Chapter 112: The Promised Date
"The fucking apocalypse happened."
Elara stared at him.
Cain continued quickly.
"I already prepared some things for this evening, but then people started becoming zombies. We’ve spent all day fighting for our lives, and I just had to kill a 2nd Echelon Zombie King by myself."
His face carried absolute sincerity.
Unfortunately, the part about preparing things was complete bullshit.
Before the apocalypse, his financial condition had been miserable enough that choosing a restaurant had become a genuine strategic problem.
After Elara accepted, he had spent more time comparing prices than actually planning the date.
Fortunately, civilization had collapsed.
There was almost no chance Elara could verify whether he had made reservations anywhere.
Cain silently thanked the apocalypse for destroying the evidence of his poverty.
Elara’s expression softened slightly, although the pout remained.
"But you still forgot about it."
"That part is true."
Cain reached for her hand again.
This time, she did not immediately pull away.
He then gently drew her closer.
"But don’t you remember what I did after everything started?"
Elara looked at him.
Cain moved one loose strand of silver hair away from her forehead.
"The moment I had enough control over the situation at the dormitory, I immediately went looking for you."
Her irritation weakened.
Cain continued more quietly.
"Do you know why?"
Elara hesitated for a moment, then asked.
"Why?"
"Because you’re one of the most important people in my life, silly girl."
A faint blush immediately appeared across her cheeks.
Cain smiled and lightly pinched the tip of her nose.
"My cute silly little girl."
Elara froze for a moment, her face reddened further.
Cain allowed the silence to remain for a few seconds before adding casually,
"Of course, my precious little princess Anya and my parents are still ahead of you."
Elara stared at him,then a small laugh finally escaped her.
"Hehe..."
The tension disappeared almost immediately.
"You ruined it at the end."
"I’m just being truthful."
"But you could’ve waited a little longer." Elara pouted cutely.
Cain chuckled lightly, but instead of immediately bringing out the items again, he looked at Elara with a curious expression.
"Anyway... Why did you bring it up?"
"Huh?"
"The date." Cain tilted his head slightly. "Why did you suddenly mention it now?"
Elara looked away for a moment before answering, her tone carrying a trace of irritation that she clearly tried to hide.
"Because even if the date couldn’t happen anymore because of all this, you could’ve at least remembered it and compensated somehow."
"Compensated?"
"At least spend some time with me this evening or something."
Cain stared at her.
Elara’s pout deepened when she noticed his confusion.
"Instead, when you disappeared for a while, you came back carrying some random beautiful woman on your back when you were supposed to have a date with someone else tonight."
Cain finally understood what she meant.
Looking at Elara’s slightly puffed cheeks and the faint jealousy hidden behind her irritation, he could not help becoming amused.
"So that’s what this is about."
Elara immediately looked at him. "What do you mean, ’that’s what this is about’?"
"Nothing." Cain chuckled.
"You’re smiling."
"I’m not."
"You definitely are."
Cain laughed softly and raised his hand before gently patting the top of her head.
Elara tried to maintain her annoyed expression, but she did not push his hand away.
"Alright," Cain said. "I’ll spend time with you this evening."
The irritation in her eyes immediately weakened.
Cain continued before she could respond. "We’ll probably already be on the road by then, so I can’t exactly take you somewhere nice. But we can still stay together during the journey."
Elara looked up at him.
"And after we reach our hometown and figure out what happened to our families, I’ll make up for today properly."
Cain gently rubbed her silver hair.
"I’ll give you the date I promised."
The irritation in Elara’s eyes gradually disappeared.
"Really?"
"Of course."
"You won’t forget again?"
Cain paused for half a second.
Elara narrowed her eyes.
"Cain."
"I won’t forget."
"You hesitated for a second right there."
"I was thinking about how expensive this promise might become."
Elara stared at him before letting out a small laugh.
"That sounds more believable."
Cain smiled faintly.
Seeing her cheerful expression return, he finally took out the two Orange rewards again.
"Anyway, take them."
Elara’s gaze dropped toward the Scroll and Orb in his hands, but the happiness on her face quickly became complicated.
"Cain, I’m serious. You’ve already given me too much."
She crossed her arms beneath her chest and shook her head.
"The Scroll you gave me before granted me Fracture Sight, and then the next Scroll gave me another SS-rank Talent."
Her gaze returned to him.
"These things should be yours."
Cain suddenly felt a headache.
Evelyne had refused at first and now Elara was doing the same thing.
Apparently, giving away valuable items was becoming more troublesome than obtaining them.
Then an idea came to him.
"How about this? You accept them, and after we reach our hometown and make sure our families are safe, I’ll give you the best date you’ve ever had."
Her eyes changed immediately.
Cain noticed it.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"How about that?"
Elara quickly tried to hide her reaction.
"But that doesn’t change the fact that you should use these yourself."
"I don’t need them."
"Cain."
"I’m serious."
He stored the items temporarily and raised his right arm as he used his (Partial Dragon Manifestation) skill.
"Watch."
A heavy pulse spread from Cain’s chest toward his shoulder before continuing down his arm.
Elara’s expression changed.
The skin across Cain’s right hand darkened as small black scales emerged one after another. They covered the back of his hand and spread across his wrist, continuing along his forearm before stopping below the elbow.
His fingers lengthened slightly at the same time, while his nails transformed into curved black claws several centimeters long.
Elara instinctively stepped closer, her eyes filled with curiosity.