Pre-chapter AN: I'm alive! Sorry that it took so long to put this chapter out. Between school, work, and home life, things have just been a large hassle so I couldn't work on either of my stories til this week.

Anyway, here's the chapter. Just some prefacing, this will be mostly from Alise's point of view from her first meeting with Rhein and her confession after three years of knowing him, so things will be hopping around a bit.

So without further ado, please enjoy!

"Hm?"

"..."

"Fou!"

I stared at the pair that stood before me. A blonde girl with golden eyes holding onto a certain small white animal that was staring up at me with wide eyes. I had to admit that this…was rather interesting.

"Hello Miss Wallenstein." I said to the young teenager in front of me and she returned a polite nod of her own despite her somewhat blank expression.

"Hello Mr. Rhein."

I looked down at the creature in her arms and then sighed.

"Fou." I said and then held out my arm and watched as Fou removed himself from the Sword Princess' hold and then jumped on my arm before running up the limb to perch himself on my shoulder.

"So you were bothering Miss Wallenstein this whole time then while I was at work? Do you have something to say for yourself?" I asked Beast IV with a raised eyebrow only for him to raise one of his paws to tap my face multiple times when I turned my head to look at him.

"Fou! Fou kyu fou!"

"Oh is that right? She's an interesting girl? Well, I appreciate you sharing this with me, so you can stop attacking my face now, you beast." I said with an eye roll, but I knew what he was talking about when he called the Sword Princess an interesting girl. After all, unique existences are bound to be interesting for one reason or another.

"Foooooouuuuuu!"

I looked away from Fou towards the girl, ignoring how my left cheek was still getting punched to address the teenage Adventurer who had been silently watching the two of us interact with each other.

"Thank you very much for bringing him back to me, Miss Wallenstein. I'll make sure to compensate you if he had eaten any food during his stay at the Loki Familia's home last night."

Ais nodded her head before her eyes turned to Fou.

"You're welcome…can I see him again?"

Oh? What's this? It looks like she has a small glint in her eye right now.

Well then.

I looked over to Fou who stopped punching my face as we stared at each other.

"Well what do you say, Fou? If I allow you to spend time with Ais when I'm not home, will you behave yourself? After all, I do have people from the Loki Familia who I advise."

"Fou fou!"

Hm, good point Fou.

"Miss Wallenstein, does Fou have permission to attack Lady Loki if she acts up?" I asked on behalf of the Beast on my shoulder and Ais seemed to contemplate that answer for a moment in silence before nodding with a small smile.

"Mhm…"

"Well, you heard the girl Fou." I said and gave him a small flick on the nose, causing him to let out a small sneeze before turning my attention to Ais again.

"Anyway, thank you very much Miss Wallenstein. I look forward to seeing you at the Pantheon in the future. Now if you excuse me, I'll be off." I said to her while bidding her farewell to which she nodded before I turned to go off my own way within the city.

She really is a quiet girl at times, isn't she?

"You should get going, Fou. I'm going to be making a visit today, so I'm sure you'll get bored.

"Fou!"

"Don't cause trouble, and keep the house clean or I won't feed you potatoes today."

"Fou fou fouuuu!" And with that confirmation, Fou jumped off my shoulder before running in the direction of our apartment.

Hopefully he doesn't cause trouble…who does he think he's turning into, Merlin?

Anyway…time to get going.

"Oh my. Hello Rhein. I'm surprised to see you here today." A beautiful blue eyed brunette in front of me said with a gentle smile when she greeted me at the door to the Astraea Familia's home, Stardust Garden.

She was the patron goddess of the Astraea Familia, Astraea herself in the flesh…and the very same goddess who many desire lap pillows from.

"Hello Lady Astraea, it's been a while." I calmly greeted her with a small nod of my head only for her to giggle behind her hand.

"Now now, you know you can call me Astraea right, Rhein? You of all people are deserving of addressing me as a friend." The Goddess of justice said to me, giving me her ever so kind smile as she looked up at me, and I couldn't help but to let out a sigh.

"How many times do I have to ask you to just call me Astraea until you actually do, I wonder?" She asked me with a knowing look to which I gave her just the smallest of smiles before answering her question.

