Astraea brought Kei away from Empyrean Citadel with the purpose of introducing her to her acquaintances.
To rebuild Astraea Familia, the first step was to spread that news—and who better to start with than her friends?
Besides that, Astraea also walked around Orario, hoping perhaps to find someone worthy to invite into her Familia.
It should be remembered that Orario was the center of the world. Hundreds of people from various countries came every day with the aim of chasing wealth, power, fame, or simply a better life—This situation was similar to village people migrating to big cities, full of hope and ambition.
Another purpose of this visit was for her god and goddess acquaintances to get to know Kei. This would be beneficial for the girl's adventuring life later—receiving help, avoiding unnecessary conflicts from other Familias, and building healthy networks.
After all, Astraea Familia had a very good reputation, especially among civilians. Not many adventurers dared look for trouble with them, because that was the same as becoming a public enemy.
Kei was different from Charlie. She couldn't last long as an adventurer adventuring alone; she needed teammates. Therefore, Astraea did all this to pave the way for relationships for her.
Charlie was an anomaly. He could survive as a solo adventurer without companions, even didn't need a Main God to update his status!
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Still sitting in the terrace chair, Charlie saw Est get down from the Black Turtle's shell. With light steps, the little girl approached and immediately sat on his lap.
Aishia glanced briefly at that close interaction without much comment. Her calm voice broke the silence.
"Charlie, don't you plan to increase the number of Spirits again?"
"That's sudden, Aishia. Why do you think so?" Charlie asked back while continuing to stroke Est's long and soft hair.
"I'm just thinking Charlie needs to contract with more Spirits." With her red eyes with pink nuances, Aishia looked at him deeply. "In the previous Quest, you were overwhelmed facing such a large number of enemies. Even after summoning all the Spirits you had already contracted, it only slightly changed the situation."
She paused for a moment, then continued with a more serious tone.
"So, my suggestion: don't just focus on increasing your own combat power. You also need strong companions to help you."
Aishia prioritized Charlie above everything, including herself. She didn't want to see him exhausted to the point of nightmares like before.
"My recommendation is to contract with the Spirits in the Date A Live Planar World. There, there are many Spirits, and each one's power is not weak. So, after the next Quest is complete, request a Reward in the form of access to that world."
Hearing that, Charlie smiled wryly. "Aishia, you seem to be missing something."
"Hm?" Aishia tilted her head, confused.
"..."
Est remained silent, not understanding the complexity of their conversation, just leaning her head on Charlie's broad chest.
Seeing her confused expression, Charlie smiled wryly and began to explain:
"In fact, when I think about adding Spirits, the first thing I consider is actually the Date A Live anime, not the Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance anime. Now, then why did I end up choosing the latter?"
"..."
Aishia was silent, thinking about that question. However, before she found an answer, Charlie answered in a soft voice:
"I'm afraid."
"Afraid...? What is Charlie afraid of..."
Aishia's words stopped suddenly, as if she remembered something.
"It seems you've guessed it. That's right, what I'm afraid of is the Origin Spirit, Takamiya Mio."
Charlie closed his eyes, visualizing the figure of Takamiya Mio whose beauty was equal to or even surpassed Aishia's.
"To resurrect the man she loved, Takamiya Shin, Mio took extreme action: conceiving Shin and giving birth to him, dividing her power into ten parts, and creating ten Spirits from those parts."
Charlie sighed heavily.
"Those ten Spirits are an important part of her plan for Shin, or as we know him, Itsuka Shido. If I take one of them, I'm worried Mio will be very angry and chase me. And with Mio's power, it's not impossible she could come to this world."
He didn't doubt Mio's ability to do it.
The Origin Spirit's power level was no less than the King of Gods in any prominent mythology. If Mio really came to the Danmachi Planar World, even if the gods unsealed their Arcanum, only a few could match her.
Perhaps only Zeus who was somewhere and Odin with his Gungnir still in Heaven who could suppress an existence like Mio.
The combination of all those factors was what finally made Charlie cancel his intention to target Spirits from the Date A Live Planar World, and chose to focus on the Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance Planar World which had more manageable risks.
"I see. Charlie thought it through carefully, while I thought shallowly. Sorry, I almost put you in danger."
Realizing the terrible consequences she had almost suggested, Aishia lowered her head. Her usually calm face was now shrouded in deep guilt. She didn't expect that her ambition to make Charlie stronger could trigger the anger of a universe-level entity like Takamiya Mio.
Seeing the girl's mood worsen, Charlie extended his hand, gently patting Aishia's head to calm her down.
"Don't overthink it. You're not wrong, Aishia. What you did is a form of your care for me, that alone already makes me happy."
"Charlie..."
Aishia looked at him, her soft red eyes sparkling with warm feelings.
The atmosphere between them suddenly became melancholic, but that moment didn't last long. Their silence was interrupted by a flat and innocent voice from Est.
"Are you two going to kiss? After Aishia, my turn is next."
"Cough! Cough... Where did you learn such things, Est?!"
Charlie choked, almost losing his balance. Awkwardly, he stroked Est's soft cheek.
"I didn't learn it from anyone. Occasionally I see Onii-chan kissing Aishia or the human named Kei." Est answered without expression, but there was an implied tone of jealousy. "That's unfair, only I'm being ignored."
Looking up with her clear eyes, Est lodged a protest for feeling excluded.
"I want it too."
"Eh... That's too early for you, Est. Although your actual age is already legal, your appearance makes my conscience feel guilty if I do something that violates morals to you." Charlie stammered, truly feeling awkward facing that request.
"Does Onii-chan hate me?"
Est's eyes began to glisten, looking like a puppy that had just been hurt by its owner.
"Ugh... Haaah..."
Charlie's heart wavered. He could never withstand women's tears, especially from a figure as small as Est. While sighing deeply, he finally surrendered. He bent down and kissed Est's forehead gently.
"For now, you have to be satisfied with this first."
"Alright, I have to continue training. Hundred Gauntlets is a causality manipulation ability. I want to try some other applications, besides teleportation."
Without waiting for further reaction from the Sacred Sword Spirit, Charlie carefully lowered Est from his lap, then walked somewhat hastily to the middle of the yard, as if fleeing from that embarrassing situation.
Est remained sitting in the chair, her hand touching her forehead that still felt warm from Charlie's kiss. Her expression was slightly confused, but there was a small smile unconsciously blooming on her lips.
"It feels strange... but that's not bad."
She couldn't describe that feeling accurately. Anyway, one thing was certain: she didn't hate it.