Ais did not know why Charlie was gazing at her with a look so profound and brimming with nostalgia.
After all, as far as Ais could recall, they hadn't been parted for very long since the last time they met.
Yet, the warmth from the man's chest felt immensely soothing. Without hesitation, Ais rested her head and returned Charlie's embrace, wrapping her small arms around his neck.
The two held each other tightly, sharing their body warmth like a pair of teletubbies unwilling to be separated.
"..."
The silence of the forest seemed to transform into a private realm belonging exclusively to the two of them.
After a few moments had passed, Charlie remained in his position, cradling Ais in his arms.
Ais, held securely within the support of Charlie's sturdy arms, did not ask to be set down.
They exchanged glances in a silence laden with meaning.
The falling leaves brushed by the morning breeze bore witness to just how intimate the distance between their faces was right now.
Ais's delicate eyelashes fluttered softly. Slowly but surely, the blonde-haired girl closed both of her eyes, tilting her head slightly upward with a soft breath held in her throat.
If Charlie failed to understand the meaning behind the girl's sweet, yielding gesture, he would truly be an insensitive blockhead—no different from Yuuki Rito, Ichijou Raku, or the other loser protagonists who so often wasted golden opportunities.
But Charlie was not them.
With a faint smile curling on his lips, Charlie brought his face closer. Without a single shred of hesitation, he landed his lips upon Ais's soft lips.
"Mmph..."
Ais gently squeezed Charlie's shoulders as that initial contact brushed against her lips.
The kiss was unhurried, beginning as a gentle press that gradually turned exceedingly tender and deep.
Charlie savored the softness of Ais's lips with all the pent-up longing drawn from the future—the longing of a man who had almost lost his soulmate forever.
Ais, entirely inexperienced in such matters, could only innocently follow along, letting Charlie guide every movement.
Their tongues intertwined softly within the intoxicating warmth, spreading a sweetness that sent a violent surge through Ais's chest.
Ais's stifled, short gasps met Charlie's warm embrace, composing a symphony of enamored passion in the midst of the quiet wild.
After several minutes that felt like an eternity, Charlie slowly broke the lock of their lips.
A thin strand of saliva connected their lips before finally snapping in the air.
Charlie supported and lowered Ais's feet back onto the grassy ground.
"Hah... Hah... Hah..."
Ais appeared completely out of breath, her chest heaving as she inhaled oxygen, while her usually pale cheeks now flushed a deep crimson like a ripe apple. Her golden eyes looked slightly glassy from the intense kiss.
"Ais." Charlie wiped the lingering trace of moisture at the corner of the girl's lips with his thumb. "Since today's mood is so perfect... how about we go on a date? Just walking through this forest together."
Looking up, Ais touched her own lips, which still felt somewhat numb and warm. She nodded softly without hesitation.
"Mhm... A date... together with Charlie."
They began walking side-by-side along the natural path deep within the dense forest.
Charlie firmly held the fingers of Ais's right hand, intertwining their fingers together tightly.
Ais did not reject him; instead, she tightened her grip, enjoying the warmth of Charlie's large palm.
"Why did Charlie suddenly show up in this forest?" Ais asked innocently as her steps treaded upon dry twigs. Her voice sounded clear and light. "Didn't you say yesterday that you had business elsewhere?"
Charlie chuckled softly. He chose to keep secret the reality that without his presence from the future timeline, Ais should have died strangled by the Garouz monster just a few minutes ago.
To Charlie, that dark past had been erased, and there was no use burdening Ais's mind with such a horrific fate.
"Just a whim," Charlie replied casually, his tone laced with a white lie. "Suddenly, my heart felt like seeing you. Besides, wasn't I the one who told you to take a vacation in this forest? If I left you alone here for too long, I might miss you to death."
Ais's cheeks flushed red again upon hearing such a blunt expression of affection. She lowered her head, watching their footsteps moving in unison.
"Charlie, you flatterer..." she muttered softly, though a tone of unhidden happiness echoed behind her words.