"At least once more, Lady Astraea."

The two of us have played this game for three years now, with neither of us giving ground at all. She would always ask me to call her by just her name, but I would always just address her respectfully, as per her standing as a goddess. That said, it was a game we both enjoyed to just play at this point until one of us gave up, and considering that it was with a deity who I had genuine respect for in this world, I was more than content to keep playing it with her.

"Very well." She conceded this time as well with a small roll of her eyes which probably would have been more impactful if she still wasn't smiling.

"I have to say though, I truly am surprised to see you here. What brings you to our home this afternoon?" She asked me with a curious expression, not that I blame her. After all, I don't visit the Goddess or her Familia all that often. Usually it's the other way around, be it to bring gifts or pester me, in Alise's case, and the times I do come, it's usually not so voluntary…

You'd actually be surprised to hear that it's not Alise who's normally responsible for metaphorically strong-arming me into visiting though. No, that honor goes to the woman that was currently standing in front of me. In spite of how hard I try, I can never say no when she asks something out of me, especially when she claims that it's out of concern for me. To make it worse, I knew that she meant what she said and wasn't putting on some sort of act, so I felt like I had no choice but to accept her genuine kindness.

For a goddess of justice, she really knows how to win her battles.

"I'm here to pick up Alise."

"Oh my, is that right? She came back to us in quite a state, you know. I'm sure she almost suffered a breakdown after her comments of sharing a kiss, but not a kiss, and not being ready for it." Astraea said to me with a small smirk, clearly having enjoyed whatever Alise had gone through after we parted ways.

How cruel of you, Astraea. Alise picks up a few of her oddness somewhere you know. But I was more focused on what she said to me.

"I think she's referring to how we shared each other's food yesterday and shared bites from our potatoes. I didn't think to bring up the fact that we technically shared an indirect kiss." I said with a small shrug and Astraea just giggled.

"I figured that was the case, especially since then she had clammed up about it. If you'll excuse me, I'll go get Alise for you. Please come in and make yourself at home."

"Of course."

I walked in and headed right over to take a seat at one of the tables, waiting patiently for Alise to come, only to be joined by Astraea once again as she sat with me.

"She will be here in just a few minutes. You know Rhein, in spite of her momentary embarrassment, Alise was quite happy last night, when you reciprocated her gestures. It might have been the happiest I have seen her in years." Astraea noted aloud, causing me to look away from her and towards the ceiling.

"I'm sure you're just exaggerating Lady Astraea. While we both know Alise can be well…Alise. She's always been a bundle of energy and cheer for as long as we've met." I tried to correct the Goddess only for her to just continue smiling at me.

We both knew that she was right. While it wasn't wrong that Alise is in fact a bundle of energy and joy like I had told her, we both knew that being able to spend time with me would always brighten her day. That was part of why I never could actually push her away, because her infectious energy when she was with me just couldn't be faked like that, and it was telling about her feelings for me, even if I never truly officially returned them.

"If that's what you say. Though it seems to me that she's not the only one happy here." Astraea said to me, and we knew who was the real winner of this conversation here.

[Alise POV]

I remember that day very vividly, you know?

The day that could have ended as a nightmare.

When the Juggernaut was spawned by the Dungeon's cry and when our hero…our Guardian…appeared out of nowhere to save us.

CLANG!

I remember that moment very well. Right before Noin was cut into pieces by those gigantic claws at a speed that I hadn't ever expected from a new monster that spawned on the 30th Floor, a flash of blue appeared between her and the monster- the nightmare's- deadly claws, and from the light, I saw him.

A boy just a few years older than me who was wearing a form fitting long sleeved black shirt with blue lines running through them, black pants and boots, and nothing more. No weapon or armor. He had gray or silver hair and intense blue eyes the color of a sapphire. And most importantly…

He held the claws about to cut Noin into three back with only his arms in the way, the noise from him sounding as if a blade was blocking something made of metal of some kind.

Thinking back on it, I thought the sight was amazing.

It was clear that Noin was the most affected by what should have been her death when she paled and stepped away from those claws. I would've probably felt the same way, to be honest. Thankfully Neze grabbed her and dashed back to join the rest of us. And when we tried to help the boy who saved our friend…

'Leave this place at once if you all want to live. If any of you stay, I won't stop this creature from cutting you down for getting in our way. So get going.'

