One Last System

Rushing through an open plain was a stupid thing to do when one was worried about others chasing him. It was all the more stupid with how the dragon could find my lack of help disturbing, opting to take revenge on me after dealing with its own pursuers.

Those were the facts that I couldn't deny. The reasons why stepping out to a plain was a mistake.

And yet, in my precise situation, I didn't mind making this mistake.

Because no matter how I would want to return back to the ancient city, I had to cross this plain. And what was the better time to do it while both parties that could be potentially hostile to me were engaged with each other?

And so I ran. With Mia in my arms and several layers of barriers protecting us from any sneak attacks, I ran through the plain.

​ I ignored the pain. I ignored the exhaustion. I ignored the pain that would come tomorrow from overusing my muscles. And throughout all of this, I kept on running.

"Arty...?" Mia whispered softly as she pried her eyes open.

It had to be the obvious rocking that she went through while carried by someone running that was likely responsible for her waking up.

"Hello," I uttered, forcing my face to appear kind and happy while hiding all the signs of exhaustion I could think of.

With a brush of my mana, I painted healthy pink over my sweaty forehead, removed the wrinkles, and disturbed the sound of my ragged breath.

All to keep Mia relaxed and calm.

"What are we...?" the girl asked, pushing her head up in an attempt to look around.

She then raised her hands to wipe her eyes clean while rubbing her dizziness away.

'Damn, I never expected how happy something so simple would make me,' I thought, seeing how comfortable Mia was while carried in my arms.

It was these kinds of small details that made me fall in love with her over and over again. Tiny elements of our relationship and just how comfortable we were in each other's presence continued to fan the flames of my crush.

"We are going back home," I replied, bringing one of my hands to Mia's face only to then wipe a small speck of dirt from her cheek.

"Home..." Mia muttered as her eyes filled with sadness.

"Did I say something wrong?" I dared not to waste time before asking.

This wasn't how I expected Mia to respond to my words. Her reaction took me by a surprise, surprise reinforced to panic when I recognized the sadness in her eyes.

"No, it's not you," Mia quickly shook her head sideways only to then push her face against my chest as she hid her expressions from my view. "But is there any place in this world that we can call home anymore?"

I tensed my fists.

For how well I was coping with the changes around me, for how little I cared about the world I reincarnated into...

Mia was actually right.

If something on the same scale as the events I could see with my very own eyes were to happen on earth, the entire civilization would be gone in a matter of weeks.

And all those things happened not to an advanced civilization that managed to take the reins of the entire planet and study the secrets of the rules that govern the universe itself. The disaster struck a planet that was filled with people below a level that would correlate to the antique on earth.

Their only saving grace was the ability to cultivate. Yet, just like I figured it out already, the ability to do so was nothing more but a far cry from the real power one could unlock through mana.

"You are right," I suddenly said, surprising even my own self. Yet, now that the die was cast, I had no other choice but to explain my thoughts. "There is no place in this world that we can truly call home," I admitted.

I then slowed down my sprint, taking my sweet time to gently bring my momentum all the way to a complete stop.

Sensing the changes, Mia quickly attempted to get out of my hands, most likely trying to run along with me rather than allowing me to carry her onwards. Yet, before she could shift her body and hands around to control her own descent, I knelt down and helped her to sit directly on the ground.

"It's true that there is no place that we can call home in this world," I repeated my words from before while simultaneously raising my hand to caress Mia's cheek. "And it doesn't appear that this world will turn easy to live in any time soon," I added, lowering my face and closing my eyes.

We stood still in this one, weird position for a while, a moment that I needed to organize my thoughts and gather up my courage.

'To think that a single glance from her eyes could make me act like a virgin kid who never talked to a woman before,' I thought, gritting my teeth over just how powerless I was.

Yet, rather than getting stuck in my own uselessness, I raised my face and looked directly into Mia's eyes.

"While it's true that there is no place that we can call home in this world, I believe you are looking at it the wrong way," I stated, finally ready to guide the discussion towards the point I had in mind.

"What do you mean?" Mia asked lightly, her wide eyes refusing to move an inch once she glued them to my own pupils. Yet, as the two of us continued to simply look the other in the eyes, I could see Mia's lips starting to twitch as if her body started to react to the now intimate atmosphere.

"I want to build a home with you," I finally revealed my thoughts.

Sure, it wasn't the first time for me to confess to Mia. We were already after the point of accepting the idea of having a kid.

Yet, what I asked now, was slightly different. Because rather than having her as my partner from now on, I wanted her to be fully recognized as a pillar of my life.

"Why do I feel a dissonance between the spirit of your words and their literal meaning?" Mia asked, happiness mixing with confusion on the stage of her eyes.

"Because I'm too cowardly to simply ask you to be my wife, my one and only until the last of our days," I explained in a single breath, before leaning in for a gentle kiss.