Danmachi Planar World.
Empyrean Citadel.
As soon as Charlie opened his eyes, adjusting to the light, a voice laden with relief broke the silence in his ears.
"Charlie-san!"
Instantly, his body was embraced tightly. The familiar scent of flowers and warm impression enveloped him. The girl had the same white hair color as his—Shirogane Kei.
The embrace was so strong, as if Kei was afraid that if she let go even a little, the figure before her would disappear again into particles of light.
Besides Charlie and Kei, two other figures were also in the living room: Aishia and Est, both sitting on the opposite sofa with calm expressions.
"I'm here."
His right hand reflexively stroked Kei's soft hair, Charlie trying to calm her down.
During their time together that had lasted more than two years—especially after their relationship advanced further into physical intimacy—Charlie had understood this girl's true nature.
Don't be fooled by her attitude of trying to appear strong and independent that Kei often showed in front of others; behind it all, she was actually quite fragile. The suffering from losing everyone precious to her in the past left deep wounds.
One could imagine how panicked and scared Kei was when Charlie suddenly disappeared, even though she had been given an explanation beforehand.
Dark questions must have filled her mind: "Did Charlie leave me?" and "Did he not keep his promise to bring me?"
Deep in her heart, Kei knew that Charlie wasn't a bastard who would break his promise, yet negative emotions were still human.
*CLICK!*
The sound of the entrance door suddenly opening interrupted the atmosphere. The Goddess of Justice Astraea, just returned from Denatus, intended to immediately tell Charlie about the new alias or nickname the gods had just given him.
However, her footsteps stopped instantly.
Astraea's face showed genuine ripples of surprise upon seeing a strange girl she had never met before, tightly hugging Charlie, exactly like a koala that wouldn't let go.
For reasons unknown even to herself, there was a pang of discomfort piercing her heart seeing that scene. Astraea immediately dismissed that strange feeling, then approached with a thin smile that was hard to interpret on her beautiful face.
"This is the first time I've seen you bring a woman home, Charlie."
Her voice sounded light but there was implied meaning behind her tone.
"Who is she? Your lover? When you already have Aishia and Est here. Turns out two women aren't enough for you, hm?"
"Eh...!"
Hearing the unfamiliar voice, Kei hurriedly released her embrace from Charlie.
Her face instantly flushed bright red from embarrassment at being caught red-handed being intimate by someone else. However, when her eyes met Astraea's figure, she was amazed.
"So beautiful..." She muttered unconsciously.
Clearly, Kei was mesmerized seeing Astraea's inhuman beauty.
This indeed wasn't the first time Kei had seen women with surreal beauty—Aishia and Est were proof—However, Astraea's charm radiating a mature, graceful, and divine aura still left her stunned.
Charlie: "😐"
He couldn't say anything and felt that Astraea's series of questions earlier sounded slightly sarcastic to his ears.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
The living room in Empyrean Citadel felt very tense. At least, that's what Kei felt right now. Cold sweat seeped from her palms; after all, the figure sitting right in front of her now wasn't an ordinary human, but a true god!
Previously, Charlie had indeed told her the big picture about his original world. Therefore, although meeting for the first time, Kei immediately realized that the beautiful woman with a majestic aura in front of her was a noble and untainted goddess.
"Alright. Let's hear your explanation." Astraea said while sitting in a graceful pose.
Her eyes briefly glanced at Est who was busy playing with Divine Beast Spirit in chibi form, before finally focusing back on Charlie sitting opposite, flanked by Aishia and Kei.
"Ahem." Charlie cleared his throat, feeling the subtle pressure from Astraea's gaze. "Her name is Shirogane Kei. She... I met her outside Orario. Due to various incidents, we eventually developed a romantic relationship."
That was the reason he had carefully prepared. In front of gods who had passive abilities to detect lies, lying openly was a foolish act.
His explanation was technically not a lie. Kei indeed wasn't from Orario, she wasn't even a native resident of this world—which literally meant she was "outside" Orario.
"You're truly remarkable, Charlie. I only left briefly to attend Denatus, and you already managed to get a new lover."
"Well, that's not difficult for you. After all, you're not just a man who relies on a handsome face. You yourself are an Upper Class Adventurer Level 5. Even if your face was ugly, with the power you possess, there would still be many women willing to be with you."
Astraea nodded slowly, her praise simultaneously containing subtle sarcasm toward Charlie's actions which she considered somewhat reckless. Her expression looked ordinary, as if she didn't care much, but inside her chest, there was a tight sensation whose origin she didn't understand.
"Goddess Astraea... are you angry?" Charlie asked doubtfully.
"Angry? Why should I be angry?" Astraea replied quickly, her thin smile still displayed. "I'm not Hera, your Main God. Whether you're a playboy having relationships with many women at once, that's not my business. I have no right to say anything."
"..."
Charlie could only give a flat expression. He felt the more he talked, the atmosphere would only become murkier.
Seeing him not respond, Astraea finally shifted her gaze to Kei who was still anxious. Realizing she might have pressed the new girl too hard, she finally decided to change the topic of conversation.
"Oh yes, your alias has been determined."
"Congratulations, your alias is Solo Leveling. Thanks to Freya's support, the process went very smoothly. No god or goddess dared oppose it."
However, when remembering how Freya enthusiastically supported Charlie in front of all the gods at Denatus, Astraea secretly sighed deeply in her heart.
This young man in front of her was like a strong magnet attracting women's attention—even the Goddess of Beauty!
"Oh? Goddess Freya did that for me? This is surprising." Charlie raised one eyebrow, his expression showing astonishment.
This was indeed beyond his expectations. After his firm rejection, he thought Freya had already shifted her focus entirely to Bell Cranel and would no longer care about his affairs.
Perhaps this was what's called a goddess's generosity? Or... was there another motive behind it?
"The Goddess of Beauty rarely leaves their Familia residence, let alone directly intervenes to support someone at Denatus. Your connection with the three Goddesses of Beauty is quite deep, Charlie."
Astraea smiled thinly, this time feeling more nuanced, as if implying something.
"Cough... It's not what you think! I swear I never did anything to the Goddesses of Beauty!"
Feeling sharp and scrutinizing gazes from Kei beside him, Charlie immediately gave an explanation with a clear conscience. He felt the need to straighten out his reputation before Kei got the wrong idea about his life in this world.
It was true, he had interacted with the three Goddesses of Beauty, both directly and indirectly.
But!
He had politely yet firmly rejected Aphrodite's seductive sex invitation!
He successfully escaped and refused to become Ishtar's greedy collection toy!
And most importantly, he clearly and bravely told Freya to just choose Bell Cranel instead of wasting her time on him!
Viewed from the context above, Charlie was an extraordinarily rare man among men.
In a world where many adventurers would immediately surrender under the charm of the Goddesses of Beauty, he dared to reject them all at once with clear reasons. That was no small feat.
Even so, in Astraea's eyes, and possibly also Kei's, the fact that all three Goddesses of Beauty were so interested in Charlie remained a suspicious matter.