That was all he had said to us at that moment.

And so we left after we heard the absolute certainty that was in his voice. I remember how mad Lyra was after we ran away since he was very dismissive of us, but I think she didn't say anything at that time because of the shock that we all felt at that time. That monster would have cut down Noin and we wouldn't have even known in time to stop it. I think we all knew that on a subconscious level as we essentially ran for our lives. And something told me that more of us would have died before we were able to take any action, so we did as instructed and made our escape, even momentarily ignoring the Rudra Familia who were probably confused about what had happened in just a minute or so.

As we ran, even though we were putting a large amount of distance between ourselves and that boy and monster, we could still hear the echoing screeches of the newly spawned creature coming from below us as it fought that mysterious man who stopped its attack, followed by the terrified screams of the Rudra Familia. It seems that the Evilus group wasn't as fortunate as we were in evading it. Eventually we made it to the 28t Floor since it was the nearest safety point that was still a fair distance away from the monster and began to warn other Adventurers away from the 30th Floor. Apparently we also made it before the Rudra Familia did, since there were no signs of them having arrived at their destination so we kept an eye on the entrance to the 29th Floor to ambush them should they make an appearance.

But sure enough, they started coming out, some of them seemingly traumatized, while others were covered in blood not their own, and we were able to easily subdue everyone who came out through the entrance.

Poor Noin though. Once we finally stopped and had a moment to actually take a breath, the girl was in tears with us trying to do our best to comfort her after the realization that she was about to die right at that moment. Neze took it hard as well since she was the closest person to Noin and would have been unable to protect her.

It also raised questions of who that boy was. How did he appear out of nowhere? What Level was he to simply block that killing blow with ease and show enough confidence to fight the monster on its own? What Familia did he belong to? None of us had ever even seen him before until today so for a stranger to just appear to stop that monster, it was honestly an incredible sight.

Well, we'd get some of our answers when we saw him coming out from the entrance of the 29th floor covered in blood and other injuries, but otherwise fine, if his calm expression said anything. So we tried to help him with Noin taking the lead to most likely repay him for saving her life, but he simply refused and asked us where he was.

That…had honestly thrown us all off. Did he not know that we were all in the Dungeon?

We weren't sure what he meant, so we had told him that he was in the Dungeon's 28th Floor. He seemed to have a confused look on his face when he asked us his next question.

"The Dungeon's 28th Floor? I'm sorry I don't know what you mean by the Dungeon. Can you explain what you mean?"

"The Dungeon? You know, like the Dungeon underneath Babel in Orario? The place where monsters spawn and Adventurers go?" Lyra had asked, as if she was talking to a child who had never heard of it. While it wasn't really kind of her to act that way, the nature of her question made sense. After all, who doesn't know about the Dungeon below Orario?

But it seemed that the young man recognized the name if his slightly widened eyes were of any indication.

"You said Orario? I'm underneath the Dungeon City Orario right now?"

"Yeah? Wait, you know what Orario is, but you didn't even know where you were until just now?" Lyra asked with an incredulous expression on her face, not that I could blame her. After all, the Dungeon is pretty much synonymous with Orario, so I'm also confused as to how he knew what Orario was, but he didn't know that he was in the Dungeon.

"Well, let's just say that Orario is considered very, very far away from where I come from, so imagine my surprise when I've just learned for myself that I am currently in the Dungeon that it's famous for." He explained with a shrug as he started actually looking around with more focus. How strange…if where he came from was far from Orario, how did he get here then?

"I would actually like to know. Who exactly are you?" Kaguya asked, drawing his attention to our Vice-Captain from the Far East. And truthfully, we were all curious as well.

"You first. After all, I saved your lives earlier. If that thing was allowed to be set free, I can say with certainty that you all would have been killed, so you can have the decency to give the names of the people I just saved."

Well…I suppose that this was fair, since he did save Noin, so we introduced ourselves, with Nion also thanking him as she stepped forward and hugged him, causing him to freeze up as if unsure how to respond.

