Traveling through the second dimension, the joy system encourages me to laugh heartily!

"Huh...?"

She was stunned for a moment, her mind seemingly not fully activated, a complete blank—how could there be a man in her bed?

Immediately afterwards, memories from last night and even earlier flooded into my mind like a tidal wave: the terrifying emptiness of the other world, the mysterious arrival of the invaders, the ecstatic joy of returning home, the solemn promise, and everything that followed...

"Oh……"

Shizuka Nanahoshi's cheeks quickly flushed red, and her eyes changed from initial confusion to shyness and understanding.

She remembered that she already... belonged to him.

This is an established fact, and it is also the path she chose herself.

She gently patted her chest, as if trying to calm her slightly panicked heartbeat from waking up, before mustering her courage and asking softly in a hoarse and slightly unnatural tone, still a little sleepy:

"Mingjun... what time is it now?"

Chen Ming turned to the side and looked at the girl's fair and soft face in his arms, which was flushed with a faint pink from shyness, like a peach covered with morning dew.

He leaned closer and could clearly smell the slightly ambiguous scent in her hair. He replied, "It's only 7 o'clock, there's still plenty of time. You can sleep a little longer."

However, his suggestive actions and the strong aura of a mature man emanating from him caused Shizuka Nanahoshi to misunderstand.

She thought Chen Ming was still not satisfied and wanted to do something bad to her again in the early morning, and she felt a sudden panic.

"No, no need!"

She hurriedly crawled out of bed like a startled rabbit, not caring about the slight exposure of her private parts. She frantically found her scattered underwear and her somewhat wrinkled school uniform, and dressed herself as quickly as possible with her back to Chen Ming.

After tidying herself up, Shizuka Nanahoshi turned around and faced Chen Ming, who was still lazily leaning against the headboard. She clasped her hands together in a pleading Japanese apology gesture and said urgently:

"Mingjun! Um... I have to go to school! It's not the weekend! Please, please let me go! Tonight... when I get back tonight, I promise, I promise I'll serve you well! Please!"

Seeing her shy yet anxious expression, so earnest and afraid of missing school, Chen Ming couldn't help but find it a little funny.

He wasn't a greedy person, and besides, there was plenty of time in the future. So he waved his hand tolerantly, a gentle smile appearing on his face:

"Go on, be careful on the road... Oh, and remember to keep your distance from the male students at school! Also, I'll come to see you every night when I have some free time."

This serves as both a reminder and a constraint.

"Hey! I get it!"

Shizuka Nanahoshi immediately nodded vigorously, bowed deeply, and then, like a fleeing deer, grabbed her schoolbag and hurriedly ran out of the bedroom. The sound of her running downstairs quickly faded into the distance.

The bedroom returned to quiet.

Chen Ming's mind stirred slightly.

The next moment, his figure vanished from the bed that still held a trace of warmth.

The master bedroom of Sharia's mansion in the magical city.

Ripples spread through the space, and Chen Ming's figure appeared there.

Although Shizuka Nanahoshi's hometown is also called "Blue Star," it is located within the universe of World 2 as defined by the [Pleasure System].

This means that although the physical distance between the two may be extremely far, there is no dimensional barrier that completely isolates them and needs to be broken through.

As for Chen Ming's teleportation ability, as long as he has enough magic power and the target location is a place he has been before, he can even cross interstellar distances.

Of course, the magical energy required to instantly teleport from one planet to another on the other side of the universe is astronomical.

But for Chen Ming, whose magical reserves had already reached an unbelievable level, this consumption was nothing more than a drop in the ocean.

Therefore, he can now freely travel between his mansion in the magical world and Shizuka Nanahoshi's house on Earth, living a carefree life.

……

Time flies, and five years have passed since the earth-shattering "transfer incident" in the territory of Fitoa.

The post-disaster reconstruction work is arduous and lengthy—the people need to gradually return from temporary resettlement sites, and the towns that were completely flattened need to be rebuilt from scratch. Infrastructure, houses, farmland, fortifications... everything needs to be rebuilt from scratch.

Lord Sauros, along with Alice's father Philip and mother Hilda, were extremely busy and overwhelmed, devoting almost all their energy to the revival of their territory.

Under these circumstances, they were simply unable to provide adequate education and care for Alice.

Considering that Chen Ming was a powerful and trustworthy magic teacher, and that Alice's progress under his tutelage was remarkable and rapid, they made a decision: to formally entrust Alice to Chen Ming's care, allowing her to temporarily reside in Chen Ming's mansion in the magical city of Sharia, so that she could continue to receive more in-depth education and training.

Chen Ming naturally had no objection to this, and couldn't wait to bring the increasingly tall and graceful Alice, with a spirited air between her brows, back to Charlotte's mansion.

Here, Alice met Hilfiet and Silvermoon, who were around the same age.

The three girls quickly became acquainted. Hilfi's gentleness and Silver Moon's liveliness perfectly balanced Alice's somewhat impatient and restless nature. They studied, trained, and played together, and their relationship grew increasingly harmonious. The mansion became even more lively with the addition of the young people's energy.

