"Hm? What sound is this?"
Still groggy, Charlie was awakened by the noisy sounds outside his room. With heavy eyes, he got out of bed and opened the door. The dimly lit corridor was illuminated by light from the kitchen direction.
"Kei, what are you doing at this hour? The sun hasn't risen yet." Charlie asked, rubbing his tired face.
Standing in front of the gas stove, wearing an apron that covered her loose pajamas, Kei looked surprised. She had just lit the stove and was boiling water.
"Ah! Charlie-san! Sorry, did I wake you?" Kei hurriedly apologized, her body bowing slightly.
"It's not your fault. I was already awake before that." Charlie replied as he approached.
He immediately noticed the food ingredients on the kitchen table. Yesterday, he had taken out various fresh ingredients, including fish and vegetables, from his Space-Time Cache and placed them in his portable fridge. This was so Kei could cook for herself if she got hungry.
"Another nightmare?" Kei asked softly, no lengthy explanation needed.
"That obvious?" Charlie asked back, slightly surprised by the girl's perceptiveness.
"Mm."
Kei just nodded lightly, her eyes fixed on the dark circles under his eyes. Not wanting to continue the clearly painful topic, she changed the subject.
"I don't want to just be a burden. I know I don't have abilities like you all, can't fight or use magic. The only thing I can do is be protected."
Kei clutched the edge of her apron for a moment, her face showing a bit of embarrassment but firmness.
"I want to contribute, even if it's just a little. When it comes to food, leave it to me."
Kei lifted her chin slightly, her gaze now turning more confident.
"My cooking skills surpass those of girls my age. My family was poor, and cooking was a basic skill I had to master so we could eat well with whatever ingredients we had. I can guarantee delicious meals for all of us. At least, let me take care of your stomachs so Charlie-san and the others can focus on fighting monsters without worrying about fatigue!"
Sitting in the dining chair, Charlie rested his hand on his chin. He smiled lightly, appreciating the girl's sincerity and determination.
"May I watch you cook?"
"Ehhh? There's nothing interesting to watch." Kei replied without turning around; she was already holding a knife and starting to cut the fish with skilled movements, quickly scaling it.
"Who says? There's a certain charm in watching someone cook with full attention. Back then, I often watched my wife cook."
*KRING!*
Kei's fish-cutting motion stopped abruptly. She paused for a moment, then turned around quickly. In her hand, the bloody knife from cutting the fish was still gripped. Her shocked expression mixed with surprise. For a moment, she looked scary, like a character from a horror movie.
"Charlie-san is married?!"
"Wow wow, Kei. Put that knife down. You look like a yandere woman." Charlie joked, raising both hands in mock surrender.
Kei looked at the knife in her hand, then chuckled softly as she set it down. "As if a yandere could hurt Charlie-san."
"Even if that's true, being targeted by a yandere feels awful."
"Pufff—"
At the same time, Charlie and Kei burst into light laughter over the silly conversation. Kei's genuine laughter successfully eased the tension from Charlie's trauma.
"Feeling better now, Charlie-san?" Kei asked, now resuming cutting the fish, her movements focused again.
"A bit. At least, my mood isn't as bad as before. Thank you, Kei." Charlie knew Kei was trying to comfort him, and she succeeded.
"By the way, don't use the excuse that you're married when talking to women; it's not funny, Charlie-san. What if Aishia-san and Est-chan take it seriously." Kei teased in a playful tone.
"It's a fact." Charlie replied, his smile fading, replaced by a brief serious expression.
"Huh?"
Kei's cutting motion paused for a moment before she continued cleaning the fish bones.
"Charlie-san doesn't look that old. You're at most two or three years older than me. Do people in the fantasy world all marry young?"
Recalling the backgrounds of the others from different worlds, Kei tried to understand otherworldly customs based on light novels her friend had discussed.
"Well, compared to the modern Earth, marriage age in other worlds with a medieval setting is indeed earlier. Young men and women generally marry in their teens."
"But that only applies to ordinary people. Those with big ambitions will try their luck and come to the world's center, Orario, receive blessings from the gods, and join a Familia."
"Generally, adventurers don't marry because this career is high-risk. Every day, there are adventurers dying in the Dungeon. So, they won't marry unless they've achieved a certain level of success."
Charlie didn't mind sharing a bit of Planar World: Danmachi terminology with Kei to pass the time.
"I see..."
Whatever she deeply understood, Kei stopped asking further questions. She was a sensitive woman; she felt the faint wave of sadness in Charlie's voice as soon as the topic of his wife came up.
A tragic story from another world that didn't need to be brought up again. She decided to respect Charlie's privacy.
Next, Kei cooked under Charlie's supervision without showing the slightest nervousness.
Because of her beauty, she was used to being the center of attention—at school, on the streets, or wherever she went. So, she didn't get stage fright, even with the world-saving Savior standing right behind her.
Charlie leaned back in his chair, observing Kei's deft and graceful movements as she chopped vegetables and prepared seasonings. His mind wandered, shrouded in concern.
(Haaah... So pitiful.)
He gazed at Kei's beautiful figure, who was in the prime of her growth and development. Kei had a bright future before this monster invasion destroyed the world.
(After I and the other Saviors leave, how will Kei, Moeha, and Tsubame continue living in a world without humans besides the three of them?)
They were the three girls who survived the apocalyptic disaster. They were the last survivors of humanity.
(Continuing the race is impossible; all three are women, they can't have children.)
A cold existential dilemma hit him. The future of the human race was over.
Of course, there were other options, options that could logically and biologically solve this problem. Charlie could plant his seed in Kei's "fertile soil." Meanwhile, Wang Jian could do the same to Moeha and Koyasu.
However, both Charlie and Wang Jian were men of high integrity.
Charlie and Wang Jian would not act irresponsibly and immorally by impregnating these traumatized and abandoned women, then leaving as if nothing happened, as if they were just reproductive machines.
Even if those women, in their desperation to continue living, might not mind—because they saw Charlie and Wang Jian as their benefactors—the conscience of the two men wouldn't allow it!
Charlie and Wang Jian were not bastards!