Looking back at it now, instead of being amused at his awkward reaction, I should have felt sad instead that a simple thing as a hug was such a foreign thing for him.

It was when Lion introduced herself last that he looked at us with narrow eyes as if trying to figure out some sort of puzzle and eventually he nodded his head.

"Well, in any case, it's nice to meet you. Though I have to say, it was lucky that I arrived when I did then. You all have no idea what I just saved you all from."

And that was when he told us about the monster that had nearly killed Noin. The Juggernaut. A monster that was around Level 5 in strength if it was birthed all the way down here and capable of cutting down its enemies in one swing of its claws and while it was physically vulnerable, it would have reflected back any magic that was sent its way, and considering that a fair number of us were magic users…

I'm sure we all felt the chills that ran through our spines after hearing that revelation.

When it came time for him to introduce himself though, he said that he wanted to go up to Orario first and meet our Goddess before introducing himself for some reason, and while there were some of us who were skeptical about this, considering that he saved us, we were fine with it. But it was when he met Lady Astraea at Stardust Garden that things took an interesting turn.

The three of us were seated in Lady Astraea's office along with Kaguya due to her position as our Vice-Captain. After we all returned home, safe and sound for the most part, a lot of the girls wanted to rest, so we let them while Kaguya and I took our new companion to meet Lady Astraea since she wanted to thank him.

"Thank you very much for bringing my children back to me safe and sound. My name is Astraea, and if there is anything that we can do for you for what you have done for us, I will do whatever I can to repay you."

"It's no worries, goddess of justice. Your children seem to be people who possess magnificent character, as expected of your Familia. I'm pleased that of all the people I happened to arrive on time to save, it was them." The stranger replied after Lady Astraea thanked him for saving us.

Aw, how sweet of him to compliment us like that! I guess he just knows how amazing we all are!

"That does beg the question though. Who exactly are you? While I am grateful for what you've done, you have to admit that one doesn't just randomly appear out of nowhere in the nick of time to save someone's life."

That statement caught my attention as well as Kaguya's as the two of us looked to the Stranger who looked our goddess in the eyes and raised an eyebrow before turning his head away and clicking his tongue.

"Fair point. But I want your word Goddess. No one here will breathe a single word about what we'll be talking about here. While I don't mind my name being shared as it's bound to be known anyway, I'd like for us to keep some of the details under lock and key."

"Very well. It's the least that we can do. Girls?" Lady Astraea asked for the two of us to nod in silence.

Even though it wasn't a verbal agreement, it was clear that Kaguya and I were in agreement to not spill anything that was discussed together. A secret within our Familia if someone were to ask. After all, that was the least we could do after we were saved.

"I suppose we should start at the beginning then. My name is…well I don't really know my real name. But the closest thing would be my designation, which is Counter Guardian RHEIN. I am a mercenary of sorts who is contracted to…well, it's neither a Spirit or a God. It would be better to say that I'm contracted to a powerful entity known as Alaya, a being with the sole purpose of ensuring the survival of mankind."

Now I'm glad that he told us to wait until he met Lady Astraea! If he told us something like that, grateful or not, he'd probably sound crazy! But Lady Astraea was taking this seriously which meant he was telling the truth. Still, I've never heard of Alaya before, whatever it is.

And he doesn't even know what his real name is? And there was his designation. What is a Counter Guardian?

I looked over to Kaguya as if silently asking her the silent question of what a Counter Guardian is or what this Alaya was, but she seemed to be confused too.

"A powerful entity named Alaya that is neither God nor Spirit? How interesting. But tell me Rhein, may I ask what is a Counter Guardian and what do you mean by ensuring the survival of mankind?" Lady Astraea asked him to which he was quick to answer, and weren't we all in for a shock.

"It's exactly as it sounds. The whole story is probably too complicated for you to understand-"

Is that an insult? I don't know how to feel about that."

"-but the closest approximation you can give Alaya is something that is not divine, but something far more than just a Spirit, and it embodies the will of mankind. If there happens to be a seemingly unstoppable threat that is a danger to mankind and there are no other measures that can be taken to stop it as the Gods are unable to interfere in the events of the world, Alaya will deploy us Counter Guardians, children who have made a contract to offer ourselves as its weapons, in response to the threat so that we can counter it through elimination with extreme prejudice or somehow containing it. No matter where the threat is coming from, whether it is possibly a deity or mortals themselves, if anything threatening the advancement of mankind approaches, then it's us cleaners who are sent to do our jobs and purge the threat from the world, no matter the cost."

