Chapter 96: Aldric’s Date

The limousine eventually stopped in the shopping district, and the moment the doors opened, the twins practically jumped out.

"Let’s go!"

"Quickly! Quickly!"

Before Chris could even get out properly, Astra and Stella had already grabbed his hands and started dragging him toward the nearest shop.

"Hey! Slow down! There’s no need to rush!"

But the twins weren’t listening. They entered the first clothing store and immediately began looking around, picking out anything that caught their attention.

"Big bad man! Look at this dress!"

Astra held up a beautiful pink dress and turned toward him.

Chris didn’t know how to react. "That’s nice. Do you like it?"

"I love it!"

She immediately handed it to a nearby shop assistant before continuing to look around.

Stella, meanwhile, had found a pair of shoes she liked and was already trying them on.

"How about these?"

"They look good."

"Then I’ll take them!"

Chris watched them for a moment before shaking his head.

They had barely been inside for a few minutes, and they had already picked out several dresses, skirts, shoes, and other accessories.

He couldn’t understand why they needed so many things, but whenever he tried to ask, the twins would simply give him an innocent smile and continue shopping.

After a while, Aelia joined them. At first, Chris thought she would be more reasonable, but he quickly realized how wrong he was.

She began looking through the clothes with just as much enthusiasm as the twins, occasionally asking their opinions before adding something else to their growing collection.

Before long, the three girls had completely taken over the shopping trip. They would enter a shop, look around, pick out whatever they liked, and leave with several bags.

Then they would repeat the process in the next shop. And the one after that, and the one after that...

Chris soon found himself following them around the shopping district while carrying dozens of shopping bags in both hands.

Wasn’t it obvious that he could simply store everything inside his storage ring?

Of course, he could.

Unfortunately, the girls wouldn’t let him. Every time he tried to put a bag away, one of them would immediately stop him, insisting that he should carry it instead.

Apparently, they wanted him to experience the full shopping experience with them.

’Is this my punishment...? Are the heavens punishing me for something?’

He looked at the three girls walking ahead of him, happily discussing which shop they should visit next.

He couldn’t even remember the last time he had carried so many things at once.

’Maybe I should have stayed in bed...’

"Big bad man! Hurry up!" Astra suddenly turned around and waved at him.

Chris sighed before following them. "Coming..."

Despite his complaints, he couldn’t help smiling as he watched the girls enjoying themselves. The twins had been through quite a lot recently, and seeing them laugh and argue over dresses and shoes was something he genuinely enjoyed.

Aelia also seemed to be having a good time, occasionally smiling whenever the twins showed her something they had found.

So, even if he had to carry enough shopping bags to supply an entire store, he didn’t really mind.

...

After some time, as they were walking past a row of restaurants and cafes, Chris suddenly stopped.

His eyes almost bulged out as he noticed a familiar figure sitting at a table in the distance.

It was Aldric. The old man was sitting across from an elderly woman around his age, and the two seemed to be having a conversation.

Chris stared at them for a moment before quickly storing all the shopping bags inside his storage ring.

The twins immediately turned toward him.

"Hey! Big bad man! What are you doing?"

"Why did you put everything away?"

Chris raised a finger to his lips. "Shhh!"

The twins looked at each other in confusion.

He then pointed toward the cafe.

"Look over there."

Astra and Stella followed his finger, and their eyes immediately landed on Aldric. They both looked surprised before their expressions slowly changed into mischievous smiles.

Aelia also glanced in that direction, raising an eyebrow when she noticed who Chris was looking at.

The three of them exchanged glances before quietly following Chris toward the cafe.

They approached carefully, trying not to attract Aldric’s attention. Fortunately, the old man seemed completely focused on the woman sitting across from him.

And what Chris saw next made him almost regret not bringing some snacks.

Aldric was wearing a flattering smile that Chris had never seen before. Not even when he had met the Queen had the old man looked so attentive.

He was leaning slightly forward, complimenting the woman while listening carefully to everything she said.

’Is that idiot still following that stupid book?’ Chris wondered, grimacing as he tried to listened to their conversation.

The woman didn’t seem particularly impressed by what he was saying. In fact, her expression suggested that she was slowly growing annoyed.

"Aldric, tell me honestly. Do you really like me?" she suddenly asked.

"Of course!" Aldric answered without the slightest hesitation.

"But you know I’m old. With your fame, you could easily find a younger woman for yourself."

Aldric looked startled. "How can you say that? In my eyes, you’re more beautiful than any of the younger women I’m seeing!"

He was naturally thinking about the women he encountered during his everyday work, but Patricia seemed to understand his words differently.

She raised an eyebrow. "Have you been seeing any women recently?"

Aldric displayed a confused expression. "Of course, I have."

Patricia’s expression tightened. "When was the last time you were with another woman?"

Aldric became even more confused, clearly not understanding what she was hinting at.

"It was just before I met you today. Why?"

Chris facepalmed.

’This idiot...’

He already knew the old man was about to mess things up.

The woman seemed to have reached her limit as she was about to stand up.

"You know what, Aldric? I think that’s enough for today. I should probably..."

"Oh, Aldric! How unexpected to see you here!"

Chris suddenly jumped out and approached their table.

Aldric’s eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as he flinched and turned toward him.

"W-wha..."

"I know, I know! You must be just as surprised as I am!"

Chris completely ignored his reaction before turning toward the older woman, who was now looking at him awkwardly.

