Chapter 399

Chapter 399

Everything had been fine because the sea was calm and quiet. However, the story completely changed once the sails were unfurled, and the ship started moving.

“Ugh...”

In a way, one could say that Aeria’s reaction was only natural.

“I’m, I’m sorry... Ugh!”

Aeria looked like she was suffering from terrible seasickness. It was to the point that she had to cover her mouth and force herself to endure her nausea. She might be a beastfolk and had a very good affinity with spirits and nature, but that did not mean that her physical ability would become as good.

Teary-eyed, Aeria tried desperately to hide her ugly appearance from Davey. However, Davey grabbed her by the shoulder as he placed his index and middle fingers at a spot right under her ear.

“Urk!” Aeria flinched in surprise, her eyes the only ones moving.

She looked as if she had been frozen in time. She looked so surprised that both her face and her ears were dyed red. The physical contact must have been very unexpected and unfamiliar to the girl.

“There. You’re all good,” Davey said as he slowly pulled his hand away from her.

Aeria’s dazed eyes grew wide as she hurriedly tried to say something. “Ah...”

“I numbed some of your sensory organs. This would last for a while. It will probably lessen the effects of your seasickness.”

“Th, thank you.” Aeria retreated shyly. Then, her face suddenly turned curious. However, she shook her head as she patted her cheeks lightly. “Hoo...”

“If you feel uncomfortable somewhere, please tell me right away. If you pretend to be fine even if you’re not, then we might miss the perfect time to deliver treatment.”

Davey’s calm words surprised Aeria once again as she immediately scampered away. “N, no. This. Wait... What’s wrong with me?”

Aeria’s actions and behaviors made Davey realize that a gap had already started to appear because of the deletion of her memories. She was already showing a bit of distance now, but in a bit more time, her affections for him would most probably also be erased.

‘Perhaps that’s the best way.’

Seeing that her memories were being erased more precisely than he had thought, Davey thought that there would be no problem. However, the penalty was called a penalty for a reason. It was necessary for Davey to ponder what it truly meant for the things that she held dear to disappear without a trace.

No one would think that what Aeria was experiencing was simple if they could just see her expression once.

***

“Where... are we?” Aeria asked, an uneasy expression on her face.

The scene around them looked like it was a scene from hell, especially with the dark red sky above them. Although Davey could not feel much around them, he could tell where this place was.

“This is the maritime city of Valkass.”

Aeria nodded as she followed Davey. “Ah, Valkass. I also know about it well... yes?”

However, she paused in her tracks and turned stiff. Davey ignored Aeria and slowly scanned the enormous curtain that covered a portion of the city.

“Did you just say Valkass? That... Isn’t it located in the southern region of the continent...?”

“Yes. This is the very same Valkass.”

Aeria could not hide her embarrassment at that. This was because the city in front of her was in ruins. It looked like it had been hit by dozens of gigantic meteors.

“That, that can’t be... From, from what I know, it’s a peaceful and thriving city...”

“Have you ever been here?”

“Yes... I... I was told that I would be able to get medicine here that can cure my illness...” Aeria murmured sadly. “B-But just like the prince said! This is a different world. Ah... Uhmm. Even though you say that it’s a different world, it’s still a bit hard for me to understand how that works. But...”

“This is the Tionis Continent. However, the timeline is a bit different. I believe they’re living in a timeline that’s a decade or so from the timeline that we lived in. It also is a world that has plenty of other possibilities and circumstances from the world that we lived in.”

Aeria was rendered speechless for a very long time when she heard Davey’s words.

***

Davey actually did not intend to do anything in this world. This world was completely different from the world where he currently lived.

This ship only carried Aeria and Davey, along with the remnants of the trapped cockroaches. The cockroaches could not groan or moan, so the source of the sound was very obvious.

"Imperial Princess... Aeria?"

When Davey opened his eyes, he saw her sitting by the ship's deck wall quite a distance away from him. She had her head bowed down and her hands clenched tightly on the railings near her.

"Ah... Aaaaaah..."