I'm pretty sure that the silence at that moment was deafening. I didn't even have to look at Kaguya or Lady Astraea to know what they were thinking. To eliminate a deity or even other mortals in the Lower World just to ensure the protection of mortals? That's just insane! I mean, I know that I boasted how we were the ones who were going to kill the One-Eyed Black Dragon, but this and that are two different things.

But something stood out when he talked about what he did.

"Weapons?" I asked him, bringing a chilling silence that had fallen down upon us. And all he did was laugh a bitter smile that didn't sit well with me. I didn't like it at all, and I would soon know why.

"If someone accepts a contract with Alaya, in exchange for the power to save others, we're eternally bound to it, destined to follow whatever orders are given to us. In a way, you can say that we throw away our mortality and humanity to gain the power needed to save others. Whether it's to fight the near impossible or killing thousands upon thousands in order to save the world, no matter what their crimes, or lack thereof, are. Whatever commands we're given, we have to follow them to the letter the very second we're deployed. We pretty much allow ourselves to be its mindless slaves for the sake of humanity, if you want to make it seem like an ugly thing." He said with a small hollow smile aimed at Lady Astraea before chuckling.

"In a way…I guess you can say that it's a cruel justice that we've become slaves to."

"That's…" I trailed off, not able to finish my words.

It was horrible. Doesn't that mean that he's been put in a situation where his hands have been stained with the blood of countless people, if that's really one these Counter Guardians do? And what kind of being is Alaya to mercilessly send them to just kill so many people like that? Were those people that much of a threat to the Lower World that they would have to be killed.

I looked over to Kaguya as well to see her pale face. I know that despite not showing much emotion to his words, the loss of color was a good sign of her thoughts. It was no secret that her belief of justice was one that was colder than our own, especially since her past, which she doesn't talk about, seemed to have shaped her to have that mentality. A justice where no matter what one does, it was impossible for us to save everyone and we would have to choose who to save, something that Lion often argued with her about. And I remember that she had been shaken up briefly following an encounter with the God Erebus when she and Lyra had looked for Lion that one day.

So to meet someone who is forced to carry out that very same justice, someone whose choice was already made for him and have his hands be responsible for the deaths of…thousands….

I tried to move away from those dark thoughts by asking him a question regarding something I was really confused about.

"Then, how was it that you were here of all places?" I asked him, before continuing on. "I mean, I'm grateful that you came to help us and also save Noin, and I'm sure everyone else is too, but while that monster, the Juggernaut, was very dangerous, it wasn't something that couldn't be destroyed by higher level Adventurer, so-"

"Why was it that I was deployed to your location at that exact moment to aid you?" Rhein asked, cutting me off and I nodded.

"No idea."

Eh?

"What do you mean you have no idea?"

"I mean I have no idea as in, I didn't expect to be in Orario. I didn't expect to be in the Dungeon. Theoretically I have no reason to even be here at all. I was supposed to be deployed to face something very dangerous, so when I arrived and ended up facing the Juggernaut, I thought it was supposed to be something else that posed a threat to mankind at first and you all just happened to be on the battlefield at the wrong time. Apparently, I ended up learning very differently." Rhein answered before shaking his head.

"It doesn't matter. My presence isn't needed, so Alaya will call me back eventually so send me on my next deployment." He said before he stood up and looked at the three of us.

"Thank you for being great hosts, but I need to go now."

"You poor child…" Astraea murmured as she stood up as well and walked up to Rhein, reaching her hands out to hold his face in her hands.

"How many?" She had asked him and as if knowing what she meant, he couldn't look her in the eyes as his blue orbs turned away.

"Enough. I ask that you don't feel sorry for me, goddess of justice. It was my decision at the end of the day when I took up the mantle of a Counter Guardian."

"Very well. But I'd like for you to know this. I believe that you are still a kind child, Counter Guardian RHEIN."

