The Max Level Hero Has Returned!
chapter-400

Aeria felt that it was excruciatingly painful to forget the person she had held dear in her heart. So, she believed that it was better for her to die than to experience that pain. If that wasn't possible, then at least leave a trace on her so her body would remember him.

Davey couldn't bear to watch Aeria screaming in such desperation. She had not been like this when she was suffering from her illness. He couldn't fully grasp the despair she felt when her hope was ignited and extinguished simultaneously. No, he didn't understand it at all.

Frowning, Davey grabbed Aeria’s hands and sat up. He held her back, as she continued to cry and cling desperately to his chest, and said firmly, “Keep it together.”

Aeria flinched when she heard Davey speak informally to her. “I don’t want to…! I don’t like this! I hate this! We finally met! I finally gathered the courage to come and meet you! But what did I find on my way to Heins!”

However, she experienced another bout of panic attack.

“I will remember. Even if the Imperial Princess loses all her memories, I will make sure to remember you…”

“I don’t want that!!!” Aeria shouted furiously as she fell from Davey’s lap.

Her anger, something that was rare for her, flared up.

“I like you! I am the one who likes you more! So, why should you be the only one to remember me! I have to remember you! I’m the one who likes you. I… I adore you and love you so much…”

Aeria looked desperate and bitter, making Davey feel terrible for choosing to save her.

“You can take everything else from me, just not these memories. Please…” Aeria pleaded with tears in her eyes.

Davey silently closed his eyes in response.

The power of the title would take away what was most precious to her. However, that was in exchange for doing the impossible, settling her soul back in her body. One wrong and rash move here, and Davey might have used the Second Moon’s Miracle. In the end, there was no absolute and clear answer to this situation.

“Please listen carefully, Imperial Princess.”

“…”

“Memories aren't perfect. Except for special cases, memories tend to be vague and unclear. That's why it doesn’t mean your memories will be completely erased just because they have disappeared from your head.”

Why couldn’t babies remember what had happened to them when they were young? There were quite a lot of hypotheses about it, but Davey believed in one.

They could not remember it because they needed language to recall something. If one could not describe and remember something with words, then they would not be able to retain memories of that time. That was the theory Davey believed in.

Of course, one might think their memories had disappeared, but that wasn’t really the case. Their memories must have remained in their heads, whether it was their sight, smell, or touch, but since they could not articulate them, they could not bring them out.

"Then, does that mean… that… I can remember you?"

"I'll make sure that you remember," Davey said, trying to reassure Aeria.

He was spouting lies. Still, it seemed like his intentions shone through, and Aeria finally looked relieved. Her expression aged ten years as relief washed over her.

Davey's lies were not entirely impossible. In fact, the penalty explicitly mentioned that her memories would be erased. However, that did not mean there weren't any variables.

Regarding the Heins Territory… The fact that she awakened her instincts as a member of the Nine Tails race and cried out the reason why she came to the Heins Territory was a variable itself. Her memories of the Heins Territory had been deleted, so why could she remember the place? That could only mean her memories were not completely erased. If that were not the case, it could also mean that the deletion process itself was still very much unstable.

It was quite a sad thought for someone to forget another's existence. On the contrary, it also meant that she could not remember the memories of the person she cherished the most. Either way, it would be very painful.

"I can't solve the problem regarding your memories right away, but I'll try to find a way. Before that, I can make a simple wish of yours come true."

Aeria pondered deeply for quite some time after hearing Davey's words. Then, she placed her hand on her chest, took a deep breath, and said, "For one day…"

She voiced her words out carefully, "For one day… Please do not say no to me for one day."

It was her final wish to remember Davey. So, after considering the request for a moment, Davey ended up nodding in consent. "Will that be enough?"

"Yes…"

Her answer was very brief.

***

Aeria was a very pure and naive person, but that did not mean she was a fool who knew nothing. However, knowing something and actually doing it were two completely different matters. Just for one day out of the four days they were going to be stuck here, Davey would forget everything else and focus solely on her, just as Aeria wished.

Why was he so attentive and caring toward her? Upon deep reflection, he could say it was because there was no other way for him to express his sympathy toward someone so brilliantly pure yet so pitiful.

Her sense of purity and naivety was something others would not be able to replicate. Even in their situation, where everything seemed like almost a lie, she still appeared content.

What Aeria wanted wasn't exactly Davey's attention. She simply desired to stay by his side, converse with him, and make eye contact. That was more than enough for her.

"Prince! There's a bite! Something took the bait!" Aeria exclaimed excitedly.

"You're quite good. Reel in the line slowly. Slowly," Davey advised.

Aeria firmly grabbed the wooden handle of her fishing rod and tugged fiercely. As someone born with a weak body, Aeria was shocked as she got swept away by the force of whatever had taken the bait. If it weren't for Davey hugging her waist, she would have already been dragged into the sea.

After holding her from behind, Davey quickly took control of the fishing rod and started reeling in the line. “Take it easy.”

“Yes, yes!”

“Now!”

Plop!!!

A gigantic fish was pulled out of the red sea by the hook of the fishing rod and flew through the air. However, the fish looked a bit unusual.

