In Estpolis Gaiden, Dekar finally gets to have his cake and eat it: He gets a canon romance at last, with Marin from Daros. Unfortunately, we don't get many scenes or much back story for those two.

In Daros, when asked by Torma how she and Dekar first met, Marin replies, "He's been coming to town since I was a child." Obviously she grew up with a crush on him. But when Dekar started to notice Marin romantically is a mystery. Chances are, it probably happened after she got her job in Gruberik. It's pretty hard to miss an exotic dancer.

In spite of her line of work, Dekar is very serious about Marin. He treats her like a lady. But he hasn't lost his characteristic machismo. He orders Marin to stay home where it's safe while he travels and does battle. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? We see this one more time at the end of the game. Dekar indirectly proposes marriage with one of the cutest lines in video game history: "You wanna be the one to pour my coffee everyday from now on?" He's the man and she's the woman, no doubts about it.

For her part Marin is okay with that, but she's a very spunky creature herself. She has a touch of hotheadedness, reminiscent of Tia from Estpolis II. The scene when Dekar started sweet-talking Rubius (old habits die hard) really strikes a resemblance to the scene where Maxim sees Selan for the first time and Tia fumes. But fire and spunk are traits Dekar seems to like in those closest to him, if his relationships in Est II are any indication. He would be bored with a woman who couldn't stand up to him. This Marin does, but only when she has to. She is just the right mix of gentleness and strength. She's nothing short of perfect for Dekar.

All solid couples have something in common. In Dekar and Marin's case, it's youthfulness. Marin's is obvious, but even at forty-six Dekar can still keep up with a younger crowd. He's young at heart. Also, Dekar and Marin are similarly outgoing characters, very social and fun-loving. They make a charming pairing.

The Dekar/Marin romance reveals some aspects of Dekar's character that were never seen in Estpolis II. For one thing, Dekar is very shy about emotional and romantic matters. When he and Marin have their heart-to-heart in Parcelyte, Dekar tries to keep it private, though Eldin and his friends are curious and try to listen in. After blurting out his proposal to Marin at the end, Dekar backpedals shortly afterwards, surprised by his own admission. This is uncharted territory for him!

There's the scene in Gratze fortress too. The sight of Marin's imprisonment drives Dekar to madness. In a touching reference to the Tower of Sacrifice scene in Estpolis II, he body slams the cell bars, trying to break them open. But because he's not as strong as he used to be, he fails. Still, Dekar doesn't give in to self-pity. He promises Marin he'll get the jail key instead. It's really interesting to see how stoic he is in that situation, given how much he prided himself on his physical strength. But maybe that's because he's more focused on freeing the one he loves. As it turns out, Dekar is so enraged by Marin's arrest that, after freeing her successfully, he announces that he will be joining the army to fight Gratze, effectively abandoning his original quest for the ancient Beast. The entire scenario shows Dekar's level of commitment to Marin. He is truly in love with her, to the point of throwing everything away to defend her honor. He's a regular knight in shining armor. Who would've thought that could come from such a flirtatious character?

In Estpolis II Dekar was a guest at Maxim and Selan's wedding in Parcelyte. Ironically, in Estpolis Gaiden he pops the question to Marin in front of the very same church. We don't see or hear Marin's reply, but Dekar guesses it to be yes. The last thing we see is a flock of white birds fly overhead — another, more subtle flashback — and somehow we know that his guess is correct.