Other than Charlie, news of the Black Dragon's death at the northern end was currently known only to Goddess Baldr and the executives of the Baldr Familia who witnessed it from a distance.
It would take a few more days for the official report from the Education District to reach the Guild, before that information—which would shake the very foundations of the world—finally exploded in Orario.
Therefore, when Charlie had just returned while holding Est's small hand, the atmosphere in Orario still felt peaceful and normal, as it usually did.
Of course, that peace was slightly disturbed by a familiar sight: members of the Loki Familia—this time assisted by personnel from the Ganesha Familia and several other Familias—were still busy patrolling every corner of the city with tense expressions.
They were still conducting a large-scale search to find Ais, who had vanished mysteriously one month ago.
"Ais-san... Where on earth are you...? I hope you are all right..."
In the middle of the street crowded with pedestrians, Charlie crossed paths with Lefiya.
The Elf girl wore an extremely anxious expression, with dark circles thickening underneath her eyes, clearly showing that she had not enjoyed a good night's sleep lately from worrying about the person she admired.
Lefiya walked right past Charlie without casting a single glance toward him.
The effect of the Law of Gods encompassing memories of Charlie worked flawlessly; Lefiya had forgotten everything about the white-haired man, including the fact that she had once accidentally witnessed things she shouldn't have seen in the past.
"Onii-chan... are you interested in that Elf?" Est asked suddenly in an innocent tone that was nonetheless full of curiosity, looking up at Charlie.
"It's not like that, Est. Just a passing thought." Charlie answered softly while shaking his head. "Come on, let's keep going."
Watching Lefiya's back move further away and disappear into the crowd, Charlie resumed his step, leading Est along the sidewalk.
A few moments later, their footsteps came to a stop right in front of a pleasant flower shop filled with a fragrant aroma.
"Welcome to the flower shop! What kind of flowers are you looking for today?"
A young woman named Anna Claes greeted them with a friendly smile from behind the counter. Her gaze then shifted toward Est, who was standing beside Charlie.
"My, what a very cute little girl! You have a truly adorable younger sister, Customer." Anna praised Est's beauty sincerely.
Due to the similar silver-white hair color shared between Charlie and Est, Anna misunderstood and assumed they were blood siblings.
Charlie: "😐"
He merely displayed a flat, emotionless expression, having no intention whatsoever to bother explaining the misunderstanding.
"Please prepare a bouquet of blue roses for me. Thank you."
"Certainly, please wait a moment."
Upon learning the type of flower requested, Anna began busily arranging the beautiful blue roses.
However, at the exact same time, she suddenly felt a strange, chest-tightening sensation as her eyes occasionally glanced toward the white-haired young man.
(How strange... What is happening to me...? I feel as if I have lost something exceptionally important...)
Anna, just like everyone else, had forgotten everything about Charlie.
She had forgotten that it was this very young man before her who had once gallantly rescued her when she was sold by her own father, who was trapped in accumulating gambling debts.
"Are you all right, Charlie?"
Est tightened her grip on Charlie's fingers.
Even though her Master's face looked calm, as a contracted Sword Spirit, Est could faintly feel that Charlie was in a bad mood.
"I'm fine, Est." Charlie whispered softly, smiling faintly to reassure the spirit girl. "I'm just... not used to being forgotten by the people who knew me. Well, that might not be a bad thing. Let 'her' live a peaceful, normal life free from danger."
The 'her' Charlie referred to was obviously Anna.
Charlie was not the type of dense protagonist like Orimura Ichika or Yuki Rito; of course he knew that Anna harbored special feelings toward him.
Even so, he had never responded to those feelings because he was fully aware that being close to someone like him, who was constantly targeted by danger, would severely jeopardize the life of an ordinary girl like Anna.
And his concerns had proven true. Enyo had taken advantage of the moment when Charlie was comatose and helpless to try to kill him.
"Here is your order, Sir. One beautiful bouquet of blue roses. That will be 80 valis."
Anna handed over the neatly arranged flower bouquet.
"Here is the money." Charlie handed over the valis coins corresponding to the price.
"Thank you very much for purchasing flowers at our shop."
"Huh...? What are you doing, Sir?"
Anna gasped in confusion and surprise.
Her eyes widened when she saw Charlie untying the bouquet of flowers he had just purchased.
The neatly arranged blue rose petals suddenly detached from their stems and floated beautifully in the air as Charlie deliberately scattered them upward, letting them be carried away by the gentle breeze in front of the shop.
Anna felt an intensely strong sense of déjà vu, as if she had seen this sight somewhere before.
"Don't worry, I am doing this merely as a certain ritual to honor someone. Don't think too much of it."
Charlie looked at the rose petals dancing as they were blown by the wind.
After that, he and Est turned around, leaving the flower shop behind and stepping away into the distance.
Anna couldn't turn her eyes away. Her gaze remained fixed on Charlie's back in a blank daze, until the figures of the white-haired young man and the little girl were completely no longer visible amidst the bustling crowd on the streets of Orario.
"What is wrong with me...?" Anna murmured softly, while slowly reaching out her hand to touch her own cheek. Her fingers were wet. Without her realizing it, tears had been flowing down and drenching her face. "Why... why do I feel so sad...?"
👨🏻💻Support me by reading on my Patreon: Patreon.com/cw/transenden or bit.ly/4uObLvf
☕Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/lovefanfiction
🛍️Benefits:
🎁Access 90+ chapters: [Main God Invades Naruto: No One is a Regular Uchiha Anymore]
🎁Access 30 chapters: [Journey to Planar Word]
🎁Access 150+ chapters: [Infinity Reincarnation]
📜Update Schedule:
📨Translated Fanfiction: 3 chapters per day
📨Original Fanfiction: 1-2 chapters per day
👍🏻Thank you so much for your incredible support, everyone!👍🏻