"Oh, and you must be Patricia!" He put on the friendliest smile he could muster. "I’ve heard a great deal about you!"

Patricia raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I’m indeed Patricia. Do we know each other, young man?"

"No, no, definitely not! But Aldric here has told me a great deal about you. Honestly, he couldn’t stop talking about you!"

Chris smiled as he extended his hand. "I’m Chris, by the way. Aldric’s friend."

Patricia accepted his handshake.

"Really? I didn’t know Aldric had such young friends."

Aldric was about to open his mouth, but Chris interrupted him again.

"That’s natural. Aldric here only ever talks about you when you’re not around. And I assume that when he’s with you, he doesn’t remember anyone else."

"Is that true?" Patricia asked, looking at Aldric in surprise.

Chris answered before the old man could.

"He might be a little shy to admit it, you know how he is, but it’s definitely true."

He then pulled out a chair and sat down, completely ignoring Aldric’s accusing gaze.

Looking at the old man, Chris raised an eyebrow. "Aldric, my friend, where were you just before you came here?"

Patricia also turned toward Aldric, waiting for his answer.

"Why are you asking this?" Aldric looked confused.

Chris simply smiled and kicked his leg under the table.

"Ug... I was with my secretary at my office. Why?"

Chris nodded. "Is that everything?"

Aldric raised an eyebrow.

"Yes? I woke up and went straight to my office. I was there with my secretary the whole time before coming here. Why?"

"And what were you doing with your secretary at the office?" Chris continued.

Aldric couldn’t understand why Chris was asking so many questions, but he figured that he must have a reason.

"We were preparing a report for Her Majesty about the recent events. We also arranged for someone to send you an invitation to the auction."

Chris nodded with a satisfied smile.

"So, when this lovely lady asked you if you had been with another woman recently, you answered yes because you were thinking about your work with your secretary?"

"Yes, obviously..."

Aldric suddenly paused. His eyes widened as he looked at Chris.

"Wait... Were you spying on our conversation!?"

Chris ignored him and turned toward Patricia.

"You see, he’s quite clueless. He didn’t understand what you were asking him, so he answered your question literally."

Patricia looked at Chris in surprise before turning toward Aldric.

For a moment, she remained silent.

Then she covered her mouth, trying to hold back her laughter.

"Pfft..."

A moment later, she couldn’t hold it anymore.

"Hahahahahahahaha!"

Her laughter echoed through the cafe.

Chris could even hear the twins and Aelia laughing behind him.

Aldric, who had been just about to reprimand Chris, was completely stunned. He even forgot what he had wanted to say.

After laughing for a while, Patricia shook her head.

"Hahaha... Young man, you seem to know Aldric even better than I do."

"That’s only natural." Chris nodded seriously. "He’s so deeply in love with you that he probably can’t express himself properly whenever he’s around you."

"Wait! Wait! WAIT!"

Aldric suddenly stood up and grabbed Chris by the arm, pulling him away from the table.

"What are you doing!?" Once they were far enough away, Aldric lowered his voice and glared at him.

"I could ask you the same thing, old man! You almost ruined your date!"

"What do you mean?"

Chris stared at him with an annoyed expression.

"When she asked you if you had been with another woman recently, she was asking whether you had been intimate with another woman! Not whether you had literally been with someone!"

Aldric froze. He slowly recalled their earlier conversation, going over each question in his head.

Then, in the next moment, his eyes bulged out.

He slapped his forehead.

"Really!?"

Chris nodded. "How are you so clueless, old man? I just saved your date!"

Aldric trembled for a moment before nodding repeatedly.

"Yes, you’re right! I don’t know how to thank you. Just thinking about what might have happened..." He shivered again.

Chris shook his head. "It’s fine. Not all is lost. Now let’s go back."

He grabbed Aldric’s hand and dragged him toward the table.

Aldric followed without resistance, still looking somewhat shaken.

When they returned, Chris smiled at Patricia. "I’m sorry for that."

"It’s okay, young man."

She nodded with a smile before turning toward Aldric. However, her expression soon became slightly accusing.

"Aldric, why didn’t you ever mention your friend to me? That’s not very polite."

Aldric quickly shook his head. "But I have mentioned him! I did!"

Patricia looked confused. "Huh? When?"

"He is Ashen Rain! I told you about him!"

Aldric was acting almost like a child who had just received a scolding.

Patricia’s eyes widened as she looked at Chris.

"He is!? What!? But he’s so young!"

Chris raised an eyebrow.

"You know about me?"

"How would she not know about you?" Aldric shook his head. "She’s the Prime Minister of Ihvell!"

Chris slowly turned his head toward Aldric as a vein bulged on his forehead.

"...What?"

Aldric felt increasingly uncomfortable under his gaze.

"What?"

"You senile old man!" Chris suddenly stood up and slapped the old man’s head.

"UGH!"

"I have listened to you talking about her for hours every day! If I got a coin every time you mentioned her, I would be rich by now! And you never remembered to mention such an important detail!?"

Aldric grabbed his head, looking wronged.

"Ugh! I just forgot!"

"Pfft..."

Patricia suddenly burst into laughter again.

This time, she laughed even harder than before, practically holding her stomach as she leaned back in her chair.

"Hahahahahahahahahaha!"

Chris and Aldric both turned toward her, their eyebrows raised. For a moment, even Chris couldn’t understand what was so funny.