Chapter 618 Keeper of the Horses

Empyrean Citadel.

In the central room, the atmosphere was warm, peaceful, and harmonious.

Aishia, Mahiru, and Kei had just been openly informed about the latest development in the relationship between Charlie and Astraea.

As for Est, she was not part of that harem circle at all. Her appearance, resembling that of an innocent little girl, always made it difficult for Charlie—who still possessed a sound and healthy moral compass—to do anything inappropriate or entertain lewd thoughts toward her.

Aside from Aishia, who had always acted as though she knew everything from the very beginning, the other two girls were completely stunned upon learning just how insanely fast Charlie's relationship with the Goddess of Justice had progressed.

It should be remembered that Shirogane Kei and Shiina Mahiru were girls who came from the modern world. The worldview and social norms ingrained in their minds were naturally not yet accustomed to the whirlwind romances of this other world.

Charlie's speed of execution even felt far more outrageous and unreasonable compared to the story of Yuzaki Nasa, who proposed marriage to Tsukuyomi Tsukasa on their very first meeting!

Although she had initially been shocked, Kei ultimately felt extremely happy because her own Chief Goddess, Astraea, had now officially joined their man's harem.

On the other hand, compared to Kei, who had already known Astraea for quite some time, Mahiru, as the newcomer to this residence, was still not very familiar with the Goddess of Justice's true personality.

Even so, the honey-blonde-haired girl did not voice any objections or protests whatsoever.

At this point, Mahiru had actually reached the stage where she no longer cared whether one, two, or even more additional women entered that man's life.

As long as she could remain by Charlie's side and receive a fair share of his affection, Mahiru chose to close her eyes to her man's habit of charming women and his irresistible magnetic appeal.

With maturity and understanding from each individual, Charlie's harem structure had proven to be remarkably peaceful, tranquil, and harmonious.

Their domestic situation was completely the opposite of the harems of the ancient Chinese emperors, which were always filled with bloody intrigues, vile conspiracies, schemes to bring one another down, and falsehoods where, on the surface, they could exchange sweet smiles while secretly plotting the cruelest ways to eliminate each other.

"..."

Charlie, who had remained silent all this time while watching his beautiful women sit together and chat as they grew closer to one another, finally smiled faintly.

Feeling that his domestic affairs were safely under control, he decided that now was the right time to begin working on the execution of his grand plan.

Charlie slowly raised his right hand directly in front of his chest.

*BUZZ!*

Within seconds, strands of magical light began to glow, and an extremely intricate and majestic magic circle formation immediately materialized above the palm of his hand.

Seeing the sudden flash of mystical light, the attention of every woman in the room was instantly drawn toward Charlie.

"What are you doing, Charlie-san?"

Kei voiced her curiosity, which also represented the great curiosity in Mahiru's mind as she watched the man.

Aishia merely stared silently at the scene, as she was the only one who already knew exactly what Charlie was attempting to accomplish.

Right beside her, Est sat with an expressionless, indifferent face, paying little attention to the energy fluctuations surrounding them.

"A sealing power..."

Although her Arcanum was currently still sealed by the rules of the Lower World, Astraea was still a true goddess.

Her divine instincts remained sharp enough to vaguely sense the extraordinary restraining energy radiating from the magic formation in Charlie's hand.

"Goddess Astraea is right."

Charlie gazed gently at Astraea, who was now sitting between Mahiru and Kei.

His eyes briefly fell upon the red hickeys that were still clearly visible around her neck and beautiful collarbone, left uncovered by the cut of her exquisite dress.

With a faint smile, Charlie gave a brief introduction to the magic circle in his hand.

"This is an ancient, high-level, and extremely powerful sealing spell—Keeper of the Horses."

"This spell was deliberately created by the elders of the Netherworld mages, including Susanoo, by utilizing the power of an evil-subduing sacred artifact directly connected to the God of War, Erlang Shen."

This spell was actually a gift that Charlie had requested and obtained from the last Quest he successfully completed.

A sealing magic originating from the Campione Planar World.

"Huh?! Keeper of the Horses... Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen?!" Kei immediately cried out in shock, her eyes widening completely.

"W-Wait a second, Charlie-kun... You mean Sun Wukong from the legendary Journey to the West actually exists?!" Mahiru was no less shaken, her hand instinctively covering her mouth in disbelief.

As girls who were born and raised in modern Japan, the legendary adventure tale Journey to the West had long been an extremely popular part of their cultural upbringing.

The two girls naturally knew very well who the mighty Sun Wukong and his rival, the Three-Eyed Erlang Shen, were.

They had never expected that the names from that fictional mythology would come out of Charlie's mouth as actual, tangible powers.

On the other hand, Astraea furrowed her beautiful brows. She had absolutely no idea who Sun Wukong or Erlang Shen were. However, her ears caught one name that was extremely familiar: Susanoo.

Even so, as a goddess, she was certain that the Susanoo she knew did not possess a sealing spell like Keeper of the Horses.

"The Susanoo I know isn't in this city of Orario, Charlie. He lives far away in the Far East together with Amaterasu."

"And as far as I know, he doesn't possess a Sealing Divine Authority or a magical spell as powerful as the one radiating from your hand."

"So... the Susanoo you just mentioned isn't from this world, is he?"

Hearing the Goddess of Justice's critical question, Charlie merely chuckled softly.

His memories suddenly turned back to what had happened in the bedroom the previous night.

After the two of them had finished making love intensely enough to reach their sixth round, and while they were taking a brief break to rest before continuing to fan their passion into the next round, Charlie had spoken frankly and told Astraea his greatest secret: that he occasionally traveled across other worlds.

A different world whose dimension could never possibly be reached by the gods of this world.

"That's right."

Charlie slowly nodded, with no intention of evading the matter any longer, manfully acknowledging the truth before his women.