Chapter 346: Engagement?

A moment earlier, Atlas was still floating above the platform inside the separate space arena he had created, ’Atlas, could you come to the Rosaria Villa at this moment? T-There is something important...’ Atlas arched an eyebrow upon suddenly hearing Seraphiel’s voice.

He wasn’t shocked that Seraphiel could communicate with him through telepathy even while he was here, because of the Link he had established between them during their previous meeting. However, he was surprised by the timing of her request.

’What happened to your training?’ He immediately asked without hesitation, wondering how she was even in her villa right now instead of remaining in the Realm of Astraya. Seraphiel immediately responded, ’My training was finished just some minutes ago and I directly came to see my parents.’

Atlas felt a little shocked by the revelation that her training had ended so quickly, but he didn’t dwell on it any further. Instead, he responded, ’Alright, I am coming in a moment.’ Having said that, Atlas proceeded to bring the sparring session to an end rather than extending it any further.

...

At this moment, Atlas could be seen sitting next to Seraphiel on a couch, with her father and mother sitting opposite them, both wearing smiles on their faces. Atlas could only wonder why they were smiling like that, as neither Seraphiel nor her parents had explained anything to him yet.

He had come here because Seraphiel had asked him to, but he still had no idea what the important matter she had mentioned was.

More importantly, it felt strange to him that the same man, Dravenson, who had once thought of killing him, and to whom Atlas himself had given a threatening response, was now sitting opposite him again. However, this time, they were meeting for a completely different matter, and the atmosphere between them was entirely different from before.

It wasn’t just Atlas who was experiencing this strange feeling, as Dravenson himself also felt awkward now that his own daughter was going to become Atlas’s partner. Maristella glanced at both of them for a moment before speaking through telepathy, as she was well aware of everything that had taken place between them, ’Shouldn’t you apologize to him now, darling?’

Dravenson immediately shifted his attention toward her and stared at her for a moment before nodding. He then turned toward Atlas and spoke, "I know it will not excuse the matter that happened to you during that time, but I would still like to apologize for that."

After a small pause, he continued, "I am sorry, I had acted upon my responsibility to protect my daughter and the well-being of this continent." His tone remained perfectly calm, with a small amount of apology in his voice.

Atlas remained silent while everyone looked at him, waiting for his response. He exhaled before answering, "I also won’t pretend otherwise that you are forgiven just because of a small apology in exchange for that treatment you showed me." Pausing for a moment, he turned toward Seraphiel before continuing, "Still, I would like it if there were no feud between us anymore, and for the matter..."

"...I don’t really care what happened in the past now, as I only have feelings for Seraphiel, not you."

Upon hearing Atlas’s indifferent explanation, Dravenson nodded without showing any extreme reaction. After all, he understood perfectly well what Atlas was getting at, and there was no need for him to take Atlas’s words in any other way.

A long moment of silence followed, making the atmosphere somewhat awkward again. However, Maristella finally broke that silence and spoke up, "Well, now that the bad things are clear and out of the way, should we get to the agenda of this sudden call?" Seraphiel lifted her lowered head, as she had been keeping it down while Atlas and Dravenson discussed the matter between them.

She nodded immediately before shifting her attention toward Atlas, "Mother, I-I think you should spit it out already..." Seraphiel blushed as she said that, turning her head sideways before Atlas could get a proper look at her face.

Maristella looked at the scenario and chuckled before saying, "Well, it is not a big deal, so let me convey it to him."

"You both are going to be engaged right at this moment. Simply put, it’s an Unofficial Engagementceremony!"

Her voice echoed through the room, making Atlas arch an eyebrow as he turned toward Seraphiel without speaking. Seeing her still turned to the other side while blushing deeply, Atlas couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile. He already had an idea of why she was behaving like this, but he didn’t say anything about it.

He knew what an engagement was, as Seraphiel herself had explained the whole process of how a relationship developed from being a couple to married life. An engagement was the middle process of that entire journey, marking the commitment between two people before their marriage.

After thinking for a bit, Atlas spoke up calmly, "You mean right now, here?"

Maristella nodded and turned toward Seraphiel, "Sera, my sweet daughter, shouldn’t you take the initiative to explain the procedure?" Seraphiel slowly turned toward her mother, with the same blush still visible on her face. She hesitated for a moment before finally answering.

"W-Well, as it is an Unofficial engagement according to the normal rules of Eliomor while official to me and Atlas, w-we need to put a pair of rings on our ring fingers!" Her blush deepened as she finished speaking, and her final words came out as a shout.

Maristella and Dravenson couldn’t believe how much their daughter had changed, especially when they saw how embarrassed she was just from explaining the procedure.

Seeing her blush this hard made them wonder whether Atlas had done something using his powers. However, they dismissed the thought immediately, realizing it was merely their own imagination. In reality, they already knew Seraphiel had changed a lot and had accepted it without worry, especially since even the world itself had changed.

Atlas remained silent for a moment before a small smile appeared on his face, and he began speaking. "Just that? Then shouldn’t we begin it immediately?" Seraphiel’s head immediately snapped toward Atlas, her eyes widening as her embarrassed expression completely wore off for a moment.

She stared at him before muttering, "A-Are you sure, Atlas? Shouldn’t you think it through a bit? This is an engage-"

Before she could speak further, Atlas interjected, "Huh? Why should I think about it any further? You are the only person I love, who else am I gonna be engaging with to even think about it?" His confused voice sent a deep realization through Seraphiel, and her heart began beating sharply.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Just as she was about to mutter something in response, Maristella interjected, "Now that everything is settled, we shouldn’t wait anymore. After all, it’s a special day for my sweet Sera."