142 – Negotiation (5)

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Although I didn’t realize it, I must have been quite hungry, because the thick rabbit meat was now just a bit of meat attached to the bones.

The cause of the problem was that I was eating in silence while worrying about how to tell Sylvia ‘the reason why I shouldn’t have s*x with you’.

The meal was coming to an end, but no sharp idea had come to mind yet.

At that moment, Sylvia spoke to me in a strange voice.

“Ash, is something wrong?”

“Huh? No?”

“Something is strange today.”

“… What, what’s strange?”

Sylvia looked at me quietly, tilted her head for a moment, and then said.

“It’s weird that you came out to greet me even though I didn’t know when I would come, and you welcomed me so warmly, but now you’re not saying anything…”

Isn’t this feeling too good?

No, it might be natural for a warrior to have such keen senses.

“And… um, I don’t know. Something feels strange.”

“…Uh, um…”

I forced my lips, which kept stuttering, to speak and blurted out a clumsy excuse.

“No, I just had something to think about. The meeting was just a coincidence. Thank you for your concern.”

“Really? Well then, that’s good, but… what on earth have you been thinking about all this time?”

“Uh… uh, that’s…”

“As expected, there seems to be something hidden. What is it?”

“There’s no such thing as hiding something.”

I said with an awkward smile.

Sylvia looked at me like that and slowly put down the rabbit meat she was holding in her hand.

Only then did Sylvia’s rabbit meat come into view, and it looked like she hadn’t even eaten half of it yet.

It seemed like she was observing me the whole time we were eating without even eating properly.

Sylvia let out a deep sigh and lowered her head.

And then soon he muttered softly in a complicated voice.

“Is it because I forced myself on you yesterday?”

“hmm?”

“You forced me to do it… so you didn’t like it?”

Sylvia asked me quietly, with great caution.

At least he remembered that he had been quite forceful the night before, his voice was thick with guilt as he crawled out.

Pia stood next to Sylvia and shouted with a proud face.

“Sylvia was bad! You knew it.”

I slowly rolled my eyes and looked at Pia.

Pia stood there smiling brightly, looking at Sylvia, her tail wagging from side to side and her hands on her hips.

Of course, Sylvia couldn’t see it, but unlike Pia, Sylvia lowered her head even more and apologized to me.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to treat Ash like that… like that… I really do.”

“Sylvia…”

“But, when I think about Ash rejecting me, I get so anxious… I’m so scared I can’t stand it.”

“…”

I already knew that Sylvia’s feelings for me were not normal.

Even though I have no experience in dating other people, I am not so dull as to not notice that fact.

I could already realize long ago that the aspects of myself that Sylvia showed me were not the normal categories of obsession and possessiveness.

I couldn’t tell if that was Sylvia’s original appearance or if it was something that had been damaged during her years of living alone in this forest, but what was certain was that my love for her was far from ordinary in form and size.

Of course, now that I think about it, that fact doesn’t creep me out.

I don’t know if Sylvia knew it, but I was just as in love with her as she was with me.

Before I could even say anything, Sylvia suddenly looked startled and continued speaking hurriedly.

“Oh, no! It’s not that I don’t trust Ash! It’s all my fault. I know it!”

“…Sylvia.”

“No, I’m sorry. I can totally understand that Ash is disappointed… but,”

“It’s okay Sylvia, I’m not angry at all, I’m not disappointed.”

“… Ash.”

Pia glanced at me once and then started circling Sylvia again.

Although Pia wasn’t saying anything specifically, her smug expression was enough to tell that she was mocking Sylvia.

I felt like a parent raising a reckless daughter.

I felt a little annoyed at Pia for being so carefree without knowing what other people were thinking, so I decided to take Sylvia’s side.

“Last night too… I actually didn’t hate it.”

“Ash! What are you talking about!”

Pia perked up both her ears, came towards me, puffed out her cheeks and scolded me.

I let out a sigh as I saw Pia looking at me with her hand on her waist, just like she had done with Sylvia a moment ago.

“I just did it because I was too tired and exhausted. I’m not used to training, do you understand, Sylvia?”

“… huh,”

“Besides, there’s not much time left until we go to catch the Demon King… I thought it was time to start getting a little more nervous.”

“I see…”

It was a hastily made up excuse, but I thought it was a pretty plausible excuse even after I said it.

I was already wondering how to persuade Sylvia, and it just so happened that Sylvia herself gave me the opportunity to do so.

On the one hand, Sylvia, who seemed to feel guilty towards me, seemed very lovable.

Although I was easily swept away by the seething lust, on the other hand, I felt like he was constantly paying attention to me.

Even though she was already my lover, I was so touched that I wanted to confess.

Meanwhile, Pia stood next to me, nodded her head repeatedly toward Sylvia, and muttered quietly.

“Yeah, good job.”

“…That’s why I’m saying, I think it would be a good idea to exercise some self-restraint from now on.”

