Meeting a Goddess

"It's ironic, someone who wants to die is given a second chance."

Charlie sneered at himself, feeling no joy at the opportunity to reincarnate in another world—a dream for every otaku.

His desire to die outweighed his will to live. For him, life filled with regrets was a form of torture.

"Dinda, I will see you again."

With no motivation to continue living, Charlie planned to smash the mirror and use the shards to cut the veins in his wrists.

Before he could throw the mirror to the floor, a voice stopped him.

✧Charlie✧

It was the voice of a girl, clear and beautiful... yet there was something abnormal, something that made the voice sound weak.

"...?"

Charlie's eyes widened, thinking it was the woman from earlier who called his name. But he remembered that he hadn't told her his name, plus his current body was no longer Charlie Avalon's, but Karasuki Rio's.

In his confusion, a stunningly beautiful pink-haired girl appeared before his eyes, but only for a moment.

Of course, Charlie recognized the girl even though she appeared only briefly.

"Aishia...?"

In his previous life, he had only read the first five volumes of the light novel Seirei no Gensouki due to being busy with school. When the series received an anime adaptation, he only watched six episodes because he was disappointed with how the studio cut out significant parts of the story and added scenes that didn't align with the light novel. Even so, Charlie clearly remembered the appearance of the protagonist's Spirit Companion.

✧Dinda would be sad if she knew you committed suicide✧

Aishia's voice echoed again in Charlie's mind.

"You know I'm Charlie Avalon, I'm not your real Master." Charlie said with guilt.

He just wanted to die so he could meet his wife in the afterlife, not possess Karasuki Rio's body and take over his life.

✧?... I don't understand what Charlie is saying, you've been my Master from the beginning. No, now is not the time to discuss this✧

Aishia's voice sounded confused and even weaker.

✧Listen, Charlie. Don't think about dying. Do you think Dinda would be happy to see you in the afterlife because of suicide? I'm sure she would blame herself if you committed suicide✧

"..."

Thinking about his wife's personality, Charlie couldn't argue with Aishia's statement.

✧Never attempt suicide again, I'm sure Dinda would hate you if you did it. I would also be angry✧

✧Charlie, I belong to you alone, and I will always be by your side. Your weaknesses, your strengths, everything about you... I accept it all. So don't give up. Don't be afraid and believe in yourself. I'm sorry, I can't—✧

Aishia's voice was completely cut off.

Just to stop Charlie from giving up on life, she used the last of her strength. Then, she fell into a deep sleep to recover.

*SMACK*

Charlie slapped his face so hard that the imprint of his hand was visible on his cheek.

"I'm so pathetic that I needed advice from a woman. Aishia's right, I can't meet Dinda in the afterlife after committing suicide. Whoever gave me this second chance, I shouldn't waste it, right?"

The despair in his eyes vanished, his dark aura dissipated, and he appeared more lively, no longer resembling a walking corpse.

"Let's meet the person who saved me and offer my thanks."

His mind now much clearer, he was no longer burdened by a desire for revenge, having perfectly exacted his revenge in his previous life without missing a single person.

Opening the door to the room, he descended the wooden stairs.

In the living room, he saw a woman sitting calmly as if waiting for his arrival.

The woman was too beautiful...

Of all the women he had seen in his life, Charlie had to admit that the woman before him was the most beautiful.

Every part of her appearance epitomized beauty. Her blonde hair was always straight, well-groomed, yellowish, smooth like silk, and shiny. Her large caramel-colored eyes had long lashes, both on the upper and lower lids. Moreover, she had pale, milky white skin, soft and flawless, and a perfect nose.

She resembled an angel or a goddess that only appeared in mythology and fairy tales.

"..."

Charlie was stunned for about five seconds. Fortunately, his resistance to women was quite high due to the inhumane training during his time at the Police Academy.

"Not bad. You regained consciousness quickly. If you were still mesmerized by my beauty, I would gouge out your eyes and make them into clackers (Latto-latto)."

"..."

The woman's casual remark made Charlie feel a chill in his groin.

"Huff..."

Inhaling and exhaling deeply, he calmed himself, then sat in the chair across from the beautiful woman.

"Thank you for saving me."

"I didn't do anything other than bring you to this house. You're strong enough to suffer only minor injuries after falling from that height. It's rare to see adventurers outside of Orario, what Level are you?"

"Orario? Level?"

Charlie encountered two unfamiliar terms in the woman's words.

There was no level system in the light novel Seirei no Gensouki. Of course, he didn't rule out the possibility that a level system was introduced in later volumes. After all, he had only read the first five volumes.

"Young man, you haven't told me your name yet."

The microexpressions on Charlie's face couldn't escape the beautiful woman's eyes. She squinted her eyes, smiling thinly as if she had found a new toy.

"My name is Kara—"

[Use your true name ]

Before Charlie could finish his sentence, the words caught in his throat. He remembered the sensation of facing death in his previous life, sensing that he would suffer severe consequences if he used a false name.

Unlike Aishia's gentle voice, the other voice in his mind was emotionless and carried a scent of death.

For some reason, Charlie was very sure that if he ignored the warning of the mysterious voice and stubbornly introduced himself as Karasuki Rio or used another false name, his soul would be destroyed the next second.

"What's wrong? Are you a wanted criminal who doesn't dare reveal your name?"

The beautiful woman observed the anomaly in the other party.

"Charlie Avalon, that's my name."

Regaining his composure, Charlie didn't want to take any risks. Therefore, he gave his real name.

"An ordinary name. I don't understand why it took you so long just to say your name."

"What's your name, miss?"

Ignoring the other party's sarcastic attitude, Charlie felt that the beautiful woman in front of him was not human. That's what his instincts told him.

"Me? I'm Hera, a goddess."

"A goddess?"

Not sensing any deceit from the beautiful woman who claimed to be the Goddess Hera, Charlie's confusion deepened.

Although the story of Seirei no Gensouki also had entities called the Seven Wise Gods, Hera wasn't one of them.

While Charlie was still pondering, Hera asked another question.

"Do you know about Falna?"

"Falna?"

"So that's it..."

Charlie's ignorance of Falna gave Hera the confidence to speculate.

"Charlie Avalon, you're not a living being from this world."

"...!!!"

Though his heart was greatly shaken, Charlie had enough experience to maintain a poker face. He appeared calm and unaffected by Hera's bold statement.

[Author's Note: The true appearance of Goddess Hera never appeared in the original work. The author had no choice but to describe her based on imagination.]