My Uncle is the Strongest Dark Mage

Chapter 60

May.

The season when spring, which had awakened winter, was coming to an end, and the scorching summer was approaching.

As if to prove it, Cain subtly retreated into the shade of a tree to escape the sunlight, which felt even hotter than it had during his last outing.

'Personally, I absolutely detest summer.'

He didn’t have any particularly fond memories of summer.

It wasn’t just a matter of heat.

It was smelly, humid, and irritating.

It was the perfect environment for corpses to decay even faster.

From the perspective of a necromancer who dealt with corpses, the swarming insects and the stench of rotting flesh that mercilessly assaulted his nostrils were things he could never get used to.

One of the most glaring drawbacks of being a Black Mage, in Cain’s opinion.

Thus, Cain avoided summoning the undead from his Dimensional Space as much as possible during hot weather.

"Hmm hmm hmm."

Unlike Cain, whose mood grew gloomier as summer approached, Arina hummed a cheerful tune, her spirits gradually rising as she walked.

She held Cain's hand tightly with one of her own while leisurely taking in the surroundings.

Raymond National Park.

The paths surrounding the massive lake were as crowded with people as its reputation would suggest.

Some sat in the shade of trees, taking a break, seemingly unconcerned about insects.

Others jogged silently, completely cutting themselves off from the outside world with sunglasses and wireless earphones.

There were even those who walked their dogs, holding the leash in one hand while staring at their smartphones with the other.

In this slice of nature nestled in the middle of a bustling city, people from all walks of life mingled, breathing life into the park.

'No wonder the housing prices around here are so high.'

Nearby was Benedict Academy, the top magic school in the Elemental Kingdom.

Adjacent to that stood Aven Hospital, a major medical facility.

Opposite those, in stark contrast to the urban landscape, lay this expansive national park where one could immerse themselves in nature.

With infrastructure like this, it was impossible for housing prices not to skyrocket.

Of course, Cain wasn’t reflecting on this because he had impulsively purchased one of those apartments without a second thought.

"Huh?"

As they basked in the warm sunlight and refreshing shade, a large crowd appeared before them.

"Is there some kind of event going on?"

Although there was no prior information, it wasn’t uncommon for singers to hold impromptu busking sessions or for TV programs to be filmed here, so it wasn’t particularly surprising.

However, for Cain, who had no interest in such things, it was nothing but a nuisance.

"It’s a charity event."

The one who answered Cain’s question was Arina.

She picked up a pamphlet that someone had dropped on the ground and responded.

"It’s organized by the church."

At Arina’s words, Cain’s gaze shifted to the pamphlet she was holding.

"Tsk."

He clicked his tongue.

A hope-spreading event aimed at calming people anxious about the rise in crime.

The pamphlet mentioned that numerous entertainers and nobles had attended to grace the occasion.

'This is clearly just a veiled attempt to target Black Mages.'

The Grant Department Store incident and, more recently, the Benedict Academy case—

Most of the crimes widely known to the public had been committed by Black Mages.

In other words, despite its polished presentation, this was one of those troublesome schemes by the church that Cain had been wary of.

Something that would only lead to unnecessary annoyance and fatigue if he got involved.

'The intention is good, though.'

Perhaps because he was a Black Mage himself,

he had no desire to get entangled in such trivial events.

"Look at this, Uncle. Laila Ruby is going to be here."

"......."

Before he could suggest heading somewhere else, Arina spoke again.

Laila Ruby, Arina’s favorite singer.

Perhaps because he had recently been neglecting her,

Cain found it hard to turn away when he saw her openly expressing her desire to see Laila.

"Let’s go somewhere else."

Perhaps remembering that Cain had mentioned feeling uneasy about the church before,

Arina forced a cheerful smile, suppressing her longing to see Laila.

Seeing this, Cain chuckled and pressed down on the crown of her head.

"A kid should act like a kid."

Who did she think she was, trying to be considerate?

A mere kid, acting all cheeky.

If you want something, say you want it.

If you want to see something, say you want to see it.

If you want to have it, say you want to have it.

Don’t hold back—whine a little, throw a tantrum.

That way, it’s easier for me to say no.

When you hold back so obviously and endure silently, it makes it harder for me to refuse.

"Let’s go see her. I’m not sure if we’ll get a good look, but if we’re lucky, we might catch a glimpse of her face from afar."

"Really? But......."

Wouldn’t it be troublesome if people found out her uncle was a Black Mage?

He seemed to dislike being caught by church members.

As if to dispel her worries, Cain pressed down on the crown of her head even harder.

"It’s fine."

Even the Elemental Kingdom’s Intelligence Agency hadn’t discovered that he was a Black Mage.

If he decided to conceal it, no one in this country could realize that Cain was a Black Mage.

Unless the Demon Lord himself showed up.

Even so, the only reason Cain had wanted to avoid this event was simply because he disliked the church.

'No way someone as busy as him would come all the way here.'

With all the chaos in the Dark District, he couldn’t possibly have time to attend a church-organized event like this.

If the Demon Lord had been attending, his name would have been prominently displayed on the pamphlet, outshining any entertainer or noble.

Nothing would instill more hope at a missionary event than the presence of the Demon Lord.

Furthermore, the attending nobles listed on the pamphlet weren’t any of the high-ranking nobles Cain knew; they were just lesser, obscure figures.

For the Demon Lord to attend such a minor event—

That would be absurd.

For someone like King Raymond or the Demon Lord to attend, it would have to be something on the scale of the "Baptismal Grounds," a grand event hosted by the church’s seven major denominations.

'Even if I were caught, I haven’t done anything wrong here, so there’s no reason to run.'

