After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

Plaridel had no idea about all of this. He had just crossed the territory's threshold and finally felt he could let go of the tension. He stretched his arms as far as he could, all while looking at the festivities that surrounded him.

He sighed. Obviously, the celebrations were already ongoing and he felt a little sad he missed the main part, but what could they do?

They encountered strong mobs just as they were heading back and had to clear those out. A few members were even rushed in Broatbulances, though fortunately none of the injuries were lethal. They could only be sad that they missed out on the anniversary event.

Anyway, now that he was here, he decided to just go around aimlessly and enjoy as much of the event as he could to make up for what he missed.

He walked along the streets and greeted various people, calling them by their names, and asking them for their day. They would then greet him back with wide smiles on their faces.

"Are you alone this time, Pla?"

"Yes~"

"Want me to join you?" Discover hidden content at My Virtual Library Empire

"Nah, go spend time with your family, I like to go at my own pace."

"I can introduce you to someone!"

"Nah, I like the single life right now."

"Come, watch the performance with us!" another said. "There's still a lot ongoing!"

Before he could answer, another group from across the street would yell back. "No, stand here~!" "I'll treat you!"

And so on…

Plaridel, although not particularly tall and handsome, had strong charisma. He was well-loved by most people, and was admired by quite a number of girls. Obviously, he did not have a problem getting girlfriends.

He wasn't a playboy though, and during the past several months he had only dated one girl, who was happily dating someone else now.

That relationship didn't work out due to various reasons, one of the main ones was him being too busy training outside. He also camped in the dangerous outskirts of Ferrol back then, so he really didn't have the time for girlfriends.

Now that Alterra upgraded to a Town, he would only get even busier so he didn't even bother to start dating again. That was just unnecessary stress for him.

That was why he refused all the offers for blind dates that came to him in the past few months.

For now, he just enjoyed the show with random people—getting a few drinks in the process—until he decided to call it a night.

However, on his way home, he was suddenly ambushed by Mao and a few others. They were gasping a bit as if they had been running around in a hurry.

"Finally found you!" Mao yelled. "Didn't you check your aether letter?!"

He blinked. He must've been so into drinking that he didn't see the aether letter notifications.

"Anyway, there's no time—" Mao said, approaching him. Plaridel unconsciously stepped back.

They had ugly sly grins on their faces and it honestly creeped him out.

"What is it?" He asked, but the next thing he knew, both his arms were lifted up by two people. He wanted to struggle a bit, but Mao made a small earth spike threatening his manhood so he had no choice but to get carried away like an unmoving dummy.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked, tone a bit slurred. Although they had stronger physiques that didn't become too inebriated, they could still get a bit whoozy from drunkenness.

"You'll see," Mao said, not answering his question at all. Plaridel's gritted his teeth.

"I'm going to burn you if you don't answer me."

The earth spike slightly poked his crotch area, making his eyes twitch. "Try and see if Little Plapla will like it!" "You made us look for you for way too long!"

"So tell me what this is about!"

"Shut up!"

Plaridel was just extremely confused. Did they start some weird initiation he wasn't aware about!?

But then… he was led to Alterra Park, by the picnic tables. He was let go as if he wasn't kidnapped at all.

Mao patted his back, gently pushing him forward. "Take this chance well. You made it hard for us to find you so we had no choice but to carry you lest the chance went away."

"What are you talking about???"

Then his questions died in his throat when he heard soft footsteps approach his direction. He blinked, realizing that It was a familiar pretty girl with reddish brown hair.

She appeared very anxious as she looked at him. "Plaridel! You might not remember me, but…"

"Ah, it's you! Nida, right?" Plaridel said, smiling. The girl found himself in a daze just staring at him.

"Y-Yes," she said. "I'm glad you remember me."

"Of course I remember you," he said with that charming grin of his, easily making the girl's eyes sparkle and her heart to explode.

In fact, it was just his habit to put all his attention on the person he was speaking with—especially when it was an anxious young lady—so he quickly put aside his confusion to talk to the girl.

Not to mention, one of Plaridel's drunk quirks was to take things as they were. So, even now, he did not connect Nida with whatever Mao was talking about.

"When did you get here? How'd you like our products?" he paused, and looked at her reddish-brown hair actually held up by familiar pin. It was one of the products he sold to her back in Ferrol where they first met.

"Ah, you used it…"

Plaridel was naturally good with faces and with names. His memory when it came to people—whether it was small details about them or even their quirks—was very good. It added to his charm, because he inadvertently made people feel special.

To Nida, it felt like a sign.

No one ever bothered remembering things about her…

She looked at him with bright eyes full of love. Unconsciously, she blurted out the thought she had in her heart without filter: "Please be my husband!"

????

…

Ten minutes later, at a nearby bench…

"So… let me get this straight," Plaridel said, rubbing his forehead. He also took water from his space to clear his system. "You ran away from home to find me?"

"It is also so I won't get married," she said, face completely red. When she saw his startled reaction to her proposal, she realized how abrupt and unlady-like she was.

Would it be too off-putting? Did she kill her chances because she was careless?

She had heard of husbands leaving their wives because they were talked back.

"That's admirable," was all Plaridel said for now. "I know women in your position would've found it hard to push for what you want."

This made Nida look at him with glazed eyes. She nodded slowly. "I… I'm not forcing you to marry me or anything," she said, afraid he'd think she was making him feel bad for her. "It's just a proposal."

Plaridel looked at her. It had been a while since he dated and he hadn't been interested before. Now… he just thought it wouldn't be so bad.

The girls he dated couldn't handle that he was always away. Even in Terran, he had failed relationships because they couldn't keep their legs closed while he was on a mission.

It was a lot milder in Xeno, but he could tell neither side could commit too much feelings to each other.

Now he looked at the woman who went here for him. Even if she did so to escape, he could tell she was here for him too. He was not heartless to be untouched by the grand gesture.

Of course, he had to manage expectations. Unlike his other girlfriends who were liberal Terrans, this one was an aborigine with particular expectations.

Especially considering the fact that she proposed marriage to him at their 2nd meeting.

"Marriage is too fast but… I suppose we can date."

"Date?"

"It's getting to know each other after a while—a courtship phase, if you will," he said. "If one side decided the other is not for them, then they could just break up with a lot less consequences than divorce."

"I… see…" she mumbled, slowly absorbing the set-up. While she was a little sad he refused her marriage proposal—even if it was expected—at least he didn't refuse her altogether.

"So… I am your girlfriend now?" she asked, staring at him with wide innocent eyes.

Seeing her look at him like this, Plaridel unconsciously scratched the side of his cheek, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed.

He nodded, and she smiled widely, though neither could speak to each other much after that.

Anyway, regardless of their awkward beginning—a new pair was born.