A few hours later, Aria walked into her domain to look for Zach, but she couldn't see him anywhere.
Normally, she would find him on the throne with Aurora, but the throne was empty.
"…"
She froze for a few seconds, but then came back to her senses.
"I didn't see him leave the portal, so he is still here."
Aria glanced around for a few more seconds, but got tired and grabbed a flying bird.
[Chirp~! (Let me go!)]
"Pipe down, or I will make you disappear," Aria uttered with a furious look on her face.
Of course, she didn't truly meet that, but she was stressed because she couldn't see Zach.
"Do you know where Zach is?" she asked the bird.
[Chirp Chirp~ (I saw him going in the direction of the waterfall with the girl)] the bird informed.
Aria opened her hand and let go of the bird.
She made her way to the waterfall and saw Zach coming back with Aurora in his arms.
She stared at Zach with a weird look in her eyes and asked, "Where did you take her?"
Zach pointed his gaze at the waterfall and said, "Do I need to say it?"
"But… why did you take Aurora with you…?" Aria asked with a puzzled look on her face.
"I… didn't want to leave her alone. What if she woke up and didn't find me in front of her?" Zach uttered in a low voice.
"…"
"You do know that you can't stay here all the time, right?" Aria asked. "You have to get out of here and continue playing the game."
"I know. But…"
"And what happened to that 'It's time to play this game seriously now'?" Aria remarked.
"…"
SIGH!
"Listen." Aria caressed Zach's face and continued, "I know how you feel right now, but you can't stay like this."
"I know…"
"I wouldn't have said this if it was something more serious. Aurora's condition is not as bad as you think. It could have gotten worse, but her body is showing expediential growth in her physique."
After a brief pause, Aria continued, "Just think of it as she has caught minor flu, and she simply needs to rest. She would wake up tomorrow anyway."
"You are… right…" Zach nodded.
"And hey…" Aria kissed Zach on the lips and said, "Aurora wouldn't want you to get all sad and depressed, you know?"
"Yeah…" Zach nodded.
"She would want you to continue your journey. Otherwise, she would feel guilty and responsible for hindering your progress," Aria stated with a gentle smile on her face.
Zach smiled at Aria and commented, "I never thought you would be comforting me like this."
"Well, in Aurora's absence, I am in charge of taking care of you. So… think of me as your caretaker until Aurora gets well," Aria uttered with a grin on her face.
Zach and Aria walked back to the throne while talking and passing comments to each other.
On the way, Zach said to Aria, "I am glad you are here with me."
"It's my pleasure to be with you."
"I wonder what would have happened if we weren't lovers…" Zach muttered with a soft chuckle.
Aria glanced at Zach from the corner of her eye and replied, "Everything would have been the same. I have fallen in love with you after our first meeting."
"No wonder you came chasing after me and even went as far as to put an act. You even agreed to stay as my slave and wife." Zach smiled at Aria and continued, "I still can't believe I landed a hit on the mother of the world."
"As far as my reach can go, I think you would be the most prominent member in my harem," Zach asserted.
A few seconds later, Aria asked, "Just curious, but how and when did you fall in love with me? I just remembered you never mentioned it so…"
Zach stared at Aurora in his arms and pondered for a while before saying, "I am… Not really sure, to be honest."
"Come on~" Aria groaned.
"No, seriously. I was dealing with my feelings for Aurora, and before I knew it, I was charmed by you."
"Oh?"
"I hate to admit this, but when I first saw you in your throne, I thought, 'Man, she is hot'. Of course, I don't usually do that, and the fact that you managed to bring my inner thoughts out like that…"
"You were charmed by me…?" Aria guessed.
Zach nodded and said, "Still, as I have said previously, and many more times: Just because a girl is beautiful from the outside, doesn't mean she would be the same from the inside. And vice versa."
"And you still punched me in the face and slammed me on my throne…" Aria commented with a judging look on her face.
"You did the same. You were trying to kill me so…" Zach stopped and sighed as he remembered what Aria had said after his fight with her.
'I wasn't serious.'
"I guess, you could have killed me there if you wanted to. So…" Zach sent a flying kiss to Aria and said, "Thanks for not killing me and keeping me alive. Because of you, I found many things about me and the world."
"I am the one who is glad that I didn't kill you. Honestly, my life would have remained the same…" Aria hugged herself and muttered, "I still can't believe I spent thousands of years alone like that. Now, I can't imagine a day without you. So thank you for walking into that portal and entering my domain."
"…"
"Thank you for making fun of me. Thank you for angering me. Thank you for fighting me. And thank you, for falling in love with me," Aria said the last part with a bright smile on her face.
"That's the brightest and the happiest smile I have ever seen on your face," Zach remarked. "My lovely wife."
***
Total players in the game- 1,485,037
0 new players logged in.
169 players died.
===
Author's note- Aria playing the role of a perfect wife.