Journey to Planar World

After walking several dozen meters away from Twilight Manor, Charlie slowly reached out and took Ais’s fingers in his hand.

The golden-haired girl’s body tensed stiffly for a moment in surprise, but she neither resisted nor pulled her hand away.

The two of them continued walking down the sidewalks of Orario hand in hand, looking like an ordinary couple enjoying their morning together.

Such an intimate sight should have immediately caused a huge commotion along the street and drawn the attention of everyone who saw them.

After all, Ais Wallenstein’s reputation as the renowned Sword Princess had made her the object of countless men’s affections throughout the world.

Yet the expected commotion never happened at all.

The other pedestrians passing around them completely ignored their existence.

Not a single person realized that one of Orario’s most prominent figures was walking affectionately with a strange man.

Clearly, this completely nonsensical anomalous phenomenon was caused by Charlie’s ability to manipulate the perceptions of anyone who saw the two of them.

”Ais, what does it feel like to be my Familiar?” Charlie asked, breaking the silence in a gentle voice.

Ais was now officially Charlie’s Familiar, sharing the same soul bond as Mahiru and Kei.

This exclusive bond explained why Ais’s memories and perception were completely unaffected by the distorting effects of Charlie’s Transcendent power, unlike the people back at Twilight Manor.

As for exactly when Charlie had turned Ais into his Familiar, the answer lay in the crucial moment during his journey into the past.

”...”

Hearing the question, Ais fell silent for a moment before finally answering in her usual flat tone.

”Strong. Very strong.”

”The power flowing through my body right now... reminds me of Maxim from Zeus Familia.”

However, the excitement brought by the tremendous surge in power she had just experienced quickly faded.

Ais’s gaze dimmed, and her expression turned gloomy.

”All this time, the only reason I pursued strength was to get revenge.”

Her voice trembled faintly with the wounds of her past.

”Revenge against the One-Eyed Black Dragon that took my father and mother away from me...”

Ais stopped walking, causing Charlie to stop as well.

The girl turned around and looked directly into Charlie’s eyes with an intensely serious expression.

”The mysterious person who defeated the Black Dragon... was you, wasn’t it, Charlie?”

Hearing his answer, Ais’s expression remained calm, without any significant disturbance.

She had already suspected this from the very beginning.

As far as she was concerned, there was no one in the entire world who currently possessed enough power to fight and bring down the Black Dragon except Charlie.

Even the two strongest Level 7 adventurers in existence, Ottar and Leon, were no exception. They still would not be capable of doing it.

After all, history itself had already provided undeniable evidence.

Even the legendary Level 9 and Level 8 adventurers from the golden age fifteen years ago, supported by dozens of other First-Class Adventurers, had proven themselves no match for the ferocity of the Black Dragon.

Ais slowly lowered her head, allowing her golden bangs to conceal the emptiness in her eyes.

The heavy burden she had carried all this time suddenly vanished, leaving behind a vast emptiness in her heart.

”Charlie... what should I do now?”

Her voice sounded incredibly fragile and faint.

”I’ve lost my purpose in life.”

”I don’t know what I’m supposed to do anymore after this.”

”My obsession and my entire pursuit of strength all this time... they’re meaningless now.”

Seeing Ais looking so lost and directionless, Charlie reached out and gently patted the girl’s head.

As he stroked Ais’s soft golden hair, an amusing thought crossed Charlie’s mind.

Back when he was still an ordinary human in his previous life, he had always wondered why protagonists in anime loved patting female characters on the head so much.

But now that he had experienced it firsthand, he finally realized that there was indeed something incredibly addictive about doing it!

”Listen, Ais.”

Ais slowly raised her face to look at Charlie.

”The past is the past. We should always focus on the present and look toward the future.”

”As long as the future is better than the present, then all the hardships we’ve endured and all the suffering we’ve borne will have been worth it.”

Charlie paused his stroking for a moment, staring intently into Ais’s golden pupils.

”Revenge isn’t a worthy way to spend the rest of your life.”

”Your life has now returned to the right path, and your future will certainly become far better than this.”

Deep down in his heart, Charlie was actually self-aware.

For a man who had been a cold-blooded avenger in his previous life, he had absolutely no moral right to advise someone else against seeking revenge.

If someone came to him and asked what it felt like after successfully taking revenge, Charlie would answer without the slightest hesitation that it was the best feeling in the world!

To hell with that emptiness and hollowness in one’s heart!

Even so, Charlie selfishly did not want Ais to spend the rest of her life solely for the sake of revenge.

Well, that’s what you call a double standard.

As long as someone still identifies themselves as human and possesses emotions, it is impossible for them not to apply double standards to the people around them.

And Charlie was no exception.

Ais stared intently at him, searching for some kind of answer in the young man’s eyes.

”Then... what should I do now, Charlie?”

Hearing that innocent question, Charlie slowly moved his hands from Ais’s head and then cupped both palms against her soft, smooth cheeks.

The touch immediately caused Ais’s face to flush faintly.

”Just follow your heart.”

”The right choice can never be known from the very beginning, but...”

”Isn’t it far better to regret trying than to regret never doing anything at all?”

Those simple yet deeply meaningful words struck the deepest part of Ais’s heart.

Her golden eyes immediately lit up, and at the same time, memories of her childhood suddenly came rushing back. She remembered the happy moments she had spent with her parents long ago, when the warmth of her mother had always enveloped her in an embrace.

A new, pure desire slowly began to grow within her heart.

Ais looked at him with eyes now filled with a newfound determination.

”I want to become a wonderful mother, just like my mother was.”

”...!!!”

Charlie was momentarily startled by the unexpected dream that had come from the mouth of a girl who usually seemed to know nothing but how to swing a sword. However, his surprise was quickly replaced by a mischievous smile spreading across his lips.

”If that’s what you want, I’ll definitely help you make it happen, Ais.”

”I’ll make sure you can give birth to lots of children like a pig someday, complete with adorable little kids running around all over the place with us.”

Hearing that ridiculous comparison, Ais immediately puffed out both cheeks in annoyance. She slapped Charlie’s hands away from her cheeks, her face flushed with embarrassment and irritation.

”Who are you calling a pig, huh?!” Ais grumbled angrily, glaring at him, who merely chuckled in satisfaction at having successfully teased her.