"Let me tell you a story of a young boy who lived in a world completely different from the one we know. In that world, there were no monsters or magic. Humans advanced their civilization with the power of technology."
"They conquered the seas and skies with their knowledge and steel, even reaching out for the stars beyond. No doubt, they had the potential to conquer the realm of stars one day. They weren't the strongest race, physically. But they used their intelligence to dominate the world and stood at the very top of the food chain."
"The young boy lived in one of many large cities with populations reaching millions and buildings hundreds of meters tall into the sky. The young boy wasn't anyone impressive that contributed to the advancement of human civilization; he was just an ordinary person. Still, he also had a dream of pure love similar to yours, but not exactly the same.
"In the era that he lived, society had become so toxic that even chivalrous or gentlemanly acts could be seen as the foolish and desperate actions of a man trying to win over his love interest. The only value in the bond of marriage is no more than a piece of paper that could be torn apart at any time."
"The increasing accessibility to knowledge and information allowed people to connect easier than ever, no matter their locations in the world. And yet, at the same time, people become even more disconnected and distanced."
"How strange and ironic it is that humanity seemed to advance and decline at the same time. Rather than understanding and accepting our flaws, people readily abandon them to chase after perfection. Traditional values and respect are lost with each new generation."
"Love is obsolete, and trust is nonexistent. Relationships are no more than games of psychological manipulations for physical or material gains. People only know how to use each other. It was a world corrupted and driven by money and greed."
"Despite the world being the way that it was, the young boy still dreamed of a pure first love that would not fail; he imagined he would be with his first love until death did them apart. Then, growing up, he met someone he thought could be that person."
"However, the reality was cruel. There was no beauty in their relationship. Like waking up from a sweet dream, happiness was short and momentarily. Only endless arguments and emotional abuse followed after."
"Still, the young boy was naïve and hopeful. For his dream, he wanted to believe he could make their relationship work. His first love still meant the world to him, no matter how poorly he was treated. Alas, he was not capable enough to keep her. She eventually left him, and it broke him."
"His world shattered, and time stopped for him. While his first love moved on quickly, only he remained behind, reminiscing their happy memories and his promise of eternal love. It was said that time healed all wounds, but after ten years, the young boy grew into a young man, entered society, and still couldn't move on it."
"He buried his pain in work and allowed the black company he worked for to take advantage of him, stingy with his wage but generous with his overtime. Still, the young man didn't mind working like a dog for the black company because work was his only friend, his anesthetic to numb his suffering."
"Eventually, his heart gave out. He died of overwork. People would have called his love foolish, something that held no meaning. Was there something wrong with him? Or was there something wrong with the world?
"He was just an insignificant person living among billions of others, and his story was only one of many failed love stories. However, I would like to think his love had meaning, that it was something special—Something precious the world should hold onto but no longer do."
"If everyone could love like him, perhaps there would be less conflict between humans, and humanity wouldn't be so divided."
"Throughout the young man's life, the quality of living had improved so much that it was practically heaven compared to the past. But to the young man, it was no different from hell. So at the end of the young man's life, he could only feel relieved from the burden of living. To live was to suffer."
"Unfortunately, what awaited him at the end of his life was not peace but an even greater hell in the form of another world, another life. Magic brought endless possibilities to this world, but men had no chance to wield it. The danger was greater, and women were in power."
"The world was very different from his last life, but some things didn't change and even became more apparent. Relationships were still distant or, perhaps, even nonexistent. Only material or physical gains mattered."
"More importantly, only women, children, and animals were still loved unconditionally. A man is still only loved under the condition that he is able to provide something, whether that be the strength of his background or simply his pleasure skills. A handsome man with no skills can only be momentarily appreciated and used, but not valued."
"As such, even though the young man became younger, he was already physically and mentally worn out, past and present. He had no will to live his new life as a slum rat and compete with others for the scarce leftover food discarded in the slums."
"The young man just lay among the garbages in the slum and awaited his second death for three days and three nights. By the third night, he was completely and utterly exhausted and famished."
"The rain came that night, but he refused to drink. Food was also surprisingly offered, but he refused to eat. And in all unlikelihood, the angelic-like person who offered him the food was a person of high status and peerless beauty, someone who should not have been passing through the slum."
"Do you know what that person said that rainy night to awaken the young man's will to live and make him eat the loaf of bread in front of him?" Vaan asked at the end of his story.
Tears continued to run down Astoria's cheeks, even after she finished listening to Vaan's story. She understood the young man in the story was Vaan.
Still, it was the tragic story of one person; there were many other tragic stories, told and untold. After all, countless people have been born into the world and suffered due to their powerlessness.
And yet, Vaan's story made her heart hurt so much that she shed tears for him.
He didn't become the man he was today because he was born or chosen to be but because he was forced to be.
"I know not what you have suffered nor why for you to have such disappointed and hopeless eyes. However, this cruel world still has its beauty and endless possibilities. You have not seen everything to be giving up here. If you want the strength to take back from the world and change anything, you need to eat," Vaan repeated the words Astoria said to him that night two years ago.
They were simple words and didn't hold any deep meaning, but those words did make him decide to give his second life a chance.
He would struggle again and see what the new world had to offer. It wouldn't be too late for him to decide to die then.
Two years had passed since then, and he was grateful for the decision he had made back then.
"The fact that you can shed this many tears for me proves that you can sympathize with me on a spiritual level and feel very sad for me. Believe me when I say that these feelings of yours aren't that of someone who only likes me for my talent and wisdom," Vaan assured.
He placed a hand on Astoria's cheeks and looked into her eyes sincerely.
At the same time, Astoria raised her hand and pressed his hand even closer to her cheeks, feeling his warmth while being astounded by the miraculous work of fate that brought them together.
After learning Vaan was a transmigrator, she felt even more strongly that some great power was at work, guiding the hands of destiny.
There was some sort of purpose to Vaan's existence.
"I can't believe you were that runt from back then. Your eyes back then pissed me off so much I really wanted to give you a beating," Astoria recalled with a soft chuckle, clenching her fist.
"Others work so hard to keep living even when they're old. On the other hand, you were still so young yet already given up."
"However, if I hit you back then, you would have actually died. Still, I really didn't expect a few words and a loaf of bread would make you obedient and willing to live again, Vaan," Astoria added.
Vaan had long, messy hair, and his face was covered in dirt, making his appearance unclear back then. Thus, she never realized she had met him before.
"It wasn't just any loaf of bread." Vaan wryly smiled and said, "That loaf of bread contained some mana, which helped me realize my talents."
"Fate works in mysterious ways, huh?" Astoria uttered with a thoughtful look.
After confirming her feelings, she became more courageous and interlocked her fingers with Vaan, holding his hand.
pAn,Da-n0v e1,c
The moment was ruined by her brute strength.
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