I saw as Rhein turned his head to look at Lady Astraea with clearly visible shock and he seemed to be trying to say something, but it seemed the words couldn't leave his mouth. So all he did was just nod before pulling his head away from her grasp turning away.

"Wait, where are you going to even go?" I asked once we realized he was trying to leave now. There was still a lot about him that I wanted to know. That I needed to know.

I didn't realize it then, but that was when I knew that I wanted to save him.

"I'm going to find somewhere quiet and out of the way. Alaya should be pulling me back anytime soon since my mission is over and-"

*Grrrrrrrr….!*

The sound of a grumbling stomach rang out in the room and we all looked at Rhein who seemed to be confused when he heard that.

"Huh..? I shouldn't be able to feel hunger."

And that's a story for another time.

Present day…

Oh, there he is!

I went to greet him as normal but then I remembered yesterday and had to force the blush down as I walked over to him and waved.

"Hey Rhein!" I called out as I saw him and Lady Astraea sitting together. It's honestly so cute! It's like I'm watching a doting mother with her son!

"Hi Alise."

Gah! You can afford to smile more, you know! You would look so much more handsome if you did!

But then again…he does smile around me more than he does other people and the only person he smiles consistently around is Eina and they're like brother and sister. So technically, I still get the most smiles from him!

Besides, even if he doesn't smile much, it's his eyes I like to look at more. Compared to the day we met, I know that they've become far more expressive, and I always feel my heart race when I see them noticeably soften when he sees me. Even if he shoos us away, closes the door on my face, causing me to annoy him again, if he really wanted us to go away, he could have easily done it, and we both know that.

Despite what he told us of his duty as a Counter Guardian all those years ago, I never hated him for what he's had to do, especially with how it clearly weighed on him. In fact, I felt sad for him. He was so jaded when he had spoken about it, as if he was talking about a job that he doesn't really enjoy and is just duty-bound to carry out, so to see his sapphire eyes be filled with content and happiness…it's really a beautiful thing to see compared to three years ago, especially when it's because he's been freed of his burdens.

I know that he's not some saint and I'm sure he'll say the same thing, and he'll never call himself a hero due to his personal belief that the heroes he knew of were much greater than anything he could imagine, but what I do know is that he has a kind heart.

"Well, shall we be on our way?" Rhein asked me as he stood up from his seat and walked over to hold out his hand for me to take.

"Yes!" And I reached out to take it.

"Now, remember to be responsible today, and I hope to see her back home tonight Rhein." Lady Astraea called out to us with a motherly smile.

"Lady Astraea!" I cried out, my cheeks turning red as I tried to fan my face. Is this payback for all those years Lady Astraea?! I'm sorry!

"Don't worry, she'll be fine with me." Rhein said with a sigh as he started to walk to the door, taking me with him.

Lady Astraea aside…it's time for our date but not a date!

Well…we honestly didn't do much today. Rhein's a very simplistic person to be honest, so we just did normal things today. We just spent some time around Orario together with small talk, even going from roof to roof since it was pretty fun, though we didn't do it too much since Rhein really is supposed to seem like an everyday civilian, and we didn't want people to see him casually jumping from roof to roof, even if he can hide his presence easily.

Then we went to eat dinner together somewhere quiet so we could enjoy as much of our privacy as we could. It was nice but…

"They're staring at us, you know."

"Aw it's okay! After all, I am a perfect beauty, inside and out, having dinner with the most handsome Advisor in all of Orario known for his stoic demeanor. A man so handsome that gods and goddesses want him in their Familia even though he's a pencil pusher." I said with a giggle, ignoring how whispers about the two of us were spreading.

Though, I did pick up on someone saying that we were cute. Thank you, kind stranger!

"...really? Is that what people really say about me? I wonder if I need to make some visits- mmph!" Rhein started, leading to a topic I needed to stop quickly.

"Ahahahaha! Don't be silly! Don't worry Rhein, if the worst comes, you and Fou can always hide away with us!" I said with a laugh, stuffing a bun into his mouth, while he just stared at me, but I do not regret it!

The less he makes his 'visits' the better. After all, last time that happened, the Soma and Ishtar Familia went through a lot of problems.

