The atmosphere between the two fell into a tense silence. Only the sound of lapping water and the rustling of the night wind broke the stillness of the lake.
Charlie desperately fought to maintain his sanity, battling the increasingly strong instinctive urges. He tried to distract his mind with anything other than the warmth of Aiz's body pressed against his back and the intoxicatingly soft scent.
"..."
On the other hand, Aiz herself seemed overcome with confusion. She wasn't sure what she should say or do. The only thing she clearly felt was a strong desire to stay close to Charlie, a strange yet warming feeling she had never experienced before.
Man and woman, naked in the middle of a tranquil lake under the light of the night sky. A highly intimate and potentially dangerous situation for Charlie's self-control.
"Hisss...!"
Not long after, Charlie jolted in surprise as he felt Aiz's hand slowly move down his waist.
His heart pounded as the girl's fingers touched his skin. With a quick yet gentle movement, Charlie grabbed Aiz's hand, preventing it from touching something that would clearly make him lose complete control.
"What are you doing, Aiz?"
"..."
Aiz seemed to be thinking. Perhaps due to the natural physiological reaction in such a close situation, her body began to react without her fully realizing it.
"I... don't know. I feel strange... my body is very hot. This is... the first time I've felt this way."
'Could it be... Aiz is aroused?' Charlie speculated inwardly.
Before he could say anything to ease the atmosphere, Aiz continued speaking in an innocent tone.
"Recently, Riveria taught me about how babies are made. I always thought that when a man and a woman slept together while holding hands, then the next morning, pigeons would deliver their baby in a basket to the couple."
Hearing that explanation, Charlie sighed softly.
"Aiz, you're really too innocent. Don't you even have basic knowledge about things like that?"
Her next words made his heart plummet and his brain freeze for a moment.
With an innocent and guileless gaze, Aiz asked, "Then, Charlie. Would you like to make a baby with me?"
Shocked, Charlie reflexively turned to face Aiz completely, his hands unconsciously grabbing the girl's shoulders.
"Aiz. Do you understand what you just said?"
Aiz's golden eyes stared directly into Charlie's blue eyes, as beautiful as a clear sky.
"If Charlie wants to, I don't mind. I've liked you since the first time I saw you."
"Seriously?" Charlie asked in disbelief.
This was the first time he had received a confession of love from a woman, both in this life and in his previous life full of regrets.
"Why? Why do you like me, Aiz? We haven't even known each other for long."
Blinking her beautiful eyes, Aiz seemed a little confused by the question.
"Does one need a reason to like someone?"
"..."
Charlie fell silent. He couldn't refute Aiz's words.
Love is often irrational, a feeling that cannot be measured or judged by logic.
Aiz's sudden and sincere confession left him speechless.
"..."
His silence made the hope in Aiz's eyes dim. The light in her eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by a frightening darkness, a sign of an anomaly that Charlie didn't notice. The yandere seemed to awaken from her slumber.
With her head bowed, her wet golden hair covering part of her face, Aiz asked in a soft voice.
"Am I not good enough? Or does Charlie like another woman? For example, those two spirit women by your side?"
Still unaware of the strange change in Aiz, Charlie shook his head quickly.
"No, Aiz. Not at all. I don't have romantic feelings for anyone right now. My main focus is to become stronger, isn't that also your goal all this time? Love will only slow down the progress of increasing strength."
Lifting her head quickly, Aiz denied firmly.
"That's not true. Love can also be a supporting factor for someone to become stronger. My father became strong because of his love for my mother."
"..."
Again and again, Charlie couldn't refute her argument.
He remembered the protagonist of this world, Bell Cranel. In the original timeline, his strength increased absurdly precisely because of his deep love for Aiz. That feeling even awakened a unique skill called Liaris Freese within him.
Liaris Freese increased Bell's growth rate while he was in love. The strength of the effect was even directly proportional to the intensity of his feelings.
In other words, Aiz's statement that love could increase someone's strength was not superstition.
"..."
Aiz, whose mind began to fall into the realm of yandere because she thought her confession of love had been flatly rejected, saw Charlie lost in thought. Without the slightest hesitation, taking advantage of the man's inattentiveness, she stood on tiptoe and suddenly kissed his lips.
"...!!!"
Charlie's eyes widened in shock. He really didn't expect Aiz, a girl who had always been as inexpressive as a doll and kept her distance, to act so boldly.
His first instinct was to push the girl away, but Aiz quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, refusing to let go no matter what. Her kiss, which was initially shocking, now turned into a tight, possessive embrace.
'If Loki finds out about this, I'm sure she'll challenge the Hera Familia to a War Game just to kill me.' Charlie thought bitterly.
Not wanting to hurt Aiz, especially after seeing her emotional fragility just now, he felt trapped. He had no choice but to let the kiss continue.
'If you can't fight it, you might as well enjoy it, right?' He thought inwardly, trying to find justification.
Coincidentally, he was also still aroused after seeing Aiz naked in front of him. Besides, he wasn't gay or a eunuch.
Slowly, Charlie began to return her kiss, momentarily forgetting the confusion and shock he had just experienced, and letting himself be swept away by the warmth and softness of the girl's lips.
Compared to Aiz, who was clearly a novice in this, Charlie, with his previous life's marital experience, had a much deeper understanding of kissing and intimacy.
After fully accepting this unexpected situation, he no longer hesitated to enjoy the "offering" in front of him.
"Ngh~....!!!"
Aiz's eyes widened even further as Charlie's tongue boldly breached her slightly parted lips, exploring every inch of her mouth's cavity.
The new and strange sensation surprised her a little but also aroused a ticklish curiosity. She could also feel something long, thick, and warm pressing against her stomach, a sensation that made her even more confused but also caused strange feelings all over her body.
'With this, does that mean Charlie accepts me?' Aiz thought with a pounding heart, feeling every touch and movement of Charlie.
Aiz's body shivered as Charlie's hands slowly moved down, groping her breasts still covered by the lake water. The gentle yet certain touch sent strange waves throughout her body, feelings she had never experienced before.
Then, Charlie's other hand moved down, gently squeezing her ass. Aiz felt strange, a little embarrassed but there was also curiosity and desire to feel more.
Although her brain was filled with confusion, Aiz let Charlie do whatever the man wanted to her body.