I continued speaking, barely ignoring Pia’s nagging.

Honestly, at this moment, it was as if all my problems had been perfectly resolved.

Conversations between people tend to have a certain flow or atmosphere.

Regardless of whether or not I actually hated having a night out with Sylvia, in this situation, with me being the victim, Sylvia feeling guilty, and the added rationale for refusing, no sane person would have refused this offer.

The flow of conversation between Sylvia and me was so smooth that I could be so sure.

Fortunately, I managed to convey my intentions to Sylvia without bringing up the subject of Pia, and slowly sighed in relief as I waited for Sylvia’s answer.

“…”

But Sylvia didn’t answer for a long time.

I knew it was ungentlemanly to press her for an answer to a question I had unilaterally asked for, but I couldn’t help it and called her name.

“…Sylvia?”

“… Wouldn’t that work?”

“huh?”

Sylvia slowly and carefully raised her head and spoke in a small voice.

“Can’t we do it once every two days?”

“…”

oh my god.

How can I refuse in this atmosphere?

Moreover, this was not a simple rejection.

Her flushed cheeks, moist eyes, and platinum-colored hair covered her face like a silk curtain, creating a mysterious atmosphere. Her voice, hesitating as if she was extremely embarrassed, had a strangely erotic quality to it.

This is a dangerous trend.

Sylvia, with her beautiful looks, instantly changed the mood and made me accept her offer.

And it seems I wasn’t the only one who noticed that trend.

“Kiyak! What is this woman saying!”

Pia clenched her fists cutely, then walked over to Pia and started climbing onto her shoulders.

Of course, Pia’s actions had no effect on Sylvia.

Sylvia continued speaking, turning her head away in embarrassment, completely unaware that Pia was sitting on her shoulder.

“Well… Alice will be back soon… and we won’t have much time left to ourselves anyway…”

“Ha, but…”

Sylvia twitched her lips for a moment as if she was thinking about something, then she bit her lip and let out a deep sigh.

“Ha… I didn’t mean to say that until the very end…”

Sylvia slowly looked at me and continued speaking in a calm but somewhat sad voice.

“To be honest, I’ve been feeling anxious lately.”

“… Anxiety?”

“huh…”

Sylvia’s face gradually hardened, and soon her playfulness and sensuality disappeared, transforming into a serious expression.

Seeing that, I also felt nervous.

“You’re anxious, what is it?”

“…”

“… It’s okay. Tell me,”

As I urged her carefully, trying to make it feel as gentle as possible, Sylvia began to open her mouth again, her voice complicated.

It was a voice that was even more calm than before, but it seemed as if there was a pain deeply embedded in it.

“We’ll be going to the Demon King soon.”

“huh.”

My body froze for a moment and I could barely nod my head.

Even though it was clearly the same word, the weight of the word ‘Devil King’ that came out of Sylvia’s mouth was noticeably different compared to what I said or what my older sister Alice said.

Perhaps it is because she is the one who knows best what kind of being the Demon King is.

I tried to comfort Sylvia, shaking off the sudden goosebumps.

“I know what you’re worried about. It must be dangerous, but if you’re worried that I might die…”

“That’s not it.”

Sylvia cut me off abruptly.

His attitude was so decisive that it was a little surprising.

I looked at Sylvia in slight confusion, and she had a slightly distressed expression on her face.

At that moment, I deeply rebuked myself for my haste in speaking out while hastily figuring out her intentions.

“Of course, it would be terrible if Ash were to be put in danger… If anything happened to Ash, I would just fall apart…”

“…”

“But the reason I’m anxious right now… The reason I want to receive even a little comfort from Ash’s body right now is for another reason.”

“…”

To avoid repeating the same mistake, I kept my mouth shut and waited calmly until Sylvia was ready to speak.

Then, after a while, Sylvia slowly opened her mouth and let out a wet sigh.

“Because the path to the Demon King is the path my comrades walked on when they died…”

“…ah,”

“That is… in other words, going to face my failures.”

“…”

“Comrades, Maria…”

“Sylvia…”

“The failure of that day when I lost everything… in the world…”

I couldn’t say anything.

It was something I had never thought about before.

Even after finding out that the Demon King was alive, it felt like I was finally realizing for the first time why Sylvia had not been very proactive in going to catch him.

Sister Maria and many other comrades died, but only Sylvia survived.

The journey to the Demon King was nothing less than a pilgrimage to the graves of Sylvia’s companions.

It was no different from stepping on the traces of the failed warrior party that ultimately failed to save this world.

For Sylvia, it was nothing short of a clear demonstration of her own failure.

This time I bowed my head.

The image of Sylvia’s anxious figure, swaying precariously and slowly collapsing, flashed through my mind again when I first stayed in Sylvia’s cabin.

“Ash, I… honestly, I’m scared.”

Even Pia kept her mouth shut at Sylvia’s sad voice.

.