Then I managed to get him to go shopping for outfits for him! Seriously, he has no taste in clothing. All he wears is just copies of the same Guild uniform and his black outfit.

Needless to say, he needed a wardrobe change that was three years due.

"Alise…I don't need clothes. I already have everything I-"

"Ah-bap-bap!"

"..."

"Spin around for me please."

I saw Rhein sigh before doing a small spin, showing of his black button up that was opened, the sleeves rolled up while he wore a white shirt underneath that dipped low to show his collarbones, paired with black shoes and pants, a pair of fake thick frames glasses on his face that seemed to show off his blue eyes better.

I looked over to the store owner who I shared a thumbs up with, that showed how we both approved of this look on our living model.

"We'll take it! Now, onto the next set! Try on this hat right here too!" I said and then handed Rhein a new set of clothes before pushing him back into the dressing room.

"Oh lord…"

…

…

Afterward, we took a fast detour to his apartment to drop off his new outfits and now we were walking back to my home as the sun was going to set soon.

All in all, it really wasn't that eventful, not that it was supposed to be, but it was still normal and nice.

As we walked with each other, I slowly reached out to take his hand and hold it in mine, and it took a lot of willpower to hide a wide smile when he squeezed back after glancing at me from the corner of his eye before we walked together in a comfortable silence.

Say whatever you want about Rhein, but he's…what is it called in the Far East…oh right! He's definitely a tsundere!

When the two of us finally made our way back to the Stardust Garden, I turned to Rhein and smiled up at him.

"Thank you for today Rhein. I had a lot of fun today!"

Rhein blinked at me before returning one of his genuine smiles.

"It's no problem. I'm glad you got to enjoy yourself today."

I felt giddy inside hearing that and then stepped closer to him, slamming into him with a hug that he returned, more because he needed to balance himself because of how hard I came at him, ignoring the 'oof' that escaped his lips.

"Did you really need to do that?" He deadpanned as I had him in my embrace.

"Nope!" I giggled, knowing that either way, he still would have hugged me, but it's my job as the amazing Scarlet Harnel to bring some fun in his life however I can!

But now…I steeled myself for this.

You've got this Alise. You went through years of trials to reach where you are today. You fought Evilus all those years ago. Don't back out now.

"Hey Rhein?" I asked him while the two of us were hugging.

"Yes Alise?"

"I still think of that day a lot, you know."

"Why would you, you silly girl? It's in the past now, Alise. Think about the future instead." He chided me, but that only made me giggle. Even if he hardly ever shows it, he cares for us a lot. He just doesn't show it the same way that many others do.

"I am…and that's why I think about that day. Aside from how you saved us all, do you know how that day was important to me?" I asked him, and I heard him hum a bit before answering me.

"How?"

"Because even if I didn't realize it then…when I saw you hold back the Juggernaut like that to save Noin, your back firm and your blue eyes super intense-"

"Alise…"

Tee-hee…

"Fine fine…I didn't realize it then, but that was when I started falling for you, even if I never knew it."

There. I said it.

A brief moment of silence fell between us before Rhein finally broke it.

"Is this a confession, Scarlet Harnel?"

Oh, so that's how he wants to do this?

"Why, yes. Yes it is, Mister Advisor."

"You're a really troublesome and straightforward person, aren't you?"

I just let out a small giggle.

Yes I am, but we both know I wouldn't actually answer that.

"You must really want to throw my plans for a peaceful life into the fire as well, don't you?"

Well…

He does want a peaceful life, doesn't he? And he couldn't have that if he was in a relationship with an Adventurer…maybe this wasn't such a great idea…

"Ah...I'm sorry…" I tried to pull away from him and apologize while ignoring the small ache in my heart, but he merely squeezed his arms around me, catching me off guard. Thankfully my head was on his shoulder so he couldn't see me blushing like a princess saved by her knight.

I could hear him sigh dramatically as in exasperation, since he hardly ever sighs like that to begin with before his next words lit a small fire in me.

"I guess I'll just have to make plans for a peaceful life with you in it then."

Instead of the ache that had just been there, now, I could only feel my heart race when he said that and I slightly pulled away so that I could look up at him, but before I could say anything, he continued talking as we locked eyes with each other.

