll never… let go…"
Having grown tired of toying with the battered Randy, one of the three finally moved in for the finishing blow.
"Aaah, you just had to be so stubborn. Now the only way to get the flower is to take your whole right arm with it."
One of them put on a theatrically sorrowful face while brandishing the razor-sharp claw fitted to his right hand.
The other two pinned Randy down and covered his mouth.
Muffled cries echoed through the dark alley.
◇◇◇
"You're so late, Randy…"
Elise, Randy's childhood friend, was waiting for him at the restaurant.
"Hehe, so you're finally going to confess. Did you give up on finding a Starblue? I mean, there's no way he actually found one — it's a legendary flower, after all."
Randy hadn't shown up yet, but knowing him, he was probably taking forever to get dressed up.
She could practically see him bursting through the door, shouting, "Sorry, Elise! I'm late!"
"It wouldn't matter even without the Starblue. Just being with Randy makes me happy. How can I make him understand that?"
◇◇◇
…Still not here.
"Is there a woman named Elise here?!"
What burst into the restaurant was a messenger from a doctor, dispatched because a passerby had found the near-dead Randy and brought him in.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
Skills: [Reverse] [Divine Eye] [Sword God] [Fist God] [Spear God] [Scorching Magic] [Frozen Ice Magic] [Clear Storm Magic] [Rock Iron Magic] [Holy Magic] [Dark Magic] [Space-Time Magic] [Thunder God Sword] [Gentleman Thief] [Ninja Master] [Seeker of Truth] [Supernatural Strength] [Idaten] [Pain Relief] [Complete Status Abnormality Resistance] [Dark Spirit's Protection] [Super Intuition] [Heaven's Gate] [Abyss Contractor] [Magic Hand] [Treasure Search] [Seduction] [Incitement] [Tele-Mesmerism] [Eloquence] [Strong Luck] [10× Growth Speed] [Growth Limit Breakthrough]
Rank: Orichalcum
Thank you for reading!