*Knock Knock*

Wolf tapped on the door of Mandy’s flat an hour before evening curfew. He examined the door. Subtle runes covered it, and a polished knob made of solid gold drew the guest’s attention. The entire building screamed ‘posh’, let alone the penthouse suite.

“Coming!” the door said, giggling in Mandy’s voice. It sounded like she was right there, in front of Wolf.

Five breaths later, Mandy opened the door. She smiled like a fairy. Her eyes shone like stars. She wore a black evening dress with a cut which reached up to the hip, revealing a hint of her buttock. The gown had deep cleavage. It went well with the long string of white pearls which hung around Mandy’s neck. The necklace drew the viewer’s attention as it sank all the way into the valley between Mandy’s breasts. And yet, Wolf hardly noticed it.

“They can open by themselves. But I wanted to greet you personally.” She glanced towards the runic door she’d opened.

Wolf noted the twin bumps showing on Mandy’s chest, but his gaze didn’t linger on them. Instead, he smiled insincerely. “Thank you.”

“Come in.” Mandy maintained her enthusiastic smile, pretending not to notice Wolf’s indifference. She spent plenty of time and money on beautifying herself. “I ordered dinner from the best restaurant on campus. Will’s rents takeaway containers with Spell Formations to maintain the serving temperature.”

Wolf followed Mandy inside while the door closed on its own. After several steps, Wolf realized Mandy wore no shoes, attempting to appear shorter. She did everything to please Wolf.

“So, how was your day?” Mandy tried to start a conversation, but Wolf killed it with a single word. “Fine.”

Mandy’s heart beat faster. Her mind raced, trying to think of a topic. She failed.

“I bought you a present when I got promoted.” Mandy laughed, but a trace of her unease seeped into her voice. She planned to present the gift after dinner.

“You shouldn’t have.” Wolf smiled a bit. He wasn’t interested in trinkets women bought their lovers.

I guess it’s frilly lingerie, or a fancy robe ornament. Wolf recalled the most common gifts Wayde told him women bought for men. Some they wore, some they gave.

Mandy bit her lip when she heard the lukewarm response. Her smile quivered as she regulated her breathing and led Wolf into the dining room.

There, on a round table for two, lay a spread of fancy dishes. Mandy pointed towards a seat and placed a ring box in front of it.

“That’s for you.” After presenting her offering, she sat across the table.

She can’t be proposing? Wolf looked at the box, then opened it, holding in a sigh. The silent sigh froze midway as Wolf’s eyes widened.

Instead of the expected ring, the box held a cherry-sized bone bead.

Tenth Order Monster Core? Wolf couldn’t believe his eyes. This costs ten thousand gold pieces, minimum. Where did she get the money?

Suddenly, a line Lord of Steel said came to Wolf’s mind. I don’t have women who take loans to buy trinkets for me.

“Did you take a loan for this?” Wolf trained his eyes on Mandy.

The woman blushed, then looked down and nodded her head, refusing to meet Wolf’s intense gaze.

Wolf breathed in deeply, unsure what to do. Mandy was obsessed with him. She loved him with all her heart. Even when she entered the depths of hell, when they broke her teeth and bones, she harbored nothing but unconditional love for him. Wolf wanted to keep Mandy at a distance because she scared him.

“Why?” he asked, attempting to understand this strange woman.

“I-I don’t know,” Mandy said, her voice shaking.

“I don’t know…” she repeated, but this time her voice didn’t quiver and she lifted her gaze, staring straight into Wolf’s eyes. “… why, but I love you. I love you more than life itself. If you told me to die, I would die. If you want to degrade and abuse me, I will still love you. But…”

Mandy’s throat clenched, and her head spun. “But what if… What if you pretend you love me? I will be happy. I will have no regrets in life. If I can buy that by slaving away, I will slave away even after death. I don’t dare dream about you having genuine feelings for me.”

As Mandy spoke, her voice trembled and her confidence faded with each word she uttered. Finally, tears ran down her face. “Gods. I’m pathetic, aren’t I?”

Wolf didn’t know what to say. Mandy’s words gave birth to an odd question in his mind. How do you pretend to love someone?

Then he asked himself something more important. How do you love someone?