"Alise Lovell…you're such a troublesome girl. A very troublesome girl, with your constant visits and nonsense. But despite that, by some miracle you still stole my heart." He said to me, his smile giving way to a small grin that was a mix of resigned and happy.

Words couldn't describe how I felt when he told me in his own way that he shared my feelings. All I could say was that…

"I'm happy to hear that."

You know, I always joked around being the pure and amazing Scarlet Harnel, one of the Astraea Familia's swords of justice, but at this moment, I really did feel like things were perfect.

Me, the energetic, fiery Alise Lovell and the cool as water Rhein Alayashiki (even if we knew how much he dislikes the name). The best example of opposites attracting.

"Rhein?"

"Yes, Alise?" He asked me as I pulled away from his embrace, feeling oddly cold without it.

"I want to give you something that I never got to give you before today." I shyly said to him, his eyebrows raised in curiosity since he's probably trying to remember something that was never actually there...and since I'm acting shy all of a sudden.

You got this Alise! Go for it!

"And that would be…?" He asked me only to be caught off guard when I leaned up to kiss him on the cheek, right by his lips and then turned around to quickly jerk the front door open.

"Be prepared to be greeted by the pure and perfect young lady known as Alise Lovell constantly from now on, okay? I'll see you tomorrow!" I said and flashed him a wink over my shoulder before closing the door, putting a barrier between the two of us now…and then I finally let all the pent-up embarrassment show, my hands covering my face as I slid down the door.

"Is this how Ryuu feels when we tease her about boys?" I couldn't help but to whisper to myself. Unfortunately, I was unaware of the audience that I had gathered.

"Why yes, yes it is."

Eep!

I looked up to see all the girls and Lady Astraea gathering around me with smiles on their faces…some less pleasant than others.

"Well well, look at our Captain here finally snagging her hot dream boat. And even though it wasn't a full on thing, she still kissed him near the lips." Lyra said with a smirk.

They saw that?! When?! From where?!

"Now now Lyra, don't tease her too much. I'm sure our Captain wanted to take hold of him and kiss his lights out, but backed out at the last moment."

Kaguya!

"Lyra! Kaguya! You shouldn't tease Alise like that."

Oh thank you Ryuu! I promise I'll stop calling you Lion from now on-

"Even if it is deserved with how often she teases us."

Noooo!

"Now girls, let's give Alise a break."

Lady Astraea, how I love you!

"Now Alise, tell me, Rhein didn't do anything inappropriate to you today, did he?"

No, Lady Astraea, why?!

You all….STOP BEING SO TROUBLESOME!

Despite all that teasing though…I was happy I confessed to him, because I've never been happier than when my hero is with me.

Post-chapter AN: Alright, so I know that people will have some questions, so I'll try to answer them as best as possible.

Doesn't the romance seem very fast? In the chapter itself, sure, I'll admit that the romance was quickly established. In the story, not really. These two have gotten to know each other for three years, with Rhein's shell being broken more or less by then. I will be doing occasional flashbacks throughout the story detailing their initial interactions and growing friendship though.

Is this a Type-Moon Crossover? As some (or all) of you may have figured out, there's a bit of Nasuverse going on right now, but no, this is not a crossover (if it was, hoo boy, it would not have been fun for the Danmachi folks. Remember, this is technically Rhein's third life, his first one being his unknown life on vanilla Earth, followed by being in the Nasuverse solely as a Counter Guardian, and now being transported here in his newest life somehow. I will be writing a one or two shot story in the future about his CG experience.

Alaya? Alright, now this is a tricky one. So Rhein has a connection to the Counter Force in the form of a Falna, even though Alaya is a collective unconscious and not a being with Divinity, hence his corrupted/faux Falna at the end of Chapter 1 to symbolize his connection. That said, Alaya cannot truly manifest in this world as it's still encompassed by a technical Age of the Gods, in spite of how weakened they become when descending, so it will not have any true relevance in the story.

If there are any more questions, please DM them to me on here or on Discord through my server at invite code kdyDgrj4QU and I'll answer them as best as I can and if needed, I'll post those in the next chapter.

Anyway, take care everyone.