Unless it were the Hwan Empire or Yggdrasil, he hadn’t committed any crimes in this country, had he?

Taking Arina’s hesitant hand, Cain pulled her along as he took the lead.

To cut to the chase, they didn’t get to see the performance by Laila Ruby they had been looking forward to.

The temporary stage was empty, either because the performance had already ended or hadn’t yet begun.

But that didn’t mean they didn’t meet Laila Ruby at all.

"Oh?"

Was she more devoted to the event than expected?

Or was this part of the event as well?

Wearing an apron, Laila was distributing food to people when her eyes met those of Cain and Arina. She tilted her head in curiosity.

After a moment of contemplation, as if she had finally remembered who they were, she clapped her hands and approached them.

"You’re Cain and Arina, right?"

Had she remembered their names despite meeting them only once?

Arina, beaming brightly, walked up to Laila before Cain, who stood there with a slightly surprised expression.

"Yes! That’s right!"

When your favorite star remembers your name.

That feeling is something no one can understand unless they experience it firsthand.

Her face flushed as she grew increasingly excited.

For some reason, seeing her act as if she liked Laila more than himself made Cain feel a bit odd.

"We live nearby! So I was out for a walk with my uncle, and I heard that Miss Laila was performing here, so we came to see you!"

And Arina kept answering, even things that weren’t specifically asked.

On top of that, she addressed her as none other than 'Miss Laila.'

Where had that little kid gone, the one who had earlier suggested they just leave out of consideration for him?

If they hadn’t stopped by here, it truly would’ve been a disaster.

"Oh, really? Then that’s too bad. The performance just ended a little while ago."

From the start, this wasn’t an event centered around celebrity performances.

At most, the entertainers would sing a song or two.

It was more of a free service event with a focus on sharing a meal and encouraging each other, rather than hosting elaborate performances.

Since they couldn’t occupy the National Park all day, the event concluded with lunch at 2 p.m. before everyone parted ways.

"Still, since you’re already here, why don’t you stay and have some lunch?"

Laila said this to Arina, then turned her gaze to Cain and added.

"Cain, you should join us too. I’ll personally serve your meal."

"......."

"I haven’t eaten yet either, so why not eat together since we’re here?"

At her words, Arina and Cain’s gazes met simultaneously.

'What do you think? Personally, I’m full.'

'......Should we just have a little bit?'

They exchanged quick glances, silently communicating.

Honestly, he was full and just wanted to leave.

Was it because he felt bad about rejecting the offer?

He considered making an excuse for them, but seeing Arina shake her head, that didn’t seem to be the case either.

'Fine, let’s call this a memory.'

When else would he get a chance to share a meal with a superstar like Laila?

In that sense, this too was an opportunity to create a memory.

Something that Arina wanted to do with Cain.

Something Cain encountered for the first time that couldn’t be solved with money.

Was it because he had just realized the importance of the memories Arina valued?

Cain furrowed his brows but didn’t refuse as Laila led them along.

'Wasn’t going on vacation during summer break supposed to be enough?'

Parenting was difficult for this very reason.

He had no idea where to draw the line to satisfy the kid.

If only she kept asking for material things that could be solved with money, it would’ve been much easier, but instead, she sought emotional connections that Cain found hard to understand.

'Why does she enjoy doing things with me?'

Cain knew himself too well, objectively.

He was a broken personality, someone who could never be loved by anyone unless they were as crazy as him.

Why, then, did she stick so closely to someone like him?

After a moment of thought, the conclusion he came to was that Arina must have terrible judgment when it came to people.

'Honestly, it’d probably be easier to face off against the Empress.'

Well, might as well just do everything she asks for.

That was the realization he’d come to after being thrown into this new trial called parenting over the past two years.

After all, Arina wasn’t the kind of kid who would become spoiled just because she was indulged.

"......."

As they walked further in, the smell of food began to tickle their noses.

The menu was simple.

White rice, boiled pork belly, soybean paste soup made from the broth of the meat, and freshly prepared kimchi.

People who seemed to be from a church were smiling as they energetically cooked the food, while passersby stood in line to receive their meals.

Most of those people appeared to be homeless individuals living on the streets.

"Meals are ready."

As they sat for a moment and looked around, Laila appeared before them with two meal trays in hand.

Following behind her, also carrying two trays, was her manager, whom they had met before.

"Eat up. They gave us extra meat as a special reward for the performance."

When they had only seen her dressed up for the performance preparations, they hadn’t realized, but her personality was surprisingly down-to-earth.

The food wasn’t prepared by professional chefs; it was mostly made by housewives unfamiliar with cooking in such large quantities.

Even if the ingredients were of good quality, the food’s basic taste couldn’t help but be somewhat lacking.

Yet, the way she looked at the food as if it were delicious was an unexpectedly unpretentious side of her, not befitting her superstar status.

'That’s a relief.'

And then there was the fact that, unlike other entertainers or nobles who had already left, she stayed behind to help clean up.

How she treated fans like Arina.

It seemed that, in some ways, Arina did have a good eye for people.

......But then, what about me?

Did she really have good judgment, or bad judgment?

It’d be nice if she could just stick to one.

Cain, lost in thought, rested his chin on his hand as he stared at the food Laila had brought over.

"......Wait, don’t eat it."

He stopped Arina, who was about to lift her spoon to the soybean paste soup.

The boredom and apathy that had filled his eyes earlier were now mixed with irritation and intrigue.

"What a boring little trick they’ve pulled. These bastards."

One corner of his lips curled up.

This event, it seemed, wasn’t just some mundane gathering after all.