"I'm serious, Ais," Charlie said with a chuckle. "Look around you. Isn't this forest scenery far more beautiful when we enjoy it together than when you were sitting alone in front of the campfire earlier?"
Ais stopped her steps for a moment, looking around at her surroundings.
The lush green foliage allowed the morning sunlight to pierce through in golden beams of light.
The gurgling sound of a river flowing in the distance merged with the singing of wild birds, creating a natural harmony that soothed the heart.
"Mhm. More beautiful." Ais admitted honestly. She then gazed at Charlie with her clear golden eyes. "When I'm alone... this forest feels so vast and lonely. But when Charlie is here... it feels like being in a peaceful place."
"In that case, how about we walk all the way to the end of that river stream over there?" Charlie suggested, pointing toward the gap between the trees to the west. "I hear the sound of a small waterfall. I'm sure that place is perfect for relaxing."
"Mhm," Ais replied briefly, yet her footsteps felt far lighter and more cheerful than usual.
As they walked through the gradually sloping forest vegetation, they exchanged light stories.
Ais shared how tedious the non-stop combat training routine at the Loki Familia was, as well as how Loki often attempted to leap over the bathroom wall just to peek at her—which invariably ended with a kick from Riveria.
"Riveria always gets angry whenever Loki starts acting up."
"And Tiona is always making a fuss about her chest size compared to Tione's. Sometimes Orario feels very noisy."
"But you love them, don't you?" Charlie asked as he parted the tall bushes in front of them to clear a path for Ais.
"Mhm. They are family," Ais answered softly. "But... being here with Charlie feels different. There's no noise, no monsters that have to be killed... just us."
"Then enjoy this time to your heart's content," Charlie responded lightly. "I'll be right by your side throughout this date."
Before long, the whispering sound of flowing water transformed into a gentle, soothing rumble.
They finally arrived at a hidden area deep within the forest.
A natural tiered pool with water so clear that the rocks at the bottom were distinctly visible was fed by a small waterfall cascading down from a moss-covered stone cliff. At the edge of the pool stretched a soft, short grassy meadow dotted with colorful wildflowers.
Ais halted her steps, her eyes sparkling at the sight of the hidden beauty.
"So beautiful..."
"Perfect for our date spot, right?" Charlie smiled.
He took off the outer cloak he was wearing and spread it across the clean patch of grass, creating a comfortable mat for them to sit on.
Charlie then sat upon the cloak and patted the area beside him, inviting Ais to join.
Ais walked closer and sat down beside Charlie. However, rather than sitting normally, the girl stretched out her legs clad in long black stockings and naturally leaned her body and head against Charlie's broad chest.
Charlie wrapped an arm around Ais's shoulders, stroking her blonde hair that felt as soft as silk.
"Ais," Charlie called softly as his fingers combed through strand after strand of that blonde hair. "Have you ever pictured the future?"
"The future?" Ais blinked her eyes, staring toward the whirlpool in the basin. "In the past... I only thought about getting stronger. Killing monsters, seeking revenge, and finding my mother. But..."
She paused her sentence, clutching the fabric of Charlie's shirt over his chest.
"But recently... ever since I met Charlie... those thoughts started to change."
"Changed how?"
"I want to keep seeing you. I want to walk with you like this... not just today, but for a very long time." Ais looked up, gazing at him with pure honesty. "Is that called greed?"
Charlie's heart surged powerfully upon hearing that sincere confession.
Remembering how the Ais of the original timeline had been forced to perish in solitude, hearing Ais's buried desire right now made the love in his chest overflow uncontrollably.
"That's not greed, Ais," Charlie whispered with absolute certainty. "That is a promise. And I promise I will fulfill that wish."
Ais smiled—a rare and breathtakingly beautiful smile capable of melting the soul of anyone who witnessed it.
She tilted her face higher, voluntarily reuniting her lips with Charlie's once more.
This second kiss felt far more intimate and was filled with a deep outpouring of emotion.
There was no longer any lingering awkwardness between them.