Aeria couldn't help but turn pale at the sight of a snail fish that was over a meter in length and almost the size of an adult human being. What was strange about it was the fact that it had a far larger head than normal and four legs to boot. Perhaps some kind of radioactive material spread in the sea in this world?

Actually, this fish was not something that could be caught so easily with a mere ordinary fishing rod. However, the reality was already right in front of them.

“Kyaaaaaack!!!” Aeria screamed cutely.

Davey quickly held Aeria to stop her from falling down. Then, he stretched his other hand out toward the bizarre snail fish, which was falling from the sky with its mouth wide open as if it wanted to swallow Aeria in one bite, and gently swung it down.

[7th Circle]

[Great Spark]

A powerful electric current flashed in an instant, turning the gigantic snail fish that was trying to eat Aeria into a baked fish. Just like that, it crashed helplessly on the deck after being exposed to the 7th Circle electric magic.

“Haaa… Haaa…”

"Its size is very shocking."

"Is, is fishing supposed to be like this? Do they risk their lives just like mercenaries…?"

Aeria, who had never seen real fishermen in action, found the experience of hooking and catching a fish quite novel and shocking. Seeing her like that, Davey couldn't help but feel mischievous, a smile curling up the corners of his lips.

"Of course. The sea is filled with dangerous creatures. There are also creatures with dozens of squirming legs sticking all over their bodies."

Davey’s words were so ridiculous that if someone thought deeply about them, they would think, ‘This guy is a fraud!’ However, Aeria was far too naive. She looked like she completely believed the words that Davey had said.

“G-Goodness… I had no idea that getting fish for food would be this hard.”

Davey desperately tried to rein in his laughter. This was quite a novel and refreshing response. He could never get this kind of reaction from Perserque, who was not that much different from Davey in terms of knowledge, or Illyna, who had gained quite a lot of experience out in the world.

Davey felt like teasing and deceiving someone with this pure reaction was quite enjoyable.

“Kyaaack! Prince! The, the snail fish is burnt to a crisp!”

Aeria, who had never grilled a fish in her life, instantly burned the snail fish that she had caught. She made a mistake in controlling the strength of the flame while cooking.

“Ah… That’s mine…”

She had been hungry since all they ate were snacks and side dishes on the ship. That was why she was trying so hard to adapt to eating outdoor meals. After several incidents like that, Aeria now could pout and grumble at Davey whenever he stole her part and ate it up.

“Pfft… What even is that…? Pfft…”

In the end, Aeria thought that being pranked like this was also a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Since she was making her dreams come true, the depressed look on her face quickly disappeared, replaced by laughter.

At first, Aeria continued to hide her emotions, perhaps for the sake of protecting her dignity as a woman of imperial lineage. However, after spending time here, she realized that there were no restrictions that would stop her from doing whatever she wanted. And finally, she removed that thin layer of gauze that had covered her entire personality and let loose, showing off her true self. This might be something that she would never experience again in her life.

The day passed by quickly. The two moons slowly rose to the dark night sky above the dreary and quiet sea. Aeria seemed quite happy that she was able to use temperature control magic and set the temperature around them just right.

As she sat on the blanket, Aeria looked up at the sky and said, “It really feels like a dream. If this is my dream, then I hope I don’t wake up.”

In this world, there was no other intelligent life form except for Davey and Aeria. No, there were definitely some beyond that curtain. However, at the very least, there was no one else aside from them outside of that.

Aeria was also aware of that fact. However, she seemed completely happy to simply be with Davey alone in silence.

“Prince, do you see that star over there? Kathryn told me that it’s a star that roams the sky, creating a tail of light, every ten years. She said that if I make a wish on that star, then it will come true.”

“Are you going to make a wish?”

“Yes.” Aeria's face flushed, and she smiled brightly at Davey.

“What are you going to wish for?”

“T-That…” She quickly buried her face, which had turned bright red, on her knees. Her body trembled slightly as she curled deeper into herself. “I, I can’t say it.”

“What is it? Is it related to me?”

“…”

‘It really is?’

“What is it?”

“…” Aeria thought that it was quite a shameful wish to say out loud.

"If not now, then when will you have the opportunity? Go on, tell me."

The embarrassed Aeria slowly opened her mouth after hearing Davey’s words. "...want to..."

“Yes?”

“My, my lap… I want to lend my lap to the prince.”

Davey fell silent. Then, he grinned and asked, “That’s your wish?”

“Ah. Yes… That’s it.”

Davey slowly stretched his hand toward the sky after hearing Aeria mumble to herself. And when he waved his hands, the stars began to fall, creating tails of light, circling the skies just like in those fantasy stories. It was quite hard to make a real object spin around. However, it was not that difficult to make something fall as much as he wanted.

Seeing the surprise on Aeria’s face, Davey said, “Since you’ve witnessed the stars creating those tails of light, then your wish should come true.”

Davey kept his thick and shameless face. It did not matter whether Aeria was surprised or not.

Suddenly, Davey felt a strange gaze watching him and Aeria for a very, very brief moment. It felt like the gaze of a transcendental being, not the gaze of a living and breathing life form.