Now, five years later, the three girls have all grown up and are far more mature in appearance, temperament and ability than they were back then.

Alice's swordsmanship became increasingly refined, advancing from the superior level to the Sword Saint level, and she even touched the threshold of the Sword King.

Hilfiet is highly skilled in magic and healing arts, and is also meticulous and good at managing affairs.

As the Silver Dragon King with the MAX bloodline ancestry, Silver Moon has a long lifespan, so her appearance remains unchanged, but her mind has obviously grown a lot, and her bond with Chen Ming has become even deeper.

Watching them grow from naive and immature girls into vibrant and beautiful young women, Chen Ming naturally began to plan for a longer-term future.

It's time to set a wedding date.

After so many years of careful cultivation and protection, like a carefully tended flower, it is finally time to bloom and reap its abundant and sweet fruit.

However, just as he was pondering how to arrange things—whether to hold separate ceremonies or to organize a grand wedding together—a special magical device he carried with him—the same magical device as Princess Ariel's communication bracelet used to receive emergency signals—suddenly emitted a unique magical fluctuation.

That was Princess Ariel's magical communication.

Chen Ming immediately interrupted his thoughts on the wedding arrangements. Without even saying a word to Alice beside him or the other girls in the house, his figure suddenly disappeared from the mansion in the next moment, activating Instantaneous Teleportation!

His experience over the past five years had taught him that nine times out of ten, Princess Ariel's proactive communications were due to an extremely dangerous, life-threatening assassination attempt, a desperate cry for help! Not a moment could be wasted!

In the most critical moment, when Chen Ming received the signal and teleported to the scene, the assassin had already infiltrated Ariel's bedroom and was even standing right next to her bed!

It was a seductive young assassin dressed in extremely revealing clothing, with only a few strips of fabric barely covering her vital parts. She held a dagger that gleamed with a cold, eerie blue light in her hand and was swiftly stabbing at Ariel on the bed!

At the critical moment! Chen Ming had no time to think, not even to see the other party clearly. His wings of light unfolded instantly, and in the blink of an eye, countless blazing white beams, condensed to the extreme and containing the power of purification and destruction, poured out like a storm, instantly engulfing the female assassin!

Of course, under his precise control, the beam completely avoided Ariel.

"Swoosh—Boom!"

With a series of soft sounds of flesh being pierced, the young female assassin didn't even have time to scream before she was riddled with bullets on the spot.

After the beam of light passed through the young assassin, it also ripped off and tore apart the luxurious canopy of the large bed, leaving a shocking hole in the sturdy wall behind it, filled with smoke and dust.

Fortunately, Chen Ming's teleportation had no delay or casting animation, allowing him to arrive in the blink of an eye and complete the rescue.

If it were an ordinary guardian, even one living in the next room, they would probably have heard the commotion and broken down the door by the time they arrived, Ariel would already be dead.

Afterwards, the palace guards investigated based on the remaining body of the young female assassin and fragments of a special dagger at the scene. They were shocked to learn that the young female assassin who was instantly killed by Chen Ming was actually a top assassin who had been active in the underworld of the Asura Kingdom for nearly ten years, was notorious, and had never failed—[Night-Eyed Raven]!

To date, more than ten high-ranking and heavily guarded Asura nobles have died at his hands, and the kingdom's secret forces have been hunting him for years without being able to find out his true identity.

The fact that the guardian of the Night Crow could so easily and instantly kill the guardian demonstrates a strength far beyond the imagination of most nobles in the capital.

Because Chen Ming always appeared and disappeared in an instant, he would vanish without a trace after dealing with the assassins, and never had any dealings with the palace guards or any nobles.

Therefore, within the noble circles of the capital, he gradually acquired a nickname filled with awe and mystery—the Invisible Guardian. People only knew that Princess Ariel had an incredibly powerful guardian, but no one knew his identity, appearance, or even race.

Theoretically speaking, with such a powerful and unknown guardian as a deterrent, any rational opponent should understand that the assassination of Princess Ariel has become costly and hopeless, and should stop this pointless action.

But in reality, the incident did not come to a complete end.

After the "Night Raven" incident, the assassination attempts against Ariel did not stop, but instead occurred one after another at an almost frantic frequency!

The assassins come from all walks of life: poisoners disguised as maids, crossbowmen lurking among the celebration crowds, chefs who bribe insiders to poison food, and beast tamers who command and control magical beasts to launch attacks... Their methods are endless and impossible to guard against.

Even though Chen Ming perfectly eliminated those assassins every time with his instantaneous teleportation and absolute strength.

But the shadow of assassination, like a persistent festering sore, has never truly ceased...

Chapter 344: Pet Queen

The Royal Knights did launch an investigation, but each time they uncovered a crucial clue, they encountered invisible resistance from the royal court's higher-ups, and the investigation ultimately had to be abandoned due to the interruption of the leads.

In fact, no in-depth investigation is needed at all. Anyone with eyes can see that the mastermind behind the scenes who has the ability, motive, and the power to exert pressure to interfere with the investigation is pitifully small—either the first prince who is determined to seize the throne, or the equally ambitious second prince.