Seeing Aeria behave strangely, Davey slowly stood up and approached her.

“Ah... Heup... aaaaaaaaaah!” Aeria’s hands were covering her mouth tightly to stop herself from crying out loud in desperation and helplessness.

Davey had seen many sides of Aeria. However, this was the first time that he had witnessed her like this. She looked extremely unstable.

“Did you get seasick again?” Davey asked Aeria.

He thought, ‘Did the magic that I cast on her already disperse?’

But then, Aeria, who had been sobbing pitifully, jumped up from her seat and ran to where he was. Then, she buried her head in his arms.

"Aaaaaaaaah... Aaaaaaaaah!"

Davey could not help but frown when he saw her expression. Aeria looked like she was suffering immensely, which left him at a loss of what to do. Why was she suddenly acting like this?

Davey caught a glimpse of Aeria's expression when she rushed into his arms. Her expression looked quite distorted with desperation.

“What, what should I do, prince...? I feel strange... My head... Something is wrong with my head! What should I do...? What do I do... Sob, sob!”

Aeria tried desperately not to show the ugly version of herself to Davey, but she could not help but ask for help despite the tears that marred her face.

"Please calm down. What in the world is happening?" Davey handled her carefully and gently, trying to calm her down.

However, he found it hard to do so.

‘Don’t tell me...’

Davey did not want to let Aeria know about it, so he had chosen to remain silent. However, the moment he tried to speak, Aeria, who had buried her face in his chest, pushed him down. She quickly climbed on top of him, wiped the tears from her face, and pleaded, "Prince... please, I beg you... I don’t want to forget everything like this..."

"Damn it..."

Just as Davey had expected, the penalty had made Aeria aware that her most cherished memories were slowly disappearing from her head.

"I don’t want to forget. Please...! I... I can’t even remember what the prince looks like! I can’t even remember your name! I really... like you... I hold you very dear to my heart... I love you so much, but..."

Aeria's desperate cries continued, "I don’t want to forget the prince like this... I want to carry you in my heart for the rest of my life..."

This was the first time Aeria had openly and strongly expressed her intentions on her own free will, not because someone told her to. Aeria had always done her best to cover up both the good and the bad in her to avoid causing anyone trouble. But now, she had reached her breaking point. She looked like she was in terrible pain as she begged for the truth.

"My memories related to the prince are disappearing one after another... Please help me. I... I don’t want to lose my precious memories with the prince like this... There’s something weird happening to me. Please..."

"Imperial Princess, there's only one way to solve your problem," Davey said. He felt Aeria flinch above him as he continued, "And that is to nullify your resurrection."

There were two miracles. The First Moon’s Miracle had saved her life by taking away her most precious thing. So, the answer was obviously to use the Second Moon’s Miracle, the miracle that would take away her life and the penalty in exchange for her regaining all of the erased memories. There was a huge gap between them, and it was a very difficult choice to make.

"I don’t want to forget... I also don’t want to experience something as painful as dying... But what I would hate the most is to lose all memories of the prince and the moments I spent with you!" Aeria sobbed loudly as she buried her head in Davey’s chest. "If I have to live like that, then... I’d rather die with all of my memories with you..."

Then, Aeria stood up. As a member of the Nine Tails race, a race that was excellent in seduction, her eyes looked very alluring despite her sad gaze.

She looked down at Davey as she sat firmly on his stomach. Then, with familiar ease, she bent down and placed her lips upon Davey’s. Her actions were impulsive, not instinctual, and that brought about a different effect.

At the same time, nine turquoise tails popped out from beneath her skirt. The light of the dark red moon above made the tails shine more brightly and take on a reddish tint.

"I'd rather..."

Davey could hear Aeria’s way of speaking change under the desperate tone of her voice.

"...you kill me... That way, I won’t lose any more memories of you..."

"Let’s stop talking nonsense now," Davey said, trying to reason with her.

However, his words only made Aeria grab onto his collar tightly and say, "Then... I want you to leave your mark on my body. Take me... Before I forget you like this... Make sure that I remember you even if it’s just through my body..."