How to Rent an Apartment After Defeating the Demon King

The workday ended without incident. The last client had signed the paperwork, the truck had returned to the depot on schedule, and after a few minutes of tidying up, all the equipment was back where it belonged. Patrick gave the inside of the truck one final check while Karim closed the rear doors and Aldric folded the last of the moving blankets. Lucas, meanwhile, leaned against a crate and watched the others finish up.

Patrick put the keys away in the office, Karim picked up his bag, and Aldric slung his own over his shoulder.

“Want to grab a drink?” Lucas asked.

“Now?” Patrick asked.

Lucas shrugged.

“Why not?”

Karim checked the time.

“I can stay for a little while.”

“All right.”

Lucas turned to Aldric.

“You?”

“Yes.”

Lucas pulled out his phone.

“I’ll ask Emma.”

He sent a message directly to the group chat.

Lucas: Anyone up for a drink?

Emma: Where?

Lucas: Terrace near the depot.

Emma: On my way.

Patrick glanced at his screen.

“That was quick.”

They left the depot. The bar was less than a ten-minute walk away, on the corner of a small tree-lined square. They had been there several times before, and the waiter recognized them as they approached.

“The usual table?”

Lucas smiled.

“We have a usual table now?”

The waiter pointed to a table off to one side of the terrace.

“You almost always sit there.”

“Apparently we do,” Patrick said with a smile.

They sat down. Patrick took the chair facing the street, Karim sat to his right, Lucas across from him, and Aldric chose the seat beside the one Emma usually took.

The waiter set the menus on the table, but Lucas raised a hand.

“The usual for me.”

“Beer?”

“Yes.”

Patrick ordered the same, as did Karim, while Aldric ordered a lemonade.

The waiter was about to leave when Aldric added,

“And a non-alcoholic cocktail, please.”

“Since when do you drink cocktails?” Lucas asked.

“It isn’t for me.”

“Emma?” Karim asked.

“She should be here soon.”

“We’re getting really predictable…”

“Habits make certain decisions easier.”

“That is an incredibly Aldric way of justifying the fact that we always order the same thing,” Patrick said.

They did not have to wait long before Emma appeared at the far end of the street. She crossed the square toward the café, and Lucas raised a hand to show her where they were sitting.

“Over here!”

“You started without me…”

“You were two minutes late. And Aldric already ordered your drink…”

Emma stopped as she took off her jacket.

“What did he order?”

“A non-alcoholic cocktail,” Aldric replied.

“How did you know I wanted that?”

“That’s what you usually order when we come here.”

“Okay… You even know my order now.”

“It hasn’t changed much.”

“Personally, I find that a little concerning…”

“No one asked for your opinion,” Emma replied.

“As usual…”

Aldric pulled out the empty chair beside him.

“You can sit here.”

“Thanks.”

The waiter returned with their drinks. He handed out the three beers, set the lemonade in front of Aldric, then placed the non-alcoholic cocktail in front of Emma.

The sun was already beginning to sink between the buildings. Warm light still covered the façades, but the shadows across the square were growing longer. Several tables were occupied by groups having drinks after work, couples, and a few tourists looking at their phones.

Lucas took a sip.

“So, interesting day?”

“Not really. Two viewings, three calls, and one file that’s still missing a document.”

“A normal day,” Patrick said.

“Exactly. What about you?”

“Two moves. Nothing particularly difficult.”

Lucas put a hand over his heart.

“When you put it like that, it sounds like we barely did anything.”

“We moved several tons of furniture and boxes.”

“There we go. Much better…”

Lucas told them that his usual soccer team had lost again, though he spent most of the story explaining why one of his teammates had missed a chance that he considered “impossible to miss.”

“How many minutes did you play?” Patrick asked.

“Almost the entire game.”

“And did you score?” Karim asked.

“That’s not the point…”

Aldric looked at Lucas.

“So, no.”

Emma burst out laughing, and Lucas sighed.

“I’m going to stop telling you about my games…”

“You say that every week,” Patrick said, taking a sip.

“And yet I keep doing it…”

The waiter passed their table again, collected several empty glasses, and asked whether they wanted anything else. Patrick looked around the table before Lucas spoke up.

“Another round?”

Karim nodded, and Emma raised a hand.

“Same for me.”

Aldric glanced at his nearly empty glass.

“Another lemonade, please.”

The waiter took their orders and walked away. The conversation shifted when Emma spotted a couple walking past with a small dog wearing a jacket.

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“Look at that.”

Aldric followed her gaze.

“Why is it wearing clothes?”

“To keep warm…”

“The temperature doesn’t seem low enough to require that.”

“Maybe its owners just think it looks cute.”

“It restricts the movement of its front legs.”

“He’s analyzing a dog’s outfit now…”

“Wait until he starts assessing the safety of the leashes.”

Aldric watched the small dog walk away.

“That one appears adequate.”

Emma burst out laughing.

The second round arrived. Lucas grabbed his glass before the waiter had even finished setting down the others.

“Thanks.”

The waiter smiled.

The sun continued to sink. A family sat down a few tables away, a man walked his dog around the square, and two teenagers stopped in front of a shop window, laughing.

“Have you noticed that guy over there?” Lucas asked.

“Which one?” Patrick asked.

Lucas pointed to a man walking while staring at his phone.

“That’s the third time he’s walked past us.”

“Maybe he’s looking for an address,” Emma said.

“He does appear to be disoriented,” Aldric added.

“Are you going to help him?” Karim asked.

“He doesn’t appear to be in any immediate difficulty.”

“Good…”

A few minutes later, the man walked past them for a fourth time. This time, even Patrick laughed.

Lucas raised his glass.

“I knew I was right.”

“He really is lost,” Emma said.

“He just stopped in front of a map.”

Patrick nodded.

“Problem solved.”

The conversation soon moved on to another topic. Emma mentioned a new restaurant she had seen near her agency, and Lucas immediately suggested going there the following week.

Patrick raised an eyebrow.

“We’ve barely started this drink.”

“So?”

“You’re already planning the next outing.”

Lucas shrugged.

“You have to plan ahead.”

“That sounds unusually organized coming from you.”

Lucas pointed at Aldric.

“This is why I avoid complicated words now.”

The second round came to an end as well. The waiter returned to their table.

“Can I get you anything else?”

Lucas eventually raised a hand.

“One last round?”

“One last round,” Patrick agreed.

The daylight was fading now. The terrace lights came on, and the illuminated shop windows began to reflect off the pavement.

The third round arrived. Lucas clinked glasses with Patrick, Karim picked up his drink, and Emma thanked the waiter.

Aldric turned toward Emma. She was listening to Lucas tell another story and was already smiling before he had even reached the end. Aldric knew the way she laughed when she initially tried to hold it back, the way she narrowed her eyes when she wasn’t convinced, and the way she asked certain questions when she already almost certainly knew the answer.

Lucas finished his story.

“And obviously, no one believed me.”

“Because it wasn’t true,” Patrick said.

Lucas placed a hand over his chest.

“Exaggerated.”

“Very exaggerated,” Karim added.

Lucas turned to Aldric.

“Whose side are you on?”

“Theirs.”

“Betrayal…”

They moved on to a movie, a restaurant, Yanis’s upcoming return to school, and one of Emma’s clients who had called three times to ask the same question. The square in front of them remained busy. Cars passed by, a waiter cleared a nearby table, and a woman walked two dogs along the pavement.

Aldric smiled, and Lucas noticed.

“Why are you smiling?”

“No reason.”

“That’s new.”

Emma smiled.

“Leave him alone.”

Lucas raised his hands.

“All right.”