After all, the struggle for the throne has always been so cruel, filled with bloodshed and intrigue...

Ariel herself knew perfectly well who wanted her dead.

But she could not publicly accuse anyone, much less seek a fair trial under the kingdom's laws—this was an unwritten rule in the Asura royal family's power struggles.

The struggle for the throne is not only a contest of political skill and popular support, but also includes armed confrontation and covert purges.

Only the ultimate victor has the right to define "justice" and "legitimacy".

In fact, according to this unspoken rule, Ariel also had the right to send assassins to kill her two brothers.

But she didn't do that, not out of kindness, but because she lacked a powerful enough, reliable force willing to carry out such a dark mission for her—Chen Ming was her savior, not her subordinate or assassin, and she could not and dared not order Chen Ming to carry out the assassination.

Being constantly on the defensive and facing the constant threat of death put Ariel under immense mental pressure. She knew that as long as her two brothers remained standing, or as long as she didn't completely give up (even if she claimed to give up, they might not believe her), this situation would never end.

Chen Ming, however, was happy to see this situation continue.

He was not incapable of directly addressing the root of the problem—with his strength, eliminating the first and second princes silently would have been effortless.

But he didn't do that.

Because this constant state of crisis actually serves as a favorable "assistance" for his goal of winning over Ariel.

Eliminating the two princes would certainly be the fastest way to put Ariel on the throne, but by then, with power in her hands and the crisis resolved, would Ariel still need him?

They might be grateful, but that sense of dependence and need will inevitably decrease significantly.

And as he appears time and again in her most desperate and dangerous moments, rescuing her from dire straits like a god, Ariel owes him countless debts of gratitude for saving her life. In the fear of countless brushes with death, she deeply understands his strength, reliability, and importance.

This sense of trust, repeatedly strengthened under extreme crises, is difficult to establish in peacetime.

As Chen Ming predicted and guided, things turned out exactly as he had.

Under the repeated effects of the suspension bridge effect, every time Chen Ming came to the rescue, Ariel's favorability towards him increased significantly.

Ariel's affection for Chen Ming has now reached an astonishing 99 points! Every time they meet, Ariel tries her best to approach him and please him, her words and eyes filled with undisguised admiration and longing, and she has even subtly but boldly hinted on several occasions that she hopes he will stay overnight...

Therefore, Chen Ming knew it was time to harvest the "fruit" that had been cultivated for five years and was now fully ripe.

In the blink of an eye, the teleportation was complete.

Chen Ming teleported to Princess Ariel's private bedroom in the Silver Palace with practiced ease.

The decorations here are magnificent and elegant, befitting the status of a noble princess. However, due to the impact of numerous assassinations and battles, it also appears somewhat "weathered" – there are traces of repairs on the walls, and the furniture has been replaced several times.

However, to Chen Ming's slight surprise, there were no assassins infiltrating the bedroom this time.

Ariel wore a dignified and exquisite gown befitting her status as the second princess of the Kingdom of Asura. Her long, light-gold hair was carefully styled into an elegant yet dignified updo, revealing her fair and slender neck.

Her makeup was just right, and her clear, bright blue eyes were gazing at him quietly.

Seeing Chen Ming appear instantly as usual, a hint of relief and joy flashed across Ariel's eyes, but she quickly suppressed it and instead adopted a more formal demeanor.

With graceful hands lifting the hem of her skirt, she performed a perfect royal curtsy to Chen Ming, her voice clear and melodious, filled with utmost respect:

“Lord Chen Ming, I am deeply grateful for your visit despite your busy schedule. I am truly grateful.”

Although the others in the palace, including her two brothers, did not yet know the true identity of this mysterious "invisible guardian," Ariel had already mustered up the courage to ask him directly after being rescued for the second time, and Chen Ming frankly told her his name.

Since then, she has always addressed him as "Lord Chen Ming" in private.

Chen Ming scanned the room, confirming there was nothing amiss, before finally focusing his gaze entirely on Ariel, and asked casually:

"So, what happened today? Judging from your formal attire... you're probably not here to invite me to some afternoon tea party, are you?"

His words carried a hint of teasing—Chen Ming did desire Ariel, but he knew that he didn't need to take the initiative; the princess would do it all on her own!

Ariel made no attempt to hide her intentions, stating directly:

"I have come to you today so that I may become the Queen of the Kingdom of Asura. I humbly request Lord Chen Ming's assistance."

"oh……?"

Chen Ming raised an eyebrow slightly. He did not show surprise or immediately agree to this undisguised request. Instead, he took a small step forward, closing the already short distance between himself and Ariel.

His gaze was calm and deep, like a still ancient well, falling on Ariel's beautiful face, which shone brightly with determination and even had a sharp edge.

"Then, I need to ask you a very practical question—"

He deliberately slowed his speech, his voice low and clear, echoing in the luxurious bedroom where it was so quiet you could hear each other breathing. "What can I get in return? Or rather, what meaning does helping you sit on that throne that so many people covet have to me?"

When asked this question, Ariel did not back down; on the contrary, it seemed as if she had already prepared an answer.