"Mr. Lin Chen, there's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time."
"If I let tonight slip by, I'm afraid I'll never get the chance."
"So... please, look at me properly now..."
Lin Chen still stood rooted to the spot, surprise written all over his face.
Asta took a deep breath as she looked at him.
Her exquisite, jade-fair face showed a seriousness he had never seen before.
"Okay..."
Lin Chen nodded quietly, unsure how to respond.
He felt his own heartbeat quickening.
With Asta looking so serious, was she about to confess?
It seemed a little far-fetched, but it certainly suited the mood.
Above a dazzling Star Sea.
A magical girl who gazed at the stars confessed her love to the Commander she adored.
It sounded like a scene straight out of some space opera.
Lin Chen had simply never imagined he would get to experience it himself.
Emotion rippled through her clear, lake-blue eyes.
The girl with pink twin tails parted her soft lips and slowly began to speak.
"I still remember everything from the very beginning."
"Back then, perhaps I saw you as nothing more than a passing traveler."
"Until we weathered one turbulent crisis after another together."
"Until I saw you fight bravely beneath the Star Sea, wielding your blade for civilization."
"Only then did I realize that the mysterious star I'd always longed to find..."
"Was actually so very, very close to me."
She paused briefly, watching Lin Chen remain silent.
Asta pressed on with her confession.
"The girl named Asta was like a princess in a fairy tale, trapped inside a castle."
"Standing at her attic window, her favorite thing to do was gaze up at the stars."
"Because only that boundless Star Sea could hold her dreams of freedom and romance."