He tried to understand how he showed Anna he loved her. Dancing? Looking out for her while they adventured together? I’ve done both for Barbara too, and I certainly don’t love Barbara one bit.

For the first time, Wolf realized something. He didn’t know how love felt. Was it that nervous feeling? But Wolf was equally giddy about the sword Cube of Fusing was fabricating. Was it the sensation of wanting to hang out with Anna? But he thought that about South as well, and nobody loved South. So what was love? Was it being naked and touching skin with Anna? He’d done that and more with countless prostitutes.

“I—” I what? he asked himself. “I can try. But you have to tell me what to do.”

Mandy’s lips twisted, frozen in an impossible cross between devastated sobbing and ecstatic glee. The man she loved was hopeless. Absolutely hopeless.

The stalemate lasted for a moment, then glee won. “Alright. You don’t say things like that. Women love genuine men, that much is true. But you are too…”

Mandy started talking. Words flooded out of her. She said more words than Wolf ever heard her say before. At some point, she told Wolf to eat, and they started eating their dinner.

With his first bite, Wolf swallowed the Monster Core Mandy bought him. His eyes bulged as the bead lodged itself in his throat. Wolf downed a glass South’s wine, helping the Monster Core down his throat. Mandy refrained from rolling her eyes. Instead, she continued chatting between bites of delicacies.

Wolf focused on Mandy and the dinner date, hardly focusing on digesting the Monster Core. The food was exquisite, and he learned a ton about women. Some words confirmed Wayde’s lessons. Others contradicted his tips.

“You’re actually quite a witty conversationalist.” Wolf smiled frankly while giving a questionable compliment.

“Thank you.” Mandy’s voice trembled with emotion. Her lips drew into a small, soul-stealing smile.

“I mean it. It’s not a compliment.” Wolf explained himself, but Mandy laughed.

“Please don’t think compliments can contain words ‘actually’ and ‘quite’. I wasn’t happy because of your words, with which you admitted you used to find me dull. I was happy because that was your first genuine smile this evening.” Mandy understood that to convey her meaning, her words needed to be like a maul to the head. She had to be direct and blunt when talking to Wolf. He was great at reading body language, but failed to notice nuances when choosing words.

Hearing her words, Wolf choked on smoked trout. Mandy didn’t seem offended, only slightly hurt. He wanted to change the topic by saying he’d smiled genuinely before, but those words failed to reach his mouth, because of the damn lie thing.

“I’m uncertain about that.” He tested Headmaster Smith’s advice, confirming that leaving room for error allowed him to speak half-lies, as long as he wasn’t positive about the matter.

Mandy smiled, giving him a warm look. “Are you enjoying the evening?”

She intentionally didn’t ask about food. She saw Wolf liked the meal. By coupling herself with the food, she hoped for an indirect compliment.

“It’s quite nice—” Wolf stopped himself before saying ‘actually’.

Mandy’s heart fluttered. “Would you like us to dine together tomorrow?”

However, she was bound for disappointment.

Wolf shook his head.

“Sorry.” He was surprised he could say the word, and even more surprised that he really did feel sorry. This dinner date was a lot more enjoyable than clearing out brothels. It wasn’t even the food. Wolf could cook something better.

“You’re going on another mission?” Mandy knew Wolf was a lot more powerful than he seemed, and that his publicly declared missions were a sham. He just took eight star missions the Headmaster issued for him, then did something else.

Even she figured out that Wolf was at least an Archmage. There was no way the Headmaster didn’t know. She kept it a secret though, even if it came at a price of disgusting rumors popping up about her.

Wolf heard the question. He hesitated for a moment, wondering why he was hesitating, then he shook his head.

“I’ll be leaving in two weeks. But I’ll be… busy until then.” Why do I feel uncomfortable saying this?

Mandy’s heart shook. She understood. No matter how she made it look she wasn’t immune to Wolf’s “activities”, nor reputation. But she had to accept reality. Just squeezing her way in the way she did was more than she could’ve hoped for when she first met him.

“In that case I have two requests,” she said, all playfulness and humor disappearing from her face. “I would like you to spend the night with me. And I would like you to try and talk with Miss Annabelle. If possible, you should treat her to dinner, the way I’m treating you.”