Ais shifted her body position until she was now kneeling upon Charlie's cloak, hugging the man's neck tightly while Charlie wrapped both arms around Ais's slender waist, drawing her gorgeous body closer without a gap between them.
The world around them seemed to dissolve. All that remained were their racing, warm breaths, the rustle of the forest wind carrying the scent of flowers, and the beat of two hearts pulsing to the very same rhythm.
The sweet atmosphere of the date beside the natural pool gradually transformed into an ever-burning wave of passion beneath the open sky.
The morning sunlight piercing through the gaps in the leaves served as a natural curtain, blessing the union of the two lovers in the wild.
Upon the thick cloak spread across the soft meadow, Charlie slowly laid Ais down with utmost care.
The girl's long blonde hair fanned out across the fabric, resembling a shimmering golden crown. The elegant white blouse and black miniskirt Ais wore now felt far too restrictive against the overflowing longing.
With measured and gentle movements, Charlie's fingers began removing the obstacles between them one by one.
The buttons of Ais's white blouse were unfastened slowly, revealing skin as white as snow and as smooth as porcelain, followed by her miniskirt and black stockings, which slid smoothly off the swordswoman's long, exquisite legs.
Ais did not resist; she merely bit her flushed lower lip, allowing Charlie to take in the beauty of her bare body without a single thread beneath the radiant wild.
Ais's flawlessly sculpted body—a blend of an adventurer's suppleness and a woman's grace—was fully exposed upon the green expanse.
Charlie traversed every inch of that beauty with a gaze filled with awe and devotion.
He reunited their lips, offering a sweet, intoxicating kiss of distraction while his body slowly pressed over Ais from above.
Beneath the warm sunlight caressing their touching skin, the 'union of Yin and Yang' commenced.
As their bodies joined together, Ais widened her eyes slightly, squeezing Charlie's broad shoulders as a brief pain mixed with an indescribable sensation of fullness crept into her consciousness.
Charlie paused his movements for a moment, kissing Ais's forehead, cheeks, and eyelids until the tension in the girl's body gradually faded, replaced by a new wave of pleasure she had never experienced in her life.
The rhythm of their movements began slowly, like the dance of ripples on the pool stirred by a gentle breeze.
Every rhythmic push given by Charlie was met by the swaying of Ais's hips as she learned instinctively.
The warm friction of skin against skin created an matchless harmony in the silence of the forest.
The sound of softly colliding bodies now blended with the sweet gasps escaping Ais's lips.
"Aah... Mmmh... Charlie..."
Ais gasped in pleasure, hiding her deeply flushed face in the crook of Charlie's neck. Both of her arms wrapped tighter around the man's back, feeling Charlie's sturdy muscles moving harmoniously above her body.
The rhythm of their lovemaking in the open air intensified, like the waterfall beside them flowing without end.
Charlie's movements grew deeper and more firm, piercing the boundaries of ultimate bliss that made Ais arch her back, holding her at the peak of a burning warmth.
The wildflowers around them swayed gently, brushed by the emission of enamored energy radiating from the two lovers.
The heavenly sensation Charlie bestowed rendered Ais's mind, which was usually filled with swords and combat, completely blank, leaving only the name of the man uniting with her.
All the exhaustion, trauma, and dark fate that had almost claimed her life vanished without a trace, replaced by matchless bliss within her savior's embrace.
Until finally, after passing the peak of intense, passionate lovemaking, the ramparts of their endurance crumbled together.
In a powerful, climactic finish, Charlie poured his entire seed deep within Ais's womb, while the girl cried out softly in a drawn-out sigh, feeling an extraordinary warmth fill the deepest part of her abdomen.
The breaths of both raced rapidly in the quieted silence of the forest.
Charlie laid his body beside Ais, then pulled the girl, who was still catching her breath, into his warm embrace.
A light sheen of sweat moistening their bare skin glistened beautifully under the sunlight.
Ais rested her head against Charlie's broad, heaving chest, listening to the strong beat of his heart.
A satisfied and happy smile was carved upon her lovely face.
Beneath the shelter of the open wild, in this altered timeline, Ais had